#if i'm reading this right the actual price isn't changing

[genshin-impact-updates]

Notice of Price & Display Adjustment in the U.S. for Certain Platforms

Dear Traveler,

In accordance with US market policies, we will be updating the price display of purchasing items related to game and cloud services on the official website's Top-Up Center and PC (including Genshin Impact · Cloud) in the United States on June 3, 2024 00:00 (UTC-4). The item purchase page for U.S. Travelers will then display the base price of the item, as well as the associated taxes and fees.

In the United States, tax collection regulations stipulate that consumers will be charged a certain percentage of sales tax on purchased items, depending on the state or region where you are located. If you would like more information about taxes and fees, please check your local tax regulations or consult your local tax authorities.

If you would like more help, you can contact Customer Service for assistance. The feedback method is as follows: You can send us feedback via the in-game Paimon Menu > Feedback > Send Feedback or contact our Customer Service via: genshin_payment@hoyoverse.com

[xavigav]

The Reddit Blackout, #196, And Being New to Tumblr

okay i've seen a lot of people in the past ~24 hours or so confused by everything going on with Reddit & Tumblr from both sides - people new to tumblr who don't know how to use it, and tumblr users who don't know what's going on with reddit and why many of its users have joined up here i know this isn't really related to my blog but fun fact about me: i was up until recently a very active reddit user and even mod a subreddit, but I've also been on tumblr for about 3 years now on different accounts, so I think I can see pretty well from both sides of this and explain what's going on this post will be split in 2 sections: what happened with reddit (and what #196 means), and a guide for new users

1. What The Hell Is Going On With Reddit?

The thing that's caused all this ruckus is a major change to Reddit's API, which is what Reddit provides to people so they can pull directly from Reddit to make third-party apps or tools.

The change is that Reddit is changing its previously free API to be paid. Which on its own kinda sucks for developers, but it's not unexpected. They need to make money somehow, right?

The problem is that the API pricing is WAY TOO FUCKING EXPENSIVE. The developer of the most popular 3rd party Reddit app, Apollo, says it will cost him $20 million a year to continue running the app as normal.

Essentially, this pricing forces almost everything third-party to shut down, which causes 3 major problems:

Third-party apps cannot keep running, which sucks for normal users because Reddit's official app is awful. It's slow, its video player is a thing of nightmares, it doesn't have many useful features third-party developers have made.

It sucks even more for visually impaired users because they can't use the official Reddit app at all. Reddit's official app does not work with iOS's native text-to-speech function. Third party apps, on the other hand, often do. So Reddit is forcing blind users away.

Third-party moderator tools cannot keep running, which sucks for moderators because many rely on these tools to properly moderate their subreddits. And moderators are often necessary, because without them subreddits get banned and hate speech and even CSA can often run rampant.

So you see why this change is bad.

Reddit users were PISSED.

So over the past week and a half or so, they have been working on organizing a site-wide blackout. The majority of the most active subreddits have now gone private. Some are only doing it for 48 hours, others (such as r/196) are doing it indefinitely.

That's why you can't access most of Reddit right now, and that's why many users have come here.

You're probably still wondering, though - what is this #196?

Well, as you may guess, it's connected to that subreddit r/196 I just mentioned. r/196 is a subreddit which only has one rule: every time you visit, you must post before you leave.

That's it, that's the subreddit.

The thing about r/196 that set it apart from most other subreddits - and what lends the subreddit's users perfectly to Tumblr - is that it was dominated by queer and leftist users.

So now they've come here and set up shop in #196 and r/196 so they can continue their merry little shitposting.

There's a ton of lore related to r/196, actually, but this is already a long tumblr post and quite frankly I cannot be bothered to write about it at the moment.

2. I'm Here From Reddit, What Now?

Hello there, random new user. As a double-citizen of Reddit and Tumblr, let me show you around this place.

First off, there are some other people who are better at explaining that I am who have made some really helpful things. Watch this Strange Aeons video as a guide to Tumblr culture and functionality and read this post which directly compares Reddit and Tumblr.

Assuming you've done that, here's some additional advice of my own:

Do you miss sorting subreddits by top of all time/the year/the month? Well, you can do something very similar with tags! If you go to a tag at the top of the screen you can select top, and then at the dropdown that says "all time" you can select different time periods! Even 6 months, which Reddit hasn't ever had.

Tumblr has a lot of cool customization features! Even outside your icon/banner/bio, you can change you blog colors and on desktop you can have an html theme (which has its own thriving community here). That customization is part of what sets Tumblr apart from everywhere else - I think you'll enjoy playing with it.

Notes will probably confuse you at first. Unlike the different numbers for upvotes and comments, notes combines the total number of likes, reblogs, and replies into the same number.

Outside of organizing your own blog, when making your own posts tags are what help other people find your post. Use them! But don't abuse them, because then people will just block you.

There are three ways of people finding your post: if someone follows you, if someone follows the tag(s) assigned to your post, and if someone is just scrolling through the tag(s) assigned to your post (and also the secret 4th way no one uses, which is finding it on the trending page, but even if people did use it no one will find your post initially that way)

tumblr is no longer The Discourse Website. And unlike what Reddit wants you to believe for some reason, it is very much alive still. Most of the people seeking fights have moved to Twitter (though some have also moved back here again). You will not get any brownie points for being a dipshit like you do on some subreddits.

So there, welcome to the hellsite (affectionate), you'll pick up on all the in-jokes eventually, for now just try not to be a nuisance and soon enough this'll be your new internet home.

[shadowfromthestarlight]

Vague thoughts on Trump 2.0

Most of us who voted for him were playing the long game. Maybe I'm speaking for myself, but I certainly didn't expect the "Golden Age of America" to arrive by this month. I expected resistance, and maybe even a little chaos, but made the gamble that it would be worth it. It wasn't about "cheap eggs" in 2025, it was about what the world would look like in 2035, and beyond.

We should be excited that we have someone who isn't willing to "play by the rules" and actually follows through on his promises to shake things up. Millions of people say they want change or even that they hate "the system" and want it to come crashing down, and then freak out when it shows signs of actually happening.

I'm willing to go through a few years of uncertainty. And the recent meltdowns I see from mainstream sources have me very curious indeed about how things will play out... and very willing to exercise patience.

Trump is still making the right people unhappy, anyway, which is the main thing I wanted out of a presidential candidate in 2024.

The arguments against his tariff plan, which echo the arguments against immigration enforcement, are frequently disingenuous and distasteful. But but but we need cheap goods! You know what? Nah. A lot of conservatives, I included, have woken up to the fact that cheap goods always come at a hidden price. "We need cheap TV's!" Seriously? Cheap TV's? That's your talking point? Honestly, the last thing a society in a metabolic health crisis, with people feeling starved for meaning, purpose, and connection left and right, and practically everyone diagnosable with some mental health condition, needs is cheap TV's. Do we need to even talk about the problems caused by cheap food? We sure pay for that, all right! In poor health, environmental degradation, animal cruelty, and harm to rural communities and farm workers. Also, hello???!!! Cheap clothing, containers, furniture, various gadgets we use around our homes, etc., suck, so we just pay more down the road by replacing them all the time. Come on. We know this.

Recently, they trotted out a soybean farmer who is afraid of tariffs. Eyeroll. A soybean farmer, really? Someone who's wrecking the environment with a monocrop and contributing to the mass poisoning of society with toxic seed oils? Sorry if that doesn't arouse my sympathy. "Learn to farm regeneratively" should be the new "Learn to code."

Anyone not critical of Trump these days is branded a sycophant. Well, I have an alternative explanation. Hitting us over the head with articles about how the sky is falling because of Trump has all the markings of a psy-op. I think that makes a lot of people - including people who would ordinarily be fine with criticizing any president - dig in their heels, and say, Not so fast. You're not going to scare me. You're not going to make me backtrack on everything I stood for six months ago because things are uncertain now. Personally, I have to say the signal it's sending to me is that, as above, the right people are angry, and my automatic reaction is to double down.

Also, this:

100%.

I'll add a quote from Thomas Paine that I read more than half my life ago and has stuck with me ever since:

I once felt all that kind of anger, which a man ought to feel, against the mean principles that are held by the Tories: a noted one, who kept a tavern at Amboy, was standing at his door, with as pretty a child in his hand, about eight or nine years old, as I ever saw, and after speaking his mind as freely as he thought was prudent, finished with this unfatherly expression, "Well! give me peace in my day." Not a man lives on the continent but fully believes that a separation must some time or other finally take place, and a generous parent should have said, "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace;" and this single reflection, well applied, is sufficient to awaken every man to duty. 

The unorthodox or extreme measures have to come at some point. And there will never be a convenient time for them. They will always anger somebody. So why not let the time be now? Shouldn't we be willing to go through uncertainty today for a chance at a better future? I sleep well knowing that's what I signed up for, at least.

[the-great-knight-gay]

Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man Review: Episodes 1 and 2

I've just watched the first two episodes of YFNSM and I have one thing to say...

I was fucking right. It's not a bad show.

In fact, its pretty decent especially so far.

Full review under the cut: *SPOILER ALERT*

Characters:

One of the MOST important factors this show needed to get right was the characters and BOY DID THEY.

Let's start with the supporting cast.

Harry Osborn is the character with the least screen time so far (his only appearances being the 'Good Deed' clip in Amazing Fantasy and a shot of him on television in The Parker Luck) so there isn't much to say about him yet.

Next is Pearl Pangan, a character who hasn't shown up much outside of being Peter Parker's older crush who seems like a genuinely nice person. She also seems to be a less academically inclined version of Liz Allen-Toomes from Spider-Man: Homecoming (by which I mean that Liz was the captain of the Academic Decathlon and Pearl hasn't really had any scenes that show she has that level of intelligence). The similarities between the two characters are high so it might lead to people asking, 'Why not just reuse Liz?'.

The answer is, why not? Reusing Liz would have been fun but she doesn't add much to the story (at least yet) and the usage of Pearl has quite a few positives. One, it raises awareness about some lesser known Marvel characters (Pearl is a minor super hero and an Agent of Atlas called Wave) and it allows for different stories to be potentially told in the future. This is the same reason they used Nico Minoru rather than a character like MJ or Gwen, both of which he met in College btw not High School - pretty much all Spider-Man media since the first Ultimate Spider-Man comics have decided his ENTIRE supporting cast should be in high school with him. Personally the easiest way to rectify that imo is to just make an adaptation where he's in college or got a job already (adapt the JMS run marvel I dare you) but one can hope.

The characters in the Oscorp Internship where also a fun nod to characters in comics (looking at you Amadeus Cho aka Totally Awesome Hulk/Iron Spider depending on the adaptation) and Carla Conners was a fun addition (also I better not see anyone hating on her for being a genderswapped and raceswapped version of Curt Conners - there is no part of Dr Conners character that is negatively affected by these changes - its still the same character)

May seems to be very similar by the MCU version (which makes sense) so nothing much to say there yet.

Norman is a character we haven't seen yet in MCU media outside of Willem Dafoe reprising his role from the Raimi movies and I am LOVING it. Colman Domingo is FANTASTIC in the voice role, bringing just the right amount of menace and authority to his voice. All I need now is for him to be able to play crazy and we can get a potentially amazing Green Goblin when the time comes (also his design is just *chefs kiss*)

Next is the character that might actually interest me the most.

Lonnie Lincoln.

Anyone who has seen The Spectacular Spider-Man (or read my screenplay on ao3 - sorry for the promo but I don't get many chances to advertise it) will know who he is. Tombstone, a vicious gangster and mob boss and in this show, he's... an American football player.

And I love it.

Saying that he's been just put into the 'nice jock' category, while accurate, does not think to scratch the potential of this character. There is a scene where he's walking home and it's revealed he lives in a rough neighbourhood. In that same scene, we see that he is helping his family out in quite a few ways (for example the part where he offers to help his little brother with homework) but the part that stuck with me was with his mother when he said that he'd talked to someone about fixing their car and how to get a cheaper price for it.

Money problems.

What I'm thinking they're doing is they aren't showing Tombstone as a mob boss. No. They're showing his descent from upstanding citizen and star American football player to gang violence. We already see that they've planted the seeds and we know they're going for the long haul with this show (It's been greenlit all the way up to season 3 already) so I'm incredibly excited to see Lonnie's arc play out, especially if we're going to get Tombstone by the end of it.

"Cold as Ice. Hard as marble. What else would you call a Tombstone?"

Next, we have the main character himself. Peter Parker. The Amazing Spider-Man.

This might be their best achievement yet in the show. They have Peter's dorky attitude and nerdy demeanour down to a T and it's so fun to watch. He's also a genuinely good person, just how Peter should be. A scene that stands out is the scene where he's caught a shoplifter who's broken down and crying in his eyes and he looks at them and he doesn't see a criminal. No. He sees someone who was down on their luck and asks the shop owner to give them a second chance if they give back the money they stole. It's beautiful and it's so very... Spider-Man. This is the exact kind of thing Spider-Man should be. A friendly guy who's just in the neighbourhood. It's a scene that's very reminiscent of Tom Taylor's Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man in all the best ways. (also the shop that was stolen from is called Pizza Time and that's already the best thing ever)

Animation:

Okay so some people have been saying the animation of this show isn't very good which I can say is not an unfounded concern. The effort the show has taken to emulate the original Ditko comics have had a slightly detrimental effect to some of the series.

There aren't as many background extras used in an attempt to mimic the original comics and lots of the shots don't use typically cinematic shading, opting instead to use brighter and slightly less rendered shots to emulate the older style. In some ways, this is actually really cool if you can appreciate the attempt to mimic the 60s style but it can be quite off putting for some people which I can respect.

There are also some issues with the 3d models. The characters mouths don't always move directly in sync and sometimes, for when they do use background extras, they are just 2d images in the back which can be quite unsettling when standing in the same shot as 3d models (there is one scene at a party where Nico is on the phone with Peter and in the background there's a completely unmoving 2d person who's eyes just seem to follow Nico and its quite unsettling).

HOWEVER, there are some incredibly beautiful shots too. Some shots are a direct mimic of older MCU shots from Peter's first introduction in CA:CW like the opening shot and final scene of the first episode which stand out as incredibly well done.

The best part of the animation is easily the web swinging which is so well done and one of my favourite parts of this version of Spider-Man so far. His movement is rough and unrefined as it should be for a Year One: Spider-Man but it is very reminiscent of the Insomniac Games style swinging (which in my personal opinion has the best web swinging in Spider-Man media since The Amazing Spider-Man 2) and it is INCREDIBLY fun to watch when it occurs. They actually focus some time on the web swinging too unlike some other adaptations which see him shoot a web and then THWIP out of the camera frame so we get to really see the extent of this web swinging.

Story:

This is the one where I probably have the least to say, mainly because we're only 1/5 of the way into the season so far and we haven't actually gotten much of the story revealed yet. However, it definitely has a LOT of potential.

Episode 1 establishes that the Spider that bit Peter came from a portal (alongside this universes version of Doctor Strange who is fighting a demon looking creature which is credited as Symbiotic Alien - Klyntar easter egg?????) which might be slightly different to some people but to me this gives me a heavy JMS vibes.

JMS wrote for Spider-Man from 2001 to 2007 and created what became the foundation of the Spider-Verse by introducing the Spider-Totems to the Marvel mythology. He said that the powers that Peter received did not come from the radiation, but the spider itself. The radiation is just what killed the spider. It was never even stated that Peter was the intended recipient of the powers and was hinted that maybe he was just in the right place at the right time when the spider died, which really hammers home the idea that anyone can be behind the mask.

The spider coming from a portal which also brings a symbiotic alien that looks hauntingly similar to Shathra (also a character introduced by JMS that returned to the Spider-Verse in Dan Slott's End of Spider-Verse story line) hints that maybe YFNSM is taking a similar approach to JMS , which is always a good thing. I mean that man wrote Back In Black. (OMD and Sins Past were editorial and should not be credited to JMS despite it being his run people)

Now in terms of the rest of the story, we haven't gotten many hints yet but there is a scene where Spider-Man fights Butane and sees a symbol on his gauntlet that looks hauntingly similar to the number 8. You know what has 8 limbs?

An octopus. Specifically, Doctor Octopus.

We already know Doc Ock is in this show. My theory is that Butane's gauntlets were made by him but my main piece of evidence that tells me that he's the final villain?

The final episode of the season is called 'If This Be My Destiny...'

ITBMD is one of the most famous Spider-Man comics of all time and the panel where Spider-Man lifts the heavy machinery of his body has become legendary. It was used in multiple adaptations of Spider-Man, including Spectacular and Homecoming. Doctor Octopus is also the main villain of that storyline.

Norman Osborn seems to be a character that they're setting up as a main villain for the complete show but not the main season just yet, similar to how the insomniac games treat him. They seem to be putting Doc Ock as the first big villain and then following up with Norman later down the line, maybe around Season 3.

All in all, this show is shaping up to be an incredible adaptation. What are your thoughts?

[destiny-in-the-universe]

Emergency Comms

ho boy, I never thought I'd have to do this but I am currently stuck in a bind outside of social media. It's not something I wanted to talk about; unfortunately, I've been unemployed and struggling financially for well over six months. I have been stuck in a toxic household, not to mention I've been attempting to get back on my feet with no avail and due to this - I have decided to reopen commissions.

Considering, this is an emergency in order to support myself and be able to move out - for my own sanity, original work is currently the only thing being accepted. However, canon x oc is negotiable. I'm going to be accepting payment through Paypal and Venmo; I do have a CashApp but that site is a nightmare to use.

Please read below the cut for more information! Once I've got some other things squared away, I will be updating this!

Terms of Service

Before payment, the client and writer maintain an agreement to discuss things regarding plot, characters, genre, and more. Changes can be discussed during the first and second drafts.

The client can only be refunded during the first draft.

An initial payment (half up-front) must be sent in once you receive a "sketch" of the commission.

Cryptocurrencies/NFT's will not be accepted as payment nor is anything that isn't actual USD.

I reserve the right to deny any commissions which make me uncomfortable.

Commission Pricing

$5 - one-shot/short story (1,000 - 5,000 words) + $5 for additional word length $10-$15 - multi-chapter Shorter Works price $10. These commissions will be roughly 3-5 chapters. Longer Works will be $15!

NSFW Commissions In order to receive an NSFW commission, proof of ID must be shown. All I need is something to confirm birthdate and assure the client is at least eighteen years old. $15 - short story (1,000 - 5,000 words) + $5 for additional words $20-$25 - multi-chaptered (shorter works cost less than longer ones!) What I do/don't write for NSFW will be discussed.

Payment Plans You are allowed to create a payment plan. However, you must still do a minimum up-front before proceeding. This will vary and can be discussed, of course, so long as it benefits both parties.

I will be creating a jotform account for commissions. I'm not expecting everyone to accept commissions, but please reblog this. I don't want anyone to feel forced to do anything. I just need help.

If you're interested in canon x oc content, you're more than welcome to ask. I'll be providing a hyperlink to my current fandom list soon.

You can message me through tumblr DM's as well as via discord which will be provided if you choose to accept a commission!

Links:

Fandoms | Jotform | TOS

[eichan2d]

Am I going to justify a man? Yes, ashamedly. I'm being to impatient with myself posting this before making an illustration for it? Absolutely, I'll add it later if someday I draw it. BUT here is...

A Darizzie fanfic

Continuation of Kitty's diary (I'm doing it from memory, I really don't want to read it again).

---

The soda dripped from Daring’s hair, the laugh at his back woke him up from his shock, so annoying that anyone could recognize it, he saw Kitty minutes before on the lobby, but didn't expect to be a victim of one of her stupid jokes in that moment, he turned furious to look at her, finding instead just a smile that vanished moments before and two empty seats, which was weird because when he saw Kitty, she was with Lizzie. Then it hit him, it wasn't just another prank, his eyes roamed the place looking for the future queen, catching her on the way to the exit, fast but without running, keeping her regalness as always.

“I’ll go to the bathroom.” The words came out without looking at his companion.

“I shouldn't wait for you, right?” Duchess question finally made him look at her, meeting his worry with her anger. “Aaand this isn't about revenge. You should hurry then.”

And so he did, running after Lizzie to the exit of the building, shouting her name which only made her go faster.

“Please! Listen please!” He reached her hand, once away from the crowd, a little inside the enchanted forest. She quickly got rid of and turned to face him, with gritting teeths and glassy eyes. “There’s a misunderstanding.”

“I'm absolutely aware of it. I thought you changed, I thought we had something but it turned out it was all that, A MISUNDERSTANDING.” The tears finally came down her cheeks, ruining her painted heart.

“No, I… I'm not sure what exactly you thought, but if you think that me and Duchess… there's nothing between us! Well, nothing romantically.”

She just looked at his eyes, hoping for a good explanation.

“Well, since about 2 or 3 years ago, I found that Duchess was a fan of this saga of movies, we talked for a long time about it and we always go to watch every movie of the franchise from that day on.”

“That's the stupidest excuse I ever heard in my life.”

“I know Lizzie that I have a past, one where I enjoyed the damsel’s attention, but I never actually went out with them. The only one was Apple and that was because of our destiny, our families.” He reached to take Lizzie's hands again, involving them in his. “I've never had something as serious and as real as what we have, because there was no misunderstanding, WE have something and it's the greatest something I've ever experienced. I know I don't deserve the trust, but I'll do anything to earn it.”

The princess looked at his hands, then to his eyes, they looked sincere, like the time when he explained about the bet, and that time he wasn't lying.

“You'll have to work a lot for it.” Both smiled tenderly to each other.

“I told you, anything.”

“Kneel and beg for it.”

Without letting time for her to clarify he did it, he knew it could be just a joke of hers or maybe she really expected him but he didn't mind do it and the action was the perfect way to show her how important she was to him. “Please, please, please forgive me and give me a chance.” The prince implored without letting go of her hands.

“I guess I can't refuse if you ask me that way.” She responded between sobs and nervous chuckles.

“Thank you.” He got up to make a reverence, finally letting go of her hands.

“Wanna go back to the movie? I'll go to my room. Not really in form to be looked at right now.”

“Well, me neither.” Answered the price while touching his wet hair. “Guess that makes us the perfect companion to the other until we get in the castle. We can say a magical rain cloud attacked us.”

Lizzie giggled at that, “Yeah, that's a good idea.”

And so they both walked to the dorms, rubbing their hands every few steps. Ever After wasn't ready yet to know the truth about their reputations.

---

Idk, just been obsessed with them, tomorrow I have an exam and I just wanted to finish this.

[dare-to-dm]

Bit of a rant, but a lot of y'all spend too much money on things you don't even enjoy. This applies to many things, but what started me on this line of thought is video game consumer habits.

This last year I did an independent study on xbox games that involved looking at a lot of player data, including looking at achievements to see how much of games people have actually played.

And I was staggered to find how common it is for people to buy a game and play it maybe once before putting it down for good. Like, it's one thing if you start a game and can tell right away that you don't really like it (although at a $70 price tag for some new games, I sincerely hope you're doing at least a little research beforehand to try to avoid that!). But a lot of people not only never beat a game, they hardly even start it.

I'm not as familiar with the PC market, but anecdotally it sounds even worse. I've looked at some of my friends' Steam libraries, and it seems like a common habit is buying a ton of games on sale, but never playing the majority of them even once. This should be obvious, but getting an item on sale is not a good deal if you won't use the item. It's just a waste of money.

And to be clear, this isn't an attack on "avacado toast eating millenials" mocking them for struggling financially with the deck stacked against them. I'm a hedonist, and I fully believe that entertainment has importance and value. You should buy things that you like. But I also think you should be a rational consumer and spend your hard earned dollars in a logical manner to maximize your enjoyment. Or at the very least, not throw your money away.

I see this with other hobbies like reading or crafting too. People with dozens of unread books they bought at the store, or knitters who have spent hundreds of dollars on yarn but haven't made anything in the last year. It's like people want to buy an identity for themselves. "I buy books because I'm a Reader!"

I just want to let you know that it's okay. You're still a reader even if you haven't read anything lately. I'm sure there's a good reason you haven't. Or maybe you've changed, and no longer enjoy a hobby you once loved, but you don't want to accept that. That's okay too! Just don't think that your love of something can be judged by how much money you spend on it.

[icharchivist]

i've given up on replaying VG for multiple reasons (and the main one is that i was about to unlock Solas' regrets and I just don't think i can go through this again.) but one thing I think is kinda hilarious in a way that's really bad is that retroactively the Varric's twist really makes the game... so lame...

A good twist should make you see the character in a new light. When we learn Solas is Fen'Harel, or that Blackwall is lying about his identity, replaying DAI makes their scenes stand out because you read a double meaning behind it.

It doesn't /just/ tell you they're liars, that's irrelevant, but it tells you how they lie. What are the parts of them they're trying to hide, which ones are they not bothering with. You realize Blackwall's lack of confidence in Warden's secrets, or how in disapproving conversations Solas just straight up tells you his plans in such angry and outstanding ways you didn't expect he meant it until the end.

But like... Learning "Varric was dead all along" doesn't tell you anything about Varric. "He's ready to die to try to save his friend"? we knew that from the attempt, that he did not survive it doesn't change a thing. Hell we know Epler said they killed Varric only to make Solas less sympathetic so i'm not even going to grace it with a wastonian analysis. But i'll address that we already knew Solas was ready to kill his friends from his goal because of Felassan, whom he at least killed ON PURPOSE and not on accident. Shame the game never actually explore his relationship with Felassan.

So if Varric's death isn't his own, who is this serving?

It's barely doing it's job at Serving Solas Being Less Sympathetic because it doesn't even do it job right. The death is accidental and because Varric plunged on Solas. Solas using Varric's death to manipulate Rook is a dick move, yeah, but Solas has genuinely zero reason to think the fucker who destroyed his ritual without thinking would actually stick through at a drastic time he needs to be out of the Fade like this. There is no reason why he would have trusted Rook in carrying on the task at hand. This isn't even one of Solas' top 10 dickest moment. We knew that.

It should serve Harding, because she's obviously grieving and I do believe there could be a thematic parallelism between mourning Varric as a mentor and mourning the Titans as Her Legacy in a sense, but i don't think the story does anything with that at all. And with her quest ending on "the time of Titans is over" anyway i don't think I can actually parallel them to say anything serious about grief.

But by keeping Varric's death a mystery, on second play you can see Harding is grieving, but that doesn't really give you a new view on her character. I thought honestly she had every rights to be this upset with Solas without even including Varric actually dying for that. So it's not like it serves her a lot. And with Harding possibly dying before you learn about Varric anyway, half the players wouldn't actually get a conversation about it, if there is one to have at all (<- didn't save Harding on my first playthrough)

So who's left?

Rook. Rook is the only one left.

And it's done so badly because what it tells us about Rook is that they feel kind of like a major asshole.

And i don't mean just when Harding goes "We tried to reason with Solas, and Varric paid the price" and Rook replies "Varric knew what he was doing anyway" early on, which is dickish but like, fair.

I mean just... Every conversation between Rook and Varric is unbearable. Solas says he didn't talk in Rook's head and Epler said it was a projection of how Rook viewed how Varric viewed them in the AMAs.

And once you know that and when you know Varric is dead, the way Varric just is constantly there to tell Rook "no worries my dude it wasn't your fault it was Solas'", constantly cutting Rook if you ever pick anything that suggest you might be at fault or anything, or when Varric is constantly talking about how cool Rook is and how it's because of that they will win, and also "because you guys are friends and Solas is a friendless loser".

Thing is, i can hardly believe Varric to say those things, or even being so callously cruel about Solas' "lack of friends". So it's either they wrote Varric even more dickish for Rook to remember, or Rook is really being a massive asshole and projecting it on Varric.

And it really genuinely makes the game unbearable to me.

Rook is already a difficult character to like because the game keeps forcing dialogues you didn't pick on you or 3 flavors of the exact same sentences, the illusion of free will and all of that, and the Regret Prison not even including "unleashing the Blight" and getting out of it by going "nah no regret over everyone who sacrificed themselves, they made their choices" really makes them a difficult character to like and feel like you have control over,

but once you replay (and are soured by the Regret prison and ending like me) and you hear how Varric talks, it just reflects on Rook.

Because this Varric so barely feels like the Varric we've known in da2 and DAI that as a result you kinda just fill the blanks "so that's Rook."

"Varric changed in ten years" and Varric changed between da2 and dai too! because he was around different people in a different role in a different context at a different point of his life! But it was coherent with his character still and didn't feel that alienating.

My Hawkes have a unique relationship with Varric. My Inquisitors' relationships with Varric are very different from Hawke's, and they're still a good relationship.

But with Rook's time with Varric barely even touched on in the game to rush right into ruining Solas' ritual anyway, I have no clue what Rook's history with Varric is.

so when Rook faces Varric in the regret prison and that we're told it's projection of Varric, it doesn't tell me anything. Because Varric was a dynamic character who had different type of interractions with the protagonists because they were fundamentally different people at the conception. But i don't know who Varric was to Rook, so it's obvious to me that they're playing on my feelings as a player, and not on how it would affect Rook.

Not entering into it bc it's another topic (more linked to how i hate the Harding/Davrin and Neve/Bellara choices, but that's another topic all together), but i don't really like the Hawke vs Warden choice in DAI. I do think it relies too much on fan's investment on the franchise than anything. I kinda give it a pass on DAI though bc at least they tell you straight up "pick who will die", not try to coyly play with you like "tee hee pick who is going to """divert""" the enemy". (and also because the REAL choice of this quest is if you ally with the Wardens, which at least means the game doesn't rely FULLY on your emotional investment to have you make the important choices shaping your Inquisition.)

But also, despite the fan investment, I know i don't want Hawke to die because i don't want Varric to be sad. That's all. Not because My Hawke and Varric were bff, but because as Inquisitor i can't bear to think of Varric losing his best friend because of me.

This is a way where at least my feelings were here for my Inquisitor.

the game didn't give much to chew on for Rook and Varric so i'm supposed to care as a player. And as a player i am therefore removed from the Game World enough to see the doylist strings and go "hey you're trying to manipulate me without putting any effort into it."

And i think your twist is terrible if the only real feeling you have when you replay is hating your main character more and understanding what their relationship with Varric was even less.

When i first went into the Regret Prison and didn't know what the ending would be, and still had some lingering love for the game (now, unfortunately, wasted away as the months passed), I was torn because i was thinking it'd be hard to replay the game knowing Varric is dead because i care about Varric.

.. But in the end instead of being hard, I just would burst out laughing during "emotional" scenes because this is so fucking ridiculous. This isn't Varric. This is just giving "Rook dissociated themselves into giving themselves a pep talk in the mirror.". Love to have a dramatic scene being completely undercut by Varric coming in going "and remember Rook: never feel bad about anything you do, you're so cool and amazing and all the ladies want you sooo bad". Like this feels stupid.

And like i love my characters having dissociating crisis and stuff but there it is just; so silly.

because at the same time with the game wanting so hard for Rook to be composed and cool and amazing, it doesn't actually allow for the catharsis of seeing them break over all of this. So instead of being tragic "oh look how they're coping with a smile" it just feels so damn ridiculous because it's trying so hard to hide the strings it ends up being the only things we are seeing.

It's like. It's a twist that doesn't work narratively at all and it drives me mad.

"They were dead all along" shouldn't make me come back to the game laughing at serious moments because their presence there is immediately rendered completely meaningless.

and when you manage to make me feel NOTHING about a character i've loved as two different type of characters, it just feels extremely insulting.

I thought the game would be hard to replay because i'd be sad for Varric. instead it's hard to replay because everytime i see Varric i end up laughing and hating Rook more.

What a twist!

[killerandhealerqueen]

Get to Know Your Tumblr Mutuals

Thank you for the tag @ahhhnorealnamesallowed! Always fun to do these

What's the origin of your username?

I had a different username before this one, the-sassiest-trixster, because I was really into Supernatural and Gabriel was one of my favorite characters. But then...then came along Killer and Healer and just...completely changed everything. Like no, I'm serious, I don't think I've ever been this attached to a drama/characters before. And this drama just...sparked my brain into creating as much content as I did/do. And all of my friends/mutuals called me the killer and healer queen so I just...made that my username

OTP(s) + shipname:

So...my top ship obviously is Yuezhi from Killer and Healer, but I do love YaoYutong/BaiZhan from S.C.I. (they were the ones who actually got me into cdramas). I also love

junchun (Killer and Healer)

gahan (The Devil Judge)

suitang (Sleuth of Ming Dynasty)

dushen (Under the Skin)

dingzhi (Sleuth of Ming Dynasty)

And many many more

Favourite colour:

Green (any shade)

Song stuck in my head:

Currently on a vocaloid kick, so right now it's My Crush is a Monster Boy but I've also recently been listening to the White Cat Legend playlist and all of those songs bring back the joy that I felt watching that drama...I need to rewatch it

Weirdest habit/trait:

I remember random things really well; like at work I can pick up people's voices over the radio and know who's talking without looking at our CFS (calls for service) log. I also remember things after only seeing them once/reading about them once (whenever my detectives talk about a certain case I'm like "oh the one--" and they're like yeah while my partner (if she's with me) is like o.0 like how the fuck do you remember that

Hobbies:

Hula

If you work, what's your profession?

I'm a crime scene technician

If you could have any job you wish what would you have?

The job I have now is my dream job so like...I'm pretty happy

Something you're good at:

Writing/singing/dancing hula

Something you hate:

When people don't use fucking common sense...pisses me the fuck off

Something you forget:

Anything I put down if it doesn't have a set place to live <- amen bitch

Your love language:

Gift giving and quality time. I love just spending time with my friends, like I remember in college my friend and I were on a skype call and we were doing our thing and like it was just perfect. We talked every now and then but it was just nice. Also gift giving. I love giving gifts to people; like if I see something that reminds me of them, I'm going to buy it (if the price isn't unreasonable)

Favourite movies/shows:

There's too many...

Men In Black (trilogy)

Sound of Music

The Mentalist

Hawaii Five-0

CSI: Miami

Will Trent

High Potential

And so many more

Favourite food:

Pad Thai

Fried Rice

Seaweed soup

Sushi

Poké

Chinese (i love chinese food, and it's not just because i'm chinese)

And so much more

Favourite animal:

I love a lot of animals, but I'd have to say peacocks and snow leopards

What were you like as a child?

Quiet, shy, very creative...basically me now (I am a bit more extroverted but for the most part I just tend to keep to myself unless I'm comfortable with you)

Favourite subject in school:

English, Science

Least favourite subject:

MATH

What's your best character trait?

Idk?????

What's your worst character trait?

Sometimes the things I saw can come off really blunt/rude; I also jump to the worst conclusions over the smallest things

If you could change any detail of your life right now, what would it be?

$50.00 more an hour at work, just because <- oh amen

If you could travel in time, who would you like to meet?

I think I'd want to see my great-grandma again...just show her the person I am today

No pressure tagging: @theotherwhybietoldmeso @clawbehavior @mishathewtf @okifyouinsist @hyperbolicgrinch @nineninepetals @seonghwacore @kpopfantasywriter and anyone else who wants to play

[vixencrawley]

A Price To Pay |•Dark!Ominis Gaunt x Stripper!Mc

Chapter 1: On My Feet

Summary: 5 years after graduating from Hogwarts, Ominis Gaunt has shocked the ministry by taking over the Gaunt household, inheriting every single power that the famous family has from his brother, changing in ways Mc doesn't realize; Mc's prestigious family has gone into ruin after her father's arrest and her little sister developing a serious illness. Mc was desperate to get cash to get her sister back into a hospital, she thought maybe she could "borrow" some money from her dearest friend Ominis. Mc will soon find out that the new and improved Gaunt will take back what's supposed to be his no matter what it takes.

Genre: Dark Romance, Angst, Smutty

Word Count: 2,546k

Author's Note: This is my first time writing fanfiction so please be kind and send helpful critisim, i must warn the readers that this is a dark romance ff so please do not read if you are uncomfortable with it. and no smut yet thats for the next chapter hehehe.

BE. GONE. MINORS.

Warning: 18+, Kidnapping, Robbery, Dying, Stockholm Syndrome, Rough Sex, Master kink, explicit sexual content, aged-up characters, love triangle? Eye gouging, explicit dancing 

Footsteps collide with the muddy waters scattered around the dark street. I pant heavily as I try to run as fast as a scared fox, sharp edges of a gold plated porcelain plate dug through my skin yet I ignored the pain.

Sounds of my dark clock harmonized with the stomps of countless horses "Capture her!" yelled by a guard drawing their wands towards the running figure .

My skin shivered from the cold unforgivable air. I knew I shouldn't have stolen from the gaunts but this is the only way I could save her, Ominis will understand..right? Turning my heel to a secluded alleyway a wall began to slowly appear from the ground. I quickly grabbed onto a pile of boxes, threw them in the ground creating a quick makeshift ramp.

Without hesitation I ran towards the crowded pub across the street. I hid behind a few pedestrians and slipped through the backdoor. I dropped the sack of stolen items I was holding and quickly grabbed the bag hidden behind a few garbage bins, moving the stolen items in it. 

Shuffling around my pockets to pull out two veils of polyjuice potion. I saw a harmless sleeping homeless person and dosed the polyjuice potion onto them. Having them transform as a version of me, with a heavy heart I regrettably leave the homeless person posing as me to distract the guards who were following me. 

I calmly walked towards an alley while I drank the remaining polyjuice potion. Turning into a fine gentleman, my hair turning gray, facial hair starts to grow above my lip. I took off my cloak revealing a more high class three piece suit, no one suspects a man. 

Walking down the streets with the confidence of an innocent man as I hear guards capturing the 'suspect' on the abandoned alleyway. I look back ensuring myself that they would let the man go as soon they figured out they were actually innocent. 'they would be fine, I need to do this for Alice' 

__________________________________

Knockturn Alley became my home. No matter how dangerous it may be it was a place that unseemly turned into something familiar. I used to remember coming here with another of my old friends, Sebastian Sallow, he would always claim to protect me from the wandering eyes of passersby. Oh how much I missed the sense of safety, quickly walking to an almost rundown apartment building. 

Unlocking the door and opening it to see my younger sister, Alice making tea. Her body is weak from this muggle illness called cancer, her hair falling like a leaf in the autumn season. 

Small single bedroom with a few kitchen items on the west side of the room. It was lifeless, something I'm sure Alice isn't used to but was our home, it was the only thing i could afford with a hectic schedule.

I dropped my bag, quickly rushing towards her side "Alice, I told you not to strain your body didn't I?" I calmly said as I led her back to the one bed on the apartment floor. "I know sister.. I just thought I could make you some breakfast today" Alice coughed as she laid down on the bed. 

"You shouldn't worry about those things Alice" pulling the blankets over her fragile shivering body "If I'm not worried about such things who would sister?" She commented, causing me to smile from the corners of my mouth. 

"I can handle myself Alice, I'm your great big sister after all" I stretched my arm out flexing it, showing my little sister how strong her big sister is. She giggled at my gesture but her smile quickly faded. "Are you working late again?" 

It was hard enough to support the both of us after our father was convicted through the crimes of treason. Taking all of my family's wealth as compensation from all the lives he scammed away, I know leaving Alice alone in the rundown apartment wasn't the best idea but it was the only one I could afford…for now.’Getting her back to St. Mungos is my first priority’

Getting up from the floor I walk towards the kitchen, if you can call it that. I picked up the bag I threw on the ground and moved it to the dirty counter. 

"Unfortunately, yes.. but don't worry after my shift we'll be able to have enough for you to be back in St. Mungos for a couple of months and after you get better I'll take you to the carnival" I announced as I finished making breakfast from the unfinished food Alice created earlier.

I hear my sister squeal in excitement. She would always tell me she wanted to go to that carnival around the corner of Knockturn Alley. With the remaining cash that should be left after I give it to Eugene. 

As soon as I finished making breakfast I got two plates and set a portion for me and Alice. Intentionally making Alice's portion much bigger than mine, placing Alice's plate in front of her. She immediately started eating her breakfast.

"Did you get a promotion in your waitress job,sister?" Alice asked full of curiosity, I took a deep breath. It's hard to lie to my sister. I know she wouldn't approve of me being an exotic dancer or even a thief but it's the only way I could pay for her expensive care at St. Mungus not to mention the countless potions. 

"Yeah so you have nothing to worry about" I smiled towards her hoping she wouldn't push more questions. "Oh Merlin! I forgot to tell you something sister" she weakly grabbed a letter that was hidden inside the bedside drawer. 

"An owl came by earlier and left this letter, it was addressed to you" she handed me the letter, it was pristine it looked like it was written with the fanciest paper anyone could afford. I turned the envelope and a certain word got my attention. 

'Gaunt' "It's from the Gaunts, I think it's from Ominis, your best friend, sister!" Alice said excitedly but all I could feel was horror, maybe it was a mistake I made sure he wouldn't recognize me! 

"I missed Ominis sister! Do you remember when he would always give me sweets when his family used to visit us in London!" My sister reminisced about Ominis. I didn't want to tell her how much the gaunt family turned their back on us when father was imprisoned for treason. 

"Yeah I missed Ominis too.." I whispered as I got up to hide the envelope in the closet. 

Ominis Gaunt was my best friend, someone who I could play violin as he played piano, someone who I could sneak out of the bedroom to grab snacks in the kitchen, someone who would tutor me in charms class, or someone who would comfort you after Sebastian ran away.

“Ominis! Guess what I just found in the garden?” I said with a child-like smile hiding a small item behind my back. I knew ominous couldn't see but i still wanted it to be a surprise “Could it perhaps be another grimes fairy tale book?” Ominis proclaimed with a small smirk forming in the corner of his mouth, his head never leaving the book he held. “Nope! Guess again!” I shook my head, swaying my body weight back and forth as I looked down at my yellow gown.

Slowly looking up at young Ominis who wore a green plaid vest with a white beige linen shirt paired with a black trousers. He looked rather dashing in outerwear. He dropped the braille book on top of the table in front of his chair. Ominis took a deep breath and creased his chin “Ah ha! Could it be a pastry?” He declared with a proud smile.

“Nope! Do you want me to tell you?” I giggled at Ominis who hadn't guessed the item I was holding behind my back. He smiled defeatingly and looked at my general direction “ Okay fine please tell me what it is”. “Hold out your hand” I said as I reached for his tiny hands, he willingly reached for mine as well; gently opening his palms I placed a very delicate daisy onto it “It's a daisy! I found it in the backside of the garden!”

Gently guiding his fingers to ‘see’ the flower “Sadly there was only one i couldn't find a field of them! I heard from our muggle servant that in the  muggle world there is a field of daisies that exists in the countryside!”  Sitting next to his legs I placed my head on his lap.I so badly wanted to see a field of daisies..Do you think Hogwarts has a field of daisies?” I questioned him hoping he would answer yes “I don't think hogwarts has a field of daisies,little dove”

I pouted my bottom lip, knowing deep down I wouldn't be able to see a field of daisies ``urgh”. Ominis gently patted my head “Don't worry i promise you’ll see a field of daisies, i'll make sure you’ll see a plentiful” that statement alone still made me sad i was able to see a field of daisies what about Ominis? Disheartened, I gazed upon Ominis; he looked really handsome with his foggy blue eyes. “I don't want to see a field of daisies anymore”

“How so?” He asked with curiosity “Well if i can see a field of daisies then you wouldn't! I wanna experience that with you ominis!” He caressed my cheeks,feeling his warmth calmed  me in a way I couldn't describe. “ Its okay, i know without my sight im not able to experience things with you but as long as i am with you i am perfectly fine with it” 

I would be lying if i haven't said that ominis’s words often leave me blushing red. He let go of my cheeks and grabbed his want in his pockets and did a unfamiliar spell “Presavation Acentio!” He announced as he flicked and whipped his wand  casting an invisible cast around the single daisy. I stared at it in awe. “What spell did you just use?And where did you learn that Omi?” He giggled at my curiosity “Just some books i had been reading in preparation for my first year in hogwarts”

Sadly, I remembered that ominis would have to leave to attend Hogwarts in a few months; I wouldn't be able to play with him. “It's a preservation spell you can keep the daisy for decades” He placed it on the palm of my hands. I shook my head and got up to his level “No! You should keep it! You're leaving for Hogwarts and you don't have anything to remember me by!” I inserted the daisy in his dress pocket in his vest “When you go to Hogwarts I want you to remember me every time you see a daisy”.

Ominis chuckled at my gestures and grabbed my hand, he kissed the back of my hand “I couldn't possibly forget someone like you my little dove, but if you wished i will remember you as i smell a hint of daisy or even grazed upon one” I smiled proudly knowing ominis would remember be by a beautiful flower. 

__________________________________

After making sure my sister was well fed I quietly left and locked the apartment ensuring she wouldn't be able to wake up from me leaving so quickly. 

It was time for my shift at the pub, countless people flooded the place. It's surrounded by nobles who are dealing illegal crimes at the sideline, and obviously numerous drunkies who drink their lives' problems away. ‘How ignorant’. 

I sighed and entered the staffroom, changing into a laced corset with matching lace stockings. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder sending cold shivers down my spine. "Mc! There you are"  a enthusiastic tone said by the one and only Eugene O'Brien. 

"Well hello to you too Eugene" I said in a condescending tone towards him. "Don't be like that Mc, I'm the one helping you after all" he prompted his arm around my shoulder. 

Flinching from the sudden action I kept a straight face even if I was disgusted at his gesture, I know deep down he is not helping me with good intentions. But he is the only one who can get me jobs like a exotic dancer and even a thief at such short notice. 

I took a deep breath and avoided eye contact as he went on about a whore he banged. I clutched my chest trying to suppress my shaky hands. 

His laugh faded as he noticed my demeanor, he harshly grabbed my chin to face him "Don't give me that attitude Crawley! Remember the hand that feeds you" 

I looked up at him trying to look at his other features like his brown locks or that  scar across his lips. I know if I ever looked at him eye to eye he would sense my fear of him. He was right, Alice and I are only alive because he gave me a chance at numerous jobs. 

I nodded at his statement, my fingers trembled" I'm sorry Eugene.. I'm just on edge today..please forgive me.." I begged hoping he would let my unprofessional attitude go, legs felt weak as I tried to intimidate him back. 

He rashly let go of my chin, tossing me down on the ground. I stayed on the ground not wanting to look up at his tall figure. "You should be grateful I started a small conversation with a whore like you." He bent down and grabbed my hair, forcing me to look at him. 

"Where's the items I told you to steal?" I shakily pointed at the bag I came in a while ago, it is filled with the items I was instructed to grab. He let go my hair and snatched the bag "I'll get your share later slut"

I pant heavily frightened by his cruel actions towards me, I looked away trying to focus on the mold on the lockers instead of trying to suppress my panic at the situation. 

A knock was heard through the door and Eugene walked towards. I looked at the door's direction still avoiding eye contact, another staff member came and whispered something to Eugene and quickly left after. 

I reluctantly got up from the floor, even if my limbs slowly turned into jelly. Snapping his fingers, it rang in my ears and swiftly looked at Eugene's direction, I lowered my head not wanting to give him more reasons to get furious. 

"Mc! Get ready your regular Mr. Snake requested you" the mention of Mr. Snake somehow calmed my nerves, out of every regulars that had requested for me he had happened to be my favorite. 

He was a gentleman yet still carried a demanding aura. He would always request me and would often extend his time until my shift ends. "I understand I'll get ready"

"He's in the green room" Eugene commented as he left and headed towards his office, while looking through the bag. I swallowed the lump on my throat not realizing I was holding my breath. I opened my locker again and swiftly reapplied my makeup

tags: @littletealight @slootmagix @jakesully-sbabygirl @lizonzon @slytherinmodqueen @khamanix @belladorea @mehnotenoughtime @choccy-milky @cuffmeinblack @greedyforgarreth

[flanaganfilm]

Hey Mike, can you talk about your work on Revival? What was it like reading the book, writing the script, making it all work? I know people thought it was going to be like Midnight Mass, but King is tackling religion far differently & I would have loved to see your adaptation of that. Furthermore, why did you decide to leave the project? I read somewhere it had to do with the film rights, but I’m sure there’s more to that story & id love to hear your side of it.

Also, Life of Chuck…. 1.85:1 or Scope? C’mon, Mike! Spill the beans!

Thanks!

I was very excited about Revival. King had given me the rights after I finished the script for Doctor Sleep, and we took it around town as a pitch. Warner Bros. picked up the project and commissioned the script.

I wrote a script I love, and turned it in to Warner Bros. It couldn't be more different than Midnight Mass; that was always a very weird and unfair comparison. The only thing they have in common is that each story features a priest; any comparisons wouldn't have survived opening weekend, that was never really a thing.

Revival is one of King's scariest and most effective books, and I was madly in love with the movie. I stayed very true to the book, and the story spanned over decades. It was a character-forward epic about mortality, and the futility of hope, dealing with themes of lost love, addiction, and hubris. In fact, it has way more in common with Frankenstein than Midnight Mass, and I was stoked to make it. It wasn't cheap, though - the set pieces were big, the VFX budget was intimidating, and it fit into a type of budget that isn't typically made these days.

For those reasons, ultimately, after Doctor Sleep's disappointing performance at the box office, Warner Bros. didn't want to pursue the movie. They had really liked the Frankenstein comparisons, but that only comes into play at the very end of the story. Their pitch was to start the story there, and jettison most of the actual novel in favor of a new, heavily Frankenstein inspired narrative. It was a bridge too far, and changed the source material too radically.

Warner Bros. faith in the project had been seriously damaged by the box office performance of Doctor Sleep, and the character-forward epic I was pitching was just too risky given the hefty price tag. Ultimately, I wasn't willing to change the story as drastically as they wanted to, and it just didn't make sense to make it for that budget - so they opted not to make the film, and that was that. I didn't leave the project at all - the studio just didn't want to move forward with it. Revival is not the most obvious project. It is more expensive than a lot of comparable horror titles, and we didn't want to do it as a streaming movie - we bet the farm on a theatrical feature, and the cards didn't fall in our favor this time. My window of availability as a director rapidly closed. I was heading fast into Midnight Club and Fall of the House of Usher for Netflix, so without a viable attachment from me for at least a few years, the project couldn't move forward at all, and the rights reverted back to Stephen King. We discussed whether we wanted to try to keep it alive, but we were already deep into talks about The Dark Tower, whose rights were about to become available after years of being tied up. Steve doesn't like to give the same person multiple rights as a general rule, because he doesn't want his projects to stall out in development, which makes good sense. Given the choice, we absolutely wanted to focus on The Dark Tower. We let Revival go, and last I heard, some other people were developing it as a TV project. I absolutely love the script I wrote, and I'm disappointed that Warner Bros. didn't want to make it, but it's their studio and their prerogative. I can't say I blame their reasoning. In fact, I completely see their point. I could have dug in and fought harder to keep it, but that might mean I wouldn't have gotten the rights to The Dark Tower.

And I hate to say it, but Revival would have taken a similar narrative approach to Doctor Sleep, and - well - audiences just didn't show up for that movie. It's entirely likely that the same would have happened here - this was another long, character-centric story that wasn't entirely a mainstream horror tale, and it was expensive. And this didn't have The Shining connection to lean on. I am so sorry to say this, but I don't have a lot of faith that audiences would have supported us if we'd bet the farm on a theatrical release of Revival as I wanted to make it. So honestly, I think it all worked out for the best. You win some and you lose some in this business. Who knows, maybe it'll come back some day - I also lost the rights to Gerald's Game back in 2014 when we couldn't find a partner who wanted to make the movie. They eventually came around again, and the timing worked out. The same could happen here - maybe we get another chance, or may we revisit it down the line as a limited series. Stranger things have happened. Ka is a wheel. Or, maybe this new television production of Revival will get off the ground, and if it does I wish them nothing but the best with it. It's a phenomenal story, and I'll be first in line to see it.

[thehighpriestexx420]

What do they think/feel about you?

Pick A Card - General Collective Tarot Reading

Take a moment to consider each picture/pile number and see which one calls out to you. One may pop out more than the others immediately. This indicates this pile will significantly resonate with you and you're meant to see this.

You may feel drawn to more than one pile and that works too. Take what resonates and leave the rest. This is a general reading for whoever sees this and every detail may not be for you as an individual.

My Tarot Services:

My Reviews:

Pile 1

The Hanged Man clarified by The Star, The Devil clarified by 3 of Swords, 2 of Wands clarified by The Tower, 7 of Pentacles clarified by The Magician, Page of Swords clarified by 10 of Wands, & The World clarified by Ace of Swords

This is an ex. They're being faced with a decision as to whether or not they should pursue you. They want to but the heartbreak and grief from the breakup is holding them back and clouding their mind. They were unfairly critical towards you only due to the stress of the breakup. They don't truly think that of you and need to work on managing their emotions.

I saw 444 when I was doing your reading. The meaning of this number further clarifies some things. They're currently thinking about you too. You're mirroring eachother and may be twin flames, a member of the same soul family, and/or have soul-ties.

You both have deep love for each other and are meant to teach each other what it means to be whole, complete, balanced, and in harmony. You're the whole world to them and you're everything they could ever want. A main message for you is to trust in your intuition and the guidance you've been recieving from your guides/angels. You're right to have faith/hope for this relationship. Change is coming soon.

They're of 2 minds about this connection but their faith and trust in what they're seeing is growing. It's currently the dominant perspective, even if slightly. They know what you are to eachother, that the difficult times you've gone through served as lessons, and that you're meant to continue on eachother's path. However, they still have to gather their courage and determination in order to fully test that theory. Overcoming the pain and loss of confidence they're experiencing isn't easy.

They're thinking and contemplating a lot about this connection. Their mind feels really scattered and it's like they're fighting themselves and for clarity. They're obsessing, stressed, and guarded.

They're going to reach out when they can't take it anymore just to find relief and get out of their head. At this point, knowing your response is worth whatever rejection may occur. I'm feeling that they're actually going to explode and reach out within days - around 5 for alot of you.

Their mind reminds me of ADHD, anxiety, and depression so if they have these it largely contributes to their scattered mind and what they have to overcome in order to reach out to you.

They find you very attractive and like to watch & admire you. They want to have rough, even harsh, sex with you.

Pile 2

Judgement clarified by The Devil, 5 of Swords clarified by Temperance, The Moon clarified by Ace of Pentacles, The Hanged Man clarified by The Hierophant, 9 of Swords clarified by Death, & The Devil clarified by 7 of Wands

It's interesting that you choose the picture with fire and your reading contains a lot of firey energy along with fire imagery. There's a lot of anger and conflict here. For the large majority of you, you're the one who needs to learn how to manage your emotions and they're the passive one and/or the one who walks away during arguments.

You've been arguing and yelling alot and this is endangering your relationship if they haven't broken up with you already. They've been seeking advice from their friends/family and this has made it harder for them to figure out their own thoughts and use their best judgement.

They don't want to walk away from *you*, they want to walk away from the screaming. They want a new beginning with you that's healed and harmonious. They see the value of this relationship and want to work on it with you. But that means you have to be willing because they won't stay around for the mistreatment.

This is a deep seeded issue you have and you have to consistently show the change you want with your actions in order to ease their concerns and worries. They need some space to themself and to find the courage and inner strength to communicate their desire to you.

Pile 3

King of Wands clarified by Ace of Wands, 8 of Chalices clarified by 2 of Swords, Ace of Swords clarified by 3 of Pentacles, 8 of Swords clarified by 10 of Wands, 7 of Pentacles clarified by 3 of Swords, & The Hanged Man clarified by The Devil

Your person is currently in a relationship with someone else. Deep down they know they have to leave the relationship but they feel trapped and confused. They pride themselves on being loyal and supportive with whoever their current partner is so they may even be suppressing and denying their passionate feelings towards you.

They need to change their perspective about this situation in order to see the way out of it. You can try to deny reality but at the end of the day, in order to truly live, you have to have the courage and determination to go after what you want. You're being asked to trust in their ability to do this. They'll come to you, just have patience.

They need to get past their guilt and anguish to see that they can't help how they feel and the only reason to feel guilty is if they stayed in a relationship where they're not honest about having feelings for someone else. The extremely high passion they feel towards you will push them to rise above this.

Pile 4

The Hanged Man clarified by Death, Page of Wands clarified by 8 of Wands, The World clarified by Daughter of Wands, Judgement clarified by Temperance, 5 of Pentacles clarified by 7 of Wands, & 7 of Pentacles clarified by Ace of Swords

Your person is someone from your past - likely an ex. You had a falling out and they want forgiveness, healing, harmony, and renewal in your relationship.

They're done hanging in limbo. They want to work on your relationship, learn from the obstacles that caused you to fall out, and rise above them. The clarity they've gained about this after taking some time to reflect on this situation will have them reaching out to you very soon. They'll express their romantic love for you and their desire to heal the relationship.

They see you as their whole world, attractive, and vibrant. They want to have a home with you and see you as their home. Although it's important to not get on your bad side, they see the love and care you have for them. You make them feel safe, protected, loved, and comforted.

You may be overly protective of yourself & misinterpret things due to needing to heal your inner child and work through trauma.

Although they're afraid of rejection and things going wrong, they have the passion, courage, and strength to reach out to you. Losing you has caused them to hit rock bottom and go through a difficult grieving period. It's made it hard for them to have motivation for alot of things, including reaching out to you because of the hopelessness that depression brings.

[dcggersedge]

“ Good day, Yunaka, ”  Pelleas visits her.  “ I, um, heard that you transferred houses. To the Black Eagles, if I recall? I know I didn't put my best foot forward while you were in my house, but I do genuinely wish the best for you in your new affiliation. Two very important people to me will be in your care; you can probably guess one of them. Besides that, I wished to gift you something for the Winter Festival, though I suppose we can call it a house-changing present too given the timing. If you'd take it? ”

With that, he offers a wrapped present box to her. Within is a journal filled with writing of his own penmanship— for better or for worse.

“ You gave me a book about your Emblems, so I thought to give you in exchange a tome about my homeland. Of course, I couldn't really get anything official in such a short notice, so please forgive the fact I had to write it all myself. As someone who grew up in it and became its King for a time though, I hope you'll find the information trustworthy if not... well, erm, useful at least? ”

And indeed, the handwritten book contains all sorts of details about Daein from both the perspective of a poor, starving orphan who had nothing to a crown royal who had everything at a price. It details it from his point of view, all the sights and towns he's seen, the weather he's experienced, sprawling descriptions of the unique architecture and what made the place, for all the misery he had lived through within it, a place he loved dearly nevertheless.

“ I hope you find it interesting as well. I still find myself quite engrossed in reading and rereading your gift to me. If I could give you even a fraction of my fascination, I'll count this a success. ”

"Oh, heya Pelly!" Dang...she'd figured out that seeing Pelleas in class was a rare enough sight already. Seeing him make the effort to not only be out and about, but actually hunting her down to see her? She was pretty sure that was some kind of special. She was also pretty sure, based on no personal experience of her own obviously, that commenting on it would send him right back to hiding.

"You heard correctly!" She hoped he wasn't feeling some kind of way about it. Laslow had been joking, but now she was kinda worried that some of the Lions might think she'd bailed or abandoned them or something silly like that. "Thought it'd be fun to go into the new year with some fresh changes...and there's some things that I'm curious about that I'm hoping to get a closer eye on."

Nothing he needed to worry about, obviously.

"Oh? Two?" She knew that Micaiah was one of the Eagles, but she had no clue who that second important person could be.

The time for questioning would come...but not now. Now was the time for gift giving, apparently. "Aw, Pelly! You didn't have to get me a gift, that's so sweet."

A book isn't a surprise after her gift, but a journal is. She flips through a few of the pages without reading anything just yet. It'd be weird if she started reading something personal or embarrassing in front of him, right? Luckily, he clears up what it's really about.

Yunaka flashes him a smile. "Thanks! That does sound interesting, and I'm sure I'll love it. I appreciate you taking the time to do something like this when you didn't have to. I'll be sure to give it a read as soon as I get a chance."

She's always liked history books. There's no complicated emotions or wishing or happy endings in history. It's just fact, presented as so, with no fluff or feelings. She's never read someone's personal history before though.

"I don't have a festival gift to give back, but I do hope you have a good one." The smile turns exaggerated here, in an obviously playful way, and she waves towards him with the book. "And at least try to go to class next year, alright? I can't make you anymore, but you really should at least try to take advantage of what you've got here."

...wait. Did he say king?

[blu3-ja3]

Okay! So I've done a bit more thinking and digging around, I kinda forgot that warzone existed and has existing characters. Like I was aware of it vaguely in the corner but never really thought to look more into it. Then I got curious about König's character and which game he was from only to learn about the entire warzone roster.

Yes I've never touched Warzone despite playing COD. I mostly played the story campaigns or Zombies because I've never actually owned a cod game I've played my friends game. I've never actually played the mw3 remake because me and said cod friend stopped hanging out after quarantine.

So all this to say I've read a bit about Nova and really liked her! And canonically speaking she would be interacting with the 141 unlike König if I've read the lore right. I believe König and the 141 are on the opposite sides? But then again so is Graves and I wrote an interaction between those two so who knows! Anyways...

O'CONNOR! The absolute lesbian that she is! Would totally crush on Nila, I mean come on you have to be blind to not think she's pretty! And from what I've read regarding her lore she's very thoughtful and persistent! So my brain immediately started brewing up ideas about the two ladies and their dynamics.

I think O'Connor and Nila would be aware of each other, never really interacting but have heard of each other through mutuals. I'm thinking initially some of Nila's team interacted with the 141. It would mostly be the sergeants from both teams interacting together. Like Roach, Soap, and Gaz would hang out with Nova's team even after Gaz becomes 2nd Lieutenant.

Like Gaz, Soap, and Roach hang around some of the 41 Company (Nila's team) when on base. So yeah the two know of each other but haven't interacted in any capacity beyond maybe a little nod of acknowledgement when passing each other on base.

That is until a mission goes south leaving O'Connor and a very injured Ghost to be the only ones to return to base. O'Connor is effectively placed into the role of captain of rescuing her team. Laswell immediately suggested Lieutenant Nila Brown and 41 Company or something to help with the retrieval of Price, Soap, Gaz and Roach.... So yeah I'm writing it! ENJOY!

It was supposed to be a simple mission, they were split into 3 teams. Alpha Team: Price and Sanderson were on exfill; they were to get transportation out the base and to be ready to leave. Bravo Team: Garrick and MacTavish were to find as much information regarding the ultranationalist, who they have as targets, and any future plans. Charlie Team: Riley and O'Connor were to go into the leader's quarters to learn of weapons and what they know of Makarov's situation and location. In and out, simple and clean. No bodies only silence.

They shouldn't have continued once they notice the sudden changes in patrols and perimeters, but the only way for them to get out of there was in that base. So they went through with the mission, it was their only course of action.

It all went to shit fast after getting the information, the other two teams were busted and rapidly being swarmed while waiting for Charlie. Riley was shot three times; two right lower abdomen and one upper left shoulder. Carrying the lieutenant made O'Connor slower and she made a decision, she told them to leave. And they did, Price ordered O'Connor to find a vehicle and get out, to find them...

O'Connor isn't sure if she regrets making that call. She knows the rest of the team was shot down, she knows that at least 3 of them parachuted out. She knows that MacTavish was able to make contact with her before their signal was jammed. O'Connor has hope, she knows they're alive, that she can get to them. But the current colonel isn't sending anyone to look for them.

"What the feck do you mean?! My men are still out there, Colonel!" O'Connor slammed her hands down onto the desk as she stood.

She was called into the office soon after O'Connor arrived on base, driving like a bat out of hell to the facility making the two day trip back to base a one day trip. As soon as Simon was taken away for medical treatment O'Connor jumped into action. She started pulling soldiers preparing a rescue team to go into the woodlands of the Russian Taigas only to be stopped and forced into the stupid conversation she's having now.

"With all due respect Captain O'Connor your men are dead. If the crash didn't kill them, the elements and wildlife would have, and if that didn't then the enemy search teams would... Your goal now is to remember the fallen, gather a new team and complete the mission. Am I understood?" The american colonel smiled at O'Connor with the most condescending smile on his lips.

"With all due respect Colonel" O'Connor mocks his southern accent. "If you bothered to read our files that were provided to you, then you'd know that those men have survived odds much worse than those. So no I won't remember them as fallen. If at least one of them is alive I want to recover them, and radio contact is proof of life for at least one!" O'Connor glared at the man where he sat, not once looking up from the papers on his.

"That's an order Captain, do not force my hand and claim insubordination from you..." The man glanced up at her before waving her out.

As soon as O'Connor's hand touched the nob of the door the Colonel's voice rang out, "I'll even be nice and give you some time to visit with Lieutenant Riley before you go out... You've got until tomorrow morning Captain."

O'Connor tensed before leaving the office, doing her best not to slam the door as she pulled it closed behind her. O'Connor quickly made her way across the small base towards the medical bay. She was informed that Simon would recover, nothing vital being hit or damaged miraculously. She stepped into Simon's room, surprised to see the man awake. She quickly tossed him a cleaner mask and turned away from the man.

"No need for that Doc, but I appreciate the sentiment." Simon's voice was strained even if he was trying to hide it.

"I respect you too much to assume anything Shade," After Simon gives her the all clear O'Connor turns to sit down next to the medical bay bed. She started to rub her eyes trying to figure out what to do next.

"We're going after them right?" Simon's voice drew O'Connor's eyes up to him.

"No... You're staying here Lieutenant." O'Connor sighs before continuing. "This colonel thinks that they're dead, he wants me to forget going after them and to finish the mission..." O'Connor looks down at her hands as they ball into fists in her lap.

"You're not going to are you?" Simon leans back from his sitting position, groaning as he moves.

"No, I could care less about finishing the mission..." O'Connor glared at her hands before continuing. "If it was Price here, he'd be able to convince that colonel to go after them but I don't have his silver tongue..."

"So what's your plan Captain?" Simon and O'Connor looked up as there was a knock at the door. Simon yelled out to enter. A familiar woman entered the room, if O'Connor remembers correctly her name and rank; Lieutenant Nila Brown.

"I'm looking for you Captain O'Connor, do you have a moment?" She stepped in and stood at attention.

"No need for that Lieutenant. Aye, I've got a moment what do you need?" Nila closed the door before turning back towards the two sitting figures.

"I want to help recover the 141, Captain..." O'Connor cringes a bit before holding up a hand to stop Nila.

"Please, call me Doc... I'm not comfortable being called Captain off field... I didn't go to medical school for nothing." O'Connor looked towards Simon before looking back at Nila.

"I had a hunch you were Doctor O'Connor, I didn't think we had two O'Connor's on base... Anyways Doc, I know your team is still out there and you're being sent out back tomorrow to complete the original operation..." Nila's smile was confident as O'Connor gave her a nod of affirmation, ignoring the butterflies in her chest.

"Listen take my team with you, if not all of them then at least me."

"Why the sudden interest?" Simon's voice rumbled through the room.

"I was sent by Laswell to find and help you recover your team. I was waiting outside Colonel Autumn's Office when Dr. O'Connor was with him... I know that the wanker isn't going to bother looking for even bodies to retrieve. Take some of us with you, split us into two teams. That information is mostly likely long gone now but if we can recover your team there's a chance that they still have what we're looking for yeah?" O'Connor nodded looking towards Simon who nodded once. She trusted the lieutenant's judgement, if he was comfortable then so was she.

So the next morning O'Connor gathered a team as the colonel instructed. Once out of briefing and into the field O'Connor relayed the slight alteration of the plan. They were going to be in 2 teams, O'Connor and Nila would be splitting to search for the 141. Everyone else would be under Laswell's command and their team leader. A new lieutenant and his two sergeants, one Lieutenant Russ and the Walker brothers.

(Recently watched someone play through COD Ghosts for the first time and I missed the boys)

Nila and O'Connor got to work immediately. Once in the area O'Connor last made contact with Soap they began to move towards the crash site. By the time they'd found it they'd receive word from the infiltration team that the compound had been left abandoned.

"That's a good thing, they wouldn't have sent a search party for your men Doc..." Nila spoke as she continued looking around the crash sight. O'Connor relaxed a bit but kept her head on a swivel. Nila eventually found boot prints moving towards the east, back towards their base of operation.

"So... You have an actual medical degree." Nila asked as they followed the boot tracks.

"Yeah, I was doing a desk job while raising my son... It was too slow for me so I figured I'd at least go to school. The military was all too happy to pay for my medical degree and specialization." O'Connor was half paying attention to the conversation as she moved through the forest, Nila placing markers along their path. She knows she's coming off as uninterested but in that moment O'Connor couldn't care less.

O'Connor was worried as another trail had started following the boot trail, it was liquid and all O'Connor's fears were confirmed as the duo came across a murky red puddle of blood and melted snow. O'Connor didn't notice herself freezing up until a hand touched her shoulder.

"We'll find them Doc..." O'Connor nodded as she kept pushing forwards.

They kept moving through the woodlands, O'Connor only stopping to put on her jacket as it got colder. They ate quickly before O'Connor was up again pushing onwards. When they started down the trails the sun was just coming up over the horizon, now O'Connor had a flashlight out following the trail of blood and boot prints.

"It's getting darker, we should sto-" O'Connor grabbed Nila by her arm pulling her back away from a steep ravine edge. It was well hidden, you wouldn't notice it until you were right on top of it.

O'Connor used the light to check both to the right and left of the ravine for the continuation of the boot prints. She looked down into the ravine when she couldn't find any. There was a groove of someone falling down alongside ruts from people following after.

O'Connor didn't hesitate jumping down into the ravine, keeping her balance as she slid down the mud and gravel ravine walls. Once she reached the bottom she turned towards Nila, shining the light towards her and gesturing for her to stay there. O'Connor watched as Nila looked towards something to the left of O'Connor. Before O'Connor could ask what she saw she felt the cool press of a knife to her neck.

"You couldn't just walk around the damn thing could ya?" The familiar voice of Kyle Garrick in O'Connor's ear behind her.

"Wait! Gaz! It's me!" O'Connor reached for the hood, tossing it back to reveal more of herself.

"Jesus Doc, we nearly gutted you!" MacTavish's voice came from in front of her as what O'Connor thought was a rock moved revealing Roach and Soap both armed.

"Where's John?" O'Connor rushed towards them as she was released.

"Over here Maeve!" The strained voice of John Price called out from her left. Wasting no time she began to check the men over as she moved towards Price.

Roach, covered in filth, was limping heavily not putting much pressure on his left leg. Soap and Gaz had a few cuts on them from what she could see as very dirty. As she approached Price, O'Connor had to fight back tears. The man looked like death, pale and dirty; cleaner than the other three men but still dirty.

His left pant leg had one of the men's jackets wrapped around it tightly, she assumes Roach's. O'Connor could see the crimson red staining it darker. She moved towards him, not removing the jacket as she began to untie the clothing and started to pact the wound better before wrapping it and securing it. O'Connor began barking orders, having Nila secure a rope and helping get everyone out of the ravine.

"Lieutenant Russ? We've found my men are you still at the compound?" O'Connor asked into radio hoping she was in range.

"Copy that Captain O'Connor, we're leaving the compound now. Not much recovered but we've got what we could find." O'Connor is carrying Price back the way they came, thankful for Nila marking their path back with reflective flags.

They kept moving, the last bits of the sun slowly disappearing. O'Connor removed her jacket tossing it towards Roach who had nothing to help with the cold before she was lifting Price again carrying him in a bridal carry. Nila and Soap traded so now Nila was helping Roach maneuver through the woods. They make it to the wreckage of the helicopter before stopping.

"Everyone good? We're at the last push just a bit further from here," O'Connor had Price click her receiver on her radio. "Lieutenant Russ, we're about 30 minutes out."

They continued moving and finally saw the vehicles sitting idle. The rest of the team had departed leaving only Keegan, Logan, and Hesh at the trucks. Once they spotted the little troop the three men instantly jumped into action helping where they could.

"Captain O'Connor, we've received word from Colonel Autumn... He's not very happy with you from the sounds of it." Hesh informed O'Connor as she climbed into the back hatch of one of the trucks. She helped Hesh maneuver Price into a more comfortable position.

"He can deal with it, we recovered the information they had as well as my men... I don't see what's the problem." O'Connor didn't look up from where she was working on Price's leg.

"You went against orders, O'Connor?" Price croaked out quietly. O'Connor gripped the man's hand softly squeezing it.

"Of course, you'd do the same for anyone else... Besides Ghost would rip my head off if I came back without everyone..." O'Connor smiled down at the man as they began moving. She rubbed her eyes trying to fight the tears.

Once on base O'Connor gathered all the information the 141 managed to gather before everything went to shit. She left the two groups trusting that the two lieutenants could handle getting everyone settled. As O'Connor left she heard rapid footsteps as Nila appeared at her side.

"You're dismissed, Lieutenant Brown, thank you for your help but this is my punishment to bare," O'Connor looked forwards as she walked through the halls. She was fully prepared for her rank to be stripped from her, this Colonel was known for pulling that a lot.

"With all due respect Doctor O'Connor, we all agreed to the plan." Nila spoke as she stepped in tandem with O'Connor. They stopped outside the Colonel's office before knocking and entering together.

"You have some nerve O'Connor... I directly told you to leave them out there, they were a lost cause. Instead you directly go against my orders and don't even recover what was originally needed! I should court martial your sorry ass" Colonel Autumn was standing back facing away from them.

"Actually sir, I've recovered not only my men but the original data we recovered on our original mission..." O'Connor tossed the small package down onto the table before continuing. "There's three USB sticks in there with everything we could get originally. And sir my men are all still alive and now are home, so go ahead. Court martial me, strip me of my rank, do whatever but just know you. Were. Wrong." O'Connor kept her head high and maintained eye contact with the Colonel. The man's lip twitched before he seemed to deflate and dismissed the two women.

Once they stepped out of the room O'Connor deflated a bit, placing her hand over her heart.

"That was hot..." O'Connor's head whipped towards Nila. O'Connor could feel the blush spreading across her face as her heart continued to pound away in her chest.

"What?! It was! You kept calm and took total control... It was hot!" O'Connor swallowed around nothing as she looked down at the slightly shorter woman.

"Thank you Lieutenant Brown..." Nila rolled her eyes before speaking again.

"It's Nila or Nova, none of this Lieutenant Brown mess." O'Connor felt her stomach drop and her heart did a backflip as Nila smiled up at her.

"I'm sorry I was rude earlier, I promise I'm usually much nicer in conversation when I'm not scared for my men..." O'Connor averted her gaze a bit, feeling slightly ashamed.

"I thought that was hot too! You were so focused and driven. Nothing seemed to sway you from your mission. And you were so focused..." O'Connor blushed even harder as the two women began to walk toward medical. Nila continuing her ranting compliments about O'Connor

"Ah! Well thank you... For the compliment and for your help. I owe you a debt." O'Connor looked at Nila, smiling towards the woman.

"You could take me out for a drink! You could show me how you actually are during conversation, how that sounds?" Nila stopped in front of her as they reached Ghost's room.

"Oh! Um yes a drink would be lovely!" O'Connor felt like she was on fire when Nila smiled at her.

"GREAT! It's a date! See you tomorrow night!" Nila yelled before skipping down the halls of medical.

O'Connor opened the door to find Ghost and the youngest three all together. She stepped in trying desperately will away the blush on her cheeks before the men in the room noticed. Soap and Gaz turn towards O'Connor with knowing grins.

"Where's Price?" O'Connor asked as she moved towards the little group trying to ignore the looks.

"He's getting stitches, he'll be placed in the room next to mine once the prosecutor is done." Simon said as he stopped MacTavish's attempt to help him sit up. O'Connor nodded before turning to Roach.

"How's your leg?" Roach was sitting in a chair as he shrugged.

"What does that mean? Did you not go get checked out Sergeant?" O'Connor's furrowed as she moved towards the man. She now lets her gaze look at all three of the younger soldiers noticing that they're all still dirty.

"Alright, you two go shower and change. Sanderson you come with me after we get you checked out you're doing the same thing!" O'Connor said as she helped Roach stand. When neither of the boys begin to move O'Connor glared at them.

"That's an order boys, now get moving." O'Connor boomed a bit commanding.

"What about Price?" Garrick whispered, O'Connor's shoulders dropped a bit as a smile crept onto her face.

"I'll come get you lads when he's out but in the mean time go take care of yourselves yeah?" O'Connor pats the boys on the back before helping Roach into an empty room and starts working.

After tending to Roach's injuries and sending him off to take a shower, O'Connor did the same. After a shower and a fresh change of clothes O'Connor arrived at Price's room to find everyone there already.

Simon was in a wheelchair chair leaning against MacTavish who was standing behind him. Kyle was sat in a chair holding Price's hand and Sanderson was sitting at the foot of the bed. They all turned towards O'Connor as she entered the room.

"What happened with the Colonel?" Price was immediate to ask once noticing O'Connor.

"Nothing, he got what he wanted and I proved him wrong. There was nothing he could do." O'Connor walked over to Price's side. "Are you okay.... All of you?"

"You came back for us instantly O'Connor, we're fine." Kyle smiles softly at her as O'Connor feels tears start to well up.

"I made the wrong call... If you would have died-" O'Connor drops her head as tears roll down her cheeks.

"But we didn't though, Maevis, we're all here. We're safe and being treated. You made a call and it was the best one at the moment." O'Connor sucked in a breath calming herself a bit more.

They all talk for a bit before the younger men go to eat and sleep, taking Ghost back to his room. O'Connor stays to talk a bit longer quietly filling out a report for Price regarding the mission.

"So... I heard that you were assisted by the commander of the 41 Company? Lieutenant Brown right?" O'Connor looked up for a moment before continuing her writing.

"Yeah, Nila. She managed to convince the new kids to help... The Walker brothers and Lieutenant Keegan Russ, they're effective and quite capable."

"Those three will be going through a trial period with us. Nice to know they work well enough with you... So Nila hmm?"

"Yes what of her, she was kind enough to offer her assistance. She's got a good head on her shoulders, I'm thankful for her help, John." O'Connor continued writing her report on glancing up at Price through her eyelashes.

"Mhm and the date?" O'Connor's hand stopped writing instantly, looking up at him fully.

"We're just getting drinks, John, nothing serious. I wasn't the kindest to her while we were out looking for you and I owe her for helping me... It's nothing more than that. Why the interest?" O'Connor didn't mean to sound so defensive but she couldn't help the tension that eased its way into her shoulders.

"I'm simply curious that's all, Ghost said that the Lieutenant seemed to be pretty smitten with you O'Connor..." Price smiled at O'Connor as the woman began to blush. Price continues his teasing and joking before they fall into comfortable silence and O'Connor finishes her report as well as Price's before turning them in and going to her barracks.

So I'm writing about their date next!

COD Master List

[fromtenthousandfeet]

HYBE Financials and Media Play Part 2

Dang it! Why did so much have to happen with HYBE before I had a chance to write this installment? At least I have plenty of material to continue this series.

Let's start where I left off, with some examples of actual media play with stories and tweets hyping up HYBE's 2nd quarter revenue while completely ignoring the always falling net income.

Start here if you're interested in this ongoing thread:

Here's a post from Kpop Charts celebrating HYBE's incredible second quarter. Notice there's no mention of the $12 million net profit or of their ever-dropping profit margin to 2.28%. This post had over 600,000 views.

There were loads of posts and articles just like the one above on the day HYBE released their 2Q24 financials. It's worth noting these media outlets get a press release from HYBE and just regurgitate the information rather than vetting it. This is how the company continues to fool the general public.

I found one article that actually mentioned the declining net income, but it's still reads like a press release from the company. Check it out to see the excuses they make for low net income despite the record-breaking revenue.

When it comes to media play and outright lies, nothing comes close to how HYBE has pinned all their problems on Min Hee Jin. The last 48 hours have been media play on steroids, but let's focus on the message HYBE has been broadcasting for months now. Article after article has blamed HYBE's falling stock price on their difficulties with MHJ. It's really quite smart strategy to pin their falling stock price on her rather than facing the fact that K-pop isn't the long-term cash cow the company claims it to be. The reality is, financial analysts have been sounding the alarm for months that the K-pop industry is a financial house of cards. They rely too heavily on record sales (we've all seen the stacks of CDs abandoned on the street). I guess the Chinese government has cracked down on mass buying, which hurts the K-pop industry, but so does the inflation that's hitting so many across the globe hard. When fans are given the choice between buying tons of the same album or paying rent, I'm pretty sure most would choose food and shelter over 100 copies of the latest Seventeen album.

Blaming MHJ for the falling stock sends the message to investors that all of HYBE's problems will be fixed once they get rid of that pesky woman, when in reality, she and her label are good for HYBE's bottom line. They can (and I guess did) fire her, but that won't change the waning interest in K-pop on a global scale.

All the K-pop music labels are seeing huge drops in their stock prices. Do they also have a Min Hee Jin problem???

Year to date, these stock prices are down approximately -

JYP -50%

YG -28%

SM -32%

It's almost like there's a problem in the industry, right?!

I'm going to go into the HYBE?MHJ situation more deeply in my next post, but I want to end this post with another example of how HYBE manipulates public perception. This article is from CNBC, a major US media outlet, and it's straight lies.

Originally, the article claimed MHJ resigned as CEO, but we now know that was a falsehood coming directly from HYBE. The article was updated a day later to clear up that whopper. But the huge lie staring everyone in the face is the gains in the market cap/increase in stock price. The article completely fails to mention that on the same day HYBE canned MHJ, they also quietly announced a stock buy back worth 26.6 billion won with the express purpose of boosting the stock price.

The company is buying up common stock and converting it to restricted stock. Once the common stock is converted to restricted stock, the fewer shares of common stock will mean the EPS increases (earnings per share). Earnings per share is calculated by dividing net income (see previous post) by the number of outstanding common stock shares. I can talk about this more if anyone is interested. But suffice it to say, this is a way to make the company's share price increase while making the company appear more financially sound.

A restricted stock unit (RSU) is stock-based compensation issued by an employer. A vesting period exists before the RSU converts to actual common stock. Until then, it has no monetary worth. Once the RSU converts to stock, the stockholder may pay taxes on its value.

The stock price increase had absolutely nothing to do with MHJ "resigning" and had everything to do with the buy back. If anything, giving the boot to the executive whose business line contributes 14% to the bottom line should scare the shit out of investors. Those sneaky bastards!

Whatever you think about Min Hee Jin or NewJeans, please keep in mind that the members of BTS seem to be stuck in that crappy, poorly run corporation. It seems Bang Si Hyuk and his goons have no problem destroying reputations and careers of individuals who commit the sin of being successful. Does that sound familiar?

[cowboypossume]

the swing and cinderella 2015

ok hi :3. i got a hyperfixation in art history last year because i had a rough go of it teacher wise and had to basically teach myself and entire ap course! yippie!! (i did have a lot of fun but AH). so i'm going to take what i loosely remember from that class (alongside being an aide for it this year). and ive had a specail interest in cinderelaa 2015 sense 2015. so we get to put these ideas together into that one scene in one of the best live action cinderella.

in art history i learned this painting.

the swing.

i saw a post calling out disney for always using it, and if i find it i'll credit it here, but in Cinderella 2015, I think it's actually referenced to quite well.

Before i get into how, a brief context on some of the themes in this painting (we think. this is art history and almost everyone is dead so what can't ask if this was how they intended it or pretentious people reading too much into things):

a woman in a vivid pink dress is married and is having an affair

pink pink dress + floofy skirt + swing = wealth and class (historical context)

husband is kinda hidden and affiar is "brought to light"

the swing is breaking so maybe marital troubles? finical stress? both?

ankle exposed = sexual

she's looking at not the husband so odds are she doesnt like him that much. especially because she's doing this in FRONT OF HIM

but disney takes this idea and flips it in a way that really works for these characters.

if you want to watch the scene here you go

(sorry for the quality i am eepy and not gonna find better photos)

"I've never shown this place to anyone." "A secrete garden? Oh I love it."

instead of like a 'secrete' affair the original painting is trying to show, there's more of an innocent wonder to it in the movie. this is the price's space. his. in choosing to let her in and let her see this, he's choosing to show cinderella parts of himself so maybe he'll get something from her, like a name even.

he shows her his space, and she reciprocates by looking back and forth between him and the space saying "i love it." because she loves him!! and he loves her, and they're figuring out what that means.

which is why the eye contact here is so important here and the painting. because it's showing who she (the subject) chooses, and in this moment, cinderella chooses the prince.

"I shouldn't" "You should" [it repeats for a bit] "I shouldn't." "You should." "... I will :)"

look at her little smileeeeee. you kind of see this in the painting, but here it feel so much more genuine. she is choosing to get on the swing. she is choosing him and his lifestyle, the wealth, the support (literally. that swing is not going ANYWHERE) which is so much different than what she has, that it takes a second of reassurance that she's not a burden for wanting this nice things.

she looks at him !!! "may i?" "please"

sidugf6ewfguAGDUIOS

they're literally infatuated with each other are you kidding me. look at how dgew6g6qud adg6ew7udhjawosdk'sl

this isn't something she's ashamed of or trying to hide. he is taking up more of the screen than her (unlike the painting) and you can tell she doesn't mind

also. he asks for consent. he doesn't assume it's his right to push her or support her or anything; he wants this to be as much her choice as his, and with the 'please', it is. so he does.

the camera changes showing that he is The Pusher

if we were back in the painting it's meant to show that the husband is kind of clueless. some might argue that in this scene he really doesn't know much about her, so that's why the shadow is next to her, and i will!!

he's going into this kinda blind, hoping to learn about her, but in this moment he doesn't.

the shoe falls!!

so the movie is shot here to more focus on the emotional beats of their faces, so this is the best we're gonna get to get my point across. this part helps to do three things.

the first is kinda a "duh": its cinderella so obviously a shoe's gotta fall or something (an ipod) is gonna fall. secondly, the shoe is flying in the original painting, which is an ohmage to what this is referencing my most favorite though: we get a transition!!!! he's established that he likes her, she's shown interest by making eye contact with him and giggling, so now he's taking a dramatic step. he's going to try to have a relationship with her.

it's small, and they have a cute little banter, but then The Moment comes to make his move and...

[there's not a good screencap you have to just trust me]

"wont you tell me who you really are"

GAH I JUST DSAIFGERWDG they SO could have made this a wink wink sexual thing (that's literally the painting) but like! they didn't!!! she swings towards him, kinda laughs and blushes, and when there's a pause that almost any other media would have!

its all the right beats and all the right pauses, but instead he wants to know her. he doesn't want to rush ahead, as we saw with the idea that pushing the swing and putting on the shoe requires moments of pause and a "is this ok?", kissing would be too much. it's too soon. not without some kind of opening up first on her end. so i think that's part of the editing of this scene.

he's NOT the guy "ruining a marriage" or having a casual affair with a married woman. he's a man of honor trying to become at least freindly with a woman he likes

AND THEN HEENDS THE SCENE BY ON THE SWING DEGW67GD78shn

he sees them as equals and he's smiling !!!! he got something !! it makes no sense but he knows a little more now