#not only have i wasted an entire Task but I have to do an equal and opposite Task to disassemble and return the thing!

[damnfeelings09]

A.N: special thanks to the lovely @xobunni0 I love how you write my boy and futuristic lovers is a masterpiece. This one is inspired in the song E.T as well as on your work, thank you darling! I suggest you all go to her blog if you haven't already.

Also, you will find OC name here (like in other pov's of mine) but this is still an xreader ff, it's just that I dont quite like putting y/n or _____ :( sorry *Also (this is the last one I promise) english is not my first lenguage so there could be some grammar errors and so, sorry in advance!

E.T - Shadow's version

“You're so hypnotizing Could you be the devil? Could you be an angel?”

190605. You entered the code, and the door made a metallic sound before opening, revealing a second door that required voice access.

“Special Agent Dr. Moon,” you said confidently. The door opened for you. You walked into the GUN facility; floor -16 was cold and dark, the lights flickering on as you made your way to room 296. You scanned your ID and waited a few seconds before turning the handle. There, in front of you, was the hedgehog you loved so much. The ultimate lifeform was lying on the cot, tossing a ball and hitting the ceiling over and over again. His ears twitched, catching the unmistakable sound of your heels.

“Back so soon?” he said, sitting up. “Careful, doc, they’ll think you’ve lost your mind.”

“And do we care?” you smiled, standing just a few inches away from the large polycarbonate cristal like wall that separated you. You quickly raised your hand and rested it against the wall. Shadow didn’t waste any time, using his speed to reach your side in one second, placing his hand against yours.

“Your touch, magnetizing Feels like I am floating Leaves my body glowing”

You didn’t really know when or how it had happened. You had been working in GUN's medical wing for five years, initially as a field medic, until, after two years, you were promoted to Head of Medical Staff. Later, you decided to focus on Mobian medicine—not because you had much to work with, but when the opportunity arose to learn more about this fascinating species, you couldn’t refuse. At first, it was just a few check-ups for Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, a few tests for speed and strength, samples of their fur and blood, studying their anatomy and physiology. While it wasn’t all that different from humans, it wasn’t exactly the same either. They healed faster, could endure higher levels of pain and temperatures—something that would kill an average human would only cause temporary damage to a Mobian. Furthermore, human diseases didn’t affect them, but that didn’t mean their diseases couldn’t cause a worldwide pandemic.

Eight months ago, Commander Hillsprung had tasked you with analyzing a different specimen. Something that wasn’t entirely Mobian, but also wasn’t human. In fact, no one was sure what it was—the Project Shadow, as everyone called it. At first, the project was falling apart. Despite Shadow volunteering, he didn’t agree with the tests they were putting him through. Five different people had tried to study him—scientists, physicists, even veterinarians—but he wouldn’t let anyone get close enough. He’d remove the equipment, refuse to give samples. They didn’t know what else to do. Just when it seemed like the research would fail, that’s when you appeared.

“They say, be afraid You're not like the others”

Shadow looked at you attentively. You hadn't approached him like the others, nor did you look at him the same way they did. Although he could sense the uncertainty, there was something else… curiosity, perhaps admiration? He wasn't sure, but he knew you were different. The fascination you felt for him was written all over your face, like a big, glowing sign. This allowed Shadow to lower his guard, just a little.

You spoke to him and recognized him for what he was—an equal. Over time, Shadow grew accustomed to your presence. You would arrive early, much earlier than the other agents, and have a brief conversation where you'd tell him about the findings you'd made about him. Shadow always listened with interest to everything you said, enjoying the fruit you had kindly brought him. He could hear the enthusiasm and excitement in your voice, loved the smile that appeared when you made a new discovery, and noticed how you furrowed your brow when the tests didn’t turn out as expected.

"It will work," Shadow would tell you as he followed you across the room from his side of the glass.

"And what if it doesn’t? I’ve failed the last three attempts. The component isn’t stable enough; I can’t reach your DNA. My samples are running out."

"There’s more where that came from," he remarked, shrugging in a nonchalant tone.

"I don’t want to puncture you with the needle again. Your skin heals in less than a minute, the wound has to be large enough to get a good sample, plus... I don’t like hurting you," you said, meeting his gaze.

"You’re the only one here who cares about me. I only trust you to do this. Besides, this will help me know where I come from, what I am, who I am."

When you heard him say that, something inside you broke. Shadow was alone, lost, and trusted you to help him learn everything he could about himself. Instinctively, you took his hand, intertwining your fingers through the small window where they passed his food.

"I promise I will."

“Boy, you're an alien Your touch, so foreign It's supernatural Extraterrestrial”

After that, Shadow had become dependent on you, and you on him. At first, you controlled it well, one or two stolen glances, shared smiles, the brush of your hands when you examined him, staying late to see him again, pretending you had forgotten an instrument in his room just to open the door and sit by his side, shoulder to shoulder, all to be close to him. That worked, until a speed test at the HRW training center (used to me High Range Weapons center) of GUN. A stupid agent launched rockets toward Shadow, boasting that if he truly was the ultimate lifeform, it wouldn’t be anything for him. Six heat-seeking rockets pursued Shadow across the platform as you shouted at the agent while trying to stop the missiles with the computer. "Let it go," said Commander Hillsprung. "But... but sir, Shad... Project Shadow is not ready yet, the tests are still incomplete in the lab, it’s too risky considering the new rings are inhibiting his powers even more." "If I didn’t know you, Agent, I’d think you were concerned about the... alien." You paled at his accusations. No one, especially Commander Hillsprung, could know that you were fraternizing with Shadow. "They wouldn’t understand," you thought. "N-no, sir, not at all. I just think about what’s best for the research," you said, controlling your breathing as calmly as possible. "Then let the test proceed. It’s time for the ultimate weapon to show us what it’s made of."

You couldn’t do anything but watch as Shadow jumped and ran, dodging the missiles. Yes, he was the most powerful being on the planet, heck… he was the most powerful being in the galaxy as far as you knew, but knowing that he couldn’t use all of his powers to save himself made your insides twist with dread. Shadow dodged four of the missiles with the grace and ease of a gazelle. He was fast, strong, precise. Every hit he delivered destroyed the missile without leaving a scratch. When only two missiles remained to be destroyed, Shadow stopped, standing still in the middle of the platform. A small smirk appeared on his face as he thought, "Is this all they’ve got? Pathetic." Both missiles were heading toward him, but just before they hit, Shadow leapt so high, leaving the missiles below him as they exploded into each other. You celebrated Shadow’s victory, while the high-ranking officials watched in stunned silence at what had happened. The agent who had launched the missiles had his jaw clenched so tightly that you’d swear his teeth were going to break. He was upset, no, he was furious. He was tired of that lab rat taking all the attention.

“You're so supersonic Wanna feel your powers Stun me with your laser “

You quickly made your way to the training center entrance, running towards Shadow while cheering him on for the excellent job he had done, your heart racing with excitement, overjoyed with happiness, as you extended your arms toward him. He met halfway, smiling, happy with what you had both achieved together.

“Your kiss is cosmic Every move is magic”

You enjoyed the moment so much, the warmth of your arms, that you didn’t notice when a seventh missile was launched directly at you. With no time to get both of you out of there, and without his Chaos Control to teleport, he decided to save you. It didn’t matter what would happen to him, Shadow only knew you had to be safe. He threw you a few meters away from him, your body hitting the hard ground and your head slamming against the wall. Your vision was blurry, and the ringing in your ears made it impossible to recognize anything around you. Someone grabbed your arm, shaking it, and in the distance, you heard your name, but couldn’t understand anything else. More agents ran to the left of the training room, and a stretcher passed in front of you. The next thing happened like a flash. The stretcher carried something black on it, cables and tubes surrounding a thin, small body, agents in lab coats running behind the stretcher. That’s when you reacted to what had happened. Shadow had been hit by the missile’s explosion directly in an attempt to save your life. As best as you could, you got up and ran after the stretcher, stumbling along the way. Your colleagues tried to stop you, but there was no force in the world that could separate you from Shadow.

“This is transcendental On another level Boy, you're my lucky star”

Regaining your vision, you approached the medical room where they had Shadow. His jet-black fur, once as bright as the night sky, was now covered in dirt and bloodstains. He wore a mask covering his mouth and nose, his breathing was labored, and his heartbeat irregular. “An arrhythmia” you thought. The panic and fear of losing him overtook you, but this was not the time to run off and cry; Shadow needed you. "10mg of adenosine," you requested from the nurse beside you as you searched for the IV in his arm. "Dr. Moon, you should..." she tried to persuade you. "10mg of adenosine, NOW, or we're going to lose him." After administering the medication, you noticed his heart rate normalized to 250 bpm, something normal considering his condition and the fact that we were talking about a supersonic hedgehog. "I want everyone out of the room." "But, boss..." "Didn't you hear what I said? GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" The entire medical team exited the room. You quickly approached Shadow, took the device you always carried with you, and lowered the power of the inhibitor rings. Shadow needed to recover fast, damn it, you needed him to recover fast, and he wouldn't be able to achieve that if he was at 10% of his power.

“I wanna walk on your wavelength

And be there when you vibrate For you, I'll risk it all, all”

"You'll be fine," you said as you wiped his muzzle, removing the dirt and blood that you found along the way. Your hand rested on Shadow's cheek, it was warm, which was a good sign, right? You positioned yourself on his right side on the stretcher, counting each breath, each heartbeat. Shadow made a sound, a tiny whimper that you wouldn't have been able to hear if you weren't just inches away from his face. You quickly removed the mask from his snout, and he slowly opened his eyes, focusing his sight as if searching for something, until he saw you by his side. "Mo-mo...on?" he said, followed by a small whimper. "I'm here," you said, leaning in and bringing your forehead to his. Shadow sighed, gently stroking your cheek, relieved to see that you were alright. "You saved me," you whispered for both of you, your warm breath meeting Shadow's mouth.

“Kiss me, ki-ki-kiss me Infect me with your lovin' Fill me with your poison Take me, ta-ta-take me Wanna be your victim Ready for abduction”

You both opened your eyes at the same time, the fire making itself present in the crimson orbs of Shadow, without thinking, without planning, you succumbed to what your heart longed for and kissed him. A deep, needed, desired kiss. Your tongues dancing together a dangerous waltz, small bites on your lower lip, courtesy of his sharp canines created the perfect mix between pain and satisfaction. Your hands stroking his quills, careful not to prick you, although at this point it was the least of your worries. The monitor that Shadow was connecting to shooting at 1000 lpm while taking you by the waist sitting you in his lap. Fuck, how much he wanted this, how much he needed this. It had been a while since the looks and smiles were no longer enough for him. Shadow had dreamed of this moment more than he would admit, spending his moments fantasizing about what it would be like to taste those pink lips, what flavor they had, if they were as smooth as he imagined.

They were not, it was even better than what he imagined.

You separated ‘cause the lack of air, with your breathing agitated, choppy, just before you pulled away, Shadow took you by surprise, giving a caress, licking your cheek, causing you to blush instantly, not because you disliked, but because he had seemed so... tender.

 Shadow’s heart rate normalized again, settling on the stretcher as a reddish blush painted his muzzle. The dim light, the rise and fall of your chest, the strands of hair falling over your face, your lips red from the make out session that had just occurred.

“A goddess” thought the hedgehog. You reached out for his hand, fingers entwined, no one said a thing, it wasn’t necessary. What you felt for each other was more than enough.

“Boy, you're an alien Your touch, so foreign It's supernatural Extraterrestrial”

[ohmytyong]

mark me in your heart [teaser]

PAIRING: drug dealer!mark x bartender!reader

GENRE: angst, smut, kinda friends with benefits au, bartender!renjun, best friend!renjun, action au

TEASER WARNINGS: mentions of alcohol, explicit scene of drug use, use of pet names

WC: tba (TEASER WC: 1,2k)

‣[PLAYLIST]: 505 by arctic monkeys, bad omens by 5 seconds of summer, slow down by chase atlantic, why do you only call me when you're high? by arctic monkeys, a little death by the neighborhood, okay by chase atlantic

SUMMARY: when a sensitive and broken heart meets another one of the same nature, their instinctive reaction is to seek comfort in each other, and in order to heal themselves, they both need to be equally strong and willing to put all their broken pieces back together. but sometimes, some hearts aren't strong enough to be saved; the only way to save them is if the stronger heart of the two is willing to take the risk and try for the both of them, whatever it takes.

A/N: i forgot how long i've had this idea sitting in my drafts. i think it's time it saw the light of day and i think it's better if i share this with you

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“Hey Renjun, pass me that glass” you said as you wiped the thick tall glass completely dry before you put it back on the shelf behind you. You were moving mechanically at this point, the exhaustion of the long night at the bar taking over your entire body. It was 5 in the morning and you had just barely managed to kick out some of the remaining drunk nobodies who were so wasted, that their toxic-infused brains couldn’t even give them the signals to move their own bodies.

Working at the bar wasn’t your dream job but it’s not as if you had a better choice. It was either a bartender or a stripper. Both of them sounded equally bad, so you decided to opt for the slightly better one. If you could even say it like that.

It wasn’t a particularly ideal job but it was enough to get you by. It earned you enough money to buy you food and pay the rent at the motel you were staying at, it got you as many free drinks as you needed to help your mind escape from all your worries and you also got to meet some relatively cool people, so that was somewhat good. The working hours weren’t such a big of an issue either, you couldn’t really sleep anyway. So you were fine with it.

Most nights, the bar usually closed at around 3 am. There wasn’t a set rule on this; it usually depended on how many customers there were and how much they were drinking. Your boss had suggested that you shouldn't keep the bar open all night long, so you kinda decided that it was best to close a few hours after midnight. You weren’t complaining about this though; the sooner it closed, the more time you’d have to get high with your co-worker Renjun at the alleyway behind the bar.

Unfortunately, tonight luck wasn’t on your side, as a group of friends kept on drinking more and more as the hours passed by, which meant that you and Renjun had to keep the bar open until later. You weren’t opposed to this idea, it only meant that you would earn a little bit more money. It was Renjun who started complaining, so he decided to take action into his own hands and practically dragged the drunks out of the bar.

This is how you ended up cleaning up the place this late, rather this early in the morning, with your co-worker. The two of you were too tired to speak, so neither of you made any efforts to spark up a conversation. You both just attended to your respective tasks, waiting for a specific somebody to show up.

Luck surely wasn’t on your side tonight. He would usually show up at around 3:30 am, right after the bar closed, and he would have all the stuff ready, just at the exact moment you needed it. Why was he late today?

It didn’t take a genius to understand that Renjun was clearly affected by the lack of the stuff. He moved around the place nervously, tugging at his hair and stomping his foot rhythmically. He was in a desperate need of it, and you would honestly lie to yourself if you said you didn’t need it half as much as Renjun did.

You put the last clean glass on the shelf behind you and went over to the storage room to grab a broom, so that you could clean the floor a bit while Renjun was still wiping the bar counters. As soon as you closed the door of the storage room, the little bell that hung above the bar’s front door rang with a tinkle and soon after it followed the sound of the so familiar footsteps you were waiting for all night.

“Hey kids, Santa’s here,” his voice resonated in the empty room as he waved a small transparent plastic bag that looked white because of its content. Renjun threw the handkerchief he was holding to the other side of the counter and dramatically jumped over it to go and hug the male who just entered. All of that just at the sight of the clear plastic bag with the snowy content.

“Mark, what took you so long my guy, I’m literally a dead man walking! Give this beauty to me,” Renjun exclaimed and snatched the plastic bag straight out of Mark’s hand. Mark smirked at what Renjun said and immediately started grinning at the sight of the boy’s eagerness.

Renjun went to sit on the bar stool closer to him and placed the bag on top of the counter he had just wiped clean. With slender fingers, he opened the plastic bag and dredged some of the content on the counter. With nervousness in his movements, he set the bag aside and shuffled through his back pocket to find his ID card. He started scattering the white dust all over the counter before he gathered all of it in a straight line with the help of his ID card. When he was satisfied with the result, he put his ID card back into his pocket, lowered his head to the level that his nose touched the cold surface of the counter, took a deep breath and snorted the entire line of crack, the product going straight up into his nostrils.

Renjun blinked several times before he slowly lifted his head. He scrunched his nose and wiped it with the back of his hand, his drowsy eyes looking surprisingly bright considering his state. “Man, whoever hasn’t done crack, never, they haven’t known the beauty of life yet” he chuckled. Mark smirked at Renjun’s comment and you couldn’t help but shake your head amusingly, a small smile creeping up at your face.

Renjun took the plastic bag with the rest of the cocaine and put it in his pocket. “This baby’s for me, thank you,” he amused and turned his heel towards the storage room. “Don’t come look for me, I’ll be right here. If I take too long to come out, then you should be concerned,” he said and closed the storage room door behind him; a scene that was surprisingly quite familiar to you.

You then set the broom down and walked towards Mark. “Hey” you whispered and Mark greeted you back in a low husky voice. “What took you so long? We were expecting you to come earlier” you asked him.

Mark shrugged and leaned his elbow against the counter. “I came by at our usual meeting hour and saw that you guys were still open. I couldn’t risk anyone seeing me so I decided to drop by later,” he said and you nodded in understanding.

“You do have more of those plastic bags on you, don’t you?” you asked him and he chuckled. “Of course I do, pretty. Let’s go outside and treat ourselves a bit, shall we?” he suggested and you nodded again, walking beside him towards the alleyway behind the bar.

* .♡ *:･ﾟ✧ ⋆ ࣪.* ࣪.⋆

TAGS: @peachjaem00 @bbyyhyuck @vdollys @positionslab @matchahyuck @renjun-fairy @back2jisung @doieslefttoe @uwuheeseungie

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[count-lucio]

a series of ramblings on what Lucio's life looked like after losing his arm

all headcanon, of course. i wanted to touch on what Lucio's life looked like between losing his arm and commissioning his current prosthetic, as it's never directly touched on what he did with himself during that period. enjoy!

- i'd like to preface this by saying that it infuriates me how this is never touched on in the game because god! i cannot even articulate what a devastating blow that was to him

- i mean, quite literally, obviously, because he was injured to the point of needing amputation, but in a much deeper sense- Lucio turned to mercenary work after being chased away from his clan and homelands by his mother with nothing but the clothes on his back and a sword still stained with his father's blood the only skill he could really implore to, you know, survive, was what he had been trained to do his entire life, fight - and kill.

- so facing a substantial amount of healing time in which he would be heavily incapacitated, and knowing that even after that he would be incapable of returning to the only life he knew, he was nothing short of devastated. this was the second time in an incredibly short period where he was losing everything all over again and would have to claw his way back to a semi-comfortable life

- however, this time Lucio wasn't quite as alone. for the past few months Lucio had been employed under the previous count of Vesuvia- count Spada. Spada had taken a liking to Lucio, impressed by his skills in battle and charismatic personality- even moreso impressed at Lucio's dedication to his work, especially after seeing him lose an arm because he was too headstrong (or perhaps too arrogant) to desert the battlefield even when most of the men fighting alongside him had already been defeated.

- Lucio's first few weeks after his amputation were spent at camp, healing under the care of Nazali and Julian. however, no mercenary band stays stationary for more than a few weeks at a time, and Lucio was forced to admit he wasn't fit to fight - or travel anymore. as he was packing his things, Spada came to speak with Lucio, and asked Lucio to accompany him back to Vesuvia, offering him a place to stay at the palace for the foreseeable future. Lucio, equally fond of Spada, accepted immediately.

- Lucio healed quickly once in Vesuvia, becoming more and more invested in Spada's work and the comings and goings of the city as he did. Spada took quick notice of this and wasted no time in taking Lucio under his wing- he was an older man, with no heir or close family in Vesuvia, and admired Lucio's capability to be both ruthless and charismatic- traits he himself shared that made him an effective and respected leader.

- however, despite his fascination with Vesuvia, Lucio was still heavily impacted by the loss of his arm and was clearly not the same confident, boisterous man Spada had once hired. his newfound disability had taken a noticeable hit on his confidence and autonomy, and both out of concern for his friend and out of a desire to shape Lucio into someone fit to rule Vesuvia after his death, he took it upon himself to commission a prosthetic for Lucio.

- this arm was incredibly different than Lucio's current golden prosthetic- it was fashioned in a way that closer resembled his appearance during his mercenary days, made of a darker, more bronze-tinted gold and leather, with a much more practical design. additionally, Spada knew no magicians as powerful as Asra's parents, so Lucio didn't have nearly as much control over this prosthetic as his current- although it was still crafted with a few small enchantments that allowed for basic movements and crude fine motor skills.

- with this new prosthetic Lucio regained much of his confidence; and although he still struggled with many delicate tasks, he was no longer quite as defenseless. he was, of course, endlessly grateful to Spada- the two of them growing incredibly close, very nearly like father and son. it took little time for Spada to propose that Lucio inherit rule of Vesuvia after his death and Lucio, ever in search of power, gladly accepted. Spada took it upon himself to spend the next few years training Lucio, teaching him everything he knew in the hope that Lucio would one day become as powerful of a ruler as Spada was.

- eventually, Spada did pass, as his age and declining health caught up to him. in his death, he left full control of Vesuvia to Lucio, naming him his sole heir and entrusting him to rule the city. shortly after becoming count, Lucio commissioned himself a new arm- his current ornate golden one. Lucio felt both as if he needed a more powerful prosthetic to be an effective leader, and that he deserved such now that he was the count. however, his old prosthetic has remained safely in his room ever since, a small reminder of his friendship with the previous count. (Lucio could still wear it if he chose to, and perhaps even would if he needed to disguise himself! it certainly stands out much less than his golden one does)

[thecoolerliauditore]

Interesting perspectives.

I'm a big baby who mostly just dislikes LL for being the "meanest" season, with everyone backstabbing each other, no compelling dynamics as well as some of my least favourite dynamics in the whole series (truly it was the season that belonged to my beloatheds), and too many big groups (not fond of groups larger than 3, more than that makes interactions get lost and alliances weak in an uncompelling way. a duo/trio can realistically trust each other and have a personal dynamic, a quartet+ are just early episode roommates (this is a problem that is a result of the length of the seasons, I think if they were closer to 12+ episodes larger teams would work better, but I also think if a season stuck around that long everyone would be sick of it)).

And also yeah if you ask me to remember much of anything that happened in the last 2/3s besides an unrelenting wave of betrayals and abandonments I'd be hard pressed to think of anything. I can't even remember most people's last deaths. The map was also the most Eh map in the series, never knew where anything was, was all just ambiguous forest. Session 2 was good, though, entirely because of Lizzie. And, I also watch things as casual entertainment first and foremost, so most of my first watch enjoyment is "did this pov make me laugh/cheer on their antics". LL very rarely made me do either.

I waver back and forth between it and 3L being my least favourite, though, cause 3L was genuinely just kinda boring unless you cared about either desert duo or renchanting. And I kinda liked both but I didn't love either. People weren't as funny and didn't know each other well so they were awkward, they still didn't know what they were doing, and the map outside the desert was wasted (a particular quality of each season that people don't talk about nearly as much I think, setting quality). I can only enjoy it casually as background noise, I rarely get pulled in.

I know this one is an unpopular opinion because the last two seasons can't go a single episode without some controversy by monday, but to me the life series generally is one that gets better every season. Though I think SL was its peak even if it didn't have any particularly compelling teams, the gimmick was the best and everyone was at their funniest and enjoying themselves the most, the gimmick lent itself to being bent to the needs of the game such as lightening the blow of the wider gap of final deaths by having Jimmy return as a ghost, or giving the reds tasks to do damage. It was good at creating both personal moments and server-wide moments.

Double life is my favourite though, because no objective qualities can beat out favourite characters and first entry bias. Also the small amount of deaths and inherently having someone to share it with made every single one memorable, and it had one of the best maps with the ancient city and canyon. And every single team memorable and well-utilized base, as well as being the season that finally forced everyone to get to know each other which the later seasons benefited from greatly.

Yeah, in my head 3L and LL are slightly like test runs and DL is where the series really got on a roll. Grian said they didn't even know what they were getting into with 3L and I think you can tell that by the over-correction into DEATH game territory LL did before DL reeled it back in and they found more of a balance for the rest of the series.

(Actually "5th is the best, 3rd is my fav" is the exact same opinion I have about pokemon, funny enough. Maybe its something)

But I also think that comparing seasons is a bit like comparing apples to oranges since every single one is so different besides the base 'death game' concept. Like I like 24L and WL equal amounts but also they don't have a single thing in common so I find it hard to even put them side by side. And, of course, RL is just... its own thing entirely.

This is why I rotate stuff like the funny evil bdubs interpretation chart/cycle so much because essentially all the reasons you listed for disliking 3L and LL are reasons they're my favourites e.g. the awkwardness, the distrust you could feel in larger groups, the overall meanness, so on.

They felt absolutely like. the most DEATH GAME out of the series, DL still felt like a death game to me albeit with a slower pace and much more focused on conversation and drama than action. LimL marked a very distinct shift in tone for me although that was also the first one I watched as episodes were coming out so that might've been a factor. SL and WL so far feel more like Mario Party than Death Game with maybe the exception of the very last episode of SL feeling much more like something that should've been in an earlier season due to the lack of tasks.

I think we're all biased towards our own fav seasons but tbf I think the "controversy" with each new episode of WL is more. me being grouchy than any real significant drop in retention? You can correct me on this I am absolutely not watching the numbers but I've definitely seen people like the direction the series is taking which is honestly cool w/ me cus I feel like Grian knows that in competitive situations with time it either goes the funny minigame RNG route or the sweaty min-maxxer route and I and most people I feel like would much rather watch the series go more in the direction of funny RNG than Last Life 2 where everyone employs the smajor strategy of not making enemies, making a base in the corner of the map, only teaming with 1-2 people, etc. Plus it's going to be kind of hard to fish back the distrustful atmosphere of 3L/LL when it's six seasons in and pretty much the entire cast are friends.

Anyway yeah the apples and oranges thing is very correct, it's more or less a different vibe completely and why death game stories that are intended as death game stories usually don't rerun the same cast lol <-- although the "they are stuck in a horrifying death game loop forever to the point where they dont care anymore and find it kind of fun" angle is something I find really cool to think abt with this series.

One of the reasons I like LL over 3L actually (other than the very strong first season I watched bias) is the fact that 3L was a rare situation where I felt like there was a very clear A plot/B plot that emerged with main and side characters. Bdubs' POV in his last episode was literally just brewing potions in his house whilst a million death messages flooded the chat lol.

I still think 3L might be the strongest narratively and its "b plots" although not as flashy as desert duo vs dogwarts have some really cool stuff that have left me fucked up forever mentally (flower husbands I'll never forgive you) but yeah. Compared to LL and the seasons that come after it does feel like the one where all POVs are equal but some POVs are more equal than others. Especially when LL was a massive fucking mess in terms of its alliances where every single team had some sort of massive dramatic moment.

Thinking about it now I think I like the life series for the same reason I like those. "100 player battle royale" videos where I more or less look at it from an angle of an unethical psychologist. Holy shit okay um I was about to make a joke about how I would be Zimbardo instead of Freud if Zimbardo was dead and I didn't think this would be the way I found out Zimbardo died last month holy shit post cancelled I feel bad now

[bagalois]

100 days of productivity - 2/100

dec 20, 2024.

☐ schedule eye doctor appt ☐ get flu shot ✔ played lots of video games and called my friends ✔ read "foundations of combinatorial topology" (introduction + section 1)

don't forget your daily clicks! (arab.org) 🍉 Help Yasmin's family survive the war in Gaza

notes. the empty boxes are things that i was gonna do today, but instead it was snowing all day and i didn't want to drive or go outside, so it never got done lmao... i did read a little bit of this book/collection of lecture notes by Lev Pontryagin though. i want to just skim this over break (too difficult to learn rn) so that i can gather the general ideas, get a handle on some of my favorite definitions/theorems, and save the deep learning for whenever i actually need this.

i read the intro and section one - it rushes through a bunch of background stuff, like linear independence, orthonormal bases, and inner products. then they introduce "general position" (will talk about this later) and they define convex shapes.

i started reading it very closely at first, thinkning a lot about the proofs given, and honest i was wasting my time before i caught myself, like,,, calm down, stop overthinking stuff you don't care about, lev pontryagin isnt going to materialize from the grave and assign you homework.

and so yeah, while i technically wrote "i read the intro and section 1" i only completely read the first two and last two pages. but i think it still counts that i read it because the whole thing is only 9 pages. that's almost 50% !!

what i learned: one thing that stood out to me was "general position", which means that if you have m points in "general position" then any subset of k (less than or equal to the dimension of the space) points is also independent. that seems like a very convenient notion to have, but i've never done math that needed it.

in fact, there's a pretty interesting theorem stating that if you have a system of any m points, you can boop some of the points and suddenly they are in general position. (or in technical terms, "any finite system of points of R^n can be brought into general position by an arbitrarily small displacement.")

that's all the interesting stuff from this section, at least in my opinion. well, it's interesting because i haven't seen this before and the theorem has a cute visual (some points that you just tap slightly and voila, general position)

i doubt i will be able to read the next sections as quickly though, because much of it will be new material to me. i might even skip entire sections if i realize i dont care, but i think i will try to read and learn something from every section. it's not even a big book so. yeah i think i can do it.

tomorrow i have a hangout planned so im very excited for that :D my friend's coming over and we're just going to cook. cooking is like math in a way - the people who know how to cook think it's obvious and easy, and the people who don't know how to cook find the task monumentally challenging. i'm in the first camp, but i know enough people in the second one that i do understand its hard.

okay i've yapped enough, i'm going to shut up and play unpacking now lol. good night my friends~

[aniimamundi]

Pride & Prejudice - A Drarry Tale

(Read previous chapter)

Chapt. 5: Theo

For Theodore Nott, every single day was an exercise in patience. As a young genius, his life was a tragedy performed on a cruel stage where he was forced to waste his precious time on meaningless tasks and friends who could never hope to be his intellectual equals. The only joy came from stolen moments that he could devote entirely to intellectual pursuits.

After an evening spent wrenching gnomes from the earth, he cast a cleaning spell on his work boots and put them in their usual space, below the bench in the foyer, next to its right leg and exactly a forefinger’s length away from the outer edge, the laces neatly tucked inside. One of Vince’s dirty boots was almost touching his, which gave him pause. He crouched and used a pen to shift the offending item to a safe distance.

Theo then walked to his room, took off his clothes, placed the shirt in the laundry bag, and folded the rest. Then he washed his hands and face. Greg was pounding on the bathroom door but he ignored that and proceeded to carefully count and arrange the toiletries, after which he washed his hands again.

With all of that out of the way, he finally got to the activity he had been looking forward to all day. Grabbing his copy of The Monthly Alchemy Review, he found himself a comfortable seat in the parlour and with a happy sigh opened up the section on pipetting apparatus on sale.

His joy was cruelly cut short by Mrs. Zabini, who noticed what he was doing as she passed him by. “Hmm … darling, I'm afraid you’ll have to cut short on your geek items this month.”

Theo could only gasp in indignation before she tutted at him. “Now, now, don't be like that. Remember, each member of this household is making monetary contributions to the communal Beltane celebrations. Meryton is all set to make a spectacular show of it. Isn't that delightful!” she clapped her hands.

“No! It's bloody well not delightful!” he cried out. “Last year we had a single bonfire in the town centre. Why can't we just do that?”

“Because, darling Theo,” drawled Draco, who was sitting on the armchair with his legs propped up, reading a book, “there were no Weasleys to impress the last time around.”

That was the stupidest thing Theo had ever heard and he made it known. “That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Ask bloody Weasley to pay for the celebrations. I don't even like socialising. I only go because you all make me! My time is precious.”

“With that attitude, Ron Weasley will never fall in love with you.” Draco smirked, but Theo was too riled up to detect his sarcasm.

“Good!” he shouted, jumping up from his seat. “I for one would reject Ron Weasley even if he does try. He barely scraped through his NEWTS. He probably can’t even list three different runic categories.”

“What’s with the shouting?” Blaise walked into the parlour, a sleep mask pulled up on his forehead.

Theo was getting more and more agitated at the thought of sacrificing his lab purchase of the month for the sake of stupidity. “Ron Weasley is a buffoon,” he shouted. “And I would never accept his advances.”

“Uhh …” the front door creaked open, to reveal a confused and amused Ron Weasley. “Sorry, but I was knocking for some time and the door was open, soo …”

(Read next part)

[brokenlibtard]

Fag Academy

Epilogue

(Link to Chapter 1) 

Several years after the raid on Lambda village I found myself doing my daily routine of cleaning Master Aaron’s home, preparing his meals for the week, and otherwise using my time to ensure Master’s time wasn’t wasted. Master Aaron had the television on in the living room and a story was playing on Fox News about another successful raid on a suspected faggot hideout. In the years since the alpha males of the academy destroyed and dominated our entire village there seemed to be a new story like this every month. 

Thanks to the interrogation techniques used by the men once they had taken us back in any and all fags who knew about other fag hideaways they knew about. All it took to get them to rat was locking them in a room with a pair of used jock straps tied around their head and wrists along with a dildo molded after an alpha’s cock. After a while nature would take over and the fag would ride itself into a state of brain-dead delirium at which point they were putty in the interrogator’s hands.

Of course each new raid brought a new set of fags who had new information on other settlements. Some fags even volunteered to be spies to infiltrate the hideaways before the raids so that more information was gathered and less fags had the chance to escape. After the raid on Lambda Village I knew that was where Jamie and Enoch had ended up. They would become buddies with the free fags like all was well only to stab them in the back all for the reward of being gang-banged by the officers performing the raid.

It made me almost jealous to think about. I’d asked Master if I could perform espionage alongside them, but he just backhanded me and said I was far too stupid to ever be trusted with that type of operation. Of course he’d know best. Because of his part in the original raid, Master had impressed some high up people in Washington, D.C. and so he was able to fast track and join the Federation for Androcentric Gain, Beta Abuse, and Straight Hierarchy (FAGBASH) as a member of their Fag Hunt squads. 

Although, I was certain Master Aaron hadn’t had a part in the raid in this story. Usually when one of his raids was in the news he took pleasure in having me kneel in front of him and suck his cock while they recounted the story. Every time he made sure to remind me that this whole set of dominos had started because of me and pathetic fag love affair with Jeremiah. It used to make me a little sad knowing I had caused such damage to ‘free’ fags everywhere, but after a while I came to realize that all of them would be ending up right where I was. With their mouth glued to a straight man’s cock. Knowing that my stupidity was helping lead them to fulfilling their purpose like that now made me feel warm inside.

It was thanks to Jeremiah that I had had that realization. On that night when I first returned from the raid covered in alpha piss and cum he had come up to me and embraced me in a hug. He whispered in my ear, “Looks like we’re both ‘useless faggots’ now, huh?”. The echo of my own words had stung a little bit at the time, but I know I deserved it. After putting him through all of my talk of gay equality after he had seen the truth I’m sure it felt good to see that I had also accepted the truth. After that Jeremiah helped me become a better faggot for Master Aaron, at least when he could find the time in between serving his new owner, Nick.

Nick was currently a lawyer working at an international firm which helped to deal with incidents involving foreign fags being seized here in the United States. Apparently it was a common diplomatic issue in which certain states which had yet to adopt the same hierarchy as in the U.S. wanted to free captured fags who were considered citizens in their homeland instead of property like they are here. Of course, this was only temporary, Jeremiah had already told me that Nick aspired to one day become president and take on the task of using the country’s immense power and influence to force our allies to adopt the natural system of straight superiority into their legal systems. Jeremiah was thrilled by the fact that he could possibly be a fag owned by a sitting U.S. president and worked hard to ensure Nick had the support he needed.

As for myself and Master Aaron, I was happy now to live every day basking in his straight glory. As I finished plating his dinner I brought it out to him and kneeled before him as I always did.

“Thank you for allowing me to prepare your meal, sir.”

He took the food from me without acknowledging my presence as always. Wordlessly he kicked off his shoes and pointed to the floor. I bent down and took his feet into my mouth like I had so long ago when I still believed myself his equal. I chuckled to myself at the thought.

“What the fuck is so funny?” Master asked above me.

“Nothing, sir. I just remembered how silly of a faggot I used to be when I still believed in fag rights.”

Master Aaron snorted, “God you were stupid. I mean, you still are, just like all homos, but at least now you’re just stupid for straight cock like nature intended.”

“Thank you for showing me the light, sir. I can’t imagine what life would’ve been like if you nev-”

*SMACK*

Master Aaron slapped my face with the sole of his foot.

“Alright, shut up, bitch and get back to your duty.”

“Yes sir!” I dove back onto his toes as he commanded and sighed in bliss.

This was just how it was always meant to be.

Straight men at the top and fags beneath their feet to worship in their glory. The sooner we all accept that the better.

[tuesdayx]

Sam Hill

I'm honestly still amazed with myself that this song ever saw the light of day. I started working on it at the same time that I was writing "432111", which makes these two sister songs as far as I'm concerned. The goal was to make a song that captured the essence of 90's hip-hop.

There's likely several Sam Hills in any part of the United States and other parts of the world. I've never been to a single one. I'm not sure why I gravitated towards that name, but usually when I'm writing songs from scratch I'll give it a working title based on whatever comes into my head first and change it if I need to later. "Sam Hill" itself is a traditional literary representation of Satan or the Devil. This ended up fitting perfectly for the tone of the song as it lyrically centered around themes of hedonism and controlling forces in our lives.

A good majority of my time was spent tightening the rhythm section that carries the song from beginning to end. At the time I was trying to avoid using my typical setup of either guitar or some kind of keyboard, so how should I fill the rest out? How about a horn section? Not just a horn section; a horn section with a flute solo! Throw in some haunting xylophone and some sitar and that did the trick. This was the first album I made where I purposely quantized everything in the event that someone else would end up collaborating on the album with me (which didn't happen.) Despite that, on tracks like this I still opted to record entire sections in one take rather than doing small bits for every part and looping them.

The album carries a theme overall where I utilize different vocal modulations to represent different aspects of myself based on the subject matter of the song. My "main voice" I refer to as Tuesday, who typically represents a more laid back yet fatigued energy. The "low voice" I called Rex, representing introspection and wisdom as well as a voice trying to consolidate my masculine self from the toxic masculinity I was raised within. The "high voice" is Tiny T, representing the youthful spirit I refuse to let die as well as exploring my insecurities and doubts as a struggling human being with many flaws and mistakes under my belt.

Lyrically this song dances around the primary themes of hedonism, resentment, and a lack of control in one's life. Each voice gets a roughly equal chance at telling different stories that all led to my decision to abandon my former life and pursue my dreams as an artist.

Starting with Tuesday, I'm straight up explaining my current living situation. I've been homeless for a year now and traveling when funds and opportunity have been available, sleeping in the back of my car or couch surfing with whatever friends I happen to have in these areas. My life up until this point, I feel, has been wasted working for other people and inserting myself into relationships I was unprepared for. My struggles with substance use and infidelity never helped my case either. As I've said before, Hip-Hop and Rap generally are more lyrically arrogant genres, so I wanted to flip the script and shit on myself a bit to show that I recognize where I've failed before, I can laugh about it, and I'm actively working on preventing myself from making those mistakes again.

Next we have Rex. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, this entire verse is pretty much me ranting about how my father. Specifically, his controlling nature and constant need to always be in the right. I idolized him growing up, despite only seeing him maybe 4 months a year, and looking back on it I realized he not only negatively influenced me as a raging misogynist-sexist-racist, but he also made me insecure over my intelligence as a child and my confidence to perform most manual labor related tasks.

Finally, Tiny T wraps things up by alluding to my sketchy behavior in relationships. For the record, I never did "fuck hoes or pop pills" with my friends. If anything we'd smoke some weed, talk about South Park, and eventually my guitar would come out and it would turn into a game of JukeBox. Despite this, I tried to justify wanting to do things without my then-partner, as she was doing the same thing without me. I'm sure we both made each other insecure by doing this, and we were both guilty of coming home late at night reeking of smoke and booze before flopping next to the other in bed. The end of that relationship tested my sanity, and situations like that led me to suspect other things were going on, but I recognize I was simply looking for reasons to be upset when I directly pushed away from me with my behavior.

In the end, it turned out to be a pretty fun song and catchy song I hope people would want to sing along to the same way they sing along to their favorite classic hip-hop anthems. Don't cheat on your partners, and don't stay in relationships you're unhappy in that can't be fixed by communicating.

Favorite line: "I'm going up to Sam Hill. My friends are coming, they're chill. Hey babe, what's the big deal? I ain't fucking hoes or poppin no pills."

[volcanicobservervigil]

La La Land 2016 Review

I owe being a romantic to musicals. They depicted feelings so intense, they simply had to be expressed through song. Some emotions just beg to be danced to, hence my love of classic films – my parents enjoyed them too – and awe of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. Astaire and Kelly, in my eyes, were among the most fascinating stars in cinematic history. Unlike traditional films, love in musicals was different; they expressed love not just through actions, but transformed it into art, pure and unblemished closer to true romance.

Since the days of Rogers & Astaire, we’ve had some musicals, but not many that attempt to recapture the fluid, magical thinking in which characters interact through dance just as much, or even more, than they do through spoken dialogue. “La La Land” by Damien Chazelle is remarkable in how it focuses on movement and music, not just lyrics. Most modern movie musicals, which are based on Broadway shows, pay greater attention to songs that advance the story. As Chazelle proves, choreography matters; a refrain played on the piano can be far more powerful than words. This is a beautiful film about love, dreams, and the effects they have on each other. A partner is sometimes what it takes to make the dream come true.

"La La Land" begins with a bit of a trick in that its ensemble number is of a type that we will not really encounter again in the movie. Drivers are stuck in the worst traffic jam L.A. has to offer when they start to sing "Another Day of Sun," a piece dedicated to how each day offers fresh hope for the aspiring artists, young and old. The drivers exit their vehicles and start dancing on the freeway. Right away, Chazelle's direction and the choreography seems different. Throughout the film, he works with long, unbroken takes. It is rest assured that you not only see the dance steps, but the entire body of the dancer performing them. After the boilerplate introduction to the city of dreamers, we meet two of the Sebs (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone), sun-gazers. As any good musical does, these two know that they have to get to where this is going. Let me tell you, it is hard to resist hoping for them to be together.

The first major landmark scene is the lengthy walk shared by Sebastian and Mia while the sun sets over Hollywood hills. They begin to note some similarities in each other. Mia is sick and tired of attending meaningless auditions where the producer doesn’t even look up from his phone. Sebastian clings to the ideal version of jazz and wishes to open his own club instead of selling out and playing greatest hits for tourists. Also, Sebastian and Mia experience a clear, instant chemistry. Despite singing about how they are not a couple and bashing the stunning night for being wasted when not with true partners, their bodies unveil another tale with a beautifully choreographed dance number. Gosling and Stone are neither great singers nor dancers, but they bestow so much personality and dedication into every single step that it hardly matters. They are not stiff and captivated, they are fluid and engrossing. We witness them fall in love through dance.

It surely helps that Gosling and Stone possess the kind of star power that made many of those iconic era musicals unforgettable. He's smooth and charming; she's smart and attractive. These phrases may appear overused, but they are quintessential movie stars. And, naturally, they’re equal to the task when “La La Land Watch here Fmovies” requires greater depth, discovering characters so rich that the film would work without the music would argue otherwise. Everyone knows it’s about passion, and how simple it is to lose sight of your aspirations. At times, another person is needed to guide you back on track to rediscover it. Gosling and Stone understand these characters, securing grace in their movement, emotional depth in successive arcs, and Stone has never been better.

“La La Land” remains an intentional tribute to classic Hollywood glamour. The couple goes to the cinema to watch “Rebel Without a Cause” (which ends in one of the most enchanting sequences in years). Other films are also referenced, such as “Casablanca” and “Bringing Up Baby.” Dozens of films have attempted—sometimes pessimistically—to portray the glamour of Hollywood and its capital in Los Angeles, but Chazelle’s vision strikes me as distinct. It shows respect towards “Singin’ in the Rain” and Jacques Demy’s “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” instead of directly copying them.

For those who struggle with staying hopeful, like in this year for example, it is easy to fall deep into negativity. When immersed in such thoughts, it becomes easy to believe that love only exists on the silver screen and dreams are impossible to materialize. “La La Land” restores the hope that has been lost by showing that there are still movies that capture the essence of magic, and in turn, enable reality to be filled with beauty.

Since 'dreams' is one of the words that gets brought up in the entirety of the text – "Not so much another day in the sun, as the characters sing in that opening number." Dreams can have multiple people's lives surrounding them as long as there is a collaboration. For example, a family or group of friends who are closely knit or a part of one another’s ambitions.

The term dancing here stands for a poetic expression, needed specialized context to be interpreted and translated for meaning such as ‘keep us moving forward.’ So, retaining the meaning, we perceive words and phrases literally to engage the surrounding scope as we include why we pursue to advance ‘wake us up’ meaning progress towards treating that dream as a reality.

In simple terms, every single person is dream driven, having varying levels of motivation, resulting in the pursuit of striving towards a goal conditioned by how differences solve incompatibilities. Which is only achievable for that family if the head of the household or other adult or minor is working, earning or pursuing.

Whiplash 2014 Review

Nobody 2021 Review

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One 2023 review

Babylon 2023 Review

[undonedores]

Update and considerations

13.05.2025

Day 59

- Group project 3h50

- Flashcards 1h

Total time 4h50 | Flashcards 238 | Questions none

14.04.2025

Day 60

- Flashcards 45min

- Group project 1h

Total time 1h45 | Flashcards 170 | Questions none

Some considerations 🐎

Since I don't consistently post, I completely missed the final day for the 60-day challenge. To be fair, it wasn't my best attempt, but I need to take into consideration what worked and what didn't so I can improve next time.

Mistakes:

- Not planning my day properly: a lot of issues I faced was because I didn't decide what I should do previously and didn't take my classes into considerations. Some days I stay the entire day at college and there’s much studying outside of that I can do except reviewing flashcards

- Youtube: the mindkiller . I don't use social media a lot, but youtube gotta be my main source of entertainment. And I watch long ass videos. This is an issue I've been facing for a long, long time, and I still haven't found a solution. Abstaining myself never works because I stop for like a couple of weeks or so and then go back to it worse. Nowadays, what I'm trying to do is block the app during work hours with an app, and it seems to be working. Of course, sometimes I find other ways of wasting time, like playing Love Nikki and talking to family and friends. However, these are self-limited waste of time because there's only so much I can do on LN (especially because I don't spend money on it) and I can't talk to my family and friends all the time (and I only talk to them irl, so at least I'm not using my phone). Youtube, though, is a never-ending pool of content.

- Not doing more questions: I learn best when answering questions and correcting them. I don’t like doing it because I get a lot of wrong questions, so it's not satisfying, but I need to do it more. Even if I don't fully know the subject, I learn by my mistakes. It's very frustrating, especially because I didn't study everything, so I think it's unfair when I get a question wrong. But I'm just being a bitch about it. I gotta do more questions. It's just better. Besides, I'm PAYING for the questions and I'm not using it. It's absurd. It's like paying for gym and not going.

What I did right:

- Started making a PHYSICAL list: I have an empty planner, and I started using it more consistently this month. I think it's better to keep track of things because it's something I always look at (unlike tumblr, where I only use every now and then). It's very satisfying to cross the stuff I did and also make considerations during it. I can make some cute doodles as well, which motivates me. It's nice having Nikki cheering me up when I do well or being disappointed when I fail to accomplish my tasks.

- 12 hour challenge: I swear I thought I couldn't do it, but I did it, and I was so proud of myself. I understand that time studied doesn't equal quality study, but I think it's good to try and keep focus for so long. Besides, because I'm a slow learner, I get to spend as much as I need on a subject. I wasn't even tired. I was locked in the first hour, I thought of giving up on the third, but I managed to keep a consistent effort on the next ones. I tried repeating the challenge on the next saturday, but because I was busy with this project, I couldn't study. I have so many projects to get done. I just finished one today.

Neutral:

- Chatting: I spend a lot of time talking to my friends at college. Time that I could spend studying. However, it's also time I don't spend on my phone. And it's fun. This period is easy on us, but next semester, it'll get tough, so I guess we're enjoying while we can.

Anyway, I'm still studying, even if the challenge is done. I'm keeping track of my stuff, although I don't post here. I'll think of another challenge soon enough. One that's better and more thought out. Next week I'll be very busy, so it might take a while, but I'll come back.

[packagingbyjose]

PROJECT ONE: PLANNING + CREATIVE PHASE (+ FIVE R'S)

1st Draft of Rationale:

Challenge

In this project, we're tasked to redesign a wasteful package of our choosing. I decided to choose a granola package by KIND. The biggest constraint that comes with this project is that food is involved. Food is tricky as there are some regulations and restrictions to keep in mind to ensure that it's safely contained and maintain food quality.

Reducing the size of the packaging is essentially the main goal of this project as there's a lot of space that's unused by the actual product, which in this case actually helps preserve the freshness of the product but does still result in a lot of wasteful packaging. One of my main challenges will be finding a way to decrease the size of the overall packaging while ensuring the freshness of the product.

Since it is a food product, this comes with a lot of nutritional labels and wording that is mandatory. Design-wise, this means that I will have to rememeber to include the nutritional labels and other packaging labels which might influence the way I redesign the overall package itself. Aesthetics, Sustainability, and Accessibility are going to have to be equal rather than Aesthetics being the fore front of my focus for this project.

Approach

Currently, I have two approaches I can take with this project. My first approach is turning the plastic packaging into a box. I know, not the most inventive and original idea ever BUT I do think this has a lot of opportunities to not only be incredibly sustainable and cut down on the unnecessary, this could also turn out to look good as well. The shape of a box is very versatile and there are countless ideas I can come up with to incorporate different elements that can make the packaging unique and its own.

My second approach is replicating the same shape of the original packaging but with sustainable materials and possibly a smaller footprint to again, lose the unnecessary space throughout the entire package. This approach will require a bit more critical thinking to plan out how the packaging will look and be built. This approach gives me more area to work with and will allow me to spread out the mandatory regulatory labels with the brand design. This could result in a more "experimental" looking design. Although, this also could result in extra space being unused. Demonstrated in the illustrations above. Still a decent approach nonetheless.

Outcome

It's hard to say how this project may turn out. The moment I saw my chosen packaging, I immediately came up with my two main approaches among many others. I'm pretty confident with the overall ideas and concepts I have at the moment. Once I have a clear direction I think everything should be quite easy to work with, I already have a printer in mind that can really make my idea exceptional so I will be in contact with them soon as I'd want to build a decent relationship with a print servicer as soon as possible to ensure the highest possible quality.

It's still quite early to determine the status of this project but as it stands right now, I'm fairly confident I can really execute this and come out with a real life exceptional 3D product.

Five R's

This was a really great activity to get my ideas flowing and make rough 3D prototypes. This was where I was able to get my two main approaches. I didn't have my package for that class which did limit me at some points but it was a great foundation to start my ideation and think about how my final mockup might look.

09/30/2024

[dangan-infinity]

The Final Volume - Chapter 2 Post

Whether it was harder to find a book that called to you or run from it, you all eventually managed to complete your task. Where the shelves had spun off into infinity before, a familiar red door appeared in one of the aisles. Word spread quickly, and soon you'd all assembled before it. Time to move on, as always.

The handle turned without resistance, and the churning wasteland stretched out before you. Another bridge, another car ahead. Maybe that one would give you some way to end Neko-Neko's game. Was that what you were hoping for? Were you hoping for much of anything, at this point?

Either way, you found yourself passing through without hindrance, the air outside the Train a little warmer on your face. 

At least, most of you.

With a faint sound only vaguely reminiscent of slamming into a wall, Jack marched straight into something that bounced him and only him back into the library. He stumbled but stayed on his feet and tried again, a little faster—but the result was the same.

Perhaps it’s Viper’s guilt at burning the checkout register, perhaps it’s something else entirely, but hearing Jac—no, Jagal, trying his hardest to take the books, she knew she had to try and do something. Maybe she didn't know why keeping these books was so important to him—but she could hazard a guess, after they’d snooped so much into his life. His mother, his father, his sister especially… it had to be hard for him. To be forced to think about them again. And once again, she’d messed up someone’s chance at healing. 

“Hey—” He bounced back from the door, and she reached forward, just lightly gripping onto his bag. “Jagal—” Maybe he’d listen if she talked to him. The true him, not… Jack. Worm her way in there, she knew it could go very badly. Very, very badly. But equally, she wanted him to understand that she wasn’t out to hurt him. Not at this stage.

Jack warily tugged his bag out of Viper's grip. How did she know his name? Had she—

"...."

No. Absolutely not. It must've just come up somewhere else, at some point. Not like it was his most tightly-guarded secret.

“I don’t think they’ll let ya take ‘em wit’ ya—I-I can ask. But ya prob ain’t gonna be able t’.”

Jimithy stepped up, as unamused as ever.

"Already told both of you, you can't check out a book that doesn't have a register. A real one."

"And you can't leave with a book you haven't checked out. Put it back." He grimaced. "Or on a return cart, fine. But you're not leaving with that. Don't waste any more of our time."

Viper picked at a thread on the end of her glove. “It’s… prob best ya leave ‘em here anyway. I dunno if ya’d want ‘em ta get hurt… damaged…’n all.” Viper raised her gaze to him—having tilted it to the floor. “Look, I’unno if I’ll get anywhere. An’ I know ya gonna try’n act like ya rejectin’ every bit’a niceness. But I wanna know ya. An’ I don’t care how much ya try’n stop me.”

Tag-teamed, huh? It was true, Jack didn't have any registers, and the train out there couldn't be safe for a book unless he never tried to open it. Would being damaged hurt them? Surely not, if they were already dead, but...

"....."

"Fine."

He withdrew a slim volume from under his hoodie and set it gently on the floor. Not even the return cart, huh.

"Not like I'm much 'f a reader, anyway."

He stepped through the door, this time without any kickback—apparently that was the only one he'd had. Those of you who hadn't made it past before all the ruckus followed him out.

Even after all that, it was just back to the usual march. Everyone onto the bridge, onto another door...

Everyone. Right?

The fastest walker had already laid hands on the next door by the time you realized your head count was down one. It didn't take long after, though, to find Jack back at the library doors, propping them open with one hand. He swept a look across you all, hesitating briefly at Viper. But only briefly. With a swift step, he was back on the carpet.

"I'm not leaving her again."

The doors slammed shut before anyone could even think about getting in the way. The handle spun with a ratcheting noise and locked back into place again. Anyone trying to turn it wouldn't succeed.

...Ah. Well.

Considering the party involved, it was hard to feel bad about leaving him behind. A relief, if anything. Though you couldn't be sure exactly how this place worked, if he could still come after you later... Maybe it would have been more of a relief if you were sure he'd die in there. 

Not... not that you wanted a person to die! But, well, if it had to be anyone...

"Jack? The game isn't over yet...! I-I can't guide you home if you're not here, nya..."

"Eh, it'd be too obvious if he did the next murder, anyway."

"We're sure the rest of ya can do better by yourselves!"

"B-but there isn't any food or water in that car! As his Stationmaster..."

"That's his own problem. We don't gotta call every single death a murder if it ain't one."

"We've wasted enough time here, don'tcha think? Onward!"

"........"

Despite the particularly split personality at play, Neko-Neko still gestured expectantly at the next car. No more dilly-dallying on your part.

No reason to, anyway. Whether it had locked automatically or Jack was manually blocking it, the library door wasn't about to open. Was it even your business to keep trying? If none of you would be blamed for him choosing this fate, why try to save him? He certainly would've done no such thing for you.

Something still felt rotten in your stomach as you moved forward.

[Forum Post]

[600shekels]

2 Chronicles 29: 18-24. "Hairy Boy Mysteries."

18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported: “We have purified the entire temple of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table for setting out the consecrated bread, with all its articles. 

19 We have prepared and consecrated all the articles that King Ahaz removed in his unfaithfulness while he was king. They are now in front of the Lord’s altar.”

What is the meaning to offer something of the nature of the sacred to Hezekiah? Meditate for a moment on the meaning of the root of the word, hazak:

 The irony of his life is that the greatest leader of our people never realized his greatest dream, to enter the land of Israel – a mission only to be achieved by those he left behind.

An important lesson emerges. Often, in life, we think that there is nothing we cannot accomplish. The culmination of each book teaches us—no. No one leaves the world fulfilling all of their dreams, all of their hopes and expectations. In the words of Rabbi Tarfon, it is not for any of us to complete the task (Avot 2:21).

The story is told of an elderly man who plants a carob tree. “Foolish man,” a passerby proclaimed, “why do you waste your time? Surely, you will not live long enough to see the tree produce.” The old man sighed and responded, “My father planted trees for me and I, in turn, must plant trees for my children.”

Notwithstanding that no one can fully complete the task, Rabbi Tarfon adds that we are not free from doing our share, from embarking on our goals with our utmost energy and strength. This in fact, may be the deeper meaning of the refrain: first we proclaim hazak hazak—be strong, be strong, let us each make sure to do our share, knowing all along that we will not complete every goal.

But then, we call out together, ve-nithazek, may we be strengthened in the recognition that together, our task be concluded, even if it takes generations to make it a reality.

Each moment of happiness is a task that brings the next generation closer to theirs. Happiness is freedom from slavery, from error, from pride. The absence of these things implies all is well around us and around others.

We may not be able to accumulate all of the happiness we dream of during this lifetime, but who wants to stop trying?

What are the conditions we must task ourselves with if others are to have an equal chance at happiness in an environment that will not hold them back? Inwardly and outwardly?

First we wake up:

20 Early the next morning King Hezekiah gathered the city officials together and went up to the temple of the Lord. 

21 They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs and seven male goats as a sin offering[a] for the kingdom, for the sanctuary and for Judah. The king commanded the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer these on the altar of the Lord. 

Each Day of the Seven Days that mark the passage of time during one's life, we sacrifice the Seven Bulls, the childlike attitudes and rebelliousness we have, using our horns instead of our eyes and ears.

Seven Rams are Ramboys, adolescent assholes that want to fight and argue over everything using not one substantive argument at any time. Bulls get aggravated, Rams are impulsive and lock horns when told to reign it in.

The other kind of young male boy is a lamb, a stupid thing. A total dumbass.

The Seven Male Goats are the hairy boys that are intelligent but need to be herded and put into friendly service of something greater and more important than their pubsecent brains can visualize in their inexperienced impudent states.

Hairy Boy Mysteries are what this is all about.

22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and splashed it against the altar; next they slaughtered the rams and splashed their blood against the altar; then they slaughtered the lambs and splashed their blood against the altar. 

If you want to be happy, you are going to have to self-police your childlike, animal like behaviors and make peace with duty, with certain terms like driver's licenses, ages of consent, laws, responsibilities and how things tend to go in spite of wishes and expectations. This is what is meant by splashing the blood, it is a a peaceful investment in one's happiness in spite of how much at the time, an eruption of emotion or regrettable conduct might seem more appealing.

23 The goats for the sin offering were brought before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them. 

Sin offerings are performed through the making of an atonement. Grown ups accept the consequences of their actions and take steps to prevent the recurrence of sin. The purpose of the Temple Sacrifices and this entire section, where Hezekiah reopens the Temple is to prevent future losses of happiness using the Temple as a means of communicating good sense from one generation to the next.

Atonements are strategic action plans that take place within oneself, one's marriage, one's household, they take the shape of policies in the government to continually fence off the causes of poverty, impropriety, the elements, wayward economics, and cut them off before they do too much additional harm.

We may not be able to see the future but we do not have to repeat the past and we can certainly act in the present:

24 The priests then slaughtered the goats and presented their blood on the altar for a sin offering to atone for all Israel, because the king had ordered the burnt offering and the sin offering for all Israel.

God loves the goats. Goats are young men who are between the ages of 13 and 25, who must be conscripted into religious education and service for the sake of the health and wealth of the planet.

To allow young men to flounder about the purposes of their faith is to establish a flock of psychos that will end up doing the wrong thing and likewise teach their offspring incorrect things.

The Gematria for this includes 6076, "11" [6+10+7+6=29] or "Teach these commandments to your children."

Also:

20-6-2-6-6-20-19=ךו‎ךווךיט, "a little bit."

The objective of practice is to keep a little bit of ego, but not too much:

What Is Ego?

. . . and is it kosher to keep just a little bit?

Question: Are egos really as bad as they are made out to be?

The short answer: Ego itself is not so bad. It’s just when you think you have an exclusive on it that the trouble begins. None of us have an exclusive. It’s more like a limited franchise.

The long answer: The chassidic masters called it the ich and so did Freud. In English that’s “the I.” Talking about looking the I in the eye gets rather awkward, so we say ego instead.

”Ego.” Sounds so innocent and manageable, like a little pet you are trying to toilet train.

The mystics of many cultures teach how to surrender the I, to be washed away in the oneness of the Infinite Light where all sense of ego is meaningless. The moralists demand we at least diminish our sense of “I-ness” and start thinking about otherness. The primal failure of the Tree of Knowledge, Nachmanides writes, was this obsession with the “I”.

But the “I” is not something I have. It is me. Now this is scary: What will be with me if I lose my I? Do I really want less me? After all, who will take care of me if I’m not around? And how on earth am I expected to rewire that which is me myself, anyway?

 “Each person, by innate nature, sees himself as the unique human being, with exclusive rights to all of reality— just as Adam asserted his mastery over the entire world immediately upon opening his eyes. When a human being sees another human being with another ‘I’—which per force must diminish the dominion of his ‘I’—the instinctual response is to ‘swallow his fellow alive,’ to absorb this other ‘I’ within his own ego.

The other is permitted to be a subject, an employee, a student, a fan—but never ever another ‘I’. Among the common people, it is only respect for a higher authority—‘the fear of the government’—that tempers somewhat their own ego and allows them to make room for others.”

To slaughter the goat is to find room for I and also the rest. To actually accomplish this is a sign one has finally grown up, achieving an aspect of his Shabbat. We call this process solving a Hairy Boy Mystery because no one, especially a goat boy knows when it's going to happen or what it's going to feel like until it is finally done.

[lilyblackdrawside]

I am expanding on this because I'm not just being a facetious contrarian here.

This got long. Click to expand.

Pre-World camp:

Before World, all you could do in the camp was receive provisions, deliver quest items and sleep to refill health and recover from ailments.

So let's take the following scenario: You've taken a quest that tasks you with hunting two monsters.

One has several nasty paralysis-inducing attacks that, if they land, generally lead to a cart. You're fairly experienced in fighting this monster and feel capable of not getting hit by those attacks, but when hunting this monster you still equip for paralysis immunity out of reasonable caution. It is weak to fire element and pretty much immune to thunder.

The other monster inflicts either fireblight or poison on every attack it performs, forcing you to spend a lot of time curing these ailments as otherwise you have to use a lot of healing items to restore your health and run the risk of getting taken out from your health having dropped too low. You're not very experienced in fighting this one and the few times you did, you geared for enough fire resistance to be blight immune and also for poison immunity. It is weak to thunder element and pretty much immune to fire.

You can only equip defensively against one of these, there isn't enough space for skills in your gear for both.

Before World, you had to weigh your chances. Trust in your experience with the monster that can 1-2 cart you with its paralysis and equip defensive measures against the other one or risk wasting a lot of time and possibly running out of healing items but eliminating the volatile threat by equipping paralysis immunity. Because running out of healing items was also a consideration, especially when fighting unfamiliar monsters. There have been particularly dire times where I went out and gathered materials to make more potions during a quest. What element do you use on your weapon? Do you use one that both are equally weak to, like a non-elemental or an ailment weapon? Use one that works really well against one but not the other? You decide.

Post World, you equip against one monster, hunt it, go to camp, switch equipment to counter the other and hunt that one.

My choice for this scenario would be to use a fire weapon and defensive gear against fire and poison, then hunt the paralysis monster first, relying on my experience with it. (Or if you have a hunting partner, you can each gear for one monster and go after them individually.)

And this doesn't even go into the Gunner experience. I haven't played with ranged weapons in the older games and I hardly do now, but it was probably quite a bit different when you couldn't just hop into camp to replenish all your highest-tier ammo at will.

Pre-World monster tracking:

Now, I don't hate World's monster tracking. It's really thematic and flavourful and what I actually don't like is how it works in Rise oopsie teehee. They both do auto-track the monster, even indicating tiredness and capture status for you, but the difference is that in World, you have to fight the monster for a while for the extra info to show up and you first have to track it to begin with. In Rise, you hop into a quest and everything's visible. Gee, I sure do wonder what that single questionmark monster could be, certainly not my quest target.

In the old games, you had to throw a paintball at the monster, which would last for five minutes and showed you its position on the map (which was only fully revealed if you carried a map item in your inventory). paintballs were entirely disposable and if you just grabbed the ones provided by each quest, you'd generally end up with more than you need over long periods of time. But the point is, that you still have to first find the monster each time on the quest. Now, this might sound tedious but it really isn't, because as you fight the monster, you get used to its macro movements. Where it likes to be at the start, where it goes to eat, to sleep and so on. You even get a feel for when it tends to leave the area for the first time when fighting it. With flying monsters, you can track them by where their shadow goes when they leave too.

With all this, you soon enough don't even need to mark the monster anymore because you know where it goes. In World and Rise, you also get this kind of feel for their movements, but I'm just not feeling it compared to the old games.

As for extra info on the monster - you could get that with skills. There's a skill that gives you capture status and tiredness and even one that indicates the monster's position either at the start of the quest for a short while, or forever depending on its level.

You get more used to the monster and start to outplay it not only on a micro level, but also by predicting its macro movements and it feels quite nice.

Pre-World potion drinking:

Stand there, have your sippy break and flex and then take a hit to the face. It's how we do things. It's just iconic, okay?

Separate map areas:

This one's just preference. You can call me old for this one. I might just be exhausted from Rise's mediocre maps and the fear of Wilds having unnecessarily large maps. Whenever a long-running series of games introduces a mount, it's for ulteriour motives. They give you a mount, because they made the map bigger, so now it's a pain to traverse on foot. If the maps didn't get bigger, we wouldn't need a mount. It's all Big Horse's fault. Nobody wants a horse. I can't stand horses I know Wilds' mount isn't a horse I don't care I don't like mounts in (action) games.

Right stick attacks:

It was a good system. Just give button attacks as an optional control scheme, it's fine.

Underwater combat:

It was good, if a little unripe at the time and if they did it again now it would be amazing. Everyone's more used to three-dimensional movement now anyway, what with Rise making everyone fly and even World giving more Upwards Movement. Flying is no different from swimming in this way.

Think of all the designs! 50/50 land and water maps and monsters, fully underwater maps and monsters with just a little land for us to start out on. It would be so cool! But no, just because it wasn't "perfect" in Tri, we're just never doing it again, gotcha. Lagiacrus languashes in ankle-high water until the end of time.

Other stuff that I just remembered:

I want separate Gunner armor back. But! When you craft an armor piece, it's already both sides and adapts to which type of weapon you're wielding. What is it that I'm actually wanting from this, since this sounds a lot like what we have in World and Rise? 1. More deliberate stat difference between Blademaster and Gunner armor. Right now, Blademasters take less physical damage and Gunners take less elemental damage, but before the merge, Blademaster armor had more defense and lowere resistances and vice versa, which was relevant in that it was noticeably harder for Blademasters to become immune to blights, especially with the more restrictive skill system. (which I also want back, complete with negative skills because they were really flavourful, even though you'd just negate them with a single decoration to get them under the activation threshold. They were fun.)

2. More deliberate skill differences. Right now, some sets are just The Gunner Set or in the lategame, some equipment just has skills for both, like how uhh... Kushala has like Handicraft and Spare Shot? Stuff like that. If we have properly separate equipment, they can have a more purposeful design.

3. Different looks. The first thing that comes to mind for me is the Low or High Rank Zinogre set. I don't remember which, but I was checking out the pieces and thought the Gunner version looked so sweet! But I was a Blademaster! Can't wear it! And I certainly wasn't going to use a bowgun. You could've argued me into a bow.

That's it.

What I want back in Monster Hunter:

Pre-World camp

Pre-World monster tracking

Pre-World potion drinking

Separate map areas

Right stick attacks

Underwater combat

Probably more that I can't think of right now

[bonny-kookoo]

Snowball princess is entirely drabble based. I write what people request for it 🫥

It iss?? Can I please request for angst with princess and kook? :)) (Y'all, dont come at me😶 i love them too i just..)

You answer your angst 🤧 this is set earlier in the timeline, OT7. WARNING ⚠️ for drowning.

---

Everyone trusts staff with you, no questions asked.

They've known you for just as long as they have- and almost everyone has bonded with you along the way, seeing as you're around almost all the time, attached to the band like the sound of their voices. Especially on shootings like these, at the beach, it's making everyone happy to see you happy, running around and having fun. You remind a lot of them that sometimes, it's fine to just be you and waste the moment for nothing else but amusement.

However, not everyone likes you- some merely tolerate your presence.

It's always been somewhat of a problem here and there- but one that's hard to deal with, seeing as no one can be forced to have a positive standpoint towards you. Hybrids are, down the line, still a pretty hot topic- and not in the good way. You're still even after so many years seen as something rather controversial to have around, and due to the difficulty of the entire topic, it's hard to find clear ground for some people.

However, even most of those who do not like you are at least civil with it. They'd never put you in any danger.

Most of them, that is.

No one knows how it happens, or why- you've been playing around in the sand one moment, and in the next, you're gone, and some staff is screaming for help as she watches you be taken underneath the water's surface, body being carried away from the shore. When the members see what's happening, most are frozen in shock-

All but Jungkook, who barely remembers to put his phone down before he runs as fast as he can, uncaring of his clothes or makeup or anything as he dives in to swim for your by now unmoving body. Your eyes are closed as he carries you back, and everyone gathers in shock as they watch the maknae drop you a little harshly to the sand on shore, hands on your chest on pure instinct as he begins to pump your chest.

It's quiet except for some quiet whimpers from a female staff that's in shock, while the rest can't help but watch the scene in horror- a manager in the background on the phone, having dialed for an ambulance. He walks closer to Jungkook and puts the respindeming agent on speaker to instruct the idol on what to do, as he follows every task and word that reaches him.

He doesn't cry. There's nothing to be seen on his face other than determination.

"Come on..!" He grits out between his teeth as he goes in again after trying to help you breathe, hands pressing down hard on your ribcage. He's felt something odd earlier, but he can't seem to think about it in the rush of adrenaline, only goal in his mind is get you to do something.

Everyone else on the sidelines is in different moods.

Taheyuhg is angrily trying to find the person who neglected to watch you, Hoseok joining the talk equally as riled up. Namjoon is pacing with his head in his hands while Yoongi can only watch in horror as your body just fails to respond to anything on its own- only moving from the constant efforts of his bandmate to Revive you. Jimin is silently at his side, unable to really figure out how to help. And Seokjin is at the maknae's side, trying to help, but too scared to do anything.

"Come-!" Jungkook keeps cursing, panic slowly boiling in his veins. "-back!" He continues. The paramedics arrive finally, letting Jungkook keep doing what he does as to not interrupt any efforts in keeping your heart beating, though they do set up several things in order to help.

Only now, as he watches the man in official uniforms tend to you as well, does it hit Yoongi. You're technically dead right now. Your heart isn't beating. You're not alive.

You're gone.

And suddenly you're moving, jin instantly helping you to your side where you splutter out the water that wasn't invited into your lungs in the first place. It's desperate, the way you try and get all the liquid out, coughing harshly in a desperate attempt to breathe again. "Keep going, it's okay.." one of the paramedics soothes you as you keep coughing, all while Jungkook drops to his heels, breathing heavily from the effort, clothes clinging to him from the wet seawater. "There we go, good job!" The official responders praise, Jins hand on your back as you finally take your first breaths again, tears continuisly falling.

He's never seen you like this; pupils blown wide, no clear emotion on your face, entirely on survival mode. You're shaking, trembling, and he worries.

"Its normal, especially for hybrids. Let's put that on here alright? You can lay back down honey, there we go.." the paramedic effortlessly instructs as you lay back down in the sand, Jungkook carefully lifting your head to lay on his thigh.

Even for him, the situation truly hits right now.

"You did a wonderful job. Both of you." The man tells the idol and you equally, as your tail begins to weakly wag, earning some exhausted and relieved sighs and sounds from all staff and the other members. "Well take her in, just to be safe. She inhaled a lot of water and that can give a high risk for pneumonia." The medic explains, and Jungkook nods.

"I'll go with her." He says as if it's the most obvious thing.

"Are you sure?" Jin asks, and Jungkook nods- again, as if it's the most clear thing in the world.

"Yeah!- yeah, someone's got to stay with her. I- I'm done shooting my stuff anyway-.. yeah. I'll, I'll stay with her." He rambles, eyes looking at nothing before he seems to snap out of it. "Right princess? I'll be right by your side, I won't leave." He reassures you, instinctively aware that you have a fear of hospitals. "I won't leave.." he mumbles, more or less to himself and you, but maybe also to soothe himself.

He's running on autopilot, but for now, they all let him.

Yoongi excuses himself from the crowd to cry to himself for a little as the situation crashes over him- Jimin offering silent support to him as he slowly controls himself again.

Both Taehyung and Hoseok talk to management about the staff that neglected your supervision, but they'll both break down later tonight back at their homes, when realization hits.

It'll be fine.

You won't leave.

[justmenoworries]

The Malware Rewrite Part 2: Present and Overall Arc

Heads up: This is part 2 of the Rewrite project.

If you haven’t yet, read Part 1, ‘cause a bunch of things in here will not make sense if you go in blind.

If you have, welcome back!

As you probably guessed by the title, this part will focus on Malware’s appearances in the presence, meaning the flashbacks that take place after “Trouble Helix” and OVs present, how I would change them to improve his story and his character arc in general. Part 3 will be focusing on the end of said arc and his redemption.

Alright, on with the Rewrite!

Of Predators And Prey:

Let me take this opportunity to mention something I forgot about in part 1. The ending of “Trouble Helix” would still be Khyber extracting the data he needs, but it’s not entirely clear which time period he got it in.

To clear up any confusion: In the Rewrite, Khyber gets his info on Ben’s powers and Malware’s whereabouts shortly after “Trouble Helix”, maybe about a few months later or so.

So Malware being back on Ben’s ass in “The More Things Change, Part 1″ would not be anachronistic. (No, I totally did not register this little writing fumble of mine only after I posted part 1 of the Rewrite, what are you talking about, haha ^^’‘)

Malware’s appearance in “Of Predators and Prey, Part 1″ Is kind of perfect as it is, but in order to fit in with the Rewrite’s story, I’ll have to tweak it juuust a little bit.

So Malware returns to Dr. Psychobos’ lair after his fight with Ben in “The More Things Change, Part 1″, having successfully obtained Omnitirx-software.

The thing that would be most changed in this version of events would be the dialogue and one scene in particular.

So in the original, when Malware shows him the software, Psychobos, after being a dick about Malware’s condition messing it up a bit, asks him how he managed to get it in the first place, then shows disbelief when Malware tells him he got it from battling Ben 10. To which Malware retaliates by grabbing and throwing him.

In the rewrite, the conversation is instead more about Psychobos’ and Malware’s current arrangement and how it came to be.

Psychobos: “Hmm. Crude, corrupted, incomplete. But still, a suitable partial blueprint. So breaking you out of that little private prison Azmuth built for you wasn’t a c-c-complete waste of resources after all. Though your defective state might prove to make this task challenging.”

Malware: *grabs Psychobos and lifts him up* “Your opinion of me is not my concern, Cerebocrustacean. Can that massive, pink blob you call a brain built an Omnitrix from this?”

Psychobos: *uses his electric powers to shock Malware, prompting him to yelp and let go* Sir, and I use the term loosely, I would suggest you keep your hands to yourself, if you know what’s good for you. As for your question, constructing a level 20 tech-device will be no more difficult for me, than it would be for a baby G-G-Galvan to soil it’s undergarments.”

This change in conversation establishes a few things from the get-go:

It was Psychobos, probably with help from Khyber, that broke Malware out of his imprisonment.

Malware may work with Psychobos, but only out of necessity. He doesn’t like him one bit.

Psychobos sees Malware not as an equal partner, but as a pawn and looks down on him for his incomplete state. Yet he also seems to have plans for him. Why else would he go to the risk of breaking him out of a high-security facility?

Psychobos is not a pushover. He’s able (and willing) to use force, in order to keep his associates in check.

Malware’s appearance in “Of Predators and Prey: Part 2″ stays unchanged, since literally all him and Psychobos do in that episode is picking up Khyber and roasting him about getting his ass beat by Ben and Rook.

Though I think it would be Psychobos who tells Khyber that “for his sake” it would be better to do the job right next time, since I wanna make Psychobos into a more threatening villain in this Rewrite.

Outbreak:

As with “Of Predators and Prey” before, I would make only minimal changes to Malware’s  apearances in the episode.

The beginning stays the same, but with a few tweaks. Khyber is still struggling to get control of Zed after her Nemetrix malfunctions and Malware complains to Psychobos how the Nemetrix is very obviously not working.

But while Psychobos complains, Malware notices that Khyber is breaking out a whip-like device, obviously to get Zed under control. Before he can use it, Malware steps in and uses his strength and size to subdue Zed peacefully. He also gives her a few barely noticeable pets after she calms down.

This scene is to show that Malware is capable of empathy and also foreshadows another change to his backstory I want to make in ths Rewrite, but that I won’t spoil here. Basically, Rewrite!Malware has a soft spot for Zed in that moment because she, like him, is suffering from the incompetence of the person who was supposed to take care of her.

Psychobos gives his spiel about how they need the Omnitrix’ core to complete the Nemetrix, which is going to be a tad tricky because, as Malware remarks, Ben has the Omnitrix and he’s currently in the very well guarded Plumber Headquarters. Khyber immediately volunteers to get it, but Malware counters that Khyber’s obsession with making Ben a hunting trophy will just cause him to mess up again and that Ben is inconsequential to their actual goal. Khyber argues again and while doing so uses the weird laser-device he had in that episode to incarcerate Zed, which obviously causes her pain.

Cue Malware aiming hs Tachyon-gun arm at Khyber and threatening to un-alive him if he can’t control “his mutt”. However, with the added scene from before, this remark and action hold a bit more weight, since Malware isn’t just being a murderous asshole here like in the original episode, he’s relating to and defending someone he relates with from her abuser.

Psychobos jumps in, electrocutes both Malware and Khyber and then skittles off to get the Omnitrix core himself.

Malware would show back up together with Khyber when Psychobos returns with the core and repairs the Nemetrix, stabilizing Zed. Instead of Malware it’s Khyber who starts to bitch about how things were done. Because Psychobos went to Plumber HQ, Khyber didn’t get his chance at a rematch (rehunt?). Psychobos tells him that Ben isn’t important to their plans while Malware is patting Zed in the background who is obviously ejoying it.

Smash cut to black as Psychobos does a hammy evil laugh.

Malefactor

So here’s where I’ll make one of the biggest changes. Because “Malefactor” isn’t going to just be a part flashback-episode anymore. It’s going to be a Malware-centric flashback-episode. One half will be the flashbacks, the other will be the regular episode. Because let’s be real, the Mt. Rushmoore flashback was superfluous as heck and really only served to explain where Malware got his gun-arm. We can just do a slight retcon and still fit that little detail in.

We start right off with a flashback, this time with Malware still in the secure facility Azmuth put him in to ignore him some more to keep him safe so he could work on his cure. Malware is sitting in his cell, not really doing anything. He hears some steps and looks up.

Malware: “I figured it would be you. Haven’t you gotten tired of trying to ‘redeem’ me by now?”

???: “Nope! Besides, without me who’d interrupt your regularly scheduled brooding?”

The person steps into the light and reveals herself to be....Eunice, smiling.

Now the Ben and Rook parts of the episodes would remain unchanged, with Ben fighting Zed and Rook fighting Khyber. Aside from the episode’s ending, there won’t be too many changes here, so let’s focus on the flashback parts first and foremost.

The flashbacks delve more into Malware’s time in imprisonment after the events of “Trouble Helix”, how he met Eunice and how she kinda had a hand in his mental state improving. Until Khyber broke him out, that is.

Eunice is revealed to have been moved to the facility after completing her last mission for Azmuth and because Azmuth is a shitty father who doesn’t know how to communicate with his offspring outside of a professional enviroment, he just shunted her off to do a job very few people wanted until he had another mission for her.

So Eunice plays the part of Malware’s warden in-between missions. Unlike all his other wardens though, she isn’t afraid of him. She’s friendly and open, talking to him without a hint of scorn and treating his disablity not as something that makes him a horrifying monster, but simply a part of him.

Surprisingly the two get along quite well. Malware is still a bit distrustful of her, but he still talks to her more readily than he does to everybody else. They bond over both being anomalies and beings Azmuth has dismissed as “mistakes”, with Eunice even telling Malware about how Azmuth wanted to throw her into storage after she emerged before being convinced otherwise by Ben. This would lead to an exchange a little bit like this.

Malware: “And despite this, you continue to be in Azmuth’s service?”

Eunice: (shrugs and smiles) “It’s not that bad. At least running errands for him means I don’t get to see him that much.”

Malware: (huffs) “Then I suppose I should be grateful for my imprisonment as well. He has not bothered to show up here at all ever since he had me put in this cell.”

Eunice: (looks at him sadly) “Malware, I know you’re angry at him. And you have every right to be. But believe me when I say, he is trying to find a cure. It just-”

Malware: “Takes time?”

Eunice: ...

Malware: “I have heard that many times before.”

Of course Eunice still works for Azmuth, so she isn’t there all the time and has to leave quite often to do whatever errand runs or other jobs he assigns her.

And let’s just say the time in-between Eunice’s shifts isn’t all rainbows and sunshine for Malware. His talks with Eunice have become the few bright spots he has in his existence, though he would never admit to it. All of his other wardens don’t exactly treat him like a person, more like a caged beast. And a big reason for that is that everyone knows about his attack on Galvan Prime and his taking the First Thinker’s assistant hostage.

That being said, they don’t exactly treat Eunice right either. To the Galvans she is little more than Azmuth’s intelligent robot that he sends out to do his dirty work now and again and while they respect her abilities, they don’t really respect her personhood.

It’s yet another thing Malware and Eunice bond over, which would have another dialogue in the vein of Malware questioning how Eunice turned out so different from him. Azmuth treated her like trash, still does and while the other Galvans aren’t nearly as bad, their behavior toward her leaves much to be desired.

Eunice would respond that it does bother her how she’s treated and that she would be lying if she said she feels no resentment at all toward Azmuth, but that she has decided long ago not to let others determine who she is. She isn’t a tool or a thing, she is Eunice. She knows this and so do those who really matter. Besides, she would add with a little smile, back when she emerged she had someone who showed her kindness when she was scared and insecure and who helped her assert her identity and stand up for herself. This showed her that the galaxy isn’t just filled with jerks like Azmuth who would dismiss her for being who she is. Just because others think you’re unnatural or a monster doesn’t mean you are. You still decide on who you are at the end of the day through your actions. Malware grows silent at this and seems to honesty think it over.

The last part of the flashback would take place at a point in time where Eunice was absent from Malware’s prison due to another mission she had to do for Azmuth. Malware is already a little down in the dumps because of this and it doesn’t help that the other wardens are being their usual “pleasant” selves toward him. And of course, this is when Khyber stages his assault on the prison to free Malware.

Khyber pretty much curbstomps the security together with Zed and walks over to Malware’s cell, who was kinda just forced to watch all this happen without being able to do anything.

Malware: “Who are you?”

Khyber: “Your ticket out of here.”

He disables the lock and the force field keeping Malware in his cell dissipates. Malware is hesitant because 1. he doesn’t know this guy and he has pretty severe trust issues already 2. maybe part of him is still hoping that Azmuth will find a cure like he promised and running away might throw a wrench in that.

And then comes the security back-up and what would they carry with them but the big, scary Tachyon cannon. It was originally meant to be strictly a back-up weapon, to be used only if Malware really went off the deep end and started actively attacking or even killing people.

But because the Galvan wardens see Malware as an out of control monster first and a person second, they bring it along - and actually shoot him in the ensuing scuffle. Now what happened in the original Mt. Rushmoore scene happens here: Malware reassembles and is now royally pissed. He grabs the Tachyon cannon from the security squad holding it, absorbs it and makes it part of himself, resulting in his second mutated form.

Malware then lowers his gun at the Galvans who now suddenly try to appeal to his better nature, explaning that the Tachyon cannon will do severe damage if he fires it at them. Malware gives his chilling “A bonus” - remark, only now you can kind of understand where this cold-bloodedness is coming from. Those are the jerks who have treated him as less than an animal and were fully prepared to shoot him dead then and there. Now that he has a modicum of power over what are basically his abusers, of course Malware’s not in a merciful mood.

But just then, who should appear but Eunice, finally back from her latest mission and immediately rushed over when she heard the holding facility was apparently under attack. So she runs into the room, sees Malware aiming the cannon at the scared Galvan guards and Khyber and Zed standing next to him, Khyber looking pretty amused about the whole thing.

Eunice calls out to Malware in the hopes she can talk him down and prevent the situation from escalating. She half-succeeds. Seeing her does calm Malware down enough to refrain from blasting the Galvans, probably remembering what she said about not letting the world turn him into a monster. But there’s still no way he’s gonna let himself be locked up again after all this is over. So instead he thinks fast and fires into the ceiling, causing parts of the building to collapse. In the ensuing chaos, Khyber, Zed and Malware manage to get away and onto Khyber’s ship, which then manages to fly away from Galvan B unhindered.

After they’re in the clear, Malware demands to know why the heck he was just freed by a total stranger and Khyber would merely make some quips about how Malware has a short fuse and then be a dick and say his temper’s probably due to his defective DNA after which Malware comes very close to beating him up. Khyber prevents a fight from breaking out by saying that he’s not the mastermind behind Malware’s break-out and that he has a feeling Malware and the mysterious client he works for will understand each other really well.

So they arrive at Psychobos’ base and Psychobos welcomes Malware, introduces himself and probably brags about his intellect. Malware tells him to get to the point and Psychobos explains that he’s been watching Azmuth’s affairs for some time now. Of course he caught wind of Malware, as well as the incident in “Trouble Helix”. And he decided to pick up where Azmuth evidently left off. In other words, he’s going to fix Malware. This results in this exchange.

Malware: “And what exactly do you gain from helping me?”

Psychobos: “Well, my friend, and I use the term extremely loosely, succeeding where that arrogant G-g-galvan has failed will prove once and for all that Cerebrocrustacean are the superior species in the g-g-galaxy.”

End of flashback.

Back in the present, things go just like they did in the canon episode up to a certain point. Ben realizes Khyber and Zed are just distracting Rook and him, calls Rook about it, Khyber tells Rook that he should probably check the Proto-TRUK and Rook passes on the information to Ben who immediately makes a mad dash for the TRUK while Khyber and Zed retreat.

Ben arrives at the truck and catches Malware accessing the TRUK’s computers. As in the original episode, Ben is shocked and horrified that Malware is still alive. Malware for his part isn’t exactly thrilled to see Ben and makes that clear though his body language and tone of voice, but he’s a bit less cruel about it than in canon.

For one, he isn’t being gleefully sadistic when he warns Ben not to follow him and just stay out of his business in general. He just...genuinely tells Ben to stay out of this, similarly to how he did in “Trouble Helix” when they first met.

He then runs off, leaving Ben to work thorugh all of that. Rook arrives and Ben tells him that Malware took something from the TRUK and that Rook should find out what it was while he goes to stop Malware, once and for all. To fit what I want to do with this rewrite, the way he says it would be a whole lot more sinister and less heroic will power-like. It’s clear that Ben has some sort of deeply personal grudge against Malware and that it makes him want to put Malware down, but in this case this wouldn’t be portrayed as a good thing, but rather a “hero gets lost in murderous rage”-thing.

Ben transforms into Humongosaur and chases after Malware. They have their banter where Malware is dismayed that Ben didn’t heed his warning about staying put and Ben jokes about how he was never good at following orders. They have a quick brawl and now is where I put another big change.

In the original episode, Malware distracts Ben by chucking a fuel truck at a bus full of kids, basically forcing Ben to choose between apprehending him and saving the children. Needless to say Malware being willing to potentially kill a bunch of children wouldn’t work with his being redeemed in this rewrite, so let’s change that up a bit.

Instead of the fuel-truck-school-bus-situation being a calculated action by Malware, now it’s an accident. During the fight either Malware or Ben/Humongosaur crash into the fuel truck, pushing it down the road and towards the just now arriving school bus. Ben and Malware notice this at the same time.

Ben/Humongosaur takes a quick look at Malware, growls in frustration, then makes off to save the school bus. There’s a tense moment where it looks like Ben/Humongosaur won’t be able to reach the fuel truck or the school bus in time. And then, all of a sudden, a car flies right past him barely missing him. Ben/Humongosaur dodges on instinct, but the car doesn’t hit him and it’s seemingly not even headed for him. Instead it hits the fuel truck, making it turn away from the bus and saving the children and the driver in the process.

Ben/Humongosaur runs up to the bus to ask if everyone is alright and the kids cheer in response. Ben/Humongosaur looks back where Malware was standing, only to find that the Mechamorph is gone. Ben/Humongosaur frowns.

Ben arrives back at the Proto-TRUK and him and Rook discuss what just happened. Rook can’t tell exactly what Malware took, only that parts of the memory core and some of the auxiliary power systems were destroyed. He asks who Malware is, since he can’t exactly call up his Plumber file right now.

In the original, Ben calls Malware a psychopath for obvious reasons, but with how we’re doing this rewrite, that wouldn’t make much sense anymore. Yes, Malware is still an antagonist and there is still bad blood between him and Ben, but with what Ben has observed today with Malware seemingly saving kids, he’s conflicted on what to think or feel.

So in this rewrite Ben instead says:

Ben: “Short answer, he’s a Galvanic Mechamorph with serious anger issues. Long answer?-”

They get interrupted by a kid and the episode ends like it did in canon with Ben getting trolled by his boyfriend partner again.

And there you have it!

Part 2 is complete. Now all that’s left is for us to finally wrap things up in Part 3.

Including Eunice in Malware’s story is honestly such a no-brainer, I’m surprised I didn’t think of it sooner. They’d have the best and most wholesome sibling-dynamic, no you can’t change my mind. And Malware having at least someone who genuinely cares about him was a nice thing to write. Eunice will play a very big part in Malware’s redemption in Part 3 and I really liked the idea of her idealism and positivity playing off of Malware’s jaded and bitter personality. They’re so similar yet so different and I’m convinced if they’d ever met in canon, they would have been friends.

Tell me what you think of Part 2 and stay tuned for Part 3!