#this is what hardcore sounds like

[drugstorecowboi]

Burning Lord: “WCB” Arcane Demolition (2024)

[feroluce]

Thinking tonight about Caelus, and the nature of his loss and his grief after the Everything that went down in Penacony during 2.0.

Because Acheron, Black Swan, and Misha kind of knew of Firefly, they at least met her, but they didn't like really know her, and Caelus never even got the chance to introduce her to the rest of the Astral Express Crew. The only person who would have talked to her much was Sparkle, who is. Probably not really someone Caelus is interested in grieving with skznmsks

Anyway, all this to say, I like thinking about how alone poor Caelus is in his grief, because he was the only one who knew Firefly. He's the only one really mourning her. There's no one to talk about her with. There's no stories to trade or memories to reminisce with anyone over. It's not as though he knew her for long, but still. No one else knew her at all.

And I love the thought of all of this coming bubbling up, hot and acidic and bitter, during a conversation with Sampo, who Caelus just so happens to run into in the Golden Hour. Poor Sampo is kinda blindsided, he knew shit was going down in Penacony, but yeesh. And he just. Isn't quite sure what to say about it all, because he's never really encountered this before. His feelings about the Masked Fools are...a mixed bag, but he's been a part of them for a very long time, and when you're with a close organization like that, it's hard to feel alone, in grief or otherwise.

So Sampo sits there on their little bench that the two of them have occupied, and he thinks of his old friend April, how she'd died in his arms cackling and spitting her own blood after a heist gone wrong, and how after he'd dragged himself back to the World's End Tavern they'd all held a Fool's Funeral- which is basically just a big party where everyone gets really really drunk and reminisces and toasts the dead and celebrates their life.

He still thinks about her a lot, and he remembers how the time he'd most keenly felt her absence was on Jarilo-VI, the one place where he couldn't talk about her because he couldn't say anything to give himself away as an alien. The Fools still tell stories about her every time he goes back to the Tavern. His first toast of the night is always in her name. Even now, all these years after she'd died, Sampo is still learning new things about her. He's never had to grieve her alone.

Caelus doesn't have any of that.

He might never have that. As they speak, Caelus has no proof that Firefly was even her real name, or if she dreamt with her true appearance. He might not ever find out who she even was.

And just imagining that kind of loneliness hollows out a strange little pit, right behind his sternum, deep between his ribs.

So Sampo claps Caelus' shoulder and offers him a deal. Come find him outside of the dream. He knows a guy who can get them a lot of beer for really cheap-

("Is that guy you and your five finger discounts?" "Whatever do you mean, dear friend, I don't even know the meaning of the phrase, hehee.")

-and they can hole up in a bar or a hotel room or something, and get completely shitcanned. Tell him all about Firefly, tell him everything, and he'll tell Caelus about April and everyone else he's ever lost. Sampo will carry Caelus' memories of Firefly with him, and at least this way, Caelus will be a little less alone in remembering her. And the next time they cross paths, Sampo will be the one to bring her up, and to tell her stories, and Caelus can get to be the one listening. He won't have to be the only person to talk about her anymore.

Caelus rolls his eyes when Sampo avoids another remark about sticky fingers, but...ok, yeah. That sounds good. Nice, even. Thank you. Caelus bumps his shoulder against Sampo's. Sampo bumps back.

(They find each other again the next day, and true to their word, get themselves completely and utterly shitcanned. Caelus talks more than Sampo has ever heard him; every minute detail, every word choice, Firefly's every odd little mannerism and habit. Because Caelus wants to make sure this will outlive him, that even if the Stellaron dwelling within him finally burns him to a crisp and he really does up and kick the bucket, or even, godforbid, if he forgets, he wants to make sure someone remembers her. She deserved that.)

((And it takes quite a while, after that. Caelus doesn't see Sampo again until after everything has settled down. On his last day in Penacony, he finds the guy slinking out of a seedy back alley and all but runs right into him. Sampo happily leads him to some dive bar in an even seedier back alley that Caelus has never even heard of, and Sampo raises his glass. "To Firefly! Who sounds like she probably would have hated me at first, but I would have liked to have met her anyway."

And Caelus stares at him, almost looking startled, long enough that Sampo worries that he's read him wrong and brought this up too soon. He's halfway into planning how to talk himself out of this situation when Caelus finally throws back his head back and laughs, tells him that yeah, Firefly would have politely called him out on every lie he told, and all their conversations would take twice as long with the way Sampo is so full of shit.

And he can see it, the same way he watches and sees through everyone, that Caelus' eyes have a tightness to them, his knuckles are nearly white around the handle of his mug. But he smiles. He hits his glass against Sampo's far too hard and throws it back and gets foam everywhere like he does every time they drink because the guy's about as elegant as a raging bull, but those things don't lessen the genuineness of his smile.

The grief is there, but so is the elation, and those emotions aren't a sliding scale between one or the other. It is all of both and both at once, and that's what contents Sampo enough to throw his own mug back when Caelus makes a toast of his own, "to April!!".))

[stardustdiiving]

How evil is arlecchino and what is she cooking

As of 4.2, I’m really curious what they’re planning with Arlecchino as a character, especially as a villain/antagonist/morally dubious character, and how far/which direction they may go with that

Intuitively my impression is we’ll see her do something way more “villainous” than she presents herself as being for majority of Fontaine’s AQ in front of us right—(which isn’t a surprise given that, you know, Arlecchino nor the House of Hearth have never been presented as 110% ethical LOL) but I find myself not being in complete agreement with most analysis or speculation threads I see about Arlecchino’s morality and the like, level of sinister people seem to ascribe to her.

Idk how to put it, especially in regards to her children I do agree they are not a wholesome found family, that Arlecchino is not above pulling strings or using them for her own ulterior motives, but I kind of hesitate on the idea she only cares about the Hearth children as a means to the end/things she can control and there’s nothing else going on with her characterization wise there. I’m not saying that impression seems remotely unreasonable or unfounded, but just that it feels there’s something intentionally missing in how we are supposed to conceptualize her as a person

My main reasoning for this hunch is the fact they have not elaborated on Arlecchino and the previous Knave—who Arlecchino is stated to have taken over the position from by force. The extra tidbits I think about are that 1) Arlecchino was previously an orphan in the Hearth 2) the previous Knave is described as way, way crueler to the children of than Heart than Arlecchino was from when she took control of the House

Often, people’s major indicators that the House of the Hearth is kind of super fucked up are the NPCs we meet in world quests who are part of it and clearly suffering. But one thing I haven’t ever seen people mention w this that i think is a very interesting detail is, in The Very Special Fortune Slip Inazuma worldquest, where we stop this House of Hearth guy (Efim Snezhevich) from manufacturing tension between Watasumi/the Shogunate to restart the war with his other Hearth subordinates, at the end of the quest we get this dialogue that reveals he had been acting under the previous Knave’s directives:

It’s also mentioned he’s employing this plan in an attempt to “rebuild the prestige of the Knave” following Signora’s death, iirc? Now, see, the dialogue itself says that this is “assuming our captive is telling the truth” so who knows what’s really going on, but I find this a really odd/interesting thing to highlight. I’m a bit fuzzy on other world quests with Hearth members, and am not saying none of them were acting and subsequently being treated poorly by our Arlecchino, but like, this gives me a lot of questions especially when paired with implications this previous Knave seemed to be way worse

Like, what drove Arlecchino to take over? How unexpected and controversial was this within the House? Assuming the above information is all true it definitely says something this guy went rogue and acted on what the previous Knave would want and didn’t think our Arlecchino would greenlight it, which does feel consistent with the previous Knave being described as basically worse & crueler than our Arlecchino. It also makes me question how much house of hearth things we’ve seen outside the main story are the work of our Arlecchino or if there’s a bigger divide of loyalty. Heck, I could be wrong but it doesn’t even seem like we know if the previous Knave is dead or not

This isn’t me saying Arlecchino couldn’t possibly be treating hearth children worse than she wants us to know, especially ones who aren’t her “favorites” the way the fontaine trio seem to be, but I really don’t feel sure about making a solid conclusion of her exact level of malice the way ppl r generally understanding it rn when it feels there’s going to be more about her. Just the idea of she, as a Hearth child, clashed with the previous leader who was known for being cruel, overtook their position and took on less harsh methods of leading that made at least some members with more power/possible closer proximity to the previous Knave go rogue and try to commit atrocities in the previous Knave’s name…I feel this leaves a lot of room to suggest there’s more going on with how Arlecchino is as a person

I don’t mind if she’s just very evil and deceptive bc if she totally had me fall for thinking she was less evil than she actually was that’s fun tbh. But I feel people suggest that’s all her character could be with no degree of like, “sympatheticness” or deep grey morality and that if her character did go there it would be automatically poor writing and genshin walking back on making a truly evil woman when IDK. I feel you can claim at this point they have left it open ended and it’s never been completely confirmed she’s pure evil. Also sometimes I just get a hunch and feel cautiously confident in Genshin executing certain characters well. Not all characters, just certain ones. Especially given Fontaine’s character writing being very good and a character like Lyney feeling very solid to me when any development with Arlecchino would likely involve him and his siblings as well, I honestly feel open to the idea of Arlecchino being satisfyingly written to be both villainous/morally dubious but “sympathetic/likable as a person” in ways outside of just her ruthlessness if that makes sense

If I’m wrong/they drop the ball with it more than I anticipate I’ll eat my hat but I am pretty excited about her character and which way they decide to go with it. I will say the only potential impression I have of where they’ll go with her has been wondering if it will go in a “cycles of abuse” direction—I’d be surprised if they ever elaborated on Arlecchino’s character especially in how she feels about things and her also growing up as an exploited child of the hearth wasn’t relevant

[suffertrademark]

Feeling bored and tired. Might craft a homoculus from the ether again.

Maybe might give them a little hat as well.

[sagechan]

HUH??

tell me how a ship name gets oversexualized. what are you talking about it's a word

keep their names out of your morally purist mouth!! 💀

[budutinahrobnositmandarinky]

i found this emojiridden copypasta that i made in 2020 in the depths of my notes app and i think the world (like 3 people on tumblr dot com) should see it.

twin size mattress

This 👉 is for the lions 🦁 living 🌱in the wiry⛓️ broke 🚫💸 down ⬇️ frames 🔳 of my friends 🤼 bodies 🏋️‍♀️

When ⌚the flood water 🌊 comes🏃‍♀️, it ain't💁‍♂️ gonna be clear 💎

It's gonna look 👀 like mud 🤢

But I 🙋will help 💪 you swim 🏊

I 🙋‍♂️ will help✌️ you swim 🧜

I'm gonna help 🙏 you swim 🤽

This 👈 is for the snakes 🐍 and the people👫 they bite 🦷

For the friends 🤸 I've made; for the sleepless 🚫🛌 nights 🌌

For the warning ⚠️ signs I've completely ignored 🤦‍♀️

There's an amount to take 🎁, reasons 🤔 to take more 🛒

It's no big 🧿 surprise 🥳 you turned out 📝this way 🛣️

When they close 🗝️ their eyes 👁️ and prayed🛐 you would change ♻️

And they cut your hair 💇‍♂️, and sent 📨 you away ↪️

You stopped ✋ by my house 🏠 the night 🌌 you escaped 🏃‍♀️

With tears💧in my eyes 👁️, I begged 🙏 you to stay🕺

You said 🗣️, hey man 👨‍🌾, I love 😍 you 💆‍♀️ but no 🙅‍♂️ fucking way 🛤️

I'm sure 👩‍🏫 that we could find 🕵️ something🙌 for you 🧘‍♀️ to do on stage 🎶

Maybe shake 🗯️ a tambourine 🥁 or when I sing 👨‍🎤, you sing harmonies 👩‍🎤

This 👐 is for the lake 💦 that me and my friends 👬 swim 🏊‍♀️ in

Naked 🧖‍♂️ and dumb 🤪 on a drunken🍹 night 🌃

And it should've 🙈 felt good 👍

But I 🙋‍♀️can hear 👂the Jaws 🦈theme song 🎵 on repeat 🔁 in the back 🔙 of my mind💆‍♂️

Make sure you kiss 💋 your knuckles ✊ before ⏪ you punch 👊 me in the face 👩

There are lessons 👨‍🏫 to be learned 🧐, consequences 😬 for all the stupid 🤪 things I say 🗣️

And it is no 🚫 big surprise 🎉 you turned out this way 🛣️

The spark ✨ in her eyes 👁️

The look 👀 on your face 👩

I will not 🚫 be late ⚰️

I'm sure 🤔 that we could find 🕵️‍♂️ something for you 🙇‍♀️ to do on stage 🎤

Maybe shake 🌀 a tambourine 🥁 or when I👩‍🎤 sing, you sing 👨‍🎤 harmonies

I wanna contribute 🤲 to the chaos 🦠

I don't wanna 🙅‍♂️ watch 👀 and then complain 😾

'Cause I am through ☠️ finding blame 🙊

That is the decision 🤔 that I have made 🚽

She hopes 🙆 I'm cursed 🧙‍♂️ forever ♾️ to

Sleep 💤 on a twin-sized 👯 mattress 🛏️

In somebody's attic ⬆️ or basement ⬇️ my whole life 👴

Never graduating 🎓 up in size to add ➕ another ⏭️

And my nightmares 👹 will have nightmares��� every night 🌃

Oh, every night 🌉, every night 🌌

[dangerous-advantage]

tgcf writing request(s)

eyo i am in a bit of a slump writing-wise so. if you see this and are interested, i would be very down for you to send me in any tgcf/hualian writing prompts!

i cannot promise anything concrete will come of it, but i am desperate <3 also uninspired

[crmsndragonwngss]

Sell your fucking love, I guess I can't afford it

[miamicommune]

hate discover weekly ill go through some Fucked Up music eras and get excited for what it'll show me and it'll still just be the deadest most boring indie stuff.

[drugstorecowboi]

Burning Lord: “Cannibals” Arcane Demolition (2024)

[cheapcheapfaker]

now that im bringing a child into this house I need to be a responsible gun owner and lock these bad boys down #staystrapped #smithandwesson

[bajaja-blast]

tw/ sexual assault

does anyone know what’s up with the Melanie Martinez allegations?

ik this is nothing new anymore, and even though I love Meanie’s music I would much rather side with a victim of SA. I did find this Reddit comment on a post about it from a year ago and I was wondering if any of the things in this comment are still relevant.

[ihearasound]

Yuri between a shut-in closeted vampire otaku and a time traveler girl who always brings her new gossip magazines and replies to all of her fan letters to keep her contained in her otaku cave

[jaythelay]

Fact: Unless you force yourself, ya ain't reaching the half-way point of SR3.

Deadass half the game is turret sections and incredibly railroaded missions. There's just nothing replayable about that game in any regard for most players. Anyone saying otherwise is actually lying through failed or anecdotal co-op memories.

Unless you're into the story they treated as skippable more than viewable, the gameplay is as thin as it gets, and should be an example for everyone on what standards your games should actually have in place of attempted but utterly failed "coolness."

Seriously I know I went off about them not continuing the gangster stuff, but that's genuinely not even a minor concern to me. As I said, I'd prefer them to do their own thing, and guess what SR3 fans did not show up to support at allllllll? Exactly that game, what was that title again....guardian...drivers...? Idunno, It wasn't for SR2 fans so I didn't see anything on it. It failed!

Because their audience, dedicated fanbase, was not the continual stream of 15yos from the mid 2010s. But SR2 fans.

All they're into is the conceptual ideas of SR3/4, the wackyness, but genuinely not much else. Once the jiggling keys effect wears off, and your friend gets equally as bored, ya close, uninstall, and move on.

Seriously try it without the objective to prove me wrong. Some of you will enjoy it and that's valid and fine, but most of you genuinely will not last past the 8th turret section after yet another turret section after another turret section after a railroaded section, after a turrent section.

Watch how often you do not touch wasd or your left joystick, it's actually embarrassing "creative" work that we moved on from in the PS2 era. Sure, SR2 had moments like this, just not Back to Back to Back to Back to Back to Back.

Anyways, just saying SR2 fans were their actual customer base that entire time and instead? They went out of business because, oh, oh wow the proto-fortnite crowd has a low attention span and care for the series? Who'da guessed dwindling all support from your dedicated fanbase for the ficklest of fickle crowds would end up becoming your downfall?

They weren't struggling when it was SR1/2, but they've been on the ropes since SR4 and continually going back to the same, very dry well, eventually killed them. Had the reboot been made seriously, competantly, and creatively, they'd still be around today. Instead, cheaply it was made and pricey was it's tag.

They made it cheaper and cheaper feeling until the gameplay felt like an alpha title and made the characters frustratingly what old people think young people are like, wrote a story nobody would bother writing without a gun to their head, and then did nothing to address anything as the jiggling keys fanbase went back to fortnite and SR2 fans were completely pissed off.

Imagine rebooting your series to be entirely for the crowd that moves on near instantly. That pushed SR2 fans away and absolutely losing their dedicated fans is what ended up costing them existence in the public eye.

Genuinely, you can't debate that the SR3 formula straight out of a budget PS2 title, that they kept since the 2010s, and pissing off their actual audience with the reboot, was what put them out of business. It's undebatable they chose the most frivilous of audiences over their actual audience.

Good riddance to the dumbest business known to man. RIP Saint's Row as it truly was, thank fuck Saint's Row is dead in it's current form. Next time, do the obviously smart thing, and make a product people actually want to play for more than an hour.

[seilon]

pro: ran into a coworker at a bar last night who I don’t really talk to usually (he works upstairs, I work downstairs) and we talked and im pretty sure we were highkey flirting and he bought me a drink and the bar merch shirt i was interested in and thanks to the power of alcohol i guess i asked for his number and he gladly gave it to me and. yeah

con: i have the second worst hangover i have ever had and have been fighting for my fucking life just to eat saltines

[goldensunset]

re: the music rant I tagged you in I am so sorry for tagging you in my double-dose caffeine fueled haterism explosion post. truly was off the shits and did not realize how much random garbage talking points I was ready to spill on the first person to ask

but i love haterism…..