#you wouldn't download a gun

[sergeant-macho-nacho]

Jean ‘Moebius’ Gira

[kitkatscabinet]

TikTok made me do it

Pairings: 141 boys x gn! reader

Summary: With the kind of relationship that came with having a partner on deployment so often you've had to find ways to entertain yourself. TikTok provides a way to take your mind off things, it even gives you a few ideas to try out when he gets home. An opportunity finally arises when your partner won't pay attention to you no matter how pouty you get.

A/N: NSFW themes, minors jog on. @cooliofango @innercollectivecomputer

KYLE GARRICK

Kyle's always been an attentive lover, and any other day he'd drop everything when you called for him. Unfortunately, when it came to video games you often inadvertently became second place. The current culprit for stealing your boyfriend's attention? Baldur's Gate 3.

You're not entirely sure what's enraptured him so much given that he's hardly an avid DnD player but he's even kicked you off your own PC to play. You're softened a little by the fact he's made the player character in your image and has even downloaded mods to get it as close to reality as possible

The flattery quickly wears off when three days pass and Kyle barely glances your way. You'd even had to drag him into bed one night and he'd quickly fallen asleep on you, leaving you high and dry and so fucking horny.

You quickly decide that enough is enough. When the next day rolls around and you wake to Kyle already gone from your side and sat in your gaming chair you decide to pull out the big guns. You'd seen the trend floating around on TikTok for a while and decided it wouldn't hurt to try.

A quick shower later and you were covered in the lotion you knew drove Kyle wild. It's not until you reach the threshold of your door, naked as the day you were born that you decide to capture his reaction on film.

"Kyle, baby." Predictably he doesn't look your way, instead letting out an inquisitive hum and you hear the faint shout of 'ignis' from the speakers. Rolling your eyes you clear your throat, watching his reaction through your phone as you put a little more authority into your voice "Kyle, I need to show you something."

Luckily he knows better than to ignore that tone of voice, and you watch as his wide eyes get even wider when he takes in your nude form. Confidence sparks in your bones when you notice the way his gaze drags slowly down your chest, his teeth pulling on his bottom lip.

The game is completely forgotten he stands and walks confidently but still quickly towards you, hands settling on your hips. "What's this then? You feeling a little needy darling?" You nod breathlessly at his growled words, shivering when one of his hands cups your ass. "Sorry for ignoring you, let me make it up to you yeah?" He's dropping to his knees and you very quickly stop filming, throwing your phone somewhere across the room to be retrieved later.

It's not until a few days later that you notice your phone blowing up with notifications that you realise Kyle has posted the video himself. When you confront him about it he just gives you a smug smirk, "Did you think I didn't know what you were doing?"

JOHN MACTAVISH

Usually, you had to fight off Johnny to get a moment of alone time when he was home. It's why you're so perturbed when for the first time in your relationship you have to start chasing after him a little.

There had been instances in the past when your boyfriend became so focused on tasks that he'd forget the rest of the world existed, even then all it normally took to get his attention was to sit on his lap or call his name a certain way.

Not this time. Johnny wasn't the biggest gamer, he enjoyed playing here and there but nothing usually held his focus consistently for that long. Turns out that when it came to multiplayer with some of his teammates he couldn't get enough. Why this was the case when he's just spent months at a time in enclosed quarters with them you weren't sure, you'd joke that he was cheating on you with Kyle if you knew it wouldn't upset him greatly.

Of the two of you, Johnny was the sex addict, not that he'd been ignoring you. No, Johnny had still found time before bed but usually, where he'd go a few rounds he'd only give you one or two. You'd woken up that morning so horny and you couldn't wait. Commiserating with one of your friends over text they sent you a TikTok of one of the latest trends and said you should do it, joking that you'd have to send them the footage.

Immediately you're on board, promising to send the footage because both you and your friend know it will be hilarious. And hilarious it is, he's in the middle of a game, swearing over the mic his angry voice accented even more so than usual.

You have to shout a little to be heard over him and while he stops speaking he doesn't tear his eyes from the screen, "What's it babe? 'M in the middle of a game."

"I can see that" you whisper under your breath before putting on the tone that was reserved for when Johnny pissed you off. "John Mactavish look at me right now," you faintly hear Kyle ooohing from his headphones and Johnny instantly whips his head around so fast you fear for his neck.

You can't stop the laugh that bubbles past your lips when his eyes bulge out of his head. Controller dropped, he stands so fast his socks slip a little on the wooden floor. It doesn't deter him however and he attempts to launch himself towards you. There are several issues with this, his headphones are still on and you wince as his head jerks back slightly and he trips over the foot of his chair.

He's on his feet nearly instantly and you let out a squeal as he pounces on you, "naughty rascal," He nips at your ear. You don't make it to the bedroom.

SIMON RILEY

It wasn't that Simon was ignoring you, in fact, it was pretty much the first time since he'd come home that he wasn't touching you. Still, Soap had sent you a TikTok with a particular trend, trying to bet that you wouldn't do it.

You weren't a bitch so nearly immediately you stripped, strutting out into the kitchen with your phone ready to capture the moment Simon realised what you were doing.

You don't even have to call his name and he's turning to face you, forgetting whatever he'd been slicing on the cutting board and leaning back against the counter with his arms crossed. A smirk tugged at the corner of his pink lips, making the scars on his cheek twitch with the movement.

"Trying to seduce me Lovie? The fuckin I gave you this morning not enough?" Your skin runs hot at his words, stomach muscles clenching with an embarrassing amount of need from that one sentence. For fear of your words failing you simply nod your head, moving closer the second he beckons you.

"Needy little thing" he croons into your ear, wrapping one of his large hands around your neck. You choke on the whine that builds in your throat and you're powerless to do anything but go pliant in his grip as he spins you around and pushes you down against the cool bench.

It's not until hours later that you realise that when Simon took your phone he hadn't stopped filming. (Soap nearly throws his phone at Price's face when it clicks what he's watching.)

JOHN PRICE

It's not often that John brings his work home. The office he's currently holed up in with the mountain of paperwork is yours. Of the two of you, he's actually more irritated than you. Grumbling under his breath as you push him out of your bed and make him do the work.

A few times during the day when you'd walked past the open door to see him scowling with his glasses slipped down the bridge of his nose you'd managed to make out the faint noises of him growling about work interrupting the sanctity of his home. Interrupting time that should have been spent fucking you.

Though you were the one that had pushed him into completing his work you can't help but get more and more heated each time you pass and witness him so worked up.

You try and stave off the arousal with a cold shower in the middle of the day. Drying yourself off, you collapse on your bed, not bothering to put any clothes on again.

An hour passes, occupied with scrolling on TikTok, spamming your friends with just about every video on your fyp. Checking the time you throw your head back with a groan, it's only been four hours but it feels like an eternity.

Sliding off the mattress you decide to stick your head into check on John one more time. To your surprise, he doesn't notice your bare form standing in the doorway. An idea springs to your mind and you quietly walk back to get your phone.

You manage to film yourself walking back and forth past the office, focusing your phone on John's concentrated face as you try not to laugh, a total of four times.

It's after the fifth time past that you somehow don’t notice that he's finally left the desk and snuck up behind you until warm calloused hands cup your chest. His beard scratches against your spine and you throw your phone in surprise at the unexpected sensation.

"What a sight for sore eyes you are" he rumbles, one hand moving torturously slowly down your belly, pausing just above your navel. He plants wet kisses down your back, only pausing to occasionally grumble out something filthy.

"John! What about your paperwork?" Your words are weak and lacking in any real concern but your husband simply hums dismissively.

"Paperwork can wait love, it's time I had a lunch break anyway."

[jarate-enjoyer]

What I think the TF2 mercs would do if they played the Sims

Scout: Spends the entire time making pretty women and himself (but jacked and handsome because that's obviously him), probably goes around the town woohooing all the women and nearly crashing his game when he gets notifications about the babies being born all at once, uses cheats all the time before getting bored an hour in and makes another save

Soldier: Recreates American presidents and the founding fathers (accurate or not is up to you), probably would download a mod to make Noah's boat, get the neighbours there and make them fight to the death

Pyro: Traps all of the neighbours in a room and sets a fire to watch them burn over and over again

Demo: Asks Scout for help downloading an alcohol mod, gets his characters absolutely pissed drunk, probably drunk himself and his sims either die or have gibberish for names, would play it normally and might recreate notable figures if sober

Heavy: Doesn't do much other than making his family in the game, then makes the sim version of himself work hard to support the sim family, makes his beloved doctor in the game too and marries him in the game

Engie: Downloads a crap ton of mods or makes them himself, likely wouldn't even play the game just so he could go through the coding and see what makes the game works. If he plays the Sims 4, he'll make a mod that removes the massive amount of bugs, or if he plays the Sims 3, uses a mod to make the game run smoothly

Medic: Spends all the time torturing any and all sims and killing them, makes an extremely long maze and makes ageing super fast so he can see the sims trying to run out for work/school and watch them die of old age or starvation over and over, makes Heavy in the game and himself, marrying him while there's a few sims drowning nearby in a pool with a gate around it

Sniper: Plays the game the way it's intended for the most part, probably got a guns mod for when a sim is pissing him off and makes one of his sims shoot the offender

Spy: Makes luxurious houses, probably gives random sims who had the audacity to show up with clown make-up, neon green singlets, hot pink skirts, blue leggings and red high heels a makeover, breaks up families by woohooing the mothers, steals stuff from other sims, his sim shares the house with a woman who looks very much like Scout's ma

[swisccfinds]

TOP 5 MUST HAVE Sims 4 Career Mods

These are my most personal Career mods for the sims 4, please don't forget to show love and support to the creators.

1- Youtube Career Mod by itsmeTroiYT

There is so many interactions with this mod it is unbelievable! If you head to the download button below it will bring you to the creator's post which will show all the type of things you can do with this mod but for now to keep the Tumblr photo limit here is some of the creator's notes that explain the levels and the branches

Gamer (6-10) PC Noob $100/hr Streamer $200/hr Daily Uploader $300/hr Tagline Genius $600/hr Prestige Gamer $1500/hr

Vlogger (6-10) Viner $100/hr Prank Wars Vlogger $200/hr Unbox Therapy $300/hr Vlogger $600/hr Daily Vlogger $1600/hr

DIY Hot Glue Gun Mess $250/hr Creative Weirdo $350/hr Hacks Master $600/hr DIY Superstar $650/hr [Something] DIY $1500/hr

MUA Fenty Beauty Counter Rep $200/hr Brand Tester $300/hr Makeup Brand Collab $350/hr Personal Makeup Artist $750/hr MUA $1500/hr

Cooking One Pan Cook $150/hr Made from TV/Movies $300/hr Remixed Recipe Cook $345/hr Guest Host Cook $625/hr Master Cook $1500/hr

FX Makeup Artist NYX Face Awards $120/hr Halloween Royalty $200/hr FX on a Budget $350/hr Workshop Personality $645/hr Glam & Gore $1450/hr

download

2- Modeling Career Mod by KPC0528

This is an amazing mod! If you want your sim to become a model this is the mod for you! This does require the City living & Get Famous expansion packs, so be aware. Here are the creator's notes about the levels and branches;

1. Volunteer Model--there is no pay for the beginning of this career. I wanted to make it as realistic as possible, so level 1 is all about building a portfolio and gaining exposure.  Mood: Confident M - W - F S S

2. Local Model -- Your sim will be part of the "mall crowd" participating in local fashion shows. These jobs aren't very selective... $15/hr.  Skills: Charisma 1  Mood: Confident - T - T F S S

3. Hand Model-- Keep those hands soft and supple as your sims model rings, bracelets, and watches for local jewelry designers!  $18/hr.  Skills: Charisma 2 Mood: Confident - T - T F S S

4. Hair Model-- Cutting, coloring, styling. Your Sims's hair will be put through it all in exchange for some simoleons and their pictures to be featured in hair dressers' portfolios.  $20/hr.  Skills: Charisma 3, Fitness 3 Mood: Confident - T - T F S S 

Choose track: Commercial Model or High Fashion Model

Commercial Model track: Commercial models are the models you would see in shopping catalogs and local commercials. The sim-next-door look is desired, so your sim will need attractive looks as well as an attractive personality to do well in this career track. 

5. Commercial Catalog Model--Your sim will be showcasing the newest collections by the most popular stores, like Sim Navy and JC Simmy.  $50/hr.  Skills: Charisma 4, Fitness 4 Mood: Confident M T W - F S -

6. Fitness Model-- Fitness is the name of the game here. Your sim must continue to sculpt his/her body to perfection in order to sell the newest workout gear and sports drinks.  $65/hr.  Skills: Charisma 5, Fitness 7 Mood: Energetic M T W T - S - 

7. Social Media Model-- Your sim's face is getting popular online! He/she will be modeling the hottest makeup, jewelry, and clothing through various social media platforms like Simstagram.  $80/hr.  Skills: Charisma 7 Mood: Confident - - W - F S S 

8. Music Video Model-- Who wouldn't want to be a model in a famous music video? Your sim must hone in their dance skills so they don't embarrass themselves in front of the musical superstars.... $90/hr.  Skills: Charisma 8, Dancing 3 Mood: Confident M T - T F S - 9. Television Model-- Television! Your sim will be featured on all sorts of commercials, from clothing and perfume, to cookware and living room furniture. $130/hr.  Skills: Charisma 10 Mood: Confident M T W - F S -

10. Coversim-- The ultimate goal! Your sim is on every grocery store magazine rack, dishing the newest gossip about his/her love life, as well as modeling the hippest designs. Congrats, superstar!  $300/hr.  Mood: Confident M T W - F S - 

High Fashion Model track: This track is for the serious fashionista. In order to gain celebrity as a high fashion model, your sim must be both gorgeous and interesting, as well as charismatic and athletic. Reaching the end of this track means worldwide fame and luxury! 5. Swimsuit Model-- Swimsuit models are photographed even in the winter months, so this isn't just for fun! Your sim must be in excellent shape to make it as a swimsuit model.  $55/hr.  Skills: Charisma 5, Fitness 6 Mood: Flirty M T W - F S - 

6. Lingerie Model-- No room for shy sims here! Upscale lingerie is a mega-money-making business, so only the most alluring sims will be successful.  $75/hr.  Skills: Charisma 6, Fitness 8 Mood: Flirty M T W - F S - 

7. Fashion Catalog Model-- High-end fashion is extremely expensive, so the stakes are high. Your sim must continue to perfect his/her body and personality in order to sell these interesting-looking clothes in the highest end fashion magazines.  $90/hr.  Skills: Charisma 7, Fitness 9 Mood: Confident M T - T F S -

8. Runway Model--Don't trip! All eyes are on your sim as he/she struts their stuff on the catwalk. Sims watching and cameras flashing can be nerve-wracking for even the most confident sim, but this is a necessary step in order to become a supermodel.  $120/hr. Skills: Charisma 8, Fitness 10 Mood: Confident - T W - F S S 

9. Editorial Model--Sim Vogue. Your sim is on the cover, looking fierce as fierce can be! Your sim is the epitome of a style icon, and everyone is looking at him/her for style inspiration.  $300/hr.  Skills: Charisma 10 Mood: Confident M T W - F S -

10. International Supermodel--Traveling the world for fashion shows? Check. Hosting reality style shows? Check. Getting paid to be famous? Check. Your sim is THE top model, as long as a newer, hotter thing doesn't come around.  $450/hr. Mood: Confident M - W - - S - 

download

3- Social Services Career Mod by missmani09

This is a great mod if your interested in having your sim work in social services for a backstory or maybe its just what you mapped out they would be in your head. Here are some of the creator's notes about this mod;

Social Serivices:

1) Clerical Staff Extra Help  -Responsible for copying and filing documents, sorting documents

2) Administrative Specialist I  -answer phones, answer client's questions, file, sort

3) Administrative Specialist II -Key application, answer telephones, work front desk window correspond emails

4) Administrative Specialist Supervisor  Supervise all clerical staff ensure front desk runs smoothly ensure applications are keyed correctly ensure office machinery is working properly assign staff job duties

------------------------------------------------------------ ---(AA) ---- Division of Sim County Operations ------- ----------------------------------------------------------

5A) Program Eligibilty Specialist I  - SNAP Process Sim food stamp program applications.  Interview & verify resources Assist homeless sims Determine eligibilty for supplemental nutrition program

6A) Program Eligbiliy Specialist II Process sim program applications Determine eligibilty for Sim daycare voucher applications Determine eligibilty for supplemental nutrition program

7A) Family Health Care Case Manager  -Family Medicaid Process Sims' medicaid applications.  Determine medical coverage eligibilty for Sims including  Working Sims' medical coverage, SimKids Care A or SimKids Care B

8A) Aged Sim Health Care Case Manager  Process Aged, Retired, and Disabled elder sims' medicare applications Determine disability 

9A) Sim Social Services County Administrator  oversee especific sim world in which sim currently lives

10A) Sim Social Services National Director  oversee all sim worlds

----------------------------------------------------------------

---(BB) Division of Child Protective Services -------------------------------------------------------------- job is to protect and ensure the health, safety, and well being off all sim children.

5B) Child Protective Service Worker  Visit homes. Provide struggling parents with resources and tools to become effective parents. Remove children from home if necessary to the  childs health & safety

6B) Child Abuse&Neglect Investigator  visit homes. on call rotation investigate suspected sim child neglect/abuse that comes into the hotline issue warnings to parent's who a nearing neglectful standards Remove children from home if necessary to the  childs health & safety

7B) Foster Care Case Manager  On call rotation. Manage Sim children's cases who have been removed from their home due to neglect/abuse. write extensive case notes

8B) Adoption Specialist  process adoption applications. match waiting foster children and  place into adoptive home

9B) Sim County CPS Supervisor Oversee foster care and CPS case managers 

10B) Sim CPS National Director 

download

4- Psychologist Career mod by Kittyblue

This is career mod is actually my favorite for storytelling! In this mod there are two branches which are Counseling Psychology and Forensic Psychologist.

download

5- Tattoo Artist Career mod by MesmericSimmer

I love this one so much, mainly because I want one of my sim's backstory to include this career. They have this career option for both adults and teens!

download & more info

[octuscle]

Dear Support-Team,

I just downloaded the App for my mobile but I guess I'm too overwhelmed with all these settings. Thats whyy I am asking you for help.

I'm 25 years old, german. Just finished university and now I'm working a boring job, but at least good income.

Sometimes I see old classmates (the cool kids, most of them are Moslem and with Arabian (?) family backgrounds) on Instagram and I wonder: where would I be today if these People where my friends at school and today...

I don't know how to program the app to find out. Hopefully you can help.

Thanks a lot!

What a cool car! Your father-in-law was really generous. But when you marry his son tonight, when your new brothers and cousins block the inner-city ring road of Dortmund honking their horns, when you dance in the streets and shoot your guns in the air, then everyone should also see that someone is getting married here who made it. An alpha Arab. And you, his German husband.

Damn, you wouldn't have thought that twelve years ago. You were only 13 years old. And a car fanatic. But your father was unemployed and your mother had to work as a cleaning lady. In life, you would never be able to afford one of the cars that stood at the luxury car dealer in the industrial park. That's where the soccer stars of Borussia Dortmund bought their cars. And other people you didn't even want to know where they got their money from. You always stood in front of the shop windows with wide eyes. And then you took heart and asked if you could have a student job. To be allowed to be close to the wonderful cars. And then you started vacuuming floor mats, polishing rims, cleaning air vents with a toothbrush. Always on time, always hardworking, always thorough. The boss's eldest son quickly noticed this, and as a result he gave you more and more errands to run. And more and more responsible tasks.

You must have been about 16 years old, you had just finished secondary school and changed to high school when the Aouns invited you home for the first time. And that's when you saw Chafik for the first time. A cool man. Well built, well dressed, disarming smile. It was probably love at first sight. Even if you had to keep your love a secret for a long time. But in the years that followed, you earned the unreserved trust of the Aouns. At the latest, when your mother died of breast cancer and your father later of his alcohol consumption, you were the sixth son here. And at some point it was clear that there was more than brotherly love between you and Chafik. Mr. Aouns was furious. But at some point he accepted that he could not imagine a better son-in-law than you.

After graduating from high school with honors, you joined the family business and took over the fitness center division. And you made the business flourish. In the meantime, more pharmaceuticals were sold in your gyms than in the pharmacy of the nearest university hospital. And you were always clean. Even if you didn't convert to Islam, you didn't drink alcohol. Of course you would have liked to decorate your muscles with tattoos. But that would not have been godly. At some point, you fit perfectly into the clan. As one of the area leaders. You were only always the only one without a beard and with a smooth chest.

You turn into the underground car park of your mansion at the Phoenixsee. Now you have to hurry. In an hour you will marry Chafik dressed in a suit. Then suddenly you are Christian Aoun. Although no one calls you Christian anymore anyway. Because of your radiant smile, you're just Bassem to everyone here!

Thank you, @jacobadler2 for the perfectly fitting picture!

[jeffgerstmann]

"Try out our open beta, its just a small 146 GB download"

Call of duty HQ is so fucking stupid man

It's bad! I'm not against the idea of a unified launcher of some kind but the whole "OK, time to transition between games because we're basically just loading a new executable completely damn son you could have done this yourself huh" thing is no good.

Seems extra weird this year since they're deliberately breaking compatibility with older skins and guns and stuff, but I also wouldn't be surprised if they ditch that approach once the full game is out.

[undiscovered-horizon]

🫀REQUESTS ARE OPEN🫀

Imagine Charles and Erik trying to (unsuccessfully) recruit you for X-men

A/N: this is a draft from THREE YEARS AGO. I was reminded of its existence only because Draft.ai is being taken down and I got an e-mail reminding me to download my files.

The sound of the gun's hammer being pulled back filled the quiet night. The metal weapon glistened in the moonlight. It was held by a trembling hand although it belonged to a man of certainty.

"Who are you?" Charles asked. It was quite visible that he had very little experience with firearms. The shaky muzzle pointed to a figure in the dark. Given his lack of expertise and visible nervousness, there was no chance he could actually shoot them. "What do you want?" he raised his voice.

You shifted slightly. Throwing off the hood covering your face, you turned around to look at him. The silver moon was behind Charles's back and so its light brightened up your tired face. You stared down the barrel of the gun but it elicited no worry from you; it seemed that despite both of you knowing he had no chance of seriously hurting you, neither of you was willing to openly admit that yet.

"Who are you?" he asked again. Although cursed with the ability to control and read minds, he had poor control of his own.

"It would be funnier if I thought you could actually shoot me," you spoke up.

"And what makes you think I won't?" Charles gritted through his teeth.

A dry chuckle escaped your lips. It nearly seemed pathetic how much he tried to put a brave face on but clearly couldn't. Charles knew what you were, of course, and yet he was desperate to imitate the courage that ignorance would have given him. It was one of those cases when lack of knowledge truly was blissful.

"I know you, I've watched you." You slowly moved towards him. The cold wind nipped at your skin." Violence disgusts you. You're curious about who I am, so why would you shoot? Vivisection doesn't seem to be your style."

Charles let out a shaky breath. Seeing as you were unmoved by his poor facade, his nervousness visibly grew. He took his other hand to support the gun. Despite that, the barrel was hardly pointing at you.

"Besides, your gun is loaded with blank bullets. Even a full round won't kill me."

Charles furrowed his eyebrows, clearly surprised that you would somehow know that. At that moment of his confusion, you kicked his wrist and caught the gun. While looking Charles in the eyes, you released the magazine and threw both parts in the mud.

"You were looking for me, I heard," you continued. If you wanted your peace, you had to see this little lark through.

"You heard me?" Charles asked quietly in a breathy tone. It was something new to him - you weren't supposed to know. As far as he knew, it wasn't your power.

A scoff left your mouth. "You really thought your toy works only one way?"

Gravel crunched a few feet behind you - someone else was present under the moonlight. It wasn't something you didn't expect but it made the situation a little more problematic nonetheless. Whatever you needed to do or say to get them off your back, you had to do it quickly and tactfully as now you were outnumbered.

"I came to give you a warning," you said a little louder to make sure that whoever joined this little conversation could hear you too. "Next time you try to reach me, buy yourself a casket. I don't care about any of your 'mutant war' shit."

"But you're one of us," Charles argued. As if you didn't already consider that side of things! "If the government kills mutants, it means you die too. That's why we need any help we can get."

"Moira…Raven…" you counted aloud. Maybe blackmailing wasn't a great tactic but in your position people tend to grab whatever they can lay their hands on. There had to be something to get Charles Xavier to leave you be. "Which one should I talk to first for you to back off?"

"You wouldn't make it," said a voice behind you. Just by its sound, you knew it belonged to none other but Erik Lensherr.

In a matter of seconds, bullets from the magazine you had thrown away earlier, were pulled up and flying towards you. And as if time slowed down, you dodged the bullets. While making a suspiciously perfectly timed move, a light blue light followed your movements with a slight delay - there was an interesting power at your hands.

"Take it as a warning, you two." It was obvious that the diplomatic part of the evening just came to a close. "I just want to be left alone."

Having said those words, you marched away only to disappear among the treeline, becoming one with the darkness of the cold night.

[rottenbrainstuff]

Don't you guys love it when I unearth the most random unrelated niche bullshit and then ramble about it incoherently for you all to read?

The latest thing giving me the dopamine hit atm is a silly otome game called Love & Deepspace, details of which mercifully hidden for you below the cut:

A friend of a friend recommended this game to me and it's turning out to be surprisingly fun. I'm impressed by how little content is paywalled or monetized. Like, I wouldn't mind dropping a little money on the game cause I'm enjoying it, and I HAVE spent a couple bucks here and there on items, but it doesn't really give you a huge advantage in the long term over someone who is playing it for free and that’s kind of surprising. (My god though this game is fucking chonky. If it keeps needing to download stuff I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to play….)

Unlike some other otome games where you have very clear relationship paths with the focus on one single person, here you develop relationships with everyone sort of all at once. I know some people like that, but I personally don't prefer it - it seems even in video games I am too monogamous to have multiple boyfriends at once. I started out focusing on Zayne, cause the older and more serious kuudere character is the one I tend to like in the silly games like this, but then Sylus popped up and now I have abandoned Zayne, I'm so sorry babe, it’s not you, it’s me.

Sylus is very much giving me vibes that the devs all had a design meeting and said "oh the girlies really fucking like Astarion from BG3 right now, why don't we make a copy of that, we could make him the tsundere criminal antagonist character or something?" One of the audio stories has the MC teasing him about looking/acting like a vampire and that's so funny, the devs absolutely knew what they were doing. Hilariously, one of the Sylus-specific custom titles you can win is a nickname I used to have back in the dinosaur days when I was in college, and I find that endlessly amusing. I like how he complains you're in the way if you get too close to enemies in combat - I will choose to interpret this as protectiveness, and it suits me just fine anyways cause I can't fucking dodge properly, and prefer to shoot shit from a distance.

Sorrrrry but I find the english audio way too cringe (particularly Sylus' VA?... sorry) so I have been playing it with the japanese audio. (because I understand a little japanese, and perhaps because I want to shame myself for not practicing at all in the last couple years) I'm sure the japanese audio is no less cringey to native japanese speakers, but the point is that *I* cannot tell. And you see, it increases my vocabulary of useless words I will never need to use - for instance this week I learned the word for "gun". I also like to note the translation choices where the audio and the subtitles don't match up, I find it interesting, like little easter eggs. In this case my understanding is the game was released in Chinese first, so instead of comparing a translation to an original, I am comparing one translation to another translation, but I still find it amusing. (Pie the fox is called “six dumplings” in Japanese)

I enjoy the little details... Sylus is very good at the card game and I can almost never win, Zayne is ridiculously easy to bully into swapping cards and I almost never lose. Sylus sucks at the crane game to the point where it's ridiculous (or maybe I just have bad luck???) but Zayne cheats and uses ice and wins a lot - myeh I dunno. It's cute, I'm easy to please, it's making my brain happy.

The fine details of the story are a bit incomprehensible and the interface takes a little getting used to. I do appreciate all the moving parts here, the story and the collectible content and the combat and everything, but it's a little bit humorous how all the bits don't overlap tidily, for instance I am getting event-related texts that are giving away spoilers for things I haven't learned in the main story yet. And Sylus' separate chapters popped up I think after I finished the ... second main story chapter? And it begins with mentions of a serious disaster that happens in the main story that I hadn't read about yet. It's funny though, just funny. I just got access to protocores and now everything is a million times more complicated. I have no idea why dumb shit like this releases the dopamine in my brain but whatevs. I dunno. If you found this post through a tag search feel free to jabber at me about this game, these little niche things I find, I have so few people I can talk about them with. Every once in a while I will holler my thoughts out into the void here. Blah blah blah. Etc.

[thedawningofthehour]

Ok, I just swallowed like, 5 hours of video explaining the whole fallout story and now that I know more or less what's going on, I can say that I really want a Fallout Rottmnt.

The Idea of Donnie creating his own brotherhood of steel is so cool, he would probably name it something like, the order of atomic lass or something, and all the armors would have phosphorescent lights and speakers included,

I just pictured Donnie downloading Shelldom into the enclave computer and pretending to be the president.

If Leo joins a cult it will only be to get high on dangerous substances and participate in orgies, if he realizes that the children of the atom don't do that he will skidaddle.

Mikey is dedicated to domesticate wild mutant beasts in order to create delicious dishes.

And Raph, he's just chilling out helping local farmers, occasionally wrestling supermutants.

While Draxum is out there in his mutant faction negotiating a truce with the NCR that he will definitely break later until one day he just:

Draxum: I haven't seen the guys in a while, where are they?

Splinter: oh, they left to explore the wasteland about... Three months ago?

Draxum: THEY WHAT!!!

Geeze, you have a better attention span than me. I'm guessing a lot of that was a rundown on the events leading up to the Great War, and then obviously the events of each game and the different factions at play. That's a lot of summarizing you sat through.

A quick note for other people on the Brotherhood of Steel: their entire thing is preserving and controlling advanced technology, with some factions evolving to start developing it on their own. Their core dogma is that humanity can't be trusted with the means to destroy itself. Which...considering this is a universe where humanity literally did nuke itself to the brink of extinction, you can't really say they're wrong. They are also very cultish. Which Donnie would probably consider more of a bonus, honestly. Donnie can't join them unfortunately because they are racists. Their relationship with mutants and ghouls differ based on the chapter-the Mojave chapter is neutral towards the mostly peaceful Black Mountain super mutants until Tabitha takes over, and the East Coast chapters recruit from 'impure' wastelanders who all have minor mutations-but overall, they are very fucking racist and blood purity is a huge tenet of their beliefs. (I know there are mutant and ghoul members in Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, but that's...we don't talk about that game. It's not canon and we generally pretend it didn't happen) The East Coast chapters probably wouldn't shoot Donnie on sight, but they would never accept his help nor acknowledge his brilliance, no matter how hard it smacks them in the face.

But oh my god, Donnie would pimp out power armor like a crazy man. He'd have such a fucking blast too, like it stops being about armor at some point and just starts being Pimp My Ride: Tin Can Edition. I could see him joining up with the Atom Cats to bitch about what pricks the Brotherhood are and doing the funkiest paint jobs.

They'd 100% accept Donnie immediately and invite him to their poetry night.

Also, lol Donnie getting access to the ZAX computer at Raven Rock and only using it to insert Shelldon into the mainframe.

I imagine he doesn't even delete Eden, he just lets him go on as normal and just occasionally interspersing his radio broadcasts with twenty-second clips of Shelldon doing a really derogatory impersonation. And occasionally subbing in heavy metal music.

I mean, maybe the Children of Atom do that? Not the original sect, they're pretty benign, but the guys running around shooting gamma guns at people and praying over nuclear dumping grounds? They imprisoned a Glowing One in a lighthouse and started worshipping it, those guys must be on some stuff. Or the guys living in the Crater, they could totally be having orgies where you don't see them. Then again, they do all have radiation poisoning. I feel like your skin sloughing off kills the mood.

I could see Leo joining to cross 'join a cult' off his bucket list, thinking it's just some kooky outfits and maybe he'll get to speak in tongues or whatever and it'll be a fun story to lord over Donnie later. The Children would probably think he's divine or something since he's immune to radiation and has such a powerful mutation. Which would stroke his ego so much.

But then people are drinking ghoul piss and irradiating themselves to the point of shitting out their bowels and he decides to nope out. Shit's too weird even for him. The question is whether the Children would let him leave.

Mikey is doing the same thing he is in Todd's mutant town, just playing Fallout 4 Settlement Builder and making the cutest little homesteads.

Raph would be mistaken for a super mutant a lot. And it would drive him crazy because under normal circumstances he would really like to be friends with some super mutants, but they're all so mean! Why are they all cannibals?! Yes, he likes to smash, but not so lethally!!

They do like dogs though, which Raph appreciates. He would absolutely adopt a mutant hound. (not a centaur though; those freak him out) And they're communists, though I feel like Raph is more of a capitalist-apologist. He's got the spirit, he's just ill-informed.

[ninelivesastrology]

tw: abuse, alcohol, drugs

My abuser was so deep in alcohol addiction that he would never buy water or groceries and you would never know this unless you lived with him. The water one throws me because I guess it would allow him to get drunk faster. He would barely eat, too. I would ask him, "Hey, can we go get a pack of water?" (and the grocery store was right next to his neighborhood) and he would blatantly refuse. It would be so hot in his house, too, I genuinely think he withheld basic human needs to keep me disoriented and weak so I wouldn't leave. It was the craziest things he said no to. The most reasonable things.

When I told him he was an alcoholic, he lied to his friends and told them that I said they were alcoholics. I don't think they would have anymore than 2 regular beers or whatever (because I didn't really pay attention to them, always on my phone). But I would find multiple IPA cans in his bathroom trash (because he would get drunk in the shower) and seeing him snort meth off his bar fifteen minutes before his friends came over. And it's like... I was powerless and scared shitless with no way to leave. I remember I would just leave the room out of fear he would force me into doing it. I didn't even know who to tell and I knew no one would believe me because he was a functioning addict. And on top of that, he would go through my phone so it's like I never wanted to say anything that would put me in danger.

Like a part of the reason I think he flipped his shit over me leaving (after he told me to leave) was because he knew I witnessed him doing hard drugs and admitted to doing hard drugs to me and that I was ratted on about going through his computer. Just being in a house with an alcoholic that has access to a gun is dangerous, but it's way more dangerous when they're mixing substances. Even worse when they have depraved secrets. Like sometimes I think about the insane amount of flashdrives he had and when I asked him why he had so many, he said they were for movies he was downloading and that was close to the truth...

Nobody needs over 20 flashdrives... It seems to be common sense, but at the time, it wasn't and I feel so dumb sometimes. Maybe you need that many if you're trying to hide something and keep it off your computer so you can dispose of them.

Of course, he had to smear me and stalk me to protect his "Nice Guy" image like... It just makes sense more than it ever did.

[sergeant-macho-nacho]

Imagine the center being the far end of politics to the point the right and left align with each other.

[pureiceblue]

Queer Gaming History- Caper in the Castro

We are thankfully in an era where there are more openly LGBT characters in video games than ever before. Just looking at the list of known queer video game characters on Wikipedia shows how much progress we've made with the early days being organized by decade and recent times being organized by individual year.

Since it's Pride Month, I'd like to talk about one of the earliest pieces of LGBT representation within video games and just why it was created.

This is 1989's Caper in the Castro. You can now play it for free here.

Just as a warning, the language used within the game is very much dated to the 80s. I don't mean this with just 80s slang, I mean that you're gonna see words that are considered slurs nowadays.

Caper in the Castro was developed and released during the height of the AIDS epidemic. While it was released for free, it was considered a piece of software known as charityware. Unlike other freeware, charityware is distributed as a method of encouraging downloaders to donate money to a certain cause. In this case, Caper in the Castro was made to raise money for those suffering from the AIDS epidemic.

We'll get more into how the AIDS epidemic influences the game in a bit. I think I should also show you guys what the game's about.

The above screenshot sets the scene pretty well. It's a short point and click adventure game where you have to save your friend, Tessy, from the evil Straightman. It's about a fifteen minute playthrough with a few fun ways to get yourself killed or arrested (as is the adventure game tradition).

You're limited to the few buildings on the city streets, but you can mostly tackle them in any order you want. You don't have to pick up specific items, just notes which last even if you die. The death screen is pretty iconic by the way.

Deja Vu? Who is she? There is no Ace Harding, just Tracker McDyke.

Tracker McDyke is wonderful by the way. Yes you can pick locks, but you're gonna solve most of your lock problems by just shooting them. Gunshots are just background noise in this neighborhood, nobody gives a shit and neither should you.

You can also look at a lady showering and she'll say a happy "hey~" to you!

There's no reason for this. Sometimes it's just nice for Detective McDyke to look at a sideboob and butt.

It's not all butts and boob however. While the story is short, the surroundings tell a true reflection of what the queer community went through during that time (and sadly still does on a different scale).

We're going back to talking about the AIDS crisis now, because the very idea of the game was based on the cruel reality C.M. Ralph experienced. It was normal for many in the queer community to just have friends disappear and never be found. Many families wouldn't claim those who were found and same sex partners weren't given spousal rights.

In Caper in the Castro though, you can save your friend.

Tessy is found unharmed toward the end of the game and it's easy to free her. You get to be a badass and shoot her chains off before burning the whole place down.

As I type this, I think about what a lovely role you get to play in this game. You play as a gun toting lesbian that takes down the evil Straightman, save your missing drag queen friend, then burn down all of Straightman's supplies.

If this game came out today, people would say it's inciting violence against straight people- Wait a minute! There was a censored release!

C.M. Ralph did put out a commercial release for Caper in the Castro called Murder on Main Street! It takes out everything queer in order to appeal to a publisher. I can't be mad though because you do what you have to in order to get that bag and let's be real.

There's no way in hell a publisher would've taken this.

Caper in the Castro itself is named after San Francisco's historically gay neighborhood, the Castro. While many have found a community among their queer peers, many places within were under threats and violent acts.

The scenario presented within the game can only be solved by members of the community. The police can't help you, only a lesbian with a gun can. We as a community need to support each other, especially with how things have been going in 2023.

I wanted to talk about this game for pride month not just because it's an important part of gaming history. To me, it represents the reason we celebrate pride.

Because there's a scene in the game where you walk into a diner and see two gay couples just having a comfortable late night meal.

And I think about how we deserve this comfortable happiness for many decades to come.

...and this game also gives us the "fantasy" of burning down the establishments of those who want to kill us.

Happy pride everyone. I hope you're all safe and surrounded by people you love and also love you in return.

[kob131]

So question.

Is Pokemon DLC 'Pay To Win' competitively?

This is an accusation I've heard lobbied quite a bit and to be honest it's kind of confusing. For those who don't know- A 'pay to win' feature that allows you to pay real world money in order to get an advantage over players who do not. Think paying from a great DPS gun in an online competitive shooter or boosting XP for an online game with RPG elements.

The argument around Pokemon DLC being 'Pay To Win' revolves around two main pillars- DLC exclusive Pokemon and returning Pokemon. The 'DLC Exclusives' revolve around the Pokemon Urshifu, Calrex Rider and Ogerpon. All three of these Pokemon have seen/are seeing widespread usage in competitive and are exclusive to their own DLCs. Thus by not having access to these Pokemon- you are at a disadvantage and thus you must buy the DLC. Which sounds like Pay To Win...

Until you remember that each DLC's launch comes with an update that allows for all Pokemon, including DLC exclusives, to be compatible with games that do not have it. Thus you can simply trade for it.

'But no one is going to trade away their 30 Pay To Win bear!'

Well, thing is. Pokemon trading works a lot like bartering- you offer something worthwhile in exchange for something you want. For example, you could trade a Shiny or Legendary or even a starter in exchange for the Pokemon. And it's not like you only get the DLC once- You get it for all profiles on your Switch. So if you were to offer a highly valued Pokemon then someone will work to get it, especially since the likes of Urshifu aren't hard to get. (Can get one before the second Gym). Same with Ogerpon. The only one that doesn't count to is Calrex, which is rather shitty but Ogerpon and Urshifu are the main 'culprits' and they're also the easiest to get and trade with.

'But that's just using an exploit and it's not intended!'

... How is the DLC being downloaded on all profiles an exploit? It's not a glitch or oversight- it's basic consumer friendliness. They had to have known this was a thing.

Another argument is that returning Pokemon inevitably shake up the metagame, introducing new staples, and thus the people who bought the DLC have an advantage. Again this fails to me because you can simply trade for the Pokemon. It isn't completely locked off from you.

Of course people will argue that I'm just defending shitty business practices that modern Game Freak are employing and that they wouldn't have done this in the past. To that I answer-

How do you catch a Heatran in Pokemon Black/White?

It's a simple question- Heatran is a famously evergreen competitive Pokemon. One would consider having access to Heatran as a necessary tool for competitive players. If not Heatran than what about Laitos, the number 1 most used Pokemon in competitive BW according to Pikalytics? If not that then what about Garchomp, not even a Legendary by this point? How do you catch these Pokemon in the most widely beloved Pokemon games?

Simple answer- You don't. You CANNOT catch these Pokemon in Black and White. You either have to buy the sequel games (which is effectively full game priced DLC here) or you buy Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platnium and/or Ruby/Sapphore/Emerald to get them. As well as a second DS to transfer them.

And this is a major problem I have with these arguments. They never take into account how transfers inherently give older players an advantage over new players and how this basically makes older, full priced games necessary to compete. That really, the DLC are in fact the more consumer friendly alternative because you get access to more Pokemon than a sequel or third version would give you; you can easily obtain multiples of Pokemon and unlike some cases- you don't need a duplicate console.

Or in other words- the Pokemon fanbase doesn't seem to realize they're actively calling for Game Freak to fuck them harder.

[listening-to-thunder]

City Hunter 2024

Don't mind me I just watched a live action adaptation of the show I absolutely imprinted on as a little fan sprout in the late 80s/early 90s and I have feelings?! (Tl;dr - the adaptation is so faithful I am so happy.)

So yeah. I watched the (censored) French version of the City Hunter anime during summer vacations and then languished as Sweden did not have City Hunter (or anyone who had heard of City Hunter, other than my little brother). So I did stuff like...record it on VCR, pause the VCR, and trace character portraits off the prickly cathode-ray tube TV. (Screenshot technology has come a long way!)

Later on I read the entire un-censored manga (with the original names restored!) in French, and downloaded the Japanese songs from some pages I found on AltaVista (which took forever on modem), and brough the full set back in Japanese after I lived there for a while. And then I found out there is an official "megafan gets transmigrated into the story"-manga about City Hunter, and I read that, too.

Basically: I have had this story in my life forever, and watching the live action movie now gives me echoes of all those feelings I had as a lonely fannish kid. Which is a weird feeling, but not in a bad way, because the live action adaption (not the first, but the first Japanese one!) is...good? It's fun! And it's as faithful to the original story as it could possibly be while also being updated for the 21st century in the best ways?

Okay, I'm just gonna dive in!

I love how prominent Shinjuku is in the live action. It's gorgeously shot, and you can really feel a sense of place. The characters always talk about "this city", and Shinjuku is that city.

And right off the bat Suzuki Ryohei gets to shine in a fun, fast fight scene with a manga flair to it!

Everyone in Shinjuku knows Ryo-chan! And here's where I will admit to my own ignorance, because reading in translation at a young age I honestly don't know if the manga touched on how Shinjuku as a place where the queer community meets? But here the owner of the bar Ryo rushes through is a glorious okama!

Saeba Ryo and Makimura Hidekyuki and HI MY FEELS. (I will probably get back to how much I adore that Ryo is played by an actor who's hit 40 - but Andou Masanobu is nearly 50?! HOW.)

YES GOOD the iconic coat from the manga (that I like a lot more than the silly little anime jacket) running down the streets of Shinjuku as the equally iconic red car (an old Mini Cooper?) races past the neon lights.

Oh man I have cried about this scene so many times. And here I just love how they got the dramatic rain in, despite the circumstances and setting of Makimura's death being different. That's what a good adaptation does: keeps things recognizable to the existing fans, while transforming it to something new and exciting. (I almost didn't see it coming because I kept thinking "It's not raining"...!)

Not to be shallow or anything but...HOT DAMN. Suzuki Ryohei!!!!

This was so delightful! Everyone was having such fun with the Mokkori Dance, and I am thrilled that they found a way of showing this side of Saeba Ryo without making him a sex pest. The mood whiplash from drama to the most frivolous silliness is extremely City Hunter, and the movie wouldn't have felt right if they hadn't nailed this. (With Ryo nudity. I am. Not complaining at all.)

Kaori's stare. Ryo's confidence. Perfect. No notes.

And then we get some T&A... and it's QUEER AS FUCK?! Instead of a strip club, in 2024 the Shinjuku nightlife scene is beautiful people voguing with a fabulous drag queen MC!

Showing off Ryo's impossibly good aim by following the bullet through a crowded nightclub was fun but again: look at this Shinjuku!! It's queer and diverse and I love it.

I could not believe how Suzuki Ryohei somehow manages to move like a manga character? He is so fast and so believable as a supernaturally good shot! I also liked how Ryo hid his gun as soon as he'd fired it - the enemy had already spotted him, so it wasn't that he was afraid of giving himself away? But he doesn't want to have a gun out at a queer nightclub, where it could start a very understandable panic.

Again with the Shinjukuness of it all...! Ryo's car is parked outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (it was my favorite place to go hang out if I had time to kill in Shinjuku) - I think they're up in the observation deck, too?? The layers of nostalgia for me... it hits hard...

SPEAKING OF HITTING HARD I love that they gave Kaori her mallet!!! YES. (And they made up a cosplay event for it, where there was a tiny bit of T&A - but where the cosplayers themselves were making sure they looked as good as possible, showing off their assets!)

This is art to me.

Saeba Ryo. Stallion of Shinjuku. Blocking creepy otaku and audience alike from getting panty shots while not peeking under her skirt and also the horse head is his penis and...

This will take some processing. (While I giggle.)

THE most City Hunter shot of the entire movie. The crosshairs! Ryo shoving someone (Kaori) out of the way of a bullet! The bullet grazing his arm!! SHOOTING BACK AT THE SNIPER. Everything. Everything is perfect.

I am looking...respectfully...?

Their poses, the city... this whole scene felt like watching the manga come to life. Kaori needs a hug and Ryo hasn't gotten to the point where he can do "emotional support" in any other way than "revenge". Ahhhh the angst.

The movie's fights are so much fun to watch, because they have Ryo being a superhero with a gun (or: several guns), and then Kaori running around terrified but also so determined to actually fight. She shoves things on people! She hits that one guy with a pipe!! I love her so much.

IT'S THEM

FEELS ARE HAPPENING

(Ryo still doesn't do "hugging", but at least he's letting Kaori sob on him this time?)

Yes shooting a guy with an upside down revolver pointing behind you is exactly what I want from City Hunter, thank you! (Also the intensity Suzuki Ryohei brings out for Ryo's protective streak... It's so good...)

I just know that I am missing a ton of Easter eggs...! (I would be surprised if the framed drawing of a revolver isn't Hojo Tsukasa's art, though.)

And here we go! Now they're roommates! Kaori has her mallet! And her 80s manga outfit...! Aaah!!!!

Though they both wear shoes indoors which... I suppose even though they live there, the building isn't..."home"-coded? (I mean having that much real estate in the center of Shinjuku actually requires more suspension of disbelief than the gun magic...).

Anyway: it's THEM!

Sequel when? I really, really want one. They did such a fabulous job with this story, I want to see them do more!!

[reaperlight]

[Written down immediately after waking up and edited somewhat for consistency and clarity]

I had a very cinematic detailed dream in which Eddie (and Venom) are working in a hospital as a nurse or emergency technician trainee under another name in another country and caught some shady goings on.

They see a patient was flat-lining but when trying to bring it to the attention of the hospital staff are told to ignore it.

It's too late to save the person but because this is all so shady Eddie takes a picture with their cellphone afterwards.

Eddie finds more shady goings on and takes more pictures.

Nurse, catching them doing it: I need to see your cell phone

Venom: Keep calm, play dumb.

Eddie: What phone?

Nurse, now with a gun: I wasn't asking

Assassins disguised as nurses tackle him.

Eddie escapes.

Nurse-assassin, impressed: Who are you, really?

Eddie: *[gives the boring fake name which he deliberately chose so people wouldn't look at them twice]*

Nurse assassin: Ewww, no thank you.

Eddie: Yeah you're not my type either

She shoots at him and he jumps out the window which is several stories up to escape and thanks to Venom sticks a superhero landing and keeps running.

***

They get to their car and find it's been obviously searched through.

The nurse-assassin and more mercenaries are chasing them

They get in the car even though they're afraid it might blow up or been tampered with.

There's a chase scene.

A metal song plays on the radio the singer screaming "sayonara you bad, bad boy" over and over to wailing electric guitars.

As they drive quickly and recklessly (and with assistance from tentacles when turning tight corners at high speeds) to lose their pursuers.

They drive until they think they've lost them.

After momentarily losing their pursuers...

Cleaning out the car of their few belongings they want to take with them and can fit in a backpack, checking them for bugs. Had to ditch the car, not only was it identifiable there might be a tracker in it.

Eddie sighing: You know we have to leave again. Start over somewhere else.

Venom: This was not my fault this time. I was good.

Eddie: I know, love. This is on me. I screwed up. Again.

Venom: I thought you did good Eddie. You tried to help someone. I'm very proud of you. Today we were a hero.

Eddie: Yeah right, I couldn't help anyone. Some hero.

Venom: You're MY hero.

They gather up their things, the car explodes behind them.

***

Eddie uploads the photos he took in the hospital to the Associated Press. He still might not know what all this was about but evidently these photos were worth trying to kill him over. He might not yet know the whole picture of what was going on but someone else might know who this is or be able to connect the dots. Also the Life Foundation was involved, even if they changed their name, and they were killing people so that was like obviously not good.

Eddie and Venom download their honeymoon photos and then ditch their old phone too in case they were tracking them that way.

***

Eddie was in his work scrubs when the chase began and has to quickly change into new clothes.

Venom takes the form of a black leather jacket with a white spider on the sleeve reminiscent of that spider-guy from that weird dream they had in Tiajuana. Venom hadn't liked the spider guy (which was weird, Eddie hadn't understood the vitriol since it was just some kid in a Halloween costume) but they had thought the design was kinda cool and they made their own version of it.

***

At some point temporarily getting captured by the bad guys and drugged but Venom is offsetting some of the effects.

Venom: Don't give them your name. Or our name.

Eddie: I know.

Venom: Don't use our friends' names either.

Eddie: I know.. Despite what you clearly think I am not a total idiot.

Interrogator, shouting: What is your name!

Eddie: ...It's Kasady. Cletus Kasady.

Venom: ...Eddie... I hate to tell you this but I think you ARE an idiot.

Eddie, intimidates his captors while Venom recovers. Stares at him unblinking, lowers his voice. Mimicking mannerisms from both Venom and Kasady to try and intimidate and throwing in a bad attempt at a southern accent which nearly ruins the effect.

Eddie: If you haven't heard of me you might wanna look me up. When I get out of here, and I will. I'm gonna. Eat. Your. Face. They will never find your body. And it's gonna be like total carnage.

The attempt at intimidation isn't as convincing as he would like initially because he sounds like he's bluffing until Venom makes a snarling sound in his throat which makes the interrogators stumble back.

Eddie: What are you doing?

Venom: Helping because I don't think they were falling for it.

They escape again...

Venom: So what exactly were you hoping to achieve by convincing them that you are a cannibalistic serial killer?

Eddie: In my defense I was drugged at the time and we couldn't exactly show all our cards then. I was just trying to get them to back off.

Venom: Yeah well I'd say that didn't work.. at all.

They believe he is Kasady now because that was so audacious that no one would believe he was lying.

Venom: I thought you had some sense knocking around in that grey matter of yours. And how do you plan to make them think we are Kasady when we already killed him?

Eddie: Well plastic surgery is a thing.

Venom: Eddie, no. You are not cutting your perfect face.

Eddie: ...I mean maybe they'll think Kasady faked his death and is running around with a new face... wait did you just say...?

Venom, embarrassed: ...Or maybe they'll just think you're an idiot!

Eddie, huffy: ...Parasite.

Venom: Take that back!

***

Feral Eddie takes down a couple of assassins by himself while Venom is still recovering/combating the effects of the drugs.

Eddie: Not bad for an idiot.

Venom: Of course, because you're MY idiot.

***

Meanwhile...

Cletus and Frances who were living an anonymous quiet life are none too pleased that they're names are back in the news.

Frances was alive under the bell, the stress and rage if the situation allowing her to consciously access her full psychic powers and telekinetically push it off (crushing the cops who come after them).

Frances hadn't been aware of it but she and Cletus had forged a psychic bond as children. Cletus was brought back to life by both Carnage (whose cells of which still remained in his corpse regrowing his head and Frances restoring his memories / personality. But he's not back a hundred percent. He didn't really remember the murders he was supposed to have committed but everyone but Carnage figures thats probably for the best.

He would prefer to live a peaceful life with his wife (and their companion) but of course would do it again if they took her again.

Later they come to Eddie's rescue.

After Eddie and Venom get caught and are being tortured.

They kill the room to save him

Carnage: I don't understand why you're bothering. They ate your head we should return the favor.

Cletus: Leave it.

Cletus: Eddie... oh Eddie. We tried to tell you but you never listened. That's okay... I guess you're learning now.

Eddie: ...What?

Frances tells them about Ravencroft and the camps.

Later...

Cletus: Eddie... we get it you don't wanna be pals but if you could keep our old name out of it in the future, that would be great. We would greatly appreciate it.

Carnage: If you hurt them again--

Cletus: Down girl.

***

As for the shady stuff going on at the hospital and the company formerly known as the Life Foundation, vampires are somehow involved--the expensive experimental drugs either turns the patient into a vampire or it kills them but either way flat-lining is a normal part of the procedure...

[skittlespizza]

hello! re: music asks, do you have any songs you really like but wouldn't generally recommend to people (for any reason)?

I think this is evident on why I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Fuck man, it's such a good song. The lyrics are so good, the fuckin relatability ("everything I'm not made me everything i am" is such a good lyric) and especially the flow.

Okay, fair enough, the streets is flarin' up 'Cause they want gun talk, or I don't wear enough Baggy clothes, Reeboks, or A-di-dos

COME ON?? YOU SEE THIS SHIT? Unfortunately it is Kanye West so this'll be a song I enjoy in private. I guess besides now.

Everybody sayin' what's not for him But everything I'm not made me everything I am (Here we go) Damn Here we go again People talkin' shit, but when the shit hit the fan Everything I'm not made me everything I am

Okay so this. Fucking this. this gets personal so whatever. Everything you're not- everything you get criticized for, your flaws, make up who you are the most. I'm not white. I'm not alloromantic. I'm not from white suburbia. I grew up in poverty. I don't have two parents- i don't even have one. These parts of me define me the most- what I don't have and what I'll never have. I've never had a normal life, I've spent my life around violence and I lived in an incredibly dangerous city for a good while that completely changed how I view the world- I've never had normality and stability.

What you are is defined by what you don't have and what you're not and that's just beautiful to me. Unfortunately it's Kanye West.

If you want you can listen to it it's geniunely beautiful but I have it downloaded so I don't add to Kanye's listens personally...