#simulations the fourth is my favorite

[nickssidewitch]

👾🕹️ List of Games the Triplets Should Play if They Stream Again 🕹️👾

Can y’all share this everywhere if you like my list because I’m sick of Fortnite-only streams and I damn well do not want to constantly see Roblox…

Obviously no hate to Fortnite because yass kings grind 😤💪🏾‼️. But like… let’s switch it up a lil’ bit, boys. Get sexy idk.

Horror🔪

💉 Outlast: Horror. Thee scariest game on this list!!! Great story, but even if you’re not interested in the story, the gameplay is interesting and nostalgic. May be a bit jumpscare-y at times. Not too much gore, but enough to make the spine tingle.

🧸 Five Nights at Freddy’s: Horror. Honestly, I highly doubt they’d actually play this because it’s probably the second scariest game on this list and they don’t seem like they could handle it. But, a one-off stream of this game would be nice idk. If they do, I’d suggest the first and second ones because they are good, Otherwise, the third one is ass, and the fourth one is way too scary. The other installments are forgettable (no shade 🥱).

🌙 Little Nightmares: (Mild) Horror. One of my personal favorite games. Right amount of scares, but definitely nothing like Outlast or FNAF. The main character is literally the cutest little thing!

🌺 Poppy Playtime: Horror. Similar to FNAF in the sense that you’re in a world where childhood characters come to life wnd become murderous villains, but the story is incredibly unique and eye-catching. There are a few Gaming YouTuber surprises in there as well.

🩸 Fears to Fathom series: Horror. This series is an indie gaming community favorite! Real-life people sent in submissions of their actual true experiences, and the developer made each story into actual games! I love the simple retro feel of the design, and the stories are very intriguing especially since they are all true stories.

🧟‍♂️ The Walking Dead: Horror, Story, Action, Adventure, Apocalyptic. The hype for this game never dies (imo)! Matt would absolutely fall in love with this story and its characters!! I feel like it would definitely cement his love for TWD as a whole. And if he ever played the Michonne DLC?? omg. Someone get this man to play TWD! Chris and Nick would love it too I feel.

Story 📖

📸 Life Is Strange: Story. A story-based decision game series. You play as young adults who have special powers that develop through difficult life experiences. Each game delves into different aspects of sexuality, love, mental health, and other real-life experiences. I’d like if they played only the first one, but the other games are also pretty cool if they like the first story.

🌄 Until Dawn: Horror, Story. A story-based decision game set u like a classic “cabin in the woods” thriller… with a twist. There’s a new remake as well, so that adds a bonus point to the overall enjoyment and the hype of the experience.

🤖 Detroit Become Human: Story, Sci-Fi. I know the hype for this game is gone, but I need it! The world is set in the future where robots and androids roam the Earth amongst humans. It’s such a great story with great graphics. And every single one of the choices matter. I feel like they’d genuinely enjoy it if they immersed in it.

😷 The Last of Us: Horror, Sci-fi, Story. It’s the game that inspired the TV show. I personally think the game is better than the show, but I digress. Great story, the best characters with such various traits.

🐈 Stray: Adventure, Sci-fi, Puzzle. (This is more for Matt than anyone else lowkey highkey). You play as a stray cat, but it’s more than just a cat simulator— it’s a journey set in the future. Everyone, but especially Matt, would love this. Very great graphics. Pretty calm, but can definitely get the heart racing at times. Will pull at the heartstrings.

Miscellaneous 👾

🍄 Mario Kart / Mario Party: Multiplayer, Party. This is a given 🤷🏾‍♀️

☠️ Dead By Daylight: Multiplayer, Horror. When Nick’s computer is finally fixed, they can all play together and probably even get some friends (or play online).

💎 The Sims: Simulation. Honestly, this can be like a game they play ironically. 🤷🏾‍♀️ I just wanna see them argue about how to customize their characters.

🌚 Among Us: Multiplayer. They’ve played it before both online and with fans, but I’d love if they played some rounds that were more organized with real-life friends and maybe even their mods/subscribers on Twitch!

🔫 Call of Duty (any of them): Shooter, Action. Literally just wanna see how good they are since they were flexing in that one stream they did a while back. 😒 Like where’s the proof?

🤺 Mortal Kombat: Fighting, Action. Any of the recent additions. I don’t need Story Mode if they don’t care to know the lore! I just wanna see them beat tf outta each other 🤫 ! Nick playing as Mileena would be a gag! 🤷🏾‍♀️

🦸🏻‍♂️ Injustice 2: Fighting, DC Universe. It’s similar to Mortal Kombat, but just set in the DC universe with characters like Batman, Harley Quinn, etc. I think made by the same developers as MK? Wanna see them beat each other up.

🎰 Liar’s Bar: Multiplayer, Gambling (not actually, but—). You play as up to four characters. You get cards in your hands. It’s up to you whether you play truthfully, or lie and place whatever cards you want all without getting caught. And if you get caught, now you gotta survive a round of russian roulette. It’s actually so fun for a few rounds if you have a good party.

Please share this across platforms! I’d love that! I really wanna see them at least try some things from this list. It’d make my little gamer heart so happy 😭 And I’m sure the other fans who like videogames as well would agree.

And I’m sure the boys would definitely appreciate the ideas since they seem open to them. 🥰🤍

[starquestingfordrarry]

writing interview

thank you for the tag @xalandrix! You should go read their post because they've got so many banger fics

how many works do you have on ao3? 28, and 3 unrevealed

what's your total ao3 word count? 221,659 😲

your top 5 stories by kudos

All These Winding Threads | E | 35k

Half Sick of Shadows | E | 40k

Of easy wind and downy flake | E | 14k

Simulation Theory | E | 35k

Draco L Malfoy (the L stands for legs) | E | 1.8k

do you respond to comments? yeah!

what's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? hmmm, I don't know because I don't like angsty endings 🤣 but my most open ending is Your Hot Hands maybe?

what's the fic you've written with the happiest ending? Gotta be With Love in Her Luminous Eyes - families and homes are found, plus it has a fluffy sequel

do you write crossovers? not yet - unlikely to because they don't fit in my head logically, but never say never

have you ever received hate on a fic? no! somehow I have been very lucky in that respect

do you write smut? hell yeah

have you ever had a fic stolen? not that I'm aware of

have you ever had a fic translated? yeah! both lips on the mirror has been translated to french

have you ever co-written a fic? not yet, but I SWEAR I WILL

what's your all-time favorite ship? hmmmmmmmmmm HMMMMMMMM

what's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will? I refuse to acknowledge that I won't finish everything I've started. I'm in denial.

what are your writing strengths? oh god don't make me write nice things about myself. Um, descriptions. The rhythm of my sentences. Word choice.

what are your writing weaknesses? paring things down -- my betas are essential for this. Sometimes writing things that only make sense to me. Plotting. Actually sitting down and doing the damn thing.

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? it's cool, but I especially like when the authors do that neat formatting thing with the footnotes

what's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to? I have a list! pretty much any and all w/w ships in HP, jayvik (once I watch season 2), shallan/kaladin/adolin and kaladin/adolin (again, once I catch up on all the Stormlight books), and recently I was thinking about suffering through the rest of the fourth wing books to write fic because god they are so bad but the dragon shit is so cool! the world seems really fun to play in. BUT, if I'm being really honest, it will probably just be more drarry 😅

what's your favorite thing you've ever written? I think it's still Half Sick of Shadows because I'm really pleased with my literary allusions and I love the OC's I came up with and I love the setting so much.

tagging @drarrymyheart, @lqtraintracks, @greattemptation, @arminaa8, @smehur, @badwolfblues, and anyone else who feels like playing <3

[ambriel-angstwitch]

Robins being Robin Commentary #5-6

Fourth and Final Part!

Immediate Bald Damian Jump scare. Also kind of reminds me of Aang.

Batmans been having an angsty night stroll. Found a picture of a girl that looks like Jenny Wren, I wish he was talking about Cass here but I know he’s talking about Jenny Wren

Ok so Dick shining stuff in their eyes got them stuck in a simulation. They had to play it through to escape using Tim’s guidance. All of their seemingly perfect life’s that Bruce thought they might have lived without him fell apart (Steph leading a super team, Damian’s monk lifestyle, Jason’s race car driver dream, and Dicks super spy life. Tim being kidnapped wasn’t in the simulation but he did find out while hacking it that Bruce thought he’d be a video game designer.)

Exactly! Not only does Batman need Robin and Robin need Batman. But the entire support structure is important

On a continuation of Tim suffers hour. She is going to use headlight to make him look like the villain Batman blames. So at least Batman has a no kill rule

Time for them to see gauntlet zero. But ahhh! Damian called Tom his brother! I know I already freaked out when Tim called Damian his baby brother but both are amazing occasions

Ope! Well Robin ought to have been traumatic for Bruce. Not to mention that this means Jason isn’t even the first Jason. By the time Jason came around he’d already lost a kid, granted she wasn’t as much of his kid as the robins since his home never really became hers but still

More Tim Suffering. The way it takes three of the Batkids to hold him off when he thought someone hurt his kids.

Ahh yes my favorite mind control (or other situations where the mind is messed with) trope. Telling the person something only they would know as the other is hurting them. (Also little Dick is so cute I love him)

Yay! A happy ending! Bruce is part of family talks now! (Please just add Babs, Cass and Duke too now! Maybe Kate sometimes)

< prev

[agentsofmarvel]

some of my favorite agents of shield fun facts (season 4 edition) (part 1!!)

season one through three fun facts are on my page!!

this season was the first to split into three separate arcs: the ghost rider, LMDs, and then the framework. in seasons one through three, there are two arcs across the season.

the writers realized they could introduce the darkhold and magic into the fourth season as doctor strange had been recently released and the audience had already been introduced to "mcu magic".

the writers dubbed season four "the fractured family".

dr.radcliffe was described by jeph loeb as “what fitz could have been”. radcliffe is said to be someone who believes they have good morals, but doesn’t think about the consequences of their actions and just does things.

robbie’s charger has the license plate number: 299 ZXB

in season four episode one “the ghost”, jed whedon makes a very quick appearance on an orange bus in the background of a shot.

to film scenes with the ghost rider’s flaming skull, gabriel luna had to wear a balaclava (think a ski mask) with flashing LED lights to simulate the lighting from a fire.

for any scenes with the charger, they had to find two almost identical 1969 dodge charger’s. one for up-close shots and one stunt vehicle. they ended up having to have both custom built.

the role of AIDA was actually supposed to be a small role. however, upon seeing mallory jansen’s acting, the crew immediately began adding her character into more scenes.

so so glad to be back sharing fun facts!! season 4 part 2 (including framework facts) is already in the works!!

[maculategiraffe]

took the baby and my sister a grocery delivery plus the box of gluten free egg free frozen pizza rolls and the magic school bus on the ocean floor I had gotten him as a welcome back / fourth of july present. he was very stoked about both and is feeling a lot better and being very considerate of his mom who is still feeling pretty crappy. we're going to do the fourth of july barbecue once everybody is feeling better and I have promised to simulate the baby's favorite part of the fourth of july parade last year by standing on my dad's trailer and throwing lollipops and small bags of cheese puff snacks at the baby

[mysticalsoot]

mission sims and missing cues

a continuation of my self-indulgent boarding school au

A/N; i am so in love with this au.. I've got like two other fics for this ay in the works. lmk if yall want more of this-- totally did not expect this to be this long but I mean that's okay. also thanks to lilly and elliot for just being motivation to finish this-- and thank YOU for all the love on my writing cause holy fucking mother of gOD there's 110 of you now?? what??

summary; reader and wilbur are close friends and classmates but both have feelings for each other without the other knowing! they're thrown into a mission simulation together as commander and pilot and slight flirting ensues.

tw// swearing, maybe a smidge of suggestive flirting, definitely thoughts

words; 6.3k

pairings; cc!wilbur x gn!reader

pronouns; they/them and use of y/n!

masterlist

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You loved every part of your school, you loved the classes, the teachers, and the activities but you couldn't help but favor the Mission Simulations above all else.

They were the most laid-back part of your academics, and it was a hands on experience that you could have any part in. You had the opportunity to do anything and everything with positions and experience and outcome. 

Although you were truly partial to being commander, you didn't mind any other position you found yourself in. Missions usually spanned around a week but in sessions. First two sessions would be training, and test runs, the third session would start the first half of the mission running about three hours and then the second half would be in the fourth session. You absolutely adored how they did this and found you got the most out of it, a real feeling for the position and role you'd be in and you could make a decision on if you liked it or not—and if you wanted to try the same position on a different mission another time.

Today's session was the first half, a three-hour run of the school's Mars Mission Sim and you had gotten the commander position. Your pilot being Wilbur. He was rather ecstatic about his role, only been put in mission specialist or station roles before—he was excited to be front and center in the mission, though it didn't really matter, he was just excited for a change of pace.

"So, have you come up with a 'first human on Mars' speech or do you need me to come up with it?" Wilbur is snarky in a playful way in the tone he uses, tossing a hash brown into his mouth as he watches you from the other side of the cafeteria table. You roll your eyes at him and fold your arms over your chest.

"Well, no-" He cuts you off.

"Good! I've come up with one!" He starts by standing up in a grandiose manner, not paying mind to any of the students on other teams staring at him.

"One step for humankind, one great step for alien kind!" He makes exaggerated steps, only a few before your crew trainer, Andy, looks over at Wilbur with this gaze of 'please sit down or I'm telling Evan' and he's quick to find his seat back in front of you.

"You're one of my favorites Wilbur, but you should be in drama school," Andy scoffs, looking down at his tray before standing and walking away to take care of it. Your gaze follows him before landing back on Wilbur in front of you. His elbow rested on the table and his eyes look past you.

You hum, "He's right, you should've applied to drama school instead," Then you shrug, chuckling to yourself as Wilbur's gaze lands onto you, turned into a playful glare.

"And miss out on the opportunity to steal my brother's best friend away from him? Never." His eyes shine with a playfulness to them, and he smirks. 

"So I'm just a pawn?" You put your hand over your heart in mock offense, a smirk of your own curling on your lips.

"Oh yes, just a pawn," 

Andy finds his way back to his spot, and he opens his teacher's binder to check the schedule, "I don't want to know what you two are talking about, do I?" He doesn't look up as he adjusts his glasses and sifts through the different pages.

"Wilbur says I'm just a pawn," You tell him and Wilbur gawks at you, offended at how quickly you told on him.

Andy looks up and ahead and then at you and then back at Wilbur, eyebrows knitted together and concern glazing over his irises, "Pawn in what?"

"My master plan to steal them away from Tech," Wilbur speaks nonchalantly, his glare dissipating and turning into a look of pride.

Andy hums, looks over at Wilbur and says, "Good luck with that." His attention is brought back to his binder before checking the time on his phone. He begins ushering the team to finish up with their meal, take care of their trays and stand in front of the glass wall just a few feet behind you when they're done.

"First one to the wall gets to say the first words on Mars," Wilbur smiles at you, eyes glinting with mischief and you can tell by his body language, he's ready to sprint.

"Okay, fine," You shrug and let him get a head start, subtly speed-walking over to clean up his meal, and take care of his tray. Although, subtly isn't the most accurate descriptor, his legs are long enough all he has to do is take longer strides and he can beat you almost immediately. You take your time, walking normally and then speeding up for a second, but you're still behind. Wilbur looks behind him at you and frowns.

"Why are you walking?" He tilts his head at you, stopping in his tracks.

"I don't want to win," You shrug at him, taking a few steps forward and follow behind him in line.

"Why not?" He's still facing you, his back towards the front of the line and you both put the tray's on the counter, taking care of the dishes and trash and putting them in their respective spots. Plastics, paper, plates, utensils, etc.

"Everyone will hear me and only a drama queen like yourself should get to say it," You smile lightly at your own comment, and you're out of line a moment later. You both stand by the exit of the short hall, the glass wall a few feet away from you both.

"You're such a pussy," He smiles and shakes his head as he runs off over to the glass wall, and you follow, yelling after him.

"Wilbur!" You grumble as you follow him, hot on his heels and of course, he's the first at the wall, his hand pressed against the glass and he sticks his tongue out at you, "You can't say that!"

He smirks, leaning down closer to your face teasingly and your breath hitches in your throat, "And why not?" 

You huff, moving to stand against the wall next to him instead of in front of him. You fold your arms over your chest and tilt your head up to meet his eyes, an annoyed glare filling your own, "You could get us both in trouble with that language, mister."

He leans down again, "Doesn't sound like a horrible idea, at least we'll be in trouble together," He smirks slightly, attempting to avert your attention from how pink his cheeks are, and how nervous his breath is.

"Wilbur," You warn, poking his chest and he giggles, leaning against the glass wall with you as you both wait for the rest of your team to meet you.

The rest of the kids take their time with meeting everyone else at the glass wall, both you and Wilbur growing anxious at how long it was taking. You tilt your head forward to look down the line for Tommy, making sure he isn't causing any mayhem too great for Andy. And then you lean back when you see he's just talking with his friends.

It seems that both you and Wilbur found yourselves at the front of the line, the rest of your classmates assumingly lining behind you both as a buffer between them and their crew trainer. To keep Andy from hearing the things they say, probably. He's heard it all from you and Wilbur, so he's far from bothered by whatever stupid thing one of you may say next.

It's a few moments and then he's at the front of the line, leading the hoard of kids down the ramp and around the corner in front of the training room. As per usual, only you and Wilbur are the ones in a proper line and it doesn't surprise anyone. Everyone else could care less and it didn't bother you or Will to speak to each other without facing one another. Plus, if anyone got in trouble for taking up too much space, at least it wouldn't be you or him.

Andy stops the group at the fence blocking off the training room and he tells everyone to stay put as he leaves to go into the back and talk to the trainers running today's mission. You and Wilbur decide to take a spot by the wall, and sit on the floor. You're squeezed up against him slightly, the rest of the group causing you both to get a bit squished. You do your best to hide the red that begins to crawl up your cheeks, looking away from him in hopes he won't notice. He does the same, without you knowing. Both of you are desperately trying to hide any inkling at the feelings you both harbor for one another. Letting that truth through creates vulnerability and being jokingly flirtatious is easy. It can be brushed off as a playful platonic joke. So why not be flirty and break your own hearts at the thought of unrequited feelings?

"You think they trained us enough?" Wilbur breaks the deafening silence with a playful question, mouth quirking up into a half smile, half smirk. His eyes glint with something you can't quite place.

You huff a laugh, "Do you think you paid attention enough?" You turn your head to face him, smile soft but mischievous. You lean against the wall, trying to subtly slink yourself a bit away from him. You don't really want to be away from him and his touch, but it makes you nervous and you don't want to make him uncomfortable. But you don't move, you can't make it obvious. He doesn't mind the touch either, but he too fears the possibility of making you uncomfortable.

"Hm, I think I have a decent grasp on the concept. It's just button pressing and reading lines, right?" Wilbur nudges your shoulder with his, a soft laugh of his own rolling off his lips, ones held in a smirk.

"Oh, you think it's that simple, pretty boy?" You try your best to hide the pink of your cheeks, plotting a response if he asks. For a brief moment he simply looks at you, mouth slightly agape before he shuts it, bringing back his previous smirk.

"Well, that's what it seemed to be, so I'd say it's pretty simple," He brushes past the use of the pet name and he looks away, a nervous smile replacing the smirk as he looks down at his lap. Oh, he's infatuated and dear god—he wanted nothing more than to fall out of love, out of the feelings he felt. They weren't reciprocated, and any point he may have thought they were, could easily be shut down by the excuse of playful jokes.

"Well, we'll see about that," You push up to stand, catching your eye on Andy and another trainer walking over to the team. He makes the motion to move along and follow him with his hand and so you jump to stand behind him, Wilbur following suit.

The group is led around the corner and into the mission control room. Everyone's instructed to put their backpacks and whatnot on the table far behind the rows of desks. Both you and Wil put yours down on the far end, next to each other's and your shoulders brush together when the rest of the group pushes towards you both. You try to shuffle backwards, but hit the wall that separates the rest of the room to the trainer's desk. Wilbur puts his hand on the small of your back, and guides you to stand in front of him when you get startled by the wall. He rests his hands on either side of your upper arms. You know you're blushing, you know it's obvious but you just hope he doesn't see or doesn't care or doesn't notice and—

"Alright, Andromeda, everyone split into your groups of who goes where and a space ghost will lead you out to your positions, alright?" Andy speaks over the loud conversations of everyone in the group, his hands cupping around his mouth to somehow assist in making his voice louder and heard.

You and Wilbur stay in your place, Tommy, Ash, Niki and James join you both in your corner. Tommy starts chattering about his position and Wilbur is quick to shush his younger brother, and Tommy grumbles in response, crossing his arms and huffing.

The six of you are silent as you await instructions, and another trainer comes over to your group, muttering something about following her and so you do, you first, Wilbur behind and then the rest in a clump behind him. It's barely a few feet around the corner to the capsule. The trainer walking in first, ducking in through the doorway. She stands over to the corner, letting the rest of you walk in and find your seats. Wilbur attempts to duck down but still manages to bump his head, holding back a few obscenities that would definitely get him in trouble.

You chuckle at the sight and he keeps his head ducked down as he finds his spot at his seat. He buckles in the best he can, and then the trainer tells him off, reminds him he has to put his suit on first. He grumbles to himself, and turns around out of his chair and joins the rest of you as you put on the white painters jumpsuits over your normal clothes. Light costume astronaut boots being put on your feet and velcroed in.

You look over at Wilbur and catch your eye on him as he struggles, trying to get his sleeves to pull down all the way, same with his pants legs. You huff a laugh at the sight, "Don't worry about it," You shake your head at him and adjust his collar, hands lingering on his chest before pulling them away to rest at your sides.

His eyes go wide in a playful way, lips curling into a slight smirk, trying to hold some semblance of a fearful gaze, "I could die, y/n!" 

You huff a laugh, turning away from him and sitting in your commander's seat, him following and sitting in the seat opposite you, "You, die? Yeah you're too stubborn for that," You open the small binder you were given and review it as you wait for the signal to start, a clarification from every position that they too are ready.

Wilbur follows suit and you swear you see him gaze at you from the corner of your eye. You smile softly and pretend you don't notice, "Wilbur?"

He hums, looking up from his book for a moment and he looks to you, a quizzical look on his features, "Yes?"

You nod your head towards the comms, "Joe asked for confirmation from you, pilot,"

"Oh!" Wilbur rushes to put his headset on, and presses the speak button, "Roger that SOCOM," He rests his head back against the headrest, sighing.

"Alright, I'll leave you guys to it. Remember the call buttons if you need anything at all, okay?" The crew trainer assigned to the Orion capsule then leaves out the door, being sure to get a verbal confirmation or a thumbs up from each of you.

"You'll do fine, Wilbur," You reassure him, going about various procedures, buttons and switches being turned on or off. Codes being entered and lines of numbers and codes being typed out on the screen.

"You think so?" His voice shakes, unsure of himself as he flips switches along with you, referencing his binder every few seconds.

You nod, "I know so," It's all you need to say as you press the last few buttons before the computer switches the simulation to launch. Voices muffled in your ear as you focus intently on what's needed to do next, when you get into Altair.

It's a few minutes of launch and then the program switches to a screen showing the stars and planets passing by. More switches need flipping and more buttons need pressing. You glance over to your right at Wilbur, his eyebrows knitted in concentration and anxiety. His finger skims the lines of words and instructions in his binder.

"You alright there, Wil?" You put down your book, keeping your eyes locked on him.

"Uh, yeah, fine, fine," He keeps his gaze locked on the pages before him. 

You revert your gaze back to your own work, still checking on him in the corner of your eye every once and a while. Everyone in the capsule was ahead of schedule, all buttons pressed and switches flipped so all you had to do now was respond to Mission Control and wait for docking. Wilbur's leg had started to bounce by this point and he was biting his tongue. His hands kept running through his hair and he seemed oddly stressed for a simple simulation. If you could stand up and walk over to him, you would. But you're buckled in (more like strapped in since there were no buckles and both you and Wilbur were insistent that you were secure in your seats), you couldn't unbuckle yourself and walk over to him, risking an unnecessary anomaly.

So, you reached your hand over to his shoulder, having to lean to your side to even reach him in the first place. His head shot up to look at you, eyebrows creased in a wrinkling worry and mouth drawn in a thin line. 

"Are you okay?" It was merely a whisper, only meant to be heard by you and him. It was intimate and private and your eyes were soft as they looked into his. He didn't know what to do with himself, the amount of care you showed him was overwhelming. His heart racing with anxiety and nervousness.

His face flushed pink, "Yes-"

You cut him off, tapping his leg that bounces and hits the console a few times with how lanky he is, "Your leg says otherwise," You smile softly to him, the softness matching your gaze.

"I'm okay," He tries looking away, up at the screen and he watches the digital stars. The white dots scattered on black in the monitor before him.

You rub his shoulder gently, "Can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong."

He sits there, fidgeting with his hands in his lap, eyes closing shut and a deep breath being taken, and then his head turns to face you, "What if I mess it all up?"

You smile, shaking your head, "That's not possible, I promise you won't," You pat his shoulder gently, soft and assuring smile held on your lips.

"What if I press the wrong button? Or don't get secured well enough? Or what if I mess up the O2 transfer, or--"

You cut him off, squeezing his shoulder gently. Mission Control is sure to be watching this all, but most are probably running around chasing someone so the thought isn't bothersome to you or Wilbur. The camera can't catch the light pink tinted on either of your cheeks anyways.

"I'll be right there to help, you're not alone. It's a job for both of us, if one of us goes down we both do. Triumphantly," Your thumb rubs over his shoulder, back and forth in a manner of comfort and consolation.

"They need their commander more-" 

You shake your head, "They need their pilot too," When the closeness is overwhelming, you back up, ruffling up his hair and finding your spot back in your seat, "Now, relax and ask MOCR if they're like, dead yet."

Wilbur smiles, wider now and he shakes his head with a light chuckle.

"Part of me hopes they're dead."

"Wilbur!" You scold him, smiling wide. The rest of the Orion crew is in their own world, not paying mind to you and Wilbur's bickering.

"Okay, not Joe, the rest though--" He cuts himself off with a giggle and presses the speak button on his coms box, "Mission Control, how is it over there?"

There's a crackle in your headphones and Joe speaks over the mic, "What do you think, Wilbur?"

"Ey, it's Pilot to you," Wilbur, while speaking with a stern tone, is smiling wide. Joe huffs and a scream is heard muffled behind him, "How bad?"

"Zombies, Wil, zombies," Joe sounds tired, exasperated and he leaves his mic on accidentally and there's a shuffle heard and more yelling.

"ZOMBIES??" Tommy yells and the entire capsule bursts out laughing, you, Ash, Wilbur, James, Niki-- Tommy just stands there oblivious as you all listen to the chaos in Mission Control.

"I didn't know there were zombies," Niki speaks up, giggling and sifting through her own guide book.

"I hope at least Mark survives," James then pipes up, and shrugs.

"What about the rest?" You ask him, turning in your chair to look back at him.

"Eh, they can get eaten alive," Everyone's heads spin to look at him and James simply shrugs.

"James!" You scold him, "You are both children," You look between both James and Wil as you speak and then you turn back to face the screen in front of you.

The speaker crackles again, "Docking is in five minutes, Orion," Joe sounds out of breath as he speaks, "You're on your own for now, half of my crew is dying,"

"Thank God," James mutters and Ash smacks his shoulder.

"James! Your mic is on!" Ash glares at his friend, huffing.

"Yeah, that's the point,"

Joe grumbles and his mic cuts off, now no longer any inkling as to what's happening in Mission Control, the six of you sit in silence, waiting for docking to complete.

"I don't want to jinx it--" Tommy begins speaking but he's then cut off by the rest of you yelling;

"NO!" in unison.

And then he draws his mouth in a thin line and crosses his arms, puffing his chest.

Silence blankets the air, and then a clicking is heard through the loudspeakers.

"Docked!" Ash calls out and Wilbur instructs everyone to unbuckle and follow you through to Altair. You crawl through the 'airlock' door between yours and Wil's stations and slip into the Altair capsule. Wilbur follows you, bumping his head on both sides of the airlock and then again when he stands. You giggle at him as you shuffle to find all the mic boxes and helmets and set them aside for landing.

"I'm not sure how you passed the first Astronaut evaluation-- You're much too tall for this job," You playfully poke at Wilbur and he rolls his eyes, finding his spot at the front of the room, by another control board. He puts on his headset, gesturing for you to do the same and then the rest of your crew all files into the capsule.

"They needed someone decently charismatic," He smirks smugly, looking through his guidebook again, landing on the page for Altair arrival and he begins the usual routine of button presses and switches.

"You? Charismatic? Yeah, no, they just felt bad for you," You chuckle to yourself, and he drops his hands from the control board in front of him, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall next to him, his eyes locked on you.

"You are so mean to me," He shakes his head, eyes still on you and your cheeks dusted pink. You averted your gaze from him, down at the control board.

"All in a day's work," You shuffle through your own book, pressing buttons and entering codes.

"Stop flirting, you two," James chirps up, rolling his eyes and messing with the screen in the far back.

You both turn bright red, focusing your gazes heavily on the control board in front of you, doing your best to ignore the words from your friends mouth. Tommy, Ash and Niki, find their own spots on the floor against the wall--James is too stubborn to join them and determined to stand as long as he needs to before landing.

"James, just sit," Niki is stern and pats the spot next to her. James looks over, watching her and shaking his head.

"I'm fine up here, Niki," He looks through his own guidebook now, nothing new for him to do.

"Alright, well, suit yourself," Niki shrugs, looking across at Tommy and Ash and striking conversation with them both.

You continue glancing over at Wilbur, his eyes intently focused on screens and buttons and words typed on a page. His face contorted into a focused gaze and it's endearing. Watching him so focused, working in a way. He's in his element--while you can't deny he's meant for music, something about him being in this STEM environment fits. A leadership role. If you weren't so bad at communication and speaking clearly, you would've immediately opted for Pilot--Commander was simply made for him. But then again, so was the position of speaking and commanding and communicating--and wow, he's so pretty. 

A few stray curls fall onto his forehead as his head tilts down to get a closer look at a separate screen, finger running over the words next to the O2 symbol. He's rolled up the sleeves on his jumpsuit, and he's stuffed a pen he grabbed, in his hair on top of his ear. 

You catch yourself staring and look away before he can notice, and when you look back at your crew, they all look away as if they were staring too. Probably at you, and most likely going to gossip later. You huff and squeeze through to the back, grabbing helmets and mic sets, handing one by one to each person. James first, since he's closest to you, then Niki, then Ash and lastly Tommy. He huffs, mumbling something about how he's obviously your least favorite. Which isn't true by any means, but the child insists.

And then you hand Wilbur his, and he nods to you, a curt smile on his lips in thanks. Your stomach flips and your cheeks burn but you shake it away.

A few more moments and Mission Control comes through the coms again, Joe sounding stressed and out of breath, "Landing procedure will begin shortly, please put your helmets on and secure your suits. Thank you," And then his voice cuts out again and Wilbur shrugs before pressing his coms button, responding with a short 'roger that'.

All of you begin readjusting your suits and hooking up your comms. Wilbur rolls his sleeves back down and to you that's slightly disappointing--but it's better than him 'dying' so you suck it up for the sake of the mission. James struggles with his helmet, grumbling and Niki giggles, helping him slide it on and secure it around his collar. He mutters something about it being stupidly difficult but you can't entirely hear. Your focus is on the boy in front of you, stumbling with his comms box as he clips it onto his belt and then he puts on his own helmet. Yours has already been put on and is perfectly adjusted. You'd be a liar if you said your suit was too small--it was much too long. So you had to roll the sleeves and pants legs to make it so you didn't trip. 

Wilbur struggles with the collar, fidgeting with it to get it to sit right, over the lip of his helmet. You hum, walking over to him, "Need any help?"

He nods, "Dear god, yes."

You smile softly and help flatten his collar and pull it up over the lip of his helmet. You fasten it in the back after ushering him to turn around and kneel a bit so you can reach. He turns around after you pat his back, facing you and smiling softly. Your hands linger on his chest for a moment, fingers messing with the edges of his collar to put it in its final place.

Wilbur speaks up, "Thank you," He smiles softly and you pull your hands away, eyes looking away and face turning a light pink.

"Anytime there, Wilbur," You turn to face the control panel, flipping the final switches before you all get the okay to step out.

Wilbur steps out first, freezes and mumbles "Mars, a new frontier," and the entire crew bursts into fits of giggles--Wilbur included.

You walk up to him, pat him on the shoulder and look up at him, smirk pulling at the corner of your mouth, "You regret making that deal, yet?"

He looks back to you, eyes wide with anxiety, "Perhaps," and he ushers you to the dome base just a few steps aside. You step through, the rest of your crew following like a line of ducklings. You all get settled in at your stations, familiarizing yourself with where things are and what things do what. 

It's calm and quiet, just waiting on further instructions from Mission Control when you and Wilbur decide waiting is for the weak. You both head out the door, over to Altair and begin oxygen transfer.

The plan is simple: connect the hoses to the oxygen tanks, begin the transfer at the computer and move it over to the base and repeat. It's a two person job, one manning the computer and the other with the tanks. There's a computer inside the base for transferring the O2 onto the base from Altair.

"So, I'll go on computer?" Wilbur asks as you both stop outside the doors to the dome, you look up at him. Eyes soft and you nod.

"That was our plan, right?" You smile smugly and Wilbur rolls his eyes, walking off and into Altair. You get the hoses connected and then Wilbur yells out;

"Ready?"

"Ready!" Your reply is loud, enough for him to hear but to not bother anyone else in the simulation room.

There's a simulated sound of hissing and the O2 transfers, a few moments pass and then you switch to the base and repeat everything you just did but in reverse, to empty it into the base's reservoir.

As you wait for the O2 to empty out, your mind begins to run off on its own accord. Wondering about Wilbur, if he's noticed any of your nervous glances, or the way your cheeks turn pink or red when he smiles--how you stared at him at his first volleyball game a few weeks back. Your dad told you off with a laugh--but it was hard to look anywhere but him. Anywhere but his ar-

You cut your thoughts short, bringing yourself back to reality when the O2 shuts off, and then you drug it back over to Altair. You looked around and noticed Wilbur wasn't in sight, nowhere near the base or by the computer--maybe he was inside of Altair, at the computer, waiting for you. You dropped the key to the O2 tanks and walked around the corner, sneaking into the door of Altair. No sign of the lanky nerd called Wilbur--you groaned in annoyance, hitting your head on the air lock opening when you stepped into the lander.

You shuffled yourself over to the computer, pressing a few buttons to get the transfer ready and you went back out; connected the tanks and went back in to press the final button for this transfer.

It was merely a waiting game as you patiently awaited the transfer to complete--if you were honest it was more impatient than anything, but no one needs to know that. You got bored, and partly frustrated and so you walked off while the tank filled and you went into the base.

"Okay, has anyone seen my Pilot? He's went missing and it's really difficult to transfer these," You wave your hands in frustration, "these, tanks!"

Tommy scoffs, Niki giggles and Ash closes the plexiglass door to the solitary bed James is laying in.

"Haven't seen him, sorry," Niki is the first to speak, going about her business grabbing medications and other things and handing them off to Ash.

"Not even an inkling?" 

"Nope," They all answer you at once, shaking their heads or shrugging. James' nope is muffled behind the plexiglass.

You groan and turn on your heels, dramatically exiting out the double doors. You drag yourself back into Altair, shutting off the transfer and continuing your previous routine, desperately looking for Wil as you do so.

"Y/n! I found it!" The familiar accent breaks through and you turn around to face him, a wide smile plastered on his lips and a small Mars Rover in his arms. He holds it up, smile still wide and warm.

"So that's where you disappeared off to?" You smile back, so soft and partially teasing. You fold your arms over your chest.

He nods wildly, "Yup! I'm gonna go fix it, I'll be right back out to help, okay?" Wilbur begins walking off and into the base, you chuckle to yourself shaking your head.

"You better, Wil!" You call back, desperately trying to hide the fluttering in your chest and the pink on your cheeks. There's no evident reason for your reaction other than just…him.

A few moments later and he's back out of the base, letting it loose on the floor and walking over to you. He pats your shoulder and slips into the lander, his legs sticking out for a few moments before he pulls himself all the way in. An ouch is heard along with a bang and you giggle.

"I'm okay!" He yells out, and you shake your head.

"It's already done, Wilbur!" You call out, the four words having been delayed by you until he got into the lander--just to mess with him.

You hear him huff and then slink out of the lander airlock. He takes a few steps down the ladder and walks over to you, "I dislike you right now," He holds a fake frown on his features, but his eyes are soft.

"Dislike is a strong word there, Gold," You smirk, arms folding over your chest again and eyes looking up, locking on his.

"Hm, it fits," He shrugs and turns on his heel, walking over to the satellite board, he stops and looks back at you, "Can you get the box underneath the medical bed? We need the pieces to fix this," If you didn't know better, you would've sworn he heard your thoughts back in Orion--maybe he did.

"I don't remember your role being commander?" You walk over to him, leaning against the board, a wave of confidence shooting through you.

"Might as well be," His lips curling into a smirk as he speaks, soft and quiet, "I'm better at taking lead, aren't I?"

This fucker-- You scoff, smirking to yourself and walking off into the base. You rub your hands on your face in an attempt to rid your cheeks of its burning redness and James looks over to you--

"Did you not notice how miserable I am? Or are you too busy with-" Ash yells at him, smacking the plexiglass before James could finish his remark.

"No-- sorry, both our mics are broken so we're pretty out of the loop," You mumble and kneel down to grab the box into your hands, "you dying or something?" 

"Yes!! I am!" James' tone is sharp and everyone giggles at his words, "Hey! Come on guys! That's what the Space Ghost told me!" 

Ash shakes his head, "No! They said you're having a severe allergic reaction, not dying."

James groans, throwing himself back on the bed flat, "I wish I was dying!" 

You laugh, shaking your head, "Alright, well don't treat him, Niki," and you walk out, box in hand.

You walk over to Wilbur, dropping the box in front of him and then putting your hands on your hips, "There you go, Commander, happy now?" 

He smirks, "Why yes I am, thank you," He leans down to open it and take out a few pieces, handing a good half of them to you and you huff, rolling your eyes.

"This power is getting to your head-- You're not even Commander," You start to place the pieces one by one in the way the instructions sheet requires-- it's not detailed instructions by any means. It's more or less an example of what it should look like which is plenty for you and Wilbur to go off of.

"Well, I might as well be. I thought you liked this?" His face never falls from the cocky smirk he holds, some sort of confidence of his own surging through his body. He looks over at you briefly, eyes locked down onto yours. "Me being in charge and all?"

Your eyes went wide and you hoped you were hallucinating-- or maybe daydreaming-- or maybe this was a dream. But you figured with how real it felt, your senses being in tact--that this was real. You felt your cheeks burn bright red and you simply stared, hand going limp and the piece of this big puzzle in your hand, falling and crashing into the box.

"I saw you staring, that's all," He smirks and shakes his head, moving along with his part of the puzzle and you swore you could see him blush too--

The thought is cut short when a Space Ghost comes out of the Mission Control room, ushering everyone to stop their roles for a moment and that we'll pick up where we left off next session. You silently thank the gods for this interruption-- keeping Wilbur from getting too cocky and you catch him wink at you as he follows the rest of the group into Mission Control.

Next session will be the death of you.

taglist; @sleepyburs @lillylvjy (just send me an ask or dm if you want to be added!)

[puellainalba]

Cineris Somnia: A strangely beautiful dream

“I hope that someday, you'll dream of me.”

Cineris Somia brings a feeling as if you are embarking on nostalgic memories, on distant dreams that go from something bright to something dark and gray.

As expected from a walking simulator, you walk a lot around the map, you are guided mainly by papers spread across them; they tell most of the story and even break the fourth wall in a way by talking to the player. Many of the things you will read will depend on your personal interpretation to understand what is happening.

The entire ambiance of the game gives me a strong feeling of nostalgia, it is at first glance calm, “innocent” — But it doesn't take long for the environment to gradually become heavier, dark. This is something I really like and the game does very well.

Prelude - The Green Butterfly Chapter: The Girl

“A young girl wakes up by the sea. All that's left is her sister's yellow bucket and the sandcastle they just built together. Her mother is nowhere to be found. Blinded by the blinding light of the sun, the young girl takes the first step on a strange and mysterious journey.”

The game starts with you controlling an unnamed girl, just called “The Girl” she wakes up alone on a beach, apparently she was there with her mother and sister and ended up dozing off. Her objective here is very simple: get to the beach lighthouse. Along the way, you'll find some papers with some writing on them, but nothing that makes much sense at first. When you reach the top, the chapter will end and you will wake up in the chapter selection room.

This story has a continuity after you finish all the others, but I prefer not to give details as it would be a spoiler!

The Blue Butterfly Chapter: Marie

“Marie is a happy, pure and active girl. She whimsically runs through the dark depths of the forest, wearing pajamas and a cape. But there is an important reason why she came to this forest.”

This chapter is entirely set in a forest, green and blue tones are the highlight. There you meet Marie, a little girl who walks around with an empty white bird cage, she is after a blue bird and you need to help her look for it.

Although at first everything is very innocent and childish, at the end of the chapter a cruel secret is revealed.

The White Butterfly Chapter: Charlotte

“A young woman confined to a sanatorium, her body full of diseases. She is very quiet and has an air of maturity far superior to most children her age. She eagerly awaits promises made long ago with someone very special to be fulfilled.”

Charlotte spends her days alone in the sanatorium, wishing to visit a rose garden. The environment is dominated by a light white, making the corridors appear very similar to each other. At the end of the chapter, red is very present, contrasting against white.

According to the chapter, you help the girl with small things, such as delivering letters and finding some items. As you find the letters and read them, you will understand more and more about Charlotte's story and everything that is happening. Along with this, the environment changes little by little, in such a subtle way that it is difficult to notice at first — but when you look closely, it will be a little different than it was at the beginning.

This was one of my favorite chapters, even though it left me with a “bittersweet” feeling at the end.

The Black Butterfly Chapter: Ophelia

“Daughter of a prestigious family that owns vast lands and an extravagant mansion. She is tormented by intense self-loathing due to her belief that she is ugly and plain. Raised by cold and unloving parents, she spends her days in loneliness and despair, following the orders of her mother and father.”

This chapter is quite different from the others. Unlike the others where the environment is mostly bright and well lit and gradually becomes dark, this one has a dark setting from the beginning — with few scenes where the lighting is similar to the other chapters.

As soon as you find Ophelia, she starts chasing you to kill you just like she did everyone else there. You spend the entire chapter running from her as you explore the large mansion and discover the secrets that are kept there, including why Ophelia killed everyone who lived there.

Unlike the others, in this chapter you can die, and it is not possible to return to it if you have not saved.

The setting also tells a story — Just like in a dream, each representation there, however confusing it may be, has a hidden meaning for the story presented. As everything is up to your personal interpretation and none of the game's devs gave any explanation about the things presented, we ended up having more questions than answers.

I would also mainly like to highlight the game's stunning photography, many may consider the graphics “dated”, however, in my opinion, this is what makes everything even more beautiful. There are some visual bugs, but there was nothing that bothered me or made the game less charming, it's an indie game from a small team (apparently their first game) so things like that are normal.

The OST also contributes a lot to the environment, always fitting in well with the game's locations and scenes. The game's voice acting is also very good, considering it is an independent game.

Cineris Somnia is a beautiful experience, a game that I confess I expected not to like, however, it left me simply enchanted by its proposal. If you want to have a different experience and have the patience to calmly explore game maps, Cineris Somnia is definitely a game that I recommend playing.

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

PROPAGANDA

MARWA (WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (TV SERIES)) (CW: Mind Control)

1.) okok so a major character (nandor) uses a genie wish to bring back the 37 wives he had when he was human (he’s a vampire who was turned in the 1400s but is alive in the modern day) to pick his favorite to live with and settles on marwa. she’s established as someone who’s passionate about science and mathematics, but nandor uses his genie wishes to essentially mold her into his perfect woman like a doll, from changing her hair color to making her not want to go to the night market with him to making her like all the things he likes. this culminates in him LITERALLY TRANSFORMING HER INTO A BRITISH MAN NAMED FREDDIE and that is her send off from the show. the treatment of her is disgusting i’m sorry for ranting i love wwdits but honestly the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth

2.) WHERE TO START my god. Marwa is introduced into the story as one of a crowd of women who are interchangeable to the man summoning them, WHO IS HER CANONICAL HUSBAND but he gives less than half a fuck about her, which is played for laughs. The writers made it completely unclear whether she is a real person or basically a magical simulation with no inner life and did not bother to clarify that at any point. Her plotline consists of her husband using magical wishes to modify various aspects of her body and mind and the writers never explore whether she is aware this is happening or not, much less how she might be experiencing it. It is a terrifying psychological horror story from her perspective but we are not given any insight into her perspective so who cares I guess!! For example, he wishes for her to have a rounder ass and then wishes that all of her preferences align perfectly with his own, so that she'll stop nagging him about wanting different colored flowers at their wedding than him. There are SEVERAL more examples. Her experience of having all of her desires replaced with her husband's desires shows up only for jokes, plus one moment that is used to confirm that her husband's real love interest is one of the other male leads in the show. (I ship the two male characters, I'm not complaining about that, but like COME ON SHE WAS A HUMAN PERSON ONCE AND SHE IS LIVING IN A HORROR MOVIE AND THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH THAT???) THE WORST PART is that when it's time for her to exit the story because her body and personality have already been essentially replaced by magic and she is now a boring toy, she is LITERALLY PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY transformed into a random British man so that her husband can have that guy as a love interest instead of her. She (he? It? Again it is never NEVER explored whether Marwa is like, alive inside this British man's mind somehow? Or if she was ever really alive in her body?) moves to England to be in love with the original British man she was based off of, so basically her twin. This is also played for laughs. Her entire personality and body are not even killed off with like a death scene but literally ERASED FROM REALITY AND REPLACED WITH A COPY OF THIS SHITTY WHITE DUDE.

3.) (Context: Nandor is a vampire who has been alive for a while. When he was human he had 37 wives. (Btw some of the wives were men but that’s besides the point.))

She was brought back to life (along with a couple others) via Djinn wish just because Nandor wanted to have a ‘wife’ (some of the ‘wives’ are men). After being deemed the ‘best wife’ by Nandor she is the only one left alive. It is clear the entire fourth season that Nandor doesn’t care for her much and she is only there because Nandor wants to be married to someone. He ignores her wants and interests the whole season. Via another Djinn wish Nandor makes Marwa like everything he likes so she is more agreeable with him. Later on, he meets another character’s boyfriend named Freddie. Nandor basically falls for Freddie immediately and via Djinn wish, wishes Marwa to be exactly Freddie. :| With that wish, Marwa is effectively gone. She now looks and acts like Freddie. The two Freddies meet and after freaking out a little (and some magic) they get along because they like the same exact things. By the end of the season both Freddies are sent off to never be seen again. Also, Nandor has some extra Djinn wishes so he could’ve turned Marwa back but he didn’t.

Additional links: Article about the Freddie thing: https://www.themarysue.com/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-missed-hard-with-its-treatment-of-marwa/

She likes what he likes:

Also This:

MIKOKO SAKAZAKI (KAIJI)

1.) She is one of two (2) women with a speaking role in the manga (which has been ongoing since the 90s), and was the first female character to appear at all. She has a crush on the protagonist, Kaiji, but this is treated as a joke/ as gross because of her appearance. She is meant to be ugly because of the size of her nose and lips and therefore is invalid as a person. She has no role other than to pester Kaiji with her crush, and despite him ignoring or acting weirded out around her constantly, her attraction to him never fades. She gets almost no characterization outside of this and is only seen once after Kaiji leaves, where she is drawing a manga where he comes back to her. When she's shown once in a bikini, the sight is so disgusting to the protagonist that he sprints away at full speed. Despite this, she is sometimes used in ads for the series.

2.) Her face looks "too much like her father's", yet he never receives any negativity for it. Every single male character in the manga has the same style of facial features, yet when the creator puts them on a woman it makes her mockable and gross.

[dreambones]

No Content November

The goal of NCN is to show what would happen if everyone stopped creating free content.

Your dash would be empty. No art. No fics. No comics.

The idea is that for the whole month of November, creators of all kinds (artists, writers, etc) don’t post any sort of content, this to create a simulation of what happens to posts when you only like them instead of rebloging them, the art/fics/comics/ don’t get circulated, and eventually there’s nothing to see and enjoy.

Every content creator has experienced the unbalance between Likes and Reblogs.

Likes look nice, but Reblogs give exposure, which results in even more people finding your work.

Reblogs help creators grow, and be encouraged, which means even more content than before!

What can you do to help as a non creator (and creator)?

During November support your favorite content creators by Rebloging, Commenting or sending an Ask!

Even a short “Nice work! Love it” is great to cheer up and encourage the content creators whom work you enjoy.

(You are also encouraged to do this the whole year!)

The long term goal is to one day, make Reblogs as abundant as Likes, plus with this small but very meaningful support, we could all end up enjoying even more content than before! 

And if you are not a creator but the content you enjoy has ever made you happy, helped you in some way, even to just brighten your day a little bit, please, consider giving those creators your support! It will be very appreciated.

FAQ bellow the “Read More”

I don’t want to participate because [insert reason here]

That’s alright! Just like any other monthly trend in the internet, you are not forced or expected to participate. It is true that the more of us that do this, the more impactful it can be, but if you don’t want to do it the whole month, or just do a couple days, that’s fine.

You are just a big, popular blog trying to trick and damage smaller blogs

I get this assumption a lot, and I am not a big blog. I have been posting my content online for about 16 years and currently have 794 followers after having to move blogs in 2021 because I found out Tumblr was hiding my content in the search engine for being a side blog (and for reference, I had around 593 last year and 150 followers the previous one). This is not an effort to “jeopardize” smaller creators, nor a sneaky way to harm others, I am doing and have been doing this because year after year, the share vs like ratio has been worsening, and I plan on keep doing this as long as needed, even if I become a big blog, I won’t stop.

I want to help but I don’t want to stop posting, how else can I help?

Reblog! This is the perfect month to spam your followers by rebloging the work of other creators you follow, you can also leave comments and send asks! This is the moment to let know your favorite creators you appreciate their hard work and presence on the internet!

Artist and creators are not entitled to reblogs, you can’t ask that

You are right, we are not entitled, nor in the right to demand reblogs, comments or any sort of support. But in the same note, people that enjoy our content, are not entitle to demand more content, specific content, or faster content when it is being given to them for free. And sadly that happens way too often.

I want to participate but I depend on my Commissions / Patreon to buy food/survive

That’s alright, you can still participate! NCN aims towards Free content that we post, the one that we share with no sort of payment back, you can still do and share paid content you do.

I participated last years and nothing changed

Unfortunately, we can’t change the world in a single month. This is NCN fourth year, and granted, it’s not abysmally different now, but the worse that can happen is that nothing changes, and I rather keep trying than sit down and wonder if maybe it could have worked. On the other hand, I’ve received and found a lot of artists that enjoy this month because it gives them an excuse to rest and not focus on their blogs and just enjoy making, and that is enough reason for me to keep trying. 

As closing notes please remember I am just another human being behind the screen. You are 100% allowed to not like this idea, you can block me and the tag if you don’t want to see any of it. There’s no need for mean messages or attacks.

[beefromanoff]

Project Mockingbird Ch. 11

summary: the team leaves for a mission, Charlotte keeps training, a new friend is introduced.

pairing: Bucky Barnes x OC

author's note: hiiii, finally returning to this story since my other one is wrapping up - go read it here (masterlist)! this one is somewhat uneventful, but I wanted to set things up for the next few chapters I have planned. there's a lot coming that I can't wait to write! let me know what you think - I am easily persuaded to write faster with positive affirmation LOL

tag list: @bangtanxberm @scott-loki-barnes (let me know if you want to be added <3)

chapter list

_______________________________________

It was the ass crack of dawn. 

The hot coffee cup burned her hand as Charlotte stood in the Quinjet hangar, preparing to see her friends off for their mission. It was the first live action they’d seen in quite some time, the result of significant seismic activity from the other world tripping some of the sensors at the compound and piquing the team’s attention enough for them to want to check it out. After a day of heavy intelligence vetting and briefings, they were ready to take to the skies. 

The sun’s earliest rays weren’t even close to breaching the horizon at this hour. Charlotte wasn’t even sure why she woke up to see them off. She hadn’t gone to any of the mission intelligence meetings all week, despite the open invitation. After insisting she didn’t want to be a member of the team, it seemed counterintuitive. The lines were admittedly blurred, seeing as she trained with them in combat simulations almost every day of the week. The SHIELD agents weren’t nearly a challenge for her, and the team was almost…too much of one. Over the past few weeks, she’d obliged Bucky. She’d been working with him on the side, learning skills she couldn’t just mimic. 

He’d taught her everything he knew about weaponry, dating back to the first war he fought in. Charlotte wasn’t sure why they had antiques like that on the property at all, but she supposed it was helpful to know. After a week, she knew how to load, unload, clean, and fire just about every weapon on the entire compound. Bucky’s favorite had been the long range sniper arsenal, something she wouldn’t have guessed. Someone who was so skilled at hand to hand combat, preferring to take his shot from being hidden in the woods. Ironically, that would probably end up being her position should she ever go into a live mission. It would allow her to use her precision and heightened senses without putting her body at the same risk as hand to hand would. They both seemed to acknowledge that, so they spent extra time on sniper training. When it was all said and done, she could shoot an apple out of Peter’s hand while he swung across the lake from half a mile away. Even Bucky looked impressed. 

They’d gone over other languages, he taught her the three he knew. She took it upon herself to learn a fourth, pulling an all-nighter out of spite after their lesson the previous day ended in an argument. While that wasn’t uncommon for them, it still filled her with rage and a bitter desire to tell him to go to hell. Which she did, by showing up the following day having perfected the three languages he was teaching her and an additional one, making her the second most fluent on the team behind Natasha. No one really even knew all the languages she spoke. 

Lately, it had been a mix of strategy and intelligence. They’d go through mission plans and “intercepted” intelligence, and work through coming up with a team strategy. For someone who never seemed to want a leadership role on the team, it was clear that it came naturally to him. There was more to it than she ever thought, this type of training made her feel the most naive. She’d come up with an entire strategy, only for Bucky to immediately point out the flaw that would get half her team killed. She always thought she was smart, but when it boiled down to it, she’d always been able to memorize or mimic her way through difficult situations. Even back in the casino, she wasn’t Rainman. She just memorized the rules and executed basic strategy, increasing her bets when it was favorable. In battle or mission strategy, there was no one to copy. Nothing to memorize. No rules or guidelines or anything to help her along the way. She had to learn to reason, to think through every outcome in a split second, to understand how an enemy might think and head them off. It was grueling, frustrating, and led her nearly to blows with Bucky at the end of every session. 

It wasn’t that they didn’t get along, necessarily…it was more that his teaching style didn’t align with her learning style. He was direct, intense, no-nonsense. She was used to picking things up perfectly on the first try, leaving her frustrated from the jump with things that didn’t follow that rule. His intensity and her agitation usually led to her feeling like he was talking down to her, making her hostile and him annoyed. But they stuck with it, showing up day after day. 

This week had been the first in nearly a month that they hadn’t met multiple times, with Bucky being occupied with briefings for this specific mission. Maybe that’s why she showed up this morning to see them off. It had felt surprisingly quiet and solitary without being in training with them all every day. So here she was, coffee in hand and eyes still heavy, waiting to say goodbye for a few days. 

The entire compound hummed with a sense of purpose as everyone geared up for departure, their first mission in a while. The hangar was a flurry of activity as engineers prepped the jet for takeoff and triple checked the arsenal onboard. The team stood in their locker-room of sorts, finishing their own prep. Charlotte stood in the doorway, watching them prepare. Steve slung his shield over his shoulder, clicking it into place on his back. Nat was doing a quick check on her Widow’s Bite wrist packs, ensuring maximum destructive potential. Sam and Wanda were both already dressed, but seated on the bench beside each other, looking less than awake at this hour. To her right, Bucky moved slowly. Not due to fatigue or lack of caffeine, but some haunting sense of deja vu that seemed to plague him in the moments he suited up. Sliding a gun into his thigh holster and another into the strap on his back, he turned. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were glazed. Like he was somewhere far, far away from the locker room. She knew the feeling. 

“Earth to Barnes,” She quipped, raising an eyebrow. His gaze met hers and seemed to snap back to the present moment. 

“Good morning sunshine.” His tone was dry. 

“I guess this means I’m off the hook for training today, huh?” Her tone was light, baiting him. 

“You could practice on your own, you know.” He raised an eyebrow at her. 

“Yes, but I could also not do that and spend the day basking in the sunshine on the dock instead.” She pretended to weigh her hands. “Tough call.”

He looked her disapprovingly but said nothing, not acknowledging that she was fully dressed in her training uniform, and stepped around her to head to the Quinjet. She tried not to take it personally that he wasn’t in the mood today. He was probably getting in the zone, or whatever they did before missions. Although she initially declared her disinterest in this when she joined the team, a subtle feeling of exclusion gnawed at her.

"Hey, Cap," Charlotte said, a small smile playing on her lips as she shook it off and approached Steve. "Bring me back a souvenir, okay?"

Steve grinned. "Count on it, Charlotte. You take care of things here."

The banter between them felt easy, familiar. The team had never pressured her or questioned her decision to stay out of active duty. Yet a seed of doubt lingered in her mind. As Natasha passed by, loading a small handgun, Charlotte followed her out.

"Don’t have too much fun without me." Charlotte remarked.

Natasha smirked. "Yeah, it’ll be a real rager. I should be saying that to you."

“Yeah, me and all the agents who are so fond of me. Things’ll really get crazy around here.” She rolled her eyes. 

“We’ll be back before you know it.” Nat paused at the foot of the ramp, hair blowing as the engines began to roar to life. She gently bumped Charlotte’s shoe with her own. “See you in three days.”

“Go kick some ass.” Charlotte forced a grin.

The other team members filed up the ramp after her, murmuring various goodbyes and patting her on the back. It was only three days. An intelligence mission. She wasn’t sure why it felt like she was sending them off on a years’ long voyage. 

As the ramp began to ascend with a hiss, she caught a flash of dark hair walking inside the jet. Bucky locked eyes with her, pausing briefly. Charlotte gave a half-hearted salute to him, hoping to elicit a grin. He simply nodded and continued on. 

The engines flared and the jet soared out of the hangar. The silence that followed was deafening. Around her, SHIELD agents began to return to their posts now that the jet had taken off. She could see small groups of early risers beginning to arrive at the compound, reliving those who’d worked the night shift. The sky had only just turned from black to a dark blue-gray, sunrise still an hour or so away. 

Knowing she wouldn’t be able to sleep anyways, Charlotte decided to go for a run. She downed the rest of the coffee, still hot enough that she felt it all the way down to her empty stomach. She was already dressed in training gear, but another thought crossed her mind. Turning on her booted heel, she headed back for the locker room. 

Just about anything the team would need for any mission ever lived in this room. It was a long room, with alcoves built into the sleek walls every few feet for a new team member. In each person’s equipment bay, they had 2-3 training suits, and 1-2 combat suits hanging. Several drawers near the bottom housed various bits of gear specific to each person. Nat had ample supplies to restock her Widow’s Bite, while Bucky’s was full of ammunition. Of course, there was an entirely separate wing of the engineering building dedicated to housing the massive amounts of weapons manufactured here, as well as developing new tech. This was just where the most commonly used things got to go. 

Standing in front of her own locker, Charlotte crossed her arms. Just like everyone else, she had two training suits hanging, the third on her body. A second pair of lightweight combat boots sat at the base. She tugged open the drawer and found a few holsters she’d worn for a training exercise, but nothing else. Why would she need her own artillery if she wasn’t going on missions? The only reason she was given a locker here was because she no longer trained with the SHIELD agents. 

Taking a deep breath, she stalked to the back of the room where she knew extra equipment would be kept. Right where she knew it to be, a thick tactical vest hung in an empty bay. She pulled it on and pinched a button down by her ribcage, the tech immediately cinching it to her body. In a few moments, the lightweight vest was full of at least twenty pounds of firepower and ammunition. Several more were strapped to her legs. The one thing she’d forgotten…shit. A hairtie. 

I’ll bring it back later. She thought to herself as she plucked one out of Wanda’s drawer and pulled her hair into a tight bun at the base of her head. It was early enough that no one was around to notice her armed to the teeth before sunrise. Good. She didn’t need anyone asking questions or pressing her for this silly urge. She looked left and right before breaking into a light jog towards the trailhead into the forest. 

She might not be an Avenger, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t train like one. 

_________

Charlotte walked with purpose through the compound, her mind still focused on the training session she had just completed, notes with things she could improve running through her mind. It was mid-morning, the compound cafe a flurry of activity as the day picked up. She barely paid attention as she made her way to the coffee machine. 

“Didn’t get called up to the Major Leagues?” A voice sneered from behind her. Charlotte didn’t have to look to identify the agent taunting her. 

Charlotte shot back, "Someone had to stay here to babysit."

“Whatever helps you sleep at night. We’ve all heard about your defects.” She taunted. “I guess HYDRA lost their touch after Barnes. A one-hit wonder.” 

She grit her teeth but ignored them, not wanting to get baited.

Another agent chimed in, "Yeah, we've got Captain America and the Winter Soldier, and they still felt like we needed another lab experiment. Maybe it’s part of some charitable outreach program?"

It was all Charlotte could do to keep from crushing the cardboard cup in her hands. In through your nose, out through your mouth. 

“At least her collar is cute.” One of the agents boldly leaned against the counter next to her and flicked her bracelet. 

Fuck it. 

In a split second, Charlotte had the agent by the throat, pinned to the cabinets behind her. With her free right arm, she swung an elbow back, hitting the agent she knew was standing there. He cried out as his nose crunched and began to gush blood. Shifting her weight, she kicked backwards with her right foot and caught the final agent square in the abdomen, spilling her coffee and knocking her on her ass as she struggled to catch her breath. Charlotte’s eyes flicked to the agent she still had pinned to the wall, now kicking her feet as her eyes turned red. 

Her right fist curled, ready to strike, but a commanding female voice cut through the noise. "Enough!"

A woman with a no-nonsense demeanor emerged from the crowd that had gathered. She wore a white coat, indicating her role in the science department. Charlotte recognized her from the lab, but couldn’t recall ever interacting with her. The agents that stood gawking dispersed and scurried back to their duties. She was pretty, her tan skin and dark hair striking. She was smaller than Charlotte, but had a don’t-fuck-with-me attitude that stood six feet tall. 

"I suggest you all remember where you are and who you're speaking to. Disrespect towards a fellow agent won't be tolerated," she warned, her tone sharp. “By us, or by the fellow agent.” Her eyes flicked to Charlotte’s, the slightest smile tugging at the corner of her lips. 

Charlotte slowly lowered the female agent to the ground, releasing her grip on the woman’s throat. She collapsed to her knees, gasping for breath. 

“You should be thankful you were at Ms. Rossi’s discretion today. If I were in charge of your discipline, my recommendation would be dismissal from the program altogether.” Their eyes widened at her threat, one of them still trying to staunch the flow of blood from his nose. The woman looked at Charlotte inquisitively. “Unless Ms. Rossi still feels that recommendation is warranted?” 

Three sets of eyes, simultaneously fuming and pleading, flicked to Charlotte. 

“They can stay.” She picked up her coffee cup, completely undisturbed by the scene. “Consider it charitable outreach.”

“Very well.” She fought back a grin again. “Now, I suggest you get cleaned up and get to training before Agent Hill starts asking questions.”

The agents clamored to their feet and dispersed, shooting one last glare at Charlotte. As they walked away, Charlotte took a breath, willing the rage to cool down.

The woman who had intervened approached her. She offered a sympathetic smile. "Sorry about that. Some people here forget their manners. I'm Calla, from the science division."

Charlotte nodded appreciatively. "Thanks, Calla. I'm Charlotte."

"I know who you are," Calla replied coolly.

"Right," Charlotte said, a mix of gratitude and wariness in her eyes. “I’ve seen you in the lab. Sorry I haven’t said hello, I’m usually there so Bruce can talk me out of decking someone.”

Calla waved her off. "Mind if I join you for coffee? Now that it’s quieted down around here.” She gestured to the oddly empty room.

Charlotte smirked. "It’d be a shame not to enjoy it."

They settled into a table outside, the spring sun warming their skin as it rose higher in the sky. 

Calla took a sip of her coffee before diving into her background. "So, like I said, I'm Calla. I've been working with Dr. Banner for a while now."

"Bruce?" Charlotte asked, her curiosity evident. Clearly she hadn’t been paying close enough attention when she barged into the lab before.

"Yeah, the big green guy. We've been researching superhuman enhancements, trying to have an understanding so that medical technology can serve the enhanced community as well as the human community. My specialty is in genetics, neurology, cell mutation, the whole shebang," Calla explained.

Impressed, Charlotte nodded. "That's... intense."

Calla chuckled. "Yeah, you could say that. I was recruited by Bruce himself after I graduated from MIT. But before that, I served in the military for a few years. Did my first contract and left because I felt I couldn't innovate the way I wanted to. Found a home here, though. I’ve been living on the compound for the past two years."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "You live here? There are other residential quarters?"

Calla nodded. "Yep. Not many people know, they don’t want agents thinking they can just move in. There’s a small set of units above the lab. Bruce stays there sometimes, a few of the engineers live there. Maria has a room but she refuses to stay in it. Says she needs a break from this place.”

"I can see that," Charlotte chuckled.

The conversation flowed seamlessly, talking about the quirks of the team and life on the compound, her time in the military. She didn’t seem to be in any particular hurry to get back to the lap. It was Charlotte who checked the time, realizing she was late to a flight simulation. She’d made a personal goal of learning to fly a Quinjet before the team returned and a brave agent from the hangar that morning had offered to help her.

As they finished their coffee, Calla hesitated for a moment before blurting. "Oh, and I'm engaged to Sam Wilson."

Charlotte's eyes widened. "Wait, what? Sam as in the Falcon? He’s engaged?"

Calla grinned. "Guilty as charged. We met when he came in a couple weeks after I arrived and needed stitches, but the doctor on call wasn’t around. I helped him out, we talked about our experience serving, and we just never really stopped talking."

Stunned, Charlotte stared at her slack-jawed. “This whole time, Sam, Sam has had a whole fiance?” She thought through all the time they’d spent together, all the evenings she’d seen him in the common room. “So, when do you…?”

“I’m kind of a workaholic.” She shrugged. “We have breakfast together every day, he pops in between training sessions, we alternate between who shacks up with whom. Most of the time I make him come to me.”

“I guess chivalry isn’t dead after all.” Charlotte still gaped at her. “But he eats dinner with us every night…does that bother you?”

“He eats two dinners.” Calla laughed. “I think he honestly prefers it that way. That man is a bottomless pit.” 

“So why keep it a secret?” Charlotte furrowed her brows. “And why tell me now?” 

Calla toyed with the empty cup in her hand. “I was the one who wanted to keep it a secret. I was new here, and young, and didn’t want to get a reputation for being the new girl sleeping with an Avenger. I wanted to make a name for myself first. Sam wanted to shout it from the rooftops, literally, but he respected me. So we kept it a secret for almost two years now, although I’m pretty certain Natasha figured it out immediately. I told Bruce a while back. Other than that, you’re the first person to know.” She smiled. “To answer your question, I just figured it was time. What fun would a wedding be without any wedding guests.” 

“Well, I’m honored.” Charlotte lifted up her empty cup. “To the future Mrs. Wilson.”

Calla lifted hers and grinned. “To those punk agents finally getting what was coming to them.”

[yoshihashismattebum]

8, 14, 22 for the end of year asks, please!

8. Game of the year?

I've actually not played that many games this year! Though to be fair, even in years when I do play a lot of games, I'm a dabbler: I only tend to play a game for about two weeks at a time before I move on to something else, which sometimes makes it hard to pick a favourite. I think this year the running theme was 'games that I recognise aren't particularly good but I enjoyed them anyway'.

The first one that springs to mind is House Flipper. On the surface it looks like every other janky simulator game, but there's something about it that's oddly compelling. All the little tasks feel very satisfying to perform, and being able to choose the decor scratches the same interior design itch as the Sims for me.

I also played quite a bit of Fallout 4, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's a good game. The writing in it is generally dreadful imo, and the world mostly feels like a missed opportunity. Plus, like most Bethesda games, it has the breadth of an ocean but the depth of a puddle. But hey, sometimes it's fun to splash around in a puddle!

As usual, I've also played a lot of trashy wrestling games, mainly WWE 2K23 and Wrestling Empire. I would particularly recommend the latter despite it being a bizarre, janky mess a lot of the time. Something about it is oddly compelling, and it runs equally well on phones and PC, which makes it perfect to pick up for 15 minutes at a time. Plus the matches can be really good! The system of move counters is particularly impressive.

One of my aims for next year is definitely to play games a bit more intentionally and less mindlessly. It would be good to work through some of my huge Steam library backlog!

14. Favorite book you read this year?

Again, it's been a lean year for me this year in terms of books, but I'm coming out of a multi-year slump where I barely read anything at all, so I'm at fine with that.

The only print book I read this year, and thus my favourite by default, was The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers. Fortunately I thought it was great! It's the fourth in her 'Wayfarer' series, which is probably my favourite series of books of all time. I think this one was maybe the weakest of the four for me, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd highly, highly recommend the series to anyone who wants something warm and light but also thought-provoking (themes of personhood, identity, community etc). Even if you're not typically a SF fan, I think you'd get something out of them.

I did listen to a few audiobooks as well though! The highlight was probably Caliban's War by James S. A. Corey, the second in the Expanse series (yet more SF). Having enjoyed the TV show, I was quite disappointed by the first book, but this second one was lightyears better imo, so I'm glad I persevered. It's where the series really starts to get into the political intrigue that I loved in the show.

22. Favorite place you visited this year?

I answered this one already in a previous post, but I think I can come up with another answer! 2024 was the year I finally made it to Warhammer World! If you're a massive nerd like me, it really is paradise. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to see some cool fantasy and SF dioramas, even if you don't have any interest in or knowledge of Warhammer. I was blown away by the scale and detail of some of them. Seriously impressive stuff, and it helped to get me back into the hobby! RIP my money...

[jacevelaryonswife]

ㅤ Targaryen Corporation: A Question of Succession | 「AU」

ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ(or a comedy show)

This is inspired by the hbo show Succession. English is not my first language.

∴warnings: nothing, just chaos.

The Targaryen Corp. is the group responsible for the multicultural conglomerate that includes networks of museums, bookstores and dynamic visual arts centers that simulate an experience of Old Valyria while housing shops, snack bars and music and games spaces. The company's current CEO is Viserys Targaryen, who took over the helm after the death of his grandfather Jaehaerys, dubbed The Conciliator for equating the importance of the Blackfyre museum chain, the Fire and Blood bookshop chain, and the Old Valyria gallery chain. Viserys's policy was not expansionist, but conservationist, knowing how to maintain the family legacy without loss of profitability.

However, just as his predecessor took time to define the new CEO of the corporation, Viserys seemed to follow the same path to the despair of some relatives, especially when he suffered a sudden heart attack two days ago. Finding himself unconscious in the hospital, some personal figures in his life didn't take long to pull some strings in the question of succession. The first was Otto Hightower, one of the oldest partners in the company since the time of Jaehaerys and father-in-law of Viserys, an ambitious man who did not like the other partners due to the unfounded certainty that the position would be passed to him eventually.

The second piece was Viserys' younger brother, Daemon Targaryen. As a young man, his impulsive and rebellious personality almost forever cost his brother his confidence in company affairs, but who cares? After all he was the closest blood relative of the fucking CEO, not even the leech Hightower could scare him. But then his sister-in-law Aemma gave birth to a daughter, and eventually after Viserys remarried Alicent Hightower other children increased the competition, forcing him to mature and catch up on his debt.

The third figure in this event is Viserys's eldest daughter, Rhaenyra, the group's marketing director and favorite daughter of Aegon, Helaena, Aemond, and Daeron. The relationship she had with her brothers was good, as Aegon was the most uncommitted of the five, never caring much about the implications of the Targaryen group. Helaena was a sweet and eccentric girl, graduated in biology and currently pursuing a master's degree in entomology. Daeron was good friends with her eldest son, Jacaerys, both good and responsible boys.

And there was Aemond, the most ambitious and participative of Alicent's children in Targaryen Corp with whom there was a little tension and competition, but nothing too aggravating in their relationship. He is the fourth figure in this story. Fiery and almost ruthless in business, the middle son of Viserys Targaryen is a fire-forged prodigy who craves the highest office in the company, yet lacks the influence of the other members of that event.

From Friday (when the Targaryen CEO was admitted to the hospital) to Sunday (when he woke up) was enough time for chaos to be installed. Otto and Daemon engaged in a head-to-head battle under the eyes of the main partners and management. In fact, an almost indirect agreement was made between Aemond, Daemon and Rhaenyra to detonate Otto's influence, which was not entirely well seen by the arrogance in speaking for the CEO himself. Aemond tried to seek the support of his mother, Alicent, knowing that this was perhaps the only strong opinion that could precede him, as her relationship with Daemon and Rhaenyra had many ups and downs.

"That old cunt shoved his daughter into Viserys's lap to gain importance in the corporation, but this is a company run by a Targaryen and will remain that way forever," said Daemon. Yes, he never had a good relationship with Otto, it's not new. Rhaenyra, on the other hand, had a certain clash with Alicent for a long time, mainly due to the early marriage after her mother's death, however most of this resentment was in the past, both were well-resolved women.

With Otto Hightower off the radar of the main partners, it was enough time for the three blood relatives to fight among themselves. Bribes, blackmail, benefits, threats and almost physical aggression for a few moments. The mood in the manor became so unbearable and tense that when the family gathered for dinner on Saturday at a prayer for Viserys's health — yes, organized by Alicent — the mood was completely unbearable.

“I don't want to be the idiot who starts the subject but we’re delaying the inevitable, you know that,” Daemon said, starting the subject.

“What is inevitable besides my father’s health?” Rhaenyra asked.

“Dissimulation doesn't suit you, though it's a device you sometimes use,” Aemond said from across the table.

“For one who has no chance of taking office you are quite anxious about it,” she retorted, sipping her wine calmly, “even Aegon has a better chance than you.”

It was enough for chaos to settle on the table with accusations and fights between ALL OF THEM, whether Targaryen, Higtower, Velaryon and Strong.

“While you still smelled like urine, I was already studying marketing to get where I am,” Rhaenyra teased her brother.

“Funny I can say the same about you two, so if merit is contribution I'd be up front,” Daemon said.

“We all know you only cared about the work when competition came along, don't pretend to be what you're not,” Aemond snapped. “Or do you think we don't know about the time you fucked your secretary at the conference table?”

The next day when Viserys woke up the question of succession had already been raised for the 10372928 time and all his possible chosen ones had plotted in a thousand possible ways to get the position. A war on all sides of his family had started and he would be responsible for stopping it or making it worse.

We love white people chaos.

[dalimarisdaddy1967]

Birthday presents!!!

To conclude the birthday posts I wanted to show off the gifts I got!

My first gift is a Doctor Who Don't Blink Boardgame! I didn't even know this existed until I got it as a gift! Lemme show the description on the back!

The description reads:'Don't Blink. Don't Even Blink. Can you lead the heroes to victory, and escape the Weeping Angels? The TARDIS has crashed on a derelict spaceship, full of Weeping Angels; terrifying killers that can only be stopped by staring at them. But if you dare to stop looking, if you even blink, they'll send you out of time. Will the Doctor and companions be able to get all the pieces to repair the TARDIS in time? Or will the Weeping Angels succeed where so many adversaries have failed before?'

Continuing on it says:'Don't Blink is a challenging tactical boardgame where up to four players control the Doctor and companions, attempting to collect four parts to repair the TARDIS and escape. One player takes on the role of the terrifying Weeping Angels and attempts to outmanoeuvre and capture them!'

This game is for 2-5 players, ages 14+, with a 30+ minutes playtime, and some assembly required. The playable characters, aside from the Weeping Angels, are the 11th Doctor and his companions Amy, Rory and Clara. I can't wait to play this eventually! This is definitely my favorite gift!

My next gift is a Funko Pop of Happy Frog from the Five Nights At Freddy's game titled Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator. Happy Frog is actually my favorite character from that game so that's lucky!

My third gift is this cool Five Nights At Freddy's cup with a straw.

My fourth and final gift is this Five Nights At Freddy's Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex T-Shirt! I will definitely be wearing this tomorrow!

That concludes the birthday posts! The next promo for The Riddle of Mrs. Bishop also dropped today, almost like an additional birthday present for me, so I'll be making a post about that next!

@detectiveruth @masterdetectivemcf @macatt4c @fallenidol-453 @redrum-eht @hakurakurohime @proustianlesbian @thebiggestpartypooper @rebellovesthings @artsydon @hiddenobject-fanblog @pookiethebloodsucker @apeirotilio @ink-and-pixels @arty-girl-asks @angelsmama1968

[tayfabe75]

Hi! I love your blog! I've never been so entertained in a celebrity couple before. Whatever they are doing is working! How do you feel about the recents events? Rings and IG stories from G, just right after Taylor Surprise songs. That weird US article going around about Matty saying he thought ttpd is hilarious . Do you still believe they are in a kayfabe? Matty finally posted on his Ig stories. And Taylor seemed Sad in the past couple concerts.

Thank you, anon! I've been absent for a few days, so I'm not sure if this came in before or after the engagement news, but I suppose my thoughts haven't changed much either way. Yes! I definitely still believe this is all kayfabe.

I have long since believed engagements would be on the table as Taylor, in particular, romanticizes broken engagements and interrupted weddings (though I admit, I thought it would be the other couple doing it lol). And though the news was shocking, it still doesn't change the fact that Matty's fiancée's Wikipedia page used to redirect to SATVB in June of last year, months before they started dating. Why? Combine that with all of Matty's weird comments throughout SATVB in general, but particularly: "This is a movie don't let anybody tell you otherwise."

What's more interesting than whatever Taylor or Matty are doing is all the chatter going on online. I've actually been pretty content to be quiet because there's just so much noise! What I will say about the IG stories coming just after surprise songs is that if you happen to notice it and post about it anywhere publicly online, you will get a free mental health diagnosis! And look, I don't know how Instagram works but I heard you have to approve what you're tagged in and I remember this post causing a small fuss.

The social media aspect of this is my least favorite to keep up with or analyze - I just don't personally care for social media in general, or celebrity gossip. I follow the storyline, but I'm not interested in a lot of the conversation that's going on right now, since a lot of it is about his looks, his clothes, or whether Matty made the right match for himself. The first two I find rude, and the latter, well - I may speculate on whether what is presented is reality, but he's a grown man! If I'm wrong about the theories and the engagement is his real, authentic life, then I'm happy for him!

However, it's dozens of things that he, himself, has said leading up to and throughout The 1975's most recent tours that make me doubt it. If he had talked a little less about life being a movie, simulations, fourth and fifth walls, Kaufman, performance art, not trusting earnest moments or everything you see on a screen, etc - then I would have moved on lol

But for now, we've got Jordan recently hearkening back to ATPOIAM, and someone recently pointed out that the "SHOW" Highlights reel is still on Matty's Instagram (though most everything else from the tour has been wiped!)

[cat-autism-wizard]

since the fnaf movie trailer was released and my little brain cannot contain multiple hyperfixations without combining them enjoy this mess

what i think would happen if rise characters played fnaf: part one

part two

RAPH

he cannot play it. she stresses too much that his fear stink is back

one time tried to play the game but accidentally broke the pc bc she punched it after the jumpscare

in his defense he didnt think they would attack him in the first night

he was wrong

now is banned from playing any of the fnaf games (and any horror games actually)

still enjoys watching if someone else is playing

unless its the second game

the second game is his least favourite out of all games in the franchise

because it has toy bonnie

and toy bonnie is her arch enemy, why you ask? observe.

as funny as it is he isnt scared of the other bonnie designs as much as he fears toy bonnie

couldnt sleep the night they played the fourth game

because he has one of those little freddy bear plushies

after playing (read: watching) the pizzeria simulator he wanted to have a little helpy plush

cant blame him, look at this little guy!!

raphie dont know anything about the lore

one time donnie and mikey sat her through a whole hour to tell him about the lore

he was confused

probably his favorite character is funtime freddy

[grizzlyofthesea]

First Day on the Job!

I just started a summer internship at my local science center, and I already know it's going to be a blast. Today was my "day of play," where I got to just go around and experience things like a guest would. I think I have one tomorrow, too, which I'm also hyped for! But anyway...

It was awesome.

First and foremost, I made sure to stop by all the permanent exhibits. The first floor is themed around water and our city's river ecology, so we have some freshwater animals in aquariums and terrariums. My favorite is this bullfrog. :)

The second floor is themed around Mars exploration and colonization. I thought I wouldn't be interested since the idea of colonizing Mars kind of rubs me the wrong way, but it's done in a very engaging and aesthetically pleasing manner. There are lots of plants on display throughout the exhibit, which I found to be a pleasant surprise! There's also this adorable miniature railroad/village next to the Mars display that shows off some landmarks from the city between the late 19th century and the 1940s. My favorite part was always this replica of Luna Park (guest starring Taylor Swift by the carousel since there's a Taylor Swift weekend coming up):

The third floor is dedicated to the human body and its inner workings. There's a lot to play with here, including a little game where you have to eat germs as a white blood cell. I played it a couple times, and I was pretty happy with my score the second time around. :)

They also have a little monitor where you can rotate and pull apart a model of a human skull, so I made this beautiful creature.

The fourth floor is the most kid-centric area in the building, but there's still plenty for older guests to do. It's mostly themed around construction and Lego, so if you like playing and building with Lego, this is the place for you. There's also a section off to the side centered around electricity and renewable energy, which is neat, and an earthquake simulator that's left over from when the floor was entirely weather-themed.

So that covers most of the main building. BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

There's a sports science/fitness themed building adjacent to the main building. It's a fun way to present how exercise affects the body, and how the human body functions in general. There's a batting cage where you can test your prowess with a baseball bat, a rock climbing wall, a few basketball hoops, a giant Operation table, and a ton more. What caught my attention this time, though, was a CPR simulator. I thought it was a fun way to brush up on my skills as a lifeguard...and Dr. Mike was there, too.

Behind the main building is one of the center's oldest exhibits: the USS Requin, a Cold War era submarine. Walking through it was definitely nostalgic, though the doorways were tiny. I have no idea how people could actually live in there without going insane!

And I can't not talk about the giant movie theater inside the main building! I stopped by for a show this afternoon, and it truly is giant. The theater seats 250 people, and the screen is 38 feet by 70 feet (11.58 meters by 21.34 meters)! You have to see it to believe it. It didn't even fit in my phone camera when I took this picture from the middle of the room!

I had to stop by the gift shop, too. I got my brother a freeze-dried "astronaut" ice cream sandwich since he's been joking about wanting one, and for myself, I got these little dudes:

Clockwise from the upper right, they are: a red blood cell, plasma, a platelet, a white blood cell, and an antibody (with a little antigen attached to it). I think the company that sells them is called GIANTmicrobes. Aren't they cute?

Would you believe me if I said that I still have a bunch of stuff to check out tomorrow? Because I do. There are all sorts of shows and demonstrations in the various science stages and the planetarium. I want to see a few, especially one at the stage I'm interning with!

I have a busy day ahead of me, but it will be the absolute best kind of busy. I think the more serious internship duties will be fun, too. :)