#treat them like mini streaming services

[overelegantstranger]

i guess the way i think of it is. if i was on netflix or whatever and i was bingewatching a show, i would, in some way, be monetarily supporting the people who made that show. and so this is why whenever i start getting obsessive about a youtube channel i sniff out a kofi or a patreon and i sign up for a bit. like not always for very long. and like i know they can get ad money but that's basically nothing. and i'm very bad at commenting and liking and other algorithmy things. and like, if i'm sending retroclaude like £3 a month or marleneknits a fiver or whatever, like, that's quite a small amount of money for what i'm getting. and it's like i CAN get it for free. but that few pounds a month can and does make a difference to people, like, directly and immediately, in a way you can see. and so for me, paying for it when i Can pay for it is an investment in the kinds of things i like and that make a difference To Me. and it means that those people can keep doing stuff for free, which is cool and good

[ebongawk]

hellcheer + mini golf pls

"Eddie, no."

"Eddie, yes."

"Eddie, no!"

"Christ, Cunningham, what are you? My mom?"

"What? Ew, Eddie, no."

"I'm calling Child Protective Services and telling them my mother sticks her tongue down my throat."

"Eddie, gross!"

"And that she likes it."

Chrissy tried to swallow her laugh; she really did. Tried to keep a stern face, lips pursed around her serious expression. Her finger pressed against her boyfriend's chest as she grasped his metal golfclub with the opposite hand.

It was, however, a fruitless endeavor. Because she, for whatever reason, found Eddie's absurdity humorous, and the laughter side-stepped the lump of refusal in her esophagus. Sounding almost like a backfiring car as it slipped undaintily from her throat.

Eddie clocked it, his eyes glistening with victory as he carefully unpeeled her fingers from around his club.

"Alright, alright," he sighed, holding his arms up in submission. "I will not, in fact, treat your precious game of mini golf like it's real golf and hit the ball as hard as I possibly can." He smirked, leaning toward her. "Satisfied?"

Giving a little harrumph, Chrissy crossed her arms with an eyeroll. "I'll believe it when I see it, Munson."

Eddie grinned, feral and wild and glorious, as he grabbed his ball and set it on the raised green pad of turf. He lined up, shimmying his hips a little, and Chrissy giggled. Throwing a look over his shoulder, he made a show of wiggling his entire body that had her snorting with her hands pressed over her mouth. He reminded her of Gumby, sometimes, in the way he moved. Boneless limbs and flailing joints.

And, honestly, he did look a little ridiculous. All black clothes and silver chains, holding a bright pink golf club and matching pink golf balls that he grabbed before she had the chance, because, "You always get to be pink, sweetness, give someone else a turn." Standing on chemical-green turf and gently whacking balls into downscaled windmills and off the backs of cartoonish plastic animals.

Mean and scary. It made Chrissy laugh anymore, trying to perceive how he might look to the general population and failing miserably.

All she ever saw when she looked at him was her Eddie.

And her Eddie was ready and willing to take her mini golfing after she mentioned in passing the opening of a new course in Fort Wayne. Showing up on her doorstep with one of those ridiculous checkered golf hats he said he found at a thrift store and wrapping his arms and legs around her to get it on her head.

(She had to admit, it was kinda cute. Even if he did mess up her hair.)

"Watch this, baby! Boutta make a hole-in-one."

"I'm gonna guess a bogey, actually."

"Even better!"

"It isn't!"

"Well, it's a cooler word, at least," Eddie said, pulling back and tapping the ball. He still somehow managed to hit it way too hard, the force sending it flying through the air and making it bounce off the side of the drawbridge he was trying to get it over.

Her former boyfriend would've gotten extremely frustrated at that. Called mini golf a waste of time and said he wasn't playing anymore. He'd pretend that he'd wait for her at the concession stand, like he was granting her permission to finish the game alone, but would throw a fit if she actually tried to play the remaining holes.

Eddie did absolutely none of that.

Eddie threw his head back and cackled as the ball ricocheted off the wooden bridge and flew back further than it was when he set up his shot. He nearly toppled himself trying to catch it, which only made him laugh harder, looking back at Chrissy with bright eyes. Like a forest in autumn, sunlight streaming through browning leaves.

"How many points is that?"

"It's one!"

"What? No way. That was at least ten, Cunningham. Did you see the way it arched?"

"Eddie, points in golf are bad."

"Well, I don't feel bad," he replied, sauntering toward her as he twirled his golf club. Which almost immediately went careening out of his hand, landing on the turf with a dull thud. He looked at it like it had disappointed him before closing the remaining distance between them.

"You don't feel bad because you didn't bother learning the rules," she stressed, even as a new grin tugged at her lips, trying to find life that she suffocated as best as she could.

The moment Eddie's arm wrapped around her waist, she lost the battle.

"Rules are overrated anyway," he shrugged. "I think my way is way more fun."

Humming, Chrissy shrugged, trying to keep a disinterested air that was betrayed immensely by the firmly affixed smile she couldn't shake.

"Too bad you didn't invent the game then," she shot back as Eddie pulled her closer to him.

"God, that would've set us up for life," he lamented, slumping toward her. "Who needs rock n' roll when you're rolling in that sweet mini golf cash?"

Her heart gave a little flutter at the implication, the hand not still holding her orange golf club spreading across his pectoral.

"'Us', huh?" she asked. Eddie's eyebrows shot up, his head tilted to one side as he searched her eyes. For what, she didn't know, but whatever he found seemed satisfactory with the way they warmed.

"Definitely us," he agreed, tongue pressed against the inside of his cheek as he made a show of thinking. "Right up until you divorced me, anyway."

"Wouldn't I just get half of that sweet mini golf cash, then?"

"What? You think I went into this post-mini-golf-invention marriage without a prenup? I'm crazy, Cunningham, but I'm not insane."

Chrissy squawked indignantly. "You would make me sign a prenup?"

"Well, yeah! How else am I supposed to convince you to stay tethered to me forever?"

"Oh, my God."

"Are you saying you'd divorce me and leave yourself broke?" He scoffed. "Unlikely, baby. Gotta incentivize you with money, since clearly my body isn't enough."

"Oh, my God, Eddie––"

Her rebuttal was cut off as Eddie closed the scant space between them, capturing her lips with his and swallowing down her retort. Chrissy melted into it without permission, sighing into his kiss and falling headfirst into the familiar cadence of their shared sonnet. The hand on his chest abandoned its post, curling around his neck so her fingers were tucked into his hair and keeping him tethered for as long as possible.

They only broke apart when someone wolf-whistled from another course, both of them panting as red blossoms of embarrassment bloomed under her cheeks.

"I know, right?" he called back to their unknown spectator. Then, quieter, for only her to hear, he said, "Fifty points at least."

Laughing, Chrissy tucked her forehead against his collar as she caught her breath.

Gosh, she loved him.

"How many bogeys do we have left, Cunningham?"

"We're only on the fourth hole."

"Ah, the forbidden fourth hole, is it?" He waggled his eyebrows, and she laughed even more.

"Of eighteen, Eddie."

"Well fuck, we better start hitting balls! Stop distracting me with your feminine wiles, Chrissy, it's unfair!"

"Don't blame me! You kissed me, mister!"

"Oh, you are definitely getting served a prenup."

[herbertx-blog1]

Healing with a Twist: Fun and Lovely Get Well Soon Gift Baskets

A Fun Way to Send Comfort and Care

When a loved one is under the weather, it's only natural to want to uplift their spirits. While flowers and cards are classic ways to express your concern, sometimes a more thoughtful and personalized approach makes all the difference. This is where get well soon gift baskets come in—offering a delightful and creative way to send comfort, care, and joy to someone in need of a pick-me-up.

Why Choose a Get Well Soon Gift Basket?

Get well soon gift baskets stand out because they offer a curated selection of comforting treats and wellness essentials that help promote recovery in more ways than one. From soothing teas and uplifting candles to delicious snacks and pampering self-care items, these baskets provide a well-rounded, heartfelt way to show someone you're thinking of them. The best part? They can be customized to suit the recipient's tastes and preferences, making them both a practical and personal gift choice.

Fun and Thoughtful Ideas for Get Well Soon Gift Baskets

Dreamland Essentials Bundle

Embrace the serenity of a restful night's sleep with the Dreamland Essentials Bundle, thoughtfully curated to promote relaxation and inner peace. This gift bundle features the calming aromatherapy benefits of 100% pure lavender essential oil, designed to create a peaceful atmosphere. More than just a self-care set, this bundle is a meaningful gesture to show someone how much you care for their well-being, whether it's a gift for a loved one or a treat for yourself.

source: https://innerfyre.co/collections/get-well-soon-gifts

Positivity and Relaxation BasketWhen you're feeling down, a little positivity goes a long way. Fill this basket with items that promote relaxation and mental wellness, like a lavender-scented candle, calming herbal tea, and a cozy blanket. Adding a personalized note of encouragement can make it even more special.

Sweet and Savory Comfort BasketPair sweet treats like honey-infused chocolates or cookies with savory delights like artisan crackers or truffle-flavored popcorn. This basket brings comfort and indulgence, perfect for cheering up a loved one during recovery.

Spa Day at Home BasketCreate a mini spa experience by including bath bombs, essential oils, a luxurious body scrub, and a soft towel. Add an affirmation candle to help your loved one feel calm, cared for, and refreshed.

Feel-Good Movie Night BasketFor movie lovers, fill the basket with their favorite snacks, a cozy pair of socks, and a gift card to a streaming service. It’s the perfect way to encourage some much-needed rest and entertainment.

Wellness and Hydration BasketStaying hydrated is essential for recovery. Include a stylish water bottle, electrolyte powder, and hydrating skincare products. Pair it with fresh fruit or herbal teas that promote healing.

Where to Find the Perfect Gift Basket

If you're looking for beautifully curated get well soon gift baskets, you can explore some thoughtful options at Innerfyre Co.. Their selection features handpicked items designed to bring comfort, positivity, and healing. With options that include candles, teas, and soothing essentials, you're sure to find something that perfectly suits the needs of your loved one.

Send Comfort, Spread Joy

When someone is feeling unwell, a thoughtful gift can go a long way in brightening their day. Instead of opting for the usual, why not surprise them with a unique and fun get well soon gift basket that truly shows how much you care? With personalized options and a mix of treats, self-care items, and wellness products, these baskets are an excellent way to spread joy and encourage a speedy recovery.

Explore more unique and thoughtful get well soon gift baskets by visiting Innerfyre Co.. Let your gift bring warmth, love, and positivity to someone special today!

[dramaintherain]

I've been watching dramas for a decade and a half and it's not about the quality of just netlix dramas ( although most of them look very nice but have the substance of a paper back and the writing quality of a 12 yo writing fanfic for the first time) because like you said there isn't that many of them compared to everything but how they influenced the kdrama industry just like they influenced hollywood (there are multiple articles and industry writers/actors talking about netflix and streaming by extension because companies tried to follow them and the irrevocable damage it has done to how hollywood functions not just for the quality of the art but the livelihood of writers and actors they went from big writers rooms and residuals and recurring spots to mini rooms where they do a huge amount of free work basically no residuals and actors getting paid dust here's one https://www.vulture(dot)com/2023/06/streaming-industry-netflix-max-disney-hulu-apple-tv-prime-video-peacock-paramount.html). No one is saying kdramas were perfect there were a lot of bad shows like there always are, a lot of misogynistic writing a lot of exploitation and there still is, here's how netflix is treating korean labor ( https://www.latimes(dot)com/world-nation/story/2023-08-07/south-korea-actors-netflix-pay-dispute-union). But netflix has changed the game and unlike hollywood which it started disrupting a long time ago it's relatively newer to kdramas, much shorter shows regardless of the story being told ( the actual main leads of song of bandits complained how the show got cut in half after being filmed just... because) and networks are popping out 12 ep shows like clockwork when it should be based on what the story is, 12, 16, 20? Like some of the greatest kdramas of all time weren't 20+ like six flying dragons, reply 1988, cruel city, chief kim, prison playbook, we used to get 20 ep shows and 16 and 12 and for sageuks 30 and 50, now 20 is extinct and the only show doing it is my dearest and it's the biggest rating hit, it should always be a variety, a huge number of shows getting filmed and shelved because networks have cut their slots, westernized shows masquerading as kdramas, shows getting multiple seasons when the story really doesn't call for it. Of course there are still great shows but that's not because of netflix it's in spite of them and just like Hollywood are barely starting to recover due to labor standing up for themselves with the strikes, Korea is gonna take a few years before it looks around and says wtf has happened to us, we had a model that while not perfect, worked and now... It's capitalism through and through and tech bros f*cking up another industry for money.

I have been watching k-dramas for eight years now, and the same critique of "shiny coat of painting but terrible story writing" can be applied to various dramas broadcast outside netflix so I really do not see where this thought is coming from other than narrow nostalgia.

At the same time it is nothing but ludicrous to blame the woes of Hollywood on streaming services as if there were no major issues already. Since the late 1970's-1980's western cinema became monopolised and dependent on blockbuster films based on intellectual property.

Today we are witnessing the zenith of this circumstance as the majority of films available at cinemas are nothing more than reboots or sequels, particularly the super hero gene. This has also spilled over into television series as now there are countless, fast food like shows of a certain Mickey Mouse brand that has accumulated a great deal of intellectual property when it comes to comic book characters.

I am not arguing that streaming services are less exploitative or that they have not taken opportunity of local labour laws and so on with the objective of profiting: that is how they function, just like television networks. The shift towards pre-produced k-dramas is a positive one nonetheless as it is less taxing on those involved in producing k-dramas. "Some of the greatest k-dramas of all time" were shot live and under excruciating conditions for labourers, and this model is and remains unsustainable.

It's a shame "Song of the Bandits" had several of its episodes cut during editing but this is something that happens under any production, be it from a television network or a streaming service. And that often happens because there are doubts whether a show will be successful or not. But none of this suggests that k-dramas are being "westernised" -- these shows reflect South Korean culture and history.

South Korea already has a plethora of national streaming services like TVING which is already planning to expand to the American market in a year so I do not understand why all these changes are being exclusively blamed on one streaming service when this is part of one big wave across the world and television networks are also having their share of the pie. You are effectively romanticising the exploitation of South Korean workers for your own personal consumption while deriding any changes that contribute to lessening their payload: think about that.

[atozearth]

15 Gift For Parents At Christmas In 2023

Certainly, here are the list of15 thoughtful gift ideas for parents to consider giving them during Christmas in 2023 https://www.youtube.com/embed/YiSCTs3KiDs 15 gifts ideas for your parents

1. Personalized Family Portrait:

- Capture the essence of your family in a custom artwork, showcasing your unique bond. Spiritual Gifts Ideas for parents also can best gift

2. Spa Day or Wellness Package:

- Treat your parents to a day of relaxation and self-care with a spa voucher or wellness retreat.

3. Cooking Class Experience:

- Enroll them in a cooking class to learn new culinary skills and enjoy quality time together.

4. Customized Jewelry:

- Gift them personalized jewelry like a necklace with initials or birthstones to hold sentimental value.

5. Memory Book or Scrapbook:

- Compile cherished family photos and memories in a beautifully crafted scrapbook.

6. Weekend Getaway:

- Plan a weekend trip to a cozy cabin, beachside retreat, or charming countryside.

7. Subscription to Their Interests:

- Subscribe them to a magazine, streaming service, or hobby-related club that matches their passions.

8. Thoughtful Handwritten Letter:

- Express your love and gratitude with a heartfelt letter sharing your feelings and memories.

9. Home Cooking Kit:

- Curate a kit with gourmet ingredients and recipes for them to enjoy cooking together.

10. Personalized Calendar or Planner:

- Create a custom calendar with family photos or a planner to keep them organized.

11. Wine or Whiskey Tasting Set:

- Gift them a tasting experience with a set of quality wines or fine whiskeys.

12. Digital Photo Frame:

- Load the frame with rotating family photos to brighten up their living space.

13. Plant or Garden Kit:

- If they enjoy gardening, give them a potted plant or a kit to start their own mini garden.

14. Online Learning Course:

- Support their interests or hobbies with an online course that they've been wanting to take.

15. Family Game Night Package:

- Create a bundle of board games and treats for fun-filled family game nights. Remember, the best gifts are those that show your parents you care and appreciate them. Consider their interests, preferences, and the meaningful moments you've shared together when choosing the perfect Christmas gift. Also Read more - Gifts for 10 Years Old Boys - Foods That Are White In color - Kitchen Remodel Ideas - iPhone 15 launch date - Roblox t shirt - Car cleaning kit in 2023 - Nike shoes under 100$ - Samsung smartphones launches in September Read the full article

[loopednetwork]

Canceling Apple One

I posted yesterday about an email I received from Apple letting me know that my Apple One subscription's monthly cost would be increasing from $14.95 USD to $16.95 USD. While an increase in $2 isn't exactly massive, the push to over $15 was enough to give me pause. What exactly am I getting out of this, and is it worthwhile to keep paying?

Apple One is a service that I subscribed to pretty much immediately when it became available just a couple of years ago. At the time I was paying for Apple Music at $10 a month, and I was thinking of bumping my iCloud storage from 5 GB (free) to 50 GB for $1. Apple One seemed like a good deal at just shy of $15 since it also included Apple TV and Apple Arcade. This was also right around when the COVID pandemic started, and Apple offered Apple TV for free for quite a while. Since it was technically included in my subscription, I received a $5 discount on my monthly bill.

When faced with a price hike, though, I realized a few things. First, I haven't so much as thought about opening the Apple TV app on my TV in at least 3 or 4 months. The last thing I watched was Severance. While I've previously enjoyed a few shows on there, many of them seemed to jump the shark pretty early on. For example, both See and For All Mankind managed to go off the deep end in their second seasons. While I think Mythic Quest is hilarious (and the 3rd season literally just released today), I'm not going to lose sleep over not watching it.

I initially had hoped that Apple Arcade would offer a compelling mobile game experience, but basically all of the games on it are, for lack of a better phrase, hot garbage. Rather than spend my time playing any of the nonsense there, if I play a game on my phone or iPad I just play Wild Rift.

That being said, I didn't want to bail on my Apple Services entirely. Apple Music is easily the best music streaming service out there, in my opinion. I use it all the time from my work laptop, my phone, my Echo, and my HomePod Mini. It has playlists I've put together with hundreds of hours of songs; it's not something I'm going to abandon lightly. Similarly, having iCloud storage is handy. While I could scrape by with the default 5 GB (I don't really need device backups since I never restore from them; I treat new devices as a fresh start), I like to keep a handful of apps and other things backed up there and don't want to worry about bumping my head.

After looking at individual pricing, I saw that I could subscribe to Apple Music for $11 USD and still get 50 GB of iCloud storage for $1, putting me at $12 a month instead of $17. It almost seems minor enough not to bother switching, but that's $60 a year I can spend on literally anything else.

Even better, when I went to cancel I was greeted with this screen:

Apple gives the option to subscribe to the individual services that made up the Apple One subscription, AKA the exact thing I was going to do manually. That's a nice touch, at least.

[shespeaksinsongs]

Moving In With Draco (HCs)

some nsfw hc's ahead. also, it's implied that you've already lived together, this is just your first house together!

he has extraordinary taste. loves shopping for home decor and will get anything he sees that he likes. you often have to remind him that maximalism does not look good in the house you bought.

literally treats you like his sugar baby. does not let you pay a dime for the house, and if you disagree and finally get him to let you help pay for the house, he's very proud of it.

wanted house elves until you convinced him that maids would be a more humane option.

moving day is probably one of his best memories with you. he loves seeing you so happy and packing away each box gently.

wants one of those welcome mats that say his last name so he can flaunt off to more people that you took his name.

doesn't particularly enjoy gardening, but when you suggest you start taking it up as a hobby, he gets so excited. he just loves spending time with you any way possible. does NOT like degnoming, though.

goes into the spare room very often. if you two want kids, he just sits at the bay window for hours, imagining his life with a mini you.

would def fuck you in every room... and he'd make it his mission to do so, even in the closets.

building off of that, his favorite room for you would probably be the laundry room. he puts the washing machine on the heaviest setting and throws in a pair of shoes, just to see you squeal when it hits the top of the machine, adding to the feeling on your clit.

when you're on a meeting in your office, you usually leave the door open so he can know not to bust in with some silly idea. but, when you look especially bored, he stands in the doorway, pulling dumb faces at you, trying to illicit a laugh, which almost always works.

game night on your balcony <3 he congratulates you when you win, even if he's ashamed of it. one game he cannot play without getting at least a little bit annoyed with you is monopoly.

he's constantly changing the passwords to your streaming services. i don't know the reason, he just does.

if you're short, he'd let you wash the dishes while he unloads the dishwasher so you don't have to struggle reaching up so high. for times when he's on a business trip or out, he's bought you a stepstool.

def gets you breakfast in bed on the weekends

has a basket of snacks in his nightstand drawer for when you or him have middle-of-the-night cravings

speaking of cravings, his get very intense if he hasn't eaten sugar in a while. one friday night/saturday morning, he was so hungry for sugar that he baked three cakes and decorated each of them with short or phrases for you, despite the cake mostly being for him.

packs your lunch when you have to go to work, and you pack his when he goes to work. he always leaves you sweet notes and vice versa. also brags to his co-workers about you.

would let you move your clothes into his closet if you didn't have enough space.

makes you coffee every morning and if he needs to leave super early, places a heating charm on yours that will keep it warm until you drink it.

is very sensitive to temperature. he can't be too hot or too cold, so he gets one of those mattresses that can change temperature.

always goes grocery shopping with you because, for some reason, you make great memories there.

you wear his clothes a lot when he's late to get home. every once in a while he catches you while you're awake and teases you about it, but is secretly freaking out on the inside when he cuddles you to sleep

loves waking up to you on the weekends when you don't have work, even if you're not awake yet. waits until you're awake and just thinks about your plans for the day in the meantime.

loooooves lazy days where you and him just hold each other and watch trashy shows and movies while eating your favorite snacks.

often invites family over or has gatherings with his friends for the sole purpose of flaunting you off. he is genuinely so proud of you and himself that he got you.

is particular about candles and so are you. when you disagree on smells, he usually just forfeits and lets you win.

never goes to sleep angry at you. even if you try, he always does whatever he can to make you smile before you fall asleep.

realizes he's never falling out of love with you on your first trip. the day you wake up all excited to go to the airport is when he comes to terms with his undying feelings for you.

[etraytin]

Halloween

Man, today was a beast! Five days til the funeral and there is so much to do. I was up at 6:30 to get the kiddo to school a little after seven, and then I had til 9:30 to finish the draft on the order of services, get the obit formatted properly, get dressed, get breakfast, and dig the correct tools out of the toolbox to reach behind all our heavy furniture and unplug cable equipment. (After not touching the landline phone or cable television for a full month, we are comfortable with letting that go and cutting one bill in half.) I drove into town and went to the church where the funeral would be so I could make arrangements to get the programs printed and figure out how the catering is going to work. After that I dropped off the cable equipment at the cable store, then went to the florist to order an urn wreath and a table basket for the funeral. It cost 320 dollars, whoof! But they gave me one of the roses they're going to use and it's very pretty.

On the way home I remembered we didn't have Halloween candy, so I stopped at the store and bought some, and bought lunch. Went home and ate and computered for just a bit, then the kiddo came home because it was an early release day. By now it was about 1:30, and I needed to finish his costume. I turned the house upside down but found MIL either does not have the iron I thought she had or it is very well hidden, so I felt pretty dumb for sending mine to the thrift store during the move. I also realized I needed to send back our broken iPad (terrible tip-over accident), so I hit up the post office and Walmart for iron and mini ironing board. I also went to the cake store so I will have excellent pound cake for the guests who are arriving starting tomorrow. Returned home and watched people stream Minecraft while I cut out yellow vinyl transfer strips and turned a blue coverall into a Fallout IV vault suit. Got that finished just in time for it to be time to carve pumpkins!

(Yes, it would've been better to carve them earlier, but that would imply that previous days have been less busy!) Anyway, we got these handsome fellows done and set them on the front porch with a bowl of candy because it was time for trick or treat! We ended up punting and going to a big Halloween to-do at a church nearby because we live on a massive hill where the houses are far apart. Kiddo got some candy and went on a mini train ride, while we bought supper from a food truck and managed to run into one of like three people we know in the entire town. After the church thing I bribed my way out of further trick-or-treating with Dairy Queen so we did that, and now I am home. In between all these things I spent the day texting with my best friend from college who had a baby today. The nurses put him in a teeny tiny cow outfit, it was weird and cute.

Tomorrow will be even busier. Yikes!

[extremelyblackandwhite]

where does it end?

Pairing: Queen!Reader x Knight!Bucky Barnes 

Warning(s): angst, sexual themes, triggering content, dark!steve

A/N: by @lookiamtrying​ request, i am posting the last part to an year old mini fanfic i wrote. last chapter inspired by love me or leave me. enjoy xx

The world had barely seen the Queen ever since her loss. She was locked in her room and never left for any reason. Steve had been assigned her duties and her meals were taken into her chambers by her handmaidens. She had even moved her King and husband from her room. No one heard from her and some handmaidens were quick to start coming up with the wildest of theories while some believed she could be expecting, but James knew it wasn’t the truth. 

     - The King’s calling for you, Sir Barnes. - Natalia walked into the training chambers where he was supervising some new blood into the royal army. James sighed, turning to his second and telling him to take his place before following the redhead into the King’s headquarters.

He wasn’t very keen on talking to him much less look at him. James despised him with every drop of his being but yet he couldn’t figure out if it was because he had gotten the ultimate prize or if he had threatened to have her head cut off due to infidelity which had never happen. 

They finally stopped in front of the King’s Quarters which had been the young Queen’s library and now rudely turned into somewhere where Lord Rogers rudely tried to take her place. He was royalty but he didn’t have the grace or the beautiful ruling ability the Queen had. 

    - Your Royal Highness ... - the redheaded female knocked on the huge mahogany doors whose initials had been removed. She slowly opened the door to see the blonde reading some papers. - Sir Barnes is here, as you requested. 

    - Thank you, Lady Romanova. - he said, not even looking up from his papers. Natalia took James inside, leaving him there only hearing his heartbeat and the wood crackling on the fireplace. He heard the doors closing behind and his last conversation with the king came to mind. 

    - Your Majesty, what do you wish from me? - no matter how hard he disliked the man, he was still his King and while Y/N was unavailable, he’d have to answer to him and only him.

    - You are a smart man, Sir Barnes. My advisors say you take it after your father, ever so calculating. You’re a man who, like me, knows that despite our dear Queen being ever so thoughtful, ever so loved, she has one job that she needs to do as a Royal of her gender. Can you tell me what is it?

    - Provide heirs to ensure the house keeps on. - James refused to look Steve in the eyes. He didn’t understand where he was going, he didn’t understand why he asked that. - What does that have to do with me, your majesty?

    - She refuses to see me and since she’s the rightful heir, her advisors have suggested another husband for the Queen considering we won’t produce any heirs. - Steve got up from his seat walking up to one of the countless shelves filled with books owned by the crown family. - I’ve spent years in my brother’s shade, heir in spare and I will not have my marriage annulled and lose my crown because my wife refuses to lay with me. 

    - I don’t understand what that has to do with me, Your Majesty. 

    - My wife clearly doesn’t want to lay with me but she doesn’t seem to have minded laying with you before we were married. At this point I don’t care who the child is as long as she’s pregnant. 

Bucky’s heart sank into his stomach as his brain started to process what he was asking of him. It couldn’t be, he wouldn’t want that, Bucky couldn’t do that. His eyes seemed void of life as he looked up at his King whose position was so so fickle.

    - I don’t think I understand, your Majesty. - Bucky hoped he didn’t understand, he really hoped he was wrong. 

   - What part of fuck my wife do you not understand, Sir Barnes? - he growled at the man standing in front of him. - I will not be thrown off my rightful throne because my wife refuses to get knocked up. 

   - With all due respect, your Majesty, it is her rightful throne. She’s the heir.

   - You see, Sir Barnes I really don’t wanna accuse my wife of adultery. It will end up in her beheading and I really don’t think the people would enjoy that. Besides, of course I will pay you a good amount for your service and it’s not like I will deprive you of seeing the child. - Bucky could feel himself churn at the thought of the man so many called loyal and rightful treat Y/N as if she were a breeding dog, as if she were a business, as if she wasn’t the human with the heart of gold he knew she had.

No, no, Bucky couldn’t do that to her. He knew his Queen like the palm of his heart, she was sweet, fair and anyone who’s by her company normally basks in her light which seems to reflect of her own words. He couldn’t agree to treat her as if she was merely a breeding object but he also couldn’t allow for her to be beheaded. It terrified him to see the face he used to love to wake up next to, her little smirky whenever she stole swords from knights as her princess, her sunny smile whenever she performed an operetta correctly gone. He couldn’t see her gone. No. He had promised to protect his sovereign and she would always be her Queen.

     - I cannot do that. 

     - Your father fought to protect this kingdom. I am fighting to protect it too, you cannot let a woman rule by herself, who’ll inherit the throne? Besides, you surely didn’t mind fucking her like a cheap whore when she wasn’t married.

     - Your wife has always been loyal to you since her marriage. I’ve told you that before. 

     - Then I think you have a choice to make. 

Bucky felt the world collapse on top of his. Through his mind rushed the moments he had shared with her, from the very first moment he met her sitting at one of her mother’s teas, pink frilly dress, the smile she gave him to her wedding when he refused to stop the ceremony. He wondered if he should’ve had stopped but he also wondered what life he could’ve given her. It didn’t matter anymore, he should’ve stopped it, he should’ve done something. He thought of the life she could’ve had if he had stopped her, she wouldn’t have gotten pregnant, she wouldn’t have lost the baby, he wouldn’t have disappointed her once again and she wouldn’t be traded around like a harlot.

As he exited the study, he knew what he had to do. He had to take her away from the kingdom as sure as possible, send her to one of their allies, maybe to one of her younger sister’s kingdoms gained by marriage, anywhere that could aid her in stopping what was happening behind her back.

    - Don’t. - he turned around to see his wife, Natalia. She held a cold look in her face, too cold contrasted to her fiery red hair but he still could point out the crack in the ice of her eyes. It was still there, begging. - I know what you’re thinking about, James. Don’t do it. 

    - Get off my way, Natalia. - she stood in front of him like an unmovable rock, stronger than the tide itself, never stopping. - I won’t say it again.

    - Just sleep with her, James. He’ll pay you well and we could leave this, we could maybe buy a piece of land, start over. - jealousy is a damned thing, he realised. He realised jealousy had shaped the wife once friend who he had known all his life as someone who knew right from wrong, it had shaped her into a cunning woman, one which knew how to ride the problem of her marriage away. But she couldn’t erase the problem, she could never get what was already someone else’s, no matter how hard she tried. - You’ll only end up getting yourself killed.

    - Move.

    - No, James. 

    - Do not make me hurt you. - he stepped closer to the red head, close enough he could feel her breathing on his face, fists clenched. 

    - Would you hurt your wife for her? 

Yes. The answer was yes but he wouldn’t say it to her. Instead he shoved her away from him, watching as his lack of answer broke through her cold facade allowing him to overpower her. Natalia watched as he strode through the halls, not even looking back. He had been gone a long, long time away, but now, now he was walking away and she stood in the corridor, on her knees, stubborn soul refusing for the tears gathered on her eyes to stream down her face, hate growing where love once blossomed. 

Bucky strode through the corridors, the phantom of Y/N still haunting him as if the memory of younger, better days were pulling at his brain like bottled regrets. She would always let her hand close to his, hoping for him to grab it and he never did, he never did. He wondered why he never did. As he stepped closer to her chambers, he could see her handmaids surrounding the door, still locked out and not allowed in. 

   - You’re needed elsewhere. - he spoke in a tone which left no room for interpretation. The girls immediately rush away, fears of the man which seemed to had turned bitter with time too present in their minds. Bucky didn’t care or feel any pity for them. They had comfortable lives, they didn’t need pity, they needed to be away from the Queen.

His hand went straight to the door handle, pushing it open but the door didn’t budge. Y/N was still locked in. He tried in, hoping the door would cave in but once again it didn’t. They weren’t supposed to cave in. His fists started banging against the gold encrusted door and had he not lost his flesh arm long years ago, it would’ve started bleeding from the force alone. 

    - Open the door, Y/N! - desperation dripped from his voice but she herself, like the door didn’t cave in.

   - Stop banging on the door and go away, James. - he could hear her from the other door. So close and yet so far away.

   - Open this door or so help me I will break it down myself. - Y/N didn’t doubt him. She knew what his arm could do but she was also much too smart not to get hurt again. Nevertheless, she unlocked the door, turning the small golden key held by the lock and he immediately pushed the door open. Her eyes scanned him, he was deranged, like an animal in the wild.

   - Get out, James. I swear I will call the guards on you. 

   - We need to go. - he walked into her bedroom, straight to the hanger where her cape hanged from. Grabbing it, he threw it at her but Y/N remained in her spot, no affection for him in his face. Had he not been so concerned for her head remaining on her shoulders, it would’ve hurt him. - I said we need to go, Y/N. 

    - You don’t get to order me around. 

    - Do you still love me? - the question took Y/N by surprise. Almost as if something had hit her, she took a few steps back, looking behind her to see that not so far away there were some guards. She could just call for them.

    - James, I will call the gu ...

    - Do you still love me? - he interrupted the young queen, punctuating every single word like a stab on an already aching heart. There was no saint, there was no devil, just two aching hearts filled with scars that were starting to harden the youthful hope it used to harbour.

Did she still love him? Yes. She can’t find the words to tell him, head and heart bleeding in negative thoughts. She could never say to him she didn’t and whenever she told him she did, he would turn his face and walk away leaving her broken, shattered on the floor by a love surely classic love tales warned her about. In her memory everything still burned from when he said he didn’t love her from when he called himself a mere companion. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him she loved him so instead she nodded.

    - I have to get you out right now. I’ll explain later. - he stepped towards her but there was no ice cold nature to him, no violence. Instead, he slide the cape behind her, tying it around her neck before placing the hood over her head. It was a bleak brown cape she would use whenever going into the town’s market. 

His hand wrapped around hers as he turned the opposite way from the guards, walking towards the training grounds from which he could sneak her out and into the carriage which led into the town where she could get a train ticket into one of her sisters’ kingdoms. He kept rushing through the halls until a very familiar voice made him stop, rushing her to the opposite corridor. Both of them were up against the wall. 

   - Thank you for letting me know, Natalia. - the voice boomed through the corridor before he turned to address the guard with him. - Make sure Sir Barnes and the Queen leave. Sadly, our Queen seems to have chosen an illicit affair over her wedding and therefore she is a traitor to our country. 

Y/N looked up to Bucky, not understanding exactly what had happened but knowing she clearly couldn’t remain in the castle. Bucky mouthed kitchen to her, before helping her rush down the corridor onto the kitchen. Both of them ran through the oven heated grounds until the wooden door. Luckily for them, it was open.

   - Here. - Bucky handed her a small pouch. - There’s enough for a train ticket and more if anything happens. 

   - Are you coming?

   - Bucky, you’re gonna be killed. If affair isn’t believed, he’ll surely blame you for rape or kidnapping and he’ll kill you.

   - Y/N.

   - Do you love me? - she had one hand on the open door’s handle and one extended to him.

Yes. His hand touched hers and they exited, door behind them closed as everything was left behind.

[justforthesakeofitt]

How You Like That (M) Chaelisa (top rosé bot lisa)

Chapter 1

hi. this story contains many mature and adult themes that can be triggering and are just for fictional use. i don't condone any of this in real life, and this is pure fiction. so, therefore, if you can't handle that, please just leave this. but don't report this story. 

enjoy 🤍

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(warning. contains strong language, human trafficing, mentions of degradation, corruption, meansé, topsé, idek but the story in general is dark and mature. so if you can't handle that please don't read!!)

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roseanne smirked and swirled her glass around that was filled with her favorite champagne. the armand de brignac brut gold, which cost a mere two thousand two hundred dollars, had made it into the woman her favorite lists, when she tasted it for the first time when she was in France, at the age of nineteen. it made her feel as if she was drinking creamy silk with a lovely flavor, and she was all for that.

her silver hair, with a blueish undertone, was straightened and hung down

her back and over her perky breasts. the tint of her hair matched perfectly with her lamé velvet jacquard mini dress by one of her favorite brands, saint laurent. the dress was a perfect size, as it had been custom adjusted, and hugged her slim waist yet pretty wide hips quite well.

she was seated alone in her comfortable chair, her three bodyguards surrounding her so that she was protected at all costs. being rich had its many perks, but it also came with lots of downsides, such as constantly being exposed to the cruel world that was playing underneath everyone's feet. normal people usually weren't aware of half of the things that were going on behind the scenes of the portrayed world.

the dim and sensual lights that were present in the room, contradicted quite a lot with the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. it seemed as if a night club had meet merged with a dining hall in an expensive mansion, yet they somehow made this entire look and vibe work.

and it was dangerous to know these secrets. behind all the glimmer and glamour of being rich, a lot of dark poison was hiding. and simply being aware of the poison, and knowing about how everything was really being run, was dangerous.

it was dangerous knowing which big companies, who were known for their customer service, actually had ten thousand upon then thousands of illegal so-called 'contract workers' working for them. people in the normal projected world thought that the people working for the minimum wage were being treated as slaves and inhumane, but they never saw the layer of people that were working even lower up than the minimum wage workers. and those were plenty.

billions upon billions of dollars would go down the drain if someone were to reveal that the biggest vegan chain in the world, also owned one of the biggest meat industries. if the companies that were known to fight climate change and induce eco-friendly ways of making products were owned by the same person that was one of the biggest carbon emitters.

if people know, that you know their secrets, your life is at great risk. and since the richest people in the world, all play the same game, you always had to be on your watch. this was no soccer game, where you had a theme behind you. this was like wrestle mania. only the strongest and smartest could survive. and the people that you would think are your friends, are the ones that wouldn't even hesitate to hire an assistant the moment they find a weak spot in you.

"number 603 thirty thousand dollars! going once. going twice. sold to miss kang!"

roseanne chuckled as the blonde girl got pulled off of the stage by her leash that watched attached to her neck. her head hung low and tears were streaming down her face as you could see them shimmer in the dim lights,  which made it all more amusing for the woman.

all of them looked like pathetic little lost puppies, getting pulled one by one to the stage where their new fate would be laid out for them. it all depended on who they ended up with.

her best friend, jennie, had found her own little pet this way and had suggested it to her. after years of being alone, and watching her best friend with the girl, she decided to finally come and see for herself. maybe she'd find something interesting here tonight. 

jennie's pet, who's name was jisoo, was quite a lucky girl. while jennie was quite a mean and tough person on a daily basis, she had developed a soft spot for her pet. it wasn't that she let the girl get away with shit, but she treated her well. better than these girls usually got treated.

jisoo had behaved so well and served her so graciously, that after one and a half year of her possession, jennie had granted her the privilege of being addressed by her name, which was quite rare for the girls that came from here.

not may of the owners ended up granting their pets the status of being called by their actual birth-given name, and rosé wouldn't be one of them either. while jennie was more of a dominant woman who loved for jisoo to worship her and take care of her, roseanne was the sadistic type. 

where jennie received pleasure by letting jisoo worship her feet and have the girl smothered underneath her wet dripping slit, eating her out until her thighs were trembling and she was panting heavily, roseanne wanted the girl to be laying at her feet, whimpers escaping her cracked lips as bruises and cuts were layered on her skin. 

the twenty-seven-year-old woman's eyes gravitated towards the podium once again, before she slightly shifted when she saw the girl that got pulled by the thick leather leash. 

her black lingerie contrasted beautifully with her pale skin, and her black hair had been put into two sideways ponytails with big red bows attached to them. that could only mean one thing.

she was a virgin.

girls with their hair loose were previous prostitutes or whores that they picked up from the streets, giving them the lowest value in the entire lineup.

girls with ponytails were normal girls that they managed to kidnap but weren't virgins anymore. 

but girls with their hair in this innocent style, and cute bows attached to it to give

them an even more pure look, were virgins.

and they sold for the highest prices.

almost everyone wanted a little virgin pet. it was a thrill knowing that all they would associate sex with was their owners. no previous partners or experiences to draw

comparisons from. 

just them.

when roseanne saw the girl's face, her doll-like features with her big doe eyes, and her plump pink lips, she knew that the girl was going to be hers.

"number 209! her price starts at a mere five hundred thousand dollars. who bids higher

than that?"

chaeyoung immediately held up her bidding board that had her slim fingers wrapping around the wooden part, "one million!"

another voice rang through the room, a few seconds later, with an offer of one and a half million dollars. but this girl was going to be hers. no matter the cost.

the bidding went on for a while before her offer rang throughout the room of "twenty-five million dollars." 

the man, that previously was bidding for the same girl, chewed on his bottom lip before shaking his head.

a smirk grazed roseanne her dark blue colored lips, "number 209 twenty-five million dollars! once! going twice! sold to miss park!"

her eyes locked with her newly bought pet, and she mindlessly licked her lips. the girl's eyes were glossy and looked with a terrified gaze at her. 

"yes...--" chaeyoung muttered to herself with s grin, "--be scared, doll. you aren't ready for what I have in store for you."

there were only a few girls left, so she patiently sat through it all, satisfied with her purchase of the evening. non of the girls could top her pet. and for once, she was glad that she had listened to jennie's advice.

after the auction was over, she walked to the back and got handed two briefcases by one of her bodyguards, which she delivered to the woman that was behind all of this.

"you made jessie very happy. i hope the girl will make you happy too."

roseanne hummed and watched as the men were counting the money, before turning her attention back to the woman in front of her, "everything is clean right? no traces. no record and no evidence."

jessie nodded and smacked her bright red lips together, "everything is clean. we tripled checked. the police have already been paid to drop the missing person case, so she has been declared dead. the parents are quite poor too so they won't be able to afford to search for her or take any legal actions. she's dead and has been reborn the moment you bought her."

roseanne smirked and, with a firm handshake, greeted the woman before she made her way into a dark hallway that led to where the girl should be.

she opened the door to a room and saw a black wooden crate, which had been sealed by a lid at the top, sitting on the floor in the middle of the room.

when she saw that it was the correct one, she snapped her fingers, making two of the three men quickly make their way over to the side and lifted up the top.

she once again, almost immediately crossed eyes with her toy, and saw how panicked and vulnerable she seemed. this made her feel only more in control and boosted her ego.

there were soft pleading whimpers coming from the bound girl, but she ignored them completely.

after a few seconds of further inspection, the crate got closed again.

"deliver her in an hour to my address. make sure that she keeps whatever bodily fluid she has inside of her. i don't want her to arrive in filth at my place."

she got helped into her thick fur coat, and flicked her hair back, before putting on a peeked black cap.

the men nodded in understanding and turned their attention on the crate. one of them followed her, also functioning as her driver, while the other two stayed behind.

there were two small holes on the top of the crate in the cover, which made sure that the girl got enough fresh air to stay conscious, but not enough to make her feel great, so the chance of her throwing up or peeing herself was a big possibility.

she just hoped that the girl could hold it in, as she was sure that she wouldn't hesitate to hose the poor thing down immediately. 

she climbed up the stairs before walking outside. 

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it was dark, already around the one at night, so the streets were fairly empty. these illegal legal things, were mostly done at night, just to give extra security and privacy.  "ready miss?" her chauffeur asked making her nod, "yes. take me home."

she stared out of the window, the snow slowly cascading down while the streets of Seoul were already covered in a thick layer of the frozen crystals.

it was only november, yet the heavens had sent them snow already. and to be fair, roseanne wasn't complaining. 

she smiled as she started to move up the hills, knowing that she was approaching her lovely home.  

her and her best friend, jennie, were actually neighbors, which was quite fun. this meant that she could show her new purchase off very soon, as all she had to do was go to the mansion next door. even tho it was a five-minute drive.

the moment the car stopped at the entrance of her house, she got out, hugging her black fur coat tighter around her body, before grabbing her purse and made her way inside.

"the room is ready right?" she asked one of her maids, who nodded and bowed slightly, before helping her out of her coat "yes ma'am. it is exactly like you wanted it to be."

she grinned and stretched herself before yawning a bit and walked inside.

"good. now, all we have to do is wait."

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[sorceress-in-distress]

Social Distancing Online Entertainment Masterpost

Right, I’ve only been back from uni for 2 days and my mental health has already ✨ 𝓳𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓾𝓹 𝓯𝓾𝓬𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓿𝓪𝓷𝓲𝓼𝓱𝓮𝓭 ✨. I’ve read all the articles so you don’t have to and I thought I’d just make a big-ass list. Keep it going in the comments!

Go On A Virtual Holiday

Google Arts and Culture has high quality 360° degree tours of many famous museums, galleries, landmarks, theatres and national parks as well as close up images of artworks and exhibitions from all around the world.

Using street view on google maps you can visit (almost) anywhere in the world, including Disneyland, Hollywood Studios, Kew Gardens, and many other attractions and landmarks. 

Interactive world history timeline from the British Museum

Virtual Tours are available of: The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, The Met, The Dali Museum, Blarney Castle in Cork, Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, The Louvre, The Picasso Museum, NASA Langley, NASA Glenn, The Vatican Museum, United States Airforce Museum, Buckinghan Palace, and a list of others here

Or go abroad via a live webcam feed 

Animals!

Monterey Bay Aquarium streams several live cameras on its website and social media

Live Cams are available of: San Diego Zoo,  Smithsonian National Zoo, Edinburgh Zoo, Folly Farm, and many others here, here, and here

Play with cats and dogs by remotely controlling a laser or treat dispenser using the Petcube app, it was made for people to check up on their pets while they’re away but anyone can use the live cameras

Play Online Games With Friends

Cards Against Humanity (make sure you’re all on the same server or you won’t be able to find eachother)

Kahoot

The Wikipedia Game (you can play this individually without this website but this is a great way of racing against someone else)

GeoGuessr

Monopoly

THOUSANDS of other games there are so many websites out there. It may seem a bit old school now but some of the Facebook games are actually pretty good in terms of playing against friends

Listen To Music

Keep an eye out on your favourite artists’ social media, many of them are arranging mini live concerts on facebook, instagram, youtube and twitch

Rave allows you to screen share youtube videos as well as other media so you can have a custom festival while video chatting or just chill and listen to the same thing

The Vienna State Opera is live streaming ballet and opera performances for free, as is the Met Opera

Watch Movies And TV With Friends

Netflix party is a chrome browser extension allows you and your friends to watch the same netflix show at the same time and includes a group chat sidebar so you don’t have to keep looking down at your phone

As mentioned above, Rave lets you screenshare netflix, youtube and vimeo

Misc.

Print some of these online colouring book pages or these colouring pages from various museum gift shops

Zooniverse is a personal fave of mine, it’s a really great citizen science website where you can contribute to different projects by looking at photos from safari camera traps and space telescopes as well as transcribing ancient documents. A really good way to do something positive in this situation

I think this really speaks for itself

Make topical personalised 20 second hand washing instructions using your loved ones’ favourite songs using https://washyourlyrics.com/ 

Visit some random websites using boredbutton, or the useless web 

You Can Do Things In  R  e  a  l    L  i  f  e  Too!

Marie Kondo your clothes and belongings, donate/sell/repurpose/throw away things that do not ‘spark joy’ any more.

Food shortages caused by idiots panic buying can be scary but use this as an opportunity to experiment with ingredients which are available and possibly a bit more out of your comfort zone if you have the time/money to spare.

If you’re with other people, have a huge game tournament spanning several days. play a different game each evening and keep score of whoe wins. when you’ve played all the games you can think of then find a way to reward the winner. If you’re living alone or in isolation, do the same thing with the online games above.

Create an indoor scavenger hunt: write a series of clues linking to different locations around your house and ask your players to stay still for a bit while you hide them, then let them work their way through the clues until they reach the end. if you want to challenge yourself, try to make each clue rhyme.

If you have a pet, try to teach them a new trick

Train up your non dominant hand

Use the millions of home workout videos on youtube

Learn a new language on duolingo (or a similar app if you, like me, are highly suspicious of the green owl’s motives)

Read and watch everything on your list

Actually use some of those art supplies you’re hoarding (I am mostly talking to myself here...)

And so much other stuff!!! be kind to yourself, this is a horrible time for everyone but especially for those of us with crappy mental health. Remember that you are allowed to be stressed and upset, it is a perfectly reasonable response to the situation! keep in touch with friends and family and follow the instructions being given by your health services! we can and will get through this together 💖

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E86 (Nov. 26, 2019)

And we’re off! Tonight’s guests are the long-awaited Ashley Johnson and Matt Mercer! “Tonight, Ashley’s back, Ashley’s back, and Ashley’s back... we’ll break it all down tonight with my guest, Ashley.”

Announcements: Pretty new dice and pinup calendar now in the store! The recording of the Austin live show (The Adventures of the Darrington Brigade!) will be streaming on Twitch on Friday at 7 PM Pacific, and the VOD will be available on YouTube on Sunday! The fundraising campaign with OSD is still live! There will be no episode of Critical Role this week and no episode of Talks Machina next week because of the holiday.

Even a brief Meat Loaf digression can’t stop us, so it’s time for...

Episode 86: The Cathedral

Stats for this week’s episode: Yasha was under Obann’s control for 59 days. Obann is Yasha’s 14th HDYWTDT. Caleb set the campaign record for most damage dealt in a single turn: 449 damage. Matt rolled his 120th Natural 20 this campaign against Cad’s Blight spell on the caedogeist.

While Ashley was away, there were a few different paths that could’ve dictated how things would’ve gone while she was away: being under Obann’s sway meant she mostly got updates from Matt about what was happening, and Ashley would give her reactions to those experiences (Matt references the Purple Man in Jessica Jones for how twisted her perception was). Ashley: “Matt gave me a breakdown of things that have been happening in our world, Obann and the caedogeist and the Laughing Hand and Yasha. It’s heavy, but I feel like it really was the best way to leave the campaign, it felt a little bit more organic than even the last time, with Pike.” Matt and Ashley both emphasize that there’s a connection between Obann and Yasha pre-campaign.

Matt knew from the beginning that there would be a Tharizdun-based narrative, but he let the tie-ins to this particular story evolve naturally. “I knew there would be an aspect of Tharizdun essentially catfishing a bunch of other cults.”

How aware was Yasha of what she was doing? “I believe she was fully aware, just no control of her body or the things that she was doing.” But having Obann as her only companion for so long was definitely a factor. Matt: “It wasn’t like he took control of you and was like, do my bidding. He was very, trying to talk her up. ‘You’re chosen for a reason, you’re special, you’re one of the harbingers chosen for the angel...’ It’s a very fucked-up relationship.”

Based on who the group spoke to in Zadash, they could’ve had some help from the Gentleman, Dolan, the High Richter... but things happened to throw down in Pumat’s shop. “You know, he’s already been pulled into this fray a bit. I already have the minis painted...” Dani points out that his presence brought some much-needed levity. Until the end of the episode, at least...

Whose reactions are Yasha most worried about? Beau, after the way the fight went. “That was one of the most stressful moments I’ve ever had in a game.” Ashley texted Brian in the middle of the game: “If I’d killed Beau I’d have just killed myself.” Especially after what happened with her wife, and all the lives she’s taken, that would have been the last straw. She’s also aware that there’s tension with Fjord. “I think even before there was some distrust that Fjord had with Yasha a bit. But I think still with everybody, it’s knowing what she’s done at this point, and just playing against them and fighting them. She’ll deal with the weight of that for a while, and just be like, how can I make it up to you?” Ashley does want to find a way to turn it around to make Yasha a little bit happy in there. “I was just like, oh, I’ve made something very sad!”

The dispel wasn’t a sure thing by any means. “I had set it as a fifth-level domination effect for the purposes of dispelling. There was a chance that they were going to succeed and destroy the shackle and continue on to wherever the next one would be, in which case Yasha would carry on with them.” In that case, Ashley could’ve played an ancillary character in the meantime. Even if Obann had been killed, that connection would’ve remained, but his fear at the end of his life was the Chained Oblivion’s punishment awaiting: the removal of his fiendish form.

Cosplay of the Week! Ashley sings a new theme song: “Sew it all together! (deadpan) Take a picture.” This week’s winner was an amazing Vax, WittyWyndi on Twitter!

“I think, of course, being herself again and being in control of all of her actions, I think there is an element of wanting to run because you’re not wanting to deal with the problems, but I think she’s been doing it for so long... I think she’s very afraid to be alone. And that was one of the things that kept coming up in all the games and things Matt was telling me. Man, if I think about the future of this character, and if she comes out of this, what would you feel, being under someone’s influence and then being around your family? I don’t want to be alone, I don’t want to be alone.” Brian: “Isolation is an incubator that turns mistakes into habits.” Ashley: “I feel like I relate to that, because as a hermit and a very introverted person, I feel like my go-to is to run away or say I’m not going to deal with this. So maybe that’s a little therapy in the game, can I sit in this and still be with people who are upset with me? Obviously it’s being in a community and dealing with people, that’s a much better way than to deal with something alone. I’m going to try to tackle that in the game and see. Who knows, she might freak out and just run.”

Ashley, on coming back to the west coast for good: “I feel like I’ve been away at sea.” Brian: “Yeah, NBC.”

Gods are more present in this campaign only because there are much more deity-connected characters. Matt tries to avoid too much divine influence in his campaigns to make sure players still have the majority of the agency and don’t tend to use it as a get-out-of-jail-free card. 

Comcast is installing fiber in my neighborhood and brief service outages may occur. This fun fact brought to you by the little spinning wheel that just interrupted Matt for a minute. Thanks, Comcast.

More gods in a campaign means more complications on Matt’s end. “There are a lot of deities in the Pantheon, and there are lesser idols in the world, entities that aren’t gods per se but that hold elements of some divine power. Playing in that space is fun, but I don’t want to overcrowd it necessarily.”

On getting the kill on Obann: “It was just so exciting to come back to the table, and you love the HDYWTDT moment from Matt, but I think for Yasha there’s a lot of weirdness to it. Just because you kill the thing that has been torturing you doesn’t mean you’re free from that trauma. I don’t think she’s satisfied yet.” But it was super satisfying for Ashley as a player!

There was a part of Matt that wanted Obann to survive a little longer, because there was “more shit he could do.” If he’d managed to get four people into place, it would’ve immediately started the ritual, those four would have been paralyzed and their AC would have been dramatically boosted, and the M9 would have had one round to try to stop it by killing one of the people in the square before everyone involved in the ritual would have been instantly killed. Brian: “You’re a sick and twisted and terrible man and I want to kiss you.”

Fan Art of the Week: an amazing Yasha in the cathedral by Neverdraws on Twitter!

If the party had revealed who Obann was really working for (he was unaware up until the very end), that was potentially a different direction things could have gone. Ashley: “Yasha doesn’t know yet.” Matt: “The only thing Yasha knows about the Angel of Irons is what it did to Obann.”

Ashley asked Matt whether Yasha would know whether the other members of the party were controlled, and Matt had her roll to see what she picked up on. Matt: “It may come out in the game.”

The description of the new breastplate was just to emphasize that Obann had kitted her out to help her be a stronger ally for him. Whether she keeps it is up to her.

Which of the changes in the M9 are going to take the most getting used to? “This feels a little bit like me coming home, where it’s like you’re away for a while, then you’re like, things are so different. I think it’s just adjusting. She’ll see the relationships, the tattoos, Fjord’s-- the accent thing we didn’t get into in game the other night, but Yasha noticed. We’ll see how it plays out in game and how everyone treats Yasha and how everyone responds to that, whether it’s positive reinforcement or negative. I feel like the positive reinforcement’s going to be tougher.”

On people getting emotionally attached to NPCs: “It catches me off-guard sometimes. I’m just excited that people are as invested in them as I am. With that particular Pumat moment, it made me excited that everyone else was as OH GOD NO at the table as I was.”

[theliterateape]

I Like to Watch | Zack Snyder’s Justice League

by Don Hall

Mythology is fun.

As a kid I loved reading Edith Hamilton’s book on the Greek gods and the myths. Hercules, Perseus, Apollo, and Hera—this fell completely in line with my love for superhero comics. The strangely petty human traits of envy, greed, and lust combined with the power to level cities make for some great storytelling.

Zeus was basically Harvey Weinstein in the retroactive revision we’re mired in today. If Harvey could’ve changed into a golden animal and boned unsuspecting ladies looking for careers in Hollywood I’m pretty certain he would. The gods and demi-gods of the Greeks dealt with daddy issues, mommy issues, bad relationships, and fighting. Lots of fighting. Sometimes for the good of humanity but more often for the glory of winning.

Zach Snyder is in the business of tackling myths and reframing them with a style all his own. His career has become its own myth.

From Dawn of the Dead (not so much a reboot of Romero's zombie mythology but a philosophical reimagining of the genre that arguably jumpstarted The Hollywood fascination with it), 300 (a borderline homoerotic take on the myth of the Greek underdog), and Watchmen (a ridiculously ambitious attempt to put one of the most iconic takedowns on the potential fascism of the superhero legend machine ever written) to his nearly single-handed hack at answering the Marvel juggernaut with Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Snyder is in the artistic business of subverting and re-envisioning the mythologies we embrace without even seeing them as such.

Snyder's style is operatic. It is on a grand scale even in the most mundane moments. The guy loves slow motion like Scorcese loves mobsters and Italian food. When you're tackling big themes with larger than life stories, the epic nature of his vision makes sense and has alienated a good number of audience members. With such excess, there are bound to be missteps but I'd argue that his massive take on these characters he molds from common understanding and popular nomenclature elevates them to god-like stature.

Fans of Moore's Watchmen have much to complain about Snyder's adaptation. The titular graphic novel is almost impossible to put in any other form than the one Moore intended and yet, Snyder jumped in feet-first and created a living, breathing representation of most, if not all, of the source material's intent. Whether you dig on it or not, it's hard to avoid acknowledging that the first five minutes of Watchmen is a mini-masterpiece of style, storytelling, and epic tragedy wrapped up in a music video.

Despite a host of critical backlash for his one fully original take, Sucker Punch is an amazing thing to see. More a commentary on video game enthusiasm with its lust for hot animated chicks and over-the-top violence that a celebration of cleavage and guns, the film is crazily entertaining. For those who hated the ending, he told you in the title what his plan was all along.

The first movie I saw in the theaters that tried to take a superhero mythology and treat it seriously (for the most part) was Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie. Never as big a fan of the DC characters as I have been of Marvel, it was still extraordinary to see a character I had only really known in pages to be so fully realized. Then came Burton's Batman movies. The superhero film was still an anomaly but steam was gaining. Things changed with Bryan Singer's X-Men in 2000, then Raimi's Spiderman, and those of us who grew up with our pulpy versions of Athena, Hermes, and Hades were rewarded with Nolan's Batman Begins. A far cry from the tongue-in-cheek camp of the 1966 TV Batman, Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne was a serious character and his tale over three films is a tragic commentary filled with the kind of death and betrayal and triumph befitting the grand narrative he deserved.

I loved Singer's Superman Returns in 2006 because it was such a love letter to the 1978 film (down to the opening credits) but by then, the MCU was taking over the world.

Snyder's first of what turns out to be an epic storyline involving perhaps seven or eight movies was Man of Steel. It was fun and, while I had my issues with the broodiness of Kal El, the odd take on Jonathan Kent, and a redheaded Lois Lane, I had no issue with Superman snapping Zod's neck. Darker and more tragic than any other version of the Kryptonian, it was still super entertaining.

Then came Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. By 2016, Marvel had codified their formula of serious characters wrestling with serious issues of power and responsibility peppered with lots of good humor and bright colors. Snyder's desaturated pallete and angst-filled demi-gods was not the obvious road to financial competition.

I'll confess, I hated it. BvS felt half-rendered. Lex Luthor was kind of superficial and played as a kind of Joker. The whole Bruce Wayne wants to kill Superman thing felt undeveloped and the "Martha" moment was just stupid.

When Joss Whedon's version of Snyder's Justice League came out in 2017, I was primed for it to be a turd and I wasn't surprised. So much of it didn't work on any level. I dismissed it as DC trying and failing miserably and was comforted by the coming of Thanos.

Following Thanos and the time heist was COVID. Suddenly, we were internationally sidelined and the movie theater industry caved in. Streaming services started popping up like knock-off smartphones and Hollywood was reeling, doing anything and everything to find a way back. Since Whedon's disastrous helming of Snyder's third act, fans online had been demanding to #ReleasetheSnyderCut but no one was ever really taking them seriously until all movie production was shut down for a year.

The stage was set to remedy a mistake (or at least make some bucks on a do-over of a huge box office failure). Snyder had left the production in part because of the suicide of his daughter and in part due to the constant artistic fights over executives looking for the quippy fun of the MCU but he still had all the original footage. Add to that the broiling accusations that Joss Whedon was "abusive" during the reshoots, the path seemed destined. For an additional $70 million and complete control, Snyder delivered a four hour mega-movie streamed on HBOMax.

Of course, I was going to watch the thing as soon as I could.

The Whedon version opens with an homage to the now dead Superman (including the much maligned digitally erased mustache on Henry Cavill). The SynderCut opens with the death of Superman and the agony of his death scream as it travels across the planet. It's a simple change but exemplifies the very different visions of how this thing is gonna play out.

Snyder doesn't want us to be OK with the power of these beings unleashed. He wants us to feel the damage and pain of death. He wants the results of violence to be as real as he can. When Marvel's Steve Rogers kicks a thug across the room and the thug hits a wall, he crumples and it is effectively over. When Batman does the same thing, we see the broken bones (often in slow motion) and the blood smear on the wall as the thug slides to the ground.

The longer SnyderCut is bloated in some places (like the extended Celtic choir singing Aquaman off to sea or the extended narrations by Wonder Woman which sound slightly like someone trying to explain the plot to Siri). On the other hand, the scene with Barry Allen saving Iris West is both endearing and extraordinary, giving insight to the power of the Flash as well as some essential character-building in contrast to Whedon's comic foil version.

One thing I noticed in this variant is that Zach wants the audience to experience the sequence of every moment as the characters do. An example comes when Diana Prince goes to the crypt to see the very plot she belabors over later. The sequence is simple. She gets a torch and goes down. Most directors which jump cut to the torch. Snyder gives us five beats as she grabs the timber, wraps cloth around the end, soaks it with kerosene, pulls out a box of matches, and lights the torch. Then she goes down the dark passageway.

The gigantic, lush diversity of Snyder’s vision of the DC superhero universe—from the long shots of the sea life in the world of Atlantis to the ancient structures and equipment of Themyscira— is almost painterly. Snyder isn't taking our time; he's taking his time. We are rewarded our patience with a far better backstory for the villain, a beautifully rendered historic battle thwarting Darkseid's initial invasion (including a fucking Green Lantern), and answers to a score of questions set up in both previous films.

Whedon's Bruce Wayne was more Ben Affleck; Snyder's is full-on Frank Miller Batman, the smartest, most brutal fucker in the room. Cyborg, instead of Whedon's sidelined non-character, is now a Frankenstein's monster, grappling with the trade-off between acceptance and enormous power. Wonder Woman is now more in line with the Patty Jenkins version and instead of being told about the loss of Superman, we are forced to live with the anguish of both his mother and Lois Lane in quiet moments of incredible grief.

To be fair to Whedon (something few are willing to do as he is now being castigated not for racism or sexism but for being mean to people) having him come in to throw in some levity and Marvel-esque color to Snyder's Wagnerian pomposity is like hiring Huey Lewis to lighten up Pink Floyd's The Wall or getting Douglas Adams to rewrite Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

I loved Snyder's self-indulgent, mythologic DC universe.

So much so that I then re-watched Man of Steel and then watched the director's version of BvS (which Snyder added approximately 32 minutes). The second film is far better at three hours and Eisenberg's Lex Luthor now makes sense. Then I watched Zach Snyder's Justice League a second time.

After nineteen hours of Snyder's re-imagining of these DC heroes and villains, I saw details that, upon first viewing, are ignored or dismissed, but after seeing them in order and complete, are suddenly consistent and relevant. Like Nolan or Fincher, Snyder defies anyone to eliminate even one piece of his narrative no matter how long. With all the pieces, this is an epic story and the pieces left at the extended epilogue play into a grander narrative we will never see.

Or maybe we will. Who knows these days?

[vantaenims]

moonlight i. | jimin

pairing: contemporary dancer!jimin x reader

genre: college au | fluff, angst, mystery

word count: 1.3k

warning/s: future depictions of violence.

summary: As if it’s calling you, you followed the sounds of the luring piano inside the auditorium but what’s more alluring is the boy dancing gracefully on the stage, enthralling everyone who dares to watch but you never knew that such ethereal beauty lies within a sense of mystery.

masterlist

all rights reserved © vantaenims - do not repost, translate, or claim as your own.

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--

 It’s now or never.

 His mind is wiped from any rationality but was instead flooded with impulsiveness, never once cared or thought about the consequences it might lead to, just the pure thought of ending it was what’s more important.

 Helpless is what he is as he watched the mess unfold in front of him, tears streaming down on his face. He woke up from reality upon seeing his friend kneeling down on the floor as he muttered countless apologies like it would make any difference at all.

 What can he do when what’s done is already done or perhaps what’s gone is already gone?

 Jimin was devoured by his inner demons.

 --

The first week of the second half of the first semester is nothing but a bore considering that the preliminary examinations just ended a week ago. Usually, professors would just give out the exam results to review for corrections and dismiss the class early but disappointingly your World Literature professor is not one of those indolent professors.

 With the light setting dimmed inside the classroom, you try to keep yourself awake as you listen to the analysis discussion of Albert Camus’ Sisyphus.

 You write your name repeatedly on your notebook until you noticed the red string bracelet you’ve been wearing since last night when you found it on the computer desk’s bookshelf while you we’re studying.

 You wore it after asking Jungkook – your roommate – if he owns it, he told you that he doesn’t own such an accessory thus the reason you kept it as yours. Grazing your fingers over the braided knots in the middle, you find it elegant even though it’s just a simple red thread.

 “Since we’ll be covering a lot of topics, I’ve decided that it’d be best to assign every one of you a narrative” your professor said as he took out a mini fishbowl filled with rolled papers.

 “Take one and pass it around” he gave the bowl to the student in the first row. You got one for yourself and pass the bowl, unrolling it you read the scribbled words – Clair de Lune by Paul Verlaine.

 “Okay, now that you’ve all picked a narrative” you glanced up to look at your professor, “I want you to make a report about it, I’ll be posting on the portal what should be the contents and when you’ll be assigned to do the presentation”

 Alright, you take back what you said that your world literature professor is not one of those indolent professors. As expected, she assigned you to do the reporting so she could sit back and just listen; pass your job to the students.

 The class was dismissed, meaning your class is done for the day. You stood in the hallway as you wait for Areum & Daeun to go out of the room. You met them at the start of the school year and they’re literature majors as well who you’ve gotten the chance to be much closer to them attending a university wide welcome party for freshmans.

 “What did you get?” Areum asked you.

 “Claire de Lune by Paul Verlaine and you?”

 “It’s something about rose…” she retrieved the piece of paper from her jacket, “Ah it’s A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner.”

 “Where do you guys want to eat?” Eunha said as she got out of the classroom. You go down the stairs as you were all suggesting where until you decided to eat at a Café, saying that you should treat yourself after a week of examinations.

 But then your phone buzzed, it’s a message from Daeun. She’s a junior student and the Vice President for Internal Affairs of the Literature Department’s organization.

 [Mon, Oct 11, 6:07 PM]

 Daeun: Y/N Can I call you? It’s important

 Before you were even given the chance to reply to her text, your phone went off as you swiped it to answer.

 “Hi Y/N! I’m sorry it’s such a late notice but could you do me a favor?”

 “Yeah, sure, about what?” you said as you momentarily slowed down your pace.

 “Could you please ask them to sign our request letter for equipment to the Facilities Management Office?”

 “I thought you passed it yesterday?” you questioned, you remembered when she dismissed you the moment you asked her if she needs any help in preparing for the General Assembly of your department, you are her Junior Executive after all but instead she told you that she’ll let you know right away if ever she needs one.

 “I’m sorry, I forgot to ask them to sign our receiving copy because I left it in the organization room” she apologetically said.

 “Sure, I’ll drop by the office. It’s in the Fine Arts Building right?”

 “Yeah, it’s right beside the auditorium” she informed you, “Again, I’m really sorry for bothering you. Thank you so much Y/N!”

 You laughed as you quickly dismissed her, saying that it’s your duty to assist and help her anyway. Daeun was really nothing but sweet to you, glad that she’s far from those snobby and bossy student councils you expected.

 You ran up to Areum and Eunha after you ended the call, stopping them to say that you’ll need to pass a requirement in the office, “We can go with you if you want” Eunha said.

 “No, it’s okay I’ll catch after you if I can. I’ll text you?” you bid them goodbye as they told you to meet them at the café if you’ll be able to finish earlier.

 As soon as you enter the organization room, you saw the other junior executives preparing the props needed for the program that’ll be set few weeks from now. Daeun proposed this program because she sees this as a perfect opportunity for all the literature students to bond and at the same time to appreciate their major by performing skits.

 You excused yourself as you get the paper in the table, quickly greeting them encouraging words before you went out to go to the Fine Arts Building which is approximately 10 minutes away from your building.

 Upon entering the building, you were elated to see that they have elevator services not unlike in your building but as you were about to go inside, you were barred from entering by the lady operating it, saying how the school staff are the only ones allowed to use it. Great. You grunted as soon as the doors closed and proceeded to use the stairs instead.

 You were gasping for air by the time you got at the sixth floor, as if walking here in this building isn’t tiring enough. You pushed the door of the office but it did not budge, looking up to see that the lights are off. It’s already closed as it says on the door that it’s office hours is from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M.

 “Really?” you whispered in annoyance, looking at your watch to see that it has only been twenty minutes since closing time.

 Instead, you placed both of your hands on the railings of the wide vast balcony hallway of the building that overlooks the field as you observe the sunset view for a while to rest before you go down the stairs. It irks you a bit how you went all the way here for nothing but the scenic view could suffice, you get your phone to update Daeun.

 [Mon, Oct 10, 6:20 PM]

 You: The office is closed.

You: It’s only open up to 6 PM

 Daeun: Omg I’m so sorry Y/N I thought it was open ‘til 7. You can leave it in the organization room, I’ll pass it tomorrow.

 You: I’ll come back here tomorrow

You: My class ends at 5:45 every Tuesday so don’t sweat it!

 Placing the phone back on your pocket, you walk towards the hallway but immediately stopped when you suddenly heard a music playing coming from the auditorium just when you were about to leave. A sound of piano to be specific.

 You thought that maybe it’s one of the staff from the facilities office, possibly checking the sound system. You let out a relieved sigh, maybe you’ll be able to sign the papers tonight but you didn’t expect to see such view when you opened the doors of the auditorium.

 --

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A/N: This is too short for a chapter but anyways it’s more of an introduction to the whole series. This is my first fic series so please bear with me 🥺 If you want to be tagged, don’t hesitate to reply or drop by my asks. Hope you’ll like this!

[lacquerware]

2020 Recap - My Year in Gaming

2020. What a year for video games. I had big plans for last year, but in the end I did very little besides play video games, and I don’t think I’m alone there since we were all stuck at home looking for a way out of reality. I wanted to do a year-end recap as I’ve done sporadically in past years, but this one will be different than the typical “Games of the Year” format because despite all the games I played in 2020, almost none of them came out in 2020, and some of the things that defined my year in gaming weren't even games. 

Resident Evil 3 Remake (PS4)

RE3 was one of the only games I played in 2020 that didn’t coincide with the deadly pandemic's spread across the US. RE3 is, of course, a game about the spread of a deadly virus in Anytown, USA. It was an appetizer, I guess. 

When the Resident Evil 2 remake dropped in 2019, there were some things I loved about it, and a few things that felt like steps back from the original. I feel much the same about RE3. I had also theorized that a Resident Evil 3 remake would be better off as RE2 DLC than as a separate full-length game, and considering how short RE3 turned out, with some of the best sections of hte original cut entirely (namely, the clock tower), I stand by my theory. 

Oh well, at least Jill gets this rad gun, which for the time being is the closest thing to a new Lost Planet we can hope for anytime soon.

Sekiro (PS4)

Sekiro is the first video game I ever Platinumed. This is partly because conquering the base game was such a spartan exercise that going the extra mile to get the Platinum didn’t seem so bad, but it’s also surely a result of the pandemic. I needed a project and a big win. Who didn't? 

I wrote at length about why I like Sekiro more than every other modern FromSoft game, and also about the game’s cherry-on-top moment that reminded me of blowing up Hitler’s face in Bionic Commando. Please read them!

Death Stranding (PS4)

Release date notwithstanding, this was obviously the Game of 2020. I wrote about it here, here, and here. This game bears the distinction of being the second one I ever Platinumed. It took 150 hours. Only then did I learn I had a hoverboard.

Streets of Rage 4 (PS4)

This is the only 2020 game I played for more than a few hours. In fact, I cleared the entire game at least five times. I still don’t think it captures the gritty aesthetic of the prior Streets of Rages (nor even tries to), but this is probably the best-feeling bup I've played. Huge bonus points for finally bringing back Adam, but in the end I found it hard not to pick Blaze every time.

Blaster Master Zero 2 (Switch)

What impressed me about this sequel from Inti Creates was that it wasn’t just more of the same, even though that would've been fine. BMZ2 builds on its already excellent predecessor with a catchy new format where players can freely cruise the cosmos and stages take the varied form of planets—some big and sprawling, others short and sweet. Hopping at will from planet to planet without ever knowing what experiences and treasure each one held felt like system jumping in No Man’s Sky and island hopping in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, both of which felt like opening presents.

Dragon Force (Saturn)

Charming, satisfying, and addictive as a bag of chips. Unlike a bag of chips, when it’s over, you can do it all again. And again. And it’ll be different each time! This might be the first strategy game I've truly loved. Better late than never.

The PC Engine Mini

The PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 Mini seems a particularly justifiable mini-console for people outside Japan because so many missed these consoles entirely, the games are hard to obtain, and the lineup includes titles spanning the entire convoluted Turbo/PC Engine ecosystem—the TurboGrafx-CD/CD-ROM², Super CD-ROM², Arcade CD-ROM² and SuperGrafx, in addition to plain, old standard HuCard games. I myself didn’t know the first thing about these systems before. It’s like reliving the nineties again for the first time. 

Most of the titles included are simple action games that don't require a command of Japanese, but make no mistake: being able to understand Snatcher and TokiMemo does make me feel like an elite special person worth more than many of you. 

(Side note: From a gender representation perspective, the difference between Snatcher and Death Stranding is stark. Virtually every interaction with every woman or girl in Snatcher is decorated with ways to sexually harass her. Guess someone finally had a conversation with our favorite auteur.)

A Gaming PC

I’d threatened to transition to PC gaming for years after beholding the framerate difference between the console and PC versions of DmC in 2012, and last July I finally took the leap, buying an ASUS “Republic of Gamers” (ugh) laptop with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q GPU. It seems like consoles are getting more PC-like all the time, especially with all these half-step iterations that splinter performance and sometimes even the feature set (à la the New 3DS and Switch Lite), so with the impending new generation seemed like a fine time to change course.

In the half-year since, I’ve barely played a single PC game more recent than 2013, but just replaying PS3-era games at high settings has been like rediscovering them for the first time. 

I also finally experienced keyboard-and-mouse shooting and understand now why PC gamers think they're better than everyone else. Max Payne is a completely different game with a mouse. Are all shooters like this??

The USPS

Early in the year, I rediscovered my childhood game shop, Starland, which is now  an online hub known as eStarland.com with a brick-and-mortar showroom. To my delight, it has become one of the best and most modestly priced sources for import Saturn games in the country, and I scored Shining Force III’s second and third episodes, long missing from my collection, for a mere ten bucks each!  

In June, I treated myself to a trio of Saturn imports from eStarland: the tactics-meets-dating-sim mashup Sakura Taisen 2, the nicely presented RTS space opera Quo Vadis 2, and beloved gothic dungeon crawler Baroque. Miraculously, this haul amounted to just around thirty dollars total. Less miraculously, they never arrived. This was the second time I’d had something lost in the mail in my entire life, and also the second time that month. Something was wrong with the USPS, and it wasn’t just COVID pains. We would soon learn Trump had been actively working to sabotage one of the nation’s oldest and most reliable institutions in a plot to compromise the upcoming presidential election.

Frankly it’s a miracle there’s still such a thing as “delivery” at all, and a few missing video games is the last of my worries considering what caused it, but nevertheless this was an experience in my gaming life that could not have happened any other year. I won’t forget it.

*By the way, USPS reimbursed me for the insured value of the missing order, which was fifty bucks. So I actually profited a little off the experience.

Mega Everdrive Pro

I love collecting for the Genesis and Mega Drive, but I will not pay hundreds of dollars for a video game that retailed for about sixty.  The publishers never asked for that, and the developers won’t see a (ragna)cent of the money. I'm also far less inclined to start collecting for Sega CD, since the hardware is notoriously breakable, the cases are huge and also breakable, and the library just isn't that good. 

Still, I'd been increasingly curious about the add-on as an interesting piece of Sega history, so when I learned Ukranian mad scientist KRIKzz had released a new Mega Everdrive that doubled as a Sega CD FPGA, I finally took the plunge into the world of flash carts. This has proven a great way to play some of the Mega Drive’s big-ticket rarities I will never buy—namely shmups like Advanced Busterhawk Gley Lancer and Eliminate Down—as well as try out prospective additions to the collection. I never would have discovered the phenomenal marvel of engineering and synth composition that is Star Cruiser without this thing, but now that I have, it’s high on the shopping list.

The Mega Everdrive Pro is functionally nearly identical to TerraOnion’s “Mega SD” cartridge, but slightly less expensive, comes in a “normal” cartridge shell instead of the larger Virtua Racing-style one, and supports a single hardworking dude in Ukraine rather than a company with reportedly iffy customer service.

Twitch

Getting a PC also resolved issues that had long prevented me from achieving a real streaming setup, and much of my gaming life in 2020 was about ramping up my streaming efforts. I even made Affiliate in about a month. Streaming has been a great creative outlet and distraction, as well as a way to connect with other people during the COVID depression and structure my gaming time. Find me every Monday through Thursday 8-11pm Eastern at twitch.tv/lacquerware.  

Metroid: Other M (Dolphin)

PC ownership also gave me access to the versatile Dolphin emulator, liberating a handful of great Wii exclusives from their disposable battery-powered prison. 

One of the Wii games I fired up on Dolphin was Metroid: Other M, a game I’d always wanted to try but had been dissuaded by years of bad publicity and the fact that I never had any goddamn batteries. I know I should temper what I’m about to say by acknowledging that I was playing at 1080p/60fps on a PS4 controller so my experience was automatically a vast improvement over that of all Wii players, but I’m increasingly confident Metroid: Other M was the most fun I’ve ever had playing a Metroid game. I haven’t decided yet if I’m willing to die on this hill, but I will just say that if you like the Metroidvania genre in general and aren’t particularly attached to the Metroid series’ story or its habit of making you wander aimlessly for hours, there’s a very high chance you will enjoy Other M—especially if you play it on Dolphin.

Don't Starve Together (PC)

Don't Starve is the only game my friend Jason plays, so last year I tried to get into it with him. I respect this game's singular devotion to the concept of survival, but make no mistake: every session of Don't Starve ends with you starving to death. Or freezing. Or getting stomped by a giant deity of the forest. The entire game is staving off death until it inevitably comes. Even when death comes, you can revive infinitely (in whatever mode we were playing), which means even death is not an end goal. There is no end goal. You don't even have the leeway to "play" and create your own meaning as you do in similarly zen  games like Dead Rising. 

Don't Starve is a game for people for whom hard work is the ultimate reward in and of itself. Don't Starve told me something about Jason. 

G-Darius (PS1)

In the early fall, Sony announced they were dropping PS3, PSP, and Vita support from the browser and mobile versions of their PSN Store, and since the PS3 version of the store app runs like a solar-powered parking meter in Seattle, I decided this was my last chance to stock up on Japanese PSN gems. 

Among my final haul, the PS1 port of G-Darius proved an instant favorite. Take down the usual cast of mechanized fish in a vibrant, chunky, low-poly style that perfectly inhabits the constraints of the original PlayStation hardware. I believe this is the first Darius game that lets you get into giant beam duels with the bosses, which is quite definitely one of the coolest things a video game has ever let you do. The PS1 port is also surprisingly feature-rich, including some easier difficulty levels that present an actually surmountable challenge for non-savants.

This one’s coming to the upcoming Darius Cozmic Revelation collection on Switch alongside DARIUSBURST, a good-ass romp in its own right.

Red Entertainment

In my effort to shine a tiny spotlight on some of the unsung Interesting Games of gaming, I found myself drawn again and again to the work of Red Entertainment. First there were cavechild headbutt simulator Bonk’s Adventure and twin shmups Gates of Thunder and Lords of Thunder on the PC Engine Mini. Then I streamed full playthroughs of the PS2’s best samurai-era, off-brand 3D Castlevania, Blood Will Tell and the Trigun-adjacent stand-‘n-gun, Gungrave: Overdose. Then I was dazzled by Bonk’s Adventure’s futuristic spin-off cute-‘em-up, Air Zonk, which was also sneakily tucked away on my PC Engine Mini in the “TurboGrafx-16” section. It turned out all these games were made by the same miracle developer responsible for Bujingai, the stylish PS2 wushu game starring Gackt and a household name here at the Lacquerware estate. How prolific can one team be???

Month of Cyberpunk

In November, I started toying with the idea of themed months on my Twitch channel with “Cyberpunk month.” It was supposed to be a build-up to Cyberpunk 2077’s highly anticipated November release, but holy shit that didn’t happen, did it? Still, I always find myself gravitating toward this genre in November, I guess because I associate November with gloom (even though this year it was sunny almost every day). A month is a long time to adhere to a single theme, but cyberpunk is such a well-served niche in gaming that I could easily start an all-cyberpunk Twitch channel. The fact that we’re so spoiled with choice makes Cyberpunk 2077’s terrible launch all the more embarrassing. Here are just some of the games I played (and streamed!) in November:

Ghostrunner Shadowrun (Genesis) RUINER Remember Me Transistor Rise of the Dragon (Sega CD) Shadowrun (Mega CD) Cyber Doll (Saturn) Binary Domain Shadowrun Returns Blade Runner (PC) Deus Ex: Human Revolution Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Observer

Shadowrun on the Genesis gets my top pick, but the two most recent Deus Ex games are great alternatives for those looking for something in the vein of 2077 that isn’t infested with termites.

Lost Planet 2

Every year. I played through it twice in 2020.

Dead Rising 4

I slept on this one too long. While it's a far cry from the original game, it's easily the most fun I've had with a Christmas game since Christmas NiGHTS. This is the game a lot of people thought they were getting when they bought the original Dead Rising with their new Xbox 360--goofy, indulgent, and pressure-free.

Devil May Cry 5: Vergil (PS4)

Vergil dropped for last-gen consoles in December and breathed a whole lot of life into a game that was already at the head of its class.

Nioh 2

I’ve only played a few hours of Nioh 2 because I promised my friend I’d co-op it with him and wouldn’t play ahead. But he’s a grad student with two small children. Nevertheless, Nioh 2 is my Game of 2020.

And that's it! Guess I'll spend 2021 playing games that came out last year, and maybe eventually getting vaccinated? Please? 

[recentanimenews]

IN-DEPTH: How Did Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Become Japan’s Hottest Domestic Franchise?

  At this point, it’s safe to say that Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is one of the biggest franchises this decade. The manga series sold more than double what One Piece did at its peak in 2020, the Mugen Train anime film has outgrossed Hayao Miyazaki’s Academy Award-winning Spirited Away to become the king of the Japanese box office, and the franchise is estimated to bring in 270 billion yen to the Japanese economy by itself this year. 

  Looking at all of that, there is no question that Demon Slayer is the hottest domestic property in Japan right now. But how did it get here? Let’s examine how the little manga series from new author Koyoharu Gotouge became a cultural phenomenon in Japan.

  Demon Slayer’s History with Jump

  Before the Demon Slayer anime started, the series was running in Weekly Shonen Jump, one of Japan’s top manga magazines. The series started in Jump on February 15, 2016, and had modest success, with around 3.5 million copies of the manga series printed and sold as of February 2019, just a few months before the anime premiered in April 2019.

  During Jump Festa 2017 — an annual exhibition for series being released by Shueisha in Weekly Shonen Jump and their other manga magazines — the first chapter of Demon Slayer was given out in a sample booklet alongside other new series that had started in 2016, such as THE PROMISED NEVERLAND. Outside that sample booklet though, Demon Slayer barely existed in the mind’s eyes of attendees, with gazes glued to NEVERLAND and BORUTO as the new hot series.

  It wasn’t until Jump Festa 2020 (held in December 2019) that Demon Slayer got some time in the spotlight, with the Aniplex booth doing its best at showing off the series that had become such a hit over the previous summer. 

  Demon Slayer at the Aniplex booth during Jump Festa 2020 (photo: Daryl Harding)

  Even though the collected manga volumes weren’t selling as much as one might expect from the now behemoth of a series, Demon Slayer was slowly gaining traction among fans, but wouldn’t really break out until just before the first episode of the TV anime aired on television in Japan.

  The Outside Influences Brought into Demon Slayer

  When the Demon Slayer TV anime was announced in June 2018, it was revealed that the studio Ufotable would be adapting the series. The Aniplex-affiliated studio is widely praised for their work on the Fate franchise, which has culminated with the Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] film series. Ufotable-produced works are known to already be event-type series, and with Demon Slayer being their first Weekly Shonen Jump adaptation, it was a series to look forward to on that point alone.

  First Demon Slayer TV anime key visual (source: Anime Eiga)

  Just before the series premiered in April 2019, it was also revealed that popular singer LiSA — who was then mostly known for her work on the Sword Art Online openings, including the wildly popular theme to the Ordinal Scale anime film “Catch the Moment” — would be singing the opening theme for the series, with the first preview of the song at Anime Japan that year. LiSA went on to have a solo concert at the Yokohama Arena on the last days of the Heisei era in April 2019, selling out the 17,000 capacity hall.

  AnimeJapan 2019 Trailer

  Music can be a huge element in propelling the popularity of a series in Japan. Some of the biggest anime over the last decade was supported by their opening and ending themes, which kept the anime in people's minds. Demon Slayer’s opening theme “Gurenge” became such a hit in its own right that it dragged the rest of the series along with it. This formula worked to bring Your Name to the forefront of Japanese pop culture in 2016 — you couldn’t go anywhere in Tokyo without hearing Radwimps. And the double whammy of “Gurenge” and “Homura” (the theme for Demon Slayer: Mugen Train) has helped the series achieve even more success.

  Rounding out the series was the star-studded voice cast who all have their own fan bases. Voicing Tanjiro is Natsuki Hanae, who was best known at the time for Ken Kaneki in Tokyo Ghoul; Zenitsu is voiced by Hiro Shimono, who voices Connie in Attack on Titan, and the boar himself Inosuke is voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, who voices Kirito in Sword Art Online. Nezuko's voice actor Akari Kito, who largely played side characters up until her casting in Demon Slayer, would become a well-known name and go on to play many more lead roles after the series became popular. 

  On paper, the breadth of talent involved in Demon Slayer far exceeded that of just any TV anime series. The production committee, led by Aniplex, was banking hard on people giving the series a try before the first episode had even aired. And it worked.

  Topping the Film Charts before the First Episode Even Aired

  Demon Slayer: Mugen Train has topped the film charts since it first premiered on October 18, 2020, but it’s not the first time the series has been in theaters. Prior to the TV airing of the first episode on April 6, 2019, the first five episodes were shown in eleven theaters across Japan starting on March 29. The screenings were dubbed “The Bonds Between Brother and Sister” and topped the mini-theater rankings, with over 10,000 people going in just the first three days.

  Ironically the press release from Aniplex announcing that the screenings were being extended in early 2019 said the “excitement for Demon Slayer is at its peak!” If those screenings were anything on the mountain of the popularity of Demon Slayer, they’d be right near the start of the trek.

  “The Bonds Between Brother and Sister” Visual

  Due to the immense popularity, the two-week special screenings were then extended for another week at all eleven cinemas, which were coming in at Number 1 on the mini-theater rankings (for screenings in less than 30) for the two weeks it was originally scheduled for.

  It’s no surprise then that just after these screenings had finished, and during the early broadcast of the anime on TV, that the production committee ordered the Mugen Train arc — which directly follows after the ending of the first season — to be produced as a film, according to industry sources.

  Demon Slayer’s Evolving Popularity Throughout Its Airing

  Hiroyuki Nakano, the editor-in-chief of Weekly Shonen Jump, spoke to Nikkei Entertainment in the March 2020 issue of the magazine on the slow success of the manga series, explaining that “normally the number of sales of a series increases gradually during the broadcast, but the number of copies sold of Demon Slayer exploded when the broadcast ended.” Nakano alluded to streaming services helping the anime series escalate the popularity of the original series by giving people the accessibility of being able to catch up on the show the next day via services like Amazon Prime and Netflix, who streamed the show weekly in Japan.

    Gone are the days where an anime fan would have to record an episode of a late-night anime series because it aired early in the morning. With streaming services on the rise within Japan, that night’s episode of Demon Slayer could be watched the next day on the way to work or school, on the train, or on the toilet.

  “I felt that the way people interacted with anime had changed and that we had entered a new phase,” Nakano explained, discussing how Demon Slayer’s rise in popularity was due to the evolving ways of media consumption.

  This helped the series when the famous Episode 19 aired, blowing away all expectations of what an anime could do in animation. If Demon Slayer wasn’t already part of the modern anime zeitgeist, that one episode — which trended worldwide on Twitter after airing — propelled the series to the forefront by word-of-mouth. Inside Japan, people couldn’t help but talk about the latest episode of the series, treating it like prime-time event television in the same vein as Game of Thrones would have been in the west.

    Demon Slayer’s success has also been well documented since the anime finished airing on September 28, 2019. The manga series has broken all records to become the most-sold series for a year, the Mugen Train sequel film is now the highest-grossing film of all time in Japan, and has given Japan the honor of being the third country to have a film reach US $300 million in a single market during its initial run.

  Why Does Demon Slayer Resonate With Japanese Audiences?

  How Demon Slayer became popular is one thing, but why did this one series, when many others have the same level of talent behind them, become the cultural phenomenon it is today? In December, Oricon released the results of a survey given to Japanese people on how well they know the series, and if so, why did they like it so much.

    An astonishing 97.6 percent of the 3,848 respondents, who ranged from teens to the elderly, said they knew of the series, with 40.5 percent of people saying they knew it well. Of those who knew the series, they described how they liked the world setting and had sympathy for the characters. A male teenager said that he “was fascinated by the story of the main character growing up while struggling with various difficulties,” while a woman in her sixties enjoyed “the storytelling and LiSA's powerful voice.” A woman in her thirties remarked that she “never thought I'd be talking about anime at my age with my 60-something mother.”

  All through the responses, Demon Slayer is bridging the divide between generations, with each generation taking something out of the story that Gotouge has crafted. 

  The top-notch action scenes and relatable characters draw in the younger crowd, while more middle-aged people get a kick out of the family bonds that weave throughout the story, and the aesthetic of the entire series gives older people a sense of nostalgia, also known as “Taisho romance,” but without it being overly melodramatic about the era. Even kids are going to the schoolyard to reproduce the breathing techniques seen in the series. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga joined them when he made a cheeky reference to Demon Slayer’s breathing techniques while speaking to the DIET in November. 

    The accumulation of these points has made Demon Slayer a cultural touchstone, one that could only be born out of Japan. Even if the world wasn’t in the current state it is in, the Shonen Jump series would be just as big in its homeland, if not bigger, with more people going to the theaters and traveling to the areas that influenced the series. 

  Living in Japan at the moment means living in a world surrounded by Demon Slayer. From billboards promoting the film to masks people wear, you can’t go outside (not that people should be!) without having the series in your eyesight. And with how good the series is, and how many people are enjoying it, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba deserves its time in the sun.

  Demon Slayer masks being sold in Harajuku in December 2020 (photo: Daryl Harding)

      Daryl Harding is a Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram. 

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features.

By: Daryl Harding