#it's not a big issue. i don't mind if doubles interact with me!!!

[thestitchwraith]

almost went looking for doubles in the tags just to remember i feel weird around them

[paletteprimary]

☽. MASTERPOST | INTRO

≻───── ⋆✩⋆ ─────≺ ╭────────── ♱ · 𓆩🤍𓆪 · ♱ ─╮ Howdy <33 ,, Strings is my name, being silly is my game. I go by multiple names, but Strings is a heavily preferred one ! Taken x1 :3!! ILY MY BEST FRIENDS (Punky my pookie /p) There's more underneath! I think you should keep reading <3 ╰─ ♱ · 𓆩🤍𓆪 · ♱ ──────────╯ ≻───── ⋆✩⋆ ─────≺

𓆩♡𓆪 About me ,, :^

Here's some basic info bout me ! vvv

my main interests are spooky month, pico's school, and mainly ocs (including fankids)

Lover of an indie games !! BATIM/BATDR, Smile For Me, Indigo Park, and more

i have more than three sonas !! I might post them all, I don't know,

some of my favorite music artists are: will wood, kmfdm, cg5, hozier, miracle musical, the living tombstone, etc etc <3

some of my songs are: too sweet, against the kitchen floor, megalomaniac, love me normally, pork soda, etc.

i have a ton of comfort characters, some are: ronbo, kevin, robert, alucard, etc

𓆩♡𓆪 tag info ,, :^

#pri art - my art specifically !

#pri reply - replies to asks/questions !

#pri fankid - fankids I made for ships I like!

#pri shipping - ship doodles, often paired with my art tag!

#pri yammer - my yammering :]

𓆩♡𓆪 dni ,, :^

basic dni criteria

ists & phobes

dark/pro/comship (WEIRDOS!!!)

certain irl doubles (unless i know you beforehand) (i'm irls of thomas connor, rick hedony & alucard from Pico's School)

ship slander (unless it's obviously problematic)

slander of my interests

unwanted criticism of any kind, especially if not asked

ANY person i had drama with, including exes

homestuck, hazbin/helluva, dsmp, object shows (im not okay with these, dont talk about them in front of me please. If you interact w/ me short term, I'll probably be fine)

ai "art" users, fuck off my stuff pal

people who use femboy. i hate that goddamn word

𓆩♡𓆪 byi + boundaries ,, :^

I would HEAVILY perfer if you use tonetags around me, you don't have to, but i'd like you to,

i ramble, yap, and yammer a TON, say outta pocket things, make inappropriate jokes, volume control/all caps issues, flirt/tease super close friends. If I EVER do a thing that makes you/someone uncomfortable, please inform me and don't tone switch with me.

sexual jokes are ONLY for close friends, not for people I just met, please refrain.

i dont like a lot of popular ships in the medias im into, don't get mad at me for not liking them. I am a BIG rarepair fan.

im a-okay with interaction, but I might not reply immediately because I am very anxious

i have some strong opinions, but i try to keep an open mind

don't question my art style (some doodles will just be a head and hands, my style in general is REALLY sketchy anyway)

my blog, my rules

☽. LAST UPDATED: 12/55/24

[john-macnamara]

*Norton blinked blankly as people rushed around him, almost everyone on duty to prepare for a possible full apocalypse, but not him. One memory issue and suddenly no one trusts you to properly make sure people don't die, but that was alright. It was probably for the best anyways, especially in the mental state he was in. The divorce lawyer's business card was very heavy in his pocket no matter how many files he verified and put into the vault. Giovanni got stuck with the job of locking down each sector in the case of an attack on the building, so at least Norton didn't have to do that.

Honestly, with everything going on, he was almost thankful that the actual world was at a risk of crumbling. It was a horrible thing to think, he knew, but it gave him a bit of respite in not thinking of his personal world crumbling. The only awful thing meant that suddenly the meetings doubled, everyone wanted a piece of his time because they were running low on it, and the social interactions ended up tripling.

He rubbed a hand down his face as another status log on how securing the building was going got dropped on his desk, the person rushing off to presumably also get back to their job. Sure, the actual situation was on the downlow and he was sure other agencies weren't getting ready for anything big, but anyone at P.E.I.P that was trusted enough to be at the Hatchetfield outpost was stressed out of their minds trying to get prepare without alerting anyone or anything else.

He sighed, placing his head down on his desk for just a moment as he finally got a second without anyone bothering him. He regretted not taking the whole day off, he regretted not just taking his normal route out of the examination room. He really couldn't do the day much longer, maybe he'd actually leave early for once.*

@peip-agent-no-5

[A knock taps on Norton’s desk.]

I need a couple files, Newman.

[As is all too common these days, it’s John. He looks and sounds utterly exhausted, likely running off pure caffeine and depending on how long he’s been without sleep, a small bit of methamphetamine.]

Would you be willing to help me out?

[nocityfolk]

THE COWBOY CROONER FROM WYOMING, IT'S JESSE COLT !

𓄀 A STUDY IN: the lone son, losing your identity to fame, the loss of an abusive parent, overcoming toxic masculinity, & internalised homophobia.

independent & fandomless original musician character with multiple verses [horror, 80s, etc.,] | managed by rachel/rach, 25, they/them !

╰─▸ i. bio | ii. stats | iii. verses | iv. jesse's music | v. send memes! | other blogs: @ohkrateia, @butreverie | dash only ! | interest tracker [optional!)

[ psst. rules below the cut ! ]

hi. i'm rach, they/them, lesbian, 25, australian. mutuals, please feel free to ask for my disco.rd for plotting/ooc chatting! personal tumblr available upon request, too!

SELECTIVITY: i’m selective which means i choose who i want to roleplay with and i won’t follow for follow. tldr; i'm mutuals only. please don’t let this deter you, as long as i can see our muses going somewhere, i’m likely to follow back! / please don't message me, send me asks, etc., if i'm not following you. i will block you.

CODES: if you have a special code in your rules, i likely won’t send it. it can be kind of uncomfortable for me to do so but i can guarantee you that your rules will be read!

MEMES: memes are a great way to break the ice, and help build dynamics. i don't mind if you reblog them off me!

FORMATTING: i sometimes double-space and mostly use icons, but i'll occasionally match the formatting of the person i'm writing with. so if you prefer not to format or use icons, that's fine by me! i just ask that you use proper grammar and punctuation, and trim your posts.

RULES: following on from before, if i ever happen to break a rule, you’re free to pop into my ask & kindly tell me. i’ll make a note not to do it again. tell me gently and be kind, and i’m sure your sincerity will be returned.

IMPORTANT: if you ever need anything tagged, feel free to shoot me an ask, on or off anon, or dm me to let me know. i’ll keep your triggers in mind and make sure i tag them in future!

SHIPPING: i love shipping, & i would love to ship with jesse! i'm a big multi-shipper at heart, so he won't have a canon ship in his main verse. & please keep in mind, he's a closeted bi man in an industry that hasn't historically been the kindest, and in a genre that wouldn't treat him the best if he were to come out. i'm definitely open to m/m ships but in his canon verse, they wouldn't come without their caveats, unfortunately. that being said, f/m is a bit easier, but jesse was scorned in his last relationship and will struggle with trust issues. he's incredibly shy regarding romance/intimacy & will need a lot of encouragement, but he has a lot of love to give and he's a loverboy at heart!

USFW: this space will likely contain things usfw at some point, so i'll try to tag it as such when i can. side note but please feel free to send romantic/smut memes in if i post them, even if we haven't interacted. they're a great way to try out a dynamic, and i have a lot of fun writing them!

CREDS: screencaps, icon border, icon psd, dash icon template.

ETC: this is so funny to say, but despite portraying jesse as a cowboy-esque figure into the rodeo, etc., i've been vegan for many years and don't approve of it. aesthetically, it kinda goes off, though, so while i won't delve into the bad side of rodeos, horses, that kinda stuff with jesse, i ask that it isn't mentioned ic either! we're here to have fun.

[ please don't follow if you're: homophobic, racist, transphobic, biphobic, anti-palestine, pro-israel, antisemitic, pro-trump, etc. i'm not interested! same goes for harry potter fans/blogs.. ]

[prettycottonmouthlamia]

Pokemon Emerald Ralts Only Part 7: Hate to be a Norman

PROCRASTINATION AM I RIGHT????

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Okay in truth I did this back in August and I'm a little foggy on the exact specifics of how I managed to do this. Fortunately I live blogged this so I'm gonna do my best to recreate it.

There's actually very little to properly do before going to Norman's gym. I have Psychic and Calm Mind and Flannery was pretty easy so I'm feeling quite confident that Norman simply will not be an issue. No siree.

Reset Counter: 26

Yeah so one of Norman's Gym Trainers in Emerald has a Wigglytuff with Double-Edge and Shadow Ball and isn't afraid to just knock your ass out either. Truly the mightiest of YOM TAHS.

This one isn't important, but I wanted to take a screenshot of the Kecleon interaction I mentioned last update. This results in a lot of shenanigans.

Enough stalling though, it's Norman time.

I was Level 39 for my first attempt anddddd

Reset Counter: 29

Yeah it doesn't go well. I'm putting all three resets here for posterity's sake as I'm not entirely sure how each of them were caused, but Slaking is really scary and does a ton of damage with Facade, on top of outspeeding at Level 39.

Talking about speed for a moment, at Level 39, my unboosted speed is 61. While this may suggest I would underspeed Norman's Vigoroth, Linoone, and Slaking, who have 66, 69, and 68 speed respectively, this isn't the case. I have Watson's badge which gives a 10% bonus to my Speed stat, so my effective speed is actually 67. Which puts me smackdab in the middle of Vigoroth and Slaking. So I want some more speed before I attempt this fight again.

Level 40 is both a damage rounding threshold and gives me 69 speed, which means I will speed tie the Linoone. But I don't really want to chance it, so I do some extra training in the desert and some of the other trainers I've missed in other places to get to Level 41, which will get me the speed needed (even one additional point of speed gets me to 70 speed.) Leveling up to Level 41 has one additional benefit:

Sleep is a really powerful status ailment even in Generation III. It lasts for 1-5 turns and is great for buying time. Hypnosis is inaccurate and ideally I would like to not have to rely on it particularly much, but I think for getting past Norman quickly I'm basically reliant on it. This is because Slaking is so outrageously bulky for a Pokemon at this stage that Ralts at +2 can only 2HKO it, and it has roughly a 50% chance to OHKO the Slaking at +4. I pretty much need the set-up to get past it.

Fortunately, the Spinda is a really easy target. It's not only pretty weak in general, but it has the ability Own Tempo. Ralts can then Trace this and become immune to confusion. This doesn't sound like a big deal, but either the enemy AI doesn't check for ability immunities, or it doesn't update itself to know that Ralts has Own Tempo. So Spinda goes for Teeter Dance...twice and I take the opportunity with Hypnosis to go big or go home.

Might as well set-up to +5.

PERISH

Vigoroth and Linoone are both slower, and a lot more frail, so they don't stand a chance either. We've done it! We beat Norman and honestly didn't need to grind many levels to do it.

Hypnosis strongest.

Next time. Surf? Winona? The inevitability of time!?

[giggly-squiggily]

Can i request lee hiyori and ler kisumi from free? Coz like in the movie kisumi kept saying that hiyori was cute and it made me kinda ship themmmm

Oo, this is a new pair! :D I don't remember how much they interacted in the movies- I might have missed this one lols. Either way- I've gotcha covered, anon! :3

Cloud 9 (Taglist):

@duckymcdoorknob @baby-tickles2022 @cupcake-spice13 @

“Guess who’s here?” Kisume poked his head through the dormroom, jazz hands and everything. “It’s me!”

Hiyori glanced briefly at him before returning to his homework. “Hi, problem.”

“Ah- Taylor. You’re definitely going through it.” Kisume nodded wistfully as he walked in, a bag of convenient store goodies in hand as he gently kicked the door shut behind him. “How long has it been since they left? Not even half a day I think?”

“Don’t make me out to be some desperate guy. I’m not even upset.” Hiyori glared at his homework, his pencil digging in so hard the pink haired man was worried he’d rip the sheet. “If you’re only here to bug me, go somewhere else. I’m busy.”

“Hiyori, my guy- it’s Friday night and you’re here doing homework that’s not even due till-” Kisume shot a glance at his planner. “Wednesday!”

“Better to be prepared.”

“I think you’re avoiding the issue.”

Hiyori stopped, pencil in white knuckles as he counted backwards from ten in his head. He wasn’t upset that Ikuya’s off on a roadtrip with his old swimmates. It wasn’t like it was some secretive event; they’d been planning the trip for awhile now, and Ikuya shared all the details- hesitantly at first but with more confidence as they got closer to the big day. He even extended the invite to Hiyori- something the brunette kindly but firmly turned down. This was his chance to reunite with old friends-he'd just be third wheeling.

No- he wasn’t upset Ikuya went. If anything, he was happy for him.

He just felt so off without him. That old loneliness crept in, hovering in the corners of his mind as the reality that he wasn’t gonna see the green haired boy again until Tuesday at the latest hit him. He hated it- that old insecurity. It made him feel so pathetic.

“Hiyori?” A finger poking at his ribs snapped him out of his thoughts. “Are you still there?”

Oh- right. Kisumi- the annoyingly pretty boy currently invading his space. Forgot about him. “Unfortunately.”

“Oof- right for the jugular with that one.” Kisumi poked him a few more times, grinning at the twitches he received in return. “You wound me- like Brutus wounded Caesar. Et tu, Hiyori?”

“Your own fau-lt.! Stop th-at.” He tried blocking the hand poking him with his arm, but Kisume was adamant on tickling him. Before long two fingers were tasering his side, leading to a full onslaught of fingers worming past his barrier, pressing into his ribcage. “Doohoohn’t!”

“Nope! You clearly need a distraction, Hiyori! One that doesn’t involve homework.” Kisume giggled as the brunette tried stabbing him with his pencil, easily avoiding each jab as he carried on tickling. Spinning Hiyori’s chair so he was facing him, he latched onto both sides, rapidly tapping his fingers against his weak spots. “Come on, give me a smile! You know you want to!”

“Geehhehheht! Aheahhahha- gehehehhet ooohohohohohoff! Gehahahahahahahha!” Hiyori cackled out, dropping his pencil as he doubled over, a reluctant grin pulling at his lips. “Kihihiihiihihsumheehehehhehehe, stahhahhahap!”

“What was that? Don’t stop? Okay!” The pink haired man giggled as he carried on, drilling into his highest ribs before dragging his fingers down to his hips, repeating the process again and again as Hiyori spasmed. “Wow- you’re so ticklish! Where’d this come from? Last I checked you were immune!”

“AHeahahhahahahha! I dohohohohohohn’t know, I juuhuhuhuhuhust ahahahhaam!” Hiyori gave up on pushing him away, instead now trying to twist away in his chair.

For a brief moment- it worked!

Until the entire thing tipped over, sending him tumbling to the ground. Kisume was quick to follow. “KIHIHIHIIHISUUHUHUHUMIHIHIHIIHIHI! He cried, his laugh increasing to a proper guffaw when the pink haired man grabbed his ankle, dancing his fingers along his foot.

“That’s my name! Man, you’re so ticklish here!” Kisumi laughed, giving his foot one last scribble before releasing him, giggling as Hiyori curled into himself. “Had enough?”

“Ehehehe…ehehehehe…I frehahahhaking hahhate yoohoohu…” He groaned, lacking any real malice. Wiping at his eyes, he leaned back with a sigh, suddenly tired.

“Nah, you love me. You know you do.” Kisumi crawled over so he was leaning over the brunette, poking him in the belly. “You think I’m cute~”

“Shuuhuhsh! No I don’t!” He glared, but the smile on his lips killed any real effect it may have had. “Ugh, you’re so-”

“Charming? Adorable? Charismatic?” Kisumi winked. “You’re too kind- please keep going.”

Hiyori snorted, pushing him some. “Annoying for sure.”

“Ack!” Kisumi collapsed across him, clutching his chest. Unable to fight it off- the brunette laughed and laughed, fresh giggles replacing his tickly ones. Kisumi was soon to follow, laughing just as much.

Eventually, when their bellies were aching from mirth and their cheeks were pink with breathlessness, Kisumi sat up with his trademark smile, eyes warm. “Hey- let’s go play basketball!”

“Somehow I knew you’d ask that.” Hiyori rolled his eyes but let the other pull him up to his feet. “Fine- maybe a game or two.”

“That’s the spirit!” Kisumi laughed as he ran out the door, reaching back just in time to grab Hiyori’s wrist.

For the first time in a while, his thoughts weren’t on Ikuya or his loneliness. Just on the pretty pink boy who showed up when he needed someone, all smiles and sunshine.

Thanks for reading!

[rose-reaper]

A Tank Player's Essay

For those who want to read this in its entirety, know that my thoughts are all over the place but with enough time to structure I might just send this as a letter to Blizzard HQ or something.

Over the course of Overwatch 2's 2 year lifespan I've concluded several things as I've played off and on again with your lovely game has gotten me slowly but surely more and more drained of my sanity. I've learned over the years that your intent with 5v5 as opposed to 6v6 like it was in Overwatch 1 has not only been detrimenting this game's health as a whole but has made playing the role of tank not fun at all because every other role has made it their sole mission to counter the tank than to work together and makes swapping unskillful. The recent changes with DPS and all of the projectile sizes has been one of the biggest changes that makes tanking almost impossible. Some tanks like myself like to play aggressive, but unfortunately can't because there is only one of us per team thus making engangements not fun and dare I say extremely stressful.

To address the biggest issue, playing a tank has never felt more detrimental ever. One mistake and the entire team crumbles faster than a twitter user's emotional stability. Even if the tank is slightly out of line and out of position, everyone on the enemy team locks in and focuses the tank and mows the rest of the team down. This has never been as big of an issue in 6v6 than it has in 5v5.

When the DPS buff to reduce healing by 20% on shot targets arrived, I was on board with it because DPS had been unfortunately sitting in the back burner feeling like a cosmetic role like Tank was (if you weren't playing Mauga). Especially since by the time you reloaded your weapon the enemy had magically gained HP in between reloads. With the debuff, you can no longer gain health in the middle of combat behind a shield like before thus making natural cover a nessessity.

With this in mind it makes playing out in the open a lot less ill advised and while that is a good thing, it unfortunately has come with negative side effects especially for tanks as I'll put in bullets bellow:

• Tanks with no shields (aside from Orisa) of any kind have to play more passive than ones with a shield and it doesn't fit the design philosophy of certain heroes like Junker Queen, Zarya, Mauga, Doomfist, and Wrecking Ball for examples.

Junker Queen is about being agressive and healing off of bleed damage with Carnage and Gracie and should be rewarded for playing into the passive she has built in. Zarya gives bubbles that help protect herself and others and gives her bigger lazers to fire at her enemies the more they're hit. Sounds like a really cool combo waiting to happen right? Unfortunately unless you're willing to play open que (personally, ew) you will never have these interactions ever in a match.

• Tanks with shields in mind like Reinhardt, Winston, Sigma, Ramatra have shields with the density of Walmart brand paper plates and can be countered by side stepping. By the time you melt through the shields of one in a match, the tanks have nothing else they can do aside from fall back and reset. Even if there is a slight chance of winning an engagement.

A lot of people who are against 6v6 will say, "We don't want double shield to come back." And while that is a valid concern, Blizzard you have already done away with that. Any shields that do exist don't stand up as long as they would before. Orisa has been reworked, Ramatra's Shield only lasts for a few seconds and Sigma's shield isn't nearly as strong as it was before.

• Counterpicking the tank is easier than just getting better at a role that you currently play. Team Comps swap heavily to counter one Tank.

To paraphrase Emonng, "If a Winston wanted to dive a Widow, all they have to do is get a reaper to AFK on the Widow and the Winston can't do anything about it."

On top of all of this, we have one character I swear is my Achille's Heel and that is Zenyatta. His Discord orb gives an incoming 25% damage increase on a target which means anybody who has the discord orb is taking 25% more damage while the target is in line of sight. That incentivizes anybody who is told about the orb to focus fire the target to kill them faster. Now, imagine this stacked on top of the debuff DPS has. Might as well leave the Tank for dead at that point.

To give all you math nerds something to work with, as of looking at the wiki, Bastion's default damage in recon form does about 125 damage per second. With Zenyatta's discord orb on the target, it becomes about 156 damage per second. Now that's just in recon form. In turret form that's 360 to 450. On top of that that's 20% incoming healing reduction on top of that. So in a scenario like that, you're just asking to get melted if you're simply existing as a tank let alone any other hero.

With all of this built on you'd think it couldn't get worse, but oh sweet summer children it does. With the projectile size increase you'd have now things that hit you that normally wouldn't. Like if you're behind a wall and there's a javalin from an Orisa thrown. If you're close enough without peaking you can get yanked out from cover. Not only that but there are some shots that hit but shouldn't that do some of the same stuff like Bastion Grenade sticking when it shouldn't, Soldier 76 Helix Launcher hitting when it shouldn't or even Kiriko's kunais hitting when they shouldn't.

With all of this in mind, you'd think the role is extinct. Fortunately Tank mains are about as stubborn as rocks and will continue to keep trucking in spite of the difficulties but I know they would like to see some changes. So I propose a few changes that'd make the game healthier for everyone.

• Revert the DPS passive and overall Projectile size back to the way it was before and I mean all of them. •Give us the second tank back for 6v6. Tanks will feel like tanks again and you have built a happier, healthier game by doing this.

With these changes, the community would be less worried about counterswapping and more worried about just being better at the game.

[the-shield-anon]

Rules + About

((Updated October 13th 2024 (about/rules update + Shield!Anon design)))

((Hi, mod Humble here. I decided to make a pinned post for the rules and info of this blog. Let's get this bit over with, shall we?))

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About me:

((First things first: my timezone is GMT+1, so don't be surprised if I'm on or off at different times than everybody else.))

((I'm autistic, so I may misread situations or messages. Feel free to tell me if it seems like I've misunderstood something or said something wrong.))

((I use double brackets when talking OOC. There's also the chance I'll talk OOC in the tags sometimes. You don't need to talk back or anything, I probably just felt like getting my current thoughts (or bad jokes) out of my head.))

((I can feel anxious when writing with others (especially new blogs) which can make me slow to interact, if at all. I also tend to be nervous about bothering people, which is a bit silly given this blog is for just that, but alas. And I simply may not have the energy to write, something which has been happening a lot recently. Please keep all this in mind if I ever go quiet. It's not you.))

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Content warning/Rules:

((This blog has the potential for things like swearing, blood, gore, abuse, mental health issues and death, given the fandom this was born from. A warning for anyone not wanting to risk seeing that.))

((Shield's not interested in any romantic or sexual stuff, but I don't mind suggestive talk or jokes as long as it doesn't go further than that. I also don't mind someone else's character having a one-sided crush on them if that's how that character feels, but like. Who would crush on this loser-))

((Killing them without my say so is a big no-no. I feel that should be obvious, but you never know.))

((Final thing that comes to mind, don't take control of my character to make them say or do things without my permission. I don't think I need to explain why that's annoying to deal with. Stick with the character you made, pal!))

((And that's everything that comes to mind! I just wanna make sure I'm clear about these things. Some facts about Shield, along with a picture of them, are under the read more.))

Their name is simply Shield Anon or Shield for short (Shield!Anon if you're feeling spicy I guess).

They're 6'0" exactly.

They're a AAA battery (AroAceAgender) and go by neutral pronouns. They're used to being mistaken for a man due to having a male sounding voice and being on the taller side.

Surprise surprise, they're good with making and using shields of all kinds. They can do some pretty ridiculous things with one too. Not that odd, given that shields are their thing.

They can also make force fields with their magic, tough ones to boot, no M!A required! But they unfortunately tend to forget this...

They have a habit of rambling. It comes out easiest when they're anxious or particularly excited/interested in whatever/whoever they're talking about/to.

They can use swinging weapons along the lines of a crowbar, a staff or even a blade, but they'll most likely use a shield as a weapon instead.

Enjoys talking to new people, but they also sort of. Don't. Nothing to do with them, they just fear putting their foot in their mouth, so to speak. Definitely not projecting here-

[chungledown-bimothy]

why league of legends and not a traditional sport like football or basketball or something like that? it's such a toxic community, why do you choose to be part of it? (no offense intended, not being judgemental, genuinely curious.)

none taken- while the professional scene is slightly less toxic than the game itself, yeah it's still a mess. which is why the extent of my interacting with it is watching and occasionally posting on tumblr about it- i don't even play the game.

(this got a LOT longer than i'm sure you were asking for, i'm sorry about that. the tldr is that i really love the game and it delivers things that no other sport does, traditional or esports)

as for why not a traditional sport... a lot of it comes down to accessibility, i think

i love sports in general. i love super bowl parties, if i'm invited to watch a live game i'm so excited to go. some of my best childhood memories are from Cal football and basketball games and Giants baseball games. but tickets/cable/streaming services cost money, and i just don't have enough of that.

lolesports.com is free, as is the youtube channel.

why league among all esports, though? there are two parts to that, i think. why not something else and then why league.

what i love most about sports is the team. it's teamwork and trust and big picture strategy that i love the most.

i couldn't get into starcraft or smash- individual sports, including traditional sports, just don't interest me as much. (pokemon vgc is an outlier bc i fucking love pokemon, and wolfe glick is SO great, but even that doesn't hit the same amount of passion as league does)

so then why not cs:go or overwatch? those bitches are fps, which gives me a headache to watch and that perspective makes it feel more focused on the individual than the team as a whole.

so the question remains: why do i love so passionately the professional scene of a game i used to play as a form of self-harm?

because i love it.

i fucking hate playing it, but as a game, i think it's beautiful. it's got a fantastic balance of both individual and team skill expression.

and let's be real. there is only one way to play baseball. there are only a couple of ways to play football. basketball's a bit more variable, but it's still fundamentally the same every time.

there's so much more room for creativity in league. both forced, because patches and updates actively work to facilitate fresh metas, and natural, as certain teams or players will find styles that work best for them, with pocket picks or counter-meta strategies or just looking at the meta and going "no, we're good enough that we don't have to do that, we're gonna do things our way go fuck yourself"

there aren't rules like double dribbling or illegal passes. once you're on the rift, the only hard limit is your skill as an individual and as a team.

i love that each game, barring absolute massacres, has three stages, and seeing how they flow into and through each other is always a delight. each game has its own narrative in a much stronger way than is possible in many traditional sports.

i love that games are shorter. this isn't really an issue with basketball, as those games are also high octane and pretty short, but i've got attention span issues, and football and baseball can get so samey 2+ hours in.

league games are about half an hour, a nice concentrated dose of competition. (94 minutes the dream my beloathed)

i'm also a sucker for a good narrative, and by god league is full of them. from R7 winning the LLA's first international best-of series just this morning to Faker, who i'm not going to go into right now because this post is already so long, and his history goes back 10 years with no sign of slowing down (hopium. the day faker retires i will actually cry)

so yeah. from mind games and strategies in draft to skill expression and team coordination and shot-calling in game, i love every second of a league of legends game, as both a game and a more general sports fan experience.

[giftgvr]

𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄��.

Please read before following!

∙  THIS IS A SIDEBLOG. All likes/follows will come from my main bugsbloom

∙  MY MUSE IS NOT CHARLIE EMILY FROM THE GAMES. This is the Charliebot from the books adapted for the game's timeline! She is entirely separate from Ghost Charlie / The Puppet! She is also an adult (mid 20s), unlike the teen from the novels!

∙  YOU DO NOT HAVE TO READ THE BOOKS. My Charlie is only vaguely based on their lore and is more geared towards game lore, with most of the canon novel material being modified or ignored entirely. Any material or excerpts I take from the books will be present and properly cited in headcanon posts so the audience is in the loop!

∙  I am okay with doubles! In fact, I encourage them!

∙  THE USUAL FNAF TRIGGERS APPLY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: MURDER, VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN, GORE & BLOOD

∙  Basic rp rules: No godmodding, metagaming, powerplay, reblogging threads that aren’t your’s, etc. If you have a reputation of doing any of these, then there’s a big chance that I won’t rp with you.

∙  Going off that if you are making me uncomfortable I have every right to disengage or even softblock, the same goes vice versa! If I hardblock you, don't try to contact me elsewhere or block evade, leave me alone.

∙  For my own personal comfort, I almost always have anon turned off. If you are a personal with an rp blog, just tell me your rp blog in the ask! If you wish for your ask to be faceless or be an NPC, just include that in the ask!

∙  Due to offline health issues, I'm unable to write on Tumblr consistently. If you do wish to engage with Charlie on a regular basis, I do best with casually chatting about muse interactions through discord! If you want my username, just ask me!

∙  I tag triggering material with "tw thing" and "thing tw", if there is something you need tagged, please tell me! Currently, I tag the following:

- Media Spoilers (ex. arcane spoilers, fnaf spoilers, etc) - Food imagery (food tw) - IRL insects and spiders (insect tw) (spider tw) (arachnophobia tw) - Submechanophobia (submechanophobia tw) - Eyestrain and flashing imagery (eyestrain tw) (flashing tw) - Body Horror (body horror tw) - IRL nongore anatomy (irl anatomy tw) - Gore and blood (gore tw) (blood tw) - Descriptions of violence or severe injuries (violence tw) (injury tw) - Murder and death (murder tw) (death tw) - Analog horror or uncanny imagery (analog horror tw) (uncanny tw) - Imagery of needles and/or descriptions of injections (needles tw) (injection tw) - Emetophobia (emetophobia tw) - Direct eye contact (scopophobia tw)

More will be added upon request or upon mention, but these are the ones I can think off from the top of my head!

∙  Although my muse is of age, I will not do NSFW threads. Suggestive jokes will be tagged as "suggestive".

∙  I am a novella roleplayer, you don’t have to worry about matching lengths or anything! But I do ask to not only be met with just one liner after one liner unless it’s crack/dialogue interactions.

∙  IM is for OOC only, so please don’t try to full on rps with me there (Though, plotting and light rp is a-okay)

∙  No personals trying to interact with rp-related stuff please. Personals sending in rp memes or interacting with starter calls will be ignored (unless you are using your personal blog to send in something for an rp sideblog). However, personals can send in ask memes and general questions.

∙  Wanna rp with me? Don’t be shy! Message me and we could totally plan something out. But keep in mind that I’m semi-selective, so I’m a ever so slightly picky about who I rp with. No offense to you of course, I’m just neurodivergent

∙  No killing! bad! Violence is allowed, just nothing too extreme. It’s important you let me know if your muse is going to significantly harm mine just so I can get prepared.

∙  If I haven’t responded to a thread for a few days and you feel that I might have forgotten, don’t be afraid to shoot me a message! You aren’t being pushy or bothering me. However, don’t spam me please, I rarely forget forget about replies I gotta do and I’m most likely being slow due being busy so please be patient!

∙ Speaking of which, don’t be afraid of being slow. Take all the time you need, I don’t mind waiting! I understand that sometimes you don’t have muse or you’re busy and that is a-okay! Don’t worry, your replies are worth the wait

∙  Reblog karma is not enforced, although it is preferred if you send in something if you rb it from me. It would make me do a little :] face

∙  Mun ≠ Muse. If my muse is mean to your’s that will NEVER reflect my feelings on your muse or your writing. This is all meant to be in good fun! Please tell me if it’s becoming too much!

∙  I am okay with retconning! If something isn’t working out we can redo it 100%, please don’t feel like everything is final! If it’s making you unhappy, it’s not worth keeping

∙  I don’t mind if you reblog musings/aesthetics from me, just don’t reblog too many at one time. I don’t want my notifications to have a heart attack ^^;;

∙  Shipping is OPEN, and I am multi-ship! My only thing is that I will not be shipping Charlie with Michael Afton muses, as she views him as family.

∙ Open starters do not expire and can be responded to at any time! In fact it’s encouraged! 

Please don’t interact with me if you classify as/support/participate in the following:

- Basic criteria - Zionists (I know it's on the Basic DNI already, but it bears repeating.) - "Yanderecore" / "Lovesick" - Genuine supporter of problematic figures in the FNaF community ( Not just limited to Scott )

I’m okay with fans of these following me, however will not roleplay with characters from the following media:

- Your Boyfriend (Visual Novel) - South Park - Hazbin Hotel / Helluva Boss - Harry Potter or any JK Rowling works - Transformers - Dayshift At Freddy’s (Dialtown is fine tho!) - Not a fandom, but I will not interact with self inserts, kinsonas, or muses of IRL people (ex. youtubers)!

[dreamfells]

* DREAMFELLS : and i'm out of here ! racks on racks , i'm a lot to serve . so fucked up she gots to stare , she gon' hear what she wanna hear . leanin' , at your side i been leanin' . here's the side of me dreamin' . other side of me schemin' .

I MUST BE DREAMIN' : muses . opens . plots . pinterest .

#  DREAMFELLS  is  an  independent  and  semi - selective  writing blog  written  by  f   (  if  you  know  me,  you  don’t!  )  ,  21+  ,  est  tmz  .  not  new  to  the  rpc  …  this  is  just  one  of  the  many  blogs  i've  made  over  the  years  .  basic  roleplay  etiquette  applies  ,  but  if  you’re  unsure  i’ve  added  a  set  of  rules  below  :

i.  i  am  f  …  that's  what  i'll  go  by  ,  i  have  another  blog  so  if  you  recognize  my  writing  ,  ditto !  my  discord  is  available  upon  request  .  i  am  a  woman  of  color  so  don't  be  weird  !  i  am  over  the  age  of  21  and  i  prefer  to  write  with  those  who  are  as  well  ,  this  is  a  strictly  18+  blog  .  mature  themes  will  absolutely  be  present  ,  if  you  are  below  the  age  of  18  DO  NOT  INTERACT  .

ii.  activity  will  fluctuate  .  i  have  multiple  blogs  .  i  get  busy  .  writing  is  just  a  hobby  !  sometimes  i  will  post  replies  everyday  and  sometimes  replies  will  be  scarce  for  weeks  .  it's  a  me  thing  ,  i  like  to  take  breaks  .  please  don't  rush  me  for  replies  ,  but  i  don't  mind  a  little  push  here  and  there  .

iii.  formatting  does  not  really  matter  to  me  .  i  double  space  and  use  small  text  ,  but  if  it's  an  issue  i  can  accommodate  that  for  our  threads  .  i'm  fine  with  gifs  or  gifless  ,  i  just  ask  that  you  don't  use  big  gifs  .

iv.  i  love  all  the  ships  !  ship  with  me  ! i  love  m/m , f/f , m/f  !  just  don't  be  pushy  or  force  it ,  if  i'm  not  feeling  a  ship  i  will  let  you  know  and  we  can  always  start  something  new  !

v.  nsfw  themes  will  be  present.  i  do  write  smut,  but  this  is  not  a  smut  centric  blog  ok  !  i'm  not  knocking  your  hustle  if  that's  your  thing ,  just  don't  expect  it  from  me  right  off  the  bat  (unless  i  say  so)  ,  i'm  a  chem  gal  !

[home-at-nine]

Prologue

"Tigers die and leave their skins; people die and leave their names." - Japanese Proverb

I watch the seconds tick by very... goddamn... slowly. As I look up from my laptop, I see my younger sister at the door. The cursor on the file blinking as I struggle to find the words to express the bullshit that's happened these past few weeks.

"Will's calling you down for dinner"—He pauses for what it feels like an eternity—"Alfred."

"Still not used to that, Frog?"

"I can't believe you went with 'Alfred'."

I close my laptop and begin to get up. "Why not? He's the best comic book character ever. And you don't get to judge,"—I chuckle—"Artemis."

"Fuck you."

"Double fuck you twice."

I close my door behind me and start walking down the stairs. "How about Albert then?"

Artemis follows me down the stairs. I smell the aromas of Will's cooking in the air. I feel the saliva in my mouth pooling like a sea. I turn around and look at my baby sister, "Frog?".

Before she can respond, I rush down the stairs. I wince as the light in the dining room hits my eyes. I look at Will in bewilderment. "How the FUCK are you so perfect, bitch?"

Will's one of my closest friends. His parents died young, so he moved in with his grandparents. They died a couple years ago, when Will turned 19, inheriting the house we're living in now. I love this man with every fibre of my being.

"I don't know, bro. Ask God," He smirked. He has a great smirk.

I go to the sink and wash my hands, looking down to see if the cuts healed. They hadn't.

I sit down at the table and look at the Butter Chicken he just perfectly cooked. "If that's too sweet, I'm putting you in a goddamn headlock."

Got to make sure he knows you don't fuck with the Butter Chicken.

I analyse the food at the table. Garlic naan, achar, and, of course, that perfect smelling Butter Chicken. Surprisingly, it doesn't smell too sweet. Just perfect. Even the restaurants back in India mess that up.

Frog joins us at the table and we begin eating. Despite the boisterous interaction from my bewilderment at Will's ability to cook, there hadn't been much conversation. I regret that. I wish I could talk to him like nothing was wrong. I wish I wasn't locked away in the room he's providing to me, on his dime.

Frog looks to Will, "You got a better name than 'Alfred' in mind? Because I refuse to have an older brother named 'Alfred'. How'd you come up with Will?"

Will took a moment, "Not gonna lie... I was just a big fan of The Ranger's Apprentice. And it was my great-grandfather's name, so I felt doubly comfortable taking that on. Me personally, finding a name was probably the easiest part of the process."

I know where the conversation's heading. I don't have too much I like and I sure as hell ain't naming myself after a historical figure. I spring to change topics, "I'm gonna start looking for work this week.".

Will and Frog pause. Will looks at me with a weird look on his face, "You can take a bit longer, Ch—". He stops himself before he finishes.

He continues, "—Alfred."

I stare at him for a second, chewing my food just a little longer than necessary. I know he wants to help me. Provide for us. But I want to help him too. The tablecloth has a nice texture. Somewhere between rough and soft. A gridded pattern runs across its entirety, rubbing against my fingers as I play with it.

Frog pipes up, "Speaking of... we need a new name. 'Alfred' sucks. I refuse to have a brother named 'Alfred'.". Will and I turn to her and I thank the Almighty for giving me a second to think of what kind of work I could do. Will is smart. Capable. He's taken care of himself without issue. What could I do?

Will cracks a small smile, "How about Atlas?". My head spins to look at him, nearly cracking my neck in whiplash. I've crumpled a little bit of the table cloth. Asshole's making fun of me.

"OOH, ATLAS. I like Atlas."

I can't tell if Frog's playing along or if she genuinely likes the name. Maybe a bit of both.

As my closest friend and my sister decided my name for me, I resigned myself to it. I don't think I'm silly for wanting to step up and help Will. He doesn't have to be a prick about it.

I fold some chicken into my naan as I put it in my mouth, a perfectly balanced blend of spices tickles my tongue. "Motherfucker...", I mutter.

As we finish our dinner, Will and I decide to go upstairs to his room to talk about what to do from here. Although I've been locked away in the room for 2 weeks, not much has happened outside. Our lives remain stagnant. Something we don't mind so much right now.

Will jumps onto his bed and gestures for me to follow. "God, you might give me the wrong idea, you know?" I joke, as I follow him to the bed. Will just gives me a joking smirk as we turn on the TV and turn down the volume to muffle our conversation from my baby sister.

We revel in the silence for a few minutes. No yelling, nothing breaking. Just peace. Will is one of maybe 3 people in the world who can give me this sense of comfort even when things are fully quiet.

But my curiosity breaks the silence,"Why Atlas?". It's not like I didn't know. But I needed to confirm.

"Well, you've always had the weight of the world on your shoulders. I thought it was fitting. Barely been two weeks and you're already trying to be man of the house and help me."

"I can't stay a burden forever, man. Plus—"

"I know. You need work. You don't do well without something to do. How's the journaling?"

"It's been two weeks and I haven't written a fucking word. Writing is bullshit. I'd rather be matter-of-fact. Concise."

"That's funny. You're a yapper."

"I'm not a yapper. You're a yapper, I'm a rambler. And I'm not trying to be 'man of the house'. I just want to earn my keep. Maybe I'll pick up a job with—" I pause, struggling to come up with a name "— Tony Stark...?".

Will doesn't find that funny. "You can take a longer break and figure something out. You have time. And you're smart. You're so good at fixing things. Figuring them out. Talking to people. You could sell sand to a lifeguard at the beach.

"Something with your talents... You've always been good at taking care of problems..."

Will trailed off. He does that when he suddenly remember something. It bothers me to no end, but I forgive him for it because he's pretty.

He continues, "Actually, maybe there's something you can do...".

This motherfucker.

-------------------------------------------------

As the light flickers in the back alley, I reach for my lighter. The voice over the phone is rushed.

He's been using again, that nasty shit. Well, it's not my problem.

As I'm judging this crapstain on the bottom of the society's foot, he speaks up.

"That kid's back in town, Jerry."

I pause. I take a deep breath, hoping my it doesn't sound shaky on the other end of the phone.

"What? Which kid?"

"The crazy one," he said. He sounds really agitated. "Spencer? Spencer Wilson?"

Holy fuck. That bastard's in town? The lights flicker as he says his name. God's being real dramatic right now. Or maybe this kid's the devil incarnate.

"Okay.". I take a deep breath, filling my lungs with smoke. Might need more of this tonight.

"OKAY? Jerry, do you FUCKING remember the people he conned before he skipped town? Do you remember the lives he destroyed before he left town? And on a FUCKING WHIM?"

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

"I told you this would happen," he said. He sounds pissed. What the fuck?

"Those motherfuckers wanted us to pay protection and this kid wanted a fake ID. I didn't think he'd actually fuck with them.". I can't help yelling. This bastard wants to blame me for the situation that little shit put us in?!

"Don't you FUCKIN' yell at ME, Jerry! I own half. You put MY STAKE up and now he might be coming for it. I own that building too. I OWN YO—"

Oh look, my finger slipped to the end call button. Whoopsie.

I feel the cigarette burning my fingers as the flame nears the filter. I drop it and pull out another one.

"Fuck...".

[pmmechanicalny4d]

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[pazodetrasalba]

Eliezer

Dear Caroline:

Well, here's a post of yours that hasn't aged at all. I don't know if you are too busy with the court case to pay attention to anything else, but you must have heard perforce of all the recent ruckus about Chat GPT and AI, and of Eliezer's coming into the limelight through a Time article and a series of podcasts -one of them, with Lex Fridman, another, a TED talk that hasn't been made available yet.

I think I mentioned in a previous instance that I am actually reading HPMOR on the side (it is too big to be the Carolingian book of a month as yet; I am about a quarter through it). I am finding it moderately likeable, but also get the feeling that it's Nerd Bait at its worst: it is the sort of text that would entice young, full-of-themselves, sciency, nerdy and gifted kids/teens that feel they know the answers to everything and are smarter than everybody else (especially the adult world). Which, to be fair, is at least partially true with some of this audience, but that's double the danger, in fact, as I fear it would delude and stoke your arrogance and self-confidence to dangerous levels and make it a bubble ready to be burst in the most self-catastrophic scenarios possible.

Needless to say, Yud seems to be quite smart, but also to show those signs of the 'obsessive-compulsive outcast with delusions of grandeur and a hyperbolic appreciation of his own genius' that would make his book and characters appealing to the previously stated audience. Quirks and gestures aside, his arguments sound moderately reasonable in public, and would feel a tad more so if they weren't so doomerist. This, in fact, seems like a self-defeating strategy: if he really believes our p(doom) is higher than 99%, there really is no rational point in doing anything (including his outreach efforts); if it is much lower, hyping it up seems a terrible strategy for being taken seriously.

One thing I do take issue though, both with him, his book and the implicit argument you make here, even if partly in jest, is your commonly held belief in the undesirability of truth made publicly known except for the 'elect' who can use it wisely. In this I intensely disagree, because as you should know by now, truth-telling is the quasi-religious foundation of my moral inclination towards Deontology, with complete indifference to consequences -definitely a crux of mine with Utilitarianism. And yet I feel there is a paradox here, as much of the ideas of HPMOR, Rationalism and Yudkowsky seem to center on an inflexible pursuit of truth and avoidance of self-delusion (even if the ultimate motivation for this is 'power' instead of 'truth' as an end in itself).

As a side note: I have never had a direct interaction with Yudkowsky, but one of the first times I read him was in a post of his in the EA forum about you. I felt he wasn't been kind or fair enough to you, and among other things, I had this to say: "As Eliezer Yudkowsky mentions Caroline Ellison's blog, I would like to say that I have been reading it of late, and even taking into account the potential deceitfulness of  words and the pictures we build with them, I do not get from both its contents and her general trajectory that she could be a morally bankrupt person. On the contrary, the impression I got is of a true believer, and a good person. This does not preclude the possibility that, under circumstances of a certain naiveté and inexperience in a field as murky as crypto, she might have let herself go along with what she might have perceived as temporary  and 'bad' expedient means. But to believe this person ever intended to purposely and maliciously scam people our of their money or be privy to a fraud is, for me, completely out of the question". I was wrong in the 'privy to fraud' part, but I would still stick to everything else I said.

Quote:

A human mind is a delusion generator, not a window onto truth. The heart of rationality is a single question: 'Do I believe this because it is true, or because I am emotionally attached to believing it?

Eliezer Yudkowsky

[kim-ruzek]

As a WOC, I absolutely love Stella and Stellaride, but since mid-season 10 and now with season 11, I feel like they have become overused. We are only 5 episodes in, but every major storyline and synopsis have had Stella at the forefront. I know she is now the Truck Lieutenant and the other half of CF's only major ship, but I don't want them to overuse her because it will become too much, similarly to Gabby from seasons 4-6.

The show needs to start feeling like an ensemble show again. As the leads, Matt, Kelly and Sevasey managed to give the show balance, if I'm honest, in a way that I hadn't noticed until Jesse Spencer left.

Like where are the storylines for Ritter, Hermann, Mouch etc.? Even Boden is being completely underutilised.

I personally can't attest to whether this applies to ep4 + 5 of s11 because I haven't watched them (and probably won't be watching fire again until either something big with stellaride happens or s12 comes along) so take this with a pinch of salt since those two episodes could've changed my thoughts on this, but I actually think it's still pretty well balanced.

I mean, technically I agree. Bc it is very Stella (and Kelly) and Stellaride heavy, but that's purely just because they're both the lieutenants and in a relationship. Their focus isn't really that more than what Matt/Kelly/Gabby used to get, it just feels more because they're double timing as both lieutenants and major ship, whereas with sevasey had the friendship + being lieutenants and then separate love storylines.

And so for me, it's not them overusing Stella, but under utilising the rest, like Ritter, Hermann, Boden and Mouch, which has been a growing problem, and honestly been a problem for quite a few seasons now. But in my mind theyre not under using them because they're overusing Stella, that's two separate problems.

I also don't necessarily agree that it'll be too much if they continue. The nature of fire has always been that the lieutenants, especially truck's, get a lot of focus, not just in personal life but in the interaction with the crew. I do think that needs to be adjusted, because other characters deserve more of the spotlight than they get, but I've thought that when Casey was the TL so it's not just exclusively a Stella issue.

And honestly? The writing in terms of giving characters balance has been going downhill since the last Gabby days, and I do have a problem with it, but as this point I'm kinda resigned to it and the way I see it is at least it's a badass WOC leading things, you know?

And the issue with Gabby, imo, is that she was overused, yes, but in a very overpowered everything is about her way that felt inorganic, but it doesn't feel that way with Stella. At least not more inorganic as the constant attention on Matt and Kelly has felt at times.

The three episodes I did watch did feel like an ensemble show to me. Not as much as it did when it first started, but more than it had been feeling. I mean there's a few characters that very obviously hasn't gotten attention in that ensemble and therefore just feels like glorified extras (Ritter being #1 for this!) But there's been enough characters who's had parts that it felt like an ensemble, just a smaller one than the one they actually have!

But this is just how I see it! And ofc I haven't watched two episodes. And the great thing about fandom is that everyone perceives things in their own way, so I hope things start feeling more balanced out for you!!!

And thank you for sending me this ask, you know how much I love hearing other woc's opinions, even (or sometimes especially!) when they differ to mine! ♥️

[crescentblossom66]

A hat in time writing prompts: Prompt 17: Ache

Sometimes he wondered what was wrong with him. He had everything that he always wanted. He owned half of a movie studio, destroyed the competition every year at the Annual Bird Movie Awards. The people loved his movies and he enjoyed making them, then how could it be that sometimes this wave of anxiety and sadness just came over him, especially when he was alone with his thoughts.

The yellow owl jolted back to reality, staring at the string of words that he had written absentmindedly. 'They jumped onto the train, jumping onto the train, leapt onto the tr-'. He growled, why couldn't he focus? Why wasn't he able to come up with something good?

He decided that maybe he just needed some fresh air, on rare occasions when he had the time, he actually enjoyed a nice stroll outside on the dusty trail that led further into the desert. As he took the elevator up to the ground floor, the ear-deafening music from his rival's set reached his ears. On the best of days it was annoying, but now was near maddening, it soured his mood even more. It was already quite late when he started writing, and they were still playing music up there. The Conductor reached for his old pocket watch, 11:23pm, those peck necks really didn't know when to quit, did they?

His thoughts trailed off again, the loud ruckus reminding him of the sheer volume in his house when he returned after a long day at work many years ago. Now it was just...empty. He shook his head to clear his mind of the bitter sweet memory and tried to focus back on finding the plot line for his next movie. The elevator arrived and he exited, dragging himself through the dark, silent sets that were so full of live just earlier today, but now were completely abandoned. He was kind of happy about that though, if the express owls saw him like this, they'd lose all respect for him no doubt.

“No, no, don't worry about it, it was my pleasure!” A cheery pleasant voice reached his ears right before he was about to open the door to the lobby. He had heard that voice before, but where?

He slowly pushed the large double doors open and watched a female cat in chef's clothes wave at the penguins on the set of his rival with one paw, in the other she had a plate of freshly-baked cookies. Her left ear twitched and she turned toward the black-clad bird, who turned his head away as soon as her bright yellow eyes fixed on him.

“Oh hello, sorry I didn't notice you there.” She gave him a big smile, that somehow dispelled some of the oppressive aura that threatened to crush him before. The normally quite vocal bird couldn't find any words to say, his mind drew a blank for some reason, he was quite thankful when she continued to speak.

“Where are my manners, I'm Cooking Cat.-” She started to walk closer to the owl, who out of reflex crossed his arms defensively, the orange cat however didn't seem to pay any attention and only came closer, stretching her paw out for him to shake, “-You must be the Conductor, Hat Kid and Bow Kid told me a lot about you. You share the studio with DJ Grooves, right?” For a moment he blankly stared at her outstretched paw before he actually grabbed it.

Internally he scolded himself for somehow being unable to talk at all, she was just being friendly and he had no issue with her. Why the peck did his vocal cords decide to not operate now of all times!

“Aye, lass, that's me.” What kind of lousy response was that!? He was the BEST director on the whole damn planet, and now she'd think that he was nothing more than a bumbling idiot!

Her expression shifted, she looked at him more closely, which caused him to stiffen and his feathers to rise up a little. “Are you okay? You look a bit tired.” Maybe she was right, he probably was to tired for interacting with others, it was almost midnight after all.

“Jus' a wee bit exhausted, don't worry yerself.” She thought a bit for a moment, her tail flicking left and right slowly as she did.

“Here, take a cookie, there nice and fresh.” The cat offered him the plate and he took one with slight hesitation.

“Thank ye.” At least he didn't forget his manners this time.

“I would like to chat some more, but I have to get back to Hat Kid's space ship, they'll worry if I stay away for too long.”

“Sure, have a good night, Cooking Cat.”

“You too, Conductor, you can call me Cookie, I like that nickname.” With that she smiled one last time, turned around and left the yellow owl standing in the dark.

The owl when remembered that he still had the cookie she gave him, he took a bite and found that it was absolutely delicious.

He wondered if he would see her again. Well, maybe he could ask Hat Kid the next time she visits the studio.