#well one could also argue that unbeatable lightness also mentions it

[torchickentacos]

it bothers me that May (anime) is originally from Johto (allegedly). can I please get sources and citations on this

[wewinbees]

“you only saw me as a weapon!” an in-depth analysis of tommy and techno’s relationship /rp

a mild focus on techno’s thoughts since it’s his speech, but not one or the other is in the right here. a lot of this might have been said, but this is a BIG collection from pogtopia to doomsday to address as many angles as possible. to preface, i don’t think tommy sees techno as a weapon and nothing else, but the point remains that techno feels like he does, and that’s important.

this is from like january btw lol

we’ll start with “the blade” tommy’s nickname for techno, which got adopted by a lot of the server (as tommy’s nicknames tend to be). most other people have the Big [X] format, but techno gets this specialised nickname. i think the reason he developed a negative association with it was because of when it was used; when they need him for fights. the most important would be the vault reveal, with wilbur getting everyone to victoriously chant “we have the blade!” to boister morale. this would have been fine in and of itself, if it weren’t for the events of the rest of the day and what that name would come to represent. it ends up becoming a taunt to him, because that’s what people get close to him for. his use to them as the blade rather than his friendship to them as technoblade

tommy’s always very happy to call in techno for help, and techno usualy sorts it out with... minimal effort required. i do see this more as a blend of tommy’s pride in knowing techno and smugness at having that kind of upperhand in a fight over him viewing techno solely as a weapon to use, but this still ends up being detrimental to their friendship because of how much it happens. remember, the entire reason techno joined the server was to help wilbur and techno form pogtopia. techno doesn’t mind helping tommy out, but at some point it’s going to be frustrating, being called in for any and all minor struggles. but in the end of the day, it’s fine, because they’re brothers under the same cause. destroying manberg. Oh Wait.

the main issue came after the festival, with that faith and trust tommy had in techno being shattered; rightfully so, because watching tubbo get murdered was traumatic for him, because for tommy the pit was no way to settle that conflict (which reminded, wasn’t techno’s suggestion, it was proposed and pushed onto them by wilbur). since tommy sees technoblade as unbeatable, he couldn’t understand why techno was so easily peer-pressured by manberg. he was threatened by how many people were against him, he was stressed dealing with the voices telling him to do it, he didn’t see any other way out, he wasn’t getting any support from his only other allies even though he was looking right at them and they still did nothing.

but tommy didn’t understand because he thought techno could have won. techno did try to stall as well, but without orders from his friends he ended up following schatt’s, and once he realised he had the power to kill everyone on stage, he just gave into that power. the miscommunication during the pogtopia arc was why techno felt as betrayed as he did, and why the victim complex argument annoys me so much, since he was kept in the dark for that long while grinding resources for the army. also, since techno wasn’t there for l’manberg’s peaceful days or the start of the disc saga he would never understand how important those attachments were to people, so he’d feel little remorse blowing them all up (especially since he knew that was the backup plan for pogtopia anyway, and just because people were unhappy about it didn’t change the fact that it was a plan)

a lot of people say that techno should have known that pogtopia’s goal was to form a new government, that at some point he should have overheard the real plan. everyone agreed to ‘destroy manberg’ (as in the government not the land) but somehow techno never found out about the ‘restoring l’manberg’ part of the plan. how that happened, who knows, but in the end of the day, the writers chose for that miscommunication to happen for the story. it’s not a how or a why, it’s just a fact that was written in. he didn’t find out until it was right in front of him, and he was bound to feel betrayed by that, enough that he was driven to do something irrational. my personal theory is that techno was mainly following wilbur’s orders, and because wilbur was the real traitor, chances are he never mentioned any forming of a new government since he knew that would lose techno’s support. wilbur was probably using techno as a weapon, that was his mentality for a lot of people back then, but since he was the leader of pogtopia then that negative transference carried on to the rest of the members for techno, most of all tommy as he was the other key founder, and not as underhanded about getting techno’s help. i’d say wilbur’s address of techno during the final speech was the a key reason as to why techno doesn’t feel as used by him than he is with tommy, solidifying the anarchy bros before dying, meaning anything else could be revealed.

after the war, the bedrock bros were completely alienated from eachother. tommy started to blame everything about l’manberg’s destruction on techno, since wilbur died and ghostbur isn’t really at fault for anything. techno distanced himself from everything, going into retirement for the unforeseeable future because he felt like his violent anarchist tactics were futile and grew tired of constant conflict. he talked to tommy a few times during retirement, and every single time, he asks tommy how the government was working out for him. when he was at risk of being exiled, just before being exiled and immediately after exile. he wanted tommy to see the government in the same light as he did, because when l’manberg sold him out he realised they were the same. they’d both been betrayed by the government and from that point on he fully believed tommy would be better off away from l’manberg. but every time tommy said no, because he believed in the original dream wilbur had for l’manberg and because he trusted tubbo’s leadership. techno was smug when he was proved right because of course he was he’s technoblade. plus, they did view eachother as enemies at this point, so it’s not unacceptable for them to argue with eachother right now.

that brings us to the execution. traumatising! the refusal to run a fair trial and the dehumanising treatment from his old allies in pogtopia hammer this home, but importantly they rope philza into the chaos this time. ALSO it’s important to mention that techno was killed; he just got an extra life from the totem. he was actually killed and his character experienced that pain as punishment. he was pushed out of retirement, which was unjust in his eyes, since he believed he had genuinely changed. it didn’t help that quackity explicitly told him it wasn’t actually punishment for the withers, but instead a move to consolidate power, furthering his view of the cabinet as corrupt. from that point on he left retirement. he’d been doing well without violence, building connections with new people like vikk and lazar and finding a fragile form of peace, but in the end this shattered it. he’s back to being the blade, speaking with violence, because l’manberg made it clear there was no other way for him to be heard at this point. so he’s going to destroy them, even if he has to do it alone.

enter stage raccooninnit.

tommy taking refuge in techno’s house because he knew techno was rich enough for him to steal his resources and strong enough to defend him from dream is... interesting. he couldn’t go back to l’manberg, but he took refuge with a man who he viewed as a villain. this probably doesn’t help techno’s opinion of him, since he is quite literally using him for his resources, but in the end of the day tommy was desperate and quite literally on the verge of death, so he seemed to take some kind of pity on him. the exile period of their relationship is definitely the most important part of this argument, because it was just the two of them: no wilbur or pogtopia as an external force (though the pressure of dream and l’manberg still affected things) but in the same way ultimately doomed to fail. they fight for a moment, but ultimately settle as ‘business partners’. which quickly evolves back into a friendship like the one they had before the festival.

my least favourite take is that either one of them never valued the other at this point because this is just.... violently not true. they started off working for mutual benefit; tommy explicitly agreed to do minor terrorism in l’manberg and to help techno get his weapons back in return for techno’s help getting the discs back and taking refuge in his house. from the start both of them stated their limits:

techno was always planning on getting revenge on l’manberg for what happened on the day of his execution

tommy never wanted to upset tubbo, and wanted to put getting his discs back first

should note that tommy changes his mind on the disc’s priority later on, but at the point of their alliance he does make it clear that’s what he wants out of the partnership. the issue is that from the start both of them went in with blind optimism. neither of them lied to eachother or forced them to change their viewpoints but in the end of the day they could never be on the same side as long as l’manberg was involved. (note, i think some people think he wasn’t but techno was actually planning on helping tommy getting the discs back, with him getting annoyed at tommy letting tubbo give dream the disc because that made both of their jobs so much harder, but it was more of a long term goal bc he knew dream was hard to beat. plus before his execution, he visited tommy and strongly implied he would be willing to help with the discs, and that he would be a better ally in those personal aims than NLM were)

i don’t understand the ‘techno was only using tommy’ accusation here because like... how? what would he have to gain by having tommy on his side? he could definitely have blown up l’manberg without his help, so why bring him in at all? it was a very mutual agreement of ‘we’re using eachother’ that developed into genuine friendship. i’ve always seen it as a teaching experience: techno knows tommy had been wronged by NLM, and by extension tubbo, and by taking him on these minor terrorism trips, he’s showing tommy the worst of l’manberg. look, look at this execution stand, look at what they’ve done. and in doing this, he’s trying to prove to tommy that what he’s going to do to l’manberg is right. and in showing him the worst of NLM, he’s neglecting all of its good parts, but again, techno cant see any positives in l’manberg, and is trying to show tommy that everyone, especially tommy, would be better off without it. and tommy had criticisms of l’manberg before he was exiled, especially in regards to tubbo. he told ranboo the reason he chose wilbur to be president instead of tubbo was because he was worried the presidency would ruin their friendship, and Look At Exactly What Happened. techno highlighting the flaws of the country to tommy was easy because it WAS flawed and it hurt both of them. and techno’s hope was that tommy would join him in the eventual destruction of it, because he wanted to share his revenge with tommy and for him to get his own justice against l’manberg. but it... didn’t quite work out that way.

they both tried to make it easier for the other; techno told tommy he didn’t need to fight against l’manberg if he didn’t want to, but tommy came with him to the festival anyway to confront dream, despite techno’s mission being against the government in that situation. tommy started to view tubbo’s cabinet as corrupt for the execution and neglecting him during exile, and ended up helping techno out around the base and even toning down the purposeful annoyance (per techno’s ooc request). and the day before the green festival, he told techno he would help to destroy l’manberg (not knowing how quickly things would escalate the next day, since doomsday was fairly spontaneous) but in the end they would never be able to find a full compromise: techno would always be an anarchist and tommy could never hurt tubbo.

people accuse techno of not caring for tommy, which really annoys me because it’s not?? true??? if anything he shows more outward affection than tommy did. he didn’t have any benefit from taking in tommy, but he still did it. it’s not really basic decency either, given that they were technically enemies beforehand. he picked up on tommy’s fragile state around dream and defended, hid him despite the fact that he owed dream, he kept him away from logsted and the final control room after realising how upsetting they were. he exchanged the christmas presents, he jumped in to defend him against the rest of the server and when tommy betrayed techno, he was genuinely hurt! he was wrecklessly impulsive in a way the calculated blade usually wasn’t, almost blowing up half his house (including almost killing his villagers) because of the negative association with dnret.

that’s not to say tommy doesn’t also get absolutely crucified for betraying techno because of all of techno did for him. again it was somewhat inevitable. tommy said it himself, he was turning into someone he didn’t want to be, he was hurting people, and it was somewhat because he was living with technoblade. he was so powerless under dream, and he liked the feeling of power he got from teaming with techno, so much so that it drove him to cruelty, with even techno telling him he went too far with fundy. in the end, it’s probably for the best that he set that boundary and left to go back to l’manberg, but ultimately it was upsetting to both of them. techno felt betrayed because he genuinely thought tommy was his friend, only to be turned on last minute once again, now surrounded alone by enemies he was trying to protect tommy from. to him, allying with dream was just as bad as tommy allying with l’manberg. a betrayal for a betrayal, absolute reciprocity.

we all know the doomsday speech, with techno’s arguments being consistently stronger than tommy’s and much easier to defend, but we can’t just dismiss him. tommy had a lot of emotional input that day, and was angry at techno for a Lot of reasons, so he was more focused on shouting than making sense. he was more accusatory, while techno had fairly focused rebuttals (which, fair, i’m pretty sure that was techno’s first big addressal of most of that with other characters). it ended with tommy calling techno selfish for destroying l’manberg and techno coldly shutting tommy out for the betrayal.

betrayal was the driving force for techno’s “weapon” speech. tommy used him in pogtopia, tried to use him to stop dream exiling him and terrorising NLM) which he laughed at when told in character) and used him for getting the discs back. tommy wasn’t just using him, he genuinely felt like they had built a relationship beyond that, but when techno acted under his own ideals that went against his, then it was over. because tommy doesn’t value techno’s ideals, because they’re ‘selfish’ to him since he’s one of the only ones who believes in them. in turn techno sees that as making tommy selfish and as such they’re unable to compromise.

living with techno was an important part of tommy’s recovery process, which is still ongoing now. he saw immediate changes from his time with dream, claiming he felt “more me-ey” around techno and genuinely valuing his company. but he viewed techno’s alliance with dream as a betrayal, and he viewed the nov 16th incident as a betrayal. because he see’s techno’s belief in anarchy as selfish. something i never hear people point out is that tommy ADMITS he betrayed techno. after doomsday*, he says “all this time, technoblade told me i was betraying him. and you know what? (whispered) i was.” he’s guilty about it, and he understands that techno’s hurt. but he still can’t see him as being in the right, because techno took l’manberg forcefully and violently, and because tommy was hurt by their separation too. techno was powered by revenge more than anarchy during doomsday, which i think is important to point out. tommy had focused in on the threat of dream, and forgotten all the trauma techno went through with l’manberg, and left techno to rejoin l’manberg.

BOTH of them have explicitly stated “i viewed him as a friend but he never viewed me as one” and that’s just... devastating. at one point we can only hope that they have an in-canon conversation to actually settle all of this, but for now their storylines are separate and we’ll just have to live with that.

if anyone has anything they’d like to ask/clarify, or additions from any side i’d love to see it bc character analysis of dsmp characters is what’s keeping me going rn lmao. i said betrayal so many times here i am very sorry for clogging up the tag bc my readmore isn’t working yet (edit SAVED)

*i actually think this speech from tommy is very important, and not looked at as much as other stuff so im gonna link it here [55:52].

[dazenightmare]

I’m Half Human, And Half Machine

Please read the post in the wheel spin tag called Cabinet Man to fully understand this :)

Wow I think this is the most trigger warnings I’ve ever put on anything

T.W.: Electricity, someone being electrocuted, mentions of someone getting electrocuted, death, mentions of dead bodies, dead bodies, implied dead bodies, crying, implied drinking, bullying, bruises, injuries, mentions of breaking in, breaking in, flashbacks, memory loss, mentioned memory loss, implied memory loss, crises, identity crises, shouting, arguing, arguments, blaming, let me know if I need to add more!

~~~~~~~~~

The boy blinked his eyes open, as he felt electricity surge through his veins for the first(?) time in his life. He looked down at his pixelated hands, then up and craned his neck a bit.

What did the text above him say? Un.. unbeetble? Wait wait hold on, he can get this. The boy swears it’s just the angle.

Unbeatable Madness. Why did that sound familiar?

The boy then stared straight ahead. Outside the screen, his mind provided as he looked out on a clearer environment than the pixelated one behind him.

A man stepped into his view. He was much bigger than the boy, he couldn’t help but notice. The man had red rimmed eyes above dark bags, mussed up hair, and overall seemed miserable and out of it. The boy tilted his head as the man teared up, staring at each other.

It’s okay, the boy tried to reassure. I’m here, please don’t cry.

The boy’s words never made it out though. He wasn’t programmed to talk in the title screen. The boy did his best to frown and held a hand up to the screen, a force meeting him far before the glass.

The man gave a broken chuckle before walking away, leaving the boy alone.

——

Another night the boy sat, curled tightly in a ball. It was night outside, and the lights of the machines kept glowing and going despite the arcade having closed a while ago. That meant the owner -the man- was still here. Probably pouring over his papers, numbers and bills, perhaps.

The boy wasn’t quite certain where he got that assumption from, but he fuzzily remembered the man doing it, waving him off with a tired but fond smile.

That was what his coding had assumed before the man came stumbling over to his machine, more red in the face than he usually was, hiccuping and close to tears.

Perhaps the boy was finally getting the plug. He’d been there for quite some time without a single player. His game was a waste of the electricity bill, and he hadn’t got a single quarter to make up for it. Maybe the man would replace his game with a more popular game, like the yellow circle thing or the shooty alien game. Something that would actually get the man money.

But no, the man only leaned on his machine, balling his eyes out which got worse every time the man so much as glanced at the boy.

Play the game, the boy prayed. I can’t comfort you unless you play the game. Just play until you feel better.

The boy didn’t like seeing the man upset.

As if god himself answered him, the man calmed down enough to slip a quarter in, standing ready to play the game.

“Insert name please!” The boy chimed out, smiling and pointing at the keyboard that appeared. The man chuckled quietly, typing out the name slowly.

When the man finally hit enter, the boy just smiled wider as he processed the name in his database.

“Welcome, player Pops!” The voice chimed, getting his own battle stance ready. “To Unbeatable Madness, the game that never ends!”

Pops wiped more tears out of his eyes as he widened his own stance, smiling.

“Remember to drink water after you cry!” The boy said, a reminder he made up. The game officially declared the start of Round One.

——

The boy stared out at the world, watching all the kids play the games. If he could sigh, he would. He missed Pops. It was lonely in this corner of the arcade.

He watched two small children pull each other around, looking at all the bright shiny lights and older kids playing the same games they’ve been playing since the boy’s game turned on. They both seemed amazed, and the boy let out a slight chuckle sound. Must be their first time in an arcade.

The two kept walking and looking, and the boy wondered what they were looking for. An empty game? They had passed plenty, though. Perhaps they were looking for their soulgame, like all the older kids had.

Eventually, they ended up in his corner of the arcade, staring at all the older and less liked games. When their eyes settled on his game, he swore they had frozen.

The two boys, surely younger than he was designed to look, pulled over one of the many stools to get a better look. The boy felt like jumping when the one with dark hair got ready to play after the other inserted a quarter. If he hadn’t been a PG game, he would’ve cussed from the shock.

Either way, he smiled as brightly as he could as a pixelated figure, and pointed at the keyboard.

“Insert name please!”

The two young ones whispered back and forth to each other before a name was typed in. The boy smiled all whites.

“Welcome, player Boo , to Unbeatable Madness, the game that never ends!”

His stance widened, and he wanted to laugh at the way Boo copied it with a determined look.

“Hold on to your hats, it’s about to get bumpy!”

——

Cabinet boy, or Tubbo, as his players called him, was watching the dark arcade bored. He thinks it was winter, around Christmas time. His only guess was Pops’s weak attempt at decoration. The arcade had also been closed today, and the day before, and likely tomorrow at this rate.

He missed his players. Holidays sucked, Tubbo decided. He was bored, and his players likely were as well. All the two did was go to school and play his game.

Even so, he was not expecting them to just appear out of thin air! Okay, well not out of thin air, but close enough!

Tubbo heard glass breaking in the office and frowned. He hoped nobody was robbing the place. They’d find nothing but grimy quarters that Pops had earned by dealing with these children all day.

There was shouting and thumping, and Tubbo pressed as close to the screen as he could to try and see what was happening. It soon became clear though as six people came into the room, two putting up a heck of a fight only to get dragged along.

Tubbo swore he short circuited realizing those two were his players and these kids were mocking them.

He went against all coding he ever had as he tried to yell profanities at them, punching the barrier between him and the screen.

Don’t you hurt them. Don’t you do shit.

“Aw, look,” one of the kids not holding his players said, pointing at his game. “Never seen the game do that before.”

Tubbo tried to growl and kicked the barrier. His game purred as if overheating. He punched and punched.

Give me quarter and I’ll show you “never seen”!

His players looked a mishmash of upset, in awe, and shock. Tubbo started shouting, but no sound left.

The players, his players, started screaming, close to crying as the kids started damaging his vault, thrashing. All three of them could do nothing.

Eventually, one of the kid’s pulled out a bat.

“NO! Put that down or I swear to Mr. Schlatt—“ Innit shouted. They fought more, and then Tubbo fought more as his players received a black eye and bruised cheek.

The next thing he knew, a bat was crashing through his screen.

Tubbo woke up with a gasp, curled up in a tight, dark space. He could feel wires, and something unnervingly stiff and cold, which he did his best to not touch. The box smelled, and he pressed against the metal wall.

There was muffled shouting outside. He started punching the wall, gasping when it hurt. Nothing in his existence had hurt physically before.

After a moment, the shouting picked up volume, and Tubbo pressed his ear against the wall. Until of course, his world had severely shaken quite literally as the box tipped over.

He groaned quietly, rubbing his head. He wondered if he would have to get used to pain. A panicked shout, sounding very much louder brought him out of his thoughts.

Looking over, Tubbo saw a piece of the wall seemingly gone. He quickly but carefully crawled out of the awful smelling box, and took a deep breath in as he stood on shaky legs. Gasps echoed behind him, but he paid no mind.

In front of him was another wall, but different yet familiar. Presumably, one of the walls in the arcade. But... how?

Tubbo slowly turned to his hands, and inspected hands like the kids in the arcade, albeit more dainty with scars. He flipped them over, watching small spots become pixelated before going back.

Another noise from behind him finally attracted his attention as he looked over his shoulder before slowly turning around.

The arcade. The one he’s been seeing for years now.

Oh, also six kids. That seemed pretty important.

Tubbo’s eyes were immediately on the ones he recognized, his players were staring at him with wide eyes, tears still gently flowing. They had a couple bruises, and they were slumped in the kid’s hold, as if they had given up. They looked disbelieving, but it seemed the recognition was mutual.

His eyes drifted to the other four kids, glancing over at his game, decently broken. Tubbo frowned, feeling electricity trail down his arms. He just stuck his tongue out, like he had seen Innit do so many times to Boo.

“Nobody likes a cheater.”

——

“WE INVITED A GHOST TO YOUR HOUSE!”

“YOU THINK I WASN’T AWARE TOMMATHY?!”

“OH GOD WHAT HAVE WE DONE?!”

“ALL WE DID WAS EXIST AND GAME!”

“WELL I GUESS THAT’S A SIN RANBOOB!”

Tubbo watched his players go back and forth, curled into a ball. They were watching the news, which was apparently like an arcade game but a lot more boring, as it was explained to him.

Anyways, they covered the break in on the arcade, thank god. Also, apparently he was a ghost of a kid inside his game. He honestly would’ve never guessed.

Getting slightly dizzy from watching them go back and forth, he settled his gaze back on the tv. Tubbo sat up straighter at the crying man on it.

He pushed his hand against the screen of the tv, frowning.

Why was Pops crying again? He had been so happy recently. He doesn’t deserve to feel so bad.

“Don’t cry Papa, it’ll be alright!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah! Soon I’ll get a job, and we can pay the bills together! You’ll have all the money for juice that your heart desires!”

“Heh, thanks Tubs.”

“It’s okay,” he whispered, now that he could. “I’m here, please don’t cry.”

Tubbo got more upset, and put both hands on the screen. He bit his lip.

“It’s okay, it’s okay...”

“Tubbo?”

He looked back at the quiet kids, feeling tears well up in his eyes.

“Why’s Pops crying?”

There was confusion before one of them saw the tv and lit up in understanding. Boo moved closer and grabbed one of his hands, holding it.

“Well uh, Pops is sad that there was a child- or um, your body in the game.”

“Why?” Tubbo tilted his head, wiping his tears before they fell.

“He- he cared about you a lot before you died,” Innit said, taking his other hand with reluctance. Tubbo sat rigidly as he thought.

“... I cared about him too,” Tubbo murmured, curling up again.

——

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Tubbo whispered, glancing around as he stood on the back of the bike. It was pitch dark out, the only lights being porch ones and the ones that occasionally littered the sidewalk.

Innit started pedaling, scoffing.

“Of course, just throw on your hood, ‘kay? Last thing we need is night owls seeing a person that glitches out sometimes.”

Tubbo did as told, watching the passing houses before he spoke again.

“Won’t Boo be mad we did this?”

“Oh, no he’ll be downright furious,” Innit shuddered. “However, we’re running low on snacks, and Mr. Schlatt needs to know you’re... are you alive?”

“I like to think so,” Tubbo responded, setting his head down on top of Innit’s. “I can breathe, and feel emotions and pain. I’m just a different person now, I guess. Or maybe I’m the same as I was before, and I just can’t remember.”

“Dang. Well, Mr. Schlatt needs to meet you. Maybe he can tell you whether you’re the same or not.”

“... maybe,” Tubbo sighed, staring at the scenery. It had been a ‘fun’ time discovering he was alive before his game turned on. All this time he thought he wasn’t a person or had a personality, just some code someone had made to entertain. And now suddenly, he was human? Or human-ish?

Needless to say, it’s been a not so good time discovering who he was or if he even had a place in the world still. Tubbo didn’t know if he preferred just being a character in a game, or a person who shouldn’t exist.

“Hey, I know you’re having a crises up there. I’ve been Ranboo’s friend for years, I can spot them a mile away,” Innit joked, and Tubbo snorted. They sat in silence for a bit before Innit spoke up.

“So, what you havin’ a crises about?”

“... who I am, mostly. Who I was. Who I might become... I could’ve been sixteen by now, Innit. I could’ve been living a normal life instead of whatever this has become. I don’t even know what a normal life is supposed to look like, or if I’ll ever become older.”

“Hm, that my friend, sounds like baggage.”

“Heh, yeah.”

“... it’s nice getting to know you.”

Tubbo raised an eyebrow, glancing at the blonde hair below him.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, like, you know almost everything about me and Ranboo from one way conversations,” Innit started explaining as their surroundings slowly turned from houses to local businesses. “Years of consciousness, taking in information, watching us grow. Meanwhile you’ve only been able to say one liners that never mattered. It’s nice, hearing you say your thoughts, and seeing who you become.”

“I also like saying my thoughts. The privilege of speech is not one to be taken for granted,” Tubbo mused with a smile. There was a huff of amusement from below him as they finally reached their destination.

They got off the bike slowly, perching it against the wall. Innit peered into the glass, and they watched the games glow proudly.

“Well, seems as if he’s still in there,” Innit said before turning to him with a smile. “You ready to do this?”

Before Tubbo could even open his mouth, another bike suddenly almost crashed into them, startling them. Boo sat on the bike, panting as if he ran a marathon, which he must of done in order to catch up with them.

“Ranboo?! What are you doing here?” Tommy whisper shouted to not alert anyone. Ranboo glared as he tried to regain his breathing.

“What am I doing?! What are you doing?! We’re supposed to be asleep and not freaking any adults out!” He whisper shouted back, waving his arms drastically.

“How’d you even know we were gone?! You were dead asleep!”

“Gee Tommy, it’s not like I’ve been sleeping with one person on top of me for weeks now! Not that I mind it,” Ranboo reassured, glancing at Tubbo. “But it’s kinda easy to tell when nobody’s sleeping on me!”

“We gotta tell Mr. Schlatt, Ranboo! His son is still alive!”

“And what if he freaks out, huh?! What’ll we do if Schlatt calls the authorities?!”

Tubbo frowned as they kept going at it, glancing back inside the arcade. His gaze immediately glued on the figure that moved behind rows of games, disappearing. He hummed quietly, glancing between his players and the glass uncertainly before stepping to the door, closing his eyes as he glitched through into the arcade.

With only one more glance at the two on the other side of the glass, he started walking forward slowly, taking off his hood as he looked around. It was nice to see the arcade from a different angle.

He turned a row, immediately seeing Schlatt leaning into a machine and—

His foot was stuck, and trying to get it out only resulted in his right arm and left wrist getting tangled, a wire lightly pressing against his throat.

Tubbo decided to just wait for Papa. Papa could get him out.

Sudden pain. Oh god it hurt somebody HELP HELP ME IT HURTS! PAPA!

—Tubbo flinched backwards with yelp, hiding from the sight behind another game. He pressed his hand to his mouth, breathing shaky as he slid to the floor. The electricity that had always flowed through his veins was no longer comforting, and instead served a harsh reminder of the pain.

What had he done to deserve that?

“Hello?” A voice called out. “Anybody here?”

Tubbo held back tears. It was now or never, he told himself as he moved his hand.

“... hi.”

“Kid, the arcade closed a while ago,” Pops said, sounding like he was coming closer. “You need a ride home?”

“No... no, they’re outside.”

“That’s good. Come on, I’ll unlock the door so you can leave.”

Tubbo stood up just as Pops rounded the corner, and he froze as they stared at each other. Tubbo smiled shakily.

“Hi Pops,” he whispered, waving. Pops started crying, and Tubbo did nothing but leap forward to hug the man. The tears he held back left his eyes, soaked by a shirt as arms wrapped around him and hugged just as tight.

“Please tell me this is real,” Pops whispered into his hair as they sunk to the ground, still embracing.

“I hope so,” Tubbo sobbed. His fuzzy memories cleared in some spots, making him cry more. He only had bits and pieces of a previous life, and it only made him more sad. “P... papa?”

“Y-yeah buddy?”

“I- I don’t, I don’t remember too m-much,” he cried more. Tubbo earned it, surely.

“Sh sh, buddy it’s okay. I’ll help you remember, I promise. We’ll be okay.”

They calmed down not too long after, both running out of tears. They probably would’ve sat there until dawn if it weren’t for the shouting outside.

“Is that-?”

Tubbo nodded, separating himself from Pops as they stood back up. He held a hand much bigger than his own as he dragged Pops to the front door, where his players were still arguing. Pops unlocked the door and they pushed it open to hear the conversation.

“—HOW COULD YOU LOSE HIM?!”

“WH- ME?! I’M NOT THE ONE WHO BROUGHT HIM HERE!”

“YOU STILL LOST HIM THOUGH!”

Tubbo sighed, pulling his hood back on. Sometimes he was embarrassed these were his players.

“This is your ride?” Pops whispered to him, obviously trying not to laugh. Tubbo only nodded and pulled his hood over his face as his face burned.

“Why are you like this?” Tubbo said loudly, moving his hood to see them as he glared.

[laketaj24]

Thank you! And sorry for bothering you with this! A imagine with geralt x reader (cough! Me cough!) Where he and I had been close for years, even having a one night stand before, but nothing ever came of it because geralt and I thought we each had no feelings for each other ( but secretly we did. and years down the line we're fighting about my safety and his safety and he admits he loves me? And smut. Thank you so much, beautiful!. And if you dont want to, you dont have to! ❤ ilysm!

Small Admissions

Author’s Note: Working through some of the ones I’ve had in my computer and hadn’t finished yet! Thank you for the request!! I wrote a drabble for it!! I hope you enjoy love and I hope all is well!! Happy Reading.

Masterlist

Pairing: Geralt x Reader

Warnings: It’s Geralt, so language lol.

Geralt knew that the chances of you actually doing what he asked were slim to none. It’s why he didn’t ask you often. “Could you stay here with Roach?” Geralt adjusted the saddle and pushed the velvet bags of oren into the holder. “It will not take long for me to take care of it.” And by it, he meant the alghoul in the crypt nearby.

“No, absolutely not. I need to be there with you. one wrong move and you could be eaten by that alghoul, and Roach has a new owner.” The dark graveyard was not the ideal place to kill a monster. Crypts were all around, not to mention the grey clouds veiled the light of the moon. It all seemed to eery.

Roach nudged Geralt as if she knew what I was saying, and he groaned in protest. “I do not need it from the both of you.” Geralt refused to make eye contact with you. He just turned away from you and tossed his swords over on his back. “Just stay here.”

“No!” You shook your head and pulled the small dials of white vinegar from your pocket. “We can easily defeat it together. Now except that I am your partner or when you return, neither one of us will be here.”

“You do not,” He paused and snatched the two vials from your hand. ��Give me ultimatums.”

“Geralt.” You all but pouted, he didn’t listen when you whined; in fact, it only leads Geralt to believe you were losing the argument. YOu folded your arms over your chest and rolled your eyes. “Must we argue every time about my safety. I am not yours to argue over.” You said the words intentionally meaning to get to him. It had been over five years since you started to travel with Geralt. It was not the life you had pictured for yourself, but you could not imagine any other existence that would have suited you better. Every time you saved a life, you remembered some people just going around them taking them. While you were with Geralt, you found the balance of being a savior but also ruthless who those to deserved it. It was a perfect balance, so was Geralt.

There had been once you’d both succumb to the need of one another, but it never happened again, nor did you speak of it. But words weren’t needed, whenever you looked him in the eyes that night played through your head as if it was happening again. You could feel your knees buckle, heart pound, and breath hitch. He did all of this without even needing to be inside of you.

“Nice of you to remind me.” He knocked back the black potion he’d concocted yesterday, and his eyes glazed over black; he was going without you. “Now, wait here.”

“This is the last time you will render me useless, do you understand.”

“You are not useless, you are irreplaceable, and it’s fucking hard to try to kill this damn thing while looking back to the only woman in I am in love with, just stay here.” He said through clenched teeth.

“In love with?”

He grunted. “Stay here.” He said in finality. You said nothing, but your face contained a thousand words. “Hmmm.” He nodded his head, retrieving his sword. “And shut up.”

“I said nothing.”

“You said enough.” He retorted over your laughter.

Witcher Taglist (Short): @therandomthoughtsofmsparker @therealcalicali @taytayize123 @fcgrizi @sapphirescrolls @magdelen69 @hcfavoritegal @henchry @oddsnendsfanfics @imgoldielikehawn @sparklemichele @crushed-pink-petals @titty-teetee @babygurlniah43 @savismith @inforapound @soapjay @twistedcharismaaa @yeet-me-out-tonight @thickemadame @kathhdd @cap-barnes @rhys108 @brexrif @sincerelysinister @earl-aive  @littlefreya​@lovebodymindstuff @two-unbeatable-beaters @ieshaa96 @dangerous-like-a-loaded-pistol @mereka18 @lokispettigerr @artemiseamoon@brattyrogers @kittyatemytaco​ @petrichor-ds​ @ajspencer1892​ @wondersofdreaming​ @angelic-kisses13​ @fandomfic-galore​  @stillreadingfantasy​ @pocimaginesaesthetics​

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 100

 “Hello, Marisha.  Seeing you again is a pleasure.” stated Aiden just after I was shown from James’ office.  “Would you mind coming with me?” he asked with a small smile.  Aiden had dark blue eyes, but he had his mother’s auburn hair, seeming dark red in bright light.

 “Of course.  Thank you, Aiden.” I told him, following him when he started to walk.

 “Please, call me ‘Aid’.  Everyone does.” he replied, still smiling as he glanced at me.

 “Oh.  Sorry.  I do remember hearing the different nicknames you have for each other, but I didn’t want to appear too casual.” I explained, not wanting him to think I was forgetful.

 “I understand completely, but you’ll be more endeared to everyone here if you use our nicknames instead.  Only some of the adults ever use one of our actual names.” he insisted, seeming to consider the matter settled by how he went silent afterward.  He really was handsome and walked with the casual grace that I associated with the powerful.

 “Aid,” I started experimentally, “you inherited your mother’s gift with heat, correct?”

 He glanced back at me and brushed his hand through his hair bashfully, which was actually really cute.  “Not fully, honestly.  Mother’s gifts come from fey heritage amplified by the corresponding dragon magic.  I received the fey heritage with no trace of the raw strength of dragons.  Sure, I’d be considered extremely strong by your… er… our family’s standards, but I’ll never hold a candle to Mother.”

 “Luckily, there’s no need to destroy cities these days.” I assured him, remembering the estimates of Alma’s power.  I did wonder at the slip.  Did he not think of himself as part of the Slayer family, or was he making a mental distinction between my nuclear family and his own.  The latter seemed more likely, since he couldn’t rightly consider himself powerful next to his parents.

 “True, but Mother can do far more than that these days.  She’s grown considerably from what I’ve been told.” he insisted with no hint of deception.

 If he spoke the truth, Alma might truly have exceeded the power of any known Slayer, which was just a bit terrifying with her lack of aging.  The wiser families had always feared her power back when she was still very active.  I wondered what they would do if they had a clue she had grown.  How would Father react?

 “Is Luce’s water magic also from the fey?” I questioned, interested in his opinion.

 Aid shook his head as he guided me down the stairs.  “Luce purely gained the power of dragons.  She lacks the telepathy of the fey, but I have no doubt she’ll be physically stronger than me eventually, and her strength in magic has continued to grow as well.” he informed me.

 “Hold on, so you have telepathy, like Alaric?” I asked in surprise.

 He shook his head.

 Despite the wards on me, I suddenly saw him standing out in his yard, telling me that fey telepathy was a different beast entirely.  I remembered this from when Doc was showing us history, but Aid’s version made everything seem even more real.  In my disorientation as my mind compared what I was actually seeing to what he was showing me, I missed a step.  He caught me before I even had time to decide what to do.

 “Thank you.  I wasn’t prepared for that.” I told him, feeling a little embarrassed.

 “I apologize for distracting you.  That was not my intent.” he assured me as he released me.  Continuing down the stairs, he said, “Since you’re no doubt more interested in Four than Luce or me, I’ll tell you that his magic comes primarily from Father as far as I can tell.  As such, he’s studied the uses of residual energy extensively and has a stronger connection to the energy than anyone save for father.  If you attempt to use such magic around him, he can stop you with a thought.”

 “I wouldn’t say I’m more interested in Four than the rest of you.” I argued, knowing I wasn’t being honest.

 Aid glanced back to smile at me as he said, “No, but you are.  Like Father, Four emits a spell that causes everyone to think of him favorably.  This can’t be helped and makes fighting him all the more difficult.  If not for the additional protection around you, you might find yourself wanting to show off for him or suffering from an inability to attack due to his face being too charming.  Oh.  My parents did warn you not to attack Messy with intent to do harm during our battle, didn’t they?”

 I shook my head.  “I didn’t even know she participated.  Isn’t that unfair?”

 He nodded, saying, “Quite, if she used her full strength, but she doesn’t.  We follow the tradition of holding back against anyone physically or magically weaker than yourself, so that we might grow more in skill rather than just winning with overwhelming power.  That being said, you must never attack Messy with intent to harm or kill.  Despite the futility of such an attack, you’d die instantly.  Messy cannot help this.  A bullet from any gun, enchanted or otherwise, cannot harm Messy, but an army would be wiped out if everyone attempted to harm her.”

 “Are you serious!?” I asked in shock.

 He looked at me curiously as he asked “You were informed who her mother is, correct?”

 I nodded.

 “Then you shouldn’t be surprised.  Not everyone here knows, so don’t mention that fact.” he warned, his tone almost sounding threatening.

 “I know.” I told him, having been warned by Father that I would simply cease to exist if I betrayed Death’s secrets.

 Apparently believing me, he continued walking as he said, “Then there’s Crazy.  Despite what fighting her will be like if you’re on opposing sides, she is holding back, rarely even exceeding what her mother is capable of doing.  She’s extremely formidable, but she isn’t unbeatable in a restricted fight.  Neither Messy nor Crazy have won every single battle.”

 “You assume I’m trying to prepare myself?” I asked, somewhat amused.  I was really just wanting to compare my family’s records with a firsthand account.

 Aid stopped again, spinning around to look at me.  “I understand that you’ve trained your whole life and have considerable power, but you’re not prepared, not even close.  If Four had been sent to collect you, he would have coddled you and let you find out for yourself.  My parents knew that I wouldn’t, especially not with the reactions of Rona and Layla.  Did you feel you fought well against my sister?”

 “I didn’t do terribly.” I argued, feeling defensive.

 “She was holding back.  Even when your father arrived, she held back.  That’s what we’re trained to do.  If you and your father had used any serious magic, she would have ripped the water straight out of your bodies to save Ella instead of asking for help.  She can.  You’ll never see her do that in practice, thankfully, but she can.  Don’t underestimate any of us, okay?” he asked, gazing into my eyes.  His eyes were actually really pretty too.

 “As you said, I’ve been trained.  I won’t be caught off-guard so easily.” I assured him, though I hadn’t even considered that Luce might have been able to kill Father and me together.

 “You won’t be allowed wards in our battles other than the one placed on you here.  That means Ella will be able to control you if you’re not careful, and I’d wager she’s more skilled at fighting than you are.  You’ll need to be careful.” he insisted.

 “She’s really that good?” I asked dubiously.

 He nodded as he said, “More often than not, Ella is our commander in fights, and she won’t even remember the fight two seconds after we’ve won.  Where the rest of us think about what we could have done better after a fight, Ella typically can’t.  Her memory won’t work that way without extreme focus on Ella’s part.  She had to spend hours on end studying tactics.  What she can do is be exceptionally aware of the present, modeling the movement of everything around her as she acts and seeing how to outmaneuver every last person at once.  I have far better reaction speed than Ella and can sense everyone around me, but I usually can’t arrive at a successful outcome as fast as she can.  The craziest part is that she doesn’t even have to try to do it.”

 That did sound fairly impressive.  Thinking back on it, Ella did seem to be tracking my movements even though she couldn’t physically keep up with me.  “Okay, so what else should I look out for?” I asked, feeling the excitement rising once again.  My fight with Luce had taught me that Aid or Four could probably beat me with relative ease.  Hearing Aid speak so highly of his friends made this sound quite fun.

 “Valeria’s a beginner, but her magic is very versatile with a bit of creativity.  Expect her to redirect attacks, trap people, and attack from your blind spots.” he told me, apparently expecting me to know what sort of magic Valeria had.

 “I’m not really familiar with her, other than knowing that she’s a vampire.” I admitted, interested in hearing what sort of magic she used.

 “Valeria has a limited form of spatial magic.  She can open a doorway from any point into a sort of room and create another door out to a different location, effectively allowing her to teleport herself, others, and whatever else she likes.  We’re not certain what sort of range she has yet.  If she’s tested it, she hasn’t told us, but I imagine Momma Cosette would have had her test it.  I’m a bit curious what happens if she shuts the door before something is fully through, but that hasn’t happened to any of us yet.” he explained, appearing too nonchalant for such a terrifying thought.

 “And how do you escape these rooms of hers if you’re trapped inside?” I questioned, just to be prudent, not because I worried about getting caught.

 “Interdimensional travel, from what Messy told me, though Crazy couldn’t manage it in ten minutes.  That might seem like a short time to you, but I assure you Crazy is a super genius by Slayer standards.  No, that might still be underestimating her.  You’re fairly safe to assume that things she can’t figure out are simply impossible to do with equivalent information.” he assured me, though the idea wasn’t very reassuring.

 Aid continued his explanations as we strolled along the hall of the first floor, and I found myself wondering if even my father knew about the strength of the people here.  James effectively had a personal army under his roof even without considering the adults, and I had heard rumors of a half-demon of tremendous power living here.  Of course, even a demon paled to Death as a tenant, but I was still amazed.  All of the branches of the Slayer family prided themselves on strength, but Best Friend For Hire was in its own league.

[clonerightsagenda]

A Jade post? In 2017?

I could write this post in my sleep because I’ve written 40 just like it, but I keep seeing posts about lack of Jade meta, so I guess I was a little ahead of my time and must now answer the call. If you’ve been following me for a while, you might as well keep scrolling. You’ve seen this all before in increasing tones of despair.

For everyone else, this aims to be a general overview of Jade Harley’s character, back when she was allowed to have one, looking at her issues and development. I’ll condense it a fair bit because none of us want to be here all evening, but feel free to ask me to expand on anything. I used to do this all the time.

Childhood

So let’s start at the very beginning. Jade’s home situation is revealed in pieces. Much like Dave’s, it’s played as less serious early on, with the ramifications and its impact on her personality not fully explored until later. (Jade never gets a big speech on the topic, so I fear it still went over some heads.) Over time, however, we learn that Jade has grown up alone save for a powerful dog, after her grandfather died... and she stuffed his corpse. (yuck.) She has had to fend for herself from a young age, plagued by occasional bouts of Vriska-induced narcolepsy to boot.

This has made her tough and self-sufficient. She’s one of the more capable and efficient Betas, shown when she takes charge near the tail end of their session. However, she takes it a bit far. When you’re a kid alone, no one is going to take care of you. You don’t have the luxury of hoping someone else will handle a problem, or getting bogged down in sadness or doubt. Jade takes this to the extreme of never allowing herself to express negative emotions. That’s not productive. That won’t get anything done. She’s happy happy happy all the time!!! (At least to her friends. More on that later.) 

She projects this onto her grandfather as well. Loneliness takes a toll. When Jade “encounters” her grandfather, she imagines him chastising her and has an argument with him, eventually concluding “he was much easier to deal with when he was alive”. Jade has placed a lot of her weighty expectations for herself on her grandfather, and she pretends he’s talking back to deal with her isolation. Additionally, she doesn’t know about Tavros’s interference, so as she grows older, she assumes Grandpa Harley killed himself, abandoning her to her fate. When she does learn about what happened, she blames herself. More on that later. 

Her constant cheer is particularly concerning when we consider one last detail that people also seem to forget a lot. Jade grows up knowing she’s going to die. She’s seen her own stuffed dream self, and while it may not be time stamped, she’d be able to gauge by her own height roughly how much time she has left. By the time the story starts, she knows she’s almost out. And when Tavros mentions that his dream self died in their conversation pre-Descend, she’s surprised. She didn’t know they could die. This means she didn’t think ‘oh, my dream self will die but it’ll be ok’. She thought she was going to die, full stop. But she kept up the cheerleader routine anyway.

Friendships

That segues into Jade’s personal relationships.  As I mentioned earlier, Jade refuses to express negative emotions. This is similar to John, but I’d argue John is less aware of what he’s doing. Jade knows all that dark stuff is there; she just keeps pushing it down. Instead, she acts as team cheerleader, encouraging all her other friends as they start playing the game. She tells John he can save the world, encourages Rose, and flatters Dave. Rose is the only one who pushes back a little - her comment about Jade being tough for surviving on her island suggests she might have grasped a little about her situation, and she probes a little - but Jade doesn’t give much away. John vacillates between being surprisingly perceptive and super not, and Dave tends to be absorbed in his own problems. Jade successfully keeps most of her life a secret. No one knows her grandfather is dead or that she’s alone. No one knows she’s going to die.

The person she’s most direct with, ironically, is Karkat. He hears her angry or upset, mostly because he’s not her friend. She doesn’t care what he thinks. It also seems likely, though, that she lost patience with him a long time ago. After all, from her perspective he’s been trolling them for a while, and her dismay the first time he contacts her suggests that he got on her last nerve a while back. (She gets her revenge later, showing that she doesn’t forgive him as fully as she claims during their session.) Still, it’s kind of tragic that she’s most honest with people she dislikes. As they grow less adversarial, she begins to cover more and more up. 

Karkat happens to be the character who catches her at one of her most vulnerable moments, which is...

Jadesprite

Alas, we hardly knew ye. Faced with the seemingly unbeatable boss that’s Bec Noir, Jade decides to prototype her dead dreamself in order to have a human intelligence armed with the power of a First Guardian. This... does not go as planned. Jadesprite is yanked out of the afterlife and put back into the game that traumatized and killed her. She’s hysterical and doesn’t seem to understand that John’s not dead, and she’s not thrilled about facing Jack again and probably dying in the process. This makes Jade furious. How dare this version of her not put the group’s safety over her own personal life and happiness? How dare she not be happy to be used as a tool? How dare she show fear, weakness, pain, anything but a constant eagerness to please? Jade flies into a rage because Jadesprite reveals every bit of weakness she has hidden within herself and has come to despise. This part of her was never supposed to see the light of day.

Of course, it doesn’t for long. Jadesprite shows up again for a handful of panels, which are mostly devoted to Davesprite exposition-dumping. It’s interesting to note that, while she’s more emotionally honest with him, the panel after he shows up, she’s back to the generic sprite-mode smile. She still can’t quite kick that urge to cover it all up.

Then, Jade God Tiers and absorbs Jadesprite as part of herself. She wastes no time in crushing her and everything she represents deep into a corner of her psyche. And she crushes hard. Jade mentions later that her memories of Jadesprite’s time in the bubbles is hazy, which is understandable. Bubbles are weird. But later, when Dave talks about his sword quest and Jade seems confused, he asks in exasperation, “didnt davesprite tell you anything?” And he did. He told Jadesprite information that should have made Dave’s explanation later clear. But Jade, it seems, has forgotten. Could be an authorial oversight, could be the passing of time... or could be a signifier of how hard she pushed away everything “tainted” by that ‘lesser’ version of herself. 

Yellow Yard

Hope everyone’s been enjoying themselves, because we’ve now left behind the chunk of the story where Jade gets to do much at all. She’s John’s emotional sounding board for the next three years and then spends the majority of the combo session possessed, dead, or asleep. Yes, I’m still bitter.

The fact that both of Jade’s appearances in the intermissions are focused on being a response to John’s complaining is fitting, though (besides revealing the author’s priorities), considering her role on the battleship is to do everyone’s emotional labor. I could write a massive post on battleship dynamics since I’ve had years to parse the roughly 5 sentences allotted to them, but I’ll keep it short for this post. John’s showing the strain by the first intermission (there’s a lot of subtext in the way he talks about that video game) but in general he’s missing his old life, chafing at having nothing to do, resentful of his role of “following orders” in the previous session, upset at himself  for being childish, and of course sitting on top of a simmering pile of repressed emotions he refuses to fully acknowledge. Davesprite is Sir Not Appearing In This Comic the whole time, but it’s clear he’s in a downward spiral due to his lack of a clear purpose, feelings of inadequacy, paranoia over his lesser/doomed status, and general self-hatred. Jade is the apparent ‘stable’ one. She tries to be supportive of John even as he gets increasingly nasty to her in his frustration, and she’s presumably doing her best to prop Davesprite up. Unfortunately, no one’s going to support her, because she can’t ask for help. She can’t show weakness. She has to be useful. Anything else means she’s a bad friend and a failure. So she just keeps going until she gets crushed under the weight.

It gets to her, though. By John’s 15th, she’s short with him and looks visibly annoyed in a few panels, which is unusual for her. And by the time they arrive, she heads off to deal with business without telling Davesprite where she’s going or even bothering to wake John up, which suggests she’s pretty sick of them. Still, she hasn’t given them a piece of her mind. Yet. Instead, she heads off without a word, right into the Empress’s trap.

Grimbark Mode

The Empress has been plotting for the arrival of the gods, and she gets to work. In moments, her two girls are under her control. Not only are they forced to do her bidding, but their worst impulses, desires, and repressed grievances are pulled to the surface. For Jade, this is primarily anger. Notice that she mostly lashes out at people who have wronged her. She kicks John, fabricates a reason to get Karkat stabbed (it’s strategically inadvisable to have Jane fork him, but Jade wanted to), and tries to goad Dave into a fight. Finally, all that fury is coming out. 

While talking to Roxy, Jade also reveals how much her hypercompetence issues affect her self-esteem. ‘once i was even more of a dork than you’, she tells her ‘but now i’m one of the most powerful beings in the universe’. The implication is that Jade considers her greatest asset her powers. Without them, without her ability to be useful, she’s nothing. Also in this conversation she says she’s the suckiest Jade there is, showing both her unhappiness with her current state and her deep seated self-worth issues (get in line, girl). These hypercompetency issues also fuel her fight with Jake. She arrogantly proclaims herself smarter and more powerful than him (Jade can be headstrong at times or disregard other people’s views; I’ve talked about that in other posts) but gets curbstomped because she refuses to back down from the fight or go straight for Aranea. She has been challenged, so she has to prove she’s the best... and she fails. 

Speaking of things I am still bitter about, I will never not be bitter about how grimbark mode (and crockertier mode) were handled. I was upset about my favorite character being mind controlled, yeah, but I defended it as a chance for character growth. When I saw grimbark mode, I thought, ok. This sucks, but this means Jade can’t hide anymore. It’s all out in the open. She had a guy killed, for crying out loud. Once she’s snapped out of it, she’s going to have to be honest about it. This is a turning point where she can finally tell people how she feels.

That... did not happen. Instead, Game Over did, and then the retcon, and my last hopes of Jade Harley getting decent character resolution fizzled and died. I don’t like talking about the retcon very much, so let’s make this last bit quick.

Post-Retcon

I’ll go through this fast, because it’s unpleasant. In our latest chapter of ‘Jade Harley gets fucked by the narrative because Andrew Hussie made her too op and also doesn’t care’, the retcon shifts things around so that John and Davesprite blow up soon into the trip, leaving Jade to travel the Yellow Yard alone. Accompanied by carapaces and Nanna, of course, but it’s never really acknowledged that she can interact with them, despite her growing up on Prospit. Why those two couldn’t have blown up immediately before arrival I’m not sure, considering how late retcon Roxy died, but fuck Jade, amiright? (Bitterness intensifies). Anyway, the part of this I find most egregious is that this doesn’t have as much of an impact on Jade’s character as it really should have. 

Let’s review. Jade derives a lot of her self-worth from being competent and helping people. She has had issues with loneliness in the past. She’s got some self-worth problems that she covers up with the knowledge that she has a lot of cool powers. So we blow up her two friends while she in all her God Tier and First Guardian powers is powerless to save them, and then she’s stuck alone stewing in her failure for three years, knowing she will have to face Dave and Rose and tell them what happened. 

Does it seem likely that Jade would pop out the other side of the fourth wall perky and enthusiastic? Hardly. With no witnesses left, I imagine she would have dropped the facade. Having failed her friends, if she didn’t believe the timeline was doomed, she’d probably double down on making sure it never happened again, devoting her time to leveling up and training to a greater degree than she did in the GO timeline. She’d emotionally distance herself from her friends in advance. After all, once she finds out what happened to Grandpa, she describes it as “basically my fault”, even though Grandpa let her play with guns and Tavros redirected the bullet. Part of her hypercompetency is a quickness to take responsibility even when she should not. She would blame herself for John and Davesprite’s deaths and assume Dave and Rose would as well. I imagine her trust in Skaia and a happy ending would also be shaken. The clouds never showed her this.

So Jade ought to be a mess. In canon, though, she really isn’t. Oh, she mentions to Calliope that she felt depressed. This is progress for Jade, admittedly, but in general she’s relatively the same as she always was. When she sees John, it apparently fixes that all up (setting aside his notorious issues with alt selves.) She does seem reluctant to process that Davesprite is essentially dead, repeatedly referring to D avepeta as Dave, but otherwise, she seems to slot into the new reality without a ripple. We do see a hint of the loneliness-based projection with her naming the consorts and making up stories about them, but that's mostly glossed over. And since Vriska knocks her out before she has a chance to do anything while grimbark (even deliver some nasty taunts), no one gets any indication of her suppressed anger, so no one’s prompted to ask her about it. In terms of repression, she’s cleared to continue. And, as far as we’re shown, she does. At least John gets to visibly show that he’s got issues in the credits. Jade’s a smiling background character. 

As the final insult on top of injury, Jade’s big contribution in Collide is getting punched. I’m not entirely clear as to why she’s trying to prevent PM from fighting Jack - she knows Jack is a threat and has worked against him in the past. But no, here she gets in the way until PM knocks her down. Another blow for a character who has built her self-worth upon contributing to the team. 

I have my (grim) thoughts on what Jade realistically would have turned into after all this. And honestly, you could write a ‘how the ending shafted character x’s development’ for most of the cast, but Jade is a special example because her shafting started after Cascade and never stopped. And it makes me sad, because she was my favorite, and the opportunities were RIGHT THERE to give her development and bring some of this to the surface, but the story never made the effort.

I could go into way more depth about any of this, especially her personal relationships, but this is already long and it’s late, so I will leave you with this single, simple truth: 

Jade deserved better. 

[khutuluns-bow]

Upgrading Your on-line Gaming Setup With Netgear Hardware: Is It value It?

Over the last yr, I’ve been looking to vastly improve my online gaming setup. It’s not that my typical connection speeds had been exceptionally gradual or my faraway interactions tremendously laggy. Multiplayer matches of Overwatch and Sea of Thieves ran well sufficient, and most video game downloads chugged along at a more than proper tempo except i was on the playstation network—why the insistent information cap, Sony?.

but right here’s the element: For a small while, i was purchasing 250Mbps internet carrier and under no circumstances even getting near that marketed pace. Most connection checks petered out at a measly 140Mbps, which isn’t anything else to scoff at, however I wasn’t getting what i used to be paying for. After dealing with that minor frustration, I knocked my plan down to 150Mbps and, to be quite sincere, nothing basically changed. pace checks still pronounced a max of around 140Mbps.

base line become this: I simply knew that my hardware became distinctly out of date and that certain improvements may well be made that might trade my internet experience for the better, so I reached out to Netgear in an attempt to try a few of their greater entertaining gaming-related items. They have been variety adequate to send over three compelling items of hardware, and what follows is my sincere journey with each device.

CM1000 extremely-high velocity Cable Modem MSRP $169.99

As i mentioned above, I’ve been getting round 140Mbps download and 6Mbps upload on a relatively out of date Motorola SURFboard DOCSIS 3.0 modem. I feel I’ve been using that same piece of hardware for around 10 years now, supply or grasp, so I’d say I’m due for an upgrade. Enter Netgear’s DOCSIS 3.1 beast, and what the field copy dubs as supplying the “World’s quickest Cable information superhighway” at “up to 6Gbps downstream and 1.8Gbps upstream”. if you’re unfamiliar with what DOCSIS three.1 is, here’s a good video describing the expertise. In a nutshell, it’s an up to date protocol that makes it possible for for fiber-caliber web speeds over current cable internet infrastructure. Granted, your information superhighway carrier company needs to offer that type of lightspeed alternative, and then you most likely need to be procuring observed velocity.

That stated, I’m not at the moment buying gigabit cyber web I desire!, so i will be able to’t examine that specific tier of carrier on this new modem, alas. but after tinkering around with things, what i will say is that, strictly out of the field, the machine in fact seems to have better my community situation enormously. devoid of even touching my old router, I without problems swapped out my SURFboard modem with the sparkling CM1000, had the cable company activate it, and rapidly administered a wired ethernet speed check. With simply the modem alternate by myself, my clocked pace went from 140Mbps to round 180Mbps—shapely rattling striking. add velocity nonetheless hovered unusually low, round 6Mbps, even though I believe that’s greater of an issue with my widespread carrier enviornment.

The CM1000 permits for some critically quick cable information superhighway speeds.credit score: Netgear

considering setting up, the CM1000 has delivered constant connection and speeds without any deserve to be rebooted, all whereas staying mostly cool to the contact. For journalistic functions, I bumped my service tier returned up as much as 250Mbps simply to see how the modem would react, and now I’m getting a whopping 300Mbps ! down load. The add speed doubled marginally to round 12Mbps, which I’ve read is more than satisfactory for many excessive first-rate gameplay streaming. I’d say this is all a lot proof that Netgear’s hardware will boost whatever speeds you’re currently purchasing.

So the query turns into right here: Does the common gamer want this cable modem? It pains me to say it, but doubtless no longer. that you would be able to completely still get by using with greater run-of-the-mill hardware, in particular in case you’re most effective deciding to buy decrease-tier web speeds. but if you have Xfinity from either Cox or Comcast and need to supercharge your reference to more recent gigabit internet which you’ll need the blanketed DOCSIS three.1 to permit, or in case you’re effortlessly looking to future-proof your ageing home community, I’d wager it’s price the just a little excessive asking rate. The CM1000 is in reality the caviar of cable modems: A tasty luxury.

XR500 Nighthawk seasoned Gaming Router MSRP $299.ninety nine

I should say that my trusty Netgear Nighthawk R7000 has handled me neatly over the years, and honestly, it’s no shabby router with the aid of any stretch of the imagination: A graceful design, three adjustable antenna with remarkable wifi signal electricity and a host of ordinary firmware updates left little or no to complain about. however now that I’ve tried Netgear’s own Nighthawk professional Gaming XR500, it’d be basically complex to move lower back, as I consider like I’ve graduated to the networking large leagues.

The Nighthawk seasoned Gaming router has the entire general wireless network points we’ve all come to are expecting, together with 2.4GHz, 2.5GHz and visitor networks. There’s even a smart connect feature that unifies and intelligently varieties all incoming device connections beneath an single, automated SSID truly effortless, in reality. Don’t overlook Quad circulate and MU-MIMO for sooner all-around connections, and fancy beamforming know-how that gives extra-good instant indicators. additionally, there’s four antenna instead of my common three, which managed to enrich my instant connection speeds by way of about 20Mbps. Then there’s the extra gaming stuff, which is what makes the XR500 in reality stand out.

Netgear’s XR500 is a very solid option for hardcore gamers.credit score: Netgear

first of all, the main UI browser dashboard DumaOS lets you monitor actually every little thing happening on your network in real time: ordinary down load recreation, everyday add endeavor, ping, as well as the bandwidth utilization of each linked machine. that you could then go past that to the QoS, or first-rate of service, and dictate which devices ideally gaming consoles or PCs get to use essentially the most bandwidth at any given time. i will be able to see this coming in effortless for significant households where online gamers should coexist with heavy-usage Netflix and Hulu streamers. you can moreover utilize the Geo-Filter, which attracts up an international map that means that you can handle the space of on-line connections to multiplayer servers with the intention to curb lag. It’s a very amazing set of features that gifts some critically customizable options for committed gamers.

yes, it’s an expensive—and extreme, some would argue—networking accent geared pretty much totally toward the hardcore gaming market, but I consider that it hits the bullseye in terms of what that demographic wishes. It’s also a superb alternative for any person who simply wants greater authority over their home community. It’s having comprehensive agency over the Handmaid’s tale binge happening within the lounge while Fornite and Overwatch rages upstairs, all whereas somebody is watching queer ASMR videos on YouTube within the basement and a sit back-out Spotify combine plays within the backyard. My greatest grievance is that it doesn’t think love it expenses $300; i’d have preferred a pleasant metal casing as hostile to the cheap plastic Netgear selected to go together with. in all probability it become for overheating factors.

SX10 Nighthawk professional Gaming change MSRP $299.ninety nine

Rounding out the trio of premium Netgear hardware is one critically steeply-priced networking change. looking suspiciously just like the spaceship from ‘80s Disney sci-fi classic Flight of the Navigator, the SX10 in contrast to the XR500 completely looks like an elegant piece of kit to your arms. With superior metallic housing, it weighs in at just over three kilos, so we’re speaking definite doorstop fabric here. You understand, whatever that seems find it irresistible may effectively outlive the cockroaches. Such solid cloth may come across as overkill for something as practical as a swap, however I appreciate the consideration to aspect. Makes it tougher to by accident tug the device off a desk or leisure center.

covered onboard are 2 10GMulti-Gig ethernet ports, eight 1G ethernet ports, an entire bunch of customizable RGB LEDs and a physical button to manually flip the lights on and off. like the Nighthawk pro Gaming router, the SX10 has a stunning in-depth interface that means that you can absolutely customise your community journey. you have the vigor to manage each and every of the ten ports, so the rest wired directly to the switch is commence for bandwidth allocation. that you would be able to also alternate the hue of any LED gentle to your liking, whatever peculiarly effective for identifying definite online game consoles or PCs at a look. bear in mind that a type of 10 ports is reserved for connection to a cable modem or router.

The SX10 has a whole lot of ports and LEDs for total customization.credit score: Netgear

regardless of some salt-of-the-earth reliability, the SX10 is maybe the toughest Netgear contraption to suggest by itself, and not handiest as a result of the steep expense. It’s obviously a top quality piece of hardware with numerous alternate options game enthusiasts inquisitive about their wired ethernet have a lot to be enthusiastic about here, however it feels much greater like an augmentation to the XR500 than any form of standalone product. That’s no longer to claim you couldn’t use it fully independently of the aforementioned router and discover a ton of pleasant expend. I’m without difficulty seeing the SX10 as an unbeatable partner piece to an already rocking XR500 setup. possibly that’s nitpicky aesthetics, however there it’s. youngsters, if you do need to expand your wired ethernet options and choose to fork over the money for this sleek little manage container, you received’t be disappointed, not the least bit.

Netgear provided complimentary overview product for coverage purposes.

[mobileautorepairpros]

Road Tests: 2018 Audi A5/S5

Vital Statistics

2018 Audi S5 Sportback:

Engine: 3.0 liter

Horspower: 354

Torque: 369 lb-ft.

0-60 mph: 4.6 seconds

1/4 mile: 13.1 seconds @ 107 mph

EPA: 21 mpg city / 30 mpg highway

2018 Audi A5 Coupe:

Engine: 2.0 liter

Horsepower: 252

Torque: 273 lb-ft.

EPA: 24 mpg city / 34 mpg highway

With so many vehicles these days, choosing winners for our annual Drivers’ Choice Awards is usually pretty difficult. But one of the easiest we’ve made in recent years is our pick for 20-17’s best sport sedan, the Audi A4. It has the perfect play of luxury, technology, and of course performance. And, now, it’s time to see if Audi knows how to share the wealth.

The A4’s chassis is not only capable, it’s flexible, with more than enough beef to handle whatever Audi engineers feel like throwing into it. 

It was a given that Audi would follow up their latest A4 sedan with a coupe, and indeed they have, the 2018 Audi A5. 

But, what about an even more practical side of the car equation? Well, they’ve also added a fresh 5-door hatchback with more cargo flexibility. And, also offered it in a higher performance variety with true Grand Touring flair. That would be the 2018 Audi S5 Sportback. So, let’s start there.

We know that Audi’s S-line has always well-straddled that middle ground between the standard A cars and the ultra-high performance RS’. 

And, the S5quattro powertrain follows that creed to the letter. Its response is fantastic. Flog it, it goes; providing seamless power for seemingly days.     

The 3.0-liter turbo V6 that makes it happen is not new of course, but has been revised for ’18. Horsepower is up 21 to 354; torque climbs 44 lb-ft. to 369.

With the 5th door hatch, there’s wide open access to the Sportback’s 21.8 cu-ft. of luggage space. That’s 8.8 cu-ft. more than the sedan, and the space expands to 35.0 cu-ft. with the seatbacks folded. Coupe-like styling in hatchback form is nothing new to Audi, or any other European brand for that matter; as almost everything including SUVs, seems to boast a coupe-like profile these days.  

And, that slick shape also fit’s the S’ road handling profile. Under throttle, the S5 is very well balanced and yearning to go, almost like you’re holding it back when tooling around town. And, when we unleashed it at our test track; it reacted with such responsiveness through the turns, it seemed to be begging us for more. There’s still a mild understeer tendency, as we’ve found typical in quattros, standard on all Sportbacks, but very little body roll. The S’ new sport differential transfers power side to side quicker than before. It’s hard to say we could truly feel a difference, but nothing about this car is sluggish. 

And certainly that can be said of straight-line performance as well. The turbo V6 pays out a wealth of torque right from the get go; and quattro invests it wisely with a treasure trove of traction for getting off the line in a hurry. We hit 60 in 4.6-seconds. 

Audi’s 8-speed Tiptronic automatic handles gearing. Audi claims there’s not enough demand for a manual, and it’s getting harder and harder to argue with that. This auto fires hard and fast, taking us to the end of the ¼ in 13.1-seconds at 107 miles-per-hour. Well done! 

But, what about that true A5 two-door Coupe we mentioned earlier? Now, it may not have the practicality of the Sportback, or our test car’s S performance treatment, but it still takes the A4 design theme in a traditionally sporty direction. 

The A5 Coupe’s long wheelbase, exaggerated wheel arches, and power dome hood set the tone; while the tall and wide Audi Singleframe grille, slender headlights, and LED tail lights keep the family resemblance strong. 

This A5 Coupe, like the base Sportback, has a familiar 2.0-liter I4 turbo as  standard. Along with 252-horsepower comes 273 lb-ft. of torque. Also as in all Sportbacks, quattro all-wheel-drive is standard; but here a 6-speed manual transmission is available, as is a 7-speed DCT; same price for either. The Coupe may be less practical inside, but certainly no less comfortable or luxurious. With all of the high performance Audi’s we’ve driven lately, it was refreshing to spend some time in a volume model; and find the same light but confident steering, and potent turbo linked to an equally impressive transmission. 

Government Fuel Economy Ratings for the A5 Coupe automatic are 24-City, 34-Highway, and 27-Combined. Our average, a good 29.1 miles-per-gallon.

The S5 Sportback’s ratings are 21-City, 30-Highway, and 24-Combined; with our average an acceptable 22.3 miles-per-gallon. A5 Coupe Pricing starts at $43,775 for Premium trim, $6,800 over an A4 sedan. Sportback pricing starts at $43,575; $55,375 for an S5. 

Whether you’re looking for sporty luxury for two from the 2018 A5 Coupe, or more practicality and performance from the 2018 S5 Sportback, they make without a doubt, along with the A4, an unbeatable hand, and we’re all in.

from MotorWeek Entries http://ift.tt/2BKcuDf via IFTTT

[khutuluns-bow]

Upgrading Your online Gaming Setup With Netgear Hardware: Is It worth It?

Over the remaining 12 months, I’ve been seeking to vastly improve my on-line gaming setup. It’s not that my normal connection speeds have been principally sluggish or my far off interactions notably laggy. Multiplayer suits of Overwatch and Sea of Thieves ran well satisfactory, and most game downloads chugged along at a more than ideal pace unless i was on the pscommunity—why the insistent facts cap, Sony?.

https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ef526f65ac49db4546a28285817d2c28?s=400&d=mm&r=g

but right here’s the element: For a small whereas, i used to be paying for 250Mbps internet carrier and under no circumstances even getting close to that marketed speed. Most connection checks petered out at a measly 140Mbps, which isn’t the rest to scoff at, however I wasn’t getting what i used to be buying. After coping with that minor frustration, I knocked my plan down to 150Mbps and, to be quite sincere, nothing really changed. pace exams still stated a max of round 140Mbps.

bottom line was this: I simply knew that my hardware become distinctly old-fashioned and that definite improvements may be made that could trade my web journey for the improved, so I reached out to Netgear in an try and try a few of their more pleasing gaming-connected products. They have been form ample to send over three compelling items of hardware, and what follows is my sincere experience with each gadget.

CM1000 ultra-high pace Cable Modem MSRP $169.ninety nine

As i mentioned above, I’ve been getting around 140Mbps down load and 6Mbps add on a comparatively out of date Motorola SURFboard DOCSIS 3.0 modem. I think I’ve been the usage of that equal piece of hardware for round 10 years now, give or win, so I’d say I’m due for an improve. Enter Netgear’s DOCSIS three.1 beast, and what the container reproduction dubs as supplying the “World’s quickest Cable cyber web” at “up to 6Gbps downstream and 1.8Gbps upstream”. if you’re unusual with what DOCSIS 3.1 is, right here’s a good video describing the expertise. In a nutshell, it’s an up-to-date protocol that makes it possible for for fiber-caliber internet speeds over current cable web infrastructure. Granted, your web provider company must present that form of lightspeed option, and then you obviously deserve to be buying observed speed.

That observed, I’m not currently deciding to buy gigabit information superhighway I hope!, so i will’t verify that selected tier of service on this new modem, regrettably. however after tinkering around with things, what i will be able to say is that, strictly out of the container, the device in reality seems to have more suitable my network circumstance vastly. without even touching my historical router, I readily swapped out my SURFboard modem with the sparkling CM1000, had the cable business prompt it, and rapidly administered a wired ethernet velocity check. With simply the modem exchange on my own, my clocked speed went from 140Mbps to round 180Mbps—glorious damn amazing. upload velocity nevertheless hovered surprisingly low, around 6Mbps, although I believe that’s extra of an argument with my widespread carrier enviornment.

The CM1000 enables for some seriously quick cable internet speeds.credit: Netgear

since setting up, the CM1000 has delivered constant connection and speeds without any need to be rebooted, all while staying generally cool to the contact. For journalistic applications, I bumped my provider tier back up as much as 250Mbps simply to see how the modem would react, and now I’m getting a whopping 300Mbps ! down load. The upload speed doubled marginally to around 12Mbps, which I’ve read is more than sufficient for many high best gameplay streaming. I’d say this is all a whole lot proof that Netgear’s hardware will enhance whatever speeds you’re at present buying.

So the question becomes here: Does the average gamer want this cable modem? It pains me to claim it, however likely no longer. which you could fully nonetheless get by with more run-of-the-mill hardware, principally in case you’re simplest purchasing reduce-tier information superhighway speeds. but if you’ve got Xfinity from either Cox or Comcast and need to supercharge your reference to newer gigabit web which you’ll want the covered DOCSIS three.1 to enable, or if you’re comfortably seeking to future-proof your growing older domestic network, I’d wager it’s worth the a bit high asking expense. The CM1000 is in fact the caviar of cable modems: A tasty luxury.

XR500 Nighthawk pro Gaming Router MSRP $299.99

I need to say that my trusty Netgear Nighthawk R7000 has treated me well through the years, and honestly, it’s no shabby router by using any stretch of the creativeness: A sleek design, three adjustable antenna with outstanding wifi signal power and a number of average firmware updates left little or no to whinge about. but now that I’ve tried Netgear’s personal Nighthawk professional Gaming XR500, it’d be basically difficult to move returned, as I feel like I’ve graduated to the networking big leagues.

The Nighthawk seasoned Gaming router has the entire commonplace instant community elements we’ve all come to predict, together with 2.4GHz, 2.5GHz and guest networks. There’s even a wise connect feature that unifies and intelligently kinds all incoming machine connections beneath an single, automatic SSID really easy, basically. Don’t neglect Quad movement and MU-MIMO for faster all-round connections, and fancy beamforming know-how that gives added-sturdy instant indicators. also, there’s 4 antenna as a substitute of my ordinary three, which managed to increase my wireless connection speeds through about 20Mbps. Then there’s the extra gaming stuff, which is what makes the XR500 basically stand out.

Netgear’s XR500 is a extremely strong alternative for hardcore game enthusiasts.credit: Netgear

first off, the leading UI browser dashboard DumaOS lets you video display actually every little thing happening to your network in true time: familiar download undertaking, regular upload endeavor, ping, as smartly as the bandwidth usage of every related gadget. you can then go beyond that to the QoS, or exceptional of provider, and dictate which devices ideally gaming consoles or PCs get to make use of the most bandwidth at any given time. i will see this coming in effortless for gigantic families where online game enthusiasts should coexist with heavy-utilization Netflix and Hulu streamers. that you can additionally utilize the Geo-Filter, which draws up an international map that permits you to handle the distance of online connections to multiplayer servers with the intention to curb lag. It’s a very strong set of features that items some seriously customizable alternatives for dedicated gamers.

sure, it’s an expensive—and extreme, some would argue—networking accessory geared very nearly totally toward the hardcore gaming market, however I consider that it hits the bullseye in terms of what that demographic wishes. It’s additionally a brilliant choice for anyone who with no trouble wants more authority over their domestic network. It’s having finished company over the Handmaid’s tale binge occurring in the front room while Fornite and Overwatch rages upstairs, all whereas a person is looking at unique ASMR videos on YouTube within the basement and a relax-out Spotify combine plays in the backyard. My largest grievance is that it doesn’t feel adore it charges $300; i would have favored a pleasant metal casing as opposed to the inexpensive plastic Netgear selected to go together with. most likely it become for overheating motives.

SX10 Nighthawk pro Gaming switch MSRP $299.ninety nine

Rounding out the trio of top rate Netgear hardware is one severely costly networking swap. searching suspiciously just like the spaceship from ‘80s Disney sci-fi traditional Flight of the Navigator, the SX10 in contrast to the XR500 absolutely feels like an elegant piece of package in your arms. With most desirable metal housing, it weighs in at simply over three kilos, so we’re speakme particular doorstop material here. You understand, whatever thing that seems like it may without problems outlive the cockroaches. Such solid material may come throughout as overkill for some thing as functional as a switch, however I recognize the attention to element. Makes it more durable to accidentally tug the machine off a desk or enjoyment core.

included onboard are 2 10GMulti-Gig ethernet ports, eight 1G ethernet ports, a whole bunch of customizable RGB LEDs and a actual button to manually turn the lights on and off. like the Nighthawk pro Gaming router, the SX10 has a pretty in-depth interface that allows you to completely customize your community experience. you’ve got the energy to manage each and every of the ten ports, so the rest wired without delay to the swap is originate for bandwidth allocation. you can additionally alternate the hue of any LED mild to your liking, something exceptionally positive for making a choice on definite online game consoles or PCs at a look. take into account that one of those 10 ports is reserved for connection to a cable modem or router.

The SX10 has loads of ports and LEDs for complete customization.credit: Netgear

despite some salt-of-the-earth reliability, the SX10 is probably the hardest Netgear contraption to advocate by itself, and never only on account of the steep cost. It’s without doubt a top quality piece of hardware with a whole lot of options game enthusiasts eager about their wired ethernet have a whole lot to be excited about right here, nonetheless it feels tons more like an augmentation to the XR500 than any type of standalone product. That’s now not to claim you couldn’t use it fully independently of the aforementioned router and discover a ton of quality exercise. I’m with ease seeing the SX10 as an unbeatable associate piece to an already rocking XR500 setup. probably that’s nitpicky aesthetics, but there it’s. youngsters, in case you do deserve to extend your wired ethernet alternatives and decide to fork over the money for this sleek little manage box, you gained’t be dissatisfied, not the least bit.

Netgear supplied complimentary overview product for insurance applications.