#tool riffs

[nyuudoupee]

arghhhh ultraman rising posting again but this is about the score. yes the miku stylophone is in the soundtrack but holy FUCK tim henson drops some utterly soul rending guitar shreds in this thing. it's not all over the entire ost but when it hits it HITS like DAMN. its like his exact guitar tone too and it bring so much style and badassery to the scenes in which they play like ARGHHHHH

i just love the fucking LICKS he drops on this soundtrack its insane... especially the way he plays the ultraman motif in the second track linked and the riff right after it GOD. it even adds onto like the thematic stuff happening in each scene i don't know how to explain it but it just DOES.... i hope tim drops a video or an interview explaining anything about how this went down (i know scot stafford did explain some in an interview that he did that's really good read it)

it kind of makes me wish the rest of the dudes from polyphia hopped onto another mild scoring gig even if its just like an insert track or something on anything. these riffs in particular kind of remind me of pre NLND/the worst polyphia LOL just a little bit. god i love guitars and god i love music

[mokiwis]

Pues...

[diathadevil]

Two songs that make my body ascend towards the astral plane:

Tool's song Parabol transitioning to the sick riff in Parabola.

Hades' guitar riff going from 2nd to 3rd Phase in the game.

[drheartstealer]

Cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion

[maccadeau]

number of characters swapping eyes in naruto is abnormal. kishimoto do you have something to say.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

The Machinist 2

Warnings: this fic will include elements, some dark, such as possible bullying, misogyny,��noncon/dubcon, and other untagged triggers. Please take this into account before proceeding. It is up to curate your online consumption safely.

Summary: your new boss sets his sights on you. (short!reader)

Characters: August Walker

Author’s Note: Please feel free to leave some feedback, reblog, and jump into my asks. I’m always happy to discuss with you and riff on idea. As always, you are cherished and adored! Stay safe, be kind, and treat yourself💜

You take your lunch where you always do; outside. You don’t like to sit inside all day, especially after sweating amid sparks flying from dozens of torches and grinding wheels and the like. The metals walls do little to let the heat out, so it is that you greet the sunshine and fresh breeze with a sigh. 

You find your way to your truck and unlock the back, climbing up to sit in the open bed as you unzip your lunchbox. You have your standard fare; some carrots, hummus, and a tuna sandwich. Nothing fancy or special. Just what you have time to throw together in the morning. 

You watch the distant skyline as you chew. Insects buzz in the air and you swat away a nosy fly. The smell of pollen underlines the lingering scent of singed metal and your own sweat. You enjoy the small moment to yourself, with the barely muffled noise of drills, wheels, and hollers all around. 

You dip your last carrot and close up the container of hummus. You wipe the lingering garlicky smear from your fingertips and zip away your leftovers and the used napkin. You push your head back to stretch your neck and loosen the stitch between your shoulders. 

“You’re prettier in the sunlight,” the rocky voice brings your chin back down. 

August approaches as you clutch your lunch box against your lap. You don’t know how to respond without putting your job in the balance, so you don’t. You push yourself to the edge of the truck bed but he’s quick. He’s right in front of you, close enough that you can’t jump down. 

“This your truck?” He muses as he gives it an emphatic look, “not too bad. Bit big for you, girl. Ah, but maybe you like handling big things.” 

His insinuation repulses you. He was rude before but now he’s just being gross. Doesn’t matter. Who are you gonna tell? Who’s going to care?

“Excuse me, my lunch is almost over,” you say as you teeter on the edge. 

“I’m sure the boss won’t mind,” he grins boastfully. 

“Really, I got a lot of work--” 

“I never heard about your promotion,” he intones. 

You stop short and bite back your words, “promotion?” 

“Right, you must’ve got one since you’re telling me what to do,” he challenges, crossing his arms to make himself even bigger. 

“I wasn’t. I’m trying to go back to work.” 

“I didn’t dismiss you,” he sneers. 

You ease back and nod. This isn’t the first time a man’s postured at you, it won’t be the last. You’ll let him get his rocks off. 

“Sure,” you nod. 

“Hmph,” he looks you up and down, “it always makes me wonder why women wander into metal shops. Really? You like being sweaty,” he steps even closer and you wince as he reaches and drags his thumb down your cheek, “dirty? I can think of better ways for that.” 

“Sir,” you say flatly. 

He trails his thumb down and presses on your bottom lip, “I’m new around here. Need someone to show me around. How about it?” 

You scowl and rip your mouth away from his hand, “you can’t be serious?” 

“Do I look like I’m fucking kidding?” He slowly pulls his arm back, crossing it once more across his chest, “what I know about this town is there’s no other fucking shop looking for tool and die, and let me tell you, princess, you’ll find they don’t pay pennies next to what I pay.” He brings a hand up to brush the short stubble darkening his jaw, “actually, we’re due for salary review. That’s what the finance officer tells me.” 

You understand his threat. Even if he doesn’t fire you, he can mess with your money. All the leering men, all their nasty words, wouldn’t be worth it if you didn’t get a half-decent cut. 

“Can your precious little head understand me?” His mouth slants in a half-smirk. 

“Not that difficult,” you hiss out.  

“Great, sounds like a plan, princess.” 

Before you can react, he steps forward. He grabs you by the waist and drags you forward on the open door of the truck bed. You yelp in surprise and bat his wrists, your lunch box bouncing out of your grasp onto the ground. He holds you to hover on the edge before he lowers you to the ground, crowding you. 

“Good girl,” he growls and squeezes before he lets you go. 

You struggle not to snarl outright. He takes a step back, not far enough. You turn your attention to your errant bag and bend to pick it up. 

“Mmm, I like that position,” he purrs. 

You snap up and tamp down your irritation. You wish you could say he’s the first man to be so disgusting but that would be a miracle. Especially in this line of work. He’s just the only one you can’t tell to go fuck himself. 

You face him, “can I go back to work?” 

“Mm, look at you, learning already; asking permission,” he clicks his tongue, “sure, go on, princess.” 

You hold back a shudder and turn to close the truck door. You toss your lunch bag over it. Whatever. 

You spin and stomp away, refusing to look back at him, even as you feel his gaze bearing down on you. You feel even more filthy than before. Not just because of his behaviour but your own weakness. You should say no, you should go work at the Pizza Hut, at least there, you can spit in the food of every ass who gives you lip. 

As you cross the yard towards the shop, you slow down. Your eyes meet those of Carey. He started at the same time as you. He asked you out. Several times. He glowers and narrows his eyes.

He looks at the other guys sat around him at the smokers’ table. They saw it. You know they did.

“All the fucking same, aren’t they?” He spits into the dirt as the other men look in your direction. “Cozying up to the boss to get a few extra bucks on her check.” He flicks his butt towards you as you near the door, “whatsa a matter, baby? You need some new panties? Oh, maybe you’re gonna buy a dress? Start dressing like a woman, huh?” 

The other guys chortle and you ignore them. They don’t matter. That’s the difference between them and August. He can actually ruin your life, they only wish they could. 

[billthedrake]

(This one is a riff from an idea a reader suggested.)

SIX COORS LATER

Sean Bennett woke up a little groggy. He probably had a couple too many beers last night.

The ex-QB told himself he should be a more responsible man. His wife had just borne their third kid six months ago, fer chrissake. But Sean's job had him on the road every week during the college ball season, put up in one soulless luxury hotel room after another. He'd had an amazing run as an NFL quarterback, with some ups and downs to be sure, and now how had an enviable gig being a sports commentator for college ball. Saturday night, after the broadcast, was his chance to let loose a little.

Only Sean realized he wasn't in a hotel room. The ex-athlete's eyes adjusted to the early morning dimness. He was definitely in a bedroom. Some modern condo or apartment, sparsely decorated. A dude's bedroom.

Just then the sportscaster hunk felt the warmth of another body scoot up next to him, placing a thickly muscled forearm over Sean's still-fit and manscaped upper body.

"Hmmmm," came the deep voice cracking in morning voice. The dude scooted up next to him as Sean tried to remembered any details about the guy but was coming up short. Even on the name. Jason? Justin? Jesse? Jackson? Fuck.

The man felt nice. Probably around Bennett's age. Late 30s with a cross-fit body. A work-hard, play-hard professional. BIG Michigan fan. A very thick uncut cock and a sexual stamina that could go multiple rounds. Funny how those details were coming back to the ex-jock so easily.

Maybe it was that hard thick shaft pressing into Sean's hips and the way the fan's hand was pawing at Sean's hard body, even if in a groggy slowness.

"Hm... you probably should go soon, bro... my girlfriend gets back in town this morning."

Sean nodded, but didn't make a move to slip out of the guy's warm bed. Hell, those powerful arms felt SO good. Bennett enjoyed a man's touch from time to time, but he rarely stayed around for the morning, for the more sobered up experience of this. Just a second longer, he thought.

Thing was, Jackson or Justin or whoever wasn't letting go. His kisses traveled up Sean's neck, finding that sensitive trigger spot right behind Bennett's ear, the one that makes the ex-athlete wanna put out. Just like he'd found it so effortlessly last night.

"Yes," Sean hissed. It was only then that he was aware of his own cock, a shank of morning wood that jerked excitedly, now awake. And Jackson's hand was drifting down those washboard abs, over the trimmed light fur to finally touch that QB bone.

"You fuckin' horndog," the guy muttered with a clear lust. Then after he kissed that spot again, he added with a louder voice, "Turn over."

The two had fucked three times the previous night, twice in one go and once waking up at 3 in the morning. But they hadn't done this position. Without ceremony Jackson was crawling on top of Sean's prostrate body, kissing along the shoulder blades and then back at the neck. Sean could feel the guy's hard, hairier muscle on his back and that thick wedge of uncut dick press into his surprisingly wet ass cleft.

The top took a second to enjoy that mounting position before he reached down to guide his fat dong into place. "God, you're still wet with my cum," he said. His voice was clearer now, fully awake.

Sean blushed. He'd been a little drunk when he agreed to come back to Jackson's place, and he wished he was drunk now. At least his hole was loosened up, fully, for this thick tool. The first time Bennett had been shafted by a large cock was a mindblowing experience, but now he got excited by girth even more than length. And Jackson brought he girth.

It was now four solid inches inside him. The hunk was clearly excited, kissing Sean some more. "Bro... I used to jack off so much thinking about doing this to you," he said.

Then, all of a sudden, the top powered the rest of that fat prick into Sean's guts.

"FUCK!" Bennett exclaimed. Not in pain but definitely uncomfortable and surprised.

"You got this, bro," Jackson urged. Sean could tell from the edge in his voice he was eager just to start fucking, and that scared the ex-QB. "You took me like a pro last night."

"Give me a sec, OK?" Bennett pleaded.

"Yeah," came the reply. But a second later, Jackson was reaching over for something. The hand came back, right to Sean's face and it was the smell that made him recognize the poppers.

"Come on, bro," came the guy's voice. Urging Sean to sniff the fumes. "I need to pound one off real bad, and I don't got a lot of time."

One of these days Sean Bennett would learn self-respect. Today, he sniffed the amyl, one nostril then the other.

The heat hit his body just at the right time. Jackson liked to fuck hard and fast, using his whole muscled body. That thick tool was plunging in and out of Sean's guts and felt INTENSE. Only now it was intense in a good way, making the ex-jock's insides buzz.

"Fuck, that cunt is so squishy, man," Jackson hissed.

Indeed, they could both hear the sloshy slick sounds of each inward thrust and Sean could feel excess cum dripping down between his legs, and over his ball sac. Just that tickling trickle made Bennett rock hard against the guy's bedsheets. The bottom didn't know how much was the amount of cum Jackson had shot inside him last night and how much was the girth of the cock forcing the load out with each shove.

"Bro... you're milking it right out of me man... Gonna milk my load right out into that hot ass of yours.... oh SHIT!"

The heaving body went rigid on top of him, and Sean knew he was getting loaded up for the fourth time in 12 hours. He knew when the poppers wore off, he'd regret this. He'd gone cold turkey actually a few years back, and even when he started fooling with guys again, he told himself it would be more of an occasional thing.

And now he felt about 210 pounds of masculine dude rest the full body weight on his stretched out body. Jackson felt heavy, but Sean didn't want the guy to break body contact not yet. That fat dong was still jerking inside him, undoubtedly still shooting some dribbles deep up in him.

Finally the guy shifted on top of him but didn't push himself off. Instead, Jackson reached around to find Bennett's tool. Still rock hard and still leaking so much he didn't need lube.

"Aw fuck!" Sean gasped as he felt the hand stroke his prick. Combined with that very stuffed, very loaded feeling, the very touch of Jackson's hand was magic.

Sean heard a soft chuckle in his ear as the top leaned forward and jerked Sean with determined strokes. The dude had a great touch, for sure.

"Come on, bro," he urged. "You wanna..."

"Yeah," Sean replied. He wanted to. He wanted to let this hot stud play him like a violin. It was the opposite of sex with his wife, when he did all the work. Now, the QB was the penetrated one, passively worked over by a man who knew what he was doing.

The pissslit stung just a second once the cum barreled out, it was that kind of orgasm.

"Nice!" Jackson hissed and kissed Sean's neck once more. "Let it out, buddy."

Sean did. Maybe because he hadn't shot load for load with Jackson's orgasms, and he was behind in the count. Maybe because he loved his mounted position more than he wanted to admit.

He'd barely had time to come down from the high of his cum when that hand withdrew and that thick dong finally retreated from his clenched asshole, but not before dragging some of that fresh deposit with it.

Sean felt a pat to his rump and felt the bed shift as Jackson slid off the bed. His host walked over and undid the bedroom curtains, letting in the dawn light.

Slowly Bennett turned on his side to get a good look. He was embarrassed to realize he could barely remember what Jackson looked like. But he was getting a good look now. About 6-foot-even, handsome more than cute, thinning brown hair, blue eyes. Back in the day, Bennett liked the thrill of fucking around with big-league athletes and coaches, then he went through a phase of being into regular guys... fans, married men, guy next door types. Jackson was in a different league, with an incredible body yet still carried himself like a regular dude.

"God, you're hot," Sean said before his mind could censor what his libido was thinking.

That made Jackson paused and turn toward the NFL star. He let out a little laugh and smiled, "Man, you're a trip," he said.

From the new angle, Sean could see that hard muscle beneath the brown body fur, rounded and ripped, and just how thick and heavy that dong was, even soft, swaying beneath a large nutsac. If this dude wanted to go for round five...

"Your girlfriend is probably on her way," Sean said instead, injecting reality as he sat up in bed. He knew he had a great body, but could see in the way Jackson's eyes swept over his form that the top was definitely starstruck himself.

"Yeah," he said with a little sadness. "Her flight lands around 7."

Sean nodded. He wasn't gonna make trouble for this dude. He slid out of bed and felt proud as Jackson just watched, staring like a wolf circling the hen house.

As Sean got dressed, his host slipped on some gym shorts and walked out to the kitchen to make some coffee.

The ex-QB knew this was gonna be one hell of a walk of shame. Still suited up from the night before. His cohost and work buddy Curt Collins ould probably razz him for going home with one of those dudes from their bar outing.

But even as the regrets were sinking in, the sex had been worth it. Sean made sure he looked presentable and that he had everything. Then he walked to find Jackson shirtless and hunky as hell, drinking his coffee and scrolling through his phone.

The guy looked up with that look again. The look of a man who'd had his bucket list fantasy satisfied in the biggest way.

"She's in an uber now," he said. "You good, man?" he asked. Maybe worried Sean was freaking out some.

"Yeah," Bennett replied. "I'm good."

It was Jackson who seemed shy now. "Well..." he started. Then he picked up a folded scrap of paper and handed it to Sean. "In case you're back in town," he added. "It's my Google number, just be discreet."

"I usually don't," Sean said, taking the paper nonetheless.

"I get it," Jackson said. "Shoot your shot, right?"

That made Sean laugh. This guy was just a normal dude. He stuffed the paper into his suit pocket.

"A final kiss at least?" Jackson asked.

Sean smiled and stepped up. The dude was a few inches shorter but their heights matched well. Their kiss was soft and surprisingly sensual.

"I taste like stale beer," Sean apologized.

"Yeah you do," Jackson said with a smile. "It's cool though. You're a good kisser. We didn't do enough last night."

They kissed again.

"Fuck!" Jackson finally hissed. Sean knew why.

"All right," the athlete said. "Take care."

Sean was in the Uber back to his hotel before he pulled out the folded paper. The handwriting was simple and masculine, more neat than a scrawl. "Matt," it read. The phone number.

So that was his name, Sean thought.

He didn't know the next time he'd be in this city. Probably once next season, though maybe his travels would bring him here again. Maybe Matt would want to come to Ft. Lauderdale, or even Miami.

Doofus, he thought to himself. What the fuck was wrong with him? Sean took another look at that piece of paper then picked up his phone.

"Hey, great to meet you. SB." was all his message said. He typed it, looked it over, and hit Send.

No reply immediately. Matt was probably showering up, or washing the sheets. Maybe the girlfriend was already home.

Instead a text came in. Collins. "Tell me you had as much fun as I did last night." Sean couldn't remember who his buddy and colleague had chatted up. Maybe one of Matt's buddies. Hell, THAT could have been Jackson. Or Jason. Whatever.

"Probably more," he typed back with a grin. "What happens in Austin stays in Austin, right?"

"Right-O," Curt typed. "They grow 'em big down here in Texas dont they buddy?"

Sean smiled. His hole ached to think of Matt's huge dong. "They sure do man."

He'd find a way, any excuse, to come back before next year. Somehow.

He slid his phone in his pocket and shut his eyes just to rest them. He'd need a major nap on the plane ride for sure.

[spockandawe]

Two! The Disabled Tyrant's Pet Palm Fish, again. Guys, I truly forgot how much I adore this INCREDIBLY silly book. It was tied for svsss and 'with absolute splendor' for my first attempt at bookbinding. I still have my original wiggly-ass coptic of the first half of this novel. And I did it again in those early months too! And then I somehow forgot it for like two years?? Anyways, I had to go all out. Lectern book time.

But backtrack a little. I'm usually not a super involved typesetter. I'd like to be better about it, but if something is super abstract or doesn't have clear visual thematic elements for me to riff on, I get frustrated and move on. Fortunately, this is the fish book, about fishfucking, where a man has a passionate romance with his pet fish. With easy mode activated, I went for it.

Fish interior? Fish endpapers? Fish exterior? We've got it all, baby! Secretly, Jing-wang personally designed this book.

This was SO fun. I love this book to pieces. Everyone should absolutely support the coming official translation, I'll be doing so, and I'm VERY excited to throw my money at it. But in the meantime, I'll probably bind at least one more personal fancy copy! I was too fried to give this the lavish edge art treatment, but... there's always next time! Can i find a fish charm for a bookmark? I bet I can! Tooling the leather in a decorative fish design? Baby, I'm considering trying to tool this spine, next time is a given. Genuinely, my goal is to bind this book in a way so overwhelmingly thematic that Jing-wang would nod in approval. I'm a very serious artist.

[mokiwis]

Algo relajante

[feybeasts]

Here's my hot take: don't be a bully.

And here's my hotter take: A lot of you don't realize you're being bullies.

Oh sure, I see the excuses, the justifications. "I'm just riffing" or "they know I'm just goofing". Yeah, sure, and are you courageous enough to ask if the subject of your "riffing" is in on the joke? Would you stop if they asked you to?

It's so goddamned easy, so very easy to slip into it- you think you're just giving someone a bit of heat, just being cute, not really being harmful, but the 'joke' never stops, the 'riff' happens no matter what the reaction is to it. It becomes your canned response, your default state of being towards a person, and sure, you think everyone's on the same page, but all the while, it just gets more cruel, the joke less funny. It doesn't matter what the person thinks anymore- or perhaps you never think to ask, to reflect- and soon that casual cruelty is codified until, eventually, it becomes unbearable.

And I hear the excuses already.

"They should have told me"

"Well if it was a problem, that's on them"

"They need to have thicker skin"

"I know it was a joke, they should too"

It's so easy, isn't it? To deflect like that- now you don't have to self-reflect, confront your actions- no, it's their problem. I've been on both sides of this, I know how readily a person just... brushes off their own behavior. It's almost insidious, really. But I'm asking you- begging you- to stop and think about how you interact with people, with friends, with family, with acquaintances, coworkers, and ask yourself- are they laughing too?

It is distressingly easy to become casually cruel, especially for those of us who have had to become self-protective and quick-witted to protect ourselves. But I want you to know that those tools can easily be turned on others if you're not mindful- and I'm asking you to please, please pay them heed for a moment.

You might just save a life.

[foone]

hiya foone! i'm working on the surprisingly lofty task of modding barbie fashion show 2004 and i've been told twice to ask if you have any leads on how to get to the game files. i don't know how to simplify it because i'm so in over my head at this point. here is the thread

okay so here's how you reverse engineer an arbitrary game, the quick version:

Research. Who made the game? what else did they make? Maybe they made a game with the same engine, and someone already figured out that one? (not that I saw on a quick look, but you may be able to dig deeper) Also, look in the game files. There's a PowerRender.dll and a sipEngine.bc file. Nothing for sipEngine, but PowerRender has a hit on the internet archive, maybe that download includes some info on how it encodes files?

Look at the files (with a hex editor, like HxD). KAR files seem to be the main storage mechanism, and they've got a RIFF header. RIFF is a standard, though they're not using it exactly. But this might help. Another thing you can spot in the KAR files is a bunch of english strings (CreditsTb.kar is lousy with them). That's a good sign: it means the files aren't compressed, so you don't have to figure out the compression method.

Static analysis of the EXE. Get Ghidra and load up the EXE. Find where it opens files (CreateFileA/CreateFileW on windows), trace back from there. Check the strings. Hey look, function FUN_004e6260 is called with "KAResource.kar". so FUN_004e6260 is probably a function to load arbitrary resource files. Dig through that, figure out how it works.

Dynamic analysis of the EXE. Stick it in a debugger and see what it does. Set a breakpoint on CreateFileA/W and follow the execution. I don't have a good recommendation for what tool to use here, I'm from the past. I've used Ollydbg a lot but it hasn't been updated in 9 years.

Hijack the EXE and make it do your work for you. One thing I noticed while looking around was references to Python. This game apparently embeds a python interpreter, version 2.2. Maybe you can find where it loads the code from, or inject your own code?

Anyway those are some introductory ideas. feel free to ask any follow-up questions, but this hopefully gives you some idea of where to start?

Good luck!

[thesleeptokenarchive]

On This Day: August 2 2018

Sleep Token posted about Kerrang!! Magazine's article on the collective that was released August 1 2018 to their social media accounts. This rare interview features who we know as Vessel now as "Him", something which has become a thing of the collective's history and long out of use. [X]

Full article provided by PINQTEETH [Reddit]

Interview text below.

Words by Jake Richardson

"WE EXPLORE THE DEEPER RECESSES OF THE MIND..." -HIM

GET TO KNOW Your quick guide to SLEEP TOKEN… THEY ARE: Anonymous, philosophical ambient metallers. HEAR: The alluring power of brand- new single Jaws. SEE: The simple darkness of the haunting clip for Thread The Needle. MORE INFO: Facebook.com/ sleeptoken

Photo Caption: Sleep Token: not keen on identity, huge on birthday cake

AMPED UP

SLEEP TOKEN

Anonymous Brit metal cult big on peering down the rabbit hole…

Sleep Token are a band shrouded in mystery. The London metallers' mix of high-tech riffs and dreamy soundscapes have earned them a good name for themselves since forming last year, but if you want to give them credit for it, you must do so to the masked, anonymous face of their enigmatic frontman, known only as Him. Him declines to reveal specifics about the ancient deity the band worship, Sleep, but he's more forthcoming about his own artistic motivation.

"There exists a considerable body of art that explores the deeper recesses of the human mind," he explains. "Sleep Token serve as a means to explore this on an individual basis. The music is a representation of one individual's deepest and most fundamental emotions and desires. This is what people connect to. They see themselves in this individual, and the music becomes about them."

Easy-going fare this isn't, but there's no denying it's pretty captivating. Sleep Token have played fewer than 10 times (they refer to their gigs as "rituals"), but they're already Download alumni. The industrial-ish thrust of new single Jaws, meanwhile, continues their philosophical, lyrical path.

"Our jaws are the tools we have to rend apart," Him explains. "They show our concealed aggression, and take something once hidden and burst it apart. You don't know someone until you have seen

them destroy something. Jaws is an exploration of the frustration which accompanies the sense that someone close to you is hiding their true self."

But while Jaws looks to expose the darkness that lies inside us, when it comes to the band's own identities Sleep Token are steadfast in their belief that art comes before aesthetic.

"Art has become entangled with identity," Him says of the band's anonymity. "The aim is to provide something people can engage with without being obstructed by the identity of its creator. The true identities behind Sleep Token are irrelevant. Our identity is represented through the art and music itself."

[ponett]

i started playing rift apart (it's good) and it's making me remember the ratchet and clank moment that lives rent free in my head that no one else in the world seems to remember. which is this promo video cutscene introducing a battle arena in tools of destruction, which briefly, inexplicably, depicts ratchet via... crudely edited mega man 7 sprites? or otherwise an extremely close reproduction of the style? as like a riff on the bob and george era of sprite comics? (this game came out three months after bob and george ended)

as someone who was a kid making sprite comics using edited mega man sprites at the time this made me lose my goddamn mind

[ofstardustanddreaming]

dating times

preference summary: what dating them is like.

content warnings: none

fandom: baldur's gate 3

characters: dammon, rolan, and zevlor

gender neutral reader

anon request

Dammon: Dammon is arguably one of the sweeter ones to date. He always likes to craft you something in his work area, or he likes to keep some of the trinkets that people have traded to him to give to you. Such as a weapon he knows you'll like created from a metal that someone gave him, strongest of its kind. He's a sweetheart who wants to see you smile, and will do anything he can to make sure you don't feel sad. He'll take you to his work area, showing you how he makes his tools, trying to get your mind off of what made you sad in the first place. Dating him includes surprise romantic outings as well, dates set up in the fields, giggling over the meal he packed.

Rolan: Dating Rolan can be a whirl wind of emotions. He's full of life though, and he'll take you along with him to enjoy the days together. He can be stubborn though, really trying to get his way a lot of the time. It can create riffs, but while you're both apologetic afterwards, he's the type to try and do grand gestures to show you how sorry he is. He enjoys dates out towards the inn, and he enjoys a bit of dancing if you can coax him into it, and if he's had a couple of drinks. If he even catches a hint of someone hitting on you though, it's all the chances of him punching or fighting someone over you. There's a bit of insecurity to work through on losing you to someone else, but he is very protective over you and doesn't want anyone giving you a hard time.

Zevlor: If there's one thing about Zevlor, it's that he's a confident someone to date, it was a very straightforward sort of situation in asking you to date him. He's used to being a leader, and will take a leading step in situations of romantic pursuit. He doesn't want to control any situations in a manipulative manner, obviously, but he's someone who's used to expressing his ideas and expressing his feelings to you. He leads extravagant date nights when he's not up to his head in work, and he likes to lead with ideas he thinks are fun, taking into account what you like as well. He's protective as well, with the amount of people he's stressed about looking after, it'll translate to you as well. He'll want to make sure you're okay anytime there's a fight, right after a battle he'll seek you out, looking over any injuries you may have sustained.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Paradigm Shift 4

Warnings: this fic will include elements, some dark, such noncon/dubcon, and other untagged triggers. Please take this into account before proceeding. It is up to curate your online consumption safely.

Summary: you get transferred to a new position but it’s hardly a breath of fresh air. (plus!reader)

Characters: Loki, Bucky Barnes, this reader is known as Billie.

Author’s Note: Please feel free to leave some feedback, reblog, and jump into my asks. I’m always happy to discuss with you and riff on idea. As always, you are cherished and adored! Stay safe, be kind, and treat yourself💜

💼Part of the Bad Bosses AU💼

You have one victory on your first day and it’s hardly that. Laufeyson and Barnes responded but it’s just more work to put on your plate. Now you have to go through and figure out how to balance it all. Well, it’s Friday and you can worry about all of that on Monday. 

You head out from the office. You have earned your prize. Drinks. And you’re not going to take it easy, even if Missie tells you to. 

You get there later than the others. You barely have enough time to get home and change out of your striped blouse. All you really did was switch out your blazer for a leather jacket. 

Georgie is nervous and glum. Her boss is taking her on an impromptu work trip. From what you’ve heard of the guy, he’s a real tool. You envy Izzie as she’s jumping out of planes instead of moping over an office desk. You’ll have to ask her how she got into that. 

Before you can put in your order for a double paloma, more tempted to just ask for a straight shot of tequila, a server appears with a tray of drinks. Ugh. You can see the sugar in the colour alone. 

“I don’t think that’s for us,” Elfie says before you can. 

“Some gentlemen sent them,” the server gestures behind her with her chin. 

She unload the tray as you strain to see the creeper buying a round for you. There’s always some loser buzzing around like a gnat. “God, I could use a tequila...” you mutter. 

“Who is that?” Rosie asks what you’re all thinking as a man waves and Dizzie waves back. You want to snatch her hand down. She can be so naive. 

“That’s my boss,” she explains and your throat locks up. You might just choke on your own damn tongue. 

You sit back down and hide your face between your hands. It can’t be but you’re certain at a glance. Dark hair, square jaw, piercing blue eyes. Did he see you too. 

“Shit, he’s with my boss!” You hiss. 

“Your boss?” Elfie leans in with concern. 

“One of them.” 

“And... is that... Mr. Rogers?” Rosie chimes. “What are the odds?” 

You lift your face and glare at her brightness. She might like her boss but you have been in hell all day. You can’t even begin to explain the shit pile you’ve been handed. Two bosses. Both eager to outdo the other’s assholery. 

“It’s so nice of them to send some drinks thought,” Dizzie says. 

Rosie agrees but Elfie has the sense to question it, “but why?” 

“I won’t deny a free drink..” Missie slurps. 

You ignore their chatter and raise your hand above the din. You signal to the server with a fraction of a smile. Fuck this apple bullshit. You need the hard stuff. 

The alcohol helps the night along but you can’t shake the presence across the bar. You’re paranoid. It’s too much of a coincidence. More so than Barnes being there but with Rosie and Dizzie’s bosses. You gues their type flock together. 

Still, you can’t quite shake it. You keep yourself to two palomas. You won’t risk making a single misstep. 

At the end of the night, you head off alone. Usually, you’d split a cab with Elfie but she left early, Georgie too. You yawn and bid goodbye to the rest. 

You dive out into the dark and tuck your hands into your pockets. The street is quiet as you step up to the curb. At this hour, it’s only cabs but you don’t see any lurking around. You head down the pavement in search of a ride. 

“Billie,” the deep timbre halts you. You blow out between your lips and turn to face Barnes. You're not surprised. 

“Mr. Barnes,” you greet. 

“Walking home alone?” He asks. 

“Trying to find a cab.” You spin back and raise your hand as a yellow car appears around the corner. 

“If you need a ride...” he offers. 

“No thank you.” You lean in as you flag the driver. He stops just a few feet away to pick up a group of guys. Shit. 

“I don’t mind.” He insists. 

You shake your head and cross your arms. You continue down the street. You don’t live that far. His footfalls echo yours. 

“You know, it wasn’t in the options but I do expect you to flash a smile or too,” he chirps as he comes parallel to you. 

“I’m not on the clock.” 

“No, you’re not. So how about another drink?” 

You scoff and stop. “I don’t mix my personal and professional life.” 

“All professional, doll. I’m just congratulating you on your new position.” He smirks as you glance over. 

“I gotta get home.” 

You walk on and he does too. You get to the corner and harrumph. You stop again. 

“What are you doing?” You ask. 

“With that kinda attitude, you’ll fit right in with Laufeyson.” 

You tilt your head as you consider your options. Keep going and lead him home or argue with him some more. Why can’t it just be over? 

“I can be a nice guy. You caught me on a bad day,” he says. 

“Look, I appreciate the offer, Mr. Barnes.” 

“We’re not at work. Bucky’s good.” 

“Mr. Barnes,” you repeat. “I’m tired. It was a long day, thank to you, and I need to go home and sleep. Let’s save the niceties for Monday. Please.” 

He considers you, his cheek dimpling. His blue eyes scan your grim expression. He snorts. 

“Huh, I think I misjudged you, doll.” He reaches to fix the floppy lapel of your jacket. “I really didn’t think you were that much of a tight ass. Guess I’ll just have to loosen it up.” He winks and pulls back, tucking his hands into his pockets. “Be safe,” he turns on his heels, “don’t know what kinda creeps are hanging out around here.” 

He struts back towards the bar and you glare after him. Right. You’re dreading Monday even more. 

[occasionallycoinpin]

i need to know what that storyline for oc 110 was

i’ll be honest, i started writing it down, got distracted by other things, and then completely forgot about it until now

so i guess i’ll dump what i have right now, and finish it up later

occasionally coinpin 155

(collapsed for length)

(this is an m&l dream team riff so there’s a good amount of similarities bit whatev)

Premise:

Many years after the competitions end, a miraculous discovery! Leafy, while going through old messages to delete to save memory, finds an odd, unopened email from January 1st, 2012. As it turns out, Dream Island wasn’t destroyed all those years ago! It was simply relocated to a new part of the ocean, the robotic staff waiting ever so patiently for their new owner to claim her island. Leafy, ever the kind soul, invites everyone to Dream Island for a wonderful vacation!

As the BFDI crew will soon come to find out, there is a very literal reason the island is named DREAM Island.

The Arrival:

The charter ship arrives at the island rather precariously, so much so that Pin, observing the docking with her friends, falls off the ship and has her point stuck in the ground. While the robotic servants assist her, Coiny and the others must head along for the introduction tour.

Rather predictably, Coiny and Firey start feuding about something or other, which begins the first boss fight: Metal Firey (they had him eat a yoyleberry earlier to not burn down the ship).

- A tutorial fight for the basic mechanics, very simple as the only move Coiny has available is Jump.

- Done in a few hits + counterattacks.

The delay caused by the fight allows Pin to catch up with everyone else, and the welcoming festivities continue.

After a bit of exploring the Dreamscape Hotel, Coiny and Pin stumble upon a door which a robotic servant says simply leads to the basement. And indeed it does! Though the servant neglected to mention that there weren’t actually any stairs down, and the door simply led to an open chasm that the duo fall into. Time to find a way out.

The Discovery:

The basement is filled with crud you’d expect to see in a basement, as well as some basic enemies. The duo find the Hammers down here, an essential tool. As they descend further the basement starts looking less basement-like and starts looking more temple-like: the Dreamscape Hotel was built on top of the ruins of an ancient temple.

Deep in the temple, they find a wall mural of an ancient civilization seeking salvation in a figure that bears an awfully unsettling resemblance to Pin. But before the duo can dwell on this any longer, two Stone Pin statues come to life and attack!

- An exam fight for both using two characters at once as well as using the Hammers.

- The Stone Pins can only be Hammered at first, but if properly countered they will fall on their backs, allowing Jumps that deal critical hits.

After the fight, who else shows up but Golf Ball, immediately berating the duo for destroying such priceless archeological artifacts. She’s down here as she’s set up a Lab in the basement (because of course she did) and wanted to see what all the noise was about. The duo follow her back to the Lab.

The Dream World:

A small crowd has gathered in the Lab, curious as to what the ruckus was about. GB takes this opportunity to go into a lecture about a new phenomenon she’s discovered on the island: certain spots emanate a strange energy, one that she is currently researching located right in the middle of the Lab. Pin, not really paying attention, investigates the spot and nearly immediately passes out. GB, taking this as an insult to her lecture, goes on another rant, completely distracting her from the fact a portal has opened over the sleeping Pin.

Everyone in the crowd is surprised by this development, except for Pillow, who was seemingly expecting it. She hurriedly grabs Needle and jumps into the portal. Coiny, not one to stand by while his friend gets kidnapped, hurries in after them.

Coiny finds himself in Dreamy Dreamscape Hotel and soon meets up with Dreamy Pin, the embodiment of Pin’s mental self image. In battle, Dreamy Pin will augment Coiny, boosting his stats and enhancing his Jump and Hammer. After some exploration, the duo find Pillow and the now unconscious Needle, and a boss fight against Pillow begins.

- Pillow starts the fight by summoning a legion of False Dreamy Pins to surround her, which can both attack independently and assist Pillow with her own attacks.

- Partway through the fight, Pillow steals Coiny’s Hammer and disguises herself and the False Dreamy Pins as False Dreamy Coinys. She then proceeds to shuffle herself into the crowd, and the player must keep track of which one is Pillow. Jumping on the right one removes the disguises and returns the Hammer, while Jumping on a wrong one reveals it as a False Dreamy Pin and deals damage.

- After taking enough damage, Pillow flees the fight.

The Disaster:

Despite the fight, Pillow has enough energy left to enact her plan: she stabs Needle into the ground, creating a crack that spews a strange energy. Outside, in the Real World, the portal begins emitting this energy. Strange, dark crystals begin growing on some of the robotic servants, as well as a good amount of the BFDI crew, all throughout the island.

After the energy clears, Pillow takes Needle down into the hole she created, which closes up after them. Coiny and Dreamy Pin are dumbfounded, and, after breaking some of the dark crystal blocking the way, have no choice but to return to the Real World to reassess.

When Coiny returns out of the portal, and Pin awakens, GB can’t help but start asking a million questions about what had just happened. After one of the strange crystals formed in the Lab, GB attempted to harvest it to no avail before it mysteriously evaporated. After the duo fill her in, she deduces that the crystals must exist in the Real and Dream Worlds simultaneously, and while it is indestructible in the Real World, it is possible to break while in the Dream World. GB dubs this material Crystalized Somnolescent Energy, whereas Coiny purports the much more popular name Nightmarium.

Various objects start rushing into the Hotel, saying that more crystals are around and that anyone afflicted by them has fallen into a coma. By now, the duo’s mission is two-fold: find out where Pillow disappeared to, and destroy all of the Nightmarium that has grown across the island. While GB needs to stay in her Lab to perform more research, she produces the GB-Drone: a miniature drone that allows GB to communicate with the duo while they’re out and about. The duo set out to the closest location to the Hotel: the Fantasy Fairgrounds.

and that’s all i’ve got for now. if people seem to like this i’ll present more of the story in this fashion, and if not i’ll just dump the rest when it’s completely finished