#in every play through i channel a different version of him

[jaureandlo]

i love all link headcanons. i love feral link, i love civilized link. i love link who worships zelda, i love link who resents zelda. i love traumatized link, i love dumb bitch link, i love link who dies, i love link who lives, i love mute link, i love deaf link, i love gay link, i love straight link, i love link who is afraid, i love link who is courageous, i love cis link, i love trans link, i love link who wants to save the princess immediately, i love link who doesn’t remember a thing, i love link who wishes for something different, i love link who desires his fate, i love wild link, i love domestic link, i love gentle and strong and tired and energetic and artsy and violent and loving and tender and scared and emotional and cold and brilliant and dumb and hungry and tired and all of it. i love all of it. i love link however he is, was, and could be.

[iamonlyperson]

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

YouTuber Markiplier Got Passes From Everyone in Hollywood — So, He Made a Hit His Way

Podcast adaptation 'The Edge of Sleep' from New Regency spent the weekend on Amazon Prime Video's most watched TV chart, but, as the YouTuber and team reveals, it didn't get there through traditional channels.

In 2019, 'The Edge of Sleep', the latest offering from Mark Fischbach, known to his 37 million YouTube subscribers as Markiplier, was pitched to every major platform in Hollywood.

By then, 'The Edge of Sleep' was already a popular podcast. In fact, it quickly became the biggest genre narrative podcast of all time, with some 6 million downloads and counting. And for the television adaptation, Markiplier would be reprising his role as a night watchman, who attempts to survive a mysterious global crisis where anyone who goes to sleep dies. The podcast’s creators, Jake Emanuel and Willie Block, were on board to write and run the TV version, and Longlegs producer Brian Kavanaugh Jones was attached to produce. There would be six episodes, made on a relative shoestring budget, served up to a rapt audience that Markiplier has cultivated for more than a decade with a channel primarily focused on Let’s Play videos.

Curtis, who’s represented Markiplier for eight years, wasn’t particularly surprised by the deluge of nos. As he tells it, Hollywood has never been willing to take his client seriously. The feedback? “Oh, the YouTuber? No, thanks.’ Just totally dismissive,” he says via Zoom, insisting the entire reason that they did 'The Edge of Sleep' as a QCODE-produced podcast first was because they wanted something to be able to show skittish buyers when they ultimately shopped the TV adaptation. It was also the reason that Curtis, whose client roster over the years has included Rami Malek and Veep‘s Timothy Simons, urged Markiplier to do his second podcast, Distractible, an unscripted offering featuring him and a few buddies.

“I went to Mark three years ago and I said, ‘Hey, look, I’m not getting a lot of love and respect for you in the market, you should do a podcast because I know you can build one of the biggest podcasts in the world. And at that point, I think traditional Hollywood will say, “Oh wow, you just knocked out Joe Rogan from No. 1 on Spotify. Let’s pay attention,”’” says Curtis. “And then he did that, and people still didn’t care. It’s been seven years now of trying to get traditional Hollywood to pay attention.” (For the record, Spotify did, allegedly inking an eight-figure dealfor him to host video episodes of Distractible and other podcasts.)

Markiplier is considerably more diplomatic. “I’m trying to show people [in Hollywood] that there is a different way, but at the same time, I do understand the mistrust of some creators,” he tells THR, acknowledging it was daunting to leap from his own videos to large-scale productions, with crews in the hundreds, even for him, who had scaled up gradually. “A YouTuber going into that is used to doing everything themself, so to learn to both collaborate with others and to let go a little and trust those who are experts in their department, it’s tough — especially when you have a distributor or some production company overseeing it or paying for it who wants to have input. It’s hard, and YouTubers can be very egotistical.” (Though he was simply an actor-for-hire and not a creative engine on Edge of Sleep, Markiplier still managed to butt heads with his producers, including the time he insisted upon licensing and editing in a different opening theme song, which he ultimately did with his own money.)

Most in Markiplier’s situation would have cut their losses and moved on. He hardly needs Hollywood, after all. But he didn’t generate nearly 17 billion video views by doing what others would do. “And I have a desire to prove myself and prove that I can play at other people’s games just as well as they can,” he says. So, he and the team, which also includes Oddfellows’ Chris Ferguson and director Corey Adams, among others, decided to forgo the traditional route. Markiplier agreed to put up a portion of the financing, and figure out a distribution strategy later. On Kavanaugh Jones’ recommendation, New Regency was recruited to come aboard as the studio and foot the remainder of the bill.

So, with COVID-19 still raging, the cast and crew decamped to Vancouver in the summer of 2021. The shoot lasted 25 days across 35 different locations, a triumph given the protocols in place at the time. According to New Regency’s chairman and CEO Yariv Milchan, it was a bet worth taking. “New Regency has a history of recognizing potential where others haven’t. Projects like The Revenant and Bohemian Rhapsody had been overlooked for years, yet we saw their value and brought them to life,” he says via email, adding: “With The Edge of Sleep, we saw a different potential in the unique combination of the largely untapped creativity from Markiplier and his dedicated fanbase, along with the success of the original QCODE podcast. We were inspired by the challenge to create, together with Markiplier and QCODE, a series at the right budget while embracing innovative marketing approaches.” (Though everybody’s staying mum on said budget, it’s said to be a small fraction of a typical prestige drama.)

In 2023, with a nearly completed series, they took it out once more. This time, they did so with the first episode available for potential buyers to preview. Again, they were greeted with a succession of passes. Curtis, who’s also an executive producer on the project, isn’t even sure they bothered to open the link and sample it. “It was the same thing, ‘No.’ ‘No.’ ‘No.’ And that’s the point at which 99.9 percent of Hollywood quits, it’s over,” he says. “But we knew, with Mark, you have this special ingredient that people truly undervalue — and he’s a complete genius in marketing to his fans.” 

He was confident that Markiplier could and would activate his audience. After all, he’d seen him do it many times before. A few years back, for instance, Markiplier had a YouTube channel called Unus Annus (“One Year” in Latin), where he posted a new video every day for a year, culminating in a 12-hour live stream on day 365 that ended with him deleting the entire channel. At one point, Curtis says there were 1.3 million concurrent viewers watching; and, in 24 hours, he says Markiplier managed to sell $19 million of merchandise. “And that was something that we couldn’t pay people to write about or talk about. No one cared,” says Curtis, who acknowledges he has a chip on his shoulder on his client’s behalf. “I mean, there’s less than 50 people in the entire world who could do that. We’re talking, like, Taylor Swift, Kardashian type stuff.”

Last month, Hollywood finally got its taste for Markiplier’s power. Over on YouTube, his platform of choice, he released a video announcing that Edge of Sleep would be coming out in a matter of weeks. That video, which didn’t even tell people where they could watch the series, racked up 3.5 million views. Then, on Oct. 18, the full season dropped on Amazon Prime Video via the Prime Video Direct content submission portal — or, technically, it was uploaded a few days before, for quality control. Almost instantly, and without any real promotion, it had broken into the Prime Video’s Top 10, where it remained, hovering around No. 6 or 7 through the weekend.

By Friday, a trailer dropped on both QCODE and New Regency’s social media, and Prime Video posted a clip on its social channels. A paid media buy launched that day, too. Later that evening, Markiplier called an “Emergency Meeting” of his fans, which turned into him hosting a three-hour livestream, during which he urged everyone to tune in and rate the series, as his goal now is to stay on the Top 10 TV chart for 30 days. In success, there will be a second season, and ideally distribution outside the U.S. According to the Amazon site, Content providers to Prime Video Direct receive 50 percent of net revenue for titles that are available to buy or rent. By Sunday, 1.2 million had checked out the livestream video just to hear him field questions about the making of the series, his first foray into scripted and dramatic TV. (He talked, too, about Iron Lung, a bloody film that he acts in and directs, for which he’s currently seeking a theatrical distributor.)

The irony of its success over on Prime Video, one of many platforms that passed on Edge of Sleep when it came through the traditional channels, is not lost on Markiplier or his rep. “We definitely want to break glass,” Curtis says. “We want people to pay attention to the fact that this guy who was told no over and over again is so powerful that he can launch a TV show to great success on his own.”

[sciderman]

memory serves me right you're able to channel wade wilson naturally, but are there any comics in particular that help you channel his energy for writing?

hoh, boy. when i write wade he's a total cocktail of every single version of wade wilson there is. shoved every deadpool into a blender and made a margarita.

the biggest inspiration for how i write wade is definitely nicieza's deadpool circa 2004's cable & deadpool (aka the most pathetic wade ever)

i just - i love him. i love everything about him. i love that he's chronically lonely. i love his sad boy hours.

i love that he's stupid and restless. like he's constantly itching to prove himself. he's constantly itching for validation. he's constantly itching for someone – anyone – to tell him he's doing a good job.

i love that he's unapologetically fixated on sex, like, all the time. just - all the time.

i love him, i love him, i love him.

the most pathetic wade wilson, but he's my favourite ever. i want to put him in a snow globe and rattle him around.

i think the wade that i write presently is a more mature, more mellowed out version of wade - he's dryer. he's smarter. i think he takes more from the more competent versions of wade - i think his sense of humor is more akin to the wade in deadpool max - which is a version of wade that i'm strangely obsessed with because he strikes this really funny balance between everything he says being stupid and off-kilter and almost naive - but him being so stoic and composed with his delivery that you know he's not stupid, and it's all probably some carefully calculated facade he's putting on.

i think the wade from the deadpool movie does something similar - he says stupid things, but you know he's not saying stupid things because he's stupid. he's saying stupid things because he wants to be the funny guy. he wants to please his audience.

i.. man. i love every wade wilson. every single wade wilson is so, so different and yet they've all amalgamated in my brain to create this wade wilson cocktail. it's like i had to reconcile all of these different wades into one.

really there's not a lot of consistency among deadpools, save for them cracking jokes about sex and feeling vaguely sad and wink wink nudge nudging the audience. but there's a lot about wade that i feel is a crux to his character that a lot of writers discard - and i think the most important trait about him is his constant pursuit of validation - his obsession with the spotlight, and god, his vanity. wade is an incredibly vain character. don't forget, he truly does believe he's the main character in a comic book that you're reading. and his vanity completely infects everything he does. it infects his relationship with "heroism" - it infects his motivations - it comes through in everything he says and does. it comes from a place where he's constantly thinking about what character he wants to play. and i'm obsessed with him. i'm obsessed with him.

[somelazyassartist]

Is Jocasta Nightstrider Taako from Tv????

by which i mean is Jocasta and Taako is the same character?? This whole time i was under the impression Jocasta was a completely separate character?? who is Jocasta????

Howdy!! Jocasta Nightstrider and "Taako Taaco" are the same character but at very different points in their life!! "Taako" is who we see them as throughout Balance and the following 9 years after Story and Song that the liveshows happen throughout. However during the sequel, The Zone of Adventure: Imbalance (a 3-part miniseries that takes place 10 years after Story and Song), "Taako" goes through a really severe identity crisis and generally is having a Really Bad Time in regards to the overwhelming social isolation and stripping of his personhood that comes with Everybody in Every Universe Everywhere treating him as some godly savior and not as a real person.

There's a lot of development that happens but basically his response is to go through an extremely trans-coded character arc where he reclaims his life and body as his own to choose what to do with instead of continuing to let other people's expectations for him force him to be somebody that he doesn't like being. He starts back from zero, letting go of his wizarding days and starting a clean slate as a Ranger. He changes his name (now going by Jocasta Nightstrider), voice (taking up a faux-Shakespearean accent), how he dresses (donning a shimmery purple cloak), and sets off into the world as a completely changed individual to go adventure again, hoping to help those in need and do good in the world in a way that he wouldn't have ever been able to when he was chained down by his old identity.

So yeah! They're the same person, "Taako" is basically Jocasta's deadname, and Jo's just a much happier and healthier version of themself :] I think it was handled really wonderfully and Jocasta's my absolute favorite iteration of the character, their journey of reinventing themself and healing from their past trauma came at a time I really needed it so it's a character and story that I'm particularly attached to, if you couldn't tell haha.

If you wanted to watch it (it's very short, only 3 episodes), it was just recently uploaded to all the podcast sites alongside where the rest of The Adventure Zone airs as a direct continuation, but I personally think the best way to watch it is from their YouTube channel where it was originally uploaded 2 years ago, it has video and it's really entertaining to actually see everyone playing their characters with each other! (Edit: here's the link :])

[weaselandfriends]

Recently finished reading Cleveland Quixotic, so now I have read all six of your stories in the span of like two months. I had a serious illness and had to stay in bed during all that time and you got me through it.

Questions...

Have you read every book referenced in the chapter titles? Have you watched every (real) anime mentioned in in CxC? Have you played Bubsy 3D 2?

Is there any WoG on the connection between Aracely and CM? When reading Chicago, I interpreted CM's wish to mean that "Cely Sosa" was herself, and that Charlie Vizcarra/Clownmuffle were different identities Kyubey had conjured for her after messing with her memories as per her wish. The alternate versions (?) of them in When I Win suggest... I'm not sure. Any comment?

Obligatory who are your biggest artistic influences question.

Especially in terms of tone and thematic focus, you are the bleakest writer I have engaged with that managed not to fall into the trap of numbing misery porn (Berserk, Wildbow, etc). Is something you are conscious of and intentionally try to avoid?

Who is your favorite character, from your own books? Which character do you see yourself as most similar to?

In Modern Cannibals, Graves and Maximillion and Hussie are LITERALLY meant to be the same interconnected entity, right? I was discussing this with a friend who I got to read it, and they agreed that they were meant to be connected as different potential representations of either AH or artists in general, but I read it as them actually being some fantastical unholy trinity monster. The story has a lot of allusions to Catholicism (the game designer in one of his monologues directly compares to his position as an creator as Christ being transmuted and consumed), was wondering if this was as much of an intentional choice as I'm assuming.

Are you ESL? My friend seems to think there are a few minutes "tells" in your work, and if you were that would be the most motivating thing ever for me

Oh boy, a lot to cover here. (I love it, thank you for this ask.)

I've read almost all of the books used as chapter titles. The only chapter titles that come from things I haven't read are:

Magica Madoka Veneficus Puella, from Fargo Ch 38 (This Story's Dead) - I just happened to see the author note blithely describing the story as scrapped and thought that was funny.

To the Stars, from Chicago Ch 24 (To the Stars) - As I mentioned in an old review of To the Stars, I only managed to read about 200,000 words of this nearly 1 million word behemoth.

Dunston Checks In, from Chicago Ch 29 (Dunston Checks In) - I have not seen this movie.

As for the anime in CxC, I've seen most of it. I haven't seen Gabriel DropOut or Himouto! Umaru-chan and I've only seen 8 episodes of Revolutionary Girl Utena before I dropped it. (I have an old ask about Utena where I express my unpopular opinion that I didn't like it, to the dismay of everyone who interacted with the post, but I can't find it anymore.) I'm obsessed with lists, so I have a list of every anime I've seen with a number rating (the Dropped section is also accurate).

I have, in fact, actually played Bubsy 3D 2 (also known as Bubsy 3D: Bubsy Visits the James Turrell Retrospective), and not just seen the Dunkey video from which all the Bubsy 3D 2 chapter titles come from. (Including WIW's chapter title, MEWSEUM.) I've also gone to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where Bubsy 3D 2 is set.

Since I keep bringing up Dunkey in this ask, I'll mention that I'm actually in four Dunkey videos. I used to play League of Legends with him in 2012. We even did a group watch of the Disney Channel original movie Don't Look Under the Bed.

2. That's an interpretation I never would have thought of, but it's really cool! (My commenters always seem to have predictions/interpretations I wish I thought of.) My mindset regarding Clownmuffle's wish in Chicago was based on the classic work of horror fiction by RL Stine, Be Careful What You Wish For (Goosebumps #12). In it, the main character, Samantha Byrd, wishes in a fit of rage for her bully/rival "to just disappear." The wish works, but there's a catch - everyone else in the world has disappeared too! Which is just like, okay at that point it's not even be careful what you wish for, you're just making stuff up. At the end of the story, Byrd fixes everything and makes it so her bully/rival gets to make wishes instead. The bully immediately wishes for Byrd to become a real bird, which she does, and nobody else in the world becomes a bird, suggesting the wish woman was just particularly screwing over Byrd for no reason.

Anyway, my mindset was that Charlie and Cely were rivals, and things spiraled out of control, so that Charlie wished for Cely to disappear. What specifically caused them to fall out? I'll leave that open ended.

3. Franz Kafka is my biggest literary influence, though as even just this ask probably reveals, I can take influence from pretty much anything. I'm probably the least Homestuck-esque creator of the many creators influenced by Homestuck, but it was a major influence. The rapper Aesop Rock is another major influence (I'm named after him). Beyond that, pretty much anything I've read or seen might be an influence on me. Cockatiel x Chameleon's two main artistic influences were Lucky Star and the Madoka Rebellion movie, for instance.

4. Honestly, I love bleak misery porn. I love just the most depressing story you can imagine. I love when a story ends and there are maybe 2 characters still alive and they're both generic bureaucrats there just because someone needs to give the final line (like in Hamlet, King Lear, and Akame ga Kill).

Cockatiel x Chameleon is probably the work that most completely realizes my artistic ambitions, and it's no coincidence it's my bleakest and most depressing work. But ordinarily I often feel like I have a duty to achieve some sort of reader satisfaction. I would not consider myself a very indulgent author. I don't know if I could even be one if I tried.

5. My favorite character I've written is Khalid "Lil Cal" Bhandari from Modern Cannibals. I love his role in the story structurally. I love how Z. is so excited to go on this road trip with her friends and then neither of her friends talk to her at all and she winds up talking to this random guy all the time who is introduced as a literal who she has to put up with. I love how he vanishes for half of the story after walking off into the desert and then reappears 50,000 words later to participate in a climactic rap battle. I love his analysis of Malkwon's rap music. He's just a really funny character with a unique role in the story.

The character I'm most similar to is Harper Praise. Cockatiel x Chameleon is my most autobiographical work.

6. I designed Modern Cannibals so that both interpretations would exist simultaneously. They could be different people, or all aspects of the same person (Hussie). Modern Cannibals dwells on questions of identity and people having different faces or sides that are not immediately seen: Not just Maximillion/Ian West, Graves/Hussie, Max/Cosplay Max, but also almost everyone Z. interacts with, who winds up revealing completely new facets of their character in their POV scenes that Z. is totally blind to. This theme of identity works both on the level of Z.'s relationship with her friends, but also on the level of the creator figures' relationship with their audience. It culminates in the final question of the story: Who is speaking the story's final words, Shirou Katsumata the game developer, or his corporate-approved translator?

The identity aspect also translates into a lot of doubles or pairs that are less explicit and more thematic. For instance, each of the three main kids (Z., Kiki, Max) winds up having a "counterpart" in the three main adults (Maximillion, Mitchum, Hussie). The POV chapters are arranged symmetrically around Max's POV chapter as an aspect, with characters either getting a second POV scene in the same position on both sides of the axis (Kiki being the first and last POV scene, Maximillion being the second and second-to-last), or having a different but similar character replace their position on the other side of the axis (for instance, Shirou Katsumata and Andrew Hussie's POV scenes exist in the same position around the axis, prompting comparison of them as creator figures beleaguered by their fanbases). By the end of the story, Z. has seemingly replaced Kiki and Max with Cecily and Maximillion, both of whose names are similar to those of the people they "replace."

So yes, all of these characters who might or might not be the same character were intentionally designed in such a way, and I think that's core to how Modern Cannibals is operating on a thematic level.

7. I am not ESL, sorry. I wonder what those "tells" are...

[ohtobeleah]

Roll of the Dice // Jake Seresin

Chapter One: ‘Echoes’

Summary: When Rooster makes a snarky remark that should have never left his mouth—everyone who knew, for a brief moment in time, Is brought back to the moment where Jake Seresin lost his one and only wingwoman.

Warnings: Angst! Graphic Mentions of injuries sustained from a fighter jet accident. Loss of life, reader x Jake Seresin WHUMP!

Word Count: 3.8k

Author Note: Damn, I dunno where all this shit is coming from but these ones shots & little two parters are clogging my brain so I thought it best to get them on paper once and for all.

Series Masterlist

“Hangman, the only place you’ll lead anyone is an early grave.” Bradley Bradshaw had a few regrets he’d managed to tally up in his thirty eight years on earth—but letting such a harsh truth slip past his slightly chapped lips when he knew the seriousness of the situation playing out before him wasn’t all that deep, was definitely on top of his list.

“Oof“ Jake could hear Fanboy chuckle from behind him as he leaned over to take his shot at pool. For a moment those around him wondered if he’d falter, slip and miss under the weight of Roosters insult. But Jake never faltered in front of his peers in such a public manner. No—he simply took a deep breath and sunk his shot. 

Fanboy hadn’t known of Jake before stepping foot into the Hard Deck fifteen or so minutes ago, nor did he know how serious Bradley Bradshaw's accusation had truly been. How hard it hit on a personal level. Bob Floyd, the one who should have been a stealth pilot in Jakes eyes, stood smirking beside his new colleague. The two Weapons Systems Officers instantly bonding over their respective roles—Coyote and Phoenix though? they knew. They knew just how deep Roosters jab had truly cut and the fact he could never take it back would follow the moustache wearing aviator to his own grave. 

Rooster expected Jake to turn to stone at the venom he spat, if anything at the very least Rooster wouldn't have been surprised if Jake Seresin fell to his knees like the night he did when he’d heard the news you hadn’t made it through the night. But to much surprise his dog shot insult had washed over the cocky superficial as all hell aviator like water rolling off a duck's back. Remaining unphased and staying poised, Jake stood with a smug smile. He took calculated strides towards Bradley as he pulled his lips into a cruel smirk. Sitting on the edge of the pool table with his chest puffed and his blood boiling.

“Well, anyone who follows you is just gonna run out of fuel—“. Jake wore an egomaniacal bravado incredibly well–but Rooster, Phoenix and Coyote all knew he hadn’t always been this way. “But that’s just you, ain’t it Rooster.” He just hadn’t been the same since he lost you. “You’re snug on that perch, waiting for just the right moment—” Rooster knew deep down that Jake wasn't talking to him right now. He knew that the man who stood before him with his shoulder squared and his thousand-watt smirk was channeling some deeper repressed emotion he never got to properly work through. Turning into a version of himself he didn't know as a coping mechanism, loss, grief, heartache consuming him fully—turning him into someone completely different to the man you knew him to be. The man he was. The man he wanted to be beside you every day and every night. But that didn’t matter because you weren’t around to see how far he’d fallen into the character he developed to protect himself from the world that was so fucking cruel. It took no prisoners, it played no favorites. “That never comes.”

Hangman, the only place you’ll lead anyone is an early grave. It burned his skin, the all too familiar sensation like jet fuel landing on exposed flesh. Hangman, the only place you’ll lead anyone is an early grave. Drowning out his surroundings Jake couldn’t hear, couldn’t see. He carried on his night in autopilot as the former and less heartbroken version of himself screamed and clawed and tried to beat against his chest over his heart to no avail. Jake wasn’t letting him out—no. He couldn’t, not when you weren’t here. No one left on earth was worthy of who he truly could be. When you left? Jake swore you took everything with you, all the good he could and wanted to be. Without you? His better half, his soulmate, his best friend, he was simply Hangman.

Hangman, the only place you’ll lead anyone is an early grave. Rooster's voice echoed like a poorly educated Orchestra, everything and everyone around him felt like the hands of time had slowed them down so he could revel in every passing second. A longer eternity away from your warm embrace. The one he’d worked so hard to earn. The love he lost. That his body ached for since you left.

Hangman, the only place you’ll lead anyone is an early grave. Jake brought a round of beers blindly, going through the motions, he razed Phoenix up a little more about her being here, he beat Coyote in three games of pool and thought it was ridiculous just how many people turned their attention to Rooster when he played Great Balls Of Fire. He hated the fact he knew you’d be the one sitting next to him—singing your heart out because you knew how to party and party hard.

Hangman, the only place you’ll lead anyone is an early grave. He helped Coyote throw some guy from the bar—said a witty little remark before saluting and slamming the door. Jake knew you’d kick his ass for it if you had seen him act so differently to the Jake Seresin you knew. But with every slow, overwhelming moment Jake couldn’t shake the comment Rooster had made. Couldn’t rid you from his mind although he tried so hard to keep you locked in a box deep inside his cerebellum.

Hangman, the only place you’ll lead anyone is an early grave.

When Jake Seresin finished his night at the Hard Deck, he went back to his dorm, locked his door—and stood in complete silence. Stood in the dark of his empty dorm and sighed heavily as the weight of what felt like the entire world crushed his chest.

When he couldn’t breathe he knew it was serious. Dropping to his knees with a sob that would have broken your heart he clutched at his chest and tried to steady himself. A panic attack surging through his veins like a rush of adrenaline his body rejected. The endorphins backfiring, sending his body into overdrive because he couldn’t stop hearing your fucking laugh in his goddamn head. Like a permanent reminder that you were gone but not forgotten. Too far away to talk to, to touch, to see, but never far enough away to not hear. It was cruel. It was a sick joke.

“AAAHHHHH!!” At the top of his lungs like the world wasn’t at a standstill at two in the morning, Jake shouted to the heavens above until his face was bright red, till his eyes stung, till the vein in his neck popped and there was nothing left inside him till the deafening silence once again consumed him.

Hangman, the only place you’ll lead anyone is an early grave. He didn’t know how long he had been on the floor of his dorm for either—time must have resolved itself at some point. Suddenly not so slow motion.

“Ay yo—Jake man you good?” Banging his first against Jake's door, Javy frowned his brows with concern after the agony ridden scream coming from his wingman’s dorm ripped through the first floor dorms. Rooster had stood in his doorway watching, but too stubborn to move. He hated himself enough for what he had said—he didn’t need a black eye to remind himself he crossed a line. He knew if there was such a thing as life after death you’d be watching over him with a frown so prominent it would haunt his nightmares. His dad would have smacked him upside the head by now for causing someone this much distress.

“Hangman?” Knocking again only to be met with silence and a locked door, Javy slid down the door, his back pressed against the heavy wood as he took a stab in the dark as to what this was about. “There was nothing on this earth you could have done differently Bro.” He sighed, his head hanging low. “But Dice? She’s gone, she’s been gone for almost six months man.”

Javy would be lying if he said he didn’t miss you every single day. He also knew that with some twisted turn of fate, if you’d never been taken so soon he never would have had the privilege to fly in your honor every day beside Jake. But something he also knew was that dwelling on the past held back whatever bright future was ahead. “Jake I know you’re listening man, so imma say it one more time—.”

Jake couldn’t hear what Javy ended up saying, it was probably something like he couldn’t change the past or that you’d want him to get off the ground out of the heap he’d collapse into. Or something along the lines of there was nothing Jake could have done to protect you or prevent your untimely demise. He didn’t hear anything of it, because all that rang out through his head like an obnoxiously loud gong was:

Hangman, the only place you ever led her was an early grave.

***~***~***~***~***~***~

(North Island — United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, October 16th 2014)

“DIXON!!” Admiral Paynes voice bellowed through the locker room with enough grunt behind it that it had you jumping out of your skin before slamming your hand in the door jam of your locker. Muffling a cry in pain as you held your hand to your chest as it throbbed, turning on your heels to stand to attention, hiding all the fear you felt coursing through your body as the older more authoritarian admiral approached you. His nostrils flaring like saucepans as he held out a deflated whoopee cushion. “You think this is some kind of game?”

“No sir, not at all sir–” You tried your best to look him directly in the eye as you lied through your teeth. Of course it was a game, it was actually a childs gag toy if anything–but you weren’t about to get into an argument with Admiral Nathan ‘Agony’ Payne. “Why are you showing me a whoopee cushion, sir?”

“Someone put it on my chair thismorning–” Fuck. “I thought I’d give you the chance to perhaps enlightening me as to who that might of been before I ask the admin assistance to run the security footage.” You knew you’d been caught red handed. Agony knew no one else would be stupid enough, or ballsy enough for that matter, to pull a stunt like this. However! It was in your DNA. He knew immediately that you had been the culprit of such a crime. Like father, like daughter.

“Dad says Hi.” Was all you muttered out before you dropped your gaze, fuck– as if you wouldn’t think about the security cameras. “He told me to tell you that he’s really pissed you keep flying Jet Blue when he knows you know he flys American Airlines–” There was no response as you dropped your gaze once again to your feet. “Sorry Sir, it won’t happen again sir.” Your father and Admiral Payne had been friends for a few decades, remaining the same even though your dad decided that flying commercially sparked his interest now more than for the Navy. It probably wasn't your finest moment to allow your father to use you as a conduit to get a rise out of his old buddy.

Bradley Bradshaw sat zipping up his flight suit on the bench behind where Admiral Payne had been scolding you. He got an undisturbed front row seat to the seven colours of bad shit you’d gone while taking an absolute scolding from your superior. Chucking softly as he caught your attention for just a few seconds.

“How the fuck did you end up here?” Agony scoffed as he let the whoopee cushion drop into your hand. You’d somehow by the skin of your fucking kneecaps, slid your way into the latest class of TopGun. You still weren't too sure how you got here or what the Navy saw in you–but nevertheless, you were here. “Pull a stunt like this again and I won’t be so inclined to keep you around long enough so you can show me what you're capable of, do I make myself clear?”

“In abundance sir.” You confirmed what he needed to hear in order to let you live, keep the skin on your body. “It won't happen again, sir.” Without so much as a word after, Agony turned with an expression that rivalled one of Jack Nicholson's own. Leaving you to breathe again, since when had you been holding your breath though?

“You fucking idiot–” Bradley cried out in hesterrics as you threw the deflated woopee his way, laughing along with him as you slide down the lockers into a heap on the floor. “As if you’d do that! That Admiral Agony Y/n! You can’t do that type of shit and expect to get away with it, even if dear old pops put you up to it.” Although you had your mothers maiden name and had lived with her for most of your life, you were still Ron ‘Slider’ Kerners flesh and blood. His daughter through and through. A last name didn't prove that, your attitude and wits about you told that story enough.

“I just kinda assumed the whole last name situation would have thrown him off my scent a little.” You and Bradley had known each other for what felt like your entire lives. Not all that close but still, you kept in contact over the years, met at family gatherings until his relationship with Pete Mitchell diminished into nothing. Suddenly Bradley Bradshaw was no longer around, for four years you heard nothing until one day you ran into him in the halls of the Naval Academy. He’d finally made it. Since then though things had been good–you found solace in his ability to overcome adversity and he found joy in the easygoing attitude you wore like a badge of honour. A friendship pure and as platonic as they come.

“Sounds like someone just got a scolding–” Phoenix smirked as she entered the locker room, noticing you on the ground after your near death experience. “I'm assuming you were on the receiving end of that mouthful Dixon?” She beamed, roughing the top of your head as you groaned in response. Still rattled. “You’ll never learn will you?”

“I’m hoping to one day, but no.” Sitting up as you let your legs stretch out, you ran your hands down your face–pulling at the skin as you widened your eyes and smirked at your own idiocy. “Probably not–”

“Who let you in here anyway, Bradshaw? I haven’t seen you since 0 week at Acam?” Natasha teased her long lost lover as she sauntered over to where Bradley sat. “And more importantly whos dick did you have to suck to get a mention?” You couldn’t help but to smile at the way Bradley looked at Natasha Trance, she mimicked it back as she stood between his legs so effortlessly, her hands on his shoulders as Bradleys hands slid up her hips.

“Well the list is certainly long, but highly distinguished.” You could have sat there for hours longing for a love like theirs. Fait always brought them back to one another. Each and every time like they had never left each other's sides, picking up right where they had left their bookmarked chapter.

“What do we have here?” When you turned your head towards the doorway of the locker room, you were met with a man who you could only physically describe at first glance as Coverboy Pretty. With sandy blonde hair and a smile that could most likely light up New York City after dark, he was the embodiment of a ken doll. “Phoenix and Rooster, my oh my, do my eyes deceive me?”

“Get bent Hangman—“ Rooster sneered as Phoenix stepped back from his welcoming embrace, instead opting to fold her arms across your chest and raise a single brow Hangman’s way. The blonde barely turned his attention to Rooster as he caught the sight of you slumped against the lockers on the ground. He’d never seen you before in all his years of active service. There was a gentle glint in your eyes as you took him in, for a moment you could have gotten lost in the green of his eyes, mesmerising as they swirled in all shades. Jake was quick to catch that momentary glint–deciding to chase it further.

“And who might you be?” He pointed with a smirk. “And what are you doing on the ground like that?”

“That’s Dixon—“ Phoenix spoke before you could say something stupid. “She’s mentally and physically recovering from nearly taking the beating of her life from Admiral Payne.” You and Phoenix had been assigned with the strike fighter squadron VFA/-41 Black Aces prior in Lemoore before your summons for Miramar. Rooster however had been stationed out with Hangman with the strike fighter squadron VFA-87 Golden Warriors in Virginia.

“What’d you do to fall on his radar?” The man who’d been standing just behind the blonde who you could only assume was Hangman spoke up finally. He was darker, quite handsome, by all accounts a nice guy–you'd give him the benefit of the doubt until further notice. But you’d never seen either of them before in your career. Never crossed paths, never heard the callsigns.

“I whoopee cushioned his chair, Dad was in the same TopGun class as him back in the day” You explained yourself, with your hands up by your side in defence. “Stupid I know but dad said if I didn’t at least do it once—“

“Wait, who's your dad?” Hangman coaxed the information straight from the source as he stepped closer. “There’s more than one Nepo baby in the class Coyote, my god—what are we gonna do?” Ah, so Hangman and Coyote–did everyone have their call signs except for you? You couldn't possibly be the only person on this goddamn base that didn't have their call sign yet.

“Pfft, please if anything I’m gonna get my ass handed to me the whole time I’m here because of my dad.” You groaned as you stood from your seat on the ground. Dusting your hand off on the normex suit before sticking it out Hangman’s way. “I’m Y/n Dixon, Dads Slider, Ron Kerner.” You explained. “And before you ask, it’s just Dixon—I don’t have a callsign yet.” Jake couldn’t really wrap his head around what he was hearing, how had you not been given a call sign yet? If you were at TopGun level surely you had one–right? To not have a callsign was like seeing a unicorn in the wild. It didn't happen because those things just didn't exist.

“You display a complete lack of personality or something? What’s the go with that?” Taking your hand in his, the blonde introduced himself. Taking your knuckles to his lips. “Jake, Jake Seresin.” You saw Bradley gag from your peripheral vision as Jake kissed your hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Callsign to be determined.” Bradley hated the laugh Jake evoked out of you, your smile bright as you felt the flush of heat rise to your cheeks. “But surely your’re fucking with me? You can’t not have a call sign?”

“Well, they always say you shouldn’t ask for one, and I haven’t been given one, so yeah—“ Pulling your hand back, Jake watched as you ducked your head a little and rubbed at the red marks that had started the get a little more aggressive on your hand from where you'd slammed it into your locked not too long ago. “Little bit of a nomad I guess, everyone just calls me Dixon.”

“Dixon huh?” Jake grinned ear to ear as he drank in the sight of you—he couldn’t deny you were a breath of fresh air, he’d never had a female wingman and he was keen to test the waters. “Well it’s nice to meet my new wingwoman.” When Jake had seen his last name posted next to yours. Seresin x Dixon—he assumed he’d be flying with another guy. He’d never had a female wingman.

“What are you talking about?” Bradley stood with a sudden urgency. “How do you know you got Dixon?”

“Listing was posted like an hour ago on the communications board outside the hub.'' Jake said it in a way as if this isn't something you guys shouldn’t have known about. “I was just there.” Pointing his thumb over his shoulder, Jake watched as Phoenix and Rooster barrelled out of the locker room, shoving at each other as they fought to be the first one out the door. Rooster let Phonix go first, of course. Coyote wasn’t too far behind them, he wanted to bear witness to the meltdown Rooster was going to have when he realised Phoenix had been paired with Kenny ‘Plan-B’ Shepard. The call sign had been with him since before his time in the Navy. When women walked into the bar, they knew when they saw this guy, that that was what their “last resort” was.

“So since you're my wingman I guess we should get to know each other?” Turning back to your locker, you grabbed your helmet out. It was simply black. No details or call sign to decorate it with as of yet. Which kinda sucked—but you knew, list most things, time would only tell. “You wanna grab something to eat after the first run? Grab a few beers at the Hard Deck? I could go a couple of rounds if you’re not doing anything.” Jake took the opportunity you’d handed him on a silver platter to rile you up.

“If you’re asking me on a date, I'm gonna need a little bit more effort than that sweetheart.” He beamed back at you as you raised your eyes stunned at his forwarness.

“Oh—I wasn’t.” Immediately jumping to your own defense to correct the course that you thought the conversation was heading. You hadn’t been asking Jake out. “Honest, I just thought that maybe that was the best way to just—“ Jake's laugh echoed through the empty locker room as you rambled, stopping yourself when you noticed he had just been pulling your leg. “Oh, okay so you just assume every girl who gives you the time of day wants to date you? Is that it?”

“Nah, just the real pretty ones with no call signs.” He was falling in love in a millisecond just from the way you caught yourself smiling for a split moment before you had to reel yourself in. Would you be into an autumn wedding? His family's ranch was always the prettiest place on earth in autumn. “Hard Deck, your shout.” He pointed as you stared at him with a raised brow and lips pressed firmly together.

“Oh great.” Rolling your eyes, you pushed past Jake Seresin, you couldn’t think of a worse wingman to want to have to work with. “I can already tell you’re gonna be hard to deal with.”

***~***~***~***~***~

Jake caught himself smiling softly at the sound of your voice playing out in his head like a symphony as he thought back to the moment he first met you. How beautiful you were, how charismatic.

He sits there for a moment, his hair a mess as he reminisces about your softness, your kindness, your ability to take his breath away in an instant at just a simple smile. Jake catches himself for a split second smirking softly at your memory. His eyes lingering on the photo tapped haphazardly to his mirror. The photo of you and him that would forever travel the globe with him. Cross the seven seas with him. The engagement ring on your ring finger just a tad too big. He never got a chance to get it resized, but regardless it sat snug around his neck—strung between his dog tags.

Pushing him self up off the ground Jake wiped his tears and sighed a heavy sigh. Fixing himself up the best he could before he unlocked his dorm door, opening it to have Coyote falling in as the door disappeared from where his back had been leaning against it.

“I’m fine—“

“You sure?” Javy asked as he stood to his feet in Jakes threshold. He had know his best friend long enough to know by now that the look on his face was the mask someone wore when they were battling their own inner demons. “I’m here if you wanna talk about it.”

But Jake couldn’t talk about it. How could he? When his own mind was as loud as all hell, screaming at him the same thing over and over and over again until he got the message loud and clear:

Hangman, the only place you ever led her was an early grave.

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

Tags: @potato-girl99981 @averyhotchner @dempy @abaker74 @a-serene-place-to-be @starkleila @some-lovely-day

[superbpudding]

I didn't had any ideas for the image so today here's just yiik text post, topic being: CattyWarrior

So uhh, CattyWarrior is another YT channel who posts mysterious videos about yiik, however unlike Year of Chen their videos are waaaay more mysterious and im like 1000% sure they are a paid actor or something cause what Year of Chen posted are things that are currently in game, while CattyWarrior videos have some insane shit that aren't in game.Their videos have strange shit happening almost every minute so it's gonna be a long post.

So, the first video: yiik secret ending proof for lokocats , i have no ide who lokocats is and i couldn't find a related youtube channe. First strange thing in the video is that the version in main menu is said to be 1.02, it's strange counting the first of all first version being available on pc is 1.03(iirc) and also because there's golden alpaca on the background, which was added in 1.25 btw, the main menu also having references section in it was also added in 1.25. The "load game" section is really weird too counting there's a 404 level save file with NG+++ with the + increasing not being a thing in game.The first "Marcus" save file also doesn't have play time at all.The save file being loaded has "Semi" name white.

When game is loaded you can also notice the Golden Alpaca on the christmas tree, which was too added only in 1.25, alongside the ost playing. Upon opening ONISM1999 we can see already 3 posts that aren't there in game:

The "SELLING REAL ALIENS" post is similar to an unsued ONISM post you can find in game called "ALIEN FOR SALE!!! $3500 springfield Colorado", however the name is different. Author of the video opens the "KNN Building Pictures" post, it's ID is 36519 which is shared by the exisitng post "The Death of Semi Pak"

text recreation of the post:

reactionnod

I was disappointed that there wasn't any photohparhics of the building Elevator Girl worked at, so i decided hey, why don't i do it myself? (You're welcome.) I had to go there late at night. No one was there. Pretty creepy to explrore, I half expected a poltergeist to leap out at me!

vividappears

The building isn't big enough to have an elevator, and I don't see any elevators in the images.I think concretely proves the EG video didn't take palce here. How did you get in the building???

reactionnod

I met someone who told me to met them at "the end of the world", and I did.They gave me the keys to the building.They were pretty damn creepy but the silver lining is that it led to these exlclusive pics!

This post is weird as hell because there's no signs of such post existing in game's files and also mention of "someone who told me to met them at the end of the world" which seems to be the Dax NPC who's connected to Ending 3, reactionnod also mentions that Dax gave him keys to the KNN building, which is weird counting how in game Dax mentions that he will give keys to The Tower.

After leaving the post it also gets the fire icon next to it, showing that it's a guest.

They then leave the house and appear outside like as if when you leave house on the last day after talking to Sammy, main difference being is that it looks like it's day in house and that you don't have acess to Claudio's car. The ocean in video also doesn't flicker which is what also happens in the first "ending 3" video which is mysterious as hell too. They then go to walk on water near the tower, however they instead go to the Factory Hotel through some gap in colliders(which isn't there in game btw), upon entering it there's this scene which looks really weird, first of all because of the colors and also because the hooded Alex near the doors that shouldn't be there is still there. Oh also the Old Frankton theme plays on the background. Also there's the staircase to Sammy's room which was too added only in 1.25.

They then open the menu where we can see them having only Alex and "Semi" in their party, "Semi" pressumbly being The Player character tho they don't have an icon.

The video ends on this.

The second video is "yiik misc secrets clips", the first part of the video seems pretty normal with OP showcaing the old mountain town cave pax demo while having "trial version" text on the bottom right. Also the text and textures of this pax demo are still in game's files so theoretically a normal user could too get an acess to it by manipulating the save file.The they open ONISM and explicetly check the unused "Collector seeking" post, which is strange on itself but the post is still in the game's files and can too get viewed by save file manipulations.The text in the post and it's id also align with what there is in game's files. Buuut then the video cuts to black for few seconds and we're back at the "1.02" title screen with Golden Alpaca so here comes the weird stuff.The save files list is also exactly the same as in the previous video, including the playtime. This time however another save file loaded, that being the "Marcus" with 76 hours play time, LV 404 and NG+++. Unlike last video it takes place at night with dad at home like it is usually in game, they open ONISM1999 and there are is again an ONISM post that isn't there at all in game(also sorry for the low quality of screenshots but the video is 480p so it's literally the best quality there is):

"What was Jay-Hwa Wen doing?" which is opened by the OP. Posts's ID being 97570 which is shared in game by the post "Unseen32 and Better Endings".

Text recreation of said post:

Expensivedick

On september 21st a woman named Jae-Hwa Wen disappeared. A few days ago, october 6, her body was found. Their parents were shocken by their horrible fate. BUt did you know about her satanistic beliefs and worldview? Candles and pentagrams have been found in her otherwise barren room. And a lot of DMT. There's more to the story than her just dying. But You guys don't care about that. You think thats all there is to the story. Maybe it's because All of you have such a viagara filled addiction to EG, and can't even think to investiage in anything else. But once semi's body is found, it's on to the next. Fuck you guys.

eightmallet

Sometimes things are just fascinating. We don't do this because it's a job, it's just a fun thing to do with our time. We know what happened to Jae-Hwa. SHe commited suicide. Her family will never have closure. But you have to move on from that. There's NO NEED to investigate what led to that point. the ending to her story has been found. So fuck YOU for trying to shame people for trying to care about some bitch you probably have a hard on for too.

novelgranola

I think @Expensivedick has a point. We don't have to focus on the EG girl all the time. Who knows, maybe solving other mysteries will lead us to what happened to the EG? I feel as if this is all apart of the plan. We're getting closer to finding her every day.

Want to point out how the title of the post says "Jay-Hwa" while in post itslef it's "Jae-Hwa", also Jae-Hwa Wan was mentioned in one of already existing ONISM posts in game! In "The Death of Semi Pak" she is mentioned by opulentowel to be the one who's body was actually found instead of it being the body of Sammy, the dates in these posts are also different, while in "What was Jay-Hwa Wen doing?" it's stated that her day of disappearance is september 21st and day of body being found october 6, while in "The Death of Semi Pak" it's October 13 and September 18. After leaving the post it's also marked by fire icon, again showing how it's a guest. Then they leave the computer entirely and go to Mind Dungeon(thing you can't do in this moment of the game), showcasing the unused Krow monologue, they also seem to skip some random lines which i think may have some implications in them. After the Krow monologue ends the current floor is displayed as -1, which doesn't align with LV being 404 in the save files list. They then go to Alex's room and open their inventory, showing weird F, G and W items, with F being a food, all 3 of these have description "???" and restore 50% hp and pp.

We can also then see Alex with LV -1, wich aligns with the Mind Dungeon.

They then go to the Config menu and use the exit option, interestingly that right before they chose "YES" you can hear Spectre Sammy saying "Wait-", which is from her monologue in Ending 1. Game loads to Title screen and the video ends. The video's desciption reads "other versions communicate and modify the main branch. ala stop and stop. will upload cave when i get the time" which is reaaaally interesting to me, counting that in it author confirms the version of the game is somewhat modified, also the "other versions commuication" sounds really weird. Personally i have a theory that we may need to get acess to some beta-branch of yiik by putting some special code or smth in steam-beta code section, mainly cause of the mention of "main branch", implying other branches.

Third video, "yiik sammy successful attempt. This video starts in already really weird way, not only is the title screen same as in previous videos with 1.02.1 version but Spectre Sammy is missing there, with Alex being on her usual position instead. The save files list is different now, with the first "Marcus" save now turning white too and being LV6 NG+, still having no play time.

Choosing it OP is loaded in Wind Town during night, suggesting that it takes place during Chapter 2. However there's another oddity right away with them opening the character menu for a second, showing how there's no Rory in the party which he should be in at that point of the game.

We can also notice that the ost "Creepy Evening" which should play at this point doesn't play with only the night ambience being present. Also the "welcome" sign says "Population 14" instead of 15, with it changing to 14 only in Chapter 3.

Then they leave Windtown which is something you can't do during night since there will be an invisible Rory telling you that his sister didn't go this way before she died(btw this popup appears even if you're in Chapter 5 and Rory is dead) which results in

Also want to note how the ocean flickers here. They then go to the bus station, however during that on 0:40 there's a time skip from where Alex stands instantly to the bus station, OP talk about that in comments as "got into an encounter that was pretty much unrelated so i cut it out. i can reupload that part if you want to see it but its not really anything" which is really weird thing to say counting how there aren't encounters when the world is broken and also it skips to after the fight ends. Upon entering the bus stop OP stands for few seconds and then interacts with it, in the menu the Strip mall is also an available option, another Chapter 3 thig.

However they instead chose Frankton aaand go to the Old Frankton.

Interesting part of that is that there are no Wilfrid or Essentia 2000, meaning it isn't the usualy Old Frankton ending. They also then go to Alex's old house instead in it which is usually isn't interactable.

Which results in Alex going to the current version of his house, night.

They also then go open ONISM1999 where we can see 3 familiar posts that appear in the first video.

They open "What was Jay-Hwa Wen doing?" post wich has same ID and contents as in the first video, so im not gonna rewrite that again. OP then closes ONISM and goes to Mind Dungeon with current floor showing as 6, aligning with the save files list. They then encourage their friends to level up which in results in this screen, which is weird counting how currently they don't have Rory, Claudio and Chondra in their party.

They enter the Mind Dungeon halls while having 5021 EXP, they level up and have a Mind Dungeon interaction that isn't in the game. The Librarian is speaking and her ost is playing alongside with background having bookshelves, however her talking sprite isn't present similar to interactions with the Disembodied Voice, Demented Voice and the Dungeon Master. Her monologue reads:

"So you're positive you've figured out the question? Do you really think you can solve the mystery?Are you ready to come find me yet? I haven't even finished dusting all these books…I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon. I'm afraid to admit this, but what you've done. It's giving me anxiety. Don't you feel it too? This feeling of being completely trapped��� Don't you wish you could just…disappear, and get away from it all? That's a dumb question. I shouldn't even be asking that. I know that's exactly how you feel right now."

CattyWarrior then goes to Alex's room and opens the menu, we can see that Rory, Claudio and Chondra are in their party despite them not being there at the start of the video.They open Items menu with no unusual items in them, however when they close it and go back to the party menu we can notice that it's bigger than usual with now appeared Marcus(Alex), Adam(Michael), Leslie(Vella), Deva(Claudio) and Trevor(Chondra) with also having only the Alex Michael and Vella as party members from chapters 1-5, wich also aligns with only them being in party at the start of the video. Author opens the config menu and the exit game menu in it, they wait and reopen it few times until they hear Spectre Sammy saying "Wait, don't go! I need to talk to you" like in the first video, however this time they don't close the game and instead close the menu and go check for Spectre Sammy. Also when they open the Config menu the room becomes noticebly brighter than before which remains after they close it. They go to the first floor and we can see Spectre Sammy standing in front of the TV.

They then go and talk with her, however this is where the video ends, only thing we can see about their dialogue is that Alex is the first one to talk, while he doesn't talk at all in the usual Spectre Sammy interaction. The video description is empty but i really want to point out our already known youtuber Year of Chen appearing in comment sections, they appeared in previous video's comment section too but it wasn't really that notable, while the comment they left under this video says "Thank you for posting this. I enjoy your videos. Did you ever get around to recording Cave? I haven't been able to connect Prime to the main branch." the last sentence yet again refering to connecting different branches of the game, which Year of Chen seems to be aware of.

The fourth video, isaac bugged respawn. It's really short and isn't even about YIIK so i don't have much to say about it, there's no sound in the video however at the end there's this really weird visual bug happening upon Isaac's death:

I have no idea what is that supposed to mean, tho there may be connection between TBoI and YIIK counting how both are inspired by Zelda games.

Finally, the last 5fth video: IM IN THE YIIK DEMO... , the most recent one. The video seems to take place in the YIIK Nameless Psychosis, AKA I.V demo, in it CattyWarrior does some parkour moves to walk past Dali and instead clip through the Factory Hotel and go to the place behind that(which you can do btw even in the current version). They end up in seemingly not intended place however there's an unusually looking Sparking Entity standing there, they talk with it and it seems that it's the CattyWarrior themselves.

Their monologue reads:

"Hey, what's up. What are you doing back here? Don't tell me-you're trying to intentionally break reality, right? Listen, keep this on the down low but… I got something you might've been looking for. It might help you out… check it!"

After that Alex gets...Aviatros.....

They spin in happines, the video ends. Im sad to say that but the video title lies and you can't meet CattyWarrior and get the Aviators in NP. However unlike previous versions there is an unique interaction if you go to where CattyWarrior goes in this video, you will get....

3 Cat Tails....personally this thing makes me believe that CattyWarrior is somehow connected to the devs. Lastly i want to talk about commen section under this video. There is an angry comment by some angry guy but what matters isn't it's contents but Catty's replies:

"I can assure you that I am not a developer! And my other vidz showcase certain parts that I have found that no one else has found. i like the thrill of the hunt so i only post pieces to give clues. Im sad you talk so negatively about this game when i found it to be quite enjoyable. there are fans way more into it than i am who weirdly havent found the ending yet. I think its a lack of thinking the way that I do :3 You do seem to be confused however so ill let you in on a lil secret. this is not the ending you are thinking of.

They dont relaly care about people finding the ending or not. This is why they havent talked about it any further. (=^ ◡ ^=)"

Im not sure if i should believe Catty about not being a developer but sure ig, there is really an interesting part of it being "this is not the ending you are thinking of", implying that the Old Frankton ending and Ultima ending are possibly not the one that CattyWarrior videos hint to.

[weirdozjunkary]

Been thinking about the movie version of the MVA AU and how it would play out in that universe. So I created a small Tumblr exclusive fic of how I think it would go down. Honestly it’s not that vastly different from the movie, but that’s just how I like to write au tie-ins. Enjoy and happy reading!

The big problem

(a movie MVA AU oneshot)

The night was dark, and so was the house. As sonic had turned off every light in the house in order to create the best movie watching experience. He was still vibrating with exitement from earlier in the day, two full days to himself. Left home alone with Ozzie while Tom and Maddie visited Rachel for her wedding.

As much as he wanted to go, they all nunanamously agreed that it would be best for sonic to stay at home. Rachel still wasn’t accustomed to the brown hedgehog that had warranted himself child status in the wachowski house. Plus the people outside of green hills didn’t exactly know about him yet, nor was he really allowed to let them know about him.

So here he was, the couch l pushed in, practically inches from the tv, front row seats for the blue hedgehog and his non alien animal companion right beside him.

“Alright Ozzie-bozzie! It’s movie night at cassa-de-Sonic! And as esteemed second in place animal companion, you can pick the movie this time!” He twirled the remote in his hand. “Just don’t pick any of the channels next to the news ones, those movies SUCK!”

The tv shut off, and just as quickly became a noise of static. The sudden roar caused Sonic to practically leap from his seat in surprise.

“NO!” He yelled. He pressed his face to the tv and pleaded. “YOU CAN'T DO THIS! DON'T DIE ON ME! DON'T DIE ON MOVIE NIGHT!!!” Ozzie’s bark snapped him out of his delusion. “You’re right ozzie.” He said, wiping a dramatic tear from his eye. “If I'm gonna save movie night, I’m gonna need to get to the source! Be right back!” And he zipped away in a blink of an eye.

Up on the roof the speedy hedgehog pulled up a heavy box of tools, prepared to use as many as he needed to save the night he always dreamed of having since he met Tom and Maddie. Well, more like stalked, as up until a year ago, they weren’t really… accustomed, yet. Though, he most likely wouldn’t need a full box of tools on a satellite dish.

“Hmm, looks like mister Jet hasn’t come back to build his nest on the dish again.” He folded his arms and stuck his head up in a snobbish manner. “Good! I don’t want to see that dumb hawk again! Stupid jerk! Stealing my chilidog…!” He looked back at the dish. “Oh, right! Movie night!”

He popped open the box and pulled out a screwdriver. “Let’s do it to it!” And he began his work. He wasn’t really fixing the problem, more like just messing with the dish. He’s seen Tom try his hand at fixing it once or twice before, but he didn’t really understand what he was doing. Still, he was going to try and get this thing working again, zipping back and forth from the living room and back up onto the roof to see if the static had went away. But it didn’t, in fact, what he was doing seemed to make the situation worse, as the static began to have an eerie green glow to it.

“What the heck am I doing wrong?” Sonic puzzled, scratching his head with the end of the screwdriver. “It can’t be that hard to fix a satellite!” He banged the end of the screwdriver against the dish. “Come on you stupid thing! Work!”

There was a blur, a flurry of green and browns and neutrals that flooded his eyes till everything went black. His vision had only just begun to come through as the pain did. A soreness that was all around his body, but mostly on his head and back. It was a familiar pain. Similar to when he fought Robotnik for the first time and won. But Robotnik wasn’t here. At least he didn’t think he was here.

There was something else. A shade of golden that pulled him out of the rubble of the living room by his arm. Through his blurred vision he could only suspect it being Ozzie.

He lifted himself up, using him as a crutch as the world still wobbled like his legs did. “Good boy Oz.” He mumbled and petted his companion weakly. Ozzie stayed next to him as he helped guide the disoriented hedgehog to the hallway. Sonic was a trooper though. As just like before, his vision finally focused again, though the room still swayed like he was on a boat.

A deafening click entered his eardrums, snapping him back to reality. The sound made his stomach drop and he grew seasick in his stomach once again, though he didn’t know if it was from whatever had happened on the roof or not. No, it wasn’t from the roof. As the door opened, Sonic was face to face with the man he thought he’d never see again. Standing right there, illuminated by the porch light, was Dr. Robotnik.

“Hello, hedgehog.” He said through a wide grin. “Did you miss me?”

“Eggman?!” Sonic sad in disbelief. He half expected this to be a hallucination from hitting his head to hard. The headache he had should be proof of it. But no. He was here. Somehow. “I don’t know how you got back. But you made a big mistake coming here!”

“On the contrary. The only mistake here was thinking that you had won. But that was but a prelude to what I have planned for you! An hors d’oeuvre, an aperitif, an-“

“I get it!” Sonic growled.

“Oh-Ho Ho! I don’t think you do!” That creepy smile stretched farther across the mad doctors face as he finally stepped into the house. “But you’re about to… and so will that idiot sherif and his wife! And your little dog, too!”

He had enough of this. Sonic charged at Robotnik, ignoring his body's cries for him to rest. But he couldn’t get near him, as a split second before he could give the old doctor what for, a gloved fist careened into his face.

Sonic flew back into the living room which had more mess to clean up as he had been sent flying through a wall. That feeling of dizziness and discomfort came back to him as he slowly stood back up and faced his threat. There, standing through the hole in the wall was a figure he never thought he’d see again, not robotnik, but an echidna.

He was large and muscular, thick red fur coated his body, and he had spines that draped down and framed his face like thick dreads that could be a weapon of their own. But the real weapon was his fists, as large spines poked out from the bottom of his gloves. He stared down Sonic with a fury in his eyes he had never seen before, and while he said nothing, his expression told a thousand words to the hedgehog.

“Now where are my manners!” Robotnik butted in. “Sonic, I would like you to meet, Knuckles! My new BFFAE— Bested Friend Forever And Ever!” That wide grin was still stretched across his face.

How in all of green hills did he manage to do this— to get an echidna on his side? Especially him, one that looked like he would snap Sonic in two if he took even just a single step. He looked like Robotnik’s guard dog. No. He was his weapon.

“Look robotnik, I don’t care who you’ve brought to help you. I’m not going to let you walk in here and take my home from me!” Sonic’s fur crackled with energy as he stared them both down. The feeling felt odd, though. But he didn’t pay any attention to it.

“I am not here for your pathetic home!” The echidna growled at him.

Those words enraged Sonic, and he bared his gums to the red echidna. His eyes and quills began to glow, but it wasn’t amber like it had been before, no. The colour now had turned to a bright, almost neon, green. He clenched his fists tightly as green electricity crackled around his fur. Though he was furious, he was still scared.

Of course he would be, this echidna was part of the same clan that had made him hide for most of his life, that made him run from his home, that took his guardian, Longclaw from him. But here, he wasn’t going to let the same thing happen to this one. He won’t let it be taken from him again. Sonic reeled back a fist and…

“AAAAAAGH!”

Sonic wrapped his arms around himself and began screaming as pain began to overwhelm his body. His yell managed to make even the echidna and doctor pause in surprise.

“W-WHAT IS… GOING ON!!! AAAAAAH!!!” He shouted once more as the green electricity began to crackle around the room, and as well, his height suddenly jolted from 3-feet to 5-feet.

Robotnik reeled back in disbelief. “Um, what?!”

“Deceiver! You never told me he had the master emerald!” Knuckles barked at the doctor.

“The, uh, master-what-now?”

“I am talking about the device that wields ultimate power! Something that that hedgehog now has possession of!”

Another painful yell from Sonic made them jolt again in surprise. His height had doubled again, now he was 10-feet.

“Wait, ‘Ultimate power’ you say?” Robotnik said quietly to himself, partly ignoring the hedgehog who was still groaning and crying as his body kept passing each foot, his fur and quills changing its colour with it. He grinned gleefully as a sinister plan began to cross his mind. “Now you speaky my language!”

“HELP…. ME…. AAAAAAAH!!!” Sonic shouted again and his height jolted once more. 25-feet. He could barely fit in the living room now. His back pressed against the ceiling making it bend and crack. He continued to cry and howl in pain. Whatever was happening to him wasn’t done yet.

Knuckles ran out of the house to the backyard with robotnik trailing on not far behind. They had made it out just in time, as only a few seconds after, the hedgehog had finally bursted out of the side of the house, sending rubble flying across the yard.

“HOLY GEARS AND STARTERS!” Robotnik shouted in awe. He gripped the sides of his head that was reeling from the sight he was witnessing.

Sonic stumbled out of the house, his feet breaking more of the rubble beneath him. He panted and huffed, still feeling awful and tingly from the pain that now faded with him along with the green electricity. It was only a couple more seconds for the vertigo to subside, and he finally saw what had happened to him.

His fur and quills were now a bright blue colour, and they were all messy and ragged from the electricity that shot out of him only a few moments ago. But that wasn’t what made his stomach drop, no. He realized he had suddenly grown 50-feet in only a few minutes.

“Holy crap…” Sonic exhaled in fright. He looked down at his feet. The deck was completely ruined. Broken boards that had snapped against his weight. They were so small now. Everything was so small now.

A bark fell into his ears making him whip his head around to the house. It was Ozzie. Oh no, please don’t let him be hurt.

“Ozzie!” Sonic yelped in fright. “Oh, no no no no! Please be okay!” He knelt down, sending a knee crashing into the wooden floor that broke as soon as it had collided with it. He dug through the rubble, tossing it out to the yard behind him. “Ozzie! Ozzie!” He called out to his canine friend. He heard him bark once more. There, just outside of the living room. He was okay.

“Ozzie!” Sonic shouted in relief and in a flash, he grabbed the retriever in his hands and hoisted him up to his face. “Oh my god I’m so glad you’re okay!” He exhaled through teary eyes, relieved he wasn’t hurt. Ozzie didn’t seem to have any change of view of him, as he wagged his tail at the sight of the now massive hedgehog that held him up carefully.

“Um excuse me! We are right here!” Robotnik shouted.

His voice pierced his eardrums like nails on a chalkboard, and Sonic’s relieved expression faltered. He slowly placed his companion back in the house. “Stay here Ozzie. I’ll be right back.” He said gently to him before he turned to Knuckles and Robotnik.

“What did you do to me?!” His voice boomed.

“Me?! I didn’t do anything to you this time!” Robotnik said. “Though I have to say, it is a good look on you!”

“What he looks like doesn’t matter.” Knuckles bellowed. “No matter your size, I will still strike you down and take the power of the master emerald from you! Even if I have to rip it out of you one cell at a time!”

“Master emerald…?” Sonic muttered in surprise. He looked at his feet again. That old bedtime story that Longclaw had told him many times before. It was actually real? It’s what made him like this?

“Face me, giant!” Knuckles shouted. “Or are you now a coward?” He made Sonic’s eyes glide back to him. “You are unworthy to hold such immense power that belongs to my tribe! The size you are now is proof enough! Now will you stand and fight? Or will you lay down your life to me?”

Slowly, Sonic stood up and shifted away from the house that he had broken a hole through the side of it. He clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes at the echidna below him. Robotnik slowly shimmied away to avoid the crossfire.

“Alright, you want me…” He raised his fists and took a stance. “Then come get me!”

A pleased toothy grin stretched over the echidnas face. Finally, someone who wouldn’t keel over with just one strike from his fists. He reeled back his hand as he stared sonic in the eye, ready to strike him with all his might.

A loud siren shot through the air. It was the last sound that Sonic would had ever expect to hear, especially now. Was it a hallucination? No, they heard it to. As like Sonic, Knuckles and Robotnik turned their attention to the noise, and that was right before a police cruiser broke through the fence and rammed itself into the echidna, driving itself head first into the tree that sat just off of the middle of the yard.

Sonic was in disbelief. How, or even why did this happen? Who was even driving this thing? Was it Wade? Or… The door flung open and a little yellow fox tumbled out of it. A yellow fox… an alien. Just like him.

“Agh! I’m okay!” He huffed. Boy, did he sound young, he looked young. This kid looked to be no more than 8 years old, and yet he was here driving a police car. You have to be at least 18 to be able to drive one of those!

“Uh, I’m sorry. Who are you?” Sonic said.

“Don’t worry, I’m on your side!” The young fox said as he stood up straight. “My name is-“ He paused once he caught sight of him. “Oh gosh! I came too late!”

“What?” Sonic exclaimed in confusion. “What are you even-“ Knuckles’ groaning cut him off, as he finally had begun to wake up from being knocked out and pinned by the police cruiser. “You know what? It doesn’t matter. We need to move!”

He grabbed the fox and dashed away at the speed of sound, creating a violent gust of wind trailing behind him. He left just in time, as the red echidna unwedged himself from the car and just as fast began tailing them behind.

[mollysunder]

Jinx and Viktor, They Make a Winning Pair

To win a card game Sevika pulls out two literal trump cards, the major arcana Death and the Magician cards, both in the upright position.

The Magician card, known as the Illness in Etteilla's version, represents the ability to channel both magical and earthly properties to enact change, essentially you have the resources and talent to complete your goal you just need the will to use it. Viktor's character easily aligns with the Magician, a talented man working in a society that views his home as lesser, and was the first to recognize the brilliance of Jayce's work in hextech. Right now he has nearly all the right elements to unlock the potential of the Hexcore, and the ramifications of the season finale are likely to further alienate him from Piltover and access to his own work. The card also heavily resembles a simplified version of the Machine Herald design, which includes a third arm and what is likely the Hexcore at the center.

The Death tarot represents change, specifically the end to a status quo which usually includes projects, relationships, and self-perception. Some interpretations describe it as moving on from the past to embrace the future. You could argue Viktor's arc shares these traits, and probably so might most characters in Arcane, but I think no one else better embodies the Death tarot than Jinx herself. Jinx drove almost every new development in Arcane, usually all the parts were there, but her actions gave the push necessary for things to come together. In a lot of ways, most of the characters in Arcane are dedicated to maintaining the status quo or just aren't interested in any fundamental changes to it. Jinx decisively ended the "peace" between Piltover and the Undercity. She destroyed any chance for Piltover to quietly maneuver away from the consequences that their society wrought. Also the card looks like her, the profile of the depressingly resigned spectre is similar to her own (the spectre even looks like it has her bang just floating above her hairline).

Together they give Sevika a winning hand against her opponents. I think this small scene before Sevika and Vi's first confrontation could represent how things might play out in season 2. Viktor is both figuratively and literally, one of the most isolated characters in Arcane. His allies (Jayce, Singed, and Heimerdinger) are few and far between and his strongest connection, Jayce, will likely be severed as politics and their own actions get in the way. Viktor will likely be put on trial for the death of Sky which will likely be compounded with trumped up charges of espionage as Piltover grows more paranoid (the law works differently for Zaunites). He'll need someone to either help him escape before the trial or to break out of Stillwater (if they don''t have the death penalty). Viktor needs new friends and there's no better saboteur to have in your corner for an escape like Jinx.

Viktor and Jinx will cross paths next season, likely in the middle of one of her exploits. The way Viktor defused Jinx's bomb likely indicates how things will go down between them, in a moment of tension Viktor can deescalate what ever literal or figurative bomb that's between them. This can only work in a moment of mutual vulnerability. Based on the promotional materials, specifically the RiotxArcane online event, Viktor is one of the few characters outside of Silco that doesn't immediately see her as some foaming at the mouth maniac.

In contrast to Vi, whose partnerships have started out of pragmatism, Jinx's bonds (which aren't many) were formed through acts genuine empathy mixed with compassion. This goes both ways, because Viktor needs someone who won't judge him for what he's done, what it's cost, and the fact he's going to go further. This is where I think the theme of forgiveness for season 2 comes in, neither of them can really apologize for what they've done to anyone really, but they can find acceptance (maybe forgiveness) in their new selves and all their capable of with each other.

If they actually partnered together, the Undercity has a real chance, because Viktor cares about the Undercity and Jinx cares about the important people in her life. Viktor just doesn't really have the political acumen or connections to genuinely be effective. Jinx definitely knows most of the ins and outs, but I think Sevika is the one most capable of making this work for her, for Zaun. Sevika needs unity and fire power, two tech geniuses one of whom is a controversial symbol of rebellion can work, somehow. Besides, Viktor still needs someone to bankroll his cybernetics and partial exoskeleton, which is a service at least one chem-baron, Smeech, provides.

Tldr: Sevika can win if she can wrangle the Undercity's most feral scientists together, timing is crucial.

Update: I'm back at this post because something's been gnawing at me over Viktor's card. The half infinity looking symbol within the Magician's hold is possibly the math symbol fish, ∝, which usually represents proportionality. This could be a neat hint to refer to the fact that Viktor will really dive into the balance of the arcane and the mundane powers in the next season. It's pretty cool that between the two characters who count as mages, Ekko is represented with infinity, ∞, to symbolize not just his future time travel powers, but also his infinite potential for himself and Zaun. While Viktor represents fish (proportion), ∝, to symbolize how he will find new balance, or at least create a path for it once he unlocks the hexcore.

Update 2: I figured it out!!!!!!!

It's fun how these three prominent Zaunites either don't talk to each other, or are actively at odds with one another, in the League or in Arcane (they'd be to strong together).

[natlacentral]

Ian Ousley

Ian Ousley recalls sitting on his parents’ bed, switching on the television, and completely transporting to a different, magical land: the land of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Like many other early 20-something-year-olds, he grew up with the show. “Avatar was one of the things that pushed me into wanting to do martial arts,” he reflects, “My parents were so sick of me pretending that I could bend stuff [laughs].” 

Some years later, Ousley received the news that he would be a part of the live-action rendition of the now highly-rated Netflix series — a very full-circle moment for the young actor that he describes as emotional. But this time around, viewers are given a glimpse of the Avatar universe through a new light. Departing from the original animated form, the actors in this new iteration all faced the challenge of translating these quirky characters to real life.

“Luckily enough for me, I had tons to pull from based on the animated version. Asking and answering those questions for Sokka was really important to me. Like, what was my relationship with my dad before he left? What was my relationship with my mom like? I dove into some things that the animation doesn't explore all the way,” he expands, “Music and costumes were great access points for me as well. Putting on that costume while I'm listening to music was really helpful. I would journal a lot as Sokka every morning too.” 

As a kid, Ousley reflects that he would actually mimic the actions of Prince Zuko, the anti-hero of the fictional series. He laughs when thinking of the irony of pretending to be Zuko but ending up playing Sokka, one of the less intimidating and more misunderstood characters on the show. “He wants to be a warrior so bad. And he wants to be valued so badly. He wants to have something to offer, but sometimes he doesn't always feel like he has the physical capabilities for that,” he continues, “So there's a really beautiful story there, I think with him finding ways to be helpful to his friends and the mission of saving the world — without having to be the muscle, even though he so badly wants to be.” 

In many ways, Ousley found it easy to shapeshift into Sokka for this project. “His sarcasm really brings things together. He's so complex and so funny. I joke a lot too, especially to deflect things. So I feel very tied with Sokka in that way,” he shares. But there were surely some challenges to channeling this character, like maintaining his air of comedic relief, as the threshold for comedy in animated television is much higher. Characters can launch off of cliffs or battle with larger-than-life villainous creatures, with little to no consequences. “Everything's weightier in our show because it's real. You're looking at a real little 12-year-old dealing with saving the world. You're looking at a real Katara and a real Sokka. But I was very passionate about keeping the comedy on set.”

While on set, Ousley and his castmates fostered a family bond not unlike the bond of all of the young characters in the series. “We feel so lucky to mesh with each other as a family unit. I think it came really easy 'cause we spent so much time together, on set, but also off,” he expresses, “Gordon is just like Aang in real life. He's just an energy ball and you feel like he's gonna save the world in real life too. Kiawentiio is just such a force in her own way. And then you have all the guest stars too, which I could go on and on about, but I just feel really blessed. I also shadowed a lot of the directors while I was on set because that's something that I am passionate about wanting to get into.” Ousley even lived with his castmate, Dallas Liu, for the duration of filming, sharing that the two fostered a close-knit brotherly bond.

When Ousley isn’t on set, he taps into another form of self-expression through fashion and design. During the SAG-AFTRA strike this past year, he joined forces with two of his friends, Ryan Sullivan and Hunter Baker, to help with the design and creative direction strategy for their vintage-inspired brand Kalo Soil. But this medium of artistry isn’t a novel one for the young actor; he’s been into sketching and designing for years now. “I started a clothing brand when I was 15 and was just making hoodies and embroidering stuff in the fashion district of DTLA. I had fashion internships with a professor from FIDM, so it's been a passion of mine forever,” he reflects. When he isn’t filming or feeding his interests in the realm of fashion, he flexes other creative muscles, sharing that writing or journaling provide moments of decompression for the 21-year-old who has been moving in the fast lane since he moved to LA as a teenager.

Between his diverse roles, Taekwondo, and creative outlets, Ousley has a pretty full plate. But he carves out the necessary time to unwind and take it all in. “I've always needed a creative outlet, so I'm constantly sketching and designing stuff just for fun. I've been doing that since I was 15 and it feels effortless at this point. I can always channel whatever I'm feeling into those things. I also love writing, so I try to stay consistent with that — songwriting, poetry, and essays — all of it. I journal a lot too. I spend time with God. I just try to stay rooted in the things that I can control with so many different things going on.” 

Staying rooted in his life is important to the multi-talented actor, but he still looks ahead in the hopes that his career in Hollywood will continue to flourish. A smile flashed across his face when alluding to directing, a skill he’d like to hone in the coming years, but he maintains that his heart really does lie with the current project that he spent the last year dedicating himself to. “The thing that I'm looking most forward to is to continue the show. We all love the show so much, so season two and hopefully season three would be the goal. Sometimes in busy cities like New York or LA, people want to move on quickly. But I think that we all have found a really fun home here, so I would like to enjoy that for a little bit.”

Just before concluding our Zoom call, Ousley indulged us by answering the hard-hitting questions — I mean, it felt almost unnatural not to ask. “[Laughs] My favorite character from Avatar is Apa. There's no other answer that should be allowed.” And though he masters Sokka’s playful humor and personal intricacies, he shared that if given a chance to occupy the grand Avatar: The Last Airbender universe, he’d definitely be a part of the water tribe. “That’s a hard question,” he posited, “Gliding on the ice and playing around with water powers looked so fun in the animated show — so I’d go with that.” 

Netflix’s highly-anticipated series, Avatar: The Last Airbender is now streaming, and has been renewed for another two seasons.

[nextstopwonderland]

Bryan/Claudio #22, slow dancing?

Predictably I decided to make this a future timestamp sequel to one of my verses. This time the roh/early wwe one, these things will never change for us at all.

This references a lot of stuff from that story, so I recommend reading it first.

Takes place right after the 6/22/22 dynamite when Bryan announces he won’t be at Forbidden Door but he has a secret replacement.

Just sap and fluff. A smidgen of angst & past Nigel/Bryan

If I just lay here (1400 words)

Bryan is running on adrenaline from the moment he finishes the promo, and all the way to the Milwaukee airport and back home.

(He booked himself on the red-eye, but Claudio refused to let him take a Lyft from the airport.)

He’s disappointed he won’t be facing Zack yet, but he’s also excited for what’s to come. They’re keeping it a secret as much as possible, but naturally the dirt sheets know Claudio’s contract expired and he hasn’t re-signed yet.

So there’s speculation. Just like there’s been speculation on Bryan and Claudio’s relationship for years now.

It’s an open secret within the business, they’ve just never felt the need to make some huge statement.

After Bryan came back from his retirement, they made things even more official than they had been — buying a modest house together, in Washington but also not too close to home.

It felt like a vow renewal, even though they’d never formally taken any. Bryan hadn’t been in a great place, during that period of forced retirement. He found himself playing out his own version of what happened between him and Nigel, and he was close to fucking things up for good.

It was actually Nigel who pulled his head out of his ass, told him to get whatever help he needed to sort it all out, so he didn’t throw away the most important thing in his life.

(The ‘like I did’ went unspoken.)

It had been the pep talk Bryan needed, and he stopped pushing Claudio away after that, had a lot of therapeutic conversations with Nigel, and channeled his uncharacteristic anger and frustration into meditation and holistic retreats.

He reconnected more with nature, trained as hard as he could, and got cleared by every doctor except the one who mattered. Until he finally did.

Things were perfect again after that, until Bryan decided it was time for another change, this time on his terms.

AEW felt like a breath of fresh air, as close to being in Ring of Honor again as he could get but also different, new.

Claudio had still been on contract when Bryan signed and not ready to leave yet, but they both knew it was coming. When Blackpool Combat Club began they couldn’t stop talking about it together, thinking how perfect Claudio would fit; coming up with ideas and storylines and training regimes for Wheeler.

Claudio had always been an unofficial member, from the start, because he’s an extension of Bryan. And soon he’d be here for real, albeit Bryan not joining him right away on account of his injury.

As if on cue, his shoulder begins to ache more as he carries his bag through the airport, breaking him out of his thoughts.

As does his phone buzzing in his hand.

I’m at arrivals. How are you feeling sweetheart?

Bryan’s smile is instant.

He types with one hand as he walks through the terminal.

Alright. Tired. A little sore, nothing terrible.

should’ve let me come with you. We’ll have a bath before bed xo

Bryan pockets his phone, still smiling although now feeling rather anticipatory over what a bath will undoubtably entail.

He knows Claudio wanted to come along with him, but it was best not to possibly be spotted, to keep this all as much on the downlow as possible.

Still, he can’t wait. Can’t wait for Claudio to be back in the same company as him. To travel with him once more, have their schedules line up. Be in the ring with him again. He’s so close to having everything he wants.

Bryan exits the terminal and spots Claudio immediately, leaning back against the car in one of his polo shirts that cling to him in all the right places. It’s the purple one he knows that Bryan loves, and it causes a predictable jolt of arousal to his dick.

His smile is met by a matching one as Claudio spots him, jogging forward and immediately grabbing Bryan’s bag to put on his own shoulder.

“I’m fine,” Bryan huffs around a fond laugh. Claudio will never change: always the protector, the worry wart.

“I know,” he says, wrapping Bryan up in a strong, tight hug. “I missed you.”

“Missed you, too.” He sinks into the embrace instantly, never taking for granted how good this always feels.

Claudio presses a discreet kiss to his hair before pulling back and popping the trunk and placing Bryan’s bag inside it.

The car is still running and there’s music playing as Bryan slips inside and buckles up.

Bryan recognizes what’s on; Claudio must have been feeling nostalgic.

“This The Playlist?” he asks when Claudio’s behind the wheel, even though he already knows the answer.

“Mmm. I was adding new songs, and decided to start at the beginning.”

Claudio puts the car in drive and places his hand over Bryan’s for the rest of the ride, while Bryan is transported back in time.

They talk about the show (which Claudio of course watched), Forbidden Door, how the garden is doing.

As they’re nearing home, a track comes on that makes Bryan laugh.

“This one seems a little too sappy for you.”

“Says the man who likes Ed Sheeran.”

“Fuck off, he isn’t bad,” Bryan laughs some more, Claudio joining in. They pull into the driveway as Snow Patrol still plays “Anyway, I always liked this song, I just dont think I realized you did too.”

Claudio kills the engine while looking over at Bryan, a hard to read expression on his face.

“What?”

Claudio shakes his head. “For someone so smart…”

He opens the door, so Bryan gets out too.

He rounds the car, meeting Claudio near the trunk. “Hey, what am I missing here?”

“You always used to hum it, or say ‘leave this on’ when it came on the radio.” Claudio grabs his bag out of the trunk, slinging it over one shoulder and wrapping his other arm around Bryan’s, careful of his injury. “Don’t you remember?”

They head up the walkway, Bryan jogging memories of decades past. “Yeah, now that you mention it.”

“I liked it because you liked it.” Claudio unlocks the door and they head inside, flicking on lights and toeing off shoes. Bryan’s bag gets set down in the hall and they head toward the kitchen, Claudio’s arm around Bryan’s waist now.

He bends down to talk low against Bryan’s ear. “It made me think of you. Especially…”

He trails off and they come to a stop in front of the kitchen island. Bryan turns to him, sling his own arms around Claudio’s waist. “Especially when?”

“The train from Liverpool to Kent. You fell asleep on my shoulder. I added the song to my mp3 player shortly after.”

Bryan blinks up at him. He remembers that. He’d been messed up after Unified, Nigel having to go to the hospital and missing the reunion event. He’d needed Claudio then, who always made him feel comforted, safe.

Loved.

It’d been a confusing time for him, knowing he felt deeply for Nigel but also acknowledging that Claudio felt like more than a friend. His brain and his heart can’t divide that way, and so when it happened with Nigel he was all in.

Looking at Claudio now, hearing him talk about that time, feels bittersweet.

“Play it.”

“Hmm?”

“Play the song on your phone.”

Claudio raises an eyebrow but takes his phone out of his pocket and queues it up, before setting it down beside them on the island.

“Now dance with me.”

Claudio laughs loudly until he realizes Bryan is serious, already stepping in closer and winding his arms around Claudio’s neck.

“Your shoulder—” Claudio begins, but Bryan leans up to kiss him for the first time in days.

“Just dance with me, Claudio,” Bryan whispers against his mouth.

Claudio groans, pulling Bryan closer with his arms around his waist before kissing him properly. They sway to the music, kissing slow and deep in time with it. It feels dreamlike and as cheesy as the lyrics to the song, but that’s also what makes it perfect.

They break the seal of their lips after a few minutes. Bryan drops his head to rest against Claudio’s chest while he presses kisses to his hair.

“Thank you for telling me that,” Bryan says when the song begins to fade, the two of them still swaying.

Claudio strokes his cheek. “You have to know so many songs on there are for you, about you.”

Bryan assumed there might be some, but they’d never really talked about it before.

Bryan looks up at him, eyes a little shinier than before. “Looks like you’ll have to add some more soon, with this new chapter starting.”

Claudio kisses him softly. “Oh liebling, believe me. I’ve already begun.”

End

[localvoidcat]

PLEASE TELL I NEED MORE OF THIS AU TBH

okay so the basic plotline (at least my version of it). i'm gonna split this into a couple different sections due to the sheer amounts of side plots. for quick reference the main roles are:

thatcher: a lieutenant with a secret identity as the hero firefly ruth: thatcher's coworker and the friend of both of them, who grows suspicious of thatcher's explanations for things. she's definitely not hiding anything of her own

dave: a tech store manager that pretends to be a villain named meowtherboard evelin: dave's coworker, who later joins him as an "evil henchman". she uses this solely to get back at adam murray for fun

sarah: dave's niece. she's the main person that works on a youtube channel dedicated to exposing the identities and news behind heroes in mandela city adam: evelin's ex, and one of the people from said videos. in between trying to film blurry fights and running away from flamethrowers, he ends up learning about his own abilities. jonah: adam's friend, and the other person from these videos. sarah sends the two out into the field to chase after the heroes. it's usually jonah who does the filming while adam runs around shouting.

mark: sarah's older brother, and dave's nephew. he's a college student that visits mandela city during vacations, but tends to stay away due to the sheer chaos of the heroes and villains. cesar: mark's friend. we think. he tends to show up whenever mark does. gabriel: the head of the villain league. his goal is to take over the entirety of mandela city, typical supervillain style. he views himself as a god, due to his religious background. he's seen as the most dangerous due to his powers involving the brain. preacher: a villain working under the league, and a former nun at st gabriel's church. her power is that of separating a person's power from them, manifesting it into a physical form. this form must be caught to regain the missing powers. the faceless lady: another villain. her "name" is that given to her by locals, often her victims seconds before being afflicted. her power, as expected, is the ability to steal peoples faces for a short period of time, during which they are still alive but robbed of all their main senses. nonami: another villain. their power is a useful one, being the ability to shapeshift into any person, albeit in an uncanny way. their tell is the mark across their face that remains in every form. n: another villain. his power is considered strange and somewhat useless, being the ability to teleport into the room of anyone laying down. it's not considered useless later on. six: a villain, formerly a show runner by the name of stanley. his power, presumably gained from a work incident, is the ability to travel through televisions, and bring things through the screens with him.

o'brien: the pastor at st. gabriel's church. unfortunately, his workplace is often invaded by the villain league on every day except sunday. jude: adam's absent father. he briefly attempts to pose as a hero. it doesn't work. he sells cryptocurrency to adam's great dismay.

with the roles written down, here's a plot summary:

thatcher has some kind of accident involving electricity/a lightbulb, probably electrocuting himself in the process. fun fact this scene is inspired by a story i read back in 2020 that got deleted and has never left my mind since

over time he starts realizing. oh shit i can do stuff now. there's only one logical course of action

this logical course of action is to take on the persona of this bug-themed hero named firefly because he's a fucking loser. love him for that. he can't actually fly he can control artificial light and that's it

his main reason for doing this is because of the rampant actions of the villains appearing in the city. i've listed them before but each of them plays a role in the story

as he begins looking for information, he encounters his first foe: a cat-themed tech wizard that interferes with his missions all of the time. this person - who introduces themself as meowtherboard - claims to be a villain, and firefly/thatcher wholeheartedly believes them. despite them not doing anything malicious. or really doing much aside from cool tech tricks and meowing. but surely, this is some malicious villain that's trying to overthrow him. how vile

all the meanwhile, he's trying to uphold his normal life as a newly promoted lieutenant. ruth begins to notice how tired thatcher is every day, and gets suspicious over time. he also talks to his friend dave, the manager of the tech store, who notices something off as well. he could never tell them about this though. not like they'd respond badly. he just doesn't want to. he thinks it's silly

and here's where dave comes in! he's the one masquerading as the "villain" meowtherboard. he's not associated with the villain league in any way - he doesn't even have powers as a matter of fact - but the opportunity was too fun to pass up. he has no idea who this firefly character is, but it's become habit for him to show up and talk to them.

one day, evelin - still his coworker in this - walks in to find him working on his costume. he frantically tries to explain it to her, but to his surprise she's...oddly chill about it? she offers to help him out and he agrees, giving her the role of his evil henchman. she loves this, half because it's very fun and half because she has an arsenal of makeshift weapons at her disposal to mess with her ex.

speaking of exes, we're introduced to adam, sarah, and jonah. together, they run a youtube channel dedicated to the documentation, exposing, and information of the heroes and villains in mandela city. they are greatly disliked by said superheroes and villains due to their constant appearances at the worst possible times.

firefly views them as a threat, and tries to avoid them as much as possible. he often fails at this.

this is beginning to be much longer than intended so i'll try to explain things + fun information quickly.

firefly and meowtherboard often get stuck in situations together, often involving villains. there's a couple scenarios where they're trapped and have to depend on each other to escape. what starts as a meeting between bickering masked individuals slowly forms into something almost like a friendship, to the point where when meowtherboard gets injured during a fight, firefly rushes over to help them. this is how the reveal happens, and they realize who the other is. this is much later in the au and they don't have much time to discuss this before gabriel lunges to attack again

each villain is encountered separately, aside from a large fight much much later in the au. meowtherboard gets their face stolen for fifteen minutes, and firefly only realizes this when meowtherboard takes off their mask to reveal a completely blank face. this is before the reveal and is mostly played as a quick call. they also have encounters with the preacher, where firefly loses their power momentarily and has to catch a literal firefly, as well as encounters with n, six, nonami (who takes on firefly's appearance but only as thatcher, which shakes him to his core), and finally, gabriel.

adam realizes he has powers later on in the au. this is during a blunt rotation with jonah where the blunt starts levitating and spinning wildly in the air. they chalk up the glowing purple eyes and the magical blunt to the drugs at first, but later they realize it was real. adam tries not to use his power much due to the horrific headaches he gains from them.

there's another hero that firefly and meowtherboard are often shown up by, this being a cowboy-themed hero with the ability to "mark" people with their gun. shortly after the reveal between thatcher and dave, this hero shows up to help them fight against gabriel, and ends up revealing herself as ruth. this leads to even more confusion seconds before the three nearly get their asses kicked by the man with mechanical wings again

mark and cesar show up at some point, often just to remark on the happenings. dave has to balance being a good uncle, along with a good store runner, along with a good villain. or a bad villain. he isn't sure what he is. we get some mark and cesar interactions that explain their dynamic a bit, outside of any hero stuff.

adam and jonah do at multiple points nearly expose the identity of firefly, but it always ends in some unfortunate mishap. a split second shot of their face gets deleted on accident, or an audio recording of the hero's real voice is overtaken by the sound of jonah being attacked by a pigeon, or a piece of fabric from a torn costume flutters away in the wind never to be seen again. they are having a horrible time.

o'brien, being a friend of dave's, is constantly being chased off by the villains. dave tries to comfort him, or help out as his villain persona, but this never works. o'brien isn't sure how he hasn't been fired yet.

as mentioned earlier, jude has a brief arc where he decides being a hero would be super cool. his costume consists of dvds duck taped to a black shirt and pants, and a cape he found in a spirit halloween. he gets booed away by firefly and meowtherboard. he tries to sell his new startup concepts to dave every day and gets chased out with a broom. adam denies any relation with him.

this is all i can think of right now, but any questions are welcome! i'm still working this out, as seen by my ramblings above, but i love this au very very much and hope to make more content for it later

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Rebus: Richard Rankin discusses huge new BBC drama

E4 series Josh Must Win helped Channel 4 boost streaming this April

Rebus launches on Friday 17 May. All episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer from 6am, with episode one airing on BBC Scotland on Friday 17 May at 10pm and on BBC One on Saturday 18 May at 9:25 pm.

Based on the best-selling books by Ian Rankin, Rebus reimagines the iconic character John Rebus (Richard Rankin) as a younger Detective Sergeant, drawn into a violent criminal conflict that turns personal.

Shaken after a violent encounter with gangster Ger Cafferty, Edinburgh detective John Rebus finds himself at a psychological crossroads. At odds with a job increasingly driven by corporate technocrats, involved in a toxic affair he knows he needs to end, and all but supplanted in his daughter’s life by his ex-wife’s wealthy new husband, Rebus begins to wonder if he still has a role to play – either as a family man or a police officer. In a time of divisive politics and national discord, Rebus’ broke, ex-soldier brother Michael desperately crosses the line to provide for his family, and Rebus begins to wonder if the law still has meaning, or if everyone is reverting to an older set of rules? And if so, why shouldn’t Rebus do so too?

You have played a few cops before, haven’t you?

Yes, a few times now in one form or another. I thought I had sufficiently explored this archetype… and then Rebus came along.

Why did you make an exception for Rebus, then?

Rebus is an iconic character in Scottish literature and television. It already has such a huge following. That aside, it was within the first ten pages of episode one that had me absolutely hooked. I could tell Greggory Burke was doing something new and exciting with this. It felt real, it felt dark, and it felt charged.

So you instantly knew that Rebus was not going to be the same as other detective dramas?

Absolutely. You would imagine a procedural cop show. It’s not. It’s very much a character drama. I knew it was going to be different because we had Greg writing it, Niall MacCormick directing it, and an incredible Director of Photography in Julio Biccari. That combination and chemistry alone is going to guarantee something special.

What other elements grabbed you from the start?

The style and the aesthetic of how Niall wanted it shot were all brilliant. Dark; cinematic; gritty. It felt like something we were missing on our screens. Additionally, Greg and I shared a passion for it to be as authentic as possible to the place. We wanted these characters to be from a very real Edinburgh and a very real Fife.

The novels are immensely popular, aren’t they?

Ian Rankin’s books have got such an enormous fan base. Whenever the series comes up people are always very excited about the prospect of seeing one of their most beloved detectives come back to the screen. Ian Rankin has sold over thirty million copies of Rebus and it’s been translated into at least thirty six languages so it’s an absolute privilege to have been given the honour of bringing Rebus to life again.

What is particularly strong about this adaptation?

Ian Rankin said to Greg Burke, ‘Take Rebus and do what you want with it’. That’s already incredibly intriguing. Exciting even. Great source material amplified by Greg’s almost uncensored and very honest approach reboots the character in a way that is thrilling for TV.

What makes Greg’s scripts so good?

Everything in Greg’s writing has a beating heart. His connection to the character and the material gives him an incredible comprehension of the world he’s writing. His rare ability for dark humour and his observant social commentary brings so much depth and colour. Every character has a voice. A real purpose. So much so, that each actor took immense pride and ownership in their roles. I think that really shines through in the individual performances.

How did you approach your version of Rebus?

I started with the language, the accent and the dialect were important to get right. So vocal coaching was a regular thing. I also took to the source to gain an understanding of what made Rebus ‘Rebus’. There were significant things that stood out for me. His military career for one. I felt this should be incorporated more into his base psychology. Even though it might not be written in our script, he was successful in his SAS selection. He’s a military man. I started with the question, ‘how does this inform the character?’

The job really takes a toll on Rebus, doesn’t it?

Yes. It’s the law of diminishing returns for him. It’s not just the job, it’s life for Rebus. Greg explains this well, he uses the Scottish word ‘thrawn’ to describe someone who makes life as difficult as possible for themselves. A martyr to his own cause. Frequently faced with easier choices, Rebus will take the difficult path. As for the job, Rebus has the potential and aptitude to be a great detective, and in a lot of ways he is, but he gets in his own way often deliberately, often self-destructively.

What do you hope that people take away from the drama?

I hope people take out of it what we put in. The entire ensemble of cast and crew are immensely talented individuals who all brought their A-game to the series. I think that really shows. I hope audiences will develop an appetite for more, so that we can bring another series their way further down the line. I really hope that people will fall in love with Rebus in the same way that we have.

Entertainment News May 13

His answer was a surprise, Richard Ranking starred as D.I. Luke Nelson in Silent Witness (2015–2017) He joined the cast of BBC One's crime drama series Silent Witness in January 2015, in series eighteen's two-part story "Falling Angels".

In 2016 in Thirteen (a TV series) Richard Rankin starred as D.I. Elliott Carne.

Let's combine in this case, a few times means a very small number of cop roles👮 explored.

Posted 15th May 2024

[spnj2fanlw]

Wondering about other people opinions on something. What are your favourite times our main characters were played by other actors, your favourite times our main actors played their character as someone else, like possessed or whatnot, favourite times they were in an altered state and what were your least fav instances of any of these.

Mine are:

Other actors:

1. Colin Ford as young Jared. He just nailed it so well when I read young Sam fics I picture CF.

2. The actor who played young Dean at the boys home and when Dean is de-aged must have studied Jensen because he also was just so Dean to me. Also shout out to the actor who played him in after school special he was also great.

3. Young John and Mary. I just loved them. This shows casting department was just so phenomenal on all levels.

HM to the woman Crowley possessed and had the orgy. She was awesome, lol.

Now for the good stuff...

Other versions:

1. While I think Jared was outstanding every single time he was someone else MY fav was Gadreel. The way Jared changed his body language and speech pattern to match that of TP was brilliant. Even without the blue eye flash I knew which character was on the screen. even when he faked Dean out at the end there were differences.

2. Dean/Jen as Michael. Omg he made that character awesome. I also liked Jake and Matt in the role but Jensen just killed it. Au Michael wasn't bad either just not as good and gets blown out of my head after Jen.

3. Misha/Cas as Lucifer. I really like how Misha channelled MP in his Lucifer. I mean I absolutely love jareds Lucifer too but I'm going to give it to Misha here.

Adding a 4th here which is John as Azazel. JDM was so good I got chills the first time I watched it.

HM to Jared/Sam playing Gary, the kid in the body swap. God Jared made me laugh in an EP I don't even care for other than that performance.

Fav other version.

1 and 2 tie. Soulless Sam and Demon Dean. First the hotness of both like, wow. Also both actors just nail these versions of their characters. The acting in both cases was phenomenal IMO and both characters crack me up.

3. Crazy Sam. season seven broken Sam was spectacular to me. The journey he goes through in his mind and finally as his body deteriorates from the no sleep and mental damage "Lucifer" is inflicting were played so well. The writers kind of dropped the ball a bit in the middle of the season but Jared was always spot on. Born again identity is on my (too large) favourites list because I can feel Sam's exhaustion and what he's going through. Love it.

HM to Misha with Crazy Cas. Another thing I loved in season seven and still wish I could have had more of. Oh man Cas and the Bees and just all of it, wonderful.

HM to purgatory Dean. While not altered like being a demon I think they wrote Dean in such a great way showing the impact a year in nothing but survival mode did to Dean. I like how Jensen plays him as almost having PTSD, jumpy and just always on and taking everything in like he can't quite relax. Another one that should have lasted longer and got looked at deeper.

Ok least fav.

1. This isn't just a least fav but an I hate... I hated AU Cas. The Nazi or German or whatever accent is nails on a chalkboard to me. I just can't. Was Jimmy Novak not American in the AU, lol.

2. I was also not real fond of The Empty Cas. Liked meg as the empty but not Misha's take.

3. Ok nothing else is jumping to mind so I'm not going to sit and think and look for a third which is probably out there and not popping in my head , lol. I feel bad that the two I immediately thought of were both Misha but I can't help it I really really did not like those acting choices, whether they were his or the directors or writers it just didn't work for me.

Hm. Oh I just thought I could say Jared possessed by meg. Not that I didn't like it at all but just that it wasn't as good as other possessions.

So what do you all think? Would love to read some of your favs or the ones you didn't like.

@jinkieswouldyoulookatthis @fallenfar @brookesallow @supernaturalkickparty @fandom-hoarder @ani-coolgirl only if you feel like it though.

[tiredarts-main]

Had a Destiny/ULTRAKILL crossover dream…

Clovis Bray turned to the side of the Witness, and captured my player character Bitrik. I started out as my Warlock, dashing across the Ascendant Plane, accompanied by my Titan.

Together, the two of them (us?) tracked down a hole where Clovis was sending Taken(?) Vex drones in and out of the Plane to commune with the Witness.

However, my Warlock was cornered by a unique Taken Knight and executed, the game went to the title screen and then feigned my PS4 and TV turning off. It reopened in Bitrik’s POV, who was being held captive by Clovis.

Clovis was experimenting on him (me?), scanning him and trying to kill him in multiple different ways. None of them worked… until he tried radiation poisoning. Over and over, Bitrik’s body began to become less salvageable for his Ghost, until he was nothing but a fragile lump of flesh barely clinging to life. He still had all of his paracausality within him, but no way to channel it

Clovis was after something called the Raven Staff (which I think was just the Nightmare Harvester but Dreaming City themed), demanding that Bitrik give it over. Bitrik, being an irradiated blob of Awoken meat, couldn’t really do that.

Eventually, Clovis tried summoning something(?) to take it by force, but that backfired, since the Raven Staff was apparently modified to only be usable by Guardians. A massive hand crashed through the ceiling, announced that fact, and crushed everyone in the room.

——

For a moment, I saw through the thing’s eye(s?) as it plucked a BrayTech chip from deep inside Clovis’ Exo brain.

The view cut to a cinematic of Bitrik standing on some pale Vex architecture, being interrogated by the Exo Stranger. His armor was slightly different- more Hive-like, less gold- and his eyes were visible through his mask.

Elsie played a clip of someone talking about the Raven Staff- it sounded like Mara, but Bitrik admitted with a robotic voice that it was him. The camera zoomed in on his face there, revealing two golden Exo eyes beneath his helmet.

————

Back in the lab, Bitrik’s soul was being torn apart. Every time he was shot with radiation, he lost a chunk of himself. Eventually, he managed to slip from his body and into some kind of afterlife.

The dream quality took on the appearance of ULTRAKILL’s graphic style as Bitrik descended down a tunnel of… something red. From here, Bitrik and V1 kinda merged. The zones that it went through was a desert-like version of Limbo and a new forested place called Natura.

I can’t really remember much about this section of the dream, except that there were creatures that had to be dealt with in priority before they enraged. Never figured out if it was a proximity, timed, or line-of-sight thing for that mechanic…

There was also some kind of puzzle aspect to go “deeper” into Bitrik’s escape. Word puzzles spelled out nonsensical sentences, which felt like they had meaning at the time but are completely incomprehensible looking back. Each secret level had some version of the Taken Knight (from the start of the dream) chasing Bitrik/V1, acting as a timer for the level since it corrupted everything around it.

I never reached the end before I woke up… but the whole time I was slowly coming to consciousness, I was assailed by a feeling of dread. Something felt wrong.

[sonicasura]

Cursed Generator Links P1

First of three posts involving the 14 Links I pulled from the generator, 5 per post with the last having a custom Link. These are mainly headcanons with a few summaries to them. Key features in appearance, things they like and a bit of their abilities. Once I get a drawing done, I'll add a link to the corresponding one. Let's get started!

Hero of Stitch 'Patches'

Hyrule's chosen hero from the Downfall Timeline after Legend who dies before his battle against Ganon. Using a mix of magic and special thread called 'Ambisilk', Patches was brought back to life as a living patchwork chimera.

Mostly humanoid in appearance with a few out of place parts either belonging to monsters or different people. Ex: Goron stone hide, Lynel horn, and mismatched eyes.

Hates his hero title as he doesn't really think himself a 'great hero.' Prefers to be called Patches because he ain't Link. The hero died and his body was butchered to make him.

Likes shining objects, animals and collecting stuff. Moves similar to Miss Fortune from Skullgirls, meaning he can manipulate his body in unbelievable ways that are fatal for everyone else. Crafting materials like parts are needed for Patches to heal.

Hero of Blade 'Augus'

Hyrule's hero from Twilight's timeline albeit his placement is unknown. Originally a vessel for a demigod of Gluttony to takeover through a ritual using his beloved blade 'Wailing Dark'. It fails as the hero manages to escape with both sword and jumbled memories.

Hair turned snow white, red markings cover most of his body and half his arms are plated in a growing gold carapace due to the ritual. Split personalities: Link the shy dork that likes sewing and flower picking.

Augus, a lover of alcohol and fighting who will drink anyone under the table alongside tossing Gorons like stones in wrestling. If this personality is in control then his eyes will be pure white.

Can only be hurt if struck by magic and enchanted weapons as Blade's body is invulnerable to normal blows. Able to channel gluttony into pure energy for all sorts of mixed combat.

Hero of Stage 'Phantom'

A college theatre professor who became trapped in a forbidden script book called Necro of the Opera. Placed into the role of the Phantom Hero heavily altering his body so he could face the evil within each play world.

Face disfigured similar to DC's Jonah Hex because of his Phantom role. Wears a porcelain mask that looks eerily like the FD mask to cover said disfigurement. Wiry bulky frame thanks to his role than his normal skinny self.

Assassin type fighter with a knack for detective based work and can talk to the dead when needing information. Link is actually a nickname as his real name Shawn but he can't reveal it due to his role's restriction.

Collector especially if it involves books or any type of manuscript. Likes learning different languages and dabbles in fencing a few times. Hates prophecies.

Hero of Ink 'Ichor'

The star character of a modern era rubberhose children's cartoon akin to Kirby (without the eldritchness). Ichor was forcibly brought to life in an experiment called Project Lifelike, run by TriceCorp. Manages to escape the lab and seek an identity of his own.

Has two different form. One looks like a rubberhose version of Link's Awakening Remake and the other a twisted gnarly Fierce Deity/Ben Drowned visage. This is due to him being the first experiment with a 'human' design.

Happy to help those who really need him against the entire world philosophy. Will proudly give the middle finger to someone who shoves the 'Fate of the World' schtick on him like with the Chain. EX: You sure your so called Goddess doesn't want to show her precious toys off in every era?

Follows the Laws of Cartoon Physics, both it's strengths and weaknesses. Can hide himself in paper to even skin as long as the material can hold ink. Advanced Ink Manipulation in twisted form.

The Hero of Death 'Charon'

A game designer who becomes the heir to Death's seat by accident. This begins with him helping spirits find peace until forces very unhappy with this arrangement try to take his 'inheritance'.

Looks like a younger Time but his iris has become silver due to his magical inheritance. Can take any form that is a depiction of the Death God in some way, even media as his true form hasn't been awakened. Prefers Persona 3's Thanatos as his set appearance.

Actually has no issue helping the deceased even if some spirits' forms are heavily mangled. Just hates being forced to fight. Has a grandson-grandparent relationship with Death themselves especially since the god genuinely cares about his interests or concerns.

Can commune with the dead, traverse the Spirit World and ask for assistance from various spirits. Knows when someone is gonna die alongside being able to change that fate via a special method called "Death's Game". A challenge where the results are determined by different games of chance or skill.

That's it for now! Until next time folks, I'll see back in Hyrule. Before I go, have this Jonah Hex reference for Phantom and P3 Thanatos reference for Charon.