#i mean im not complaining in the sense i dont find it challenging and fun. i do! but like.

[turnedpalefromlackofsun]

.

[zhongliologist]

(About hypostasis challenges) i believe you can get all the rewards without working so hard for the points and the difficulty level ^^ i believe mihoyo considers the players who likes playing solo or on lower AR

And to be honest i kinda like this event, its a new challenge like you gotta know what the cube will do next, how to dodge it, etc

Also if you have played the geo one on extreme lvl it kinda need 4 people (or a very tanky solo team, or a team of insane nuke to kill it right after the first pillar is destroyed) , and some teamwork. Asking friends who mains klee or razor to help, its fun for me, but i cant imagine those who plays on phone... Its laggy on phone, my phone at least..

I was one of those people who asked for more co op event and mihoyo gives a solution with this event, which you can go solo or co op depending on your chosen difficulty ^^ im happy enough

Sorry im ranting hehehe

(Continuing my previous rant)

Im on AR 53 and honestly it only takes like 20-50 mins to do everything i need in genshin daily, comissions can be done so fast, and with condensed resin farming domains is also fast it becomes kind of boring.

The only thing that still feels hard is abyss but theres not alot i can improve on abyss without farming domains :''

When dragonspine was released i was so happy lol like finally somehing to explore! Oh wow look at those cute ferrets! OMG IS THAT A WHITE FOX AAAA CUTE! Why the hell is this cryo cicin mage has infinity shield?!! But of course i kinda cleared it in 5 days so... (i know, i always take a long time to explore, my friends cleared the area (100%) in 1 day i was like wtf hahah)

Im waiting for new contents hehe have you seen primo geovishap? The one boss you will need to farm if you want to ascend xiao? It looks like Godzilla! (Also rumors say it has 800k hp, like, 2 times thicker than boreas).

You know i kind of wish i can delete my memory of exploration in genshin so i can do it all over again with the same excitement, i remembered i was like "WOWWW ITS COOOL, SO BEAUTIFUL"

Do you feel the same when exploring? Or do you dont like exploring? I have friend who doesnt like to do domains and just playing to explore the world hahah, but there are also some friends who dont really like exploring and just, well, kill bosses, domain grinding, etc focusing on making their character deals huge damage.

Sorry i kind of wanted to rant and talk to people xD thank you for reading all these! Hope you have a great day

It's ok skksks my asks are open for anything tbh;;;

Well, I guess that's the beauty of Genshin. You can play however you like. It caters to what people wanna do, whether it be exploring or going for the bosses and stuff. And I'm not one to judge what you wanna do in the game sksksks you do you

I have nothing against the hypostasis event,,, maybe if I'm in a much freer time and in the mood to beat some sht up, I'll be up for the challenge. But well, I don't have much time to play the game except early in the morning and late at night, and since you need some time to finish the hypostasis, I just can't speed run through it and get 3k points. And it frustrates me how I can't do it,, so I just kind of gave up and went easy.

I do go challenge some boss or domain sometimes but I do it to get ascension materials or artifacts. The thing with me is, the things that I do in the game, it should be for something. So maybe I did get bored of the hypostasis event. Maybe the rewards aren't up to par to it's difficulty. I just thought that since I can get the primogems anyway, I dont wanna bother with reaching high scores.

I mean, I'm in no means a good player. I play on the phone, I have clumsy hands, and I don't wanna do co op sksksk so like there is no sense trying to work really hard for just a few rewards. I'm not complaining here though, I'm just explaining why I don't really bother.

"It's for the fun of it!! Not the reward!!!" One will say. Of course there are people who love these kinds of events. They can test their skills, their characters' strengths and all. And that's perfectly ok! That's good! I'm just not one of them sksksks

I just play genshin casually. I like exploring, finding hidden caves, solving puzzles, that kind of stuff. The open world was the thing I love the most about Genshin bc I can literally go anywhere in the map. I love learning more about Teyvat and the characters. I love the main story quests and where it will go next. I'm not an intense gamer who will really go ham on the stats and have their characters do insane damage skksksk i just dont have the braincells left for that.

[dxmedstudent]

hi dx! im really nervous but what on earth do you talk about while on a date? its on tuesday, and i dont want to seem like an airhead to them 😟

Hey, friend! That’s an excellent question! Fortunately, it’s something I’ve had a bit of experience with recently, so I and medblr can try to help. Is it a first date? I’ll assume so.  

Before the date, you’ve usually already clarified what you both do, how old you are, and a little about yourselves like our hobbies and interests, but there’s still a lot you don’t know about each other. So I find that the best thing is to gain an idea of what you have in common before the date. This is partly why I like to message people for a little while before meeting; partly due to my timetable, but also so that when I meet a guy, I already have a good idea that we have lots in common, and there’s more to talk about. Most dating advice tends to tell people to meet quite soon after establishing contact, to avoid wasting too long if it turns out that you lack chemistry.  But for me it really paid off to get to know people a bit first. Because that way I just didn’t meet people I felt I had little in common with, or couldn’t keep up a conversation with. This means that even the dates with no chemistry were still fun, even if I didn’t want to date those people again. But don’t worry if you haven’t! You can still get to ask those kinds of question on the date. Things like:

What do you do for a living? What do you love about it? What excites you most about your job right now? If you weren’t doing your current job, what would you have picked? Would you ever change jobs? Anything bothering you? (Try to focus on positives; they might not feel comfortable complaining to a cute stranger). There’s something attractive about someone who asks about your life, and just listens to what you have to say, so don’t underestimate the power of just listening on a date. 

They’ll probably in turn ask you about your work or studies, which lets you share things that make you passionate; this could be ranting (I’m guilty as charged) or speaking positively, but it helps if you speak about things you feel strongly, but not bitterly about. People want to have fun on a first date, so gross work stories or ‘yeah, the NHS is busy’ are fine, but spending the entire date speaking negatively are less so.

What hobby are you into right now? What do you like most about it? How would you explain it to someone who’s never done it? People love talking about their interests. Not only is it a little hot to see them do so, but it also makes them feel fuzzy inside. Plus you might get to learn about some interesting hobbies, and it’ll tell you a lot about that person.

Don’t be afraid to share your hobbies or volunteer which interests you have; anyone who dates you needs to respect what you enjoy, so the first date is a perfect time to get that out of the way. They should be keen to find out more about the things you like, but also to accept them. Steer clear of anyone who appears judgemental or scoffs about your interests; they are not the one for you.

What do you both do to unwind or relax?

Favourite foods.

Favourite places; museums, cafes, etc. I even asked for suggestions for these kinds of things in my profile, because I love discovering new places, and I think where somoene loves to hang out can say a lot about them. Plus it gives you an idea of what you can do together.

Sharing memories of interesting places each person has been on holiday, particularly if recent. It gives you an idea of how they like to spend their holiday time, and how they take their fun. Talking about your dream holiday can also teach people a lot about what you like.

Cool things you’ve seen/done/read/watched recently. There’s something really exciting about listening to someone talk about things that interest them.

What you were like as a kid. Surprisingly funny to talk about, under the right circumstances.

Music and films are always a good topic, though having similar tastes doesn’t necessarily translate to similar in other arenas.

Sport, if you like sport. If like me, it’s not a big thing, then you don’t need to dwell on it, though it’s nice to get an idea of whether you have stuff like that in common.

Hopes and dreams for the future; not in a ‘kids and marriage’ way, but things like goals, or stuff that you’d like to do. Talking about things that make you happy, or things you hope to do can bring out the best in you, which is attractive on dates. 

Show a sense of humor. Take those chances to make jokes.

Some people say avoid politics or religion, but actually if you’ve already got an idea of their political leanings or religious views (say from a dating site or previous convos), then I say go for it. There’s a high chance that you might both be disappointed, but it’s better to find out now that they are an anti-choice republican fundamentalist Christian sooner rather than later. That said, I often don’t raise these on first dates, though I usually throw in serious hints in my messages (and profile) that I’m very left leaning and not particularly religious. This won’t make it a ‘good’ date, but it can be a chance to cut your losses if you realise they feel very differently about the world.

Topics to avoid:

marriage, kids etc. Most people just aren’t certain about these initially, and certainly don’t have a clue if they want them any time soon with you.  And frankly I feel it’s more appropriate to talk about later on, even if it’s explicitly on dating profiles to begin with. Even if my profile says I want both, I would run screaming in the other direction if a guy mentioned these on a first date or really early on in a relationship.

Your usual type. This comes up all the time on programmes like Dinner Date, but really? There’s no good answer. If you’re their type, you feel stereotyped. And if you’re not, you would worry that they don’t normally like people like you. Personally, I don’t really believe in having a type, but even if you do, it can so easily backfire if you talk about it.

How long they have been single. Avoid. Again, no good answer; too long and people are judgemental. Too short and you worry about being a rebound. I’ve had several guys tell me they’ve not dated in ages, or not had much luck on online dating, or just got out of a longterm relationship, and whilst I appreciated the honesty and they weren’t heavyhanded, it always worked better if it was at the end of a first date or after, once you’ve already got to know them a bit. It’s something that’s useful to know so you can tackle problems that arise if you start dating, but at first both of you want to focus on just seeing what you have in common and if there’s a spark.

Exes and previous relationships. No no no no no. When a person talks about his ex on a date, it’s a clear sign they are still processing things and probably need more time alone to get over it. I would not date a person (and have turned them down) for talking about recent exes in such a way that makes it feel that there’s still a lot to work through.

Nightmare online dating experiences. Uh, you don’t really want to imagine your crush seeing other people. And it’s not nice to dwell on negative experiences or each other seeing other people. Save these anecdotes for your friends. I personally find people who complain a lot about the dating process a real turn off. I was out there just trying to be optimistic and meet fun people, and it was always such a buzzkill when men were like ‘women never reply, online dating sucks, I have no luck with women!’. Save that for your friends, and for much later.

Sex. Unless you’re about to have sex, please leave it for when it’s an option. There’s something uncomfortable about people who bring it up really early on without any warning, or write about sex in their dating profile. Make sure that the other person is comfortably reciprocating and as flirty as you before you escalate the flirtation.

Generally being very negative. Life is hard, but you also owe it to anyone you date not to dump all your stuff on them, particularly when you are just starting out. Share a bit of your life, gradually, but leave discussing your major issues with friends or therapists for now.

I like to ask people about their work; what they enjoy, and what they do; I’ve learned a lot of interesting things about people’s jobs on first dates! It’s also quite attractive when you see someone fired up about things they care about. I also like to be honest about my work and my life, too; so much so that I subjected the poor guy I’m currently seeing to talk about death on not only the first date but also a few subsequent ones! It made sense in context, but it just goes to show that topics can be pretty varied. I’m sure you won’t come across as an airhead, but I think sharing the things you enjoy (or find challenging, or interesting anectotes) from work or school are a great way of showing that you’re passionate and switched on and have a rich and exciting life outside of dating. I also carefully introduce the realities of my work - not in my profile, but during the initial messages and/or first few dates (the odd shifts and being busy on weekends/evenings/nights, the exams, the moving around etc) early on; before I meet people, in fact. I didn’t take an apologetic tone; the key is to state it neutrally as a fact of your life and not something terrible, because dating you is a gift, not a terrible thing. It is then up to the other person as to whether they are OK with those things. The person who ends up with you will have to accept your life for what it is, just like you’ll have to decide if their idiosyncrasies and quirks are something you like, can accept, or are straight out dealbreakers for you. Hobbies are also a great topic; if you have any in common then that’s a surefire winner. Maybe most people don’t talk about museums, anime, Terry Pratchett and D&D on a first date, but I do and that worked out great because I’d already established with the guy that we had those interests in common, so we both ended up talking relaxedly about stuff we liked. I find that these topics usually made up the bulk of what I’ve discussed on first dates with people.

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself; you’re not meant to be carrying the conversation on your own; the other person also has a responsibility to ask lots of fun questions, too! As long as you talk about things that make you passionate, and that you know stuff about, like your interests and what you do, I’m sure you won’t look like an airhead, because your interest and knowledge will shine through, whatever the topic under discussion. There’s this expectation that a first date is bad if there’s no chemistry, but that really isn’t necessarily true. I’ve had really interesting first dates with zero chemistry, just because the topics were entertaining in themselves and the people were smart and interesting. As long as you’re polite and make an effort to ask considerate and engaging quesitons, you’ll do great! Hope it goes well; let me know how you get on! :DI’m more than happy for others to add dating tips, since it’s always a useful topic for anyone looking to get into it, or back into it

[sunnysidewrites]

Brother!Taeyang

Requested by anon: Hello (: could you write a brother!au Taeyang scenario? :)) 

holy hell guys not only have i not written in so long but it’s an sf9 piece too!!! :ooo!!!! i hope yall like it!!!! AND YES I KNOW THIS REQUEST IS ALMOST A YEAR OLD DLSJFL IM SO SORRY BUT YAY ITS HERE!!!! ENJOY MY KIDZ also pls forgive me its been way too long since i wrote smth so its not as high quality or long :’(((

warnings: a lot of soft. a lot. like a lot a lot. i want a bro tae :(

UGH BRO TAE IS SO LKSDJFLJDSF!!!!!!

He’s such an affectionate person, so just imagine how much love he would smother you with

Especially as an older bro?? I mean come on

Definitely the type to spoil you every chance he can get

No like,,,, he really invented spoiling

He works at the local cafe and every time he gets his paycheck, his first thought is what to reward you with for never complaining about your financial hardships

“Tae stop buying me stuff with your money!! Go treat yourself out for once!!”

“Aw you’re so cute, Y/N. Now, do you want the special cake of the day or the donuts?”

Jesus he’s so soft i wanna cry

He would go to the ends of the world just to have you smiling all the time :’(((

This boy knows no limits, I’m telling you smh

Will probably embarrass you in front of your friends LOL

Also the one your friends always gush over

And you’re like “ok i mean i know he’s good looking but he’s also my brother?? Can yall not???”

Unfortunately, you’ve had your fair share (which is putting it extremely lightly) of Phakes who use you to get closer to tae

One second you think you’re hitting it off when you’re talking about the latest single of your favorite artist and then the next you have to walk away after they ask you for the address of his workplace

It gets real tiring

And ofc, taeyang knows about this and he blames himself for it, especially when you never show any signs of complaints or other giveaways

You remain silent about it and he’s just like !!!!! :(((!!!!!!!!

So every time you ask him why he never treats himself out, he can’t help but think about how you never want him to worry about you

Because it’s so challenging finding a real friend, he always invites you to hang out with him and his group every day

You don’t mind at all though since his friends are wild but cool to be around with!!

[Insert promotion: STAN TALENT STAN SF9]

[they’re also a bunch of dorks. Stupid idiots. Loud and rambunctious. Talented and -- wait, what were we talking about again]

He’s always by your side and casually has his arm slung around your shoulders (it comes from his overprotective nature)

You can BET that whenever any one of his friends tries to talk to you one-on-one, tae’s face darkens just a smidgen

“Hey, Y/N, there’s this cool bakery that opened last week, wanna go--”

“Rowoon, don’t you have some,,, trees to compare yourself to?”

“Why do you never make any sense????”

Tae is always with you sO FREAKING MUCH to the point that if y’all weren’t related, you would surely be mistaken as a couple

Actually, it still happens even as his sibling smh

The amount of times your peers have gone up to you and asked whether you were dating tae and you’re like uM GAG HE’S MY OWN FLESH AND BLOOD

Them: oh thANK GOD. anyways what’s his phone number lol

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhh so you’re just much better off with the sf9 dudez

It also kinda Sucks since you’re tae’s sibling, tae has made it crystal clear you are Off Limits

“That means you, Dawon.”

“I didn’t even dO aNYThiNG?”

“Your jaw is gonna drop to the floor if you open it any further. dOnT tEsT mE”

You have to admit his friends are reallyyyy cute but sadly tae will kill them, and possibly you as well, if yall date rip

But in this au let’s say you do end up with one of them

Crank up that fatherly overprotectiveness by 92743972493

“I expect Y/N to be at home by 8. I know it must be hard for you, but please be a gentleman. You break Y/N’s heart, I break your bones, got it? If I find out about any assault you conducted, i wiLL RIP YOU TO SHR--”

“okAY WE’LL BE GOING OFF NOW BYEEEE LOVE YA”

He only wants the best and you know that better than anyone

He’s alllwaaaayyysss there for you, regardless of what he’s doing

He was once in the middle of a crazy, hectic shift at the cafe but he immediately dropped it when he found out you were crying over another crazed Tae Fan who turned their back on you (but obviously you didn’t tell him about the latter)

He could pick up that the situation was related to him every time you used the excuse of “failing a test” because you’re near the top of the class so he knew it was a lie

But he never pried it out of you bc he knows you tell him everything you wanna tell him

A lot of your hangouts with him involve dance games or anything that makes you active, but they could be as lax as sightseeing in the city

You’re always laughing when you’re with him and there’s tons of skinship

Your arms are around his waist or looped with his other arm

He loves holding you close to him bc he wants to protect you like the older bro he is

You’re not complaining though but who would lmao

Now, you know he’s good looking so you always take candids of him

Your favorite ones are the moment when he turns around and looks at you in surprise with a smile on his face and the second right after when you catch him in mid-laugh

Sometimes he takes you out to the dance studio he practically lives in and you get to see what the newest number he’s working on is

He never fails to blow you away and you can’t help but feel overwhelmingly proud of his talent and efforts

Occasionally, he would play a random dance song and you would stumble over your feet and laugh as you both spin around and have fun

Whatever you do, it’s a moment you both cherish

You really could not have asked for a better brother :’(((

[survivormagictreehouse]

Episode #4: “I am definitely sobbing 24/7” -Gavin

-okay so dan left eight to one a real... how you say... zzz. and then birch activates the earthquake and gives us... the best swap... ever...? i say us i mean ME so anyway the swap gives me... my alliance members of vi/collin/ruthie which YES. we already are half the tribe eat it UP. then i have cindi who im close to, who im also in a second game with rn. which BAM, and also... og tribe majority mmmmm delicious. THEN from the other tribe i get. BODHI who im also close to outside of this, and am also in another game with rn (where im about to vote to keep him in so woo we love  building trust...?). then i have rachael who is a sweetheart and TIMMY. ONE OF MY OLDEST ORG FRIENDS HELLOOO. this swap is kind of... too... good? all the people i'd wanna vote out are on the other tribe so the MO rn is to just sweep challenges ideally? thats the agenda. because rn the ones i want gone are birch/keegan/zachary/gavin... all of whom are on the other tribe. so we better get to winning even tho it might be bad for austin/jay if we do (but maybe timmy would go first idek)

-okay so... we just won jeopardy? that challenge truly had me weighing up and considering literally fighting a child because that zach is half child prodigy, half robot he was literally bodying the challenges... BUT THEN WE WON ASFJDKSAL. we literally just went for broke on the final jeopardy and it came THROUGH. im so so happy because i want all of my swap tribe at merge, they are all people i want to stick around so even one tribal would be a disaster. i think timmy might unfortunately be screwed just because jay/austin are really connected. also the annie tribe is probably gonna lose... another og tribe member. but HONESTLY what can you do. this is good for my longterm survival anyway hopefully they turn inwards and get rid of one of OG Jack even though its probably unlikely KJFLSAD.

-well, to start out, i am sorry this is later than anticipated. however, what matters is that i am doing it now... right? ANYWAYS... onto the confessional. i think the main thing i want to talk about this round, is the brilliant move i orchestrated during that challenge that gave us the win... and the fact that i got NO CREDIT FOR IT. OKAY Y'ALL... I SEE YOU. but anyways, i think it is clear that i am basically a mastermind. however, what really matters is that we won... so GO TEAM (me)! following the challenge this round i was added into an alliance chat planned by keegan and zach with rachael and myself. so, when jess wasn't included, i obviously had to go talk to her and subtly expose that alliance... and funnily enough, keegan added jess to alliance with birch! FUNNY. so, we basically figured out that keegan is trying to play everyone and anyone he can--which will definitely be useful information going forward. overall this round, i think i really strengthened some key bonds with birch and rachael specifically. i was on call with rachael for 5 hours straight and talked about personal things with birch for about an hour. so, i honestly feel pretty good going forward. and on the bright-side, if things start to look like they're going south, i always have that idol in my back pocket. until next time... xoxo, gossip girl.

-well, to no ones surprise... we swapped. AND I WAS SEPARATED FROM MY RACHAEL. i’m not crying... (jk, i am definitely sobbing 24/7). but on the bright side, i at least have jess with me. unfortunately due to zachs poor math skills, we lost the challenge that should have been an easy win for us given our lead going into the final jeopardy... but gavin is not bitter. so, unfortunately, we have to go to tribal with a brand new tribe. on the bright side, it seems to be looking in OG jack’s favor numbers wise, so i don’t particularly feel like i am in danger. however, you never know what could happen at tribal council. so, if worse comes to worse, i will have my idol ready to play—but i am hoping it doesn’t come to that. it appears as though austin or jay will be leaving—which is perfectly fine with me (even if i want keegan to go sooner rather than later, it’s best not to make any unnecessary waves right now. so i will continue to let him become a bigger target and try to take charge and snake as he does... and we will go from there.

https://youtu.be/R3zDNJfI3Pc

https://youtu.be/4QKj_KZhhCE

-I....am upset. You put me on a tribe with little cutie Gavin and then RIPPED HIM AWAY. I am beyond upset. I am outraged. SWAP US BACK COWARDS. Can't wait for the next earthquake to hit so we can be reunited. I miss him so much. He still sends me tiktoks though so thats cute. we are watching Hamilton together on Friday and I am so excited.

-It’s 1:02PM and I still miss Gavin.

-It’s 5:14 pm and I still miss Gavin. Hope he doesn’t go home, but I won immunity ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So I forced a swap. yay! I also exiled myself, mainly to keep myself safe cause fuck getting voted out, Am I right? So I don't really have anything to report on. uhhhh, yeah. Go everyone!! 

-When your tribe mates don't listen to your wager advice and you lose the challenge :))))))))))))))))))))))))

-So a swap happened so that's fun.... I can't even lie I  have swap PTSD from my last Survivor. I was swapped into the minority, rocked myself out with an idol for a souvenir. THAT BEING SAID... This swap worked out for me! I think? At least for now? If I didn't have Gavin with me I'd be extremely worried but because I do believe he has an "in" with the bro's Keegan/Zach aka: a duo... I'll at least know if they are up to some shady shit. I also got Chips! SO PARTY. I'm really thankful we got a swap because I don't know if I would have survived a couple of votes on my previous tribe. I wasn't necessarily "in" with people. So a swap was welcomed but I was also scared shitless. This swap has really opened the door for me/Zach? I don't trust him the slightest BUT at least we have some sort of dialogue right now compared to the crickets we were exchanging on OG JACK. This swap also broke up the "alliance" of Zach, Rachael, Keegan...and Gavin. So now they'll need to find a replacement Rachael and I know I'm not as pretty as Rachael but maybe I'll fill the female quota in that alliance? Chips has opened up a LOT to me so far. We've exchanged idol searches but he feels on the bottom of that "alliance" and I don't blame him. I just don't know where we go from here after this vote. He flips? to Jay? Maybe a Jay/Chips/Keegan/Zach majority? He wants me to flip to a Chips/Jay/Timmy/Majority? I have no idea. We also get Birch next round! I do enjoy Birch so much but that's a number for Keegan and that makes me un-easy. Keegan is easily my biggest threat so far. Next round could potentially be a 6.vs. 2 majority and it can't be THAT simple. I'm going to focus on winning... I guess? I'm really enjoying Timmy so far even though he's given me a few red flags or I'm being lied to hardcore. Austin told me he had a vote reveal however, why would Timmy tell someone who he has said "treated him badly" about a power? So either Timmy is playing me or Austin is playing me. Either way they both can go?! Timmy gives me such weird vibes. I want to trust him but I also think he's going to be a super cut-throat player down the line and that SCARES ME.

Ok.....with the swap that happened and us losing immunity I really feel my game is over. Which really sucks bc i wanna work with ppl like keegan jess jay chips and zach but I dont feel most of those ppl wanna work with me.  I'm not gonna give up tho . I'm gonna try talking and making deals and doing what I can to save myself.  It's not over til tribal and I have plenty of time. Pleaseeeee atomic gods let me make it through this one vote 

Me never remember what my last confessional was about? The title of my autobiography. So, we swapped which is super unfortunate but the tribe I got swapped into has a majority OG Jack members. JESS, ZACH, GAVIN, CHIPS and myself against JAY, TIMMY Z and AUSTIN. And then we lose the challenge because math is apparently impossible? Like ZACH either threw the challenge on purpose or he’s just the worst person at math. Either way, we’re going to tribal tonight. The current plan is to stay tribe strong and vote out an OG Annie which is fine by me. JAY is saying he wants to work with me because we’re both previous winners which is a good point. But I’ve got some solid alliances already and I don’t want to mess those up this early into the game. As far as I can tell right now, the plan is to split votes between JAY and AUSTIN with AUSTIN being the primary target since he’s pretty bad at challenges and isn’t likely to work with us down the line. TIMMY apparently spilled the beans about a six person alliance that didn’t include himself or CINDI, so we’re trying to keep him safe and pull him in as a number for the future. Who knows what will happen though. There’s idols to worry about which is why we’re trying to split the vote. 

This tribe swap makes me so happy because I vibe with these people so much better and it gives me a new chance in this game to fix my activity level. On top of that, we are safe!!! Another round of not having to go to tribal is a good round for me. Who knows why the Annie tribe only wagered $3,000 because that made absolutely no sense but I’m not complaining. Overall, A+ round!

So this round, i find myself swapped into a tribe of people that are so much better then my old tribe. I was on the outs of that 6 person alliance and I am sure I would have been the next to go for sure. I get a really good vibe off of zach and jess, plus gavin and keegan are cool too. Not to sure about Chips but I have to put my trust in these people for the mean time. As for the challenge, we lost and i knew I was going to vote with the old Jack tribe. We plan on splitting the votes 3 vs 3 with austin and jay voting whoever. Of course in true them style, the moment they found out it was them, they threw me under the bus immediately. Hopefully everything goes as planned tonight and Austin goes home, if not it is going to be me. I have had good convos with people tho and hope that can get me through this tribe.

Well this swap completely sucks. In the complete minority, someone sold out the alliance to Timmy so I doubt he trusts me anymore. I just tried to be honest with him so he'd see me in a better light and I hope it worked. Beyond that, we lost the challenge and I think my head is on the chopping block. Earlier today Chips came and told me that he's pretty sure the votes are coming down on me and they're gonna tell me Austin to fake me out. And you know, that's probably true because Zach, Keegan, and Gavin have all told me it's Austin. What troubles me is that Chips doesn't seem to have a plan otherwise even though it seems like he wants to do something else. So once Zach told me it's Austin, I had more of a chat with him. He really seems to not want me to go anywhere, which is hard not to believe. Either he's telling me the truth or he's a fantastic liar. Same with Keegan, even though I think it's in both of our best interests to work together going forward. At this point it's clear that it's gonna split between Austin and myself so i worry if I don't vote Austin then I'm just automatically out. Shits really hard in the game right now and all I want is to survive another day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25eKaudnTmA&feature=youtu.be

https://imgur.com/31jZcmF

I am finally not at the bottom. My original tribe has minority and I have prior existing relationships with 2/3 of the og Jack tribe. Plus I have bodhi, whom I absolutely love, on my tribe. I am happy. 

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Click HERE to watch the Round 4 Cast Assessment!

[journeysintowebcomics]

Homestuck Liveblog #173

UPDATE 173: Secondary Characters Continue Fusing Together

Last time Vriska was starting her plan to fight Lord English. First things first: she needs a ghost army to back her up. The problem here is that just with her skills it won’t be enough. Luckily for her, she just...stumbled upon a ghost army in the distance. Let’s see how that goes.

Huh. Tavros was the one to reunite them – and I suppose that also means he managed to convince them all to stick together for the fight. That’s rather impressive, considering how Tavros started being meek and with lack of confidence about himself. If only that hadn’t meant twisting his personality in the ways it was twisted...I had liked Tavros at the beginning of his appearances in the story, but when he started wanting to be like Vriska he, well, he succeeded in getting some of the bad traits she has. It’s not pleasant to watch, to be frank.

Vriska is in disbelief at what she’s seeing. Tavros, of all people, is giving a solution to her problems? The baconbeasts must have sprouted wings and are now flying. Vriska is having a lot of trouble reconciling the thought of Tavros doing anything good for her plans.

VRISKA: What sort of hideous fuckwitted 8aloney drivel are you spouting out your prattle socket this time?  TAVROS: wHAT i MEAN IS,  TAVROS: i *CONVINCED* THEM ALL TO JOIN ME, vRISKA,  TAVROS: uSING WORDS,  TAVROS: aND SMILES,  TAVROS: aND FRIENDSHIP, }:D 

Really now? Somehow that sounds more believable for the past Tavros, not for the current one – leaving aside that the past Tavros would have never been able to convince them, what with not being assertive enough.

Hah! There’s something very amusing in seeing Vriska trying to wrap her head around this. I admit that if I didn’t have the image right here, I’d have a hard time believing it, too.

VRISKA: You actually did something useful for once.  TAVROS: }:D!!!  VRISKA: I don't know how I'm even supposed to process or handle this inform8tion...  VRISKA: It's... it's completely messed up, is what it is.  VRISKA: My entire world view is shattering around me...  VRISKA: It can't 8e true.  VRISKA: It can't! 

Well don’t complain, Vriska, this is actually very good. There won’t be need to do anything else, you could jump straight to fighting Lord English. I...I doubt the ghost army will last for long, given Lord English’s attacks, but I’m sure Vriska has a plan for them.

Tavros is more than willing to brag about this all – and I can’t blame him, this is a great achievement – but then he ruins my sympathy by pretty much turning insufferable in three seconds flat. Also:

TAVROS: oOOOOH, iT FEELS SO GOOD, tO DO A CONCLUSIVE THING, tHAT ABSOLUTELY AND BEYOND ALL QUESTION, rETROACTIVELY VINDICATES ME AS A PERSON AND ERASES ALL OF MY FLAWS!!! 

I made the most unamused and exasperated face you can imagine. Congratulations, Tavros. You achieved it with that single line, you’re closer than ever to be like Vriska. Keep going and we’ll have one Vriska more than we need. It sucks.

I don’t think Tavros’ arc can go any further than this, thank goodness. There’s only so much ‘shut up, Tavros’ I can mutter right now. There are five pages dedicated to him bragging obnoxiously until Vriska stops him. So who’s going to lead this army? No one is in charge right now, so Meenah hears the call of her royal blood and challenges Tavros to a fight for the leadership of the army. He...he pretty much rolls over and lets her have it, because he wasn’t really interested on leading anything. That’s good enough.

He’s even prostrating himself to her feet, which she simply loves. Hah! She even steps on his horns to have high ground to talk to the army. Someone is having fun already. The speech she gives to the army is not too bad, it’s self-aggrandizing and completely in-character for Meenah. I like Meenah, she may be awful, difficult and cause a water apocalypse to Earth, but I find her fun to read.

Recycling this meter because they’re pretty much the same person despite being different iterations.

Back in Jake’s planet, looks like there’s an Alice in Wonderland tea party going on, with Jake taking the role of Mad Hatter. Am I interrupting something here?

JAKE: So i take it i am to stand in for the mad hatter in this charade?  JASPROSESPRITE^2: Yes.  JAKE: Except... wasnt the mad hatter supposed to be like... in charge of the tea party or something?  JAKE: I really dont know what im supposed to be doing here.  JASPROSESPRITE^2: Nothing! Just sit there quietly please.  JASPROSESPRITE^2: No offense, but you are only a prop actor in this fanciful scenario, which is serving as the stage for my date with this lovely lady.  NEPETASPRITE: :33 < wait...  NEPETASPRITE: :33 < this is a date? 

Oh. Uh...I want off this tea party. Also that’s all Jake has been used for by everyone, I think, he’s considered pretty much the dead weight of the group by everybody. It’s a shame. He may not have much in terms of powers or skills, but at this point he’s treated as a joke by everyone. I feel bad for him.

Nepeta actually wonders how everyone is, especially Karkaroni and Equius, and is happy to hear that both are okay, even if one is a sprite right now. She also seems uncomfortable about this whole ‘date’ thing, although she did recognize the part that was Jaspers.

It’s nice to have Nepeta around, really. Leaving aside Jasprosesprite’s pushiness, it’s good to see someone who is pretty much one of the nicer characters alive right now. She did like Karkat in a romantic way, which I already knew, and is disheartened to hear he has moved on, chance Jasprosesprite pounces on – until someone else arrives, at least.

DAVESPRITE: hey whats up

...wait what? Davesprite, when did you get here? I thought he was dead! Or...left in the other timeline, at the very least! Guess maybe I should have seen it coming. The Davesprite in this timeline had died, there was an empty space for a new one to exist.

Davesprite didn’t even know what was going on. One moment he was at John’s planet, just lounging around, stuff happened, and now he flew to this planet and found them all. Jasprosesprite tries to get him to go away, this is a date, after all.

DAVESPRITE: a date  DAVESPRITE: thats cool  DAVESPRITE: with who the mad hatter guy?  JASPROSESPRITE^2: Good lord, no. 

Thank you so much for that one, Davesprite, I really needed that laugh right now, haha. Davesprite and Nepeta go ahead to shake their hands.

...oh. I see where this is going. That’s an odd combination! So there’ll be a mix between Dave and Nepeta now. I’m curious how that’s going to be! Their personalities aren’t opposite or anything, but they’re pretty different to each other. I don’t think they’ll explode, but yeah! How’s this going to work, hm...

The result is colorfully painful to look at. How can anyone in this universe look at these sprites without wanting to have sunglasses? The good thing is that this fusion is already paying dividends in pleasant ways, Jasprosesprite isn’t interested in them. I have this feeling of satisfaction at his present misfortune.

Calliope meets the Mayor and is led to Jade, who apparently still may be talking with the alternate Calliope. Planning what’s going to happen, perhaps? Calliope’s out loud musing leads to the point of view changing to Jade, who indeed, is flying around with the other Calliope.

Doomed Calliope may be blunt, but she sure knows what she’s talking about. She’s telling Jade the intricacies of the aspects of Sburb in paradox space, and how a Space player notices space itself. It’s a bit difficult to understand, but it makes sense, from what I saw. I think Jade is fond of this Calliope too, even though she’s anxious about returning to her friends. May be good to listen what Doomed Calliope has to say, Jade.

CALLIOPE: why the hurry?  CALLIOPE: you have already proven your heroism in the moments when it was needed most.  CALLIOPE: it is important to know when the greatest good is best served by remaining dormant.  CALLIOPE: whether that burden is for close to eternity, or only a few more minutes.  CALLIOPE: it is something to learn as a space player.  CALLIOPE: space falls back. it yields. hosts the play silently.  CALLIOPE: then, it roars to life when its time comes, showing all who is really the master.  CALLIOPE: and so too when the time comes, it collapses in on itself, taking all else with it.

Hmmm...you’re not insinuating Jade is going to have to die permanently or anything, right? Well, I know that it’s unlikely it’ll happen anytime soon, since Jade was trapped in the juju during the fight with Caliborn, but anything after that is a mystery for me. I’m hoping she’ll live in the end.

So, about that new sprite...

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < daaamn.....  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < damn! X33  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < rose  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < im a fuckin troll now!  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < and part beautiful bird  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < and also...  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < a human boy?  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < hahaha i dont even  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < shit  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < rose my claws  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < look at these fuckin claws!!!!!  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < *snikt snikt snikt snikt snikt* omg  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < rose LOOK! 

...hm...well they’re happy about this, at least! No emotional conflict here, and they sound rather excited. Heck, they also start roleplaying – in non-ironic ways. This is very bizarre. Looks like one of the reasons why Davepetasprite feels so well is because they both had the impression of being the main characters in their own personal stories, or something like that. I don’t remember, had Davesprite ever said that he was just another Dave more? I think he had once said that, so...whatever’s making them feel good I don’t think it’s related to any of that.

What is Jake shooting back there...did the Felt already arrive? Anyways, Jasprosesprite had planned everything related to this marriage thing, and now it’s all ruined. Okay, I could have lived without the talk of mild pseudoincest dating Davepetasprite talked around briefly. Let’s not, please.

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < i also gotta figure out what to do with my life now!  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < or my pseudo life, whatever the hell it is you have when youre a sprite^2  JASPROSESPRITE^2: Then what do you want to do with your pseudo-life?  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < hmmmmmm  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < aw man youre gonna think im crazy for even saying this...  JASPROSESPRITE^2: I already think we're both crazy.  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < i have this weird urge......  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < to go fight lord english  JASPROSESPRITE^2: What the fuck?  DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < I KNOW RIGHT! 

Well that’s a surprise! And even more of a surprise because neither Davesprite nor Nepeta felt particularly compelled to do such thing, but this sprite feels that their combination may be something Lord English is particularly vulnerable to. That’s...maybe? I don’t think I see exactly why, but if it defeats Lord English I can’t complain. Maybe Dave was right all along and he isn’t meant to be a hero, maybe he should give the Welsh sword to this sprite and see how it goes. It’s worth a try!

Now that they took the decision of fighting Lord English, there’s something else they want to do first: see ‘a couple of bros from the past’. I think that’s what’s going to happen now, so I’ll stop for the moment. Good luck to them!

Next update: three updates

[its-buckysbabe]

Zelus (3/5)

im so sorry it took so long to get this chapter up - life had different plans for me and i had to deal with that. everything is back under control now, which is good, but at the same time i have a lot of uni work to deal with and since this is my last semester i gotta make sure i do decently good.

the positive that came from all of this is that i have a pretty strict schedule for the next few months which means i have regular times i can write and as such im gonna do my best to upload regularly, every friday. i dont know if there’ll be another chapter this friday but i’ll try my best!

also this sounds really weird but honestly i channeled my inner DJ Khaled while writing this.

Characters: bucky x reader

Summary: Y/N tells Bucky that she isn’t the jealous type and so it turns into a sort of competition to see if he can make her jealous. based on this prompt by @buckyprompts​ 

Warnings: mentions of Stockholm syndrome. 

Word count: 2,250 words

Also read here: AO3

Masterlist Part I, Part II,

Weeks passed without another incident, so much so that you’d honestly completely forgotten all about Bucky’s little challenge. The entire team was scattered about on the Quinjet, each tending to their injuries, with some even tending to the wounds of the hostages you’d just rescued.

This mission had been a little different to the things you usually dealt with. You had been trailing and apprehending a businessman who was also involved in illegal international arms dealing - and by ‘involved’ you meant that he was singlehandedly responsible for about 80% of all guns and weapons bought on the black market in the entire world. The mission would have normally been something you’d leave to the international community, perhaps the team would offer their assistance to NATO or whoever, and be done with it. But this mission had been particularly personal to Tony, understandably so, and as such the whole team had gotten involved. Even Thor was on standby in Asgard, ready to travel through the realms at a moment’s notice.

Thankfully everything had gone off without a hitch and you were all on your way back to the tower, to return to your relative normalcy. First, though, you had to drop of the hostages at the FBI headquarters. Unannounced. Which would probably cause a shit-tonne of paperwork. Which would probably shave at least two entire movies off the Fassbender marathon you’d been mentally preparing for the duration of the flight.

You were in the middle of making mental calculations, trying to figure out when it would be best to take your designated bathroom breaks when you locked eyes with Bucky across the Quinjet. He was sat with three of the seven hostages, and judging by his body language he was doing his best to ignore them. He was angled away from them, his head turned even more in the opposite direction even though that left him starting at the wall. His shoulders were tense and his hands were balled into fists. You also noticed that he was still wearing all of his weaponry, strung across his frame on strategically placed hooks. You couldn’t help but snort at that. Trust Bucky to be the one to run into open gunfire to rescue complete strangers but then leave an AK-47 strapped across his back so he didn’t have to speak to him.

He heard your snort and broke his scary façade for a second to wink at you, knowing you’d understand why he was doing his best to appear menacing to a few harmless civilians. Though you did belatedly realise that they were all women, which may have also been another factor in Bucky’s unease. Bucky was completely incorrigible, a flirty man who was not ashamed of his sexuality and very in tune with it. He loved to tease, make innuendos and he also had a wicked sense of humour. It did take a while to get to that level of comfort with him, though. You remembered when you first met him, how standoffish and distant he’d been and how that contrasted to the playful and charming man that emerged the longer you knew him.

Regardless, you grinned at him, silently basking in his discomfort. You knew that he wasn’t genuinely uncomfortable. He could hold a friendly, and professional, conversation with these women if he chose to. He could play the part of a hero but he also got incredibly flustered and somewhat frustrated when people he didn’t know would flirt with him. Which was bound to happen judging by the looks on the women’s faces. Not that you could blame them! Bucky was always handsome but there was just something entirely different about his aura when he was in his tactical gear. It was dark and sexy, a thrilling danger surrounding him.

Suddenly Bucky’s eyes lit up, and a cheeky smirk was prominent on his features. He rolled his shoulders back before he shuffled in his seat, turning his body towards the pretty woman to his left. He opened his legs, essentially manspreading on the small bench, and crowding the woman’s space with his very presence. Not that she was complaining. Her eyes lit up and she rearranged herself too, almost straddling the bench in a bid to minimise the remaining space between herself and Bucky.

He started talking, and judging by her reactions he was laying it on thick. She blushed and laughed and giggled. He brushed the hair out of her face and she gently rested her hand on his forearms. You watched with mild interest from your seat, nudging the almost asleep Sam next you. He startled awake, immediately looking for a threat in, still running on his adrenaline. You shook your head before pointedly looking forward until the sleepy Sam followed your gaze to Bucky and his new friend.

“That man does not know what he’s getting himself into, does he?” Sam asked, humour very apparent in his voice. You knew Sam’s relationship with Bucky and you also knew he would immensely enjoy this. Which was precisely the reason you’d decided to wake him up from his well-deserved nap.

“Nope.” You replied, popping the ‘p’.

“How bad do you think she’s going to be?” Sam wondered aloud, his lips quirking up slightly the longer he thought about it.

“She seems really nice but, honestly, I think he’d fucked.” You said in a matter-of-factly.

“And why are you enjoying this so much?” Sam asked you a moment later, seemingly only now realising that you were watching your boyfriend flirting with another woman with rapt attention.

“Because I am not pulling her off of him later on.” You answered as you turned towards him, mischief clear in your voice.

“See. I knew there was a reason you were my favourite for a reason.” Sam grinned at you, slinging his arm across your shoulder and pulling you into him.

“Thanks, birdman.” You laughed back at him, affectionately slapping him in the chest.

“Y/N. Sam.” Steve’s voice broke the silence you had found yourself in. Both you and Sam were just content watching Bucky dig his own grave until Steve showed up.

“Steve.” Sam nodded at him, not taking his eyes off the train wreck that was happening across the jet.

“Dorito.” You said in the same voice as Sam, though you couldn’t help but look at Steve. You loved his reaction whenever you called him that. His eyebrows would always rise in surprise and then his face would turn red. He still got flustered when people made comments about his physique, especially ones that were complimentary even if they were teasing, and you found it absolutely adorable.

“I thought you agreed to stop that?” Steve almost whined. So adorable.

“No.” you shook your head, a grin on your lips.

“Alright.” Steve simply shook his head at you, mocking disappointment though you could see the small smile gracing his lips.

“What bring you over here to the fun side of the jet, Stevie? Shouldn’t you be off somewhere on the phone explaining to the FBI why we’re flying into their facility unannounced?” You asked after a second, partly curious but also partly hoping to move this whole conversation along so that you could continue watching Bucky set himself up for trouble.

“Nah. I figured I’d call a few of them ‘son’ and then sort of wing it.” Steve said as he shrugged.

“He’s really good at that! You should’ve heard the speech he gave at SHIELD with the whole helicarrier thing. I still can’t believe he came up with that off the top of his head…” Sam exclaimed excitedly. He looked up at Steve with something akin to awe in his eyes, to which he replied with a tiny little smirk.

“Actually, I came over here to ask you what’s going on with Buck?” Steve explained though by the end it sounded more like a question.

“What do you mean?” you ask.

“He’s over there flirting up a storm with one of the hostages and you’re sat here with Sam…” Steve said slowly, vaguely waving his hand at you.

“Hey! That’s a perfectly logical choice! She’s finally had enough of you senior citizens and also if you go black you never go back. Isn’t that right, Y/N?” Sam said indignantly. He turned to you at the end, mouth cocked in a smirk and eyebrow raised in what he assumed was a suave expression. He just looked silly to be completely honest.

“Sam. Samuel. My friend. My colleague. My teammate. I’m asking you for the sake of humanity to never, ever, ever, say anything like that ever again. And I mean ever.” You said seriously, as you took one of his hands between yours in what was meant to be a comforting gesture but really only caused Steve to barely contain a chuckle at the scene before him.

“Damn… Ain’t you ever heard of letting a brother down gently?…” Sam grumbled as he walked away, probably to go find Natasha somewhere and annoy her for a change. You patted the empty seat and Steve lowered himself into it.

“Anyway, I’m not bothered. I know Bucky wouldn’t genuinely do anything like to me so it’s alright.” You told him simply. It was true. You never thought for a second that Bucky would ever cheat on you. And also he was smarter than that. If he were ever to do something like this he would definitely not be doing it in a crowded space with his friends, and especially not a few metres away from you.

“I realise that but she might not?” Steve questioned. It seemed he was still in ‘Captain America mode’ and was only thinking of the civilian’s wellbeing.

“I’m betting on it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you ever heard of Stockholm syndrome, Stevie?”

“No?”

“Right, well. It’s this thing where you fall in love, or what you think is love, with someone who’s kidnapped you. Which is beside the point here but what I mean is that she’s just come out of an emotionally stressful situation, and your best pal Buckaroo is offering her safety and affection.” You explain

“So?” Steve questions you, apparently not following along.

“Stevie, she’s gonna latch onto him like a magnet.” You deadpan.

“Oh.” Steve replied articulately.

“Yeah. And I am 100% not dealing with that.” You carry on, vaguely gesturing in Bucky’s direction.

“I see.” Steve says, a wicked grin plastered on his face. He leans forward a little, finally as interested as you were in the situation that was unfolding in front of you. You settled into his side, resting your head on his shoulder, content to watch Bucky ruin the rest of his day.

Barely ten minutes passed and Tony was pulling the jet into descend. You still found it difficult to comprehend the speed of the Quinjet. Sometimes you really loved his obsession with technology. Honestly, after being part of the Avengers taking commercial airplanes would never be an option again.

The second the jet touched down and the emergency lights turned off everyone jumped into action. Steve got up and fetched his cowl and shield, Sam checked on Redwing as he strapped himself back in and everyone else made sure they had all their equipment firmly attached to their person. You were currently buckling your tactical suit back up, watching with amusement as Bucky tried to extract himself from the hold the girl had on his arm. He finally managed to shake her off, none too gently, and tried to walk away to safety. Which is when she very promptly burst into tears.

It wasn’t big, ugly crying. She didn’t scream or wail. A few tears streaked down her face, and honest to God you felt bad for her. You momentarily thought about going over there and comforting her yourself when you saw Bucky exhale heavily and close the little distance he had managed to create between himself and her. He gingerly placed his hand on her back, gently running it up and down; trying to console her but the look on his face almost killed you. You genuinely had to place a hand over your mouth to stop your pealing laughter from escaping.

Bucky’s face was scrounged up, expressing his discomfort. His body language screamed that he really didn’t know what to do; he stood a little further from her than was social convention and he held his left hand in mid-air, not really sure what to do with it. At this point Steve had made it back to your side, quickly finding the source of your delight and looking on with an amused smile.

Finally the door opened and the tarmac made itself visible. FBI agents stood by the jet, waiting for the team to descend. You turned to follow Steve out, but turned around at the last minute and walked over to Bucky, a spring in your step. He looked so confused, and just entirely overwhelmed that you almost felt sorry for him but then again he’d brought this on himself.

You took his still suspended metal hand in yours; shaking it firmly while looking him straight into the eyes before you muttered the words you’d been planning to say for the last 45 minutes.

“Congratulations, you played yourself.” You said with a pleasant smile on your face, Bucky looking confused at your words. You strutted off the jet to join Steve, intent on hearing his freestyle speech.

Somewhere in the distance you heard Sam cackle.

Tags:

@skeletoresinthebasement