#i think i was looking for cod in that screenshot actually. i wanted to bring one with me to the end for an achievement :)

[pyrriax]

yeah so the grey particles are back. i think im genuinely just cursed (ignore my lack of health i was getting my ass handed to me by skyslimes then the server crashed pvfdnkmfl)

[indefenseofkara]

MWII Operator headcanons: Specgru edition

Hello! I think the multi-player operators deserve more love, so here are some headcanons for the base Spegru team. This doesn’t included people who were in the campaign because there’s plenty of stuff about them already. The pictures are just screenshots of my game, lol.

Jesus “Chuy” Ordaz

(the COD blog post I’m getting some of these full names from says his first name is Manuel, but his bio says Jesus?)

has terrible handwriting

but as my poetry instructor once said, “the worse the handwriting, the better the work”

and he does write poetry

been through a lot, but still a romantic at heart

really great with kids

Gustavo “Gus” Rodriguez

you could not pay this man to shave his mustache

once he grew that mustache, he knew he could never go back

looks like a literal baby when shaved clean, like people will start asking "who let that preteen in here?"

really proud of his career and the fact that he gets to work with Special Forces since he’s not military (because technically there was no military for him to join)

will not bring up surfing, but has a bunch of cool surfing videos ready to go at a moment's notice. you know, just in case

Zhiqiang ��Zimo” Wong

precious bean, i love him

cinnamon roll but serious

doesn't mean he can't be brutal, he is a soldier

kind of intense overall, which intimidates some people

really cherishes platonic relationships

movie buff who might smack you if you say you don’t watch foreign films because you don’t like reading subtitles

Kleópatros “Kleo” Gavras

(fuck, I accidentally deleted my notes on her. :( I’m sorry Kleo, I have to wing it!)

likes to dress up. will put on a whole fit and makeup just to hang around the house every once and a while

it's a nice contrast to her usual military get up

good at every sport

also very good a chess

Nila “Nova” Brown

really great eyesight

misses flying, tbh. jumps at the chance to do some piloting for a mission

seriously considered becoming an astronaut

worked with Kortac briefly, but changed to Specgru as soon as her initial contract was up

(that one’s a deep dive for anyone who remembers that she was a Kortac operator during the beta)

Sobiesław “Gromsko” Kościuszko

Polish pride (idk, everyone I know who is Polish or has Polish heritage is very proud of that)

plays some quirky instrument like the accordion or keytar or hurdy-gurdy

uses reading glasses

knits. while wearing the reading glasses. looks like a literal grandmother

Enzo “Reyes”

will never admit it as a proud Canadian, but he doesn't like hockey

a Swiftie

flirts with everyone

pansexual, so no one is safe

(that's a joke)

(I'm not trying to do the "bi/pan people are sluts" thing)

(I just think this man is attractive and charismatic)

(and wants to share that with the world)

(blame the Valentine's day skin)

Tse “Luna” Míngzhū

really amicable

will actually hit you up after saying "we should hang out some time!"

loves attending sporting events and cheers very loudly

it's not mentioned in her bio, but she grew up in Virginia, near Washington DC, so 9/11 probably had a big impact on her and her career choice

(pulling on my own experience for that one)

(not job experience, but growing up in DC suburbs when 9/11 happened experience)

lots of frustration with generic military gear because it's all way too big on her

Thanks for reading! My Kortac headcanon post can be found here.

[cuddleslutloki]

I have a genuine question. How often do you actually deal with antis? I've been following you for a bit now and it seems every so often you bring up antis. I've certainly kept my interest about thorki shut and locked away in a box from my friends for the simple fact that all of them think it's incest. It's not an easy topic of conversation but you just seem to handle all the antis so well? Also on an off note about beast!Thor, his favorite pass time must just be rutting into Loki 24/7 🤔

when someone tells you that you're romanticizing abuse [bc i made a stockholm moodboard for a fic] I don't know what I'm supposed to say other than I don't condone it but I write about it? Is writing about abusive relationships bad in writing??? you're the only person i ask for advice so thank you for anything in advance

i’m honestly really glad you came to me. i really do like discussing this topic in this kind of way bc i’ll never reblog an anti or answer an anti ask. even if you’re arguing against them, i don’t think it’s worth it to argue against them if it means also spreading what they’re saying

the basic premise of all anti behavior and ideology is censorship. that’s all it is. 

“i don’t like this topic, you need to stop writing it and making art for it. if you don’t stop there will be consequences.”

that is censorship and that is the kind of shit fandom has had to fight ever since there’s been fandom. women, poc, lgbt+ folks have been dealing with people telling us what we can and can’t write and enjoy for... well, probably forever. but we’re still here, creating the kind of content we want to see and indulge in.

as far as how to deal with antis, my advice is to ignore, ignore, ignore. they want what any bully wants: attention

you stop paying attention, you stop giving them time they don’t deserve from you, they’ll die off. there’s no point in fighting them directly. produce the content you want to see and enjoy what you want to enjoy. drown them out. you don’t owe them a response just because they come to you. they don’t have any qualms about being rude to you, so be rude back and just ignore them. i love blocking antis, personally. take out the garbage, y’know?

antis use the words ship and support as synonyms because they think that shipping is some radical call to action for lgbt rep instead of entertainment

shipping is not activism. shipping is about entertainment and enjoyment, nothing more

so this is why i have this very blasé attitude about antis. i just don’t give a fuck about them beyond making posts trashing their idiocy. because that’s what it is. it’s idiocy, but going deeper it’s puritanism at its finest. antis use fox news scare tactic logic under the guise of some pseudo feminist agenda because they don’t understand and don’t want to understand that enjoying dark fiction as entertainment isn’t equivalent to some greater moral stance

they use the same argument about shipping and fanfiction that WASP moms use against video games and loud music: that enjoying and consuming it will make you think it’s normal and there’s nothing wrong with it irl

okay, well, vlad the impaler never played CoD or far cry and caligula never watched hentai but we know why i’m bringing them up in this context without even heading over to wikipedia, don’t we?

they use the words abuse and pedophilia waaaaaayy too liberally and they’re doing more harm than good because they’re twisting and warping words that should have very specific meanings by using them so goddamn vaguely and irresponsibly 

my own personal theory is that these people are terrified that if they don’t yell in opposition to these topics 24/7 and actively attack content creators that they’d probably enjoy it, and they’ve been so programmed by the echo chamber of tumblr and twitter that they think this means they’re bad people. 

spoiler alert: that’s not what it means

i literally watched a circle jerk on twitter where screenshots of some mafia starker au got tweeted and retweeted w/ pictures of someone pouring bleach into cereal and people had asked to see more of the post. if you really don’t like something, you shouldn’t hate-read about it. it’s not productive, it does more harm than good if that’s the actual issue rather than some reverse psychology-style enjoyment they’re probably getting out of it.

they claim to hate this shit so much, but they’re reading hundreds and thousands of words and putting these images in their heads of their own free will. i don’t do that with shit i genuinely dislike. i avoid it.

i see antis say they enjoy thorki fanart because they think it’s cute, then they see it’s tagged thorki and they have an over the top reaction because the nature of anti ideology states you should never enjoy something like that, so if you do then you have to make the excuse of ignorance to prove that you’re still innocent and pure. enjoyment is apologism to them because they aren’t content to simply attack fan creators, they want to try and drive away the people who consume our art as well because they know you’re the cornerstone of fandom. consumers are why creators create. yeah, i write because i enjoy it, but i also write to connect to my readers and have people commenting on my fics when they like them.

it’s also worth noting that antis only ever talk about shipping. they only talk about sexual and romantic ships. i’ve never seen an anti talk about (often extreme) levels of violence in canon source material for the ships and characters they want to froth at the mouth over. 

seeing someone bleed out and choking on their own blood after being stabbed or shot or bludgeoned? meh

seeing a character who was once a child have a sexual thought about a character who was also once a child and is also their close friend? omg why are we trying to make fandom unsafe for people?

personally, i’ve also noticed that fandoms with darker canon material tend to have more chill fandoms most of the time. i think it also depends on the average age in a given fandom. there’s a major difference between fannibals and steven universe fans, let’s just say that.

creating a moodboard for a dark fic is not “romanticizing abuse” and at this point antis honestly have no fucking idea what that phrase is. they use those words the way a bored CEO uses social media buzzwords and hashtags in a staff meeting

if antis want to see true romanticizing of abuse then they can go to serial killer thirst tags and spot the fucking differences between shippers and people who forget that ted bundy was weak, flaccid, cowardly piece of shit

writing something dark or violent or whatever else and condoning the act or doing the act are different. this is why stephen king isn’t under government surveillance or in prison.

make no mistake, this anti shit only applies to fandom. they’re attacking creators here because creators out at the professional levels don’t give a fuck. they’ve tried, and they’ve failed. 

creators at the professional level understand something antis don’t: that being able to reconcile your enjoyment of dark media can be a sign of emotional intelligence and good emotional health. it’s cathartic. it’s allowed to be cathartic.

the most common consumers of dark fiction are members of minority communities and people who’ve been emotionally and/or sexually repressed for one reason or another. 

antis want to say that fiction doesn’t exist in a vacuum and they are 100% correct! because writing fanfiction and original fiction that relates to parts of my life that nearly killed me gives me control over something that was beyond me in the original context. writing about fucked up codependent, violent romance allows me to process my shit in a way that’s healthy and produces something fun and enjoyable.

my therapist knows i ship thorki, she knows i write thorki. i’ve had her read pieces of fanfiction i’ve written in addition to pieces of original fiction. y’know what she said? “wow, baylen, that’s vivid. you have a way with words!”

i read her a line out of smart boy and told her what the story was about and this trained professional said “well it’s a productive way to process some emotion that you clearly need to let out”

but you know what? if someone doesn’t have the trauma i have? let them write it, too! let them create and enjoy the fictional content they want! more cake, y’all!

finally getting around to one of the first parts of your ask, lol. thorki is incest. thor and loki are brothers. they were raised believing they were blood brothers, even. loki being adopted doesn’t change a thousand years of personal history where thor looked at loki and thought that they came out of the same woman, y’know? 

that’s his brother and in the comics his attachment to loki is even more intense. the mcu nerfed that shit. loki’s life has been intrinsically tied to thor’s ability to feel a full sense of joy. 

enjoying an incest ship isn’t some sign of moral depravity. writing abusive relationships isn’t bad. gone girl was made into an award winning movie. art should look like life, and sometimes life fucking sucks. dark stories, sad stories, fucked up holy shit idk if i can go to sleep after i read this stories exist for a reason. we need them. we have to have an outlet for our frustration, our anger, and especially our fear.

so which is the healthier option of these

to write up a piece of fanfiction where two siblings are in love in a way that might be cute and soft or might be destructive, depending on your mood?

or

attacking strangers you don’t know online and threatening violence against anyone who doesn’t think like you do?

i know what kind of person i want to be.

ship and let ship, thanks for reading my doctoral thesis office hours are always

[endlessnightarts]

CASTLEVANIA COD PLAYTHROUGH PART THE THREE

I finally noticed the opening fmv if you sit at the menu and it is very dramatic - but then again you probably don’t get to work for Dracula if you can’t brood in violent thunderstorms or hang out on top of cathedrals sufficiently.

We pick back up in the mountains:

There’s no secret area behind this waterfall so I just went swimming with Dank for a bit instead. 

Soon after I realized that to open every single chest in this game I have to stop and summon Puck bc of course.

Puck healed me on the way back to wherever they go when I’m not using them like that’ll save him :P

(I’m sure I’ll bust out my pocket healer during boss fights later I’m just being mean)

I’m trying to mess with the leveling up and evolution of my demons, but it goes by what weapons you’re using while they’re active

So to get the evolution line I want I’m stuck using an ax right now I guess?

SECOND BOSS

I figured out how to steal and got some cake from this dragon? Wooo

Dank performed admirably but like all tanks with a terrible DPS teammate(me) he died fairly quickly but by then I needed the healing anyway so Puck it was

I enjoyed:

Riding on this dragon while stabbing it in the head

Hector’s ability to fall hundreds of feet and be totally fine

The next area is the Garibaldi Temple which - FUN FACT - is the name of this stupid looking fish I remember seeing a ton of around the Catalina islands. They have big chunky foreheads

Here’s the in game temple, no sign of patron saint fish.

Cool temple, very moody, can’t wait to see what spooky things await -

hhhhmmmmMMMMMMMM DONT LIKE THAT

LOOK AT THIS MAN??? WIZARD? I DON’T KNOW AND NEITHER DOES HECTOR 

 I really feel like you guys are missing out by not being able to hear this random all knowing southern gentlemen who just appeared

He asks Hector to stop chasing Isaac, and as usual Hector suspects every new person he meets of being in league with Isaac first off. But he puzzles it out a few seconds later;

OH REALLY?!

This dude says he knows far more than we can imagine and the fate of the world depends on Hector not going after Isaac for some reason.

aaand he disappears in a ball of light

What the actual fuck is going on now?

This encounter more than any dead gf backstory makes me really start to empathize with Hector’s general state of angry and confused.

On the Rosaly side of backstory this guy drops that she was falsely accused of witchcraft and that’s how she died. So not only are there an awful lot of dead wives in this series, but more than one killed over witchcraft accusations

Gettin through this chapel/temple/whatever

Dank watcha’ doin’ there buddy?

My ax use pays off bc DANK EVOLVES

This step isn’t as exciting as where he’s going but its a step in the right direction, also I can switch back to swords for a bit unless I want to level up Puck

ok

OK

ARE YOU READY?

I am SO GLAD my brother was here for this next part because he immediately started screaming Starbomb lyrics

while walking through this random temple Hector runs intooooo

NEVER FEAR TREVOR BELMONT IS HERE!!!!! 

(with some very luxurious hair)

This whole sequence is honestly amazing

First they just kind of shout past each other until deciding to fight to the death

Trevor sees Hector’s crest and assumes he’s Dracula’s forgemaster - which Hector doesn’t deny or try to explain that he’s not actually.

Although it does bring up the question of why he’s still wearing his old gear, its been like 3 years since he defected from Dracula’s army.

Hector notes Trevor’s whip and realizes he’s a Belmont, so there’s no reason for him to want to throw down with Trevor but he does anyway.

(I didn’t get any screenshots from this fight because I was GETTING MY ASS KICKED)

But it’s one of those unwinnable boss fights - not the kind you’re supposed to outright lose, you have to take down a bit of Trevor’s health to trigger the next cutscene.

OF NOTE

Trevor can light himself on fire to hurt you so I guess Sypha got around to teaching him some magic

Trevor throws Holy Water around which apparently hurts Hector? Not sure if that’s just a lazy game mechanic or secret lore about the cost of being a devil forgemaster (although it does answer my joke about why Hector didn’t just jump in the holy water in the show)

Trevor’s whip also lights up like a goddamn laser

all in all a good time was had.

After the fight the boys actually try talking again

Hector still refuses to try and explain he’s not Isaac.

I also can’t get over the fact that Trevor just busted into Hector’s game, beat the shit out of him, insulted him and all but took his lunch money. 

I can’t wait for season 3.

Trevor realizes Hector isn’t the forgemaster he’s looking for because he’s not enough of a challenge to fight and Hector’s just like ‘fair enough’

He certainly tries his best.

They take a few seconds to actually talk to each other and confirm identities after trying to murder each other:

I_Havent_Played_Castlevania_3.jpeg

They’re cool now. I think we’re working together. But I assume in the same way  as Alucard and Maria in SotN where we just bump into each every few hours and high five in the castle halls before running in opposite directions.

That’s a good stopping point - this game is ridiculous but now it’s getting fun

Trevor’s eyes seem to be kind of wonky in a lot of these shots

but then again it is his scarred up eye so maybe it’s messed up

Mortals! Consequences from fighting monsters!