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kristenbrady · 11 months ago

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Increase Your Opportunities In Today’s Job Market By Completing a FREE Google Certification

I researched six free Google certifications that lead to an insanely high-paying job that you can take right now! Yes, that’s right! Google, one of the most powerful companies in the world, made these certifications available for anybody to be able to take them and the reason for that is these certifications cover skills and jobs that Google and other big tech companies have a ton of trouble filling.

I’m going to be going over the best ones in this post and I’m going to be talking about really important things that you need to know about each one of them. If you appreciate me doing these types of articles let me know by signing up here to catch every story when I publish.

Google Cyber Security Professional Certificate

Cyber security is one of those jobs where there is a massive amount of demand. I mean think about it. How many times have you heard about companies that got hacked? Sometimes their money is stolen, or even worse, their data gets stolen. Data is more valuable than oil or gold, and that’s why hackers try to get at it.

So there’s a massive amount of demand for this skill set. There’s not enough people who actually have the skills and that’s where this certificate comes in. It says that it’ll take about 6 months to finish it at 7 hours a week of work; however, almost all of the reports online show that it’s much quicker than this. Even if you’re just doing it part-time you can finish it in about one to 3 months.

They basically take you through a process and you go through different modules where you learn about the important aspects of cyber security and then you’re going to go ahead and build a portfolio using the modules. This portfolio is key in the technology industry, because a lot of jobs in tech, you don’t need a college degree, you don’t need previous experience, but you do have to have the skills, and the only way to prove you have the skills if you don’t have a college degree or previous experience, is to build a portfolio.

Just to name a few jobs that you might go into after you take this certificate is Junior Security Analysts that make $51,000 to $81,000 a year and Security Operations Center Operators that make $45,000 to $72,000 a year.

Some mid-level roles you might go into would be a Cyber Security Analyst that makes about $84,000 to $132,000 a year or a Cyber Security Incident Responder which makes around $67,000 to $117,000 a year.

Then in a senior level role you might make your way down the line, would be a Director of Cyber Security, making $217 to $369,000 a year. So these are some insanely high paying jobs, even at the entry level it’s still really good and there’s lots of room for growth once you get some experience and build your skill set, There’s lots of different companies that hire for these types of roles:

Attentive.com

Seamless.AI

TuCows.com

Google UX Design Professional Certificate

UX stands for user experience and this is where you would essentially design the interface that someone would see if they use a website or a software. This can actually make a massive difference in the success of a product. I mean think about it like this– have you ever used a piece of software where it was just incredibly difficult to use, you couldn’t find anything, you always had to call tech support, and it was just a huge pain.

You probably didn’t use that product for long; then on the other hand, there’s products out there that just seem so intuitive and they’re just so easy to use and you almost never have to call tech support– those are the types of products that people stick to and they continue using for years. Same thing with websites. If you’re trying to get somebody to buy a product some websites are just really nice to look at.

Don’t Waste Money on College. Do This Instead.

Colleges don’t keep up with the times. Try these Google Certificates instead.

medium.com

It’s also easy to find everything, and when you’re on the website you just feel like you’re having a good experience. Chances are with those good products and good websites they hired some really good UX Designers and that’s what you can learn how to do with this certificate. This one says it takes about 6 months to finish with about 10 hours of work per week… again. almost all of the reviews and self-reported data shows that it’s much quicker than that.

Probably something more like 1 to 3 months. Some of the career paths you might go into are going to be UX Design Intern and they make about $55 to $93,000 a year, and Digital Design Interns make about $46 to $78,000 a year. Some mid-level roles would be UI/UX Designers that make about $70 to $120,000 a year.

Then a senior level role would be a Lead UX Designer and they make about $70 to $175,000 a year. These are extremely high-paying jobs, especially considering that UX Design is actually just being an artist, right? There’s not that many high-paying artist-related jobs out there, so there’s lots of people that have had success with this certificate.

There’s many people who have left reviews and testimonials online, you can check Reddit or the YouTube comment sections of videos about these things, just to see comment after comment of people who have been able to get a job or have just had a good experience taking them,

Google Digital Marketing and e-Commerce Professional Certificate

This is another one that you can actually take for free. This one takes about 6 months with 10 hours a week of work, but again, self-reported data shows it’s much quicker than that, between 1 to 3 months. I think everybody knows what digital marketing is… basically, it’s marketing that happens online.

An example of digital marketing would be the ads that pop up in YouTube videos, another example would be the ads that pop up on Google. Yet another example would be websites and creating SEO optimized content. Another example would be creating content online. It’s called content marketing.

Some roles that you could go into would be a Social Media Coordinator that makes about $40 to $58,000 a year. Another one would be an e-Commerce Customer Service Representative that makes about $35 to $50,000 a year. Some mid-level roles would be a Digital Marketing Specialist that makes about $51 to $79,000 a year and an e-Commerce Marketing Manager that makes about $77 to $118,000 a year or an SEO Analyst that makes about $57 to $97,000 a year.

Then a senior level role would be a Director of e-Commerce, and they make about $137 to $246,000 a year. Here are some opportunities for jobs like this:

Aquent

Remote.com

Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate

This is actually one of my three favorite Google certificates and I actually saved the best three for last because I’m going to talk about my three favorites, but the first one is going to be Data Analytics. So this one again says it takes about 6 months at 10 hours a week, but self-reported data shows 1 to 3 months.

Sometimes people are even able to finish it faster than that. Data in general is just super valuable, anything that involves data, there’s lots of jobs out there for it. But you do have to have the skills, right? You’re not just going to get a job walking off the street, you have to have the skills and prove that you have the skills and the way to do that is to study online and then create a portfolio.

That’s exactly what this certificate training does for you. Some of the entry-level jobs you can get into are going to be Data Entry Analysts that make about $36 to $52,000 a year. Another one is a Data Support Analyst that makes about $35 to $53,000 a year. Some of the mid-level jobs are Data Analyst that make $66 to $103,000 a year.

Then there’s Business Intelligence Analysts that make about $80 to $115,000 a year. A more senior level role would be a Lead Data Analyst that makes up to $170,000 a year. Here are some companies that often hire for data-related roles:

Trip Advisor

Walmart

Google IT Support Professional Certificate

This was actually the one that started it all; this is the first one that came out when Google sort of partnered with Coursera and it was massively popular. Millions and millions of people have taken it and it has some amazing reviews. This is another one that says 6 months at 10 hours a week.

This one I’ve heard people getting it done in like 7 to 10 days. Some of the entry-level roles you can get into would be Help Desk Technician that makes up to $57,000 a year and Desktop Support Reps that make about $47 to $68,000 a year. Some mid-level positions would be IT Support Analysts that make about $53 to $82,000 a year and Systems Administrators that make about $80 to $120,000 a year. A senior level position would be the IT Director of Operations that makes about $175 to $278,000 a year. Here are some companies that often hire for these types of positions:

10UP

Runway

Google Project Management Professional Certificate

Again, this is one of my top three favorites. Project management is all about the planning, execution, and risk management of a project. This is where a company has some kind of new initiative, maybe a new project, or new product that they’re launching and they will put you in charge of that project.

It’s kind of like being a mini entrepreneur with training wheels because you’re going to need to know a little bit about marketing and sales and the product itself. You’re also going to need to be pretty good at leadership. You’re wearing a lot of different hats here, and depending on your personality, that might be a good thing, because you like a challenge, or it might be a bad thing because you don’t want to get stressed out.

But if it’s a good thing, this is an amazing certificate training program to take! They say it takes 6 months at 10 hours a week, but realistically, most people can get this done in 1 to 3 months. I will say with this one I am a big fan of it. Some entry level jobs you might be able to land would be Project Coordinator that make $44 to $62,000 a year and Project Manager Trainee that makes $53 to $84,000 a year.

Some mid-level positions would be Project Manager that makes $77 to $129,000 a year, Program Managers that make $83 to $140,000 a year, and Project Management Consultants that make up to $164,000 a year. A senior level role would be Head of PMO that makes about $161 to $248,000 a year.

In addition to these wonderful opportunities with Google Certifications, you can also try this really cool website called Coursera. According to their site, whether you want to start a brand-new career or advance in your existing field, Coursera Plus provides a broad array of programs in high-growth industries like data analytics, cybersecurity, and many more. So, try one of these certificates out today, and advance your career!

🍉Sign up here to catch every story when Kristen publishes.

Originally posted on Medium

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toskarin · 7 months ago

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assorted "stuff that might not be immediately obvious but you should be doing it" advice for anyone who can't really click with M&B:Warband

turn campaign ai up. the overworld runs on STALKER logic and is literally more difficult if you have the difficulty lower because your own allies won't ever do anything and your enemies won't ever be meaningfully weakened by prior conflicts

your liege remembers every time you ask for fiefs, even if he doesn't award them to you. the rule of thumb is that everything that makes you look weak or annoying will raise controversy, and having high controversy makes a lot of "unlucky" things happen to you for "no reason" (it's because your fellow vassals and troops dislike you and won't say it to your face)

stop using weapons you aren't specialised in. your weapon proficiency is what actually pierces enemy armour. if you want to regularly engage in direct combat, get your weapon master skill to level 3 and the weapon you intend on using most to AT LEAST 160 proficiency. proficiency, cutting both ways, is why enemy lords can one-hit kill you and why you can't pierce their armour. this is also why some characters in tournaments feel unfair (their gear doesn't come with them, but their skills do!)

adjacent to previous advice, you are only as strong as the weakest point on your body. damage is calculated based on location hit. if you aren't wearing a helmet, a headshot will instantly kill you almost every single time. having one really good piece of armour is not worth sacrificing good armour in every other location, and pretty good armour that covers multiple slots is often more practical than incredible armour that only covers one slot

adjacent to previous previous advice, stop using the auto-directional blocking. it false-positives in crowds and will sabotage you by latching onto attacks that are already too far along to block, leaving you completely open to the attack you were actually trying to block

adjacent to previous previous previous advice, the best kind of block is a chamber parry. if you attack in the direction of an oncoming attack and release lmb at the exact moment they connect, it causes a one second stagger, which is long enough to get a free hit in. this is especially useful if you're in a situation where you're slower than the enemy you're fighting

adjacent to previous previous previous previous advice, all melee weapon attacks (more or less) are modified by the relative velocity of the attacker's weapon and the attacked's body. this means mount&blade has plunging attacks and sweet-spots for where in an animation the weapon hits the enemy (because this system is deceptively complex). this also means you lose damage when you're backing up and gain it when you're moving forward, and further, that athletics skill (and equip load) actually modifies your damage pretty significantly. the rule of thumb for sweet-spotting is that your weapon moves the slowest at the start of a swing, so moving your camera as you swing helps ensure that you have enough room to get past the slowest part of your swing before impact

adjacent to previous advice, because weapon velocity is relative, hitting a rider while they're horse-charging you gives you the damage bonus for their charge. this is also true for enemies fighting you on horseback and is a big reason why people "randomly" die in one hit while trying to charge the front lines on horseback

adjacent to previous advice, bunker down if you need to withstand a non-archer cavalry charge. if you make gaps in your lines, they'll ride through them. a tightly-compacted group of spearmen can stop a cavalry charge and then kill the riders. you do need to use the troop commanding menu for this, but you should be using that anyway

adjacent to previous previous advice, arrow velocity factors into damage. this means that getting hit with an arrow while charging towards it on horseback is one of the absolute worst things you can do. do not charge directly into archers unless there is literally no other option at all besides "stay in one place and take fire" lol

make friends with at least one lord in every faction you plan on going to war with. having someone on the inside to sow discord is often the difference between fighting an organised enemy force and fighting a squabbling kingdom where not every lord actually shows up for military campaigns

adjacent to previous advice, make friends with cities and villages in enemy territory. it cannot be impressed strongly enough how big of a difference it makes to have somewhere safe to pit-stop while retreating from a catastrophically backfired siege that resulted in you being left alone in the heart of enemy territory, and besides that, it helps a lot with prisoner rescue missions

adjacent to previous previous advice, reputation is actually not optional unless you're playing a mod that explicitly carves out ways to circumvent it. if you burn down villages and then capture them later, you're going to get less money from taxes and they're going to produce fewer goods for their connected city, which can make fiefs feel like holes in the earth that aren't actually worth the investment to capture them

you could spend weeks trying to fully understand how auto-resolve is calculated, and it's somewhat important to have an idea of how it works, but there's a reason the game starts giving you sources for huge quantities of trash units once you're a lord: trash units can stall a siege out long enough for you to arrive and actually defend your fief properly

you can't feed your army one type of food and get away with it, regardless of how cheap it is. if you want good morale, you should try to have at least three varieties of food. you can have lots of cheap food as long as you have several varieties

adjacent to previous advice, if you have lots of troops from a faction and then go to war with them, you're going to have to double down on morale maintenance, because doing that is a huge drain on morale

adjacent to previous previous advice, morale affects both combat ai and overworld movement speed. if your large army is unbearably slow even though you have high pathfinding and lots of cavalry, check on your morale

if you want to route a force and are confident you can do it, try to bait out a battle for 45 seconds before killing anyone. this usually means telling your horses and archers to hold fire. the best way to route an enemy force isn't by fighting normally, but by suddenly hitting them really hard after that 45 second no-retreat window and causing as many deaths as possible in close proximity

adjacent to previous advice, don't be on the other side of that. if your plan for winning a battle involves allowing a brief massacre of your front lines, that is meaningfully worse for your morale than having those same deaths occur over the course of a few minutes

put your shield on your back if you're running away from archers. when calculating melee attack collision, a shield has a default blocking angle of 90 degrees when you're tapping rmb, but shields ALWAYS block arrows if they hit their mesh. this means blocking with one shield and having another on your back makes you effectively immune to all but flanking shots

stop letting your horse die while you're riding it. this rolls a 20% chance to remove the positive modifier or, if you don't have one, add a negative modifier. the negative modifier will eventually go away if you have a doctor in the party, but you can never get a positive modifier back

adjacent to previous advice, the reason you can't get lances to work is because lame horses can't get enough speed to activate couched lance bonuses. this is a uniform trait of lame horses and is how the game actually punishes using them

I think a lot of people don't realise that mount&blade feels slow and stagnant to them because they have the ai turned down to the lowest difficulty. it's really not supposed to be the kind of game where you can play chicken on a single fief for the full duration of a war and end with no territories traded

the ai is basically fully defensive on the lowest difficulty, which includes the other lords in your own faction, and that means your game is going to kinda play like a stagnant open world rpg instead of a gruelling feudal campaign simulator where starving during a siege is a legitimate consideration

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scripttorture · 4 years ago

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Do you have any advice for self-care to use specifically when you are angry and frustrated by torture apologia? Or even more so when being dismissed when confronting others because they think you are not smart, too emotional, not having enough applicable background, etc. I wanted to keep this general. I know you posted about taking breaks and keeping up your mental health but I could not find anything about ways to deal with anger that don’t involve confronting others, especially if it is culturally frowned upon. Thank you for your hard work with this blog.

Well duck, I uh mostly deal with anger by running this blog.

I’m honestly not sure that I deal with anger well. I try and I’m working on it but I know I struggle to stay calm and polite when something infuriates me. I’m also a lot better at communicating in a helpful, patient and articulate fashion in writing then I am in person.

Keep in mind that you do not have to have these conversations every time someone is spouting torture apologia.

Spreading awareness is great! Educating others is great!

But (and I really can not stress this enough) it is not your job to correct everyone. It is not your job to ‘fix’ people. It is not your job to persuade others they should care.

Pick your battles. Engage with people who you think you can have a genuine conversation with. Remember that when you’re talking politics (and torture is political) then the aim is not to convert the people on the extreme ends: it’s to persuade the people who are on the fence.

And if you really want to engage with people engage about the things they care about. If you’re talking to someone who believes in law and order or justice as retribution then talk about how torture puts police at risk and how it leads to innocent people landing in jail. If you’re talking to people who are concerned with safety in their neighbourhoods talk about how torture can serve as a recruiting factor for extremist groups and gangs. If they’re concerned about public health and the treatment of the mentally ill talk about how torture causes life long health problems and how that takes away from the economy.

Aim at the level where people are willing to engage with you.

If people take issue with your level of education or subject and question how you can know this stuff; act like an academic would. Cite your sources.

‘Well Rejali who studied this for years and created one of the most detailed analysis of global torture we have-’ ‘O’Mara, who studies the brain and how trauma impacts it,’ ‘Morgan, who put US marines through a mock interrogation with mild levels of stress and found-’ ‘Shalev who studies solitary confinement-’ ‘Sironi who is a psychologist and has interviewed hundreds of torturers-’ ‘Kara who produced the largest data base of interviews with modern slaves-’

Repressing your anger, tapping it down, is not a good idea. As with most negative emotions it’s healthier to let yourself feel them and work through them.

It’s also important to recognise that while there are real reasons for your feelings you can not always do anything about them. And there comes a point where you have to deal with that. The things that anger us and hurt us are not always things we can actually personally effect. Changing public opinion takes decades and is the work of thousands of people, not one individual.

I feel like those of us who are not from the West have a bit of an advantage here, because sitting with that anger and learning when and how to put it aside is something you grow up with.

Having support helps a lot. Having people you can talk to about this stuff is incredibly important. And I am so grateful to all of the people I know who support me in this: the court journalists, philosophers, writers and researchers who I can discuss this with. I also get a lot from reading about the successes around the world, modern or historical. They’re out there.

Martial arts have also helped me a lot over the years. Capoeira helped me a lot but given the pandemic it isn’t a great idea right now. But a pair of boxing pads and a willing house mate are definitely a good way to get out some anger. Thumb on the outside of your fist, never inside your fingers. Keep it close to your body, fist at your hip, thumb upwards. Twist as you punch so your thumb faces down as you connect with the pad. Make sure to move your hips.

Don’t do what I did at uni and try to use a pillow instead of proper pads. You’ll end up bruised.

Right now, without a decent capoeira group and a lockdown in place, I do push ups.

If you have a garden dig. Plant young trees, if you’re in the northern hemisphere (it’s the wrong time in the southern hemisphere.) Dig a vegetable patch. Make an area of wild flowers by cutting and tearing out the grass, raking the ground and scattering native plant seeds in the mud.

Take all the electric whisks out of the kitchen and make a cake. Cream the butter until it feels like your arm will fall off.

Make a curry from scratch without a blender. I use a granite pestle and mortar and it takes several batches and several hours to grind a proper paste. I’m a big fan of Matar Paneer and it freezes well giving some tasty work lunches for a week or so.

Make bread. I’m not very good at this but the kneading, layering and mixing all take a lot of work. Which can be a very good outlet. I wish I could give you a paratha recipe but the truth is my skill level is no where near high enough to attempt the best breads. (I buy mine frozen.)

The advantage I’ve found from all of these outlets is they’re constructive. Boxing and push ups will make you stronger, whatever skill level you start at. Gardening will give you fruit, vegetables or wonderful flowers in a few months time. It’ll give you new knowledge of plants. Cooking any of the things I’ve suggested will give you wonderful food and more skills.

I always try to find something constructive to do with my anger. I think there’s a tendency to portray anger as bad in and of itself rather then having a conversation about how we act on our anger.

I also can’t stress enough how writing can help. Fiction is an excellent way to process our feelings and express why we feel the way we do.

The piece of fanfiction I’m currently writing has one of the characters dealing with a traumatic brain injury. Writing this character struggling to communicate what he’s going through and trying to come to terms with his limits while the people around him are looking at him and saying ‘well you don’t look disabled-’ It’s helped me process a lot of my anger over how I’m treated because of my mental health problems and the dumb, unnecessary barriers that make my life more difficult.

What’s the root of the anger here? When you know that, you can address it with words. You can construct a story that will explore it. You can see it through the lense of different characters. And that really helps process it.

I hope that helps :)

Available on Wordpress.

Disclaimer

#writing advice #tw torture #torture apologia #tackling torture apologia #mental health #research #anger #dealing with anger

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bae-science · 4 years ago

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it’s t-t-t-t-time for another newt bae-science fic rec extravabonanza! same rules, same boys, same bullshit! let’s get into it:

a beginning; a second chance by @dykesword

other newt and i have a long and intricate ritualistic battle to become the alpha newt, but i gotta give credit where it’s due. if you like to annotate your books for fun, this fic will give you a looooong comment you’ll want to write, and for good reason! there’s a lot of really well done metaphor and character detail in here, while still keeping a very soft, melancholy but with a hopeful edge tone. and also, like, the care and detail in which newt’s mental state in the aftermath of the precursors’ abuse is depicted is so so good, and delightful to read

husbandly duties by @kingeiszler

i am soooo biased with this one bc technically it was made for me but GODDAMN it’s good. this shit has everything: gottlieb trio sibling dynamics, vanessa in giant femme earrings, hermann yearning, newt and karla infodumping together, newt’s terrible and accurate gaydar, gay crime, the newmann dynamic and why it works boiled down to its bare essentials, pride and prejudice glasses touch, and neon green acrylics. required reading for the vanessaverse

Say That Again by @robertfrobisherslover

WOOF. if you like mutual pining and lack of communication from men with rocks for their emotional processing centers, and guncle (gay uncle) newt and hermann and KILLER artsy sex scenes, and themes of words unsaid in a story about LANGUAGE..... oogoogogoogouhufug. the writing style is clear and well paced, i LOVE little mako’s scene she’s such a cutie, and there’s like. a line. that’s a play on the whole “it’s always been you” trope. that lives in my mind rent free forever.

speak right to my heart without saying a word by @thekaidonovskys

i’m just gonna paste the comment i left on it here, because that sums up what is so absolutely incredible about this fic the best:

so sometimes you stumble on a piece of fiction that you add to your little collection of stuff you would show a person if you wanted them to understand a part of you that you can't quite explain eloquently, or it would take too long, etc etc, and i've never really found something like that for my autism until now, which, like, poggers. and i'll be as straight up as i can while still being the biggest lesbian in the great state of ohio (not a hard feat but alan invented computers so i love continuing on the autistic tradition of being a living miracle), the chameleon effect hit me like a mack truck. catholic school in the deep south is the most potent and effective form of ABA therapy imaginable :/. so sometimes i wonder what i would be like if i didn't have such a strong ability to pass, and here's where we finally get to the part of this comment where i just vomit compliments at you: you nailed it. you got it. i don't know if you're on the spectrum, but either way, well fucking done. trauma therapy research talks a lot about healing fantasies, which are fantasies, usually in the form of daydreams, that abused/neglected/traumatized/etc people create that directly address a struggle they have and take the form of a scenario in which that struggle is helped in some way. it could be an abusive parent repenting and showering them with the love they never had, or someone finding them during a panic attack and somehow knowing how best to comfort them without having to ask, or being intimate with someone and having a scar or physical deformity they've been shamed for be given attention and care. and i think you have created the ultimate perfect healing fantasy for autistic people, or at least those with """"high functioning"""" autism. it has a character who is visibly and undeniably on the spectrum having the pain and trauma going through life like that causes being acknowledged and validated, they are purposefully paid attention to because person b genuinely likes them and wants to understand and respect who they are and how they function in the world, and thus get The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known as well as the eventual rewards of being loved, person b makes a genuine effort to help teach them social skills in a way they can understand and learn through and is there for them when these skills are being practiced, their space and boundaries are respected but they aren't infantilized or thought of as an emotionless robot, and they receive love and comfort on their own terms not despite of but because of who they are, even specifically being asked not to change the way they are because that way is lovable. they are openly desired. writing is my fucking JOB and it's still difficult to put into words how much you got 100000% right about the dream with this fic. i have been in the EXACT and i mean EXACT same situation as hermann when he asked newt if it was his personality itself that made people not like him, because i deadass made a spreadsheet of all my personality attributes i thought could be preventing me from making friends in college, and then asked my fellow nd friend to see if there was anything i was missing. so i guess what i'm trying to say is that this amazing, and i'm bookmarking it and putting it on my next fic rec post, and maybe one day way way in the future if i ever get a partner i want to explain the whole autism thing to, i'm gonna have them read this.

The Facts With Newton Geiszler, PhD by what_alchemy (NSFW)

storytime: i read this fic a few years ago, completely forgot the title and author, and ended up thinking about the part where hermann admits to having fucked a trailer hitch when he was a teenager, at least once a week. last november, i say to my friend samara on twitter, head of the BSHCU (buttslut hermann cinematic universe), hey this seems like something you’d have read, do you remember a fic where... and samara says FUCK i do know what you’re talking about lemme find it. so if the fact that i have been looking for this fic for like, two years, and that it contains a moment so iconic all i had to say is, “hermann says he fucked a trailer hitch” and she IMMEDIATELY knew what i was talking about, does not convince you to read this... go back to catholic school i guess.

Feeling Blue by TempusPetrichor

fics where newt goes back to work as a biologist, especially a xenobiologist, post pru are really interesting, and usually have something neat to say about recovery, how it isn’t linear, how it often involves us returning to things we love for comfort, etc. this one sure does! some good emotional and physical h/c, LOVE the use of the ghost drift, and it’s always fun to see post pru fics use dialogue very obviously taken from dbt, trauma-specific therapeutical texts, and anything that shows the author has experience with, or did their research on, ptsd therapies.

You’re Everyone That Ever Cared by KlavierWrites

you know a fic is good when it’s an only 9k slowburn and still manages to reach infinite regress levels of are you fucking KIDDING GO TO THERAPY. newt “acts of service” geiszler may have a little misplaced misogyny due to his broken woman-centric gaydar. as a treat. the fucking. post-drift scene where hermann subtextually screams “LOOK IN OUR BRAINS YOU FUCK I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU I JUST HAVE AUTISM AND CAREER IN STEM DISORDER” is soooooo. god just hermann in general in that scene is great. if you like classic mid 2010s era newmann, ghost drift romance, and good ole mutual pining, this is a treat.

Baby, You're Hotter than my Bunsen Burner by SkySongMA

moronosexual hermann representation is something that can actually be so personal

Times of Stress by RadioMoth

the boys are processinggggggg. man what a good, quick and powerful punch to the gut. if you like post-pr1 catharsis and physical h/c, AND are the one friend that likes to comment at the end of the movie that hey newt got beat the fuck UP, check this one out.

black tea by @faggotcas

okay first of all, god fucking tier url, lee. second of all, food as a love language is my SHIT. i love the very slow relationship development here, where you see them making a genuine effort to get along and that in turn leading to feelings reigniting. it’s such a sweet little moment of a fic, with a nice atmosphere and tone to fit it

now here’s the part where i usually drop my latest fic, but i haven’t written one this month because i’ve been busy launching an audio drama! you can find it here, it’ll be right up your alley if you like cryptids and gay scientists and enemies to lovers and good ole americana, but since this is a newmann post, i’m gonna recommend the pacific rim audio drama duology i did a while back! part one is called conversations from the brink, and it’s a little slice of the pr3 we better fucking get from streaming that godawful looking anime. love and lesbians to everyone ❤️

#pacific rim #pac rim #mine #newmann #pacific rim uprising #fic rec

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calicorn · 5 years ago

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My experience with WeLoveFine/ForFansByFans as an artist.

This in regards to the Act 6/7 Tarot Project, which occurred from 2017 to 2018. I also want to thank @aryll for the chance to participate in such a project, and thank you for doing what you could with the group and what occurred. I realize this is a few years late, however, but it’s been bothering me ever since it occurred, and I only chose to speak my mind about it. But to summarize, the project started out as unofficial, however we were approached by FFBF in February of 2018. They were willing to sell the deck as official merchandise on their store. I have my own opinions on the company, as it’s known they underpay artists severely for their work despite selling most items for extremely high prices. A similar payment issue occurred with the Official Homestuck Zine, and one of the artists of the Tarot Project posted this in the comments: “Can relate OP. I did work for the new tarot deck (using my throwaway account for that reason lol) but we aren’t being paid at all. No money. The only compensation we are getting is a free deck and an exclusive enamel pin which is pennies compared to what they’ll be making off us. One might argue that the project wasn’t supposed to be printed so I should be grateful it’s even happening but I expected a big company like WLF to y’know, pay artists... The only reason I agreed to letting them use my art was to get a free deck. I also honestly dislike WLF’s artist compensation policy. My art has been selected from the Fan Forge before and the idea of being able to sell my HS art was so appealing, but the execution is so poor. They don’t pay us until we sell $100 worth of shirts, but that is so difficult in a market that is so oversaturated. I wish they like, cycled designs in and out. Instead, they just keep adding more and more designs, drowning out old ones and just flooding the entire market. Plus, they get to withhold money from artists until every hundred-dollar mark. I can’t imagine how much they’ve made off of small time artists that get their design accepted and sell maybe 3 shirts since it happens so often.” So. What exactly happened? I’ll explain under the cut given there’s a decent amount to go through. Though to summarize; WeLoveFine/ForFansByFans is an extremely egregious company that does not value their artists whatsoever and will do what they can to pay them as little as possible. Please support said artists on sites that actually do give them fair pay, or support them via commissions.

There were a few bumps during the tarot project, though overall it went extremely smoothly and we released our art to the Tumblr blog. FFBF approached us during this time, and we were all given the option to agree to continue working or the project or decline. However, this is what was an important piece to the initial email sent out by the Tarot Project team; • Each participating artist will get a full finalized copy of the deck, COMPLETELY free. This includes packaging and free shipping of the deck. • Each participating artist will get an enamel pin commemorating the project, EXCLUSIVE to the artists of this project only, with a custom design as chosen/designed by us. What will most likely occur is that everyone who wishes to submit a design for the pin can do so, and as a group, we will vote on which one we would like to submit as our final design choice! • Each participating artist will receive FULL COMMISSION on any further usage of their artwork by What Pumpkin or For Fans By Fans. For example, if they release a mini-print, wallet, etc. with your design on it, you will be paid in commission for the usage of your work. (If you have ANY questions about how this would work, please don’t hesitate to ask and I will hook you up ASAP with a For fans By Fans representative who can go over the details with you further.) • Each participating artist will have a window in which they will be able to make updates or revisions to their illustration(s) before the project is released. This means that if something is bugging you about your work, or you feel that it does not reflect your current level of skill, you will be allowed to resubmit a new version before the project officially goes up as merchandise! So, the majority of us agreed to continue forward with the project and retouch our cards. From there, things continued, and we were emailed by a FFBF representative on occasion to discuss how the process went, as well as various other things that required discussion, plus asked to assist in the promotion of the 4/13/18 celebration on their website. This is where the issues began and would continue through the entire project, with it still being seen post-release of the cards. We were sent an email in April of 2018 requiring information to be provided in the accompanying booklet of the deck, as well as being asked to answer various interview questions that would be posted to FFBF’s Tumblr, and most importantly; the Commission Agreement form. So what did it entail? This was the form I was sent. My interview was never posted. I have looked multiple times and never seen evidence it ever was, either. And this was also included in the email; • We are going to be hosting a pre-order bonus promotion surrounding the new tarot set, starting 413. Anyone who pre-orders the set will be entered into a drawing to win a commissioned art piece from a random artist who worked on the tarot. You will be paid by us, FFBF, for this commission work in the amount of $50. So we had to draw more art with a very close deadline date to obtain a payment for art we had already created, both of which should have easily been worth more than $50 total. I signed without thinking, which looking back on, was incredibly idiotic, despite my own worries over the fact that even at the time, $50 did not seem like a lot. Progress continued. An exclusive pin was designed and created for the artists, though the production and delivery dates would be delayed to September of 2018. During this time, we were also invited to join FFBF’s Discord server as well, which I am still in, though am not active in. And eventually, we were provided a Commission Schedule. I do not know if I’m missing an email between the enamel pin shipment and this schedule post, however I cannot find any trace of it. This is the Commission Schedule email, and what it consists of. Of course I found it strange, because looking at the schedule, I could never find any sign of myself having been added. Obviously I should have replied then and there due to that, but I didn’t, and that is my own fault. But that rolled into October of 2018, when I did finally email back and asked about why I hadn’t been added. I was sent back this; “Hi Calicorn! I’m sorry I misinterpreted your response as not wanting to proceed:“3) I am completely willing to sign up for being one of the artists for the commission raffle event, though I must say $50 would be underpaying considering most artists’ base prices for commissions tend to be $50 or more.” Then I sent “If you do not want to be part of the give-away, that’s totally ok. We are offering $50 for these commissions but if that price is not within your comfort, there’s no pressure!” You never came back with anything so I didn’t want to proceed since it seemed like you were uncomfortable with the amount we were offering – I’m really sorry if I misunderstood! The giveaway is actually over I’m sorry to say but I appreciate you following up about this. I wonder why the message went into spam.. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you Thanks!” And one of the most glaring issues popped up in October as well. When we finally received our decks in the mail, our project’s Discord group began to discuss the fact that our emails had been printed in the pamphlet without our permission. Mind you, this was also a project that included minors in it, and our emails had now been given away without our knowledge. Another issue with the pamphlets is the fact that FFBF had reused the same text from the Homestuck Kickstarter Tarot Deck, as seen on the New Booklet/Old Booklet, and here/here. FFBF then decided to remove the booklet from every outgoing tarot that gets ordered, with customers receiving a corrected digital PDF that was coordinated in its creation by Aryll. And apparently previous customers would receive this PDF via emails, as well as a link to download it on the product page. Thankfully FFBF seemed to have at least posted the PDF on the product page, however this seems extremely lazy compared to simply including the newly reprinted booklet. Though this may not be the last of issues, as I stumbled across the Amazon product page for our tarot deck earlier before typing this all up. To say the least, it is extremely infuriating, especially given the quality of the cards and how many people of complained about them on both Amazon and FFBF’s websites. Of course we, the artists, were never alerted to this development, nor were we paid for such.

But overall, we were hardly paid for our time and effort during this project, which is a massive disappointment, but perhaps that much should have been expected from WeloveFine/ForFansByFans, who are notorious for underpaying artists and overpricing products. Their actions are inexcusable, and I am still both disappointed and furious with this company as a whole. But thank you for reading, and please spread the word, as I do not want FFBF’s actions to go unnoticed.

#homestuck #welovefine #forfansbyfans #act6tarotproject

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hecallsmehischild · 3 years ago

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Recent Media Consumed

Books

The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell. First, I actually appreciated the foreward to the “Left Book Club” copy, even though it says that anyone who is not a member should disregard it. It gave an interesting rebuttal to parts of the book. That aside, I’m not totally sure what to make of the book. On the level of descriptive writing, I rarely find something this richly penned. But it’s loaded with concepts and lingo and even a monetary system I’m unfamiliar with, and that hampers my understanding of the points. I get the general gist, but all the finer points are very lost on me, simply because I’m an American millennial.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson. I’ve seen the “F*ck” series titles floating around here and there, and I’m intrigued by a couple of them. The idea of this one is that people give way too many f*cks about everything, and that you really need to pick where you give your f*cks in life and never give a f*ck about anything that doesn’t line up with your values (in a nutshell). It’s an easy and interesting read. It’s interesting to me that, in the wake of what I hear was many years of positive-mood and high self-esteem type self help books (most of which I’ve only heard of and never read, were they before my time?), we’re getting a backlash of “Yes, life sucks. Yes, life has pain. Dealing with pain and failure appropriately is a part of life. Accept that, or lose yourself to complete entitlement” type self-help books. I’m curious what this trend produces in people over time. I’d also like to highlight that this book has the best discussion of dividing “fault” and “responsibility” that I’ve ever read.

Shows

Loki. WHAT EVEN. WHAT EVEN. WHAT. WHAT THE. WHAT THE. FRESH… THE FRICK FRACK PADDYWHACK???!!!

Mushi-shi. So, turns out the first time I watched this I somehow started on Season 2, and my source cut out before the season end… no wonder I was pretty confused. So I started re-watching this and… I remember how incredibly unsettling this anime is. It’s equal parts gentle wonder and soft horror, a blend that is very difficult to describe unless you’ve seen it. Much like Mushi themselves, eh? I think I’ll balance this out by ending each watch session with an episode of Log Horizon rewatch. That’ll keep the emotional balance intact.

Claymore. I ended up dropping this one halfway through. It has an interesting concept, but the “things that bug me” points mounted pretty fast. In the early episodes, everything is so dark that it’s hard to see what’s going on. There’s a huge amount of monologuing and info-dumping IN monologue, and this goes on even mid-fight, and even CALMLY mid-fight. Yes, this isn’t the only anime that does this, but it decreases my enjoyment. It’s difficult to take the story seriously when the big bad yells, “Why can’t I defeat you?” to the weakest-but-somehow-also-the-strongest member of a team, and then have a colleague of the team member calmly explain to the big bad exactly why he’s unable to land a blow, then they take off his head together. This show has a lot of that sort of thing. I’ll read up on how the series ended, not interested in slogging through the other half.

Elfen Lied. This is a re-re-rewatch for me. I stumbled on this anime when I was newly inducted into anime-watching and, well... given that Princess Tutu was my very first anime, this one was a real shock to my system at first. By all accounts I should have dropped it and run screaming at the time, but I couldn’t. There was something about the sheer tragedy of the story that called to me. Plus it was VERY short. So I returned to it from time to time. Now that I’ve developed more of a feel for what I do and don’t like in a story, how does this hold up? The relationships are terrible, imo, and the whole thing about diclonius is never explained enough (and I still don't understand the ending) but it's STILL hard not to be pulled in by the sheer tragedy of the series.

Movies

300. I haven’t seen this movie since college. Is it weird how much I enjoyed it as a romp? Yes, there’s death and tragedy, but the dry humor and utter gung-ho-edness of it is infectious. It’s a good flick, I’m really glad I went back to see it. And I also finally understand Leonidas telling the traitor, “May you live forever.” Damn, man. No wonder he flinched.

Weathering With You. GORGEOUS. I need to see more by this animator… LIGHT. WATER. FOOD. I hear they’re calling this person the new Miyazaki? I CONCUR. And the story is sweet and beautiful and just yes. Yes. Oh, look, he made something else before this movie…

Your Name. Okay so I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, fantastic story and, once again, gorgeous animation that all makes me want to track with this creator in the future. And the twist definitely socked me in the gut, I didn’t see it coming. On the other hand, I feel like this movie hits an extreme of “show, don’t tell” in a way that comes awfully close to a negative. I didn’t think that was possible, but this movie switches timelines, POV, points in time, etc, so rapidly that it becomes difficult to keep track of what’s going on, properly. I could not imagine watching this movie in theaters, it has to be watched with a remote in hand to pause, rewind, rewatch, discuss what the heck just happened. It’s like watching Mystery Skulls videos, with that level of rapid fire little details that are incredibly important to the plot, but for a feature length film. Also, after some discussion, I came to see (and agree) that there’s a foundational issue in the main relationship that doesn’t bode well for the future, as much as I rooted for them to be together. Still, it’s an incredible movie and I can see why it was the highest grossing movie for Japan a few years back.

Games

Diablo II. I’m really happy. I live in a house with my husband and his best friend, and in the past year or so we’ve begun playing games together. This is the sort of game I would never have gone to on my own because I actually need someone in the room who I can ask, “Hey, how do you assign attacks again?” or “Hey, is this piece of gear better than the piece I’m wearing?” I don’t like playing the number game on gear so much, but I let the two of them dress my character up and then I back them up in a fight and enjoy myself. Looting and exploring for treasure is probably my favorite aspect (says the person who plays Breath of the Wild just to forage for mushroom and herbs), although as a level 20 Amazon I’m now shooting out waves of 8 arrows at a time, and that’s pretty epic too. It’s a special kind of joy to find out you actually like a type of gaming as long as there’s people there who can explain things along the way and who don’t get annoyed at re-asked questions. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m having a blast playing Diablo II in a group. And as for the other game we play together as a group…

WoW Classic. I covered this before, but back then I was a lowly level 17 Dwarf Hunter. Now I’m a lowly level 36 Dwarf Hunter. With a mount! I have epic skills like explosion traps, poisonous shots, and multi-shot. My wolf has gained a ton more skills, too, and is (or so I’m told) a pretty effective off-tank. I have been told I am an effective DPS person, which makes me very happy. I really enjoy this kind of gaming, but specifically when I’m in the same room as the people I’m gaming with. Communication is a lot easier and we work really well as a team that way.

#recent media consumed #child loves books #child loves movies #child loves shows #n00b gamer child

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jdkloosterman · 4 years ago

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SQUAD A: Primary function--assault and destruction. Operative 07, codename ""Delilah" Previous attempts to recreate Hulk-like abilities have invariably met with disaster due to the accompanying berzerker rage. The Section 11 scientists took a different approach and instead tried to replicate the work of Dr. Samson, tying the particular super-strength of the Hulk to the length of the subject's hair. Trace genetic samples of the Red Hulk were used in experimentation on a test subject. Project deemed a partial success, though "Delilah" still has high levels of aggression and can be difficult to control, particularly if her hair length is not maintained within optimal parameters. Operative 01 has displayed a marked affinity for her, but so far experiments involving attempts at breeding have met with no success. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: "Breeding?" Are you serious with this? Damnit, those eggheads are messed up.] Operative 08, codename "Waif" "Waif" is unusual in not coming from the usual pool of test subjects, but is in fact the natural daughter of one of Section 11's lead scientists, Dr. Yamanaka. Her powers emerged at a young age uncontrollably during a traumatic car accident that killed one of her closest friends. Her powers were uncontrollable and destructive until the implant could be successfully installed. Though Dr. Yamanaka has attempted, since, to speak with his daughter, she does not seem to recognize him or anyone from her old family at all. "Waif" is one of the few operatives in Section 11 permitted to wear non-standard gear, as disruptions to her daily routine have been observed to have a negative impact on her stability. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: Guy lobotomized his own daughter. No wonder she won't talk to him.] Operative 09, codename "Samurai." "Samurai" is a clone created by Dr. Akimichi, spliced with DNA from the metahuman Blob. His armor is developed based on intense study of the metahuman Juggernaut and his armor. Though docile and responding well to direction, "Wamurai" has little initiative of his own. He also does not speak, and only communicates through "Waif." He has been observed to have a calming impact on her, hence why the two are paired together. "Samurai" also carries a series of steroids and stimulants for use in high-stress combat situations, and has received military training. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: Love this kid. Like a minature tank.] *Note: Given the volatile nature of the group, they require extensive coordination. Dr. Nara's "Deer" AI has proven useful in this task, supplemented by Shadow drones capable of observing and compiling data.** **Further Note: Dr. Nara's "Deer" AI has been flagged for review after numerous incidents displaying near-sentience, including several statements curiously similar to Dr. Nara's late son. Director Danzou has ordered an investigation into thJA)djs&(*Yhiue---------RECORD DELETED

SQUAD B--Primary Function: Infiltration and Recon Operative 03: "Gemini 1" Gemini 1 is not suited to intense combat situations unless supported by Gemini 2. Her primary skill set is stealth, infiltration, and cyberops. Similar to Gemini 2, she possesses hyper-optogrophy and can see in multiple layers of the spectrum, including infrared, ultraviolet, and x-ray. Energy blasts from the palms are able to target internal organs. Tests have also confirmed a psychic link between her and Gemini 2, wherein information and even physical pain can be conveyed between one and the other. Gemini 1 has also been observed to have a notable attraction to Operative 01, which might possibly be useful. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: Who authorized that test, and how was "physical pain" determined?] Operative 04: "Gemini 2" Gemini 2 is the twin of Gemini 1 and possesses all her abilities. He has a much higher combat aptitude, and has been noted in field operations to have a particular protective instinct involving Gemini 1. It has also been noted that Gemini 2's combat effectiveness dips noticeably when confronted with anti-citizens Kusanagi and Green Beast. Confrontations should be avoided. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: Who did we get these twins from, I wonder. Probably from one of the "clinics."] Operative 05: "Weapon K" Weapon K is the most successful emulation of the Weapon X project thus far. Though it is still difficult to maintain complete control, and the adamantium binding process was not entirely successful, still he retains the all-important healing factor acquired from Weapon X, as well as the heightened senses. Weapon K handles the majority of combat situations that Squad B encounters, though he is indiscreet and tends to leave a mess behind. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: Just something not right about this boy.] Operative 06: "Shino Entity" It has yet to be determined whether Shino Entity is, in fact, a budding psychic who was consumed by insects and gained control of them, or merely a strange collective of psychic insects under a shared delusion of once having been human. Investigation is ongoing, though attempts to isolate and inspect individual insects of the hive mind have been counter-productive, as Shino Entity has invariably become aware of the isolation and dissection of members of his hive mind. Accordingly, invasive experiments have for the moment been suspended to ensure his ongoing collaboration. His skill set is incredibly valuable and unique, however, enabling mass recon on a almost simultaneous response, and while not suited to combat, is essentially indestructible. Shino Entity requires little care save maintenance of the containment suit and a daily piece of rotten meat. This seems sufficient to have earned his cooperation, along with a curious affinity for the other members of Squad B--though it still has not been determined how he manages to speak. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: I don't really care where he came from. As long as he keeps up his work, he can call himself Shino or Lord Nelson for all I care.] LEADERSHIP TEAM Commader Kakashi: Field Commander. Last living member of the original Section 11 team, Commander Kakshi has been declared not fit for combat due to the injury suffered to his eye during the Apocalypse Incident. He now serves Section 11 in a supervisory tactical role, planning out missions to accomplish goals as set by the rest of the leadership. Though not strictly required, Commander Kakashi makes a habit of deploying with the Section 11 Operatives whenever possible, a practice which Section Chief Danzou has cited him for numerous times. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: Let the old man complain, I'm not sending kids out there without backup.] Dr. Tsunade: Head of Mutagenic Studies. Dr. Tsunade left a promising career at Tokyo University to lead the medical and study wing of Section 11. She is in charge of monitoring the operative's physical state and the nature of their mutations, as well as any new mutations that arise. Dr. Tsunade's connection to the program is more than professional, as her grandfather was closely involved in its creation, a fact which may have weighed into her decision to join. Dr. Tsunade also considers herself in charge of the operative's well-being, a matter which has also led her to clash with Section Chief Danzou. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: The lady should be in charge from everything I've seen. Though what she did to the meeting table makes me wonder if her studies have been leading to more practical applications of mutagens, recently.] Dr. Inoichi: Section Chief Danzou's successful recruitment of the famous "Ino-Shika-Cho" team may be considered one of the great accomplishments of his administration. Dr. Inoichi joined the program out of desperation to find some solution to his daughter's newly awakened powers, and his two friends followed him. A neurology specialist, Dr. Inoichi has done groundbreaking work regarding metahuman psychics and extra-natural brain structure. He devised the device which currently helps his daughter to keep her powers in check, which is currently under development for possible use against enemy psychics. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: Why does the record note this as an accomplishment of Danzou's? Inoichi joined us because of his daughter's accident, Danzou had nothing to do with it.] Dr. Shikaku: Shikaku, a renowned specialist in artificial intelligence and computer learning simulations, joined the program alongside his friend. His algorithms run much of the training programs that the operatives use, as well as much of the predictive software crucial to Section 11's smooth operation. The death of his son left him emotionally distant and he has a noted reluctance to meet with any of the operatives outside of Inoichi's daughter. Much of his work since joining Section 11 has been on his prototype ASI "Shika" and its proxy drone. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: I swear, that thing almost seems sometimes like it's actually senti303@..%$)(~~~- ERROR DATA CORRUPTION... Dr. Chouza: The final member of the Ino-Shika-Cho team, Dr. Chouza's specialty runs more in the physical arena than either of his friends, primarily involving force multipliers such as the Hulk and Blob. His "Choji" clone program has potential to create an entire army once the formula has been perfected and the laboratory repaired. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: Chouza's heart isn't in this, and that laboratory will never be fixed if he has anything to say about it.] Section Chief Danzou: Despite his near-fatal injuries from the Apocalypse Incident, Section Chief Danzou has transformed Section 11 into an elite fighting force in the wake of his predecessor. The current roster and focus of the division is entirely due to his guidance. He has a noted tendency for keeping his plans to himself and frequently overrules his leadership staff. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: There is reason to believe that the old man has an even more dark-ops organization on the side, for missions he considers too sensitive even for Section 11.]

#naruto #sakura #ino #hinata #neji #kakashi #tsunade #alternativeart #crossover #fanart #choji #shino

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aion-rsa · 3 years ago

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25 Hardest PC Games of All-Time

https://ift.tt/38HV1Oq

The most fascinating thing about the history of difficult PC games isn’t necessarily the difficulty of individual titles but rather the diversity of difficult experiences the platform has gifted us throughout the years.

From meme games specifically designed to make you rage quit to underrated platformers and punishing puzzle titles, the history of difficult PC games essentially doubles as a fairly comprehensive look at all the ways developers have creatively punished us for daring to think we were ever good enough to beat their cruelest creations.

What are the most difficult PC games ever made, though? Well, answering that question is only slightly easier than actually playing the games on such a list, so in the interest of honoring the hardest PC games ever, we’re offering an extended look at the games that made you toss your mouse and keyboard in the air and briefly consider the benefits of smashing the family computer. We’re also focusing on games that were initially released exclusively for various PC platforms (or at least games that weren’t simply ported to PC later on) in order to properly pay homage to the truly unique ways our personal computers have tortured us throughout the years.

25. Minesweeper

The first PC game many of us probably played dominated computer classrooms, ate up more free time than many of us will ever care to admit, and ultimately confounded a generation of gamers who desperately tried to see its victory screen.

That’s what’s impressive about Minesweeper. It’s ultimately a pretty challenging puzzle game that becomes borderline absurd at high-difficulty settings, but I’m just amazed that Microsoft was bold enough to make such a confusing, complicated, and difficult game one of the most recognizable early Windows experiences.

24. Dota 2

This is a bit of a tricky entry, largely because I’m hesitant to highlight PC multiplayer games in this discussion about difficult titles. Obviously, it’s pretty hard to win a match against some of the best competitive multiplayer players in the world.

What separates Dota 2, though, is its incredible learning curve. Yes, top-rank Dota play is incredibly difficult, but the barrier to entry in this game is so thick that it’s amazing most new players even stick around to try to learn it.

23. Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear

If you’re only familiar with the Rainbow Six series because of Siege (which, to be fair, is a challenging game in its own right), then let me just warn you now that you’re probably in for a world of hurt if you ever dare to try to play the first few entries in this long-running franchise.

The only word that properly describes Rogue Spear‘s difficulty is “unforgiving.” You have to be nearly perfect in your planning, aim, map, knowledge, and execution of all of those elements if you’re going to have any chance of completing this game’s most difficult missions. Don’t even get me started on those stealth sections…

22. Return of the Obra Dinn

There are quite a few challenging “logic puzzle” games on the PC, but what separates this truly incredible experience from some of its immediate competition is the way that the game’s time manipulation mechanics require you to cross-reference nearly every piece of information that you acquire with every other piece of information you acquire.

Yes, you can make educated guesses in Obra Dinn, but that little piece of freedom just shows you how complex this game’s puzzles really are. Return of the Obra Dinn doesn’t just make you think; it demands a different kind of thought process than you’ll find in any other game or any other kind of storytelling experience.

21. Kerbal Space Program

It’s not hard to enjoy Kerbal Space Program. It is, after all, a fairly goofy game about building spaceships where half the fun comes from watching your plans quite literally blow up in your face. However, have you ever tried actually playing Kerbal Space Program well?

If you have, then you probably already know that Kerbal Space Program is one of the most complicated and mechanically advanced PC games ever made. Building a fully functional rocket in this game’s nightmare world of physics and miniature components is only slightly less difficult than being asked to build a rocket in real life.

20. Hotline Miami

Hotline Miami is widely recognized for its all-time great soundtrack and absurd violence, but don’t let this game’s popularity somehow convince you that it is not one of the most unforgiving and mentally exhausting action games ever made.

While each level in Hotline Miami is essentially a puzzle, few puzzle games also demand perfect aim or the ability to pick up a makeshift weapon at just the right moment in order to salvage your plan of attack. Few gaming experiences match the feeling of getting a Hotline Miami level just right.

19. Dead Cells

Dead Cells is so much fun to play that you might forget that it’s absolutely one of the most challenging action games of the last few years. Of course, that reality will rise up and smack you in the face the moment that you dare to try to beat the game’s later levels.

Even if you “grind” your way to the top of Dead Cells and unlock every weapon, attribute, and skill, you’ll still struggle to topple this game’s most devious challenges. By that point, though, you’ll likely be too committed to seeing it through to realize that you’re actively being beaten down.

18. FTL

FTL certainly wasn’t the first roguelike game, but this crowdfunded title elevated the genre with its incredible sci-fi setting, brilliant structure, and intense strategy-focused combat sequences. It’s also the game that showed millions just how difficult roguelike games could be.

Years later, it’s easy to argue that FTL is still one of the hardest roguelike games out there. You can do everything right in this game (which is certainly no easy feat in and of itself) and still instantly lose the “perfect run” thinks to one of a hundred random little things that can go wrong.

17. SpaceChem

Imagine trying to pass an advanced chemistry test while simultaneously attempting to re-wire the electricity in your home. That’s roughly what it’s like to play SpaceChem: one of the most complicated puzzle games ever conceived.

I’d say learning to play SpaceChem is half the battle, but the thing that is so interesting about this game is that you never really entirely learn how to play it. You just learn to roll with the punches and make the most out of the various challenges this game uses to constantly keep you on your toes.

16. Flywrench

At the risk of relying on too many comparisons, I’ll say that the best way to imagine what it’s like to play Flywrench is to imagine trying to play Super Hexagon and Super Meat Boy at the same time without messing up in either. That’s roughly the Flywrench experience.

What’s amazing about this game is that even those with lightning-fast reflexes aren’t guaranteed to be good at it. Victory in Flywrench comes down to a brutal combination of reflexes, map memorization, quick reads, and the kind of persistence that few games would ever dare demand from their players.

15. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

Somewhere between a survival horror game and a simulation shooter lies S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl: one of the most original, terrifying, and yes, brutally difficult PC games ever made.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl convincingly sells the horrors of its setting by burdening you with the knowledge that you could indeed die at any time. If this game’s atmosphere, story, and tone don’t make you feel depressed, trying to navigate its toughest sections will probably do the trick.

14. Dark Seed

While it’s true that the best reason to play Dark Seed is its incredible horror style (which is actually based on the art of H. R. Giger), the second-best reason to play Dark Seed is the desire to experience as much digital pain as possible.

Dark Seed’s puzzles are hard enough on their own, but this game takes things one step too far by utilizing a time limit system that affords you almost no time to stop and smell the roses. You could argue this game would have been better off overall without that time limit system, but it certainly wouldn’t be as notoriously difficult as it very much is.

13. Devil Daggers

If you’ve never played Devil Daggers, please be sure to find the time to do so. This absolutely incredible FPS experience effectively reimagines classic shooters as a kind of arena action game that places you in the middle of a small circular stage that is quickly swarmed by the most horrifying foes you’ll ever dare to imagine.

Devil Daggers is basically what you’d get if you used mods to turn Quake into a bullet hell shooter. Ther are safe zones in this game, but good luck spotting them in a 3D, first-person setting while you’re actively trying not to die at every single moment.

Games

PC Gaming Innovations That Changed the Way We Play

By Matthew Byrd

Games

25 PC Games That Changed History

By Matthew Byrd

12. Discworld

Even at a time when point-and-click adventure puzzles were designed to be as difficult as possible, Discworld quickly gained a reputation for featuring arguably the most challenging collection of puzzles that genre has ever seen.

Discworld embraces the outlandishness of its source material by tasking you with solving puzzles that quite honestly defy any logic that we mere mortals are used to adhering to. Just when you think you may have possibly found a solution to one part of its devious puzzles, you suddenly realize that you haven’t begun to appreciate the maddening scope of what this game truly expects from you.

11. 1001 Spikes

1001 Spikes isn’t just a throwback to the golden era of “NES hard.” It’s a hall-of-fame worthy collection of all the mechanics, ideas, and venomous design decisions that made those games so difficult (with a few new tricks thrown in).

From bottomless pits to invisible blocks (and yes, a couple of spikes), 1001 Spikes is an angel to some and a demon to others. It really all depends on how fondly you remember the years of your youth that you spent dying to the cruelest 8-bit titles ever made.

10. Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines

In a previous article about a nearly impossible dungeon crawler called The Immortal, I talked about how that game tries to make you walk a very specific path to avoid its various death traps. Well, Commandos utilizes a similar trick with one fascinating twist: you have to blaze your own path to victory.

Commandos is a game of inches. Every move you make has to be carefully considered because each could trigger a mistake down the line that is nearly impossible to recover from. That level of freedom is both incredibly frustrating and the thing that keeps you convinced that you can eventually get it right if you hang in long enough.

9. Gabriel Knight 3

This is another case where I’m not actually sure how much Gabriel Knight 3 deserves this “honor” given that it features some of the most illogical, frustrating, confusing, and often downright unenjoyable puzzle designs in adventure game history.

Having said that, I ultimately see this as the final boss for genre fans. No matter how good you think you are at solving the most confounding adventure game puzzles ever crafted, I’m willing to bet that this game will leave you seriously considering downloading a walkthrough and calling it a day. This game’s “cat puzzle” alone has broken the strongest souls.

8. Darkest Dungeon

Moment to moment, Darkest Dungeon is difficult in all of the ways that you’d expect a roguelike dungeon crawler to be difficult. Tough enemies, minimal resources, incredible RNG swings…the gang is all here.

What separates this title are the mechanics you have to deal with in-between those dungeon dives. Properly managing your always ailing party of heroes often requires you to make difficult strategic decisions that simultaneously punish greed and pretty much demand it if you’re going to have any chance of reaching this game’s nearly impossible final dungeon.

7. I Wanna Be The Guy

I Wanna Be the Guy is both a throwback to the golden age of difficult games and a kind of experiment in how difficult you can make a game without it technically being impossible. It succeeds in both endeavors.

There are many PC games like I Wanna Be The Guy, but this is the title that alerted many of us to the wide world of these indie experiences that are designed to bring you to your breaking point. It’s one of the ultimate examples of how the PC gaming community has been pushing the limits of difficult retro gaming experiences for quite some time now.

6. Dwarf Fortress

Any discussion about Dwarf Fortress‘ difficulty has to eventually address the debate over whether or not you should see this as the kind of game you’re meant to “beat.” For millions of players, Dwarf Fortress is really about the process of figuring out how to do your best in one of the most mechanically complicated games ever.

That brutal learning curve certainly makes Dwarf Fortress worthy of consideration for this particular list, but it’s the “endgame” that ultimately makes this experience so special. Much like Kerbal Space Program, it’s when you try to succeed at Dwarf Fortress that you appreciate how challenging this fascinating blend of role-playing and world-building really is. Dwarf Fortress is arguably the deepest rabbit hole in video game history.

5. Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy

There have been quite a few incredibly difficult “meme” games in the past, but for my money, none have come close to topping this masterpiece.

Getting Over It‘s controls are ultimately the source of its legendarily frustrating gameplay, but the thing that will always define this game is that feeling you get when you realize a single wrong move can reset all the progress you’ve made so far. Few other games in history have combined persistence and mechanical challenges quite as well as this one.

4. X-COM: UFO Defense

There’s no denying that modern XCOM games are incredibly difficult, and there’s no denying that those who are able to beat modern XCOM games deserve a firm pat on the back. That being said, no modern XCOM game will ever compare to the difficulty of X-COM: UFO Defense.

The thing that separates UFO Defense from its competition in this category is the way that it demands you master and constantly consider a daunting number of gameplay mechanics. There is almost no room for error in this incredible game, and you probably won’t even know that you’ve made a mistake until it’s far too late to do anything but start over again.

3. Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy

Is Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy a troll game? Yes, yes it is. However, that doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be on any shortlist of the most difficult games ever made.

I highly doubt a developer will ever dare to construct puzzles as complicated as the ones featured in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Part of the “appeal” of this game is actually the way that its nearly impossible logic puzzles accentuate the ridiculous, yet despondent, nature of its humor. Just be sure to bring a towel.

2. Osu!

I’ll just come out and say that there’s never been a rhythm game as difficult as osu! With no assistance from a required peripheral instrument, osu! manages to challenge your mechanical abilities like no other entry into this genre has ever dreamed to do.

Honestly, the only thing you really need to know about this game is that some of the top FPS players in the world use it to prepare for competitive tournaments and matches. It’s the purest and most challenging video game reflex test that’s ever been constructed, and it’s hard not to love it for that.

1. Wizardry IV: The Return of Werdna

If it seems strange to put an RPG at the top of a list of the hardest PC games ever, that’s because you don’t know Wizardry IV.

Wizardry IV is a unique dungeon crawler where you’re essentially cast as a villain trying to work your way out of Hell. Actually, the best way to describe this game is just that. Hell. From constantly shifting maps to an experience system (or lack thereof) that requires you to beat incredible challenges without being able to consistently rely on your character actually getting stronger, Wizardry IV is quite simply the cruelest game ever made.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Honestly, Wizardry IV’s first room is arguably the most difficult and unintuitive challenge in video game history. From there, things only get worse. It’s an absolute masterpiece in “f*** everything about this” video game design.

The post 25 Hardest PC Games of All-Time appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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kyndaris · 4 years ago

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Call of the Wild

It isn’t very often that I play downloadable content (DLC) for video games. Most of the time, they’re senseless cash grabs offering outfits for characters, or come out six months or a year later when I’ve moved on to the next bombastic title. Another reason for why I don’t usually play DLC is because I’ve already traded in whatever game title it was. Madness, I hear you say. But hear me out first before you make any harsh judgements.

After years of when I had games piled nearly to the ceiling, my mother decided that it was time for me to declutter. What’s worse, there were plenty of titles that I never felt the itch to replay in the interim. With so many titles sitting on the horizon, trying to get through them all is a slog. Considering how completely I finish most games, my interest almost always flags as soon as the credits have rolled. Why? Because I’ve done all the side content and explored nearly every inch of the game world.

Marie Kondo said it best. If it doesn’t spark joy, get rid of it.

I will admit that there are a few games that I’ve kept. Some for nostalgia, others because they’re pretty rare and few between. Most of them are Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs) or are somewhat niche titles.

When Sony had their Play at Home initiative several months ago, I picked up the complete edition of Horizon Zero Dawn. Though I enjoyed my time with it and am eagerly anticipating the sequel, I did not think to keep it once I received my platinum trophy. Instead, I traded it in and used the meagre amount I received from EB Games to reduce the price of my next game.

Coming back to a game is difficult when you’ve played so many others in-between. While I still remembered the overarching plot, it took a while for me to relearn the controls. Almost always, I’d press the wrong thing and Aloy would crouch instead of dodge or do something else just as asinine.

It reminded me of the days when I used to switch between the games I played back in my youth. And almost every time, I’d restart because I couldn’t follow the narrative thread or the skill level where I had left off was simply too high for me to pick up again after I had grown rusty.

After bumping the difficulty down, I took my time to finally play through the DLC that I had never been able to enjoy: Frozen Wilds. Though a short piece, it provided a whole new area to explore and another wild story about rogue AIs that are threatening mankind from populating the Earth. Though I doubt much of the plot will have a major impact on what is to come in Horizon: Forbidden West, it also helped shed some light on the ever-present dangers and the lore of the world Guerrilla Games have carefully constructed.

As with the original title, I loved how much care was put into crafting the stories for those that came before. Even better is how the developers have tried to interpret how the Banuk, Carja, Osham and Nora tribes interpret the things around them and adapt to the post-apocalyptic world that they live in. And while the things Aloy finds makes sense to us, the players, it’s not as clear cut for the people of the world.

One scene that stood out for me was where a Banuk man mistakes Montana Recreations as an actual person rather than a company.

It’s these little things that make it so incredibly fascinating when it comes to how many of the things that we take for granted in our current world, don’t always make sense to an outside observer. What are these ceramic holders for? For what purpose did the old folk use these rectangular objects with the shape of an apple on one side and a black screen on the other?

As someone who has enjoyed ancient history and the myths that previous cultures used to help explain the world, the work that has been poured into archaeology and anthropology is something that I greatly appreciate. Its replication in video games that are set in the far future is also a great way to look back and see how far humanity has advanced.

Though the story of a rogue AI subsystem is not new, Frozen Wilds adds a little more context to the ongoing struggles that Aloy will face. With Horizon: Forbidden West quite literally on the horizon, I’m eager to see where this franchise will take us. I do hope, though, that we might see something beyond the very much America-centric nature of so many video games (but I’m not going to hold my breath).

In regards to the new enemies the game introduces, I thought these were moderately exciting to encounter. Given how long it has taken me to pick up Horizon Zero Dawn again, even the old enemies gave me the same trouble because I forgot all their weakness and which arrows could best be used against them. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before I had figured it all out again and could hold my own amongst the foes Aloy faced.

Overall, I enjoyed my time dipping back into the world of Horizon Zero Dawn. If nothing else, it made me all the more excited for Horizon: Forbidden West. Now, if only we could put a stop to COVID-19 and the rampant Delta strain, I’d be happy.

#horizon zero dawn #horizon frozen wilds #video games

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iwachans-beefyarms · 5 years ago

Note

i know this is kinda really detailed and specific idea for a scenario so i hope that this is okay! it turns out tsuki is only really good at english because he kept his english penpal from primary school and they talk everyday and ft and she surprises him by turning up before the shiratorizawa match!! just some fluffy platonic feels please maybe she goes out with the team for dinner afterwards too? 💕💕💖

Omg, I really love this scenario! I’ve had my fair share of penpals so I was really excited to write this (: I remember having an Italian penpal 2 years ago and interacting with her inspired me to learn Italian on my own because she would often give me amazing Italian book recommendations hehe (I might have gone a bit overboard when writing about Tsukki training for the match lmao)

BTW for those interested, the quote from the beginning is from Donna Tartt’s ‘The Secret History’! It’s one of my favourite books of all time and it’s what made me start learning Latin, highly recommend it to all of you! Also, I love writing about platonic friendships soooo much so if any of you would like to request similar things in the future, please do!

Note*** Reader will be speaking to the team in Japanese, which will be indicated by bolded words

Okay, I’ll stop talking now, enjoy!

“I had said goodbye to her once before, but it took everything I had to say goodbye to her then, again, for the last time, like poor Orpheus turning for a last backwards glance at the ghost of his only love and in the same heartbeat losing her forever: hinc iliac lacrimae, hence those tears.”

Tsukishima sighed and put the book down. Pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, he leaned back and closed his eyes. It was a bittersweet feeling he often experienced when nearing the end of a compelling novel. This particular one, especially, had had him completely enamored. He almost felt wistful when he realised he was almost done with it.

He opened the book back up and carefully highlighted the phrase “Orpheus turning for a last backward glance”, making a mental note to look up the reference. It sounded like a literary allusion to a Greek myth of some sort, but he had to check to be sure. He glanced at his phone and opened his e-mail to type a quick message to you.

“I am almost done with this book… Honestly, what a ride! I can’t even bring myself to finish it because of how attached I am. I learnt so many new phrases and literary allusions too! I’m seriously considering reading all the pieces of work the author had referenced throughout the novel haha. But, it’s gonna have to wait until after my volleyball season ends because we have finals coming up soon… Anyway, talk to you later! BTW, how did you enjoy the poetry collection I sent you?”

He signed off as he usually did, packed his things up and left for after-school volleyball practice. He couldn’t help but feel that today was a particularly lovely day. When Yamaguchi approached him and draped his arm around his shoulder, he welcomed his friend’s affectionate gesture with a genuine smile of his own.

“Wow, that’s a big smile! Did something good happen?” Yamaguchi questioned curiously. He glanced down at Tsukkishima’s hands and noticed the book he was holding.

“Ah! Y/n’s book huh? Is it any good?” He asked, excitedly grabbing it from his friend and flipping through the pages. His eager expression morphed into one of complete confusion as he squinted his eyes at the flurry of words before him. “How do you even read this? It’s so hard…” He blurted out.

“Tsk, you just don’t have enough practice, dumbass,” Tsukkishima retorted jokingly. It was true, though, what he said. His regular emails to and from you since his primary school days had greatly improved his English linguistic skills. Even more so, it had made him more knowledgeable in the art of writing and analysis. Everytime he got a comment on his essays about his exceptional way with words, he would silently thank your influence in his head. It was quite ironic that Tsukishima, someone who found it immensely difficult to forge meaningful relationships with those around him, would have shared such a close friendship with a girl living on the other side of the world, but such was life.

As the highly anticipated match against Shiratorizawa loomed closer, Tsukishima’s mind drifted from you and the book he had yet to finish. His heart, soul and entire being was devoted to his team. While he greatly appreciated the daily messages of encouragement you graced him with every morning, he simply did not have the time to respond properly. For now, all that mattered was volleyball.

He trained everyday, much like his teammates. Where once he would have scoffed at the level of fervor he demonstrated in his journey towards becoming the best player he could be, he now relished in the passion that flooded him everytime he held the ball between his hands, or when he jumped in tandem with his teammates to form a block. He would be prepared for Shiratorizawa, for Ushijima Wakatoshi, and for whatever force that dared to reckon with him.

That was what he told himself before the match, repeating it in his heart like a mantra, with the hopes that the belief would materialise in the court. And, that was exactly what his teammates and he did. They won. They actually won. Tsukishima never viewed himself as a sadistic person, but dear God, the look of defeat in the faces of his opponents sent him to a high he had never experienced before. It wasn’t that he was glad they lost; they were decently nice people. It was that they had won; a game that, by all expectations, should have been lost. He was euphoric. In that moment, amidst the chaos surrounding him and the cheers resounding through the stadium, he felt an immense wave of love rush over him. Love for his sport, his opponents, and most importantly, his team; his family outside of his family.

After the match, as the team made their way out of the locker rooms, he let himself bask in the triumph of their victory as his friends cheered boisterously. Suddenly, he caught the eyes of a very familiar face approaching him with a slight jog. His eyes widened. Impossible.

“Tsukki!” You wrapped your arms around his neck. He didn’t hesitate to engulf you in a hug of equal intensity. It was either the excitement of winning, or the shock from seeing you in front of him that made him so easily reciprocate your affection, but at that moment he didn’t care.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, incredulously, ignoring the gawking stares of his team. “My parents wanted to go to Japan for the holidays, and of course I had to come see you at your big match! You were amazing! I mean, Amazing, with a capital A!” you rambled off excitedly. Tsukishima almost let you continue your enthusiastic rant but he was interrupted by Daichi’s hesitant tap to his back. He cleared his throat and announced, “Everyone, this is Y/n, my good friend from Y/c.”

“Hello everyone! It is so wonderful to meet all of you! Tsukki has said so much about you that I feel like I know all of you already,” you addressed them, bowing slightly. Your nervous blush made Tsukki smile softly to himself. Immediately, you were attacked with questions.

“How does Tsukishima know such a pretty girl?”

“Where are you from? Are you here on holiday? How do you know Japanese?”

“Do you play volleyball?”

You did your absolute best to answer all their questions, and in the process, gave the team a brief summary of your friendship with Tsukishima. Yamaguchi, in particular, was wonderfully excited to make your acquaintance. Eventually, the boys and their managers invited you to have dinner with them. You graciously took their offer and left the stadium with them.

The evening was filled with laughter and jubilation. Everybody was still riding the high from their win, and spent dinner reminiscing moments during the match, and of course, talking about Tsukishima and his pretty friend. Stories about his childhood self, his emo-phase and, for a brief tw months, k-pop phase, were shared by Yamaguchi and yourself. Usually, Tsukishima would have been incredibly annoyed at being the object of a joke, but tonight, he settled for a half-hearted shove to Yamaguchi’s shoulder and a teasing comment. “At least I pulled it off… Not like your cosplay phase, remember?” Cue another round of hearty laughter.

As he watched you and his team bond, he sat back and gently rubbed his chest. His heart felt so full at the moment, and although he knew it wouldn’t last, he cherished the feeling and took a mental picture of the scene in front of him. He leaned towards your ear and whispered, “Thank you so much for coming, it meant a lot.” You squeeze his arm gently and replied, “That’s what friends are for, Tsukki!”

#haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #platonic #tsukki #tsukishima kei #tsukishima x reader #tsukishima kei x reader #scenarios #fluff

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grailfinders · 5 years ago

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Servant #1: Mash Kyrielight

The very first servant we’ll be working on is Best Kouhai Mash. For this build we’ll be focusing on defense, for obvious reasons. Any Mash worth her salt needs to be able to shrug off at least one NP without flinching, and that’s exactly what we’ll be doing under the cut.

Edit: Her character sheet can be found here! Can’t believe this didn’t have a link before.

Stats:

First, we’ll start with the standard stat array, that is to say 15,14,13,12,10, and 8. You can roll if you want to, but make sure you have enough to multiclass.

We’ll put the highest score into Intelligence. Mash has been personally raised by some of the best casters in the business, she’s a smart cookie.

Next is Charisma. Mash is an eternal ray of sunshine, and everyone knows it.

Third is Strength. Mash isn’t incredibly powerful, but she is swinging around a shield larger than she is. That’s gotta count for something.

We’ll follow that with Wisdom. Mash doesn’t have a lot of worldly experience, but she’s a quick learner.

After that we have Dexterity. Mash can get her shield where it needs to go, you don’t need much more than that.

Constitution is our dump stat. Despite her HP, Mash is canonically pretty frail. Fortunately we’ll have armor to make up for that.

Race/Background:

Sadly, Eternal Ray of Sunshine is not an official race yet, so we’ll have to stick with human for the time being. This means you get +1 to every stat.

For Background, Mash’s childhood fits the Cloistered Scholar pretty well, giving her proficiencies in History and Arcana.

Class Levels:

1. Fighter 1. It turns out a character all about alternating between hitting people and hiding behind a giant slab of metal is a fighter, who’d’ve thunk it? At 1st level, Mash has proficiency in all armor and weapons, as well as Strength and Constitution saves. Mash also will receive proficiency in Athletics and Perception. Her protective stance needs to be unbreakable, and those glasses aren’t just for show.

1st level fighters get a fighting style, obviously we’re going with protection, because that’s what Mash does. As long as her friends are within 5′ of her, Mash can now impose disadvantage on anyone attacking them. It’s like Wall of Snowflakes, but better because it doesn’t have a 5 turn cooldown.

Mash also gets a Second Wind, letting her heal herself mid battle. It’s not exactly what we’re looking for, but we’re not going to complain about it.

2. Fighter 2. Mash gets an Action Surge, giving her an extra action.

3. Fighter 3. Mash becomes a Battle Master, giving her access to Combat Superiority Maneuvers. Mash fights smarter, not harder. She starts off with three maneuvers and four superiority dice. For maneuvers, I recommend Commander’s Strike, Goading Attack, and Maneuvering Attack. Commander’s strike lets your friends attack instead of you, which is good because you should be focusing on defense anyway. Goading attack again works like Shield of Rousing Revolution, keeping the heat on you and not your friends. Maneuvering Attack lets you help your friends friends escape from anything that gets past you.

Mash also gains Student of War, because everyone needs a hobby.

4. Fighter 4. At 4th level, fighters get their first of many Ability Score Improvements. This time around Mash is trading that in for the feat Tavern Brawler. This feat increases Mash’s Constitution by 1, giving her a pretty sizable health boost (the constitution modifier works retroactively, so she gains 4 hp). It also gives her proficiency with improvised weapons, which her shield is. She’ll only do 1d4 per attack, but that’s okay; attacking isn’t really her forte anyway. This feat also lets you grapple an opponent after hitting them, just in case you really don’t want them going anywhere.

5. Fighter 5. Mash gets another attack each turn, letting her do a little bit more to help her senpai.

6. Fighter 6. Another Ability Score Improvement that will be traded in for a feat, this time Mash is becoming a Heavy Armor Master, increasing her strength so she can wear the heaviest armors in the game and reducing all nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage by 3. Mash’s hit points are as precious as she is, so we need to keep them around as much as possible.

7. Fighter 7. Mash gains another superiority die and two maneuvers of her choice. I suggest Evasive Footwork and Distracting Strike. The former makes you even harder to hit with opportunity attacks, while the latter can be used to give your friends advantage against whatever you’re hitting. You may not do much damage, but the two berserkers behind you certainly can. Mash also learns how to Know Your Enemy. Now she can spend 1 minute out of combat going on gamepress to learn about a creature’s stats.

8. Fighter 8. Another ASI, another feat. Now Mash is getting Tough, giving her 2 hp per level, and an additional 2 hp every time she levels up from here on out.

9. Paladin 1. We’re taking a quick detour into Paladinville to pick up a few spells, but we won’t stay here for long.

1st level paladins also get Divine Sense, letting you notice enemy servants closing in just before battle starts (servants count as celestial, right?). They also get Lay on Hands, giving Mash the option to heal her allies as well. That’s 100% not accurate, but it’s a necessary sin here. Besides, I doubt Mash would mind too much.

10. Paladin 2. You gain a second Fighting Style this level, so grab Defense for an extra bump to your AC. You also get Divine Smite. You won’t be attacking that often, but the extra damage is appreciated.

Of course the big draw of this level is spellcasting. This level, Mash gets two 1st level spell slots and a couple spells she can cast using her charisma. The spells we’re focusing on here are Bless, Compelled Duel, and Shield of Faith. Bless and Shield of Faith can make our allies a bit better offensively or defensively, respectively, and Compelled Duel acts like a makeshift Shield of Rousing Revolution, forcing an enemy to turn its focus on you, and more importantly, your shield.

11. Paladin 3. As a 3rd level Paladin, Mash follows the Oath of the Crown, becoming the good knight of the realm we all knew she could be. This Oath gives her Command and Compelled Duel as oath spells, freeing up a slot in her prepared spell list for one of your choosing.

Mash can now Channel Divinity by issuing a Champion Challenge, forcing any number of creatures you choose within 30′ of you to make a wisdom save or prevent them from willingly moving 30′ away from you. She can also Turn the Tide, healing every creature you choose within 30′ of her for 1d6+her charisma modifier if they are bloodied.

As a bonus, Mash also gains Divine Health, rendering her immune to disease.

12. Fighter 9. Mash becomes Indomitable, letting her reroll a failed saving throw once per long rest. Chaldea didn’t raise no quitter.

13. Fighter 10. Mash’s superiority dice turn into d10s. She also gets two new Maneuvers, but at this point she’s already learned the supportive ones, so just pick your favorites.

14. Fighter 11. Mash gets another attack, bringing her up to three attacks per turn, or six when using action surge. Mash now legally qualifies as a monk.

15. Fighter 12. I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong. Mash actually gets to keep the Ability Score Improvement this time, putting it into Constitution to improve her concentration and health.

16. Fighter 13. Mash gets another dose of Indomitable, letting her reroll two saves per long rest. Not even the end of the world is enough to get her down, so a stupid piece of plastic with a 1 on it doesn’t stand a chance.

17. Fighter 14. Another Ability Score Improvement for Mash to dump into Constitution. By now, between her AC, defensive abilities, and steadily growing health pool, Mash is becoming the tank she was born to be. She’s not at 14k health like in the game, but she’s doing her best and that’s what matters.

18. Fighter 15. Mash gets another two Maneuvers, a sixth Superiority Die, and becomes Relentless, regaining one superiority die at the start of combat if she had zero to begin with. This massive reduction in skill cooldown is very appreciated.

19. Fighter 16. Another Ability Score Improvement, this time improving Strength for slightly harder hits and Charisma for slightly better spells.

20. Fighter 17. Mash gets a second use of Action surge and a third use of Indomitable. By now swinging a shield the size of a human being is more of a light aerobic exercise than anything to Mash.

On the plus side, this build is very tanky, with high AC and HP, as well as plenty of ways to focus enemy fire on yourself to make the most use of it and help your teammates when something slips past. Using the default rolls Mash’s HP would reach just over 200 by level 20, but she can get as high as 300 HP with some very lucky rolls when leveling up.

The downside is most of your skills have very strict cooldowns. With only having 6 combat dice, 3 spell slots, and 1 channel divinity, it can be difficult for Mash to keep up with prolonged battles, even if the only thing she’s doing is tanking for everyone else.

Also, unless your DM is forgiving, you’ll still be doing 1d4 per attack all the way up to level 20, so you’ll have to rely on teammates to do most of the fighting for you.

Finally, while Mash off with her highest stat being useless and a very low constitution is very flavorful, it also makes her first couple of levels much more difficult than they need to be.

#fgo #fate grand order #mash kyrielight #fate and phantasms

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patandpran · 5 years ago

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The Nuisance and the Handsome Prince - A Sarawatine Medieval AU - Chapter 9

Tine is an aspiring Squire who has been training his whole life to work alongside the Kingdom’s finest Knights. Sarawat is a Prince who, on the outside, seems fierce and unapproachable. He is disinterested in any of his royal duties, namely his Knight training. What happens when Tine is assigned to be the fierce and handsome prince’s Squire?

Find the Masterpost here Read on Archiveofourown here.

Lord Mil and Sarawat arrived together on the field just as Man and Boss were completing their story of the two young men’s coming of age ceremony. Tine could practically feel Sarawat’s intense gaze boring into him but as soon as he saw the pair approaching, Tine made a point of turning back toward his work but not before catching Lord Mil shooting him a look with narrowed eyes.

Tine had never experienced hostility of any sort from the Lord so the interaction threw him for a bit of a loop. Tine recalled over the few weeks of training that Mil had made a point of being quite friendly and instantly worried that the Prince had shared the happenings of the evening before with his close friend.

Before Tine could overthink it any more, Dim called the Squires and Knights to attention with a booming voice, “All right. I am sure you all are feeling the effects of last night’s festivities but I have no sympathy for your bad decisions so we are jumping right in today whether you like it or not. There is only one month until the final Knight trails so training is going to be more intense than you have ever imagined. In a week’s time we will be venturing beyond the castle walls on a battle and survival training mission so make you sure you have your helmets on straight for it will be an experience that you will not soon forget. Squires will also be in attendance for this journey of wills.”

The announcement sparked a flurry of discussion amongst the Knights and Squires. Tine saw out of the corner of his eye that the Prince was about to approach him but, thankfully, Ohm ventured over and the Prince froze in place before opting to join Sir Man and Sir Boss instead.

“You disappeared last night.” Ohm accused as he neared Tine. “Mil had us up far too late. I think I consumed a whole barrel of wine to myself. Needless to say I woke up feeling as if your brother was hammering my head on his blacksmith slab.”

“Did I do something to offend Lord Mil last evening?” Tine wondered with his tone lowered. “I mean, I know I am not very warm to him for obvious reasons but he seems to also view me as an enemy now. I suppose that, at least, puts on a level playing field.”

Ohm shrugged, “Mil can be so hot and cold with how he feels about people. Did you say something to the Prince while you two ran off together? You know they are close so maybe Mil is just being protective.”

“No. Nothing happened.” Tine sputtered, trying to keep himself calm so that his best friend did not see through the ruse. He remembered the promise he made to Fong earlier than morning and questioned, “Would you be inclined to see Fong again?”

At the very mention of Fong’s name, Ohm’s eyes lit up and he responded eagerly, “Yes. I mean, of course.”

“Okay. I’ll arrange it.” Tine nodded curtly before noticing that Sarawat had walked over, clearly ready to put on his armour.

“Your Highness.” Ohm nodded respectfully to the Prince. “Tine, I should go help Lord Mil but keep me informed on the… situation.”

Tine smirked at his friend but wished Ohm could remain near them to serve as a buffer but he and Sarawat were going to have to navigate the previous evening’s event at some point and it looked like that moment was now. Tine braced himself for an accusation or a question from Sarawat but instead the Prince was silent as Tine began to outfit him with his amour.

Throughout the whole practice, Sarawat did not say a word beyond what was necessary to Tine. It felt like a sharp wind had extinguished the fire that usually seemed to be lit inside Sarawat. It seemed like something had dimmed and Tine even noticed his gaze was not as sharp as it usually was. The Prince was going through the motions and it was incredibly hard to watch.

At the end of the morning practice, Tine made to follow Sarawat to the storage quarters but the Prince held up a hand and simply ordered, “Thank you, Squire. I can take it from here.”

Tine felt as if he had been slapped squarely across his face as he watched the Prince walk away, his head hanging. Tine turned away from the sight and was met with another intense glare coming from Lord Mil. Tine forced himself to remember his purpose in the castle: rise to take revenge.

This was exactly what was needed to get him back on his path. It was no use to him to build relationships when, ultimately, his goal was to disrupt the very class system that some of those people operated in. The way that Lord Mil was looking at him affirmed this belief for Tine. There was always going to be those who looked down on him, even if he now carried a title with his name and lived within the castle walls. The kingdom was corrupt. The system was broken and even though he know that it was impossible for one commoner to change that, he was going to do the best he could with the little power that he had and that started with helping Sarawat to complete his Knight training.

+++++++

A pair of eyes watched as the Prince walked away from his Squire.

The Head Knight had noticed a while ago that the Sarawat had a unique relationship with his Squire and through the whispers he had heard from the servants, the pair even met outside of the usual training times. The Head Knight recognized skill when he saw it and the Prince’s Squire was a valuable fighter. He would have made a great Knight if he had not been a commoner.

His son had informed him that since the Squire’s arrival, the Prince had changed, some might even say for the better. His work ethic in practice was strengthened and his overall mood seemed to be lifted. Mil, of course, being the Prince’s friend said this with fondness but the Head Knight never approved of his son’s friendship with the Prince. Since they were young, they were meant to be rivals, not comrades. If the Prince was becoming a stronger fighter, this threatened Mil’s station as the Kingdom’s most promising new Knight.

The Head Knight would not have that so he set the wheels in motion to eliminate the new factor of the equation….

++++++++++

The days passed at an snail’s pace and Tine found himself focusing on their trip beyond the castle’s walls to keep himself from imploding mentally. The silent treatment from the Prince had become a daily practice, even during their private training sessions, although they were not exactly private anymore as the Prince had invited Sir Boss and Sir Man to join them which Tine actually found himself relieved about.

One evening during one of the practices, Sir Man approached Tine as Sarawat and Boss were in the middle of a scrimmage. Man looked a bit nervous and Tine had no frame of reference for what Man was going to possibly say to him.

Man cleared his throat and reached into a pocket before revealing a small piece of parchment, tied with a strip of leather. Man looked to see if Boss or the Prince was looking their way before passing it off to Tine who looked at Man incredulously.

“From your brother.” Man explained in a whisper.

At this, Tine’s eyes widened but he concealed the message quickly, wondering how much Man had risked even bringing it into the castle. He knew that Type had made Man’s mask for the ball but he did not know that Man had managed to see Type again after the initial interaction. Type found himself envious of Man but did not bring this up. It also worried Tine that Type had shared their familial connection with Man, a person Type barely knew. It was all so out of character for his brother but Tine was grateful that the link had been made if it meant easier communication with his family.

Man seemed to notice Tine’s anxiety and shared, “Don’t worry. You can trust me. I am extremely fond of your brother. I would do nothing to put either of you in harm’s way.”

Tine’s breath hitched at how open Man was about his feelings. It was a breath of fresh air amongst all the secrecy and concealed thoughts that Tine found himself immersed in. It seemed that he had found himself another ally within the confines of the castle.

“Thank you.” Tine murmured. “Just so you know, my brother is a difficult person to get to know but I have a sense you are up for the challenge. Good luck.”

Man’s eyes danced with anticipation, “More than up for it. Thank you for the encouragement.”

With that, Man ran off to meet up with his friends again. Later that evening, when Tine made it back to his own sleeping quarters, he lit a candle and opened the letter form his brother, buzzing with excitement.

Except the letter was not from his brother, it was in his father’s handwriting and the contents read:

Tine, my beloved son,

Your mother and I are extremely proud of everything that you have accomplished. We have heard rumours from Ohm’s father that you are progressing well with your work with the young Prince. When you first announced that you wanted to be a Squire, I recall wondering for a brief moment: who had I raised?

But I think you know the path you are on. You know where it will lead you and I know that wherever your journey will take you, you will always be driven by your inner strength and morality. Stay safe and stay true.

Most importantly, remember who you are.

By the time Tine was done reading the message for the third time, the parchment was stained with his tears. The ink began to blur but he quickly concealed the message for safekeeping so it did not weather any further. It was incredible to know that his Father knew he needed such a reminder without even being able to see Tine or know what he was faced with.

The internal battle that was tugging him in so many directions settled itself with his Father’s words. He had to be true to his mission, even if it meant sacrificing whatever semblance of a connection that he had built with the Prince.

There was no room for distracting emotions. He had to keep himself focused on accomplishing his goal and ready himself for the battle he was sure would land him in the dungeons. He did not have time to watch the Prince become King, Tine was not sure he would be around for that long after he exacted his plan.

++++++++

“You know, Sarawat, I don’t know if I approve of this new… energy that you are emitting.”

Sarawat looked up from the book he was studying to see Lady Earn regarding him with an air of disapproval. The Prince had not seen his friend since the night of the ball where they had been forced by their parents to dance with one another, even though both of them knew that was never going to happen. Their relationship was perfectly platonic and they liked it that way.

“Did I ask for your opinion?” Sarawat countered with a grumble before he attempted to return to his reading.

“No, but I am going to give it anyway as I am your friend.” Earn answered which caused the Prince to close and set down his book.

He knew he should have taken the book back to the East Tower but the chairs in the Castle library were much comfier than the one he had in the tower. He sighed and decided to indulge his friend, “And what exactly concerns you about my energy concerns you, Lady Earn?”

Earn sat down on armchair across from Sarawat’s, adjusting the train of her dress so that she could sit more comfortably. “Before the Ball, you seemed like your spirits were high. You were dedicated to your training more than I ever have known you to be and dare I say it, some of the court members who are not as familiar with you even described you as ‘pleasant’. Now, here you are, hiding away in the library and scowling at anyone who dares to pass by, even a dear friend like me.”

“I am fine.” Sarawat protested flippantly. He hated being under the eye of accusation which is why he liked to keep mostly to himself although he did have to acknowledge his slight change in demeanour ever since the beginning of Knight training.

Earn reached across to rest a supportive hand atop of Sarawat’s. “You seem like you are hurting and while I don’t expect for you to tell me why, I hope that you are able to find it in you the bravery that it takes to be happy.”

The Prince shifted uncomfortably. The thing about Lady Earn was that she was wildly observant and while this sometimes benefitted him, he did not like to be seen in such a way. Sarawat purposefully chose to close himself off from the world so that he did not get hurt and now one of his closest friends was encouraging him to open up again.

“The thing that will make me happy is unattainable for many reasons.” Sarawat explained soberly.

“You are the future King.” Earn stated plainly. “You can shape the world in any way that you please. Don’t deny yourself happiness just because you are worried about what the court will think.”

“I wish I had the same courage you have.” The Prince remarked and earned himself a small smile from his friend. “You would make a much better ruler than I ever will.”

“I doubt that very much.” Lady Earn chuckled lightly. “You have the warmth in you to have the whole kingdom fall in love with you, the drive to make great changes for the better of ALL people and the strength to stand up to those who cross you. You just have to trust in yourself and learn to show people who you really are. I think you would be shocked by how people would respond to the Prince Wat that I know so well…”

Sarawat appreciated Earn’s words greatly but it still not change his particular predicament. “I can’t marry someone who I don’t love.”

“Looks like you have a month to figure out who you love, then.” Earn stood to her feet and with a cheeky wink, she declared, “And, Sarawat, for the hundredth time, I will not marry you. I know I am one of the most lovely maidens in the Kingdom but… I’m taken.”

Sarawat shook his head fondly as he watched Lady Earn strut her way out of the library, her words of encouragement playing in his mind.

++++++++++

“Father, can I go on the training excursion with the Knights and Squires?”

Phukong had found about the Knight’s expedition beyond the castle walls and wanted desperately to go along for the adventure. Plus, it would give him great opportunity to paint some new scenes and be able to spend more time with Lord Mil.

“We can not have both of our Princes venturing outside of the Kingdom.” The King muttered and gestured for Phukong to leave him.

Phukong stood his ground and bowed down onto one knee, “Please, Father. I know that you want me to be more like Sarawat and, maybe, if I go with them, I might be inspired to pursue Knighthood myself.”

The King made a sound that indicated he was considering the idea and when Phukong raised his head, he saw that his Father was nodding. “I will enlist one of the more capable Knights to over see your journey then.”

“What about Lord Mil?” Phukong suggested.

“My son would be more than happy to protect the younger Prince.” The Head Knight’s booming voice echoed through the throne room as he approached with heavy steps.

Phukong shivered as he turned. He always been afraid of Mil’s father and he struggled to see the family resemblance aside from the thick brows that they both sported. Where Mil was playful and open, the Head Knight had no patience for such frivolity. He was all business.

“All right, it is settled then.” The King declared. “You will join the caravan tomorrow morning with them. I expect that you will strongly consider the path of Knighthood since I am granting this request, son.”

Phukong nodded eagerly before dashing from the room but not before pausing outside of the throne room to catch his breath as he was so excited. As he was about to set off to pack his things after collecting himself, Phukong paused when he heard his father say something quite peculiar:

“If you are so worried about this Commoner, take him into custody. I will not have whispers of treason in my streets. I expect that you will deal with this promptly and discreetly. Last time you did not follow my orders and made a scene that was not so easy to brush under the rug.”

The Head Knight responded before Phukong took off down the hallways, “And so it will be done, Your Highness.”

Phukong did not like hearing things like, especially not from his Father. He understood that Royal duties meant that it was important to keep peace within the castle but this sounded like they were using their swords to solve the problem rather than talk through it. The thought made Phukong ill and he hoped that when his brother was King, violence would not always be the first course of action.

++++++++++++++++

The Knights and Squires were loading up the materials necessary for their journey. The Knights were working in on section and the Squires in another so Ohm and Tine were free to socialize as they pleased.

“You look quite exhausted, my friend.” Tine smirked at Ohm as he tied one of the Prince’s parcels to a horse.

Ohm’s cheeks burned slightly before admitting, “Fong and I went walking at around midnight and I got back to my quarters only minutes before I had to head out here.”

Tine was delighted to see that his matchmaking seemed to be going quite well. “Yes, Fong looked quite out of sorts when he delivered my breakfast this morning. I am happy for you both. It is good to have a positive distraction such as this.”

“You need to find yourself a companion.” Ohm encouraged. “You can’t just spend all your time plotting or training with the Prince. You deserve happiness too.”

At that very moment, the Knights began to head toward their houses, ready to depart. Sarawat still seemed quite distant but there was a more relaxed sense about him that morning, likely due to the notion of a rare escape from the castle to look forward to. Tine muttered, “I have good friends. I don’t need anything more than that.”

“Don’t resign yourself to loneliness just because of your pride, Tine.” Ohm warned before the Knights arrived.

Lord Mil side-eyed Tine and beckoned for Ohm to join him for final preparations. Tine had shared with him earlier that they would be responsible for accompanying Prince Phukong on their journey so there was an added pressure that was sure to be keeping Lord Mil focused on his task. Tine hoped that was what was keeping Mil so abrasive, but this made it easier for Tine to refocus on his own task.

Sarawat finished chatting with Sir Boss and Sir Man who both gave Tine a respectful nod as they watched the Prince make his way over to his Squire. As he held the highest rank of the Knights in Training, aside from Lord Mil, they were at the front of the caravan, something that made Tine quite nervous.

As he neared, Sarawat got a concerned look on his face as he studied Tine. “Are you up for this journey? You look somewhat pale, Tine.”

Tine could not stand this this extreme back and forth that the Prince put him through. Sarawat either ignored him completely, saying as few words as possible, or stepped back into this realm of care and comfort that made Tine’s head spin with confusion. Why couldn’t they find a neutral in-between where they could work alongside one another without Tine’s heart racing at a million miles an hour?

“Don’t worry about me.” Tine stated plainly. “There is only three more weeks until the final Knight trials. Once you pass them, you have the power to choose your own Squire and then we can part ways so… we don’t have to keep doing this.”

The hurt was apparent on the Prince’s face but he concealed it quickly. Tine continued, “Plus, you will be so busy with upcoming wedding plans as well, you won’t have time to worry about a Commoner like me.”

“I don’t know why you’re doing this.” The Prince hissed in a low whisper that made Tine’s cheeks heat up and reminded him of the evening in the East Tower. “It’s like you want me to hate you, Tine, and, well, we both know that’s never going to happen.”

Tine froze at the word ‘hate’. He didn’t want the Prince to hate him but there was no reality where they could be anything more than comrades and it was tearing them both apart. There was something intangible rippling under the surface and if it revealed itself, Tine was not sure how either of them would turn back from it…

How the hell were they going to survive a week in the wilderness when the biggest threat to them was each other?

#saratine #still 2gether #2gether #brightwin #sarawatine #sarawat x tine #milphukong #ohmfong #gmmtv #thai bl #the nuisance and the handsome prince #my writing #cass writes

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obsidianarchives · 5 years ago

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Ms. Granger, Have a Biscuit

Hermione walked cautiously down the corridor towards Professor McGonagall’s office, keeping an eye out for any loose fireworks or dungbomb odors in the air. In the days since Fred and George Weasley made their grand exit from Hogwarts School, the castle had become something of an obstacle course. The students, united in their efforts to rebel against Umbridge’s stifling regime, caused chaos whenever there was opportunity and even Hermione, who generally would have found the disruptions to learning irritating, could not fault her classmates these small victories. She herself had been feeling rather hopeless and discouraged since the disbanding of the D.A. and Dumbledore’s sudden departure; her desire to continue taking critical action contrasted with her fear of grave consequences not just for herself but her friends and teachers. Hermione was particularly concerned for Professor McGonagall, who Umbridge despised because of her closeness to Dumbledore and, Hermione suspected, because of the respect McGonagall earned from students at the school.

Professor McGonagall’s office door was slightly ajar when Hermione arrived, but she knocked out of courtesy to announce her arrival. Hermione meant for the knock to be small, but its force was enough to push the door open rather quickly and she caught a glimpse of the melancholy gaze on Professor McGonagall’s face before breaking out of her silent meditation to meet Hermione’s eyes.

“Ah, Ms. Granger,” she said, motioning to the chair in front of her desk, “you’re fairly early.”

“I’m, uh, sorry Professor,” Hermione blushed, “I just thought, well, it wouldn’t hurt to have some extra time.”

“I quite understand,” McGonagall nodded. “These conversations can cause quite a bit of anxiety even in the most promising students.”

Hermione sighed in relief at McGonagall’s words. Hearing validation of the anxiety she was feeling somehow made it less crippling in the moment. It wasn’t until that moment that Hermione recognized the longing she’d felt for an opportunity to confide openly to her Head of House as she had done regularly in years past, back when the teachers were not operating under stupid decrees that banned them from relationship building with students. Professor McGonagall would not laugh at the concern that seemed to loom larger in Hermione’s mind with every career pamphlet she read — What if there was no place for her in the wizarding world beyond Hogwarts? What if she became so distracted by the Order’s fight against Voldemort, who was steadily gaining power unchallenged by the Ministry, to focus on her exams? What if Dolores Umbridge remained High Inquisitor for the next two years and found a way to expel Harry, Hermione, and Ron? What if, and Hermione felt the anguish of her shortsightedness, Marietta’s parents decided to push for more information into her condition; would Hermione be expelled or even imprisoned? Marietta did have Ministry connections.

Professor McGonagall’s next words interrupted Hermione’s thoughts, “Generally, this meeting time is used to help students determine which subjects they will continue at N.E.W.T. level based on their long term interests. As I suspect you will be continuing with all of your current subjects, our meeting can focus more on which of the many careers available to you best fit your character and aptitude.”

“I don’t know which ones those would be,” Hermione replied glumly. “Most jobs I don’t much fancy and even those I might be keen on, well, I don’t know how well I would do.”

“Nonsense, Ms. Granger,” McGonagall snapped, jolting Hermione a bit. “You’ve always had top marks in all your classes. I’m sure every teacher here expects great things from you as I do. Now, you’re a natural leader and level headed girl; have you considered joining the Ministry at all?”

Hermione had, of course, considered the Ministry of Magic but thought those jobs would have been more appealing to her in first year, before interacting with the likes of Fudge, Barty Crouch Sr., and Professor Umbridge.

McGonagall seemed to glean some of Hermione’s thought patterns. Leaning forward on the desk and dropping her voice a bit, McGonagall added, “They’re not all like Umbridge you know.” She sat back in her seat again adding, “Consider Arthur Weasley. There are plenty of good and moral people in the Ministry working hard to do what's right and we always need more.”

Hermione’s hesitation remained in place though its root had changed. She felt her head drop just slightly so that she was no longer looking McGonagall in the eyes. Was she a good and moral person? There was so much Professor McGonagall didn’t know. Everyone now knew that Hermione had jinxed Marietta, but how would McGonagall respond if she found out Hermione had blackmailed Rita Skeeter for a year? Hermione came into Hogwarts excited to learn and ready to fully meet expectations by following all rules. Now, in her fifth year, it seemed not a week went by without her taking part in the breaking of school rules and Ministry laws. Hermione was anxious to change the subject. She stared at the desk between she and the Professor and said conversationally, “Last year Barty Crouch Jr., when we still thought he was Moody, said I would make a good Auror.”

“And so you would,” replied Professor McGonagall, matching Hermione’s cool tone. Then she added, “but I don’t know that I’ve seen anything from you to suggest interest in that career path.” Without waiting for Hermione to respond, McGonagall went on, “With your knowledge, practical skills, and organization, you could be a brilliant Professor. It's hard to say if there will be any open positions here at Hogwarts when you graduate, but there is always the opportunity to teach internationally as well. Taking into account Professor Dumbledore’s connections with Beauxbatons and my own connections with Uagadou School I’m sure we can find you an apprenticeship at either until you feel confident enough to handle classes on your own. Uagadou has perhaps the best Arithmancy program out of all the top wizarding schools and Professor Vector tells me you have a true knack for the subject.”

Hermione considered this. The idea was intriguing. She loved to travel, as did her family, and the idea of studying Arithmancy in the region so full of magical history and significance would be incredible. What was more, for the first time ever she would be surrounded by witches and wizards who looked like her, instead of being one of a handful of Black students at Hogwarts. But then she thought of her friends, of Ron and Harry. Could she leave them after school was done? They would be joining the Order, continuing the fight against Lord Voldemort. How could she go before that fight was done?

“I do think I’d like to stay closer to home, Professor,” Hermione said sighing. “I think it’s for the best.” She raised her head to look at McGonagall, feeling that this meeting wasn’t going well at all and expecting to see a look of impatience on the professor’s face.

But McGonagall didn’t look impatient. She looked concerned, or perhaps disappointed. Hermione’s cheeks started to burn in shame and she quickly looked away. When McGonagall cleared her throat to speak again, Hermione expected to be told to leave and that they could finish the talk another time.

Instead, Professor McGonagall pulled a tin out of her desk drawer, opened it up, and said calmly, “Ms. Granger, have a biscuit.”

Hermione took a cookie out of the tin, now holding back tears that were inexplicably fighting to pour out of her. Professor McGonagall got up and closed the door to the corridor.

As she returned to her seat, she spoke, “I know it's been a difficult time for all of us here at Hogwarts and especially for students who have become targets of Professor Umbridge. I know it can seem pointless to even consider the future with so much stress in the present, but you are a visionary Hermione. You have always been driven and excited by challenge. You have always been confident in who you are.” Professor McGonagall paused her speech and waited for Hermione to make eye contact again before adding softly, “I apologize if I have not picked up on any internal struggles you may be having.”

Hearing McGonagall use her first name calmed her. After a few deep breaths she was able to swallow the piece of cookie she had stuck in her throat and speak again. She rambled for five minutes straight. She told Professor McGonagall about S.P.E.W. and about how bothered she was by the way wizards treat other magical beings and creatures. She talked about wanting to make lasting change in society and her feeling that it could be done through community organizing faster than through the Ministry. She even talked a bit about how she had come up with the idea for the D.A. and wanting to make sure all members of the magical community had access to spells and charms that would help them feel safe and provided for. When Hermione finished talking she was out of breath and Professor McGonagall was beaming at her.

“Thank you for sharing with me, Ms. Granger. And for identifying the problem I should have seen before. You don’t need these pamphlets. You have full capability of creating a new career path or working in multiple to actualize your long term goals.” McGonagall chuckled, “You’re not too keen on the Ministry now, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if you were Minister of Magic someday.”

Professor McGonagall stood to indicate the end of the meeting and Hermione rose from her seat as well. She rushed around the table and hugged Professor McGonagall who, though surprised, returned the gesture before stepping away.

“Thank You, Professor,” said Hermione, and she left the room feeling much lighter than when she had entered. She started her way to Gryffindor tower to grab some pencil, parchment, and her bathrobe. The pencil and parchment she would use to write down McGonagall’s words about her before they were forgotten. The bathrobe, she would take with her to the Prefects bathroom where she could swim and ponder a world where she wasn’t working under a frustrating and short-sighted Minister like Fudge, but was in fact Minister of Magic herself.

#Hermione Granger #Minerva McGonagall #Career Advice

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prongsisabadger · 5 years ago

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Songs for the Heartbroken: That’s What You Get

AO3

ff.net

Chapter 1.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Itachi-san". I said in the clearest voice I could manage at four.

Granted that meeting the heir to the Uchiha leadership was nerve racking, what with every eye in the room watching, but I for one felt quite proud of myself for not screwing up. Itachi on the other hand, did not look impressed in the least; in fact he seemed to not care whether I was there or not. I rose from my greeting and faced him, summoning the brightest smile in my repertoire and hoping it would make a better impression on him. It could have, but if I am completely honest, I have no idea if it did.

His expression did not change, and his expression, though not hostile, was not of an inviting nature either. We looked very much alike; the Uchiha's black eyes and raven hair, and the fierce but delicate factions were present in us both. Anyone unfamiliar with our clan would have thought us siblings instead of far removed cousins.

"The pleasure is mine, Akane-san. Shisui-senpai would not stop talking about your taijutsu skills. It is an honor to finally meet the person behind that praise."

The bow that followed was even deeper than mine, and his overly formal speech and compliments had me blushing like the four year old I was. Not because of the compliment itself, but because it was a four year old like myself who had spoken like that. I was suddenly aware of how far behind him I was, not only skill wise, but also when it came to education and manners. I felt inferior, ignorant, and I did not like it one bit. Shisui must have seen this, because when I failed to answer, he squeezed my shoulder.

"I am no master, Itachi-san. But I will continue to train to make sure, one day I am worthy of that praise".

The need to catch up with him grew with every second, If the heir of the Uchiha out of all clans, was humble enough to compliment others, in spite of his prodigy status, then the least I could do was live up to it. I would call it a friendly rivalry, a motivation of sorts that would help me improve marginally, even if surpassing Itachi was out of the question. I would make my brother and my clan proud; even if it meant constantly comparing myself to genius and being thoroughly disappointed every time, I would still do it.

Itachi didn't seem to be moved by my response and just nodded politely before moving o to speak with other members of the clan. His birthday had been too big an event for his low profile personality, but apparently there were things you couldn't escape when your father was the head of the Uchiha.

Their living room was packed with clan members and some of the Konoha aristocracy. Clan heads from the main families in the village, dignitaries and even civilian authorities had come; not to celebrate Itachi though, no. They had all come seeking an alliance with one of the founding clans of the village. They either wanted to do business, politics or marry a member of their clan into the Uchiha to create alliances among clans. More than once, Shisui had to intervene when someone had mistaken me for a career bride. My brother could sweet talk a country into going to war if he wanted to I swear, and it was that ability of his that prevented any of the guests from being offended by the rejection. I am a hundred percent sure I would have caused more than one inter clan incident had the situation been left in my care.

"You do not seem to be enjoying yourself". I turned to find the birthday boy trying to avoid attention in a dark corner behind me. he wasn't outright hiding, but he wasn't trying to interact with his guests either.

"I believe I could be making myself more useful in a training ground, these people have no interest in me once they realize I am not for sale, and neither do you." Formal talk had always been a hassle to me, it was only part of an act, a mannerism used to fake respect when talking to people who hadn't earned it.

Itachi seemed to notice my aversion to crowds right away, but made no comment on it; probably out of consideration.

"That would make two of us, believe me, Akane-san, when I say these people are not here to see me either."

He was scanning the room from his spot in the corner, and I felt the urge to do the same. No one was paying attention to us, the high society of Konohagakure no Sato was much too concerned with politics and making alliances to notice two kids standing quietly in a corner.

"How would you like to come to one of the training grounds with me, Itachi-san? I feel like our time could be used in better ways than this, and I do not think we will be missed here either."

My brother had disappeared, probably gone home; and the party was quite sober and kind of boring. As expected from a clan head actually. This was not a celebration for Itachi, it was an opportunity for his parents to do politics.

"I would very much like that. But will you not be uncomfortable wearing a kimono, Akane-san?" Said the boy as he guided me out of the living room, and into one of the many hallways of the Uchiha household.

I stood there as Itachi went into his room to get his gear, since it would be improper to be found together in his room. Not that we could do anything remotely sexual at the age of four, but clan people could be extremely conservative like that. In fact, if we were to be seen together too often or for extended periods of time, it was most likely for a marriage contract to be put in place.

"I will be fine, Itachi-san. My brother makes me train in a kimono from time to time to get me used to it. He says that if I were to be attacked, the enemy would not wait for me to change clothes."

We made our way to the back door and out the veranda. We managed to slip by unnoticed by some guests that were smoking in the back yard, and with an ease that seemed almost funny, escaped the crowd gathered in the Uchiha main house. The compound was as lively as ever, the main street still buzzing with the energy of business and the eventual visit from non-Uchiha customers. A few congratulated Itachi on his birthday, mostly tea house owners and dango stools shopkeepers; who also made promises of free food and sweets as a present on that special ocation. Thankfully we made it to the compound's training grounds without attracting too much attention to ourselves.

"Would you rather we practice chakra control, taijutsu or target practice, Akane-san?" His voice pulled me back from my daydreaming. I had been wondering how long would it take for somebody to come looking for us. I for one had only Shisui to worry about, but Itachi had the entire clan to think of; so either someone would come looking within the first half hour or not at all.

"My taijutsu and weapon handling skills are competent; my chakra control on the other hand, is mediocre at best." I answered turning to him.

I wasn't ashamed of my shortcomings, I simply wanted to work hard and stop them from becoming a liability. Even at the tender age of four, two mindsets had been drilled into me: my brother's hard working nature, and the clan's idea of self improvement and greed for power. I had no intention to do anything rash or radical with the power I gained, mind you, but my pride would not allow me to become anything but exceptional.

"I could help you with that if you want to; chakra control is one of my strengths. I have even started working on genjutsu."

Of course he had started practicing his genjutsu already; his status as a prodigy was well founded. He, at four, had the chakra control of a genin twice his age. I nodded once and sat cross legged on the training ground floor, motioning him to do the same.

"I have been attempting to do the leaf exercise, but for some reason I can't maintain it for more than a couple of seconds." I explained, taking a leaf from the ground and sticking it to my forehead.

It stayed there at first, shaking a bit as I frowned in concentration. I only relaxed when after a few seconds, the leaf fell from its place in my forehead and onto my lap. During my pitiful demonstration of chakra control, Itachi sat still and completely silent across me. I didn't dare look up, knowing this must have been such a disgrace in the heir's eyes. An Uchiha that could not master the leaf exercise was as good as a civilian.

"There seems to be something wrong at a medical level, Akane-san. Have you had your first medical examination done yet?" I shook my head no, it was one of the many options I had considered. It was actually the most plausible one, since there was no way I could know if there was something wrong with me.

I suspected my brother did know what was wrong, but didn't tell me to spare my feelings. Shisui had already awakened the sharingan, and made it a habit to use it on me every time I practiced chakra control. Another thing that clued me on the fact that Shisui knew what was wrong was his incredible amount of patience. Every time he gave me different pieces of advice and every time he looked at me with the exact same expression he wore when faced with some particularly difficult challenge.

"I don't think you will ever be able to manage ninjutsu or genjutsu, Akane-san. If there is something wrong with your coils, then I don't see how you could. The fact that you managed to make it this far is impressive. What I would like to know is if your family is aware of this, why have they not informed the elders?"

My mind was racing, Shisui could be the only one who knew if something was wrong with my coils since my grandparents had never awoken the sharingan, in fact they had never been shinobi in the first place. But why hadn't he said anything? Why hadn't he pushed for a medical check to be done on me? this would definitively have affected my shinobi carreer should it get out; I would have been benched before I even got started and I would have been made into a career bride just like my oba-chan wanted.

"My brother wouldn't have wanted to shatter my dreams of becoming a kunoichi, but if anybody knows then that's him."

I sighed and turned to watch the sun set on the west side of Konoha. Would I let this stop me? could I still become a shinobi, even if everything was pointing the other way? Even if my body prevented me from doing so? How would I make it past the medical checkup before entering the academy without the elders being notified? An Uchiha with malfunctioning chakra coils was enough of a disgrace, would they even risk sending me to the academy if there existed the faintest possibility that I would bring shame to the Uchiha name?

"You can still become a kunoichi, you are aware of that, aren't you?" my body didn't move, but I did glance at my companion from the corner of my eye. "I will not tell the elders, and I could put the medic on a slight genjutsu should it come to that. You would have to be able to manage the academy jutsu in order to raise no suspicion though"

I was convinced Itachi must have had a reason for wanting to help me; but right then nothing seemed to come to mind. I would have to tell Shisui about everything of course, I would not be lying to my brother any time soon. I never had and I never would. I also needed him to help me train, wich to be honest was the main reason I didn't want to keep him in the dark; that, and the fact that he probably already knew.

"I will have to tell my brother."

"Tell me what, Akane-chan?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin when Shisui's voice sounded behind me. Itachi on the other hand, did not seem affected in the least by his sudden appearance. Before I could say anything, the boy in front of me started to explain for me.

The two males stared at each other in silence for a while; Shisui seemed to be attempting to make out the heirs reasons for helping me. He seemed to be under the impression that if given enough time, Itachi would betray me. If there was something my brother put before everything else, that was me.

"You do realize my sister will be forced into an arranged marriage should someone find out her chakra system is compromised?" Itachi just nodded and attempted to hold my brother's gaze with a courage I didn't think he was capable of. Shisui was scary when he was this serious. "I will not have her reduced to a glorified housewife, to an object for child bearing if she does not want to. I will do anything in my power to make her wish come true, do I make myself clear?"Once again the Uchiha heir nodded, and assured my brother that he would provide as much support as he could.

But what I never knew and Shisui seemed to already have figured out, was why.

Itachi had clearly been serious when he promised to aid my progress; because the very next morning, as I was going through my stretches, he jumped over the fence and made his way over to the veranda. He took a seat and watched me go through every move, waiting patiently for me to be done. I was not entirely surprised when I managed to spot him, choosing to finish my workout before acknowledging his presence. He didn't seem to be judging my choice of exercise, but simply analyzing it, storing the information for later use.

"I didn't think you would actually come see me at five am this morning. Looks like I underestimated you, Itachi-san." I said when the last set was over and done with.

I walked over to the veranda, where he was sitting; beside him a little tea table had been set, with a teapot was lazily steaming on it. Shisui could have been the only one to set it there, since our grandparents wouldn't be up for another hour.

"I said I would help your brother with overseeing your training, and I neither like avoiding a senpai's request, not I make a habit out of lying; so that is exactly what I intend to do." Answered my new training partner, as he poured us both a cup of green tea.

Even if it was still quite early, I could tell it was going to be a chilly day, the old hand-me-down shinobi sandals my brother had given me were doing little to keep my feet warm; and the chill crawling up my yukata every now and then was getting quite uncomfortable.

"You should probably get different clothes to train in, Akane-san. A yukata is most certainly going to get in your way."

I smiled down at the navy material covering my legs. It was old, in fact you could see yhe years of wear from how much the silver floral pattern had faded. It had been a gift from my grandma, and to her horror, I had loved it so much it would be the only thing I'd wear for the longest time; even to train in. the fabric was smoothed out from use and had stretched in places that made it look oversized if worn for something other than working out.

"Yeah, I know. But it's been with me for so long, I feel kind of bad getting rid of it." I said while patting off some shards of grass before kneeling on Itachi's other side. He handed me a cup before taking his own.

"I can see why, it looks to me as if it used to be quite the garment. Whoever gave it to you must have spent a considerable amount of money on it." I smiled lightly and took a sip out of my cup.

"That's the thing, my oba-chan made it herself."

We didn't speak after that; we finished our tea in silence before making our way to the centre of the yard and started our new training routine. That was the first of a long series of encounters, in which I would put my future in Uchiha Itachi's hands.

#naruto #fanfiction #uchiha shisui #uchiha itachi #oc #uzumañi naruto #hatake kakashi #deviation from canon #but it mostly follows the original timeline #AO3 #fanfiction dot net

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