#or even better id skip practice

[candle-wax-and-polariods]

phoebe i mean this whole heartedly IT IS NOT FOR THE FUCKING BETTER

[all-purpose-dish-soap]

im not sure what it ia, but i LOVE the little remora. i love it i love it i lvoe it

it makes me insane id love to groom ghosts scales, and everyone elses scales. i want to clean soap up, even if he see's poor ol remora as a toy to play with, i just wanna scrub them all up!

(i love this already. i love mer's)

the more shark mer Ghost pushes you away the more you wanna take care of him so so bad <3

you find yourself pouting a lot at Ghost’s surly attitude, darting up and down his big scarred body, as he tries to nap. tries to, but can’t.

it has nothing to do with you. he has these bouts of insomnia. but they make his temper real short.

regardless! you insist he needs to let you groom him. it’s been days. you get twitchy when he makes you skip your daily grooming with him. the rituals. the rituals are intricate.

“i’m trying to rest, you little pest,” he growls. "come back later. or not at all."

you tell him (tartly) that he said that yesterday and the day before.

“i meant it then and i mean it now. go away before i decide to chase you off.”

like he would. he hardly exists during the day as anything but a grumpy seafloor log. you swear you’ve seen bottom-feeders start nibbling on him he’s so inert.

(nibbling on him is your job.)

you settle down on the sand next to him on your stomach. you don't touch him yet, but he's just within reach. you stare at his pale, scarred sharkshin with bright eyes, practically vibrating in place.

he can feel your eyes on him. worse—he can feel the impatient flicking of your tail fin agitating the water as you stare at him. how can such a small creature be so terribly full of want, he wonders. your anxious energy is like too much salt in his gills.

“i will bite you," he warns. “i’m not in the mood.”

rationally, you know he doesn't like to be touched sometimes, no matter how you insist he'll feel better once he's clean. and still your anxious mind won't calm down until you're absolutely sure you've made yourself useful.

you lay your palms on the silt, fingers inching silently closer to him.

he growls, low and dangerous. the one that means he’s run out of patience and is about to make good on his threats.

you jolt and flatten yourself against the sand in instinctive submission. you’re not a threat, see? you’re harmless. you’re basically just a little piece of seaweed, c’mon.

your instant compliance does nothing to calm him. if anything, the sight of your immediate surrender drives him to double down.

he grabs you by the by the nape of your neck and lifts you up to eye level. “i warned you not to touch me.”

your stupid little heart leaps because all his attention is on you now. you want to wrap your hands around his eagerly, want to reach out and touch his chest. but you can only get close enough to skim his chest with your clawtips.

the sensation only makes him tense.

you quickly bring your hands in and wring them, trying to stop being a bother. "please can i—"

he glares down at you, teeth bared. “no,” he snaps. cold, firm, immediate.

but the more he tries to repel you, the more desperately you want to please him. to get back into his good graces. you feel every bit the creature full of anxiety and neuroses he thinks you are--always trying to figure out how to feel useful and stay on the other mers' good side.

he can see that in your eyes—the desperate need to be useful. it’s what he hates most about you. he can't stand how compliant you are at this moment. how desperate. how eager you are to please even after he's been nothing but cruel to you.

he squeezes you. your body thrums nervously in his grip.

“you little parasite. what part of ‘don’t touch me’ is so hard for you to understand?”

all of it. you stare up at him with big, blank eyes.

“you can't get the simplest instructions through your thick skull, can you?"

you shake your head (kind of, best you can) in his grip as a shameless display of agreement. he’s right, you’re stupid. so stupid.

Ghost scowls. eager, willing to degrade yourself at the smallest fucking thing.

"don't tell me you're getting off on this.”

okay! you won’t.

at that, you see the look in his eye shift from anger to something more devious. your response is so quick and willing that he can't help but smirk.

of course. of course you’d comply. no matter how hard he pushes, how cruel he is, you simply ask for worse. you're a little masochist. a nuisance. worse, you’re his nuisance. you insist on being around him, on seeking him out every bloody day.

he tolerates your presence. that's more than anyone else gets. and you take the precious little patience he gives you and wear it threadbare??

he can’t abide that. he can’t let your audacity go unchecked.

"look at you," he hisses. "eager to debase yourself at the first sign of anger. don't you think that's just pathetic?"

you nod enthusiastically.

mindless creature. willing to let him treat you any way he wants if it means attention. pitiful.

"say it," he growls.

you do. you happily tell him you’re pathetic.

“that you are. finally, something sensible out of that pretty mouth.”

you’re wired—fucking blitzed at the mere implication of good girl in his tone.

“and you're my little parasite. mine to do with as i please."

your whole body wants to curl in delight, your tail twisting like an eel in the sand below you as he eases you onto your back.

his eyes rake over you. you are the picture of obedience and submission, all pinned down and ready.

“look at you,” he rasps. “so desperate to please me. you’d do anything i tell you right now, yeah?”

yes. yes. anything.

he leans in and puts his mouth to your ear. "then let me sleep."

then he’s gone.

you lay in the sand in blank, sexually charged confusion.

by the time you slap your tail into the sand to twist yourself up into the water, half-flustered and hot-tempered, you see the ends of Ghost’s chewed-up tailfins disappear into his favorite dark cave.

before you can give chase, the familiar shape of Soap passes overhead, and he's chuckling as he dives down to you.

Soap’s grin widens as he watches your face cycle through frustration, confusion, and irritation.

you can’t believe Ghost would do that to you.

“of course he’d do it,” Soap says. he saw the whole thing.

you bluster and he coos a little teasing sympathy at you, ushering you up into his arms instead. poor wee cuttlefish, he calls you. lays it on thick because he knows you're looking for a place to expend all that pent up energy now.

he whisks you away somewhere more private so you can tend to him instead. groom him all you want. tell him your troubles. maybe let him make good use of your compliant nature. he tells you it’s a good way to make Ghost jealous.

meanwhile, Ghost is finally able to snooze contentedly, dreaming of you, maybe. he does owe you a little thanks for that small catharsis you gave him.

...

more mer au / more Ghost / masterlist tag

[milliumizoomi]

do you think armando is the type to wanna pay for everything? like the man will literally not let you pay for anything while you’re with him even if you protest against it

𝐇𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄: 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐘 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐒

☆彡SUMMARY.; His money definitely talks but he doesn’t let yours do so much as whisper.

☆彡FEATURED.; ARMANDO x READER

☆彡TROPE.; ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP

☆彡FORMAT.; HEADCANON || DRABBLE

☆彡GENRE.; TOOTH ROTTING FLUFF

☆彡WARNINGS.; Google translated Spanish, Mature language, Armando being you’re resident sugar daddy

☆彡NOTES.; this was too funny and I loved writing thisssss,, tysm for the request and I hope yall enjoy!!😋💕

REBLOGS ARE APPRECIATED🤍.

★ public service announcement

★ HE DON’T LET YOU PAY FOR SHIT

★ when you’re with him the only you gon need in that purse is ID and your phone

★ that’s it

★ if he catches you paying for anything, he’s taking the money from you and paying for it himself

★ don’t matter how much you wanna argue I promise you he not listening

★ the card in your purse? Confiscated.

★ the cash you have saved? It better stay saved.

★ I promise you this man is not playing with you at all when it comes to this

ミ★

It’s looking like the credit card you have ain’t good for nothing really.

You don’t have enough fingers and toes to count how many times you’ve been in this type of situation with your hardheaded ass boyfriend.

The both of you have been out all day. He wanted to spend the day with you since he barely gets to, with managing the mafia and all, so he decided to take you out. The only problem is…

You can’t look at anything for too long or he’s buying it.

AND, don’t ever say you’re buying anything cause he ain’t even entertaining that.

“Babe look at thissss!!” You pointed at beautiful white diamond anklet. You wanted it so badly because you knew it’d look gorgeous on you. So, you decided to get it. As Armando walked up to you, you were already talking to one of the sellers so they can retrieve the item for you.

“¿Qué le das a mamá?” He asked as he finally got near you.

“Esta tobillera aquí mismo... ¡es tan bonita!”

You practically skipped away to the cash register and started fishing for your card to pay.

Then your purse disappeared.

Just completely vanished.

You stood there for a moment, very confused, then you look over to see your boyfriend pushing your purse into his pocket and taking out his money to pay.

In cash.

The woman at the register was as wide eyed as you were watching this man casually count hundreds like they were ones.

“How much was it?” He asked.

“O-oh..! It’s $350 sir!” He handed her the money and all you could do was stand there and stare as he took the piece of jewelry.

“Come mama.”

He guided you, by resting his hand on your lower back, and took you to a nearby seat and told you to sit. When you did, he opened up the box with the anklet inside and took it off and began putting it on you.

All you could do is look at him.

When he was done, he stretched out your leg.

“Looks good mama..”

You smiled and agreed, thanking him.

“You don’t have to pay for me all the time you know.” Getting up, he pulls you up too and says, “yeah I do.. and don’t ever let me see you trying to pay for shit again? You hear me?” You couldn’t help the shiver that ran down you’re spine at his words, but you crack a small smile and nodded. “I’m gonna keep trying anyways but fineeeee..” He rolls his eyes at you and kisses you on the forehead and you both begin to walk out the store.

“Baby?” You call to him.

“Hm?”

“Can I have my purse back?”

“No.”

[GLOSSARY]

“¿Qué le das a mamá?” —“What you want mama?”

“Esta tobillera aquí mismo... ¡es tan bonita!” — “This anklet right here... it’s so pretty!”

ミ★

{TAGLIST} :: @armandosbabymama @ghettogirly @tinys0ftie @shurisgf @radioloom @butterflyybabe @dyttomori || if you’d like to be added to the taglist just let me know in comments or dms🤗💕.

ミ★

©2024 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED — MILLIUMIZOOMI. Do not modify, repost, plagiarize, translate or claim any work posted on this blog without my permission.

[rimunagenius]

The One Where You Royally Screw Up.

ʚ pairing: Kate Martin x Roommate!reader

ʚ word count: 3.1k words

ʚ warnings: RPF!! , slight smut, fingering, angst, use of ‘y/n’ if that even is one

ʚ rimunagenius speaks: part 4 is FINALLY here!! i’m so sorry for the delay, it was supposed to release friday but the cold i had thought i was getting over got worse in a span of hours so i said id release it on saturday, but i spent all my saturday in bed asleep bc i have the worst headache and nausea from the cold, and then today it was supposed to release early but the ending never got saved and i realized i had a communications test to take so i had to finish writing it and revising after…but it’s here!! finally. so this is angst so sorry, but trust, the pining and sexual tension that’s to come is gonna be worth it!!!

Part 4

| Series Masterlist |

This felt wrong. You knew it wasn't the best way to cope with the feelings you had realized you were harboring for Kate.

But you needed to get over it. You couldn't possibly be this self destructive, and let yourself fall your roommate. She let you live in her apartment, and gave you grace when you didn't help pay rent for the first two months, trying to find a new job.

She deserved better than to have a friendship ruined just because you loved liked her. It wasn't fair. But this didn't feel fair to you either. Kissing Juliana in the backseat of her car was the last place you wanted to be. This should be Kate. For a moment you thought it was.

That's how you ended up here. Over the span of several months since reporting Nick, he was removed off  campus and was doing time. You and Kate had celebrated the accomplishment and never spoke about it again.

Since then you two have been a lot closer. "Sleeping over" in eachothers room. Cuddling more on the couch. It all started that night you both skipped practice. You knew where it was going, so did she. But the inevitable outcome if the actions you two were so good at doing were going to ruin you both. You couldn't have that. That's why you took Juliana up on the date two months ago. You guys made it official that month.

You couldn't have what you and Kate so desperately wanted, cause when you were getting ready, you saw the way Kate watched you. The longing looks she gave you as she sat on the couch next to you, while you did your makeup.

The way you looked absolutely gorgeous in the outfit you wore out to dinner, how she wished she was the one having you on her arm, how she was the one seen in public with you, and got to bring you home at the end of the night. But she wasn't, so she tried not to make it a thing when you came home the next morning. Or when you two made it official.

"You like that?" Juliana whispered in your ear, a small giggle escaping her lips that you could feel throughout your body.

Your panting echoed in the car, while your hands traveling all over her body. Throwing your head back, you moaned as her fingers curled inside of you, fingertips brushing against the soft spongey part inside you. "Oh—Kate." You moaned it before you could even think.

Your body froze, any expecting orgasm thrown out the window. Her fingers paused, softly but swiftly removing her fingers from your sopping cunt. Grabbing a towel in the pocket behind the passenger seat, Juliana avoided looking at you while she cleaned the remnants of you off her hands.

"So, you guys aren't just friends?" Juliana knew that you and Kate were close, she didn't mind. Really. But she saw the way you looked at Kate when she'd leave after dropping you off at class. She saw the way Kate watched everything you did with a look on her face that made it seem like you hung the moon.

"What—that's not—I didn't mean—" You couldn't even think. How could you totally embarrass yourself and do that to Juliana. You didn't even know why you said it. In the far back of your mind, you guess you wished it was Kate. But you thought that was just the mere thought of your fantasies talking.

You've imagine what'd it'd be like to sleep with Kate, hell, every gay woman in America probably has. But that was just a fantasy. You liked Jules. Atleast you thought you did.

"No, tell me right now. Are you and Kate more than friends? I need to know so I don't think I have a chance with you." Julianas eyes were pleading. Sad. She wanted you two to work; she really liked you.

"We're not more than friends." You made sure to look her in the eyes when you said it. You didn't know if it was convince her, or to convince yourself. Maybe if you looked sincere and she believed it, then you would.

"But you want to be, right? Why else would you moan her name while i'm trying to fuck you?" Juliana wasn't mad, she just wanted to know why. Why did you go through with this, sleeping with her, knowing you wished she was someone else.

You couldn't answer her. You didn't know how. You looked down, grabbing your black tank top and sliding it over your head.

"I honestly have no idea, Jules." The name suddenly felt so foreign rolling off your tongue in this context. Juliana winced at the nickname. Suddenly feeling angry about it now.

"Don't call me that. Why did you say her name?" The next pieces of clothing to go on was your black biker shorts and underwear. Fixing your white tube socks, you searched for your shoes.

"I don't know." Was that all you could say to her? She surely deserved more than what you were giving, and you sure as hell weren't giving her anything.

"Stop saying I don't know and just say you like her. That's all I need to hear." Juliana's voice rose as you grabbed your ankle boot docs, sliding them on your feet.

"I don't like her, Jules—I mean, Juliana. I don't like her, okay?" Who were you kidding? Repeating the four words wasn't convincing anyone in the car.

"Jesus Christ, Y/n! Are you fucking kidding me!?" Now she was getting irritated. "You do! There...it's out in the open. Why didn't you just tell me before letting me think that I had a chance?" Her eyes went glassy, now turning pink.

"I don't know why I said it, okay? I think I do like her, and I know it's wrong for imagining her instead of you. You don't deserve that—"

"You're right. I don't." Juliana stepped out of the car, her never taking her clothes off, only aiming to please you, missing. She held the door open, so you could slide out. "Look, I'm not mad at you. I guess it's my fault for falling for you even after I saw how you looked at her."

Watching tears fall down her face, it brought tears to yours. You didn't mean to hurt her. You should've figure your shit out before starting anything. You should've figure out your feelings for Kate.

Thinking you could fill the void with a relationship and sex with another woman, without talking to someone about how you felt, was something only transactional on your end. You hurt someone's feelings because you couldn't figure out your own. How could you jump into a relationship with her?

"No, it's not your fault. I was so stupid for starting something with you—not that you're not great, because you are. But because I should've known what I was doing was wrong. It wasn't fair to you, I'm so sorry." You wiped a tear off her face, your frown deepening as you saw the hurt in her eyes grow.

"Give yourself some grace. I wouldn't know what it's like to fall inlove with someone i've been friends with for so long. It must be hard. But just—don't do this to someone else. Figure out your feelings first." Juliana turned and opened the passenger side door, you closing the backseat passenger door. She handed you your clip and your bag.

"Figure it out with Kate." She gave you a tight lipped smile, before waking around the front of her car and getting inside the drivers seat. You nodded your head, and decided you had to tell Kate.

Walking back to the apartment gave you plenty of time to think. You've been doing that so much lately, you don't know how to anymore. What happened to you?

You haven't recorded vlogs, get ready with me's, or any content for your channel in months. Opting for the vague communication with family and friends. The spiral of trying to get Kate out of your head, and trying to shove her back into the friend zone, was so consuming. You haven't even lived your life.

You needed to say it. You needed to tell someone. You needed to figure it out.

Walking inside, you set your bag and keys down on the counter. What the fuck were you going to say? How could you tell Kate that you and your girlfriend were hooking up, and the whole time you wished it was her.

Struggling to decide on who to tell, you settled for embarrassing yourself to a friend, who you knew would help you. Scrolling to find Jadas name in your contacts, you pressed her contact and listened to the phone ring.

"Hey, Jada!" You said when she answered the phone.

"Hey! What's up? You're coming to practice later, right?" Today was an off day. You usually only ever needed to be at like two practice a week.

"Today's an off day for me, and I would go as a spectator but that's why i'm calling." You swallowed the lump in your throat and sighed. This was gonna be so awkward to explain.

"Wait so you're telling me that...you're actually inlove with Kate...but you can't tell her that and because of that, you moaned her name while you were having sex with your girlfriend? Oh, that's bad, babe." You could see her face without having to see it. When you looked down at your phone, you were correct.

"I know, I know. It's super bad. I don't even know what's worse, the fact that I did that to Juliana, or the fact that she wasn't even mad about it." Recalling earliers incident, she didn't even overreact.

"Probably because she already knew. She just didn't want to see it until you did what you did. She just wanted to keep you while she had you. I get it. Happens to the best of us." Jada nodded her head and ate chips while she watched her show.

You guys ended up Facetiming halfway through the phone call so you could give proper recollection to the incident. Jada needed to see the facial expressions and everything to give her proper advice.

"Oh my god, Jada. Why do I have to feel this way for Kate?" You put your head in your hands and cried a little. You were emotionally overstimulated, the weight of your actions now weighing on you. You looked up, looking to the ceiling. Taking a deep breath, you looked down at Jada.

"Aw, you'll be okay, babe. I promise. We are all human, we all make mistakes. Don't beat yourself up about it, just learn from it. As far as telling Kate goes, I wouldn't tell her unless you were one hundred percent sure that what you're feeling is real. And when you're ready, sit her down, don't ambush her, but sit her down and talk about it."

"What if she thinks I'm literally crazy and so weird and she kicks me out?" You started to spiral.

"Hey, that's not gonna happen. She's a very understanding person and you know that. You've lived with her all these years for godsakes." Jada slapped her hand down on her bed, flipping her bowl of chips. "Oh my god!" She screamed. You laughed at loud, watching some fly across the screen.

The front door opened, a sluggish Kate walked through the door. She had been very tired recently; basketball and finishing school were growing to be very exhausting. She watched you laugh so hard that tears were falling down your face. A scream laugh, that grew quiet, a loud gasp following which she recognized as Jada's laugh through the phone speaker. She walked over and sat down on the couch next to you, resting her head on your shoulder to say hi to her other best friend. "Hi, Jada!" She smiled big into the camera, her sleepy and drowsy mood suddenly vanishing.

You put your hand on Kate's cheek, patting it softly. You looked at Jada through the screen. Your eyes stare into hers. She nodded softly, covering it with leaning down to grab the fallen chips. You knew she was right. Kate wouldn't give you a hard time but you couldn't help but panic.

You three stayed on the phone for a little while before Jada hung up so she could leave for practice. You placed the phone in Kate's room while you sat on her bed, so she could still talk to you both while they both got ready.

Kate was on her way out the door when you stopped her, hand on her arm, "Hey, can I talk to you when you get home? It's kinda important." You were so scared to tell her. But you had to rip the bandaid off right?

"Yeah, of course. I'll see you when I get home. I love you." She closed the door behind her. You stood there for a moment, staring at the door. You had three hours to prepare yourself for tonight. How the fuck were you going to tell her?

You drove yourself insane for the last 3 hours that you were alone in the house. You cleaned the kitchen, the living room, your room, mopped the kitchen, and vacuumed every surface that could be vaccummed in the house. You took a shower, and almost changed your pajamas twice.

You finally sat on the couch, watching whatever was on, literally fucking panicking. Kate had walked through the door thirty minutes ago, cleaning herself up.

"Okay, so what did you need to tell me? You okay?" She sat on the couch next to you, smiling softly to herself when she saw you were wearing one of her old hoodies. She hasn't seen in it in so long.

"What?" You looked at her, noticing smile on her face. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Just haven't seen that sweater of mine in a long time." She adjusted how she was sitting.

"Oh, I forgot I stole this from you a long time ago." You looked to her, instantly regretting it. She was manspreading and she looked so good. You could not look at her when you told her this.

"Okay, anyways. Back to what I needed to tell you. So, Juliana and I broke up." You paused. Her face pulled into a frown.

"Aw i'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Kate reached her arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer. You didn't fight it. Choosing to lean into her touch. You closed your eyes, gathering the sheer will to be able to tell her what the hell happened.

"I'm okay, Kate. I promise. But we broke up because we were hooking up in her car, and I know you said not to give you details, but it’s relevant because I moaned your name. While she was trying to fuck me.” You finally got it out, but it wasn’t helping that Kate’s face didn’t express any telling emotions.

You lifted your head from her shoulder, wincing slightly when she immediately moved a small distance on the couch. You needed her to say something but you’d get it if she didn’t. You couldn’t begin to understand the digestion of something like this.

“Oh, wow. That’s crazy.” Kate stared blankly at her slippers that she had been wearing. She was tugging on the strings of her hoodie.

“Yeah…” You were kinda let down at the reaction she had. You were expecting an immediate blow up at what you had just announced. Or some type of general reaction.

She wasn’t saying anything. You could see the gears turning in her pretty head, but nothing was coming out of her mouth. It made you more nervous than before you even told her. “Is that it? Kate?” You watched her blue eyes meet yours.

The shade of blue so pretty, and so relaxing. “What does that mean? Why?”

“Because I love you, Kate.” The sincerity in your voice hitting her like a truck. There’s no way you were finally saying these words to her. You finally said them but at the worst possible time.

“I love you, too.” She replied in the quickness. Almost instantaneous as you said them. She loved you, possibly with every bone in her body.

“No, like, romantically. Not platonically.” You clarified to make sure you heard her correctly. She sighed before speaking.

“I know, that’s why I said it back. But you know we can’t do anything about it, right?” That’s when it hit you. She wasn’t mad, she was just playing it smart. You nodded your head shortly, looking down at your hands.

“Okay, what does that mean for us, though. How exactly are we going to live together knowing there’s something here, and not do anything about it.” You thought about it, and it made sense. The final four tournament already coming. This year was crazy and passing by so fast.

They won the Big Ten tourney almost a month ago. The stress of the biggest tournament this season was coming up and a relationship, the additional stress and possible blow up of a relationship, was hard. Cultivating a new relationship at this time was stress Kate didn’t need. You couldn’t do that to her.

Kate prided herself on being level headed. That’s how she led her team so good, on and off the court. Her ability to take accountability and responsibility was unmatched, so she couldn’t understand why coming up with this resolution was so hard.

She knew it was wrong to start something she wanted to put her all in, at this moment, because she wanted to put her all into basketball. It was more important to her at this moment in time. She knew you’d understand.

“Tell me this again in a couple months, yeah?” Kate said, a small smile on her face. Trying to lighten the mood, she held her hand out.

You looked at her and then at her hand. You shook it. It was quiet for a beat, “And about the living situation, we just do it how we’ve been doing it all these years. Day by day.” Her hand that still remained in yours, pulled your body closer to hers.

This wasn’t the way you wanted to tell Kate that you were inlove with her, that you accidentally almost got off to the idea of her when your girlfriend was indeed not her, or the fact that you couldn’t start a relationship right away. But laying here, against her side, while you sat and watched whatever was on the tv to distract from the overwhelming expression of emotions was okay for now.

You knew you just needed to give it time. You two would come together. For now, you’d just have to wait. So you both sat there, counting down the days until you knew you could be together.

It was already the most insanely slow countdown of your lives.

[amomentsescape]

I'm dead, its finals for the semester at my school. Could you do a different slashers x reader were the reader has finals and is burnt out, emotional, and overwhelmed and they hate to see the reader that way and maybe some even get mad at the school for causing this and do somthing about it like making it shut down for a while?

Slashers with Stressed! Reader During Finals Week

A/N: Thank you so much for the request! Please, make sure to take care of yourself during this time. I wish you the best of luck on your finals! :)

Freddy Krueger

Anything but smiling is basically a no-go in his book

The fact that he also hasn't seen you in a while only makes him more frustrated

He's aware of the all-nighters you've been pulling recently

Your head buried in numerous books and pages

He decides enough is enough and shows up in your world instead

Your desk is a mess, and he can see the slight puffiness under your eyes from your most recent breakdown

Yeah, he needs to end this

He gives you a reassuring hug and disappears again

He finally comes back about an hour later, a smile on his face

"There won't be school for a while"

You look at him confused

However, all the lack of sleep was catching up with you, so you don't argue as he leads you to bed, tucking yourself under the sheets

The next morning, you wake up to several notifications on your phone, all of them saying that several students were found dead in their beds last night

The whole school was going to be shut down for a while as an investigation ensues

You could practically hear Freddy's laugh echo in your mind

Michael Myers

He doesn't understand why you're so stressed out

It's just a few tests

If they're bothering you so much, just skip them

But as he watches your desperate attempt to explain why you have to take them and everything that's on the line if you don't, he finally gives up

He hates seeing you so upset about something so trivial

So he heads out that night while you're snoozing on the desk, having passed out on accident

You finally wake up a couple hours later, you eyes slowly adjusting to Michael in front of you

He's changing out of his dirty clothes, trying carefully not to wake you

However, when he notices you looking at him confused, he just walks over to you

In his hands, the bloody school ID's from every single one of your professors

Jason Voorhees

Jason has been practically begging you to go to sleep or eat SOMETHING

But you keep refusing him, too overwhelmed at the amount of studying you have to do

You are hoping that by using every possible minute you have, you'll be able to at least pass these finals

But Jason feels like you're just torturing yourself

So while you're drowning out the world with your headphones, Jason is slipping out to your school

He somehow manages to destroy most of the campus's electrical supply

This gives you a couple extra days to prepare and actually take care of yourself

When you find out the news, you can't help but jump onto Jason

He's just happy to finally see a smile on your face

Thomas Hewitt

You had to explain just what a final was and how it affects you by not passing

He understands why you're so stressed now, but it doesn't make the situation any better in his opinion

He tries to tend to you as much as possible

Drinks, food, back rubs, blankets, etc.

Literally anything that he feels would make you comfortable in the moment, he brings to you

Will stay up with you too, waiting for the minute you need something

He really enjoys taking care of you too, so none of it feels like a chore

As much as he would like to make dinner out of your professors for overwhelming you this much, he knows that it would only stress you out more

Plus, he's confident you'll do well on your finals!

You are the smartest person he knows, honestly

Bubba Sawyer

He's also completely at your beck and call

He doesn't feel comfortable leaving home on his own, so he doesn't know how to help get rid of the source of your stress

But he's very much willing to alleviate it as much as he can

He makes you dinner, prepares some warm tea, and even gets the fireplace going for you

He also tries to clean and tidy up the area around you, hoping it will help you focus more

He's never taken an exam before, but he definitely knows it's important to you

And what matters to you, matters to him

He shushes everyone who walks by just a little too loud, earning a couple laughs from you

He does pull you away from the desk every once in a while though, making you lie down with him and cuddle

He assures you that taking breaks is good for you, but you're starting to think the cuddles are more for him than you

Brahms Heelshire

Grades were pretty important to his parents growing up, so he understands the pressure

But taking 5 huge exams in the span of a week?

That's actually ridiculous

Will play some classical music for you, telling you that it always helped him focus when he was younger

Will be a little more lenient about you following the rules

But he still expects you to give him attention

If he feels you haven't given him enough affection in the past hour, he will be all up in your business like a neglected cat

He isn't helping your focus much unfortunately

But he eventually makes a deal with you to help you study

This way, you're still using your time wisely, and Brahms is still receiving your attention

Will ask you questions from flashcards to see if you're answering them correctly

Gives you a kiss every time you get one right

He honestly has full faith that you'll do great on your finals

Norman Bates

Norman is trying his best to relax you, holding you tight while you explain your worries and frustrations

But the moment he hears your voice break and sees the tears running from your eyes, his memory goes blank

All he remembers is feeling an intense rage settle into his body

Not at you, but at your school for making you feel this way

He finally comes to a few hours later

It's already dark out, and he's standing over your sleeping form lying on the couch

He tucks you in quietly and helps tidy up your papers a bit

When you wake up the next morning, you have different notifications from your school and fellow classmates

You pull up a news report stating that the school was basically in shambles, and they even found a body of one of the professors in an empty classroom

This meant that your tests were going to be pushed off for a while until they sorted everything out

Norman looks just as confused as you do

"It's okay, dear. You should go back to sleep, okay?"

You simply nod and tuck yourself back in, thankful that you have some time to finally rest

Billy Loomis

Billy has thought this through for a while

Because he's also needing to take finals with you

He kind of just shrugs them off, being fortunate enough to ace every test he's ever taken, with or without studying

But you on the other hand, were barely holding yourself together

You were basically surviving on just caffeine and adrenaline, the fear of failing being enough to keep you awake late into the night

Now, as much as Billy would love to kill off half the school's population, he knew better

Graduating was important to you, and he didn't want to risk prolonging that

So he went with plan B

He threatened the school

He did the second best thing he knew how to do, and that was making a phone call and telling the school that if professors or students showed up during the next two days, they were going to end up killed

This was enough to put everything in lockdown for a few days

How he managed to not get traced was unbeknownst to you

But you were still incredibly thankful, finally relaxing in his arms for the first time in days

Stu Macher

Now Stu didn't really think this through like Billy had

He just went in for plan A

He didn't want to take these tests either!

But he also didn't want to put in a lot of work to prevent them

He just wanted to stay by your side as much as possible, hating to see you so worked up over these finals

So he did the "bare minimum" in his words

He went to school, killed a couple teachers, cut the phone lines and major electrical units, and went on his merry way

And of course, the school was immediately shut down as a huge investigation ensued

But Stu was happy with his decision

Now, he could spend the next few days with you AND see you relaxed for once

It was a win-win

Although murder may not have been your first option, you still gave him a big kiss as compensation

Eric Draven

Of course Eric being Eric, murder is not the first solution in his book

He's taken plenty of finals in his day

He knows the pressure and the stress

And as much as he hated seeing you this way, he knew that the storm would blow over soon

But that's not to say he can't make you as comfortable as possible during it

He dug out an old heating pad and gave it to you, happy to see the wide smile you showed him once you grabbed it

He also lit a few of your favorite candles, trying to keep the atmosphere as relaxing as possible

He ordered take out for you both, got you your favorite drink, and even played some good studying music for you

He knew he wasn't going to be able to prevent you from pulling an all-nighter, so it only made sense for him to join you!

He ended up turning the whole night into one big study sleepover

He even helped you stay organized and provided a few study techniques that always worked for him

He's truly the perfect man to have by your side during this time

[ac3ifix]

ASK N U SHALL RECEIVE

req: please do a part two where we are pregnant and he fucks us and then a time skip to fluff with us and him with the kid and or kids🫣 and maybe smut at the end you don’t have to if you’re uncomfortable with it tho❤️❤️

OKAYY SO THIS IS A LOT BUT ILL DEF TRY MY BEST 🫶🫶

(PS: I didnt add smut at the end bc i think it wouldve been a lil too much!! apologies for it being a bit rushed)

cw: purposfully lowercase, second person, p n v, smut, FTM reader, male reader, teen pregnancy (reader is 18, kage is 19) kinda shit writing, not proofread.

kageyama was THRILLED when you told him that the test was positive, he was smirking from hands to feel and saying praise and how good you are for him.

“I really hope he’s a boy..” He mumbles one day, leaning into your already round stomach

“I dont think id be able to live if there was a mini you walking around,” you groan in annoyance.

“i love you,” he says suddenly

“i love you too,” you reply

“I was talking to him,” he says, looking up at you and smirking.

you glare at him and at that point decide to ignore him for the rest of the day.

now where did that lead you?

here. legs spread while he slams into you.

“cmon baby, you cant ignore me all day,” he groans, gripping at your hips and basically using you like a fleshlight

“ngh…tobio- gnna mess w..with the kid,” you moan, gripping at the sheets as you approach your third orgasm of the night.

“mess with him hm? how doya think hed like a sibling hm?” he says, whispering in your ear before biting down on your neck.

“T..tobs- he isnt even..fuck..born yet!” you moan, moving your hands from the bedsheet to begin to claw at his back.

“alas, you admit its going to be a boy then, hm?” he says, a smirk evident in his voice.

“No-“ you begin, but youre interrupted by your orgasm. “fuck..fuck..Tobio!!” you moan loudly

“M’close, baby,” he groans, his thrusts growing sloppy yet faster, his grip on your hips grows painful and he pounds you harder, releasing into you with one final, rough, thrust. “fuck, my love, you feel so good,” he sighs.

you mumble incoherent words in response. gently, he wraps his arms around your body, pulling his limp cock from your hole with a soft popping sound. “doya think that made our chances higher of having twins..?”

“baby..thats..not how it works,” you sigh in response

“alas, but it should be,” he says, dramatically placing his hand over his forehead and faking a swoon.

you let out an exhausted sigh and he tightens his grip on you in response. “Shh baby, youre safe with me, no matter how many kids we have theyre going to be so perfect.”

…

“KAGEYAMA ITS ALL YOUR FAULT!” you shout playfully, holding two baby boys in your arms.

“Shh, my love, youll wake them up,” he replies, undoing his shoes.

you sigh and walk over to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “how was practice?” you ask gently, whispering in order to not wake your kids.

“it was alright, thanks,” he grumbles back, clearly annoyed. “my days better not that im home with my three favorite boys,” he says, kissing your forehead gently.

you hum in response, smiling happily at his remark. gently, he grabs your hand and leads you and the boys to the bedroom, placing you on the bed and wrapping his strong arms around your waist. he buries his head in the crook of your neck and closes his eyes, content with the situation.

“I love you,” he mumbles

“Are you talking to me or the kids?” you ask playfully.

END

I REALLY HOPE THAT WAS GOOD ENOUGH LMK IF THERE IS ANYTHING YOU WANT CHANGED N I WILL ADD/SUBTRACT ANY PART OF IT. IM SO SORRY ITS KINDA RUSHED 😞😞

GIVE ME KID NAMES PLSS I WANNA NAME THEM LIKE KATSUKI AND KATSUMI BUT I THINK THEY MIGHT B TOO SIMILAR

[dontexpectmuch]

hi!! firstly i just wanna let u know how much i love ur posts, you’re very talented n i enjoy ur work a lot !! id like to req a post about how jude would be when taking care of his s/o when they’re ill (i’m sick rn and its all ive been able to think about today lol) tysm in advance !! take care <3

you tiptoed quietly out of your room, trying your best to avoid drawing any attention to your movements. it felt like walking in a lion’s den, any noise and you’d immediately be noticed.

your eyelids felt heavy, your throat was itchy and your nose was stuffed, but you really wanted to make yourself some tea with honey and maybe grab some snacks. you were supposed to rest, drinking loads of water and staying in bed, but you really wanted to finish your essay, feeling restless at the thought of the deadline nearing.

“what are you doing?” a stern voice appeared from behind you, your plan of staying unnoticed going down the drain.

halting your movements, you turn around with a sheepish smile on your tired face, looking at your boyfriend whose body leaned against the kitchen doors frame. “hey, jude.” you greet him, eyes never leaving his face as he steps closer to you, arms on each side of your body, kind of caging you between the kitchen counter and his body.

“so?” he questioned again, tilting his head. his gaze was quite intense, you note, feeling nervous at his closeness.

“i wanted to drink some tea?” your answer sounded more like a question, fidgeting with your fingers and lowering your gaze to avoid his.

jude clears his throat, leaning back and crossing his arms infront of his chest, his eyebrows were drawn together, “babe!” he begins, voice laced with frustration, “i told you to tell me! you gotta rest, y’know.”

“but, jude, c’mon i’m bored! laying all day in bed with nothing to do exhausts me more than working.” you argue back, hands dancing around the air as if to highlight your point better.

“mum told me you need to rest.” jude reasons, grabbing your shoulders to lead you back to your bedroom, hands slightly massaging your tense muscles while he was at it. “i’ll get you your tea, babe.”

rolling your eyes, you sit down on your bed and look up at your boyfriend. he seemed pretty serious about his job as your caretaker, going as far as to ask his mum about how to take care of you, looking up recipes for all different kinds of soups and refusing to let you do any work, insisting that you should be resting as much as you could.

“shouldn’t you be at training?” you ask, leaning back on your hands, watching as jude lits up some candles that were in your room, mumbling something about setting the mood right.

“told them that there’s an emergency.” he replied, smiling at you. “can’t let my baby be all alone at time like this.” he comes up to you again, leaning down to press a soft kiss on your forehead.

“jude, that’s too much! you can’t skip practice because of this.” you scold him, face showing your disapproval clearly, “‘ts not even serious, just a mild cold.” shaking your head, you get up and walk to your desk to grab your laptop.

jude watches you, eyes narrowed, as you walk back to your bed and lean your back against your many pillows. “what are you doing?”

“working on my essay.” you shrugged. if you can’t do anything at all, you might just finish that annoying essay.

“nah, put that back, babe.” jude moves to take your laptop away, but you act fast and turn your back facing him, shielding your laptop from his hands.

“jude, please.” you plead, sighing. jude stemmed his hands on his hips, looking at you before he also sighed.

“fine, but you’re not leavin’ this room, ‘m bein’ serious.” he comes to a decision, watching you as you happily nod.

as you continued your work, jude went back to the kitchen to make you some tea and get you your snacks, talking to his mum on the phone at the same time to complain about your behavior, hoping she’d back his point up, to no avail, though, as she also believes that jude is slightly exaggerating.

you giggled at the sight of jude concentrating on bringing your tea, beverage filled up to the brim. he looked really cute and made you feel grateful for his presence and concern for your well-being.

“you’d make a good house-husband, you know?” you point out as he cleans up your desk.

“oh, shut up.”

———————————

i like y’all or wtv 🙄

[coffeetual]

hi! hope this is an alright question to ask, but i really really wanted to start adding IDs to my posts and stuff! im worried my IDs that ive done before are too long and detailed, so do you have any tips for ID writing? thank you in advance if you answer this!! =^.^=

QUESTIONS OF LOVE AND JOY

Tbh the biggest bit of advice I can give to anyone wanting to write IDs is that literally any ID is better than no ID even if you think it's too long. Genuinely just give it a shot and the more you do it the more you'll get a feel for it, just like any other skill!

If it's my own post, I start by identifying the type of image ("a screenshot of", "fanart of", "original character art of"), then identify the subject, then a quick verb or adjective about the subject. So

[ID: (image type) of (subject). (Subject) is (adjective and/or verb). End ID]

Yoinking my pfp: [ID: a PNG (image type) of a sticker sheet (subject) of holographic stars, moons and suns (adjective!). End ID]

Everyone who uses IDs will have different preferences for them. U could ask 20 people who require IDs for images about them and get 20 different answers. AFAIK the general consensus is that many prefer brief IDs because screen readers take yonks to read it out? But you do want to make sure you don't miss out relevant context.

IME the most accessible thing to do is write one directly under the original post (NO read more) and in plain text. small text (small text) or coloured text (coloured text) might or might not be picked up by screen readers but is gonna be difficult to read for many people with low vision, which is the main demographic IDs are used for.

uhh what else. There's a difference between an ID (image description under the post) and ALT text (embedded in the html of the image) and there's no single agreement on which is better (see paragraph 2) but sometimes a screen reader will skip the whole post if there's an image with no ALT text. Good practice is to put a very brief (1-2 sentences) in ALT text and the fuller ID under the post, like how my mutual's done it here.

There's more i could probably say but this is quite long whoops so linking some more posts about them for you here, here, here and here!

Also also if you want to make a huge difference to accessibility on your blog you can search through the notes of a post to see if there's already one (copy and paste it to your version if you want a different reblog chain! the writer won't mind!) and tag image posts with no ID as #undescribed or equivalent.

[dangerous-advantage]

concerning the new changes (07.10.23)

all right fuck it i wasn't gonna do this but then i ended up filling the tags on the post i reblogged.

so here's my thoughts on staff's 'Tumblr's Core Product Strategy" post and the things that i think could actually be good!... if staff respects tumblr's culture in implementing them.

to note, i am referring to this post. for better context, please go read the whole thing and try not to skip details, since i think it's important to understand the post through your own perspective if you want to participate in the conversation.

this post worried me at first, both because changes in the tumblr ecosystem with as much weight as this post carries have, historically, been pretty bad for the userbase.

starting off with a focus on creating a larger user base and inviting more, new creators rather than with a strong plan to focus on improving the current state of tumblr sets off alarm bells.

reading through the rest of it leaves me with... mixed thoughts. while it honestly does seem like they've heard a lot of the things we've been screaming at them about and might actually take steps to make things improve, i'm still wary.

this isn't a post explaining specific changes tumblr plans to implement. in fact, there are relatively few examples of actual strategies being communicated. it's just an overview with a lot of implications for the future.

i mean, not even the new tumblr labs group has any idea what the exact changes are going to be. just look at this:

[ID: A screenshot containing text from a post made by the aforementioned account. It reads, "But we're not sure exactly what that change looks like, so we've assembled a new team, called Tumblr Labs, to figure it out as quickly..." It cuts off here. /End ID]

and i think that's the problem.

so, the post. staff explains that the issue, as they see it, is that the platform is fundamentally flawed-- i.e., because tumblr is difficult to use if you don't have an understanding of the site before, it tends to scare off new users rather than encourage engagement.

this isn't untrue. however, it should be noted, the tumblr userbase has cultivated a culture of teaching newcomers how the website and the website's culture functions. (see: the many posts made as 'guides' in the wake of the twitter and reddit fiascos, as well as @/strange-aeon's video on the topic.)

(not to say that this system isn't imperfect and could be improved by directing new users to the these posts, buuuuuuut i'll get into that later.)

now: i (and i think most of the userbase) agree with staff on the main point-- tumblr, as a platform, is broken. we have long complained about the bugs and the messy reblog chains and the notifications overwhelming you if a post gains traction.

(though, we've also just integrated that into tumblr culture, but that's a tangent for a different time.)

here's the thing: staff does mention these things as problems they want to fix.

here's a short list of some things the post mentions that i honestly agree are a problem, and that a lot of people have wanted to see change!

[ID: Screenshots of items taken from the bulleted lists on staff's post. These read as follows: "Improving Tumblr's search engine optimization (SEO) practices to be in line with industry standards." "Making it easier for users to follow the various conversation paths within a reblog thread." "Build mechanisms to protect creators from being spammed by notifications when they go viral." "Improve performance and stability: deliver crash-free, responsive, and fast-loading apps on Android, iOS, and web.""Improve quality: deliver the highest quality Tumblr experience to our users." /End ID]

again, these are things that i agree are issues and would be cool to see improved upon. but staff doesn't tell us how they plan to do this.

in staff's response to the userbases' assumption that they're going to remove the reverse-chronological dashboard, they state they're 'surprised' users came away with this assumption.

i, for one, am not.

the relationship between tumblr staff and the tumblr collective has been strained for a long time. mounting frustrations about users' actual issues with the website being ignored while new features are implemented that are almost unanimously disliked doesn't help.

and don't forget, the last time a change as drastic as this post is making it seem came into action, the porn ban was implemented. a change that had an overall negative effect on the community and tumblr's culture at large. it tore away crucial aspects of tumblr's identity that we'll probably never get back.

so while this post does address issues users have wanted to see fixed, of course we're still going to be wary.

the bottom line is, users don't trust staff to implement changes that will be beneficial to improving the platform for the tumblr userbase. (the recent reddit and twitter debacles don't help things much, either.)

i think staff needs to realize, as the final poster put it, tumblr already has innate value. value created by the community.

if staff focuses on improving tumblr to be easier to use-- in accordance with elevating tumblr's culture-- it will attract more people, simply by being less broken all the time.

this brings me to the other (main) issue i have: putting new users first over the current userbase.

this may not have been what staff meant to imply, but the emphasis seems to be on improving the userbase for incoming users, rather than those of us who are already here.

to be clear, i don't think that making tumblr easier to navigate for new users is bad. i mean, there's a reason we were writing guides. joining tumblr if you aren't already exposed to it can be daunting.

allowing new users to rely on an actual, working algorithm (although i think a user-driven algorithim is possibly one of the best parts of tumblr) isn't inherently bad. using that algorithim to elevate new creators isn't bad, either.

it's the way they choose to do this that makes us wary. like i mentioned before, we already have somewhat of a system for on-boarding new users to the site: word of mouth from more experienced users. this helps with both learning how to navigate tumblr and introducing new users to tumblr culture.

with all this in mind: where do we go from here?

in my mind, the solution for these problems comes down to communication. if staff wants more trust from the tumblr userbase, they need to show they are willing to listen to feedback from the tumblr collective.

when implementing changes, a great way to avoid the immediate backlash and distrust of tumblr users is by clearly outlining the changes they plan to make and the strategies by which they will be carried out.

another user made the analogy that websites should be like cities, where the users have a say in (as staff puts it) the 'evolution of tumblr.'

(mmmmmaybe we could use that spiffy new poll feature, too? everybody loves polls!)

for on-boarding new users, staff could take inspiration from the userbase in implementing a system by which new users are given the information needed to navigate tumblr. tidy up the site, remove bugs, and make it easier to use, and a lot of problems will sort themselves out.

then, we can go from there.

regarding the rest of the stuff i brushed over, i don't feel i can really say much without knowing what they actually plan to do, or where they plan to go with these things.

for example, here's another list of images of things from the post that i am cautiously intrigued by, but am worried will be improved for the worse:

[ID: Another series of images, showing more of the items listed in staff's post. They read as follows: "Move faster: provide APIs and services to unblock core product initiatives and launch new features coming out of Labs." "Get creators' new content in front of people who are interested in it." "Improve the feedback loop for creators, incentivizing them to continue posting." "Allow engagements on individual replies and reblogs." "Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds." /End ID.]

the bottom line is this: if staff wants the support of the userbase in upcoming changes, they need to show that they respect and value us and the culture at large. in my opinion, staff has made strides in embracing tumblr culture, but we need to know these changes are not just motivated by profit.

if staff intends to keep it's current users, they need to to recognize that we deserve a say in this, too.

without the userbase, tumblr wouldn't exist. end of story. we are what keep tumblr alive. as stated before, expanding the userbase is not a bad thing. but doing so to the detriment of tumblr's culture is.

in this regard, i do truly hope that staff means what they said in the conclusion of their original post:

[ID: An image of the conclusion of staff's post. It reads: "Our mission has always been to empower the world's creators. We are wholly committed to ensuring Tumblr evolves in a way that supports our current users while improving areas that attract new creators, artists, and users. You deserve a digital home that works for you. You deserve the best tools and features to connect with your communities on a platform that priotitizes the easy discoverability of high-quality content. This is an invigorating time for Tumblr, and we--" The words then cut off. /End ID]

so, @staff. if you really do believe this: prove it.

[tobiasdrake]

Ace Attorney 4-3 Turnabout Serenade, Trial 2

An impossible murder committed by an impossible killer overheard by an impossible witness. Today is the day we unpack this illusion and find the secret at the heart of this magician's trick.

This is going to be a two-parter. I want to take some time to talk about the case itself and its construction before getting into the characters in the second part.

Turnabout Serenade has more than a few bumps in the road. There's a lot that happens in this case and a lot to talk about. The consequence of almost nothing happening in Trial 1 is that everything under the sun happens in Trial 2.

The case against Machi is complicated (and partly rooted in inarguable bullshit, grumble grumble), and the case for Machi is even moreso. Meanwhile, the case against Daryan is that a friend of the defendant who can't have witnessed the crime said he did it. On the other hand, the case for Daryan is:

As long as Daryan was onstage at the time of the murder, we're going nowhere with accusations against him. Daryan was onstage in the first set. Lamiroir was onstage in the second. Daryan was onstage again in the third. Even if we hadn't explicitly heard the gunshots during the third set, at no point were Daryan and Lamiroir ever backstage together. It cannot have happened.

As with 4-2 and 4-1, 4-3's illusion relies on a fundamental misunderstanding of the basic facts of the case. For 4-1, that misunderstanding was centered on who was even present at the crime scene, along with a shell game of bottle strikes. For 4-2, the misunderstanding centered on the seemingly three angles that the bullet could have come from, never considering a secret fourth option. For 4-4, it's a misunderstanding of time.

We have a positive ID on the killer. But unweaving this magician's trick will, ironically, require unweaving an unrelated yet pressingly important illusion cast by an actual magician. The trick does not directly relate to the crime, but it's adjacency to the crime requires us to unpack it in order to provide key evidence of what transpired.

(This idea, incidentally, is one of two pieces of the case that a Danganronpa mystery will later borrow for its own series. Danganronpa creator Kazutaka Kodaka seems to be a fan of Turnabout Serenade specifically.)

In this case, solving the magician's trick allows us to change the scene, making the impossible become possible. It lets us move the position of Lamiroir during the second set away from the stage. This is a vital change that makes it possible for her to have heard Daryan's voice.

To that end, we turn to the magnificent poof who's been popping in and out of this case waiting for his turn in the next. Valant Gramarye carried out a grand illusion in the second set, during which Lamiroir became a witness to this crime.

But alas, we can't get anything from the horse's mouth because Valant saw this coming.

Skipped town so fast you can practically see the dust cloud in his wake. It's hilarious that Valant is the one person involved with this crime to grab his shit and run at the first sign of trouble, but he's also completely innocent. He just doesn't want to be forced under oath to explain his trick. That's great.

So, with Valant bunkering down until it all blows over, we're left to piece the illusion together for ourselves.

It's clever, the way Turnabout Serenade weaves these two illusions together. Valant was onstage acting as a body double for Lamiroir while she crept her way into position to complete the trick - singing all the while to maintain the performance. This put her in position to become a witness to the crime that our cautious killer never knew existed - And, better, yet, to capture the crime on mic.

Isolating Lamiroir's singing to find a gunshot captured in the song's recording is a lot of fun. It's one of the few times in the series where it feels like you're doing something more than simply listening to people talk and then matching statements to contrary evidence.

Which is a lot of fun, don't get me wrong; Nobody would stick around for Ace Attorney if they didn't enjoy the core gameplay loop of cross-examinations and evidence rebuttals. But I like when it gets a bit more complicated.

This is my favorite part of 4-3. Unpopular opinion, I know; Having to sit through the Guitar's Serenade over and over again is one of the more contentious parts of this case, I think? I don't know, I'm not super up-to-date on the discourse. But I love playing around with the mixing board - though the final mixing board challenge is pretty obtuse, admittedly.

Honestly, I like most of the minigames from this franchise. They're all fun to play in their own ways. Though the fingerprint dusting is mechanically tedious and should be trimmed down to just picking out whose prints might match. I think I recall they threw it out entirely though? Which is a shame.

But I digress.

Cracking Valant's illusion allows us to crack the illusion of the crime scene - with one other illusion that needs to be cracked in order to form the full picture of what happened. That brings us back to the other piece of Turnabout Serenade that Danganronpa borrowed from.

Well maybe the murder didn't happen in rhythm with a fucking song and we shouldn't be using that as the legal basis for our case.

You want to talk about evidence lacking credibility? The murderer handed us a script for how events played out and we took him at his word because we're a fucking clown show. XD

Speaking of magic tricks, this was pure con artistry. The only way to win at interpreting the song lyrics was to ignore them. Their purpose wasn't to help us solve the case, but to complicate it.

In my Danganronpa revisit, I complained heavily about their take on this because it required the killer to hang out and take an awful lot of extra steps at a crime scene that was already compromised. Turnabout Serenade, however, weaves most of those steps into actions that Daryan already intended to and needed to undertake anyway. The plan was already a hop, skip, and a jump away from Gavin's song as it was.

Though the moving of the body at the end is still pretty bullshit. Especially since he had to not only transport a corpse down a well-used hallway onto the stage but then also hunt down, knock out, and position Machi up there as well - All without ever being seen doing any of it in this relatively small and locked down space full of cops.

In a case filled with stage illusions, that was shameless wizardry.

In any case, those are the three illusions layered over this crime. Now it's time to talk about what really happened on that fateful day. Courtesy of Investigation 2, we've already got a pretty strong idea of what this case is about when we go into it. In fact, the case opens with a reminder of the ominous hints it set up in Trial 1.

This, right here, is the key to our motive. The Chief Justice's son has fallen victim to a deadly virus. Conspicuously at the same time that a cop smuggled a miracle cure into Japanifornia and shot an Interpol officer over it. These two things are clearly related.

Taken into context, the killer's motive here is clear to see. This is about the Borginian Cocoon.

Romein was investigating Lamiroir and Machi under suspicion of trafficking one of these highly illegal cocoons. Which at least one of them obviously did, resulting in a confrontation with the buyer Daryan.

Specifically, our very own defendant Machi. This is one of those fun Ace Attorney cases where the defendant, though innocent of the murder charge, is in fact guilty of something else. Also, he can speak Japanese English after all.

So that's two out of two performers who don't speak Japanese English until it's suddenly revealed that they speak Japanese English. Everything about these people is a lie. I don't like this particular aspect of the case.

This case gives me a lot of feels for Lamiroir and Gavin, though. The only two people who were actually here to play music, and they were both played for suckers because of it.

Not that they accomplished anything by doing it.

This, right here, is what makes this case work for me so well. We have a cleverly orchestrated smuggling plot to bypass customs and get the cocoon into Japan. We have a carefully concocted murder cover-up by an experienced professional. Everything is so clever, so meticulous. And it's all for nothing.

The entire plan got fucked sideways by the unforeseen detail of the guitar being vacuum packed and everything snowballed from there.

These are my favorite types of case elements. The wild card pieces. In mystery writing, it's all too easy to try and make everything that happens "part of the plan". Everyone wants to write the most genius mastermind imaginable. But a bend or swerve in the story that happened because a genius villain made it that way will never be as compelling as one that happens because of the chaotic randomness of life.

This one simple oversight destroyed five lives. The officer Romein, who was shot in a struggle while trying to find the cocoon Daryan couldn't retrieve ahead of time. The conspirators Daryan and Machi, whose crime was brought to light by the attention the murder brought down on them. And the Chief Justice and his son who will never receive the cure Daryan meant to sell to them. All of these lives took a catastrophic dive because of a simple decision Gavin and Lamiroir made in how they wanted to pack the guitar.

So Daryan shot LeTouse. Then he destroyed the evidence.

This case starts out as an enigmatic killing by an artistic maniac painting his masterpiece in blood. But when you peel back the layers, you just find crime. Mundane, banal crime. Not the portrait of a murder artist, but a desperate clean-up by a pair of smugglers who thought they'd hit paydirt before the job went awry.

[slanax]

so the podcast playlist ran out at work earlier today and left me with just music and my thoughts while I continued packaging products on autopilot. Now over the last month or so I've done a lot in my day to day life to stop stagnating and settling for 'good enough' as far as like household and stuff is concerned, I finally upgraded my phone and phone plan after like five and ten years respectively, I bought new clothes that actually fit me instead of the holdovers from back in the day that I was still wearing, my kitchen now has an actual workspace bc I've rearranged my furniture and added some more - shoutouts to my mom who wanted the doors off of my ikea cupboards so she'd have a matching set for the ones I left at home (the kind I had wasn't in store anymore) bc her offering to drive me to Ikea to get replacements triggered a bit of a binge in rearranging my whole apartment and let me transport the new stuff home too. Visiting my brother made me cook more and eat healthier bc he showed me the burgers he's cooking up when he needs something fast but like, with standards.

anyways. rambling. point is that the whole thing got me thinking about other things in my life that I'm kinda 'eh good enough' on, and the big one there is my identity and my body. Me being cis is, at least at this point, a conscious choice born from indifference, the factory settings work well enough and it'd be effort to even start looking into what I'd have to do to change them. But at the same time, it doesn't feel super cis for my position to be "yeah I'd prolly trans my gender if given the chance but that sounds like I'd have to file shit and call people and bureaucracy would be involved. But I would. But the effort." like I'm remembering Ranma 1/2 from my childhood and think that'd be neat to be able to do, just switch genders at the drop of a literal bucket, I feel that's not a very cis thought.

so then about two weeks ago my workplace gave us access to some health benefits, because they're feeling bad about keeping the warehouse people a bit out of the loop and removed from the office people, and also they're having trouble finding new people and really don't want any of us to quit, or something along those lines. Point is I have better health insurance now, based on a calender year budget, so I basically have an above average budget for the second half of this year now and I wanna make use of that, because it's a use-it-or-lose-it kinda deal. Now I don't know if I can use that for any gender affirming stuff, but I might.

The problem that remains is that I still couldn't care less for going through the whole rigamaroll of a social transition, but like. staying on-paper cis and continuing to use my given name to avoid all those complications, legally still being the same person and just looking different (might need a new ID if I go that far lol) doing whatever the fuck I want with my body in the meantime without it ever affecting my legal identity because it's not a deadname if I'm still just using it, it doesn't actually give me dysphoria, and they can't force me to change my name just because I have boobs, might be what I want? And then maybe I can consider a legal gender and/or name change from there?

idk on one hand it sounds like something I'd want to do but on the other hand I also feel it's not like, committed enough? like both on a practical level where I need a doctor to help me transition physically while still using the same (male) name, and on an ideological level where it feels like appropriation in a way to just want the body and the appearance but skipping over the whole paperwork thing because I can't be arsed while for a lot of people changing name and officially recognized identity is a just as if not more important aspect of transitioning.

genuinely can't tell on my own if that standpoint is a valid one, if I'm right to be hesitant for that reason or if that's an exclusionist brainworm take, would appreciate feedback and second opinions on that part especially

either way I am going to look into using my newfound health benefits for getting my facial hair lasered first and foremost because even if I stay physically 100% male that shit is annoying, I don't care for how it looks on me, I feel messy when it's there and can't be assed to shave it regularily. Avoiding effort is a key part of my identity either way whether I'm Cis+ or Legally Cis For Tax Reasons

[iridescent-petrichor]

i love you, i mean it, chapter eight

Pairing: Peter Maxmimoff x Stark!Reader

Warnings: none

Words: 800

Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

When you finally pull out of the hug, you keep both hands on his shoulders. “There must be so many people looking for you, though.” You see Peter’s smile falter for only a moment before he recovers, though his gaze immediately grows distant.

He shakes his head, looking down to the floor to avoid eye contact. It’s clear how hard he’s trying to stay casual, but you knew him too well already. You could practically see him getting trapped in his own head, thinking hard about something you couldn’t see.

“There’s a whole world full of people that already know you, and have for years.” You continue, dropping one hand from his shoulder to gently grab his hand. “You can’t just throw all that away for, what, me? Peter, I’m not nearly important enough for that!”

He shuts his eyes, running a hand over his face with a heavy sigh. “Y/N-”

“I mean, you deserve to be with people who care about you, who love you!”

“I already am.”

He forces himself to look up, meeting your gaze. He looks more sure than you’d ever seen him, and you feel like the air had been ripped out of your lungs.

“Listen,” His voice was impossibly gentle, rubbing his thumb over your knuckles. “I’m not close with a ton of people. I mean, I’m not really close to anyone. But the time I’ve spent here has been better than anything. It feels like I actually have a reason to stay – I actually have someone I love to stay for. And I’m pretty sure you need me.

Tears sting at your eyes, but you can’t get any words out. You can feel your heart beating painfully in your chest, so hard you were sure Peter could hear it. Still, he looked at you, the sincerity in his eyes making you weak in the knees.

You barely realize how long you’ve been silent until Peter frowns, taking a hesitant step back, stammering.

“I mean, unless you don’t, then I guess that’s fine-”

Your eyes widen, and before he can continue spiraling, you step forward and kiss him. Your hands rest on either side of his face, pulling him towards you.

He makes a noise of surprise before instantly melting into the kiss, his hands falling to your waist.

When you finally pull away for air, you reach up, wrapping your arms loosely around his neck.

“Of course I want you to stay, Peter.” You whisper, keeping your voice low as if it would ruin the moment to say it any louder. “I love you.”

His shoulders dropped, visibly relaxing at your words, a grin pulling at the corners of his lips. There was an adoration in his eyes that made your heart skip a beat, and you couldn’t stop yourself from leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to his cheek.

He continued to look at you, the admiring glint in his eyes slowly changing to one of mischief. It was a look you knew all too well, and it made you furrow your brows at him.

Before you could even begin to protest, you were suddenly standing at the top of the Avenger’s Tower with a newfound dizziness that made you stumble backward with a bout of nausea that had you leaning on Peter for support.

“You bastard.” You hissed, clinging to his arm, a betrayed look in your eyes. Peter laughed softly, putting an arm gently around you while you steady yourself.

It took you a second to realize where you actually were, glancing around the New York skyline before your gaze finally settled on Peter, tilting your head in confusion.

“How did you..?”

Peter’s grin widened, pulling an ID card out of his pocket. It was an ID to get into the tower, permitting Avenger’s level access. You looked between the card and him, a smile slowly pulling at your lips.

“When Doctor Strange knew I was here to stay he pulled a few strings, got me into the group. Said that you guys are always in need of new heroes.” He shoved the ID back into his pocket, throwing an arm over your shoulders.

You nod, leaning into his touch. “The stakes keep getting higher, so we definitely always need new help.”

Peter chuckled, kissing the top of your head before turning back to the skyline.

“Man, isn’t this view insane? This is the tallest building I’ve ever been on the roof of.”

You can’t help but laugh, nodding a little. You bit back a comment about how often you’d seen the view considering you grew up with access to the tower.

Instead, you turn to him with a wide smile, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

“Yeah, I think the view is pretty cute.”

[pine-needle1144]

Lab Beakers, Vines, and Vibranium

Temporary spot for this Marvel, Non-Canon, multi-chapter fic. If you know me in real life--no you don't. I'll deny it to the grave. No one will believe you.

Anyways.

Multi-chapter fic being posted with both an OC and as an X Reader, whatever floats your boat.

MCU Bruce Banner x OC x Steve Rogers

My poor excuse of a Summary: Bruce Banner and Tony's cousin are playing God with biological exploration at the Stark Tower. What could possibly go wrong. (Steve Rogers doesn't come into play until later so please hold on for his debut). Oh no, I hope no one falls in love with each other and creates drama. I sure hope individual trauma and miscommunications aren't afoot. I sure hope no random threats appear and make things chaotic. That would be sooo crazy.

Warnings: None yet (If you know me--which you don't--and I'm your boss, you're obligated to skip the smut chapters. I don't wanna hear no ifs ands or buts about it.)

                                            Chapter One

Out of all the places in the world–Alaska never seemed to be on the list of possible hiding places in Tony’s eyes. He even made Natasha triple-check her sources before he finally decided to get on a plane. Nothing could’ve prepared him for the horrendous flight he endured. Between the screaming baby and being stuck in one position for hours on end with his legs cramped up–and including a late take off–Bruce better say yes or he’ll have another thing coming. 

Tony exited the cab, patting his pockets to make sure he had everything before closing the door behind him. His sunglasses hung over the collar of his sweater, proving useless here. Pepper had told him about the roughly two months of darkness Alaska experienced per year, but he didn’t think it’d be essentially nightfall in the middle of the day. He tapped his phone screen to see the time, just to be sure. Damn, Bruce really knows how to pick his spots.

Without wasting any more time, he began walking toward a small white clinic across the street from where the cab left him. It was small and sleek, practically slapped in the middle of nowhere. This town in general was practically smacked in the middle of nowhere. Easily overlooked if you weren’t a local. 

Tony fished around his back pocket until he felt the plastic of his ID card, yanking it out and unwrapping the lanyard he had twisted around the badge. He tossed the badge on, letting it fall to sit directly midway on his chest just as he reached the front of the building. Tony halted in front of the glass doors, poorly attempting to check himself in the reflection before hitting the buzzer. 

It smelled just like any doctor's office would as he swung the door open. The scent of Purell and Clorox burned his nose and throat for a moment as he took a breath, the feeling quickly dissipating. 

The waiting room was almost eerily empty as he approached the front desk, looking around one last time before settling his hands on the counter.

The young woman at the front desk reached forward, sliding her glass window open. “First and last name?” She asked, hastily turning to type on her computer to pull up the patient database. 

“Oh–no, actually,” Tony reached down to grab the badge from around his neck, quickly flashing it toward her before letting it fall back against his chest. “I’m here to speak with Doctor Banner.”

The young woman lifted her fingers away from her keyboard, turning back towards Tony to give him a quizzical look. “Uhuh.” She tutted and reached forward through the window to take a closer look at his ID card. 

Tony pulled it away from her in a hurry. “Perhaps you could just page him for me, make this a little easier.”

She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. “Sir, I need to scan your ID to log you into the visitor's admissions. Now, which department are you visiting from and what is the nature of your visit?” She flicked her hand out, palm up as she patiently waited for him to fork over the badge. 

Tony grumbled, unclipping the badge from his lanyard and dropping it in her hand. “I’m here on a work order. Gotta check the fire alarm lights and the fire extinguishers in Doctor Banner’s office and the hallway.” He made it up as he went, watching as she spun around in her chair to scan the ID through the copy machine. 

“Right, and where is your work order? Oh, and the new fire extinguisher tags?” She asked as she filled out his admission file. Her eyes left the form for only a moment, really taking him in. Tony stood clad in a deep maroon sweater, a bulky leather jacket, jeans, and Doc Martens. The real cherry on top was noticing his sunglasses hanging off the collar of his sweater. No work order and no tags in hand.

Tony shifted his weight back and forth on his feet. “Great question, beautiful. You see, I’m not exactly fulfilling the work order today. Doctor Banner requested that I meet with him and take a look around first. I’m new to the area.” He looked over her unamused face, clearly not buying his story. “First day on the job.” He forced a smile, smacking his hands together awkwardly. 

The woman rolled her eyes before taking one last look at his ID card. “Alright, Mister Jones.” She eyed him once more as she held the badge out to him. 

Tony hastily clipped it back on the lanyard. “That’s my name, gorgeous, don’t wear it out.”

“Go through that door on the left. Walk all the way down the hallway and his office will be the last door on the right. Don’t let me see you in here ever again or I’m calling security.” She slammed the glass window shut and turned back to her computer.

“I don’t plan on it.” Tony wasted no time making a beeline to the door and vanishing behind it. He kept up a fast pace as he nearly jogged along the tile floor. He finally reached the farthest door on the right, peeking through the small glass window just to be sure he was really in there. 

Tony gave a loud and harsh few knocks before letting himself in, eyes falling on his old friend. “Do you have any idea how long it took to find you this time?” Tony’s sarcasm whipped off his tongue with a stinging sharpness, jolting Bruce right out of his chair.

His eyes went wide as he stared slack-jawed in awe at Tony. “I–you,” Bruce stumbled over his words as he adjusted his glasses, running a hand through his hair. “This is unbelievable, Stark.” He shot his hands under her glasses, harshly rubbing his eyes and cheeks. He finally let his hands flop to his sides as he looked Tony over, adjusting to the fact he was truly standing there. “I can’t–How are you–Can I not vacation in peace, Tony?” He rasped in disbelief.

Tony scoffed, slowly and dramatically turning himself to his left and right while reaching his arms out to gesture at the mountain of books, papers, and files surrounding them. “Oh–Oh, I’m sorry–is that what you’re calling this nowadays?”

Bruce shook his head feverishly as he shot up his hands defensively. “Look, Tony, as astonished as I am that you found me and came all this way–I’m not coming back to–”

“I didn’t come here for anything to do with myself, now would ya sit down and listen.” Tony cut him off, grabbing one of the spare chairs from a smaller desk close by and plopping himself down in front of Bruce’s. “Well, scratch that, only partially for me. I’m mainly here on behalf of my cousin. She’s personally requested your expertise.”Tony watched carefully as Bruce lowered himself back into his plush chair, arms resting firmly on his desk as though he were bracing himself. 

He let out a deep breath. “Your cousin?” Bruce muttered, carding through the deep files of his brain for any recollection of such a relative.

Tony nodded. “Yeah, you’ve met her.”

Brue stared blankly at Tony, a deer in the headlights.

Tony rolled his eyes. “My New Year's Eve party, like, two years ago,” Tony explained, leaning back in the chair.

Once again, he was met with Bruce’s irritating silence. “Oh, come on. It was the

first and only party of mine you have ever attended. You were there for maybe an hour before vanishing into thin air like always.”

Bruce tapped a finger to his bottom lip, digging around his mess of memories. “You don’t mean the girl that stood on your bar top screaming Mr. Brightside while spilling half a bottle of Pink Whitney all over herself, do you?”

Tony cleared his throat, choosing to push past the surfaced memory. “Well, she just got her Masters in Biology.”

Bruce chuckled, shaking his head both impressed and slightly shocked at the achievement. “I guess she truly is related to you.”

Tony scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Unimportant.” He reached across the desk to grab a stray pen and paper pad that had a few mindless scribbles on it. “Now, just hear me out for a second.”

Bruce allowed himself to relax a bit, the tension leaving his shoulders as he leaned back in his chair.

“Here’s my offer for you.” Tony began scribbling on the paper. “My cousin is going to be staying at the Stark Tower for a while as Pepper and I rebuild and make some changes. How would you like to work with her in my lab on some cutting-edge biological exploration and technology?”

The silence that fell over the room was piercing. Bruce could practically hear his heart beating in his ears. “I think I need a little more of an explanation than that.”

Tony adjusted himself in his seat. “Listen, Banner, my Ellie practically shares a brain with me. I wouldn’t have come all this way if I didn’t think her ideas were worth exploring. The subject matter is in your ballpark. I’m willing to provide investment, tools, the space, etcetera–to make this happen.” Tony waved the pen around as he spoke. “Of course, on top of her developments–assuming all goes well and you two become an unstoppable team–you’ll also be procuring some tech and new advancements for Stark Industries. Consider this partially a business transaction as well.” He leaned forward, sliding the paper pad over to Bruce. “You'll be paid bi-weekly. I’m willing to provide room and board once we get you signed and–”

“Woah, woah.” Bruce raked his hands through his hair, Tony was giving him more grays by the second. “You want me to stay in the Stark Tower? Like I’m dorming? I mean, Jesus–are we in college again?”

Tony crossed his arms over his chest. “I hardly think my Tower is anything akin to a frat house, Banner.”

“On top of that, you want the other guy on ‘Industrial Island’ for an unforeseen amount of time in the Stark Tower?” Bruce was grasping at his current reality.

 “I do,” Tony assured him. “I think this is an incredible opportunity for everyone involved.”

Bruce peered down at the number Tony had jotted down, his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “Tony–I can’t–This is too much! I mean–what the hell is she trying to develop that you would be paying me this much?”

Tony stood from his chair. “Tell ya what, fly back with me tonight. Meet with my cousin and then make your decision. I can’t force you to stay or go, the choice is yours.”

Bruce shook his head in disbelief, stifling an awkward chuckle. “I can’t believe this.”

“Well, believe it, Banner. She refuses to work alongside anyone else. She knows a lot about your work and she only wants the best.”

Bruce sucked in a quick breath through his teeth. “But, she knows about the other guy, doesn’t she?” He toyed with the rolled-up cuff of his dress shirt. “And she still wants me on this project?”

“She does, and she wants no one else but you.” Tony shot him a smile, extending his right hand out to Bruce. “So, what do ya say?”

Bruce finally pushed himself up from his side of the desk, clasping his hand in Tony’s. “I’ll give this a shot, but if it’s not for me–you’re paying for my return flight.”

Tony chuckled and gave his hand a playful squeeze. “It’s good to have you back in my lab, Banner.”

[bearpillowmonster]

Wolfenstein: The New Order

Actually, no, I hate this cover, it's a bit too basic.

THERE WE GO!

Hugh. Not Hugh as in Hue or Hugh Neutron but Huh-gah, as in a sigh.

So, where do I start? Every now and then, I'll get an FPS where the mouse just does not gel right with the game, whether it be sensitivity or mouse smoothing or what, but for some reason I've had so many games seem so misoptimized and apparently I'm not the only one with this problem but I'm putting it all down here. Vertical sync. Vsync. Turn it off. It worked, that's all I can say.

My dad is someone that plays with his mouse set up an unbearable sensitivity anyway so this might fit him. You know what else my dad plays? Wolfenstein. At least, the older ones. I remember when we moved and he decided it was time to update his gaming catalog since most of his were 5+ years old with classics like the Quake trilogy, Doom 3 and Unreal but one of the games he picked up was Wolfenstein 2009. And oh boy do I have just as fond memories playing that game as he does. It's not the best reviewed game either, heck, I didn't even play it for myself but you better believe that every time he loaded up that game I was right there next to him. I'd pull up a chair, sit on the floor, heck I'd even stand and watch him play, I loved it.

I remember one time I heard him booting up the game and the pitter patter of the gunplay while I was in the shower. I can't say that I've taken a faster shower in my lifetime because I believe that might've been around the time he finally beat the game. Everyone talks about how Bioshock made this and that with all these neat powers and stuff but- you know what, this review isn't for that game, let's skip a little bit ahead. Of course, I was excited when New Order dropped except…my dad found a new game. I bought him the game around release and he still hasn't played it to this day and that was kind of our thing and I wasn't interested in the game he was playing (still playing actually, it's an MMO) anyways, I decided to carry it on anyway because from what I've seen of trailers and pictures, you get a laser gun. That's all I needed to know.

I'm familiar with id's style of gameplay with Doom and such, in fact, I've played the demo of New Colossus and may even recall the mouse problems to be apparent in that as well but I saw this for free on Epic and practically jumped for joy. One of the things that sets this game apart from the others in its franchise is that it tries to lean more into the futuristic stuff as well as Blazkowicz' character.

It's nifty to have the enemies with blue electric coming out of their helmets every now and then, it makes for a good symbol when shooting from a long distance.

As for story, I just raved about 2009's game but I couldn't read you back the story, just what you do in the gameplay and I feel like this might be a similar thing, the opening isn't all that great, it's kind of average war game material, not much of an opener in my opinion and if you really wanted me to dive in why, I actually played the beginning twice. I'm also not going to bother avoiding spoilers for this game since it's nearly 10 years old, just fair warning.

(Prince Charming and his mother from Shrek 2)

So it's pretty linear, there are things here and there that you can go off track and collect but the first level is the most linear part of the game in my opinion. If it was story driven or had a setpiece or something that would tie it all together, it'd be fine but it felt stagnant to me, nothing impressed me and had this not had the name attached then I might not have picked it up based on that alone. The plane wasn't much to me.

The game itself is split into two depending on who you choose to keep from dying at the beginning but that decision doesn't feel earned, it's kind of an all or nothing kind of deal, don't give me lame half excuses to pick one character over the other, that's just not fair. So what I jumped out of a plane and this guy happened to be there? So what the other guy threw a grenade one time and I tried to calm him down? Either build them up to make the decision that much more painful or don't give me any context at all. That's from a narrative point of view.

You see, it seemed like it was banking on its gameplay being good enough that you'd give it a pass like for the reason Blazko gets knocked out, a piece of shrapnel blows out of the hole, cuts the back of his head in the funkiest groove imaginable then lets him float out at sea, what is that? And I mean, I expect silly as well as seriousness, it's a game about cyborg nazis and one of the most over exaggerated nazi hunters but I feel the silliness is misplaced here and there.

But it picks up, the scenario they give to you afterwards is actually pretty cool. Someone who ends up injured and in a hospital/asylum, seeing these guys who put him here but not being able to do anything and stuck that way until you're pushed to the brink to either break out or die, then team up with a nurse. I just find that so cool, it's one of the reasons I look up to MGS5's intro so much.

Characters become meaningful (for a while), some even a little more so than others, like Caroline. She was actually introduced in 2009's game and she was carried over so if you didn't know her story, you get the gist here but it's a lot more meaningful if you played 2009 despite being a separate canon (but for some reason just isn't available on any storefronts...)

You can dual wield, I know I mentioned the laser gun and how that was all you needed to sell me on this game and yeah, it is fun when you use it, but it's still limited to certain areas and certain things. I also had a bit of trouble towards the end with getting the wires to line up so it'd actually cut the fence but it was still pretty cool.

There are actually a few side missions here and there but I can't help but feel that there should have been more, like maybe one after every mission. I mean they're mainly just fetch quests inside the base but that's just it, as an overall product, it teases its potential but didn't quite hit the bar for me. It would've been really cool to expand on that asylum idea and have him involuntarily kill, like seeing a nazi will trigger it and kick off the rest but no. Then they have these interesting side characters like Bombate who's there…but that's it. Or in my case, J (it depends on which playthrough you're on) but he gets introduced and you don't get to talk to him until later to which he explains that he doesn't even like America and explains why and how he just hates Nazis more, challenging Blaskowicz' pro American ideals but then the next time we see him he plays the Star Spangled Banner as if "Yeah, he got over that." there was no growth or anything there (there didn't need to be) but it just seemed rushed or shoved aside. You can have those types of things where they're shorter but what then when you don't go too deep into any of it? I was kind of disappointed by that ending because it all sounds so cool when you put it on paper but then in action, it just seemed like another level, like "That's it? Oh well", it didn't feel like a proper end for any of the characters. So it didn't win me over with playing the other later entries but maybe I'll give RTCW a try some time.

[redflagshipwriter]

Chapter 2

Danny made a face when Jason handed him a coat.

"You don't have to," Jason said, a little offended. "I just thought you seem underdressed for the weather." He'd found his smallest coat, even, which was in great shape because he couldn't fit any armor underneath it and therefore didn't wear it often. That was his sexy coat. That was the going out coat. He was wearing a work coat now.

Masterpost

Danny looked at his brown coat like it might bite him. "... I'd look pretty strange outside in a t- shirt, right?" He confirmed. "It's cold here?"

"Very."

Danny put on the coat and folded the sleeves up so that it fit better. "Okay, I'm ready to go." He wiggled. "Where are we going?"

"Nuh uh uh, it's a surprise," said Jason, because he didn't know yet. He ushered his guest out the door and locked up in a practiced movement. "So, where have you been that's not cold?"

Danny snorted. "It's not that it isn't cold," he admitted carelessly. He put his hands in his pockets and followed Jason. The attention made him stand even straighter than usual. "People just expect me to be weird now, I think."

"So you've got a civilian ID," Jason nodded.

"....civilian." When Jason looked back over his shoulder, Danny looked like he was having some kind of realization. "Yeah. You could say that."

"You know who I am, right?" Jason confirmed. He resisted the urge to fidget, not least because the Red Hood had a pretty low rate of public approval. He'd done the ritual with the hood on and off. He'd always had at least the mask on, but Danny had recognized him instantly in his civvies. So. That was one more person who had his identity.

"...Are we in Gotham?" Danny asked meekly.

Fuck. Jason forced his lips to stay pressed together even when they trembled. Don't laugh. You can't laugh at your date. "Yepp."

Danny nodded sagely. He gripped the back of Jason's sleeve and pulled in close. That forced them both to stop walking down the apartment hallway. He must have gone up on his tippy toes to get his mouth near Jason's ear. "You're Red Robin," he whispered. The feeling of his breath on Jason's ear made his heart skip a beat.

It took a moment to process the words. Jason let out an offended huff.

His date laughed. "The other Red one," he said. His tone was faux apologetic at best. "It's easy to get them mixed up." He patted Jason's shoulder.

"Red Robin is a twig," Jason grumbled. He shook Danny off. He was playing up his scowl, but there was some genuine frustration and insecurity there. He didn't like being compared to Tim. It sent him to a bad headspace. But- "You should tell him that you mixed us up, it would make his year."

"He looks up to you?" Danny asked, openly curious. He jogged after Jason, down the stairs.

Jason snorted. "Not sure if that's true anymore, but he copies everything I do."

"...Little sibling energy," Danny decided. "I bet you like that he thinks you're cool."

"Let's change the subject." Ugh. No. Probably? Jason made a face.

Danny laughed. "What do you wanna talk about?"

Well. Jason stole a sideways glance as they crossed a landing and tried not to fidget. "Why'd you pick me?"

"...huh?"

It was hard not to hunch his shoulders up. "We were all, uh, throwing ourselves at you." That was still hilarious. "Why'd you pick me?"

They walked in silence for a while. They reached the bottom step and Jason held the door open for Danny. They stepped out into the brisk Autumn air.

"Well," he started slowly. "That's not quite… how I saw it." A wrinkle formed on his forehead when he frowned. "It's not like I was picking the best one out of the group of suitors or anything? Because obviously, that's not a way that I look to meet people. Romantically or otherwise."

His stomach fluttered. "So you're saying-"

"Think of it more like if I saw you in a coffee shop and asked for your number." Danny rubbed at the back of his neck. "I'd have thought you were… I mean, if we met elsewhere, I'd have…"

"I'm your type," Jason said, pleasantly surprised by it. He knew that big and muscular was a type, but it was just hard to think of himself as being particularly appealing.

Danny was bright pink. "... Why'd you accept?" He shoved his hands into the pockets of his borrowed coat.

"Curiosity," he admitted freely. "Didn't know anything about you. Wondered what you're like. Thought it might be fun."

"Huh." Danny seemed to consider this. "So far, am I what you expected?"

Jason held out an arm to stop Danny from walking into the street. He huffed a laugh. "I had no expectations," he said dryly. "But you're my type, if that's what you're asking." Apparently, playfulness worked for him. The teasing made him a little nervous, but in a good way.

"... Mysterious and cool?" Danny suggested.

He laughed. The pedestrian light turned green and he started walking.

Danny let out a huge, put upon sigh, but he was grinning lopsided as he trotted to catch up. "Laugh it up," he said cheerfully. "I'm cool and I can't be convinced otherwise."

Jason cleared his throat. "I guess I can't argue with that. D'you want to eat in a restaurant, or get it to go and sit up somewhere real high?"

"To go," Danny said instantly. "I don't like sitting, I get so antsy." He jogged in place to make a point, which had him fall behind Jason's regular walking pace. He caught back up easily.

Huh. Danny was pretty athletic, actually, so far as Jason could tell so far. He hadn't stopped moving since they'd met.

'Probably burns a ton of calories.'

Danny picked Mexican food, so Jason navigated them to a hole in the wall restaurant and got a few things to go. He was a goddamn gentleman, so he carried both bags and held them up high when Danny argued and tried to take one. "You can get drinks, okay?" He compromised.

They stopped at a convenience store

Jason waited outside while Danny flew in and out. He emerged with a bag that he wouldn't let Jason look at. "So, you said you want to go eat this somewhere up high?" Danny prompted.

Right. "Gotham's got good views," Jason explained. "You up for a climb?"

Danny's brow furrowed. "We both have full hands."

Jason grinned down at him. Aww, that was cute. "If that's too much for you, I can carry you up too."

He went beet red. "That will not be necessary."

"You sure?" Jason prodded, teasing.

"I'm very-"

"Hands up."

Both of them turned their heads to focus their attention on the man who was trying to mug them. Jason stared in disbelief. "Come on, man," he said, shaking the takeout bag pointedly. "Can't you see we're kind of busy here?"

Who did that? Who tried to mug two people on a date? Granted- Jason noted- the safety was on the gun. This guy hadn't exactly come ready to catch a murder charge.

The mugger had his face covered with a gray winter mask, but they could kinda see his brows furrow through the eyeholes. "I don't- you know you're being mugged, right?"

"It's up for debate," Danny said philosophically. He cocked his head to the side. Someone edged around them on the sidewalk, because this was fucking Gotham. "I'm not sure you're having the effect that you're going for, my guy. You should consider getting a gimmick or theme."

That was fucking terrible advice, actually. In Gotham, anyway. Maybe it helped villains to have a performance arts background where Danny lived.

"Just give me your wallets!" He shook the gun, as if hoping they just hadn't noticed it yet.

Jason sighed. He transferred both bags to his left hand. The mugger focused on him. He darted his now free right hand out and pulled the gun out of the mugger's grip.

The wannabe thief and Danny stared at him. Jason shrugged and started disassembling the firearm.

"Oh, shit," said the mugger. He sounded very young. "Fuck."

"Your Dad gonna be mad?" Jason asked sympathetically. "I know this isn't your fuckin gun."

"...My grandpa."

He hummed his acknowledgement. "Hands out." When the kid obeyed, he deposited the pieces of the gun into his hands. Jason put his now empty hand over the kid's skull and shook veeeery lightly. "Bad," he enunciated. "You're lucky. Try this shit again and you're eventually gonna get unlucky, you got that? The big bad bat is gonna give you medical debt you can't ever recover from."

"....Thanks. Have a good day, man."

"Have a good one," Jason returned, and put an arm around Danny's shoulder to steer him on his way. Danny craned his neck to watch their attempted thief cram the disassembled gun in his pockets.

"We aren't gonna fight him?" Danny sounded halfway confused about that. "That's what it's like to fight humans? He gave up just like that?"

Jason snickered and reeled Danny in that little bit closer so that his shoulder bumped against Jason's chest. "We should compare stories. On our way up the old city hall tower."

Check Yes (to go on a date with a dead guy)

Chapter 1

The expectant smiles froze on his siblings’ faces.

Jason blinked, still shaking off the disorientation of the green twisting blur that always came when he took his turn with tHe RitUaL. “What?” he said. It came out defensive. Usually they were all laughing by this point.

Dick reached out and took the post-it off his forehead. “We may have misunderstood this sacrificial thing.” He frowned at the note.

Jason tore it away and flipped it around to read it.

“...Please stop the bridal sacrifices,” he read, voice instantly trembling with the need to laugh. Holy shit. “Proposal is kinda forward. But if you really want, I’d totally go on a date with you. Check yes or no. Danny.” There were two smiley faces after the name and a scribbled drawing of a human looking guy with tall hair.

The batcave was in total, mortified silence. The ritual that had become their pre-patrol goof-off activity of choice had maybe… maybe been a mistake?

“I’m kinda hurt,” Dick broke the silence. “I’m marriageable. I’m a catch, even.” He was joking, but Jason was pretty sure that it wasn’t totally baseless. Who would look at Dick and then choose Jason, of all the people?

Stephanie snorted. “It’s probably your reputation as Ritchie Rich,” she soothed. “I’m sure if this… is it the same guy every time?” She blinked, clearly distracted from her original thought. “Have we all been proposing to Danny day after day?” She wondered. She started counting on her fingers.

“Twice last week,” Tim said thoughtfully. “I proposed to him twice last week.” A line formed between his brows. “I should probably tell Bernard, huh?”

“We must communicate with whoever this Danny is,” Damian said immediately. “If this realm possesses both animal life that resembles our fauna and sentient beings capable of the bad judgment necessary to select Todd as a suitor over Richard, we must know more.”

Jason made a face at Damian and flipped him off, but didn’t disagree. “How is this supposed to work?” He waved the post-it. That did imply some modernity, at least. They were communicating with someone who had stationary. “If I was going to check it, would he know what I picked? Or would I have to– should be bride sacrifice a notebook back and forth?”

“A notebook,” Tim said scathingly. “We can do better than that. A communicator, a phone.”

“Who says Danny has signal, dingbat,” Jason shot back. “He’s probably out of the service area.”

Cass took the paper out of his hand and peered at it. “Yes or no,” she asked, cutting off the disagreement before it could get heated.

He didn’t have to think about it. “Yes,” Jason said, mischief in every line of his body. “I gotta see where this is going. We should at least meet the guy.”

“He said you were tempting!” Dick gasped. He grabbed Jason by the arm and clung on. “Remember? The first time? You’re his type!”

Damian made a ‘gross’ face, features scrunched up like an unhappy cat. Stephanie ‘ooooed’ like she was watching a wrestling match. Cass merely looked thoughtful.

Jason shook his annoying brother off and kept him at a distance with a palm on Dick’s forehead.

“Oooh, the void boy has a crush on you,” Stephanie teased. “You’d be such a beautiful bride, Jason.” She didn’t react to Cass reaching into her hip pouch and withdrawing a sparkly purple pen. Jason loftily ignored Stephanie and watched Cass carefully check YES.

The note disappeared. Cass looked at her empty hand. She flicked the pen between her fingers. Her brow scrunched up.

“Shit!” Jason cursed. “Did-”

The group broke out into an explosion of excited sound.

A throat cleared from the stairs. “Kids?”

Batman stood there, wearing wary suspicion and most of his patrol outfit. He was under the impression that they had agreed to stop sacrificing each other to the green void.

“She took my pen,” Stephanie wailed, instantly switching tracks. Cass backflipped away three times and then leapt directly upwards into the rafters, waiving the purple pen tauntingly. Stephanie chased after her.

“What-”

“Jason won’t let me hug him,” Dick tattletailed. He lunged to grab at Jason. Jason dodged on reflex and threw himself into the scuffle.

“I need to call Bernard.” Tim turned and outright left the Batcave. “I’ll be about five minutes late for patrol, B.”

Bruce watched this chaos with bewildered eyes. “...We leave in ten,” he said, and visibly gave up.

…

The date, when it came, was a fuckin surprise to Jason. He was minding his own business compiling a report on everything the Two-Facers had done last week. (There was a surprising amount of bureaucratic process involved in making yourself the judge, jury, and executioner of people who sucked.)

And then there was a violently green hole in his wall. “Huh,” Jason said, leaning back in his chair. He pulled the handgun out of his desk drawer and cocked it at the portal. “Not sure I care for that.”

“Thanks, wolf,” came a warbled and nonsensical reply. Jason turned off the safety.

His brow furrowed. “What?”

The portal flashed white and it closed. He was lifting his gun to point at the man now standing in his apartment before he’d actually processed that someone had come through. This guy moved fast.

“This is where you live?” The other man was peering around Jason’s apartment. He seemed politely interested at best, and, Jason felt, much less concerned by the gun than he should have been. “I heard bats before. I thought there would be more bats.” His tone was disappointed. He looked at Jason and then flinched his palms out and up, as if he thought he might have come off rude. “Not that you need bats! Or that I’m disappointed by the lack of bats in your decor. In fact you have wonderful, uh, curtains.” He very obviously named the first thing that he saw. He pretended to be fascinated by them. “The red sure is a choice.”

Jason snorted.

“A great choice! I’m not criticizing your home. It’s great.”

Jason realized that if he didn’t say anything to save him, Danny was going to ramble himself into a verbal corner and slink out of the dimension to escape his obvious embarrassment.

“...You hair looks just like in the picture you drew,” Jason said. He put the safety back on. “Hello, Danny.” The name tasted odd in his mouth. It twas just a little pedestrian for the other man– no, teenager, the other teenager.

Danny looked young. No wonder he’d thrown Dic back like the wrong fish.

Jason felt a little less smug about having been the one chosen. Maybe he was just the most age appropriate candidate, not Danny’s type. Timmers was only two years younger, sure, but he was petite enough that it was a little ambiguous.

Danny turned away from Jason’s window and beamed up at him like that was the greated compliment he could have ever received. “I don’t actually have your name! Which is funny, since you kept manifesting in my house.”

God help him, Danny was cute. Jason reached out a hand. “Jason.”

Danny looked at his outstretched hand and then back to his eyes. He blinked. “Are- oh!” He flushed green and his hand shot out to meet Jason’s in what was very clearly the first handshake of his life.

It was a struggle not to laugh. He didn’t wanna make Danny feel bad so he held it in. There was a helpful distraction in that Danny was fascinating to the touch. It didn’t feel like he was touching a human hand. First off, the hand was about the temperature of butter straight from the fridge. Secondly, somehow the physical contact made Jason taste mint in his mouth.

But really, it just… it didn’t feel like human skin. It was too smooth. There was a raised line from a scar, but the texture was as if all the wrinkles and pores of human skin had been polished off. Like if you held the hand of a marble statue and it was somehow also soft.

Jason pulled his hand away before he could wonder too much if that supernatural smoothness extended elsewhere. Ah. Too late. He flushed a little red, even though the only exposed skin was Danny’s hands and face. “So you’re here to uh, set up a date?” he offered.

Danny blinked at him. “Are you busy now? I was thinking now.”

…He was sort of busy. Jason closed his notebooks, only now concerned that Danny might have seen extremely sensitive information. “Nope,” he lied, attention catching on Danny’s freckles. Something about them was pinging as relevant. Was there a pattern? They weren’t symmetrical or anything. Were they fake?

Danny beamed and - he floated up a few inches in his excitement. Holy hell that was cute. “Great!” he enthused. “Should we go to your place or to mine?”

Uh.

Jason turned violently red. “We are already in my place.” His voice came out tight. He- he hadn’t meant that. That was not a first date activity for him.

It took a few seconds for the penny to drop. “Go out in your city or go to the Ghost Zone!” Danny waved his hands frantically. “I’m not being a creep I swear! I mean, we are kind of spiritually engaged but I’m also engaged to– are those people your friends and family?” He was outright horrified. “Oh my GOD, I’m-”

“I would love to take you out around town, but you’ll stand out,” Jason interrupted. He couldn’t hold back the smile. “We can make it work, though. Thoughts on hats and glowing less?”

“Oh, that’s easy.” Danny twitched his hands outward in a motion he probably didn’t even know he was doing. There was another flash of white light that crawled up and down his body.

And Danny one was gone. Danny two stood in Jason’s apartment with dark hair, patched jeans, and a loose t-shirt that hid the musculature his jumpsuit had displayed. He had a full palette switch of his eyes and skin tone as well.

He was obviously the same guy. He just felt more down to earth now.

“Useful,” Jason said, and tugged at his snow-white forelock. “Think you could teach me to change my hair like that?” He was only half joking. It was the bane of his existence when he needed to go undercover. It was too distinctive.

“No, but Doctor Frostbite might be able to sort that out for you,” Danny replied absently.

Jason grimaced instinctively. He knew way too many gimmicky villains to want to do to someone called Doctor Frostbite. “That sounds like the name of a B-tier villain with blue hair.”

Danny paused and clearly contemplated it. “That’s Ember, actually,” which made no branding sense because the word ember evoked warm colors. “Lead the way!” He bounced on his heels, which Jason guessed was his human form equivalent to floating up.

Jason cleared his throat. “I, uh, am gonna want to change.”

For the first time, Danny really looked him up and down and realized that he was wearing a white sleeveless undershirt and black boxers. Jason waited patiently as Danny went through all the stages of grief and social mortification. That didn’t stop Danny’s eyes from followed Jason’s bare arms when he casually lifted one and flexed a little, rubbing at the back of his head. Ha. Eat that, Dick.

“I’m going to go drown myself,” Danny said, now violently pink. Huh, even blushing for a color change. “Can I use your restroom?”

“Stay alive enough to pick between Korean or Mexican,” Jason advised. “I’ll be right back. Should I find you a coat?” He didn’t wait for an answer, frowning at Danny’s bare arms. “I’m gonna find you a coat.” He was already on the way to his bedroom. “It’s freezing out.”

…

[scannerca-0]

CA Foundation Exam : Do’s and Don’ts on Exam Day

Though intense study and hard work are required to prepare for the CA Foundation exam, your performance on test day can be greatly impacted by your actions. This is a thorough tutorial on the must-do's and don'ts to guarantee exam success.

Do’s on Exam Day

1. Get a Good Night’s Sleep:

Ensure you get at least 7-8 hours of sleep before the exam day. A well-rested mind functions better, helping you recall information and think clearly during the exam.

2. Eat a Healthy Breakfast:

Start your day with a nutritious breakfast. Opt for foods that release energy slowly, like oats, whole grain cereals, and fruits. Avoid heavy or greasy foods that might make you sluggish.

3. Arrive Early:

Plan to arrive at the exam center at least 30 minutes early. This helps you avoid any last-minute stress caused by traffic or unforeseen delays.

4. Bring Necessary Materials:

Ensure you have all required materials, such as your admit card, ID proof, pens, pencils, erasers, and a calculator if allowed. Double-check the list of permitted items on the ICAI website.

5. Read Instructions Carefully:

Take a few minutes to read the instructions on the question paper. Understanding the instructions can help you avoid simple mistakes.

6. Time Management:

Allocate time for each section or question and stick to it. If you find yourself stuck on a difficult question, move on and come back to it if time permits.

7. Stay Calm and Focused:

Maintain your composure throughout the exam. If you feel anxious, take deep breaths and remind yourself that you have prepared well.

8. Review Your Answers:

If time allows, review your answers before submitting the paper. Look out for any missed questions or mistakes that can be corrected.

Don’ts on Exam Day

1. Don’t Cram:

Avoid last-minute cramming. It can increase anxiety and confusion. Trust the preparation you have done over the past months.

2. Don’t Skip Breakfast:

Skipping breakfast can lead to low energy levels and decreased concentration. Ensure you eat something to fuel your brain.

3. Don’t Bring Unauthorized Materials:

Check the list of prohibited items and ensure you don’t bring any unauthorized materials to the exam hall. This includes mobile phones, electronic devices, and study notes.

4. Don’t Panic Over Difficult Questions:

If you encounter a tough question, don’t panic. Move on to the next question and return to the difficult one later. Maintaining a positive mindset is crucial.

5. Don’t Rush Through the Paper:

While time management is important, rushing can lead to careless mistakes. Work at a steady pace, ensuring accuracy in your answers.

6. Don’t Discuss Answers During Breaks:

If there are breaks between papers, avoid discussing answers with fellow candidates. It can create unnecessary stress and self-doubt.

7. Don’t Ignore Instructions:

Not following instructions can lead to errors that might affect your score. Pay close attention to what’s asked and how you are required to respond.

8. Don’t Leave Early:

Even if you finish early, use the remaining time to review your answers. Leaving the exam hall early means you miss the opportunity to correct any mistakes.

Additional Tips

Preparing with the right materials can make a significant difference in your performance. Utilizing resources like Scanner CA Foundation Books, Scanner CA Final Books, and CA Foundation Scanner can help you practice efficiently and understand the exam pattern better. These resources provide a comprehensive collection of previous years’ questions and model answers, which are invaluable for your revision. Similarly, CA Intermediate Scanner and CA Final Scanner can aid in higher levels of preparation by offering detailed insights into exam trends and important topics.

In conclusion, your success in the CA Foundation exam is not just about how well you prepare but also about how well you manage yourself on the exam day. Follow these do’s and don’ts to maximize your performance and approach the exam with confidence. Good luck!