#what happened to gin rummy?

[roseofhybrids]

I can't recall if I ever went on a ramble about a MD head canon I have (I feel like I have, but maybe I've just thought about it so often that I've convinced myself I've made a post about it. Either way, let us endulge in the fixation)

it's about the worker drones' simultaneous crippling fear of the disassembly drones and general indifference to death.

Here's a cut because this ended up way longer than I thought it would-

Just about every worker drone is terrified of the murder drones (reasonably so, as they can peel one of them open like a mechanical orange) and yet in spite of this, they show a blatant disregard for safety once the sky demons are out of sight.

First two times we see something like this happen is when Khan lets Uzi go outside at night to "look at the door hydraulics" and later when the WDF guard corrects N on the name gin rummy instead of running for his life. Now, maybe Khan was too excited about Uzi showing an interest in doors to think about the potential danger, and maybe worker drones are big dumb dumbs most of the time.

But then you have situations like in the promening and cabin fever where groups of drones will initially show fear before quickly relaxing around the murder machines. They go from shaking in fear after watching one of their classmates being shot to offering friendship and poking one of them in the face in mere minutes.

So, why do they go from terrified to unbothered so fast.

Well, we know the drones on Copper 9 were mostly used for mining, a dangerous job that can have deadly accidents even when human safety standards are in place. So, JCJenson has to program these drones to dig up the ore, carry it to the surface, process it, et cetera. Building and repairing robots costs money, so ideally you'd want to minimize them getting damaged in the most cost-effective way possible. Safety measures decrease production and safety equipment costs money, so what are they to do?

My head canon/theory is that they programmed the drones to avoid situations that will damage themselves. Something to stop them from walking into pits and sticking their heads between moving gears. So if a drone sees another drone get broken by something, they're programmed to avoid the thing that lead to their buddy getting killed. See another drone get crushed by a rock? Avoid loose boulders. See another drone fall into a smelter? Avoid moving along the edge of the catwalk. And so on and so forth.

But you don't want them to be too careful. After all, if you program them with too much anxiety they'll be too scared to work, which will decrease production. So they also programmed them to proceed if they see that there's no immediate danger. Sure, three drones fell into a sinkhole in this area last month, but Steve's standing over there and not falling into the ground, so it must be safe. With this, also comes an explanation for their indifference to death, even when it happens to friends or family. If a drone grieves losing a coworker, then they won't work as well. So once the initial fear of seeing another being breaking passes, they move on and get back to setting off explosions (standing a few extra feet away this time).

Going back to the scenes from The Prommening and Cabin Fever-

The crowd is initially scared of V when she drops in. But when Lizzy explains that they're friends and insists that they "forgive and forget" they go right to clapping and cheering. As soon as the known threat proves to be safe, the fear switches off.

Cabin Fever is an even better example. They've all just watched V shoot another drone. N acts very friendly, but they remain afraid. That is, until Lizzy and Thad move to stand next to the two murder drones. They see the two not die by doing this, and immediately the entire group relaxes and are soon treating N and V as though they're just your run-of-the-mill drone. The worker teens only show fear again when they do something that could threaten them. Such as at the archery range when V points the bow at them.

They show similar behavior around Uzi that episode as well. When ever her presence is brought to their attention, there's visible fear. This makes sense with her past behavior in mind. Railgun exploding in class, taking over classmate's sentience, general violence. She's proven to be a potential danger, and so they're afraid when first seeing her. When she doesn't immediately do anything to harm another drone, they soon calm down to the point that they forget she even exists. She makes herself known when the bus arrives at camp Fear till their attention is drawn to the teacher and then the murder drones She shows up at the archery range and arrow into a flesh beast Fear until she runs away, name then forgotten She rips a drone's head off and pauses for dramatic effect In those few seconds of not killing her, Lizzy switches from afraid to criticizing her

It's like once the "threat" is resolved, their brains determine she isn't worth focusing on to the point of the drones forgetting her name. (In particular, Lizzy is really unbothered by almost getting killed in that episode. Possibly because she's been spending time with V? A sort of desensitization)

After all, if another drone isn't a danger, and they aren't working alongside them (not in the same mining team, not in the same clique) it isn't worth it to have info on them and tosses it to the recycling bin.

We see the solver drones and disassembly drones break this line of behavior. Along with Khan, Thad, and Lizzy to an extent. (Which, in all fairness, could just be main character privileges)

Khan of course shows to still care about Nori's death years after the fact, as well as concern about Uzi leaving at the end of the pilot. I think it's worth noting how the other WDF members in episode 2 react to him prioritizing Uzi over building a door. Calling the idea "cringe" and displaying general annoyance and sickness at the idea. Is it just because it's Khan and Uzi, or do drones just see anyone putting family over work as strange?

Thad isn't afraid of Uzi and doesn't have a negative view of her like the other teenage drones. Has he not witnessed her "shenanigans" or is he just braver and kinder than most drones? He isn't afraid of N in episode 2, but, as he says himself, N helped save his life. He also shows some concern for other drones dying when he mentions the disappearances to Uzi in Heartbeat.

Lizzy has also shown to be braver than most drones. Little fear around Uzi, was able to hang around with V long enough to set up the prom scheme, helped Doll set up said prom scheme despite Doll doing a bunch of murdering, willingness to just walk up to J and trying to punch her. Her being around V and Doll would suggest she doesn't have the same concern about other drones dying the way Thad does. But that could just be her putting up a front. Perhaps we'll get to see a little more in episode 8.

Hope anyone who read through all this found at least some enjoyment in doing so. I thought this would be, like, 3 short paragraphs tops, but now there's a little over 1200 words.

[roseshewrites]

Honestly, my Hazbin chapter stories haven't been doing as well as my one shots, so I need validation that if I eventually finish this RadioApple (eventual Mpreg) slowburn people will actually like it. Give me courage, people, I'm begging you 🥲

This is just one chapter from the middle of my unpublished story:

~A Golden Piece of You~

Alastor didn't understand how it happened, but the little king had somehow wormed his way into his psyche and it was quite annoying. Ever since that night Lucifer got silly drunk. 

Angel Dust had somehow looped him into several games of gin rummy with Husker and Lucifer which they played well into the evening till Angel was a slightly giggling mess and Lucifer himself was headed in that direction fast. Alastor nursed a cherry martini and watched the proceedings with an increasing sense of amusement. 

"Take a shot every time Alastor says something sarcastic," Angel was wheezing. 

"Take a shot every time Angel says something sexual," Lucifer responded. 

"NO. That's every other sentence. He moans in his sleep," Husker said, scooting back to avoid a tipsy Angel who had tried to kick him and missed.

Alastor, the only one besides Husker actually still playing, laid down his perfect hand and announced his straight. 

"Gin." 

"No fair asshole, how'd you get all the fuckin hearts??" 

"I paid attention to my hand unlike you, And I can plainly see all your cards. For someone with two sets of arms you're horrible at concealing them." 

"Shot," Lucifer whispered, then chuckled, and took one.

"You could have knocked three turns ago." 

"Quit peepin' at my hand mothafuckah!"

The game went on like this till everybody, even Husk, who had a stamina for card games, tired of Alastor winning nearly every round and rose from the circular table in front of the bar to go to bed. 

All except Lucifer, who stood up and immediately knocked over a chair, then followed it to the floor himself attempting to right it. 

"Oh this is fuckin hilarious," Angel whipped his cell phone from his chest poof and snapped a photo before Husker could stop him. 

"For my personal collection," Angel said fondly. 

Alastor, who had been putting away the cards, glanced to Husker, who shrugged, going, "I've got this one," gesturing to Angel, "He's all yours." 

"Yours can actually handle his liquor," Alastor returned. "And I am not claiming responsibility for him. Thank you." 

"All seven of you are terrible," Lucifer giggled from the floor, "Why are you letting the room spinnnnn?"

 

Angel was silently counting on his fingers, "How many extra of each one of us is he referring to do yah think?" 

"Oh for heaven's sake," Alastor said irritably, tossing the envelope of cards onto the table and striding over to help Lucifer to his feet, who was snickering helplessly as Angel held up a few of his arms and said, "Hey, how many fingers am I holding up?" 

"Fuh-fifteen," Lucifer said. "Holy shit. WhyDoYouHaveSoMany?" 

"You are going to have to actually stand up, Lucifer," Alastor said impatiently, while supporting him from underneath an armpit.

"Actually he was right. I was holding up fifteen," Angel grinned, watching as Alastor struggled to hold upright a limp and giggling King of Hell. The radio demon rolled his eyes. 

"His room is on the opposite end of the hotel," Husker said, "So uh, good luck with that," and smirking, tugged off a protesting Angel to leave Alastor with.. 

This thing.

"When did you get so fuckin' sexyy?" Lucifer was saying, his chin on Alastor's lower shoulder. 

Oh, clouds above... 

"Perhaps somewhere around your tenth shot," Alastor snapped. "Come on." 

"Kay." 

Tempted to simply bodily drag him through the hotel, but wary of what Charlie would say if she happened to see him treating her father like a sack of potatoes, Alastor settled with just hauling him along while Lucifer complained, "You walk too fasttt." 

"Well then keep up. And you'd best sober up fast because Miss Mcmillan's fiance is arriving tomorrow to scope out rooms for her wedding venue. And we actually want her to choose the hotel, remember?" 

"OhFuckThat'sTomorrow." 

He sighed. "Yes, Lucifer." 

"My daughter will be....piiiiissed if I'm not there for that.." 

"Exactly." 

"I love her so much, Alastor. That's my baby girl. I'm so proud of her..." 

..."I know." 

Finally, silence. But not for long. Lucifer said, "Do you even care for her? Huh? What are your intentions with her, and her hotel anyways..... 'Cause I can't get a vibe from you and it drives me insane." 

Alastor, finally realizing Lucifer could stand on his own now without support, propped him by his bedroom door and was about to just leave him to go to his own room when a thought hit him, and he turned back around. 

"Wait a moment, will you repeat that last part for me?" 

Lucifer stood on tiptoe to get in Alastor's face, poking him on the chest, "You heard me. You. Drive me. Insane." - each stop in his sentence punctuated by another poke to the chest.

Alastor was grinning, looming over him, "Do I, now? In what way?" 

He was taking in Lucifer's appearance now, how his already flushed cheeks were casted with a deep golden, noting his body language like how he leaned into Alastor.

Leaning in, not even cringing at his closeness. 

Interesting. 

"In every way imaginable," Lucifer glared, "-You. I mean- one minute you actually have a heart, then-" 

"Then what?~" 

"You go and- do something so *evil*, and downright idiotic-" 

"Oh, do go on." 

"I just, it makes me *crazy*, it makes me want to *throat punch* you, it makes me- ah, fuck what the hell." 

Before Alastor could respond to any of this, Lucifer threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. 

When their lips connected Alastor made a noise of protest and tried to break it; but surprisingly strong, Lucifer held on to him, drawing him in by the lapels of his jacket, and Alastor, though shocked, was surprised that he found himself pinning Lucifer against the wall, kissing him back, feeling those hot soft lips against his, the small hands curling in his hair, a hint of tongue, and-

Oh, no. He couldn't do this. Absolutely not. Lucifer was drunk off his ass.

He pried Lucifer's hands away from him with some effort and broke the kiss, growling, "Now see, *that* was an idiotic move on your part." 

Lucifer's breath was hot on his cheek. "You kissed me back. So who's the idiot?" 

"You are drunk. I cannot take advantage of that." 

"Then why are you still here?"

For some reason, Lucifer's unexpected act had completely frozen him in place. He felt a bit unable to move or think. 

Finally, after staring each other down for what seemed an eternity, Alastor was able to make himself back away and turn around to leave.

"For your information," he said,

"I

intend to draw patrons in to the hotel. My intentions with Charlie are to make sure she is set up for success; which I cannot do if I stick around to listen to your drunk ramblings. Good night, Lucifer." 

And he walked off. 

~ 

What a splitting headache. 

Lucifer, his head pounding, made his way to one of the many hotel kitchens and brewed some coffee there, still buttoning his vest up and tying his bowtie, checking his reflection in a nearby metal toaster to make sure that his hair wasn't too bird nested. 

"Good morning, dad!!!!" Charlie busted into the door, making him jump and cringe. She was singing away, and remarked, "Ooh, coffee" 

Now that his daughter was around, it was time to slide into a role that didn't involve feeling like a groggy piece of shit. Lucifer forced a stupid grin, and said, "Morning, sunshine!"

Charlie hummed and did a little butt wiggle while she poured her own coffee then began scrimmaging around in the cabinets for a poptart. Someone else pushed their way into the room and opened the fridge. Jeez, was this the only stocked kitchen in the entire hotel?

Last night. ...He wasn't sure if he'd dreamed it or not. Pouring creamer into his coffee, and while Charlie's back was turned, he allowed his mind to wander and nudged through the mists of blackout that was the night before. 

He had been playing gin rummy with Husker, Angel and Alastor; yeah, that checked out. He remembered laughing a lot.

He inwardly cringed. He'd done a lot of laughing about dumb shit. After that things had gotten a bit blurry. Had someone helped him to his room? He thought he remembered that, at least. 

"Mornin', Aluhfter!" He heard Charlie say through a mouthful of poptart. 

Lucifer nearly dropped the creamer on the floor. As it was, it fell over on the counter anyway, and he ended up having to dust powder from the surface into a napkin and toss it into a nearby trash can. 

Alastor had helped him to his room. 

"Good morning, Darling. Don't speak with your mouth full. You'll get crumbs on the floor." 

"Right! Shorry! I mean" she gulped, "Sorry. Manners. You're right. You ready for this afternoon?" 

While they spoke about hotel plans, Lucifer continued cleaning up an invisible mess that had been clean several minutes prior, and oh shit, he had to escape the room somehow but could he do that without making eye contact with- 

He turned around and came face to face with Alastor. 

"Uhh" 

Dammit, upon scoping the room for an out, he realized Charlie had already left. 

The radio demon was grinning, as he always was. 

"Good morning ~," he purred, "Sleep well?" 

"Y-yeah, sure did," Lucifer was edging his way to the door, coffee in hand, reaching for his hat which he had plopped onto the counter before fixing his bowtie. Gah, the brim was covered in coffee cream powder. Shit. And his hat apple was missing. 

Alastor had helped him to his room, and that kiss - had not, in fact, been a dream. He remembered it all now. 

"So if you'll excuse me- hey, where did you get that apple?" 

"Oh this?" 

Alastor was tossing the fruit in the air, catching it, "I needed it for my breakfast. Hope you don't mind." 

Lucifer glared, "So that's where all my hat apples have been going." 

Alastor examined the fruit, holding up a hand as if to say 'excuse me', grabbed a knife from beside the sink and sliced it in half.

"On second thought, you can have this half of it back."

Lucifer was finding a whole lot of trouble getting pissed off right now as Alastor stuck the apple half back onto its place in Lucifer's hat brim. 

"Um. Alastor? Did I...?" He cringed inwardly, "Did I do anything embarrassing last night..?" 

"Hmm. No more than usual. You've got coffee creamer on your boots, by the way." 

Okay, there was no way Alastor didn't remember the kiss. The way he had kissed him back, Lucifer thought surely...

Maybe there could have been something there. 

Alastor winked, "Better get cleaned up before our guests arrive, Applesauce.~" 

The radio demon took the hat from his hands, placed it on Lucifer's head, then gave it a fond little pat, making coffee creamer snow down to the floor. 

"Tata." 

"Ugh, you can fucking have the rest of this apple, you nut case!" Lucifer yanked it off his hat and tossed it in Alastor's direction, but the radio demon was already halfway through the door, and it just hit the wood and bounced to the floor. He could hear Alastor cackling madly. 

"Fuck," Lucifer said aloud to the empty room, "God dammit."

[familyvideostevie]

ahem omw with a request for you <33

can I request a rainy day with bradley bradshaw pls? likee all their plans get cancelled and he's way more excited than he should just because he can spend the whole day with his gf playing board/card games, watching movies, cuddling, cooking or whatever he wants (aka whatever you, the amazing writer, have in mind)

oh baby you are speaking my language! i love this! he's so on the go i think he'd love a day to relax and he'd be quite good at it if given the space to. this is maybe a bit simpler than you wanted, but hope you enjoy anyway! | fluff, 0.7k

You're having a really nice dream. Bradley's voice is soft, gentle as he says your name, sings it, laughs around it. His lips trail a line of gentle kisses from your ear to your nose, over both eyes and finally down to your lips --

"Baby," he says, thick with sleep. "Wake up. It's raining."

As if on cue, thunder rumbles and Bradley's hold on you tightens. It takes great effort to open your eyes but you manage and twist in his arms until you find his face. He smiles at you and kisses your nose, his mustache tickling your skin.

"Hello," you mumble.

"Hi," he says back. You take a few moments to process what he's said before finding the words.

"Does that mean no hike?" He nods, his hand sliding beneath your sleep shirt to rest on your lower back. He's so warm.

"No hike," he says. You rub your eyes.

"You got a plan B, Lieutenant?"

Today was meant to be a date organized by Bradley. A drive through somewhere beautiful to a hike that would take you somewhere even more beautiful and then lunch. He's been excited about it all week and as your brain catches up with what's happening you're a bit disappointed on his behalf.

"Not as exciting as plan A, but I do."

Your eyes slide closed and you sandwich your knee between his legs. "Tell me more."

Bradley traces the lines of your face with one long finger as he talks. "We can play cards," he murmurs. "I need to reclaim my gin rummy title." You huff a laugh. He's a sore loser. "I'll make you breakfast or we can order from that bagel place."

"And make some poor teenager bike it over in the rain?"

"I'll tip a lot." You can't see him but you can hear his smile. It's a gorgeous smile, a soft one, one that drew you to him the very first time you met. Bradley is loud, he's good at being the center of attention, he's intense, he's magnetic. But there's a softness, a tenderness to him that takes your breath away.

"What else?"

"We can just relax. Nap on the couch, watch a whole season of a TV show. Hey, don't fall asleep again --"

"I'm not," you huff. You open your eyes and twist your body so that you're on top of him. He grunts but allows it as you straddle him lightly. "Are you suggesting we have a relaxing day?"

There's that grin again. "I guess I am." You bury your face in his neck.

"Never thought I'd see the day." He's all go go go, your boyfriend. He's always planning for something, worrying about something, spinning about ten plates in the air. But you know that given the chance he really does enjoy slowing down and letting all of that cease for even just a day.

Thunder rumbles again. He wraps his arms around you and you sink impossibly further into him. "I'm sorry we don't have days like this often," he says softly.

"The day hasn't even started yet." He squeezes your hip. "But don't apologize, Bradley. I'll take you any way I can get you."

"I know," he says. "I do want us to go on that hike sometime, by the way." You groan. "No, listen, it's because I can't die without seeing you see that view for the first time. It's really amazing."

You pull away from him and smooth the hair from his face, trace the lines at the corners of his eyes. So much hardship, so much tragedy, and he's still got smile lines. "This view is pretty amazing, too."

He flushes. Confident as he is, soft words in your bedroom seem to undo him. He's told you that he feels most himself when you're looking at him because you see him. You feel the same.

"Tell me about it." He cups the back of your neck and pulls you down for a proper kiss, slotting his lips with yours and tracing the seam with his tongue. "I love you," he says. "Thank you for dealing with me."

You huff. As if it's a hardship. "I love you back. Let's go order bagels."

He springs out of bed without another word, you in his arms, and laughs as you yelp all the way to the kitchen.

thank you for reading <3 reblog, send feedback, general masterlist here!

[keyforshort]

Dimension 20 Live Highlights

*Spoilers*

Cast was;

Murph - Riz/Kugrash

Emily - Ylfa (Jet cameo)

Zac- Pib (Pis)

Ally - Kristen

Siobhan - Ruby

Setting - Unsleeping City

Pib oneshotting Don Confetti by eating him and becoming the new Don

Yfla and Ruby immediately play fighting but also kinda real fighting and being unsure of what was happening

Pib: "Wait am I the adult here?"

Pib and Ylfa both thinking the Bodega was Ylfa's grandmas apartment

Ruby commanding the sweets aisle

Lemone coming to life and Gilear (who was a table) making him his bitch

Epona holding a table at gun point and Riz not reacting until remembering it was Gilear

Pib pretending hes a New York native

Riz almost getting oneshot by a disintegration ray until zac reminded him of uncanny dodge, and then getting swapped out for Kug anyway

Riz's reaction to gettting disintegrated was just "ow"

Kug and Pib going for each other almost immediately (I didnt realise Riz had left because Murph started hissing)

Ylfa trying to play Gin Rummy with everyone she meets

Ylfa beating La Gran Gata at Gin Rummy

Pib and La Gran Gata having the most instant flirty energy

Ruby asking everyone if they're Ceresian and Ylfa thinking she means lesbian

Ruby being Ylfa's lesbian awakening

Wally thinking he's in Die Hard

Ylfa holding Chunggledown Bim's ass cheeks closed like a vice

Kristen elbow dropping table Gilear because she misunderstood a plan

Pib getting shoes and renaming himself Pis (and regretting it immediately because the audience would not let it go)

Pissandra

YLFA ADOPTING AURORA NEBBINS

Kugrash kept turning people into reverse centaurs

Aguefort saying "You guys do the plan, while me and Babayaga do something else" "what?" "SOMETHING ELSE"

Chungledown Bim getting a nat 1, Siobhan getting up and spinning in a circle celebrating like 10 times before realising no one else got up at all

CDB getting another catastrophic failure, Brennan sitting on the floor in reaction to it

The cameramen struggling to get Ally in frame when they all got on tbe floor together. Finally getting them in frame and then they FUCKING MOVED AGAIN

La Gran Gata calling him Pib, the audience yelling "Pis!" And the LGG going "No, PUSS IN BED MOTHERFUCKERS"

Jet lives

Will add more if I think of them

[ohsunnyboy]

far from here (part 2) | sung hanbin ˚₊‧⁺˖

you had quite different plans for tonight, but it can't get much better than being snuggled up to sung hanbin

SERIES: a night in monaco — one, two

TAGS: sorta established relationship, gn!reader, kissing, falling in love, only one bed, overall fluff!!!

A/N: i love card games and i also love sung hanbin so here we are with a part 2 after demand. as always, purely self-indulgent and cute as usual.

WORDS: ~600, EXTRA: gin rummy rules!

"Hanbin!"

Tangled up in the sheets with Sung Hanbin is honestly what you expected after all that happened earlier. You can still taste tiramisu on his lips each time he swoops in for a kiss and it still tastes just as sweet as it did the first time.

It goes without saying that you already knew the boy was trouble wrapped in a tailored suit but were you really expecting this?

"Gin!" The excitement almost launching him tumbling off the bed as he shouts it. "Four kings, three flush spades and three flush hearts!"

Hanbin throws down his meld plus his discard card - a queen of hearts - onto the bed space between you two and looks at you with stars in his eyes. It's easy to forget your own disappointing meld - two queens, and an attempted club flush -  when Hanbin’s eye smile melts all your thoughts away.

“I still win overall though!” you argue, but he just shakes his head and adds another point to his tally.

It's been a long day... or night actually. If you look a little behind Hanbin, you could probably see the clock just hit one in the morning.

After everything at the restaurant, you two ran off into your hotel, all giggly and all the more love drunk. The kiss, turned to two, and maybe into three more, each just as enthusiastic as the last.

May I steal your night? until he's stolen a couple more kisses to boot.

What a gentleman thief, you tease. And all he does is shut you up with another peck on the lips.

It was easy to agree to stick to just kissing; you’ve seen how he looks at you. From the restaurant to now, you know there might be a future far from here, where it’s your wedding bells this time. Only fools rush in, rings true in your mind and it would be remiss to not listen.

As for how you both ended up playing cards? No one really knows. You both crashed into the dresser and the pack of cards just spilled out, asking to be played by the two most competitive people on the planet.

Shouting gin and counting scores quickly sobers up anyone's night in spite of the wine.

Instead of the sounds of shuffling cards for another round, it’s the sound of the sheets, twisting and folding, as Hanbin curls up against you. With you two piled up in this bed for one, it almost an impossible fit: both your limbs careful not to poke and prod. It’s undeniable that the heat is getting to you, the way you melt against him, and how your guard falls away bit by bit.

Maddening is the only way to put it. This sensory overload of Hanbin. From his long worn off expensive cologne, the way he hums from time to time and the fidget of his hands, tapping from here to there. It feels like you’ve found out everything about him, and him with you as well. 

Hanbin's lips press against your neck, teasing at your pulse and nosing behind your ear. "Winner gets a kiss.” It’s said so smugly you can practically hear the smirk. A heat travels up your throat as he whispers it into you.

"Says who?" when you say it, it comes out even more exhausted than you'd ever like to admit. You could never deny him, not with that easy smile and that look in his eyes.

"Says me," trouble murmurs.

Slow and relaxed, he cups your face and drags you in for a kiss. Just as sweet and mischievous as ever.

turns out i can never follow an upload schedule hehe tysm for reading <33 a like and reblog would be good if you enjoyed ! ⭒ masterlist ⭒ part one <-

[thestalwartheart]

26 for Bond and Dench!M please ❣️

Omg thank you for this one my friend!!!

26. What they would do if stuck in an elevator with [insert character of your choice from the same fandom]

THE FIRST HOUR

Arguing. So much arguing. M is convinced this would never have happened if she wasn’t with Bond. He’s always been disaster prone. Bond tells her she ought to have put less money into hiring paper pushers and more into building maintenance.

Fortunately, both of them are solution-minded. M presses the communication button and evicerates the person who is unfortunate enough to be on the other end of the line. (She’s more reasonable once they put Tanner on.) Meanwhile, Bond is trying to break through the ceiling of the lift until M eventually tells him to stop it, for heavens sake, he’s only giving her a headache. And in any case, if he expects her to climb on top of a lift, and crawl up a lift shaft, he’s more of an idiot than she’s ever given him credit for. No, she’ll get out of this with her dignity in tact, thank you very much.

They sit on the floor in surly silence.

THE SECOND HOUR

M takes off her shoes. She tells Bond if he’s offended by this then she should argue with god himself for ageing her. Bond takes off his jacket.

From his pocket, he produces a pack of cards and suggests a game of poker. M admits to never having played. She calls it a game for hustlers and fools.

They play five rounds of gin rummy instead. They’re very careful about it, too, since the cards were issued to him in Q Branch.

THE THIRD HOUR

They should talk about Bond’s upcoming mission, probably.

They do not.

Neither Bond nor M’s phones have signal. The PM will be beside himself, but M just smiles about that. It’ll be character building, and Christ knows he could use a bit of character.

It’s possible Bond’s already thrown his own phone down the lift shaft.

Then, warning Bond not to say a word about her habits, M produces a hip flask filled with bourbon. Bond raises an eyebrow but says nothing. He takes a swig. She takes a bigger one. Says it’s the only way to get through being stuck in a confined space with him.

They are both very mildly drunk by the end of the hour, but M draws the line at drinking more. She notes this will get both confronting and unladylike if she has to do this much longer.

Bond offers her his shoes in service of an emergency.

M reminds Bond she’s a terrible shot, so if he breathes a word to anyone about any potential unsavoury bodily functions, she’ll aim for his knees and get his balls.

THE FOURTH HOUR

[CONVERSATION REDACTED]

Four hours and forty minutes in, they are both glassy-eyed and stuck in remembrances that are full of equal amounts of humour and sadness.

And then, freedom. They school their faces into the usual masks, put their shoes on, and vow never to do this again. M’s phone makes a cacophonous racket as she exits the lift. She hands it to Bond and tells him to use it for target practice.

—

I hope you enjoyed my take on this ask! It was such a delight to write about ❤️

[edupiii]

The other night I went on a tangent to my friends about the music in Murder Drones and how it’s hard to compare the albums since they are each amazing in their own ways. Despite this, my friend insisted that I compare them, so I did. After writing everything out, she said I should post it so that’s what’s happening!

Welcome to an informal essay about the music in Murder Drones

In this essay, I will be going over the 4 albums created by A.J Dispirito and the strengths within each album. This essay is to show that the music between the albums is unable to be compared to one another as they are all astounding and work wonders for the atmosphere of the overall show.

Feel free to disagree with me and let me know your thoughts!

Murder Drones Pilot Mini-Album

The pilots album could be considered the weakest of the 4. It doesn’t have that many tracks that are reused throughout the other episodes. BUT- it is very strong as it has “Murder Brings” which is the trailer song for the pilot and it’s kind of a banger. I find it not as good as “Eternal Dream” “BITE ME” and “FOREVER” but it’s still super fucking good. In the first album we also have “Click”, “Gin Rummy”, “UZI THE DRONE KILLER” and “Goth Girl Anime Lover VS Wholesome Killer Boy” which are all very good songs that get you hyped for fight scenes. There are a few more mellow songs in the pilot’s album, making it not stand out as much. Despite that, it is also the very album that brought us the iconic Murder Drones theme music, which has been a staple in all future songs throughout the series. It’s not looked at as much as the other albums but it worked for the pilot and that’s all it really needed to do. It was good and is still good.

Murder Drones Volume 1

Next is the first official MD album. Once again, it can be overlooked like the pilots soundtrack since it doesn’t have super gut punchy, kick assy music. HOWEVER- it has a very eerie tone to it since it’s going over the second episode (with the Eldritch J monster) and it takes place in Dolls Room which is scary as fuck. It also gives us a few really good adrenaline pumping songs like “Aaaaahhh”. The song Bathtub” is in this album and it is spooky and intense which I love! Classic horror vibes. We also get “Uuugghhh” in this album which is possibly one of my favourites since it keeps going from energetic to spooky and I find that really funny for some reason (also the scenes this song was used for is hilarious). “Get Prommed” and “The Knife Dance” are INCREDIBLY ICONIC and have that addicting saxophone in it along with lots of grove. I really like “Spooky Flashback? oooooo” since it gives us a first look at the Elliot Manor and what kind of music we will be hearing in the 5th episode. Mind you, it’s not as good as the songs in the 5th episode but for foreshadowing, I think it works beautifully as it just gives us a small idea of what the manor was like for N, V and J. I think the first album is often overlooked but just like the pilot album, it has some wicked shit in it that you can’t ignore.

Murder Drones Volume 2

The second album I think might be my favourite because of the music used for the Elliot Manor flashbacks. There’s something so saddening and cold yet cheerful about them that I just cant shake and I adore them. It’s most definitely the soft piano that does it for me. Im a whore for soft piano music. We also have “Falling…For You??”, “Gentle” and “huggie wuggies” which PULL on my heart strings. The mellow music in this album is so well done and make me weep like a small child. DONT GET ME STARTED ON ETERNAL DREAM- I could write an entirely different essay just on that song alone and its relation to V’s entire character, however, I’m pretty sure that has already been done by many more qualified people than myself so you may go read those.

Then we’ve got the scary music in this album, which is a HUGE leap forward compared to the pilots album and the first album. Songs like “Solver Uzi”, “Heh, Nothing Personal Kid”, “SENTINEL 000D”, “…wow…ok THATS Pretty Dark” “literally just noise (your favourite)” and “Earth” are all phenomenal songs that give the spooks and scares. They are eerie and are drenched in anticipation for what is going to happen next. They give so much emphasis on the danger that these characters are in and can make you feel the same way. They freak you out and that is their job. Personal bias to the second album but it is phenomenal. I feel like people might not listen to the softer music in it which I totally understand, but I love it a lot.

Murder Drones Volume 3

And finally, we have the third album.

To start off, this shit goes incredibly hard with its scary stuff. They injected some sort of chemical into this album. I think it might be the chimes and whispers and church music. They added more eerie sounds in this album and I LOVE IT so much. The album starts STRONG with “When you forget to pray” which is so scary and gross and eerie, I love her. It fit the church scene so well and the song itself is disgustingly horrendous with its churchy vibes yet it makes them sound anything but holy. “Callback Ping”, “Absolute Solver” “…Hey guys, just wanted to say what’s up” and “……run” are TERRIFYING! nothing more can be said about those other than that. They scare the shit out of me and I can’t deal with that. Im pretty sure there is screaming in these ones as well, so that adds to the charm of spook. “Die Mad” is a bit spooky but it GOES SO HARD. UNREASONABLY HARD. But then it gets all soft and sad and makes me weep.

Speaking of weeping; “Hang Out?” and “Falling With You” MAKE ME WANNA KILL MYSELF. YHEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH AND I LOVE THEM SO MUCH AAGUUUUUGHHHH-

And finally, the kick ass shit in this album is probably what defines it from the others. Each album has eeriness to them or a few songs that get you pumped; but this album? We’ve got “Eternal DESTROYER” 3 different versions of “BITE ME”, “…Uzi and N: The Drone Killers”, and “YOU’RE FREAKIN’ GROUNDED” which all are such good fighting songs and get you hyped up. They are the songs that get YOU wanting to kick ass, and I love it.

Like the others, there is a few mellow songs in this album, but not a ton. “FOREVER”, “ur aight”, and “haha yea dude, that’s sick” are all very good songs since they take place during scenes of walking or talking, not really any big action. Despite that they are all chillish and are incredibly catchy, they all still carry that eerie feeling that something isn’t right and that’s perfect for the series since we continuously know that something isn’t right.

In conclusion, all 4 of the albums created for the Murder Drones series are incredible in different ways. They each have strengths as well as songs that stand out. I wouldn’t say that one is better than the other since they all have songs that fit the episodes that they premiered in. A.J Dispirito has been very consistent with the quality of their music produced throughout the shows run time, keeping a balance of action, eerie, sweet and scary. I think that music for this series may be difficult to make since there’s so many jumps from goofy to scary to cute and so on. You can definitely see Dispirito’s improvment in their work throughout the series, but every song they’ve created has been excellent.

[melissa-titanium]

dd hc organizerrrr

THIS IS A VERY LONG POST LOL .

biggest basis for their makeup is essentially. birds and cats, with a little bit of wolf wedged in. they're somewhere inbetween solitary and pack predator, not quite social enough to actively search for bigger groups to hunt with BUT not solitude enough to hunt solo. three or four is the average for squads, two being the absolute minimum. to be seperated from your squadmates is a highly traumatic and stressful experience regardless of your opinion on the squadmate you lose. the feeling can be softened by replacing the squadmate. (eg; what happened with j and uzi. the alphabet gang's squad was a three-drone squad, and with j's death, uzi 'replaced' her in n and v's coding. not the same for j, though, because that means she was booted from the squad and it really hurt!!!)

dds are predators that tend to try and stay out of plain sight if need be, but they're already strong and fast enough to catch and kill wds without any struggle. BUT, if they were facing something they needed to surprise for whatever reason, they'd hide themselves rather than try and stay quiet. dds are already naturally nearly-silent (as shown in how n beats the shit out of uzi completely silently in pilot AND the way he basically DISAPPEARS when he sneaks into the vents during gin rummy) so they have no need to try and be more quiet, BUT the issue with their design is that they are. very, very flashy. they have warning patterns plastered ALL across their bodies and are basically glowsticks, and once they're in sight, you know where they are regardless of how dark it is. tl;dr: they rely on their silence to surprise prey.

i did a huge fucking chart on n's height a while back but i literally dont think i could find it. i think, canonically, dds are like... 5'0 exactly? but imo i think they're more around 6'6. there is minor variation in wd-frame dds, so height can differ from dd to dd.

i think dds are split into two different types, those being standalone and wd-frame.

standalone are dds through and through, retaining no worker drone memories because they HAVE no worker drone memories; they were built by the solver solely for the purpose of being a dd, therefore they never were a wd.

wd-frame are dds that have been built over an existing wd (n, v, and j for example.) they can on occasion retain memories (like v, depending on whether the solver wanted them to or not,) and usually retain the 'growth???' code of worker drones, allowing them to grow and change in response to their organic insides.

a better comparison would be; first gen worker drones to second gen worker drones. first gen drones (alice, khan, yeva, nori, etc) are all built off of one frame, leaving very little variation in bodyshape outside of built-purpose (eg; i think nori and khan were built for heavy-lifting and such, meaning they're shorter and heftier, while drones like yeva and alice were built for personal use, which makes them look more. human-like. i don't klnow does that make sense>>>??)

physical traits;

they have black teeth, stained with oil.

their true eyes can be individually taken off, as can the headband (the headband acts like the cap of a lightbulb.)

standalone dds (dds not built ontop of a worker drone frame, there are no canon examples of this) do NOT have whiskers. wd-frame dds (n, v, and j,) have whiskers.

... just like wds, dd hair is just a ton of whiskers bunched up into a hairstyle. does this mean standalone dds are bald? yeah, probably.

dd tails are segmented and interlocked by bendable joints (FLESH joints, dds are half-organic after all) that can extend and flex comfortably to reach further targets. the joints click and bend with each movement.

this was a trait in my old iterations of dd designs so idk if ill keep it, but, dds have heat-regulation spines poking out of their seams. they resemble the centipede-esque limbs on materials collection holo-spooky-snake-crabs.

their wingblades are shaped like fish-hooks, meant to latch onto prey and reel them in.

in addition to this, the wings whistle VERY loudly when flying. they have gravity propulsion (?) devices under their wings arm (not forearm) that make it so they don't actually have to flap their wings (like they fucking COULD?? look at those things dude) but the wingblades themselves are also used as means of steering. the air/gravity around them can be more easily manipulated with the wingblades because each blade has individual muscle control.

HUGE barrel chests. they're used to protect the core. they're split into two parts, a very hard steel-material (that also goes to the shoulders) and a bullet-proof black glass that allows you to see the corelight. and, yes, i know, they look like boobs but i'm nice and love feminism so it's only accentuated on n's chest. yes, his boobs are naked.

drones in general have a zip lining their abdomen, but the rubber material on disassembly drones is much lighter and malleable, allowing dds more flexibility than wds, but also less protection for their insides (which makes sense, because why would they need to protect their insides when they can just regenerate anything that broke? the rubber itself holds the stomach and other organs, but can be unzipped for maintenance.

there are four "sections" of a dd's tail. for organization purposes, i'll call them a, b, c, and d. section a is the joints of the tail itself, which can extend and flex. the tail sections and joints are considered one section. section a filters nanite acid along the dd's spinal cord down into section b section b transfers the filtered nanite acid from section a into the acid tank/storage section c transfers the acid from the tank into section d, and acts as the sheathe for section d section d is the syringe, which can extend in and out of section c

like dd's eyes, their ears are interchangable/customizable. UNLIKE dd's eyes, the ears are actually meant to be customized. the external ears themselves aren't particularly useful, and are dds only means of personalization.

i can;t think of anything else to add here rn UHHH

[gracegrove]

Wounding Care

tw cursing, racism and use of a slur, past parent-child abuse, aging parent, dementia

It's present day, Neil is in his 80s. Billy is in his 50s.

Billy pulled into a slot at the Daylily Skilled Nursing facility and killed the engine. Picking at his lower lip he remained in the car, blankly staring out the windshield. God, he wished he had a cigarette right now, but he'd kicked the habit years ago. Eyeing the time on his watch, he sighed and pulled the keys from the ignition, opening the door. There was no getting around it. Going now was no better than going later.

Walking in, Billy smiled and signed in at the front desk. "Hello again Mr. Hargrove." The employee behind the desk greeted, "How've you been?" "It's Billy, remember?" he gently chided them as he rolled the title uncomfortably off his shoulders. "I'm fine. Where's the old man?" Billy asked, setting down the pen. The greeter checked their watch, "He might be in the day room. I think Cynthia was playing a few rounds of Gin Rummy with him not too long ago." Billy gave the desk a small pat and thanked them before heading off.

Walking into the large day room, Billy looked around. There were a handful of visitors. Children and grandbabies visiting. Residents were sitting with one another and having small conversations or playing cards or dominoes games. But he wasn't there. Billy sighed and shoved his hands in his jeans pockets and continued off down the hallways toward the resident's rooms. 133... 135... 136. The sound of the television could be heard from the hallway and a rough voice calling out after it.

Coming to rest in the doorway, Billy breathed in, watching the scene before him. At the edge of his recliner, the old man shook his fist at the LED screened TV on the wall. "How the hell could you miss that pass! Are you blind?" The game on-screen was old, one even Billy couldn't remember, and his father had games on all the time. "Who's playing?" Billy asked with a casual, but sound wrap of his knuckles on the open door. The man looked over at Billy suspiciously before answering. "Raiders... Bengals. '74." As Billy entered further into the room, the man's expression softened. "Oh, it's you. Well c'mon..." He impatiently waved a hand at Billy, "Sit down before you miss it. Stabler's really handing it to 'em."

Billy sunk down into the overstuffed armchair next to this man. His eyes wandered over that wrinkled face, the peppered mustache waggling back and forth, the brightness still in his eyes. Neil Hargrove. Billy sat and stared. Wondered to himself how he could ever get this close to this man. How things had changed so drastically over the years between them. How really everything had changed. "What's the matter?" Neil asked in concern, catching his eyes. Billy looked away reflexively, "Nothing."

Neil looked past Billy's shoulder at the hallway, voices catching his attention. A teen boy was passing by, his grandmother on his arm as they happily chatted and disappeared from view. Neil sighed, his shoulders drooping as he sunk back into his recliner, a sour expression creeping onto his lips. "What's wrong?" Billy asked, noticing the change. Neil shrugged, "I dunno, I guess I was hoping my son would visit." His eyes flitted to the doorway, "Don't know why. He never visits. Too damn busy." A stone sank in Billy's gut as he turned his gaze back on the television.

Neil smiled fondly, patting Billy's hand, "You're a good friend Frank. No one else comes to see me. Just you."

Billy swallowed thickly, it was happening again. Neil leaned over in his chair, "Tell me, how's the wife? Your kids causing you any trouble? Hey!" He snapped his fingers happily, "Wanna smoke?" Neil reached a hand into the breast pocket of his shirt, confusion overtaking his expression as he withdrew an empty hand. He quickly patted down the sides of his chair and checked the end table before his eyes fixated on someone out in the hall.

"You see that!" He pointed feverishly. "What?" Billy asked, turning his head. Neil pointed an accusing finger at the nurse in the hall as she pulled a cigarette carton from her pocket and walked away. "You see!" He nearly cried, "That woman is always stealing from me! You can't trust anybody!" He shook his head with vigor, as he clasped Billy's hand, "I don't like the type of people that hang around here..." Billy sighed, looking at his father's hand, "They're just trying to help you." Neil snatched his hand back and crossed his arms angrily. "Yeah... help themselves."

The pair fell silent, letting the din from the football game fill the space. A knock on the door grabbed Billy's attention. "Billy?" There was a nurse at the door. "Do you have a moment to talk?" Billy looked at his father's sullen expression before nodding and rising from his chair. "I'll be right back," he promised.

Leaving the room, Billy followed them to the nurse's station at the end of the hall. "Billy how are you doing lately?" they started. He hated this question. It was all fluff and filler. Like anyone here gave a shit. "Fine. What's going on?" Billy cut to the chase. The nurse pulled a file off the desk and flipped it open, "We're renewing client treatment plans as a part of the annual continuation of care contracts, and as you are your father's legal guardian..." The nurse let the sentence hang in the air as they handed Billy the paperwork to look over.

"Does anything need to even change?" Billy asked, flipping between one page and the other. None of this hardly ever made much sense to him. He just needed everything to work. The nurse opened an iPad and logged into the patient portal. "Well, your father has been doing quite well since he joined us here last year following his stroke." They scrolled through some information, "However, over the past few months, there have been noted symptoms of vascular dementia. You've seen this too yes?"

Billy absentmindedly chewed on his thumb, eyes glancing back down the hall. There had been signs. Increasing frequencies of forgetfulness. Even more frequent outbursts (than typical) of anger. And losing memories... not remembering. Forgetting who Billy was. Forgetting that Max existed. And Susan. They had been to the neurologist, and it wasn't looking good.

"So what're you gonna change?" Billy asked quietly.

A loud crash at the opposite end of the hall put a pause on the conversation. Billy felt a sick sensation twist through him in recognition as he turned on his heel and ran toward the commotion.

At the opposite end of the hallway, in front of an exit door, Neil was being held back by a group of staff. "Get your hands off me you damn wetbacks! You can't keep me here!" He yelled. "I demand to speak to your supervisor! Si, comprende?!" He was attempting to push through them and reach the door as Billy arrived.

"Hey... hey. It's ok. Just take a breath." Billy coaxed, stepping up and trying to calm him down. Neil was fuming as he looked Billy in the eyes. "You!" He jabbed a finger at him. "You're behind this? I should've known. Billy." Neil spoke his name with distaste. "Always ruining things!"

Billy looked at his father shocked. "You know who I am?" Neil scoffed, "Course I do!" he looked around at the nursing staff, and then smacked Billy square in the chest with a semi-closed fist. Billy winced instinctively, but the blow didn't hold even a fraction of the power that it used to.

Neil's temper was rising. "You did this to me! You had me hauled in here!" Billy was taken aback, hurt. "I didn't do anything to you!" he swore in anguish. "I wanna go home. You're taking me home. Do you understand me?" Neil demanded. "Yeah..." Billy was breathing heavily, his heart racing. The face staring at him was aged, but Billy felt like he was 14 again. It was taking everything he had to keep his grasp on reality.

"But, do you know where home is?" Billy posed feebly. Neil grit his teeth, his face reddening, "Don't be stupid! California!" "We're in Columbus...," Billy corrected half-heartedly. Neil stepped in close to Billy, his nostrils flaring, "Don't tell me where I am!" The man ground out low. Billy tensed.

The situation was quickly falling out of control, and Billy could feel it slipping through his fingers like fine grains of sand in an hourglass turned backwards.

"Look... Lets, let's just go home. Ok?" Billy pleaded with his father. Neil shoved him, "You are such a disappointment!" The words were biting. Each syllable ripped off the bone by sharp jagged teeth and spat back at Billy with as much force as ever. "Always have been, always will be. Worthless!"

He shoved Billy again, harder. "You're trying to put me away? Hurt me?" He questioned with malice. "I haven't seen you for years! And now you show up? Huh?" Neil continued to shove, forcing Billy with all the weight his aged body could muster. "This is how you repay me?!" Neil yelled as he brought a resounding open palm across Billy's face. "Huh? Answer me, boy!"

Neil grabbed Billy by the shirt, the staff panicking and swarming around the elderly man. Billy was finding it hard to breathe. He needed to get a grip on himself. It was awful, but it couldn't get much worse. "C-can you take..." Billy huffed, "Take him back to his room. Please."

"Come back here!" Neil screamed, as a pair of large nurses forcibly helped him back to his room. "Billy?! Billy!" His raucous voice rang in the hall.

Billy faltered, his feet tripping, until his back finally hit solid mass, sinking down the nearby wall. He finally caved. A great shattering sob wracking his body, as he collapsed to the ground. The nurses had left. The spectacle was over. The storm had passed.

Great rolling tears fell from Billy's eyes, as he attempted to calm himself, only causing the river to run deeper. It wasn't going to stop until nothing was left. Billy startled at a hand suddenly on his shoulder, a young nurse standing over him with a plastic cup of water in her hand. She withdrew with a regretful look on her face. "Shit, I'm sorry... I uh, thought you could use a glass of water." Billy wiped his hand flat along his face, hoping to stifle the torrent. He nodded weakly and reached for the cup. "Thanks," he croaked.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" the nurse asked kindly. Billy took a small sip, recentering. "Can you get me a Coke?"

When Billy felt composed, he headed back down the hallway, a heavy feeling nestling under his ribcage. Neil was seated at the small dining room table in the kitchenette area, a game of Pyramid underway with his favorite deck of playing cards.

Billy cracked the chilly can of Vanilla Coca-cola and placed it on the tabletop. His father eyeballed it in wonder, reaching out and grasping it, "my favorite!" He smiled fondly, taking a nostalgic slurp. "How'd you know?" Billy sighed, resting his hands on the back of the empty chair opposite his old man. "Lucky guess I suppose." Neil's eyes crinkled in pleasure as he raised up the can for a long drink, sighing in satisfaction as he let the can down. Billy scooted the chair out and sat down, his face serious. "Do you know where you are right now?" Neil took another slug, looking casually around the room, "Some poor bastard's... But, uh... no."

Billy took a deep calming breath, "do you remember anything about today?" Neil took his finishing drink and put the can back on the table. "Yah. Course!" he interjected, offended. "I went to work. Swung by the Deli for lunch..." Neil listed. His gaze became unfocused as he thought. "I, uh... I was looking for my wife." He looked at Billy a moment, before continuing. "She wasn't home. So, I uh... went to find her." He shrugged, "she's been staying out a lot lately." He finished the thought aloud, suspicion thick in his voice. Neil leaned back in his chair, returning to his card game.

Billy looked down, tears pricking at already reddened eyes. "You okay?" Neil asked, watching Billy carefully. Billy huffed out a small laugh, "where was this when I was a kid?" Neil leaned forward over the table. "What? You gotta speak up if you wanna be heard. Y'know you remind me of my boy?" Neil observed. "Sweet. But... soft. I tried to toughen him up." Neil emphasized his point with a clenched fist.

Billy sniffed harshly, giving his head a subtle shake, "who am I?" Neil looked at Billy perplexed. "What kinda question is that? How the hell should I know?" Billy scoffed. "Dammit, this is frustrating. I have you for 5 minutes, only to lose you again."

"Who am I?" Billy asked again. "Say my name." He begged. "Frank!" Neil provided. "That's your friend." Billy corrected, hope beginning to slip from sight. "Neil." The man guessed. "That's you." Billy pressed in frustration. "I'm Neil?" Neil asked in amazement. "Yeah," Billy replied sadly.

"Dad... Say my name."

Neil looked at Billy, struggling, searching the younger man's face for an answer. Any answer. "I... I don't. I don't know." Neil responded.

"I'm Billy. I'm your son," his voice was cracking. Billy wiped at his eyes, renewed tears threatening his resolve.

"Sorry to interrupt," a knock came at the door. "Mr. Hargrove, I have your dinner. Would you like me to set it aside for you?" the staff member asked from the doorway with a tray in their hands. Billy waved them in, "Come in, he'll have it now." Helping Neil clean up his playing cards, Billy set down the tray and thanked the employee, before returning to his seat.

Picking up the dull knife, Neil cut into his meal, but after cutting a few pieces he pulled back with a wince. Gingerly, he rubbed the length of his arm. Billy watched curiously, "Your arm hurt?" "Yeah," Neil acknowledged, he reached out with the opposite arm to pick up his fork and spear a piece of chicken. "Ever since I broke it..." Billy's eyebrows furrowed, "when did you break your arm?" He had never known this. Neil chewed thoughtfully, popping another bite of food in his mouth. "You were there, 'member?" He dabbed at his mouth with the napkin from the tray. "There were those girls... we wanted to impress. Man, those girls..." He chuckled, his frame rattling. "So you pitched and I swung, and that ball flew for miles!" Neil swallowed and coughed. "Until it hit Ma's sitting room window. And there was Dad..." Neil exhaled, his cheeks puffing. "Boy was he pissed. Remember that?" Neil skewered another piece of food. "He was a shade of red I'd never seen before." Neil paused in thought, "man, he was pissed."

"He broke your arm?" Billy asked in surprise. Neil shrugged, picking up the Coke can to see if there was any left inside it. "Eh, what're you gonna do?" He set the can down, pointing his fork at Billy, "He'd have broke yours too if he'd have seen you. Good thing you ran. Smart."

"Stupid broken arm... ruined my chances of playing ball. I could've been great." Neil complained, rubbing the old injury.

"Why did you let him hurt you?" Billy questioned in astonishment. Neil looked at him, incredulously, "What? We were like 12? What choice did I have?"

"Di-did he do it to you often?" Billy stumbled over the question as it caught in his throat. Neil waved him off with his fork, "Come on. You don't wanna relive that stuff." The word pierced him. Lighting his insides and setting ablaze a furnace he tried so hard to keep dampened.

"I relive it every day. Every day." Billy confessed.

Neil looked up at him like he was crazy. Billy gripped the table's edge until his knuckles turned white. "I tried for so long to forget about everything that you did to me. Don't you remember?" Neil shook his head. "No... that was Dad. Not me." Neil corrected him, shaking his head. Billy slammed his palm flat on the tabletop, Neil jolting in his seat. Neil stared at him.

"You are my dad!" Billy grieved.

The pair stared at each other intensely, the room falling away into insignificance around them. "You beat the crap outta me!" Billy pressed, tears escaping his eyes. Neil looked away with sudden discomfort as he set down his utensils. "No." Billy shook his head angrily. "Look at me. You look at me!" He demanded. Neil gave him a sidelong glance. "You tell me you remember!" Billy provoked. Neil shook his head heavily in disbelief. "No. You must have me confused with someone else."

Billy slumped in his seat, exhausted, surrendering. He sniffled miserably, looking at the clock on the wall. 8:47pm. Surely, this was enough hell for one day? Right?

"It's getting late..." Billy trailed off, getting up from his chair. "I need to head home. But I'll see you again next week... Dad." Neil blinked at him strangely but said his farewell, allowing Billy to leave.

Arriving home, Billy smiled softly. There was a familiar face in the driveway.

"Tough day?" Max asked, she lifted an arm with a hefty paper takeout bag as an offering. Billy laughed softly, "nothing that sleep can't fix."

"Wanna talk?" Max inquired, heading to the front porch. Billy silently nodded and sat on the stoop beside her. "Did it happen again?" she asked. Billy stayed silent, his eyes tired and unfocused. "Why do you go?" She questioned. "I'm his son. I have to." Billy answered as if it were obvious.

"It's not fair, y'know?" Billy finally spoke, looking at her. "He doesn't remember anything... anything that he did to me. To us."

"But I remember. I remember every curse, every smack, every bruise. Every scar." He fell silent again, his knee beginning to bounce.

Max put a comforting hand on his knee in reply. "Everything. I remember... all of it." Billy continued.

"You want a confession... or an apology." Max reflected. "But you can't have that with the way his memory is."

"I look at him now, and he's old. And he's sick. ...And I feel nothing. And it scares me Max... what does that say about me as a person?" Billy asked with desperation in his voice. "You're supposed to love your parents."

He rested his head in his hands, "I go because... because I need to feel something." Billy began to cry. "It looks like you do feel something," Max observed, gently wiping a tear from his chin.

"It's crazy y'know?" Billy hiccuped. "I've learned more about him now he's sick, than the entire time when he wasn't."

"Turns out the apple didn't fall far from the tree... a long line of bad apples. Y'know?" Billy smiled bitterly, as Max scooted in closer, wrapping an arm around her brother. "He was a victim too. You both were." She stated. "And with a little forgiveness, maybe you can move forward..." She coaxed. "Maybe." Billy sighed in defeat. "Not just for him, Billy. For you." Max reasoned.

[tfw-no-tennis]

one piece liveblog 807-810

yayyy

807!!

them just cutting to a feast and still not telling us what happened to sanji 👀👀 like I know what happened to sanji but its still juicy af

BROOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ok brook legit has one of the best character designs in one piece (and that's saying a lot w/the competition), simply can't be beat

still w/the sanji remarks...the drama!!!!!!!!!!

everyone is accounted for EXCEPT sanji

HAHAHA the super foreboding 'corpse' wanda mentioned was just brook lmfao

hahahaha and the dog minks love brook, of course. and zoro is just like Tell Me Less Please.

law just fucking off to the forest lmao mood

oooohohh the offscreen explanation oooohhhh

goddd I love that nami recognizes how bad the situation is - how this is actually WORSE than if sanji had Actually been physically kidnapped

but okay pretending idk where sanji went the tension is insaaaane and The Plot Thickens when u hear sanji left a note and left on purpose HMMMM so juicy

ITS ONLY BEEN 11 DAYS.....JEEEEESUS LOL

didn't dressrosa take like 5 years irl lmfao

flashback babeyyyyy

ooooh I love big moms flagship. so creepy. I love the whole 'evil-er willy wonka/disney' schtick she has going on

omfg I forgot abt caesar, just like luffy did

yeessssss I love seeing the crew fight together sooo much I wish it happened more instead of individual fights. It should be like DND where they take turns lol

namiiiii I love her and her weather powers sm

HAHAHAHA nami acting all humble but saying 'I admit, the credit's all mine' I love her SO MUCHHHH lmao

also I LOVE the rest of the straw hats hyping them up :')

chopper getting to do Dr stuff yayayayayay

nami and wanda gay asf js

OUGHGHGHGH LAW REUNITING W/HIS CREW OUGHHHHHH

also I was CONVINCED that law was doomed to die sometime after dressrosa (for multiple reasons, one being that his power is so OP lmao) so seeing this I was like OH NO HE DOESN'T HAVE LONG LEFT...lmao

I thot he'd die in wano but now that he didn't I'm like okay he's fine actually lol

oooh it's crazy to get to see all this wano-related stuff now that wano is like. actually over lol

and we still don't see what happened to sanji yet lol

chapter 808!!!

KAYA AND THE KIDS W USOPPS POSTER WWWWWWWWWWWWWW

oh shittttt jack

wow they have a lot of themes going on huh. you have the cards thing, and the mythical/prehistoric animals thing, and the 'calamities' thing. extraaa

this man is named sheepshead....that's a fish bro

gin-rummy...more card game names lol

apparently sheepshead is also a game but idk I think everyone's first thought would be Fish (

them arguing over terminology w/samurai vs ninja lmfao not the time dudes

oh shit fuck it up minks

luffy not reading the room at all and being excited that there's a mammoth hvhbajdfvshjbfbajdsdf I love him sm did u know

I love usopp and luffy's relationship sm ooooobh

HAHAHA NOOOO LUFFY JUST BLOWING BY ALL THE SUBTLTY

classic

everyone just whaling on luffy hvbjadkfbskjdfn

inuarashi!!! I was actually so confused by the english translation names lmao

caesar just fucking things up lmao

chapter 809!!

omfg inuarashi wanting to chew on brook too bc he's a dog mink lmaoooooo

'not later either!!' LMFAOOOOOOO

luffy going CAESAAAAAAAR is giving me jojo part 2 flashbacks

omg they met shanks :D

luffys like OH SHHIT MY DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

inuarashi falling asleep mid convo lmao

luffy like prying his jaw open while chopper tries to stop him. classic

omg fellow nocturnals<3

flashbackkkkkk!

ooooh musketeers

inuarashi badass moments

jack's the first person we hear about w/a billion+ bounty, right??

nekomamushi fuuuuck yea

i love one piece fights ngl

chapter 810!!!

ooooh we see the baratie w/sanji's new 'only alive' wanted poster!! 'lots of questions' indeed...

jack kinda looks like axe hand morgan w/that jaw hvjddhskbjlf

oomg bepo and the heart pirates fighting for zou 😭😭😭 wuv them

damnnn they fought for 5 days

luffy just sitting on inuarashi lmao

luv that luffy is Just A Little Guy and its more and more obvious as the series progresses bc everyone starts getting larger like the story is advancing along some sort of megafauna gradient

damnnnn they're out here breaking the geneva convention

nekomamushi cursing jack as he 'dies' is dope as fuck

this is starting to feel like a christian creation myth lol. 'and on the sixth day, the devil left our lands...'

inuarashi saying that doflamingo and jack 'must be bound by some deep connection' makes it sound like they're gay married lmfao

awww luffy defeating doflamingo indirectly made jack leave and stop murdering everyone on zou, nice

OH SHIT FLASHBACK!!!! sanjis there 👀

that shot w/brook chopper nami sanji momo and caesar like lmao caesar rlly thinks he's on the team....

caesar saying 'you will rue the day!'....neville icarly moment

brook's outfits are always cool as fuuuuck

nami immediately jumping into action to help the squirrel girl <333

and telling brook to fight the guy chasing her and brook is like sure thing <3333 ilove them

brook is so fucking cool I wish he got more to do in the story. I'm glad he gets to be dope in wci

oh hi pedro! everyone looks like they've seen better days huh

damn especially inuarashi and nekomamushi...I forgot the had limbs chopped off 😬 ouch

exciting flashback developments!!!!! more to come 👀

[dhampiravidi]

"You’re okay, you’re okay." (Roguey comforting Renee after a nightmare or after something scary happened ;u;)

Renée was like her Mama in a lot of ways, even if they weren't related by blood. They had very distinct accents, got defensive fairly easily, loved acoustic covers, and, most notably, they really weren't afraid of much. So if Renée Michele was sobbing and shaking like she was, especially at the age of ten (when she and her peers were hellbent on being tough X-Men) something awful had happened.

"H-he had me, he hurt me..." She was sitting in her Mama's lap, curled up and trembling like a newborn pup. Anna Marie had been the second one in the room, but she was the only one who could pick up Renée, whose skin had been crackling with electricity. Hestia had to fight to keep Stitch under, and she was almost shaking as much as her daughter. She checked the window and the closet just to make sure nothing was lurking, then assured everyone in the hall that things were being handled, all while holding back tears. Remy had taken a seat by his little girl as soon as her powers had come under control. He held her hand, and he couldn't help but remember how small it'd been when she was born. Hestia finally sat next to him. They both looked as if they'd aged ten years.

"Who did, petite?" Remy asked softly, thinking he could make whatever monster she'd dreamed up seem silly. She wasn't old enough to go on missions, and her parents had been careful not to let any strangers see her mutated eyes, for fear they might be anti-mutant.

Renée had kept her eyes shut tight ever since her parents had turned the lights on. But when her Daddy spoke to her, she opened them, red irises looking into the same.

"De vampire man."

All three adults traded glances before turning their attention back to Renée. Except for that time Wade had been left with her (long story; would not be happening again), they really were careful to restrict what she was exposed to. What could she have seen that resembled a murderous vampire?

"What--uh, what was he doing, hm?" Hestia asked. Renée shivered and tried to curl up even tighter. Her Mommy immediately regretted speaking.

"H-he put wires in me, n' he kept pokin' at me..."

"Wires, like in a robot?" She shook her head.

"Like n' a hospital." Remy's jaw clenched. He made sure he wasn't holding onto anything he could charge up.

"She's talkin' about Sinister," he hissed, only calming down when he saw that he was scaring Renée. Hestia wiped her own tears away. Sinister had had one of his minions take their daughter only two years after she was born. According to what the rest of the team found in his lab, Sinister was curious to see what the child of a symbiote's host could do. He also had a sick fascination with Remy. The three parents still felt like they had failed Renée since Sinister had escaped. He was out there somewhere. They couldn't lie and say he was dead, just for him to show up again.

It was amazing and horrible that their daughter even remembered him at all.

"We are always going to be here for you. Even if things get scary, we will never let anyone take you away," Hestia managed, holding back a sob.

"Promise?" She got nods and weak smiles in response.

"You wanna come sleep wit' us?" Renée was about to turn her daddy down, to lie and say that she wasn't really that scared--"We'll play cards firs'. I got a new game t'show ya."

"Really?" She sniffled and tried to make herself presentable in the way that only a spunky ten-year-old could, scrambling out of her mama's arms so she could stand up. "Y'sure it's new? 'Cause ya taught me gin rummy yesterday," she reminded Remy. He just chuckled, leaning in to kiss her forehead before he pulled her into a quick hug.

"Yeah! Ya t'ink I got ya' somethin. C'mon, girl." And so Remy led Renée to the big bed in the next room.

[renee-writer]

Baby Girl Chapter 71

AO3

It wasn’t that they forgot about the mastermind of the horrible child trafficking ring, it was just that other cases came in, others needed their help.

 

It helps that Sarah was delivered of a healthy lad a week after their rescue and that Robin was reunited with her daughter a few days after her birth. They will have no others, naturally. They had to take her uterus to save her life, but she was grateful. The team gets pictures of the families regularly.

 

It is something that happens on a personal level that brings the case fully back to mind.

 

“Now! We have to go, now!” Mary calls out, holding her tight baby bump, bent over under the force of her contractions. Geillis, usually the picture of stoicism, is frantic.

 

Yes, they have planned and prepared, but seeing the real thing, it freaks her out.

 

“I need to find the keys!” She is scanning the room, her partner’s hospital bag in hand.

 

“On the wall by the door.” Mary replies.

 

She grabs them and Mary’s arm and they head out. She sends a group text out to the team.

 

“Oh wow!” Jamie, laying beside her, grins.

 

“You’re quite welcome.” He stretches his naked body beside her. She grins and slaps at him.

 

“Yes absolutely that and also,” she shows him the text. ‘Mary is in labor. Heading to the hospital.’

 

Murtagh reaches for his tinging phone, wiping the sweat of his workout off his face.  He reads the text and grins.

 

John is reading some older philosophy books when the text comes in. He reads it then smiles. He closes the book and prepares to head to hospital.

 

“Well lad, were you two working out as well?”  Murtagh says with a crooked grin. They stand in the hall by the lift that heads to maternity. Jamie and Claire dressed in a hurry, doing a quick brush up. Maybe they should have taken more time. John and the other Mary join them.

 

“Ah Murtagh, let them be,” she says, “they are in love and it is glorious.”

 

They enter the lift together. Exiting, they hear the sounds of moaning  screaming women mixed with the cries of newborn babies.

 

“Crips.” Murtagh turns a tad white.

 

“The pain a woman experiences during labor is actually more then she could survive any other time.” John helpfully says. Claire and Mary both long to slap him. Geillis coming up to them spares him that fate.

 

“Maybe a bit less knowledge, eh?” Jamie whispers to him out of the side of his mouth.

 

“How is she?” Claire asks.

 

“Miserable and elated. The pain is indescribable but we are happy that it is finally time,” Mary is a week late, “thank you guys for coming.”

 

“We would be nowhere else, sincerely.” Murtagh says.

 

“We will just wait here, eh? Unless you need us to come back.” Jamie’s offer is sincere. He prays she doesn’t take him up on it.

 

“No, here is good.”

 

The waiting is the hardest part. They talk, watch a bit of infant care instructions on the telly, skim through the magazines, pace the floor, go for tea and coffee, go to the loo, get lunch and later, dinner.

 

“Maybe we shouldn’t have came so early.” Claire says what they are all thinking.

 

“Aye maybe. But, we are supporting them.” Jamie shrugs.

 

Half way into a game of gin rummy, Geillis burst in. They all stand, their eyes on her.

 

“We have a son! Seven pounds and nine ounces. He looks like her, a handsome lad indeed.”

 

They gather around, offering their congratulations and asking after Mary.

 

“She is the strongest and bravest woman I know. Exhausted but exuberant with joy. Oh, you must come see him. We will make introductions.”

 

They follow her into the room where Mary and her child, rest. She sits on the bed, her fine hair pasted to her face, her eyes a light with love.

 

“Congratulations Mary. He is a bawl lad.” Murtagh offers.

 

“A beauty indeed.” Claire adds.

 

They all comment on the baby and the strength and beauty of his mam.

 

“Shall we?” Mary asks Geillis. They take each other’s hands and Mary continues, “ May we introduce, Roan Hawkins Duncan. Roan this is your mam’s family.”

 

“She will be fine and you will feel better.” Murtagh argues.

 

“I just don’t want to leave them. We know there are people out there who target children, babies. What if this unknown subject decides to take revenge by coming after Roan?”

 

He nods. “How about this Gel, I will stand guard, will not leave their side until you return. You know I won’t allow anything to happen to them.”

 

She smiles and hugs him. “I will be back in an hour or less.”

[greenwriterplaidbow]

I've actually had time to work on part three! Not a ton but I'm getting to it. I'm excited about it. I know from yalls end it seems like I'm doing nothing but things are happening. Admittedly small things but thingd nonetheless.

Also I'm learning poker to write this next part. So. There's been that. I've never been allowed to play cards beyond gin rummy because my family is Baptist and cards lead to gambling and bla bla blah slippery slope and what-not. It's probably for the best tbh, I'm not sure I'd be very good if I had to keep up in a real game where I wasn't writing and controlling every character and their hand and where I have as long as I'd like to figure everything out.

[hoebagbasicbitch]

So, it started with this girl.

Well, kind of. It started with a trip to Italy for a class. A workshop, where a group of 10 of us went out in to the boonies of Tuscany and worked on restoring some art in a small museum. So, at this workshop, I met the girl.

We spent three weeks in this small little town, living in a hotel owned by the diocese. There were lace curtains on the windows and a crucifix with a little plastic glow-in-the-dark Jesus hanging above all the beds. It was hot as all hell, and we were all getting attacked by invisible gnats which bit us rashy to the point of near insanity. Needless to say, we were broken down and got close with each other quick.

How to describe this girl? I’m not sure when we started to talk or what we started with talking about. I love a good story, and so I love the idea of a summer fling. Originally, I was sharing a bedroom with one of my classmates, but she had a family emergency and had to leave about 4 days into things, leaving me with a room to myself. It seemed like a perfect storm, and then this girl and I started to get close.

We just spent a lot of time talking. She was the only other person in the class who cared about restoration in the same way that I do. She had spent all of June doing another restoration workshop at the same school, and was back in July because she loved it so much. Our only real difference was that she didn’t know she wanted to pursue the career before this summer, and I’ve been on the crazy train for three years. Not that it makes a huge difference, honestly.

So we talked a lot. Yes, about our class and the work we were doing and conservation in general. We did all the basic getting-to-know-you stuff too, like how many siblings do you have and where are you from and what’s your favorite color. It was strange because we were always, always, always in a bigger group. Lots of us in the class hung out together. I mean, it was a town of 2,000 people in which there was one bar. All we had to do was talk.

Oh, and we played cards.

This was the only time that this girl and I were ever alone. Gin rummy. I was god awful at it, but I played hand after hand after hand just to be in a one-on-one conversation with her.

But we played lots of cards as a group, too.

I don’t know what made me realize that I liked her. I know that it was July 18th when I felt something stronger than friendship for the first time because I wrote it down in my journal, but I didn’t specify a cause.

My journal entries from this trip are fascinating. They oscillate between two different crises I was having, the first being my falling in love with this girl, which is something that had never happened to me before, and the second being my falling in love with art conservation. I’m not sure which of those is the stupider crisis, but they were both making me feel equally insane. Between those and the bug bites, I was not at my most sound of mind.

Dealing with the girl was easier and more fun than the career crisis. I got to flirt and make up inside jokes and find excuses to spend time with her. That was entertaining. The career crisis was silly. I mean, it didn’t feel silly, but putting it in words to me makes it sound trivial. But every night I would barely sleep, and I would pop out of bed in the morning early, eat breakfast (talk to the girl at breakfast, for an hour every day), and rush off to the museum as soon as I could. Even when the restoration work was hard (and believe me, it definitely had its moments), it still felt like the most fulfilling thing I had ever done. They made us take all kinds of breaks during work, and then an hour and a half lunch, and then they would wrap up a few minutes early at the end of the day. And me and this girl were impossible to get rid of. The professor and the TA would literally have to force us out so they could continue their work without having to keep track of students.

I always wanted to be working. Which is funny, because working was the only time I was not talking to this girl. I was working on murals in one room, she was on a painting on canvas in the other. And here is where things got to be really strange. While I was working on the restoration, I felt the same way that I did when the girl and I would talk. Except I didn’t want to kiss the wall, I guess, but that feeling in the pit of my stomach was the same. Thank god when I wasn’t with her, I was working, and when I wasn’t working, I was with her.

The two of us had a conversation about this, actually.

I mean, not about being in love with each other. That was one sided-I think. But about how we had both fallen in love with the restoration work.

The thing about getting into conservation is it is a crazy investment. There is so much education required, the education is expensive, and probably most significantly, you have to move around constantly wherever you can find education, and internship, or a job because opportunities are so few and far between. But to actually touch art was gives me such a high that I’m willing to do it. I don’t need a family or a girlfriend or a pet, I just need to be in a lab with my hands on history.

This girl was the only person I’ve ever met who felt just as insane about it as me, which is probably why I started to feel crazy over her.

So, my feelings began to get pretty tangled. Did I really love her, or was I just falling in love with conservation? I don’t think it’s worth separating the feelings, though. They’re too closely tied to each other.

There are a few conversations of ours that I remember most distinctly. There was the night we drank an entire bottle of vermouth straight while playing cards. That was the only time we ever hung out in my room. We talked about growing up a lot, I think. The vermouth made it hard to remember specifics. Another night we sat outside after going to the bar and watched stars for hours. There was a meteor shower happening, and I made a lot of wishes on shooting stars that still haven’t come true yet. Of course, one of our classmates who could not take a hint was with us the whole time. But we talked about the golden record and the size of the universe and the constellations above us. We put our faces right next to each other so we could point out constellations accurately.

I shared a lot of nectarines with her. The food situation wasn’t ideal. I ate a lot of fruit as meals. I would take the dull hotel butter knife and saw a nectarine in half around the pit, and then pull It apart and give her whichever side was less mangled. Whenever I did this to eat alone, the fruit would fall off the pit, but when she was watching, the thing would seem to fight back, trying to embarrass me. She still always took the fruit, though, with a smile.

 We talked about what we were going to do to touch art again after the workshop was over. We also laughed about how similar we were, and in one humiliating conversation, we decided that we would fuck our clones but not each other.

Oh god. I forgot to mention the shirts.

We spent a great deal of our time coming up with stupid t-shirt designs featuring images of saints and nonsensical phrases very loosely based on those saints. It was maybe the strangest possible reaction to falling in love, making these idiotic t-shirt designs. But it was really, really fun.

There was more. I’m certain that there was more. Breakfast was it’s own thing. I don’t know what else to say. It was a very odd summer full of big feelings, and it’s going to be difficult for me to split up my feelings for conservation and this girl. I must stay in love with conservation, but I also have to get this girl out of my head because I am never going to go to San Angelo, Texas ever in my life (God willing). All I can hope for is that we run into each other at some conservation conference in the future and hook up there. Even though my crush was unrequited, I still think I can make it work.

[fmpy2]

1 V 1 Research

The reason i am making my game a 1v1 is for multiple reasons first the 1v1 creates a balanced and truly fair environment for the fight to take place with no extra stimulus to alter the fight such as third partying, a common practice in battle royale games where a third party will get involved in a 1 (team) v 1 (team) fight and cleaning up the already injured participants catching them off guard. This creates a natural unfairness in the playing field as one team gets the edge of surprise while the others are stuck in the middle giving this strategy not much skill to accomplish. So the 1v1 environment allows for more reliance on skill and talent with the game. Another reason I chose it was because it is one of the oldest formats to date with games like boxing and chess it really allows you to breakdown an opponent.

Gladiator

In comparison to the depictions we see in fiction gladiators were always random enslaved death fighting but instead more volunteering people looking for local stardom, like a sport today. This doesn't mean gladiators didn't die, they would constantly fight with actual weaponry against fierce opponents which could range from large animals to convicted criminals, which usually resulted in a gladiatorial death every 5-10 bouts.

Additionally the thumbs down thing wasn't that well interpreted and no one knows exactly what it meant as many believe that the thumbs up could've been the sign for execution of the slave.

Spartacus was the most famous and deadly gladiator with him also leading a slave revolution after being one himself and being forced through gladiatorial school.

Smaller Examples and real-life examples

Chess

Chess is one of the oldest and most abstract strategy game with thousands of ways to play and win. The game is one of the biggest and most intellectual games regarded around the world. The game is a one on one game where you move peices in differnt directions and capturing eachothers prices by moving on to the same space as theirs. The ultimate goal is checkmate which is to trap your opponents king in an inescapable situation.

Boxing

Boxing is a physical fighting sport that has 2 opponents facing off at each other to see who can knockout (or knockdown long enough) with only using their fists covered by protective gloves with only allowing shots to the torso and head.

Card Games

Card Games are one of the most ancient forms of games with tones of variations of ways to play with a lot of the being 1v1 duels.

Gin rummy is probably the most famous card game out there with it mostly being played in a 1v1 situation. To play you shuffle the deck and deal each person 7 cards and your goal is to get groups of either 4,3 or 7 made up of sets and or runs. Sets are a collection of the same face cards so for example 4 kings and runs are cards that are in an order but of the same suit e.g 4,5,6,7 of hearts. You assemble these hands by either taking one card off the deck and swap it out with a card in your hand or do the same with the top of the discard pile.

Gulag - COD

Within warzone, Call of Duty's Battle Royale game mode, their is a minigame that let's you respawn if you die. You are given a minimalist loadout with 1 weapon an 2 pieces of ordnance to kill your enemy with, if however you take too long a juggernaut will come into kill you and you both can win by killing him.

Penalty Shootout

A football ultimatum, the penalty shootout happens if after 120 minutes of regular football and added extra time of play has still resulted in a draw they decide it with the best of 5 penalties. Each team takes 5 pens one after each other where they are not allowed to touch the ball more than once if after the 5 penalties the teams are still tied it goes to a sudden death.

Titles

Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat originally developed in 1992 is a multi-media fighting and martial arts franchise consisting of 3 movies, 11 main line games and 4 spin off games. The main point of the original game was a 1v1 best of 3 fighting game that had you face of against a varsity of characters with different move sets, finishers and personality. The game however is not a desirable concept to me as it is set on the 2d plane and i want my project to utilise movement a lot on the 3d plane.

Street Fighter

Street fighter, the famous Capcom franchise, initially released its first game to arcade machines in 1987 with a pretty similar premise to Mortal Kombat (it came first). Now with the 6th game in the series releasing in 2023 the name has became a gaming staple with it receiving a 1994 movie adaptation.

Smash Bros

Smash bros is a game consisting of the a lot of the characters owned by multi-media franchise Nintendo. The most recent one being the vastest one to date, "Ultimate" Released in 2018 with 76 base characters and received consistent DLCs up to 89 characters.

It is another 2d fighter however it adds an element of platforming into it with the fighting stage navigate able vertically as well allowing a lot more movement paths and tactics to happen also in comparison to the last 2 games it has a lot more attacks and moves that you can perform to knock your opponent off of the stage. Each player as three lives and their can be up to 8 players so last standing wins.

King of Fighters

A game franchise initially developed and released in 1994 the games are practically identical to other games in the genre basic sets of moves like kicks, punches and blocks with a large ability to do tons of damage. The games however released each year in similar fashion to EA sports games but they were for arcade so it didn't do it for recurring purchase but instead more like updating. In 04' they stopped their main platform being these arcade cabinets and moved to consoles like ps2 and "Atomiswave" (SNKs version of the dream cast). It then ceased yearly releases in 2010 with its 13th iteration and moved to what looks like releasing an iteration every 6 years with 14 coming in 2016 and 15 in 2022.

Nidhogg

A unique fighting game in comparison to other 2d games on this list it consist of 2 players fencing and attempting to reach the opponents side of the map when you they're killed. You kill your opponent by simply hitting them once also in the move set you can block, disarm and jump. The game is a much more simple and face paced versions of other 2d fighters and incorporates a little of platformer games (like smash bros) to add some vertical to it as well.

1v1  can be set up in a more professional manner which encourage a more intelligent fighting style instead of a more chaotic nature of a multi player free for all. This chaos is something that doesn’t align with what I want for my game. I feel it is more rewarding when you fight and win against an individual opponent, while mastering a skill set. 

[herowithbadpublicity]

Y’all remember at the end of season 3 when Jack Flowers took Ed hostage and Wuncler was literally like “what are you waiting for, shoot him!” 😂😂😂

If Wuncler was willing to let his grandson die then Rummy prob ended up in prison or something 🤦🏻‍♀️