#and how that might play out in season 4. with players both old and new

[fatalism-and-villainy]

While talking to @menciemeer, something came up re: Jack’s motivations for being in Italy in season 3 that I haven’t seen discussed much - and that is that he’s explicitly there not to catch Hannibal, but to save Will. Here’s his dialogue with Pazzi in Secondo:

Jack: If he hasn’t already, Il Mostro will return to Florence. Pazzi: Come back with me. We have a chance to regain our reputations and enjoy the honours of our trade by capturing the monster. Jack: I’m not here for the monster. Not my house, not my fire. I’m here for Will Graham.

This is even more striking in light of the context for his character that the very next episode gives us - his conversation with Chilton in Aperitivo establishes that he’s been forced into retirement with the FBI, but he’s not interested in regaining his standing or reputation. (Very odd in light of the fact that come the Red Dragon plot, he seems to still have his old job in Behavioral Science). Chilton tries to get him to use Will as bait to find Hannibal:

Chilton: Will is going to lead you right to him. Jack: Oh, no, he’s not. Not to me. I’ve let them both go. I’ve let it all go. Chilton: You dangle Will Graham and now you cut bait? You’re letting Hannibal have him hook, line, and sinker. Jack: You’ll excuse me, Dr. Chilton. I like to be home in the evenings when my wife wakes.

What stands out about this exchange is Chilton’s “letting Hannibal have him” phrasing. It foregrounds not subduing Hannibal, but preventing Will from succumbing to his worst impulses, as a central motivation for Jack in 3A. It’s also significant that it’s his need to care for Bella that leads him to defer pursuing anything relating to Hannibal or Will, because her death is framed within the episode as the impetus for his investment in following Will to Europe - as he tells Will in the funeral scene, “you don’t have to die on me, too.”

So much of Jack’s character arc in the first two seasons is juggling his repeated sacrifice of others for the greater good. His guilt over what befalls both Will and Miriam features prominently in season 2, and during Will’s trial, he’s already prepared to put his career and reputation on the line to stand up for Will and atone for what he feels is his role in Will’s downfall. Both the traumatic events of Mizumono and Bella’s death bring about more of a full turnaround in that direction - Jack becomes less invested in apprehending killers in service of public safety, and more invested in saving the specific person who’s been harmed by that project.

I think this motivation doesn’t always stick in people’s minds because these exchanges get eclipsed by Jack beating Hannibal to a bloody pulp a couple episodes later, as well as his inexplicable return to working for the FBI in 3B. But even in the former altercation, his fight with Hannibal feels personal, more about venting anger and grief than actually apprehending Hannibal. In Dolce, when Will asks why Jack didn’t kill Hannibal, Jack responds “maybe I need you to” (in the same exchange, of course, as “you need to cut that part out”). That scene also establishes clearly that Will and Jack are, like Pazzi, “outside the law and alone.” As in Mizumono, they’re effectively vigilantes - and Jack’s mission is not serving justice for the FBI, but in saving Will from Hannibal’s influence.

This is why, despite the fact that Jack is once again embroiled in FBI business in season 3B, I always envision his role post-canon as being a continuation of what haunts him in the first half of the season - less about catching or killing Hannibal than about rescuing Will. It’s a lot more compelling to me, at least, than him simply continuing to be the face of law enforcement.

#hannibal meta #hannibal #jack crawford #will graham #hannibal season 3 #i think a lot about how hannibal embodies and brings out everyone's worst impulses #but will is... more of a mixed bag. and brings out both alana and jack's saviour impulses at various points #(though of course for alana that impulse was itself a double edged sword) #and how that might play out in season 4. with players both old and new #also god laurence's delivery of 'i'm not here for the monster' is sooooo good #i mean. all of his lines really #my meta #hannibal talk #queue

[lukeywritesstuff]

this request might be a little confusing to type out but hear me out😭🤣 could u write something ab the reader having a kid and the devils having a event where the players get to train with the kids! the readers kid is one of the kids at the event and luke falls for the reader somehow through that! idk i have this vision in my head but idk how to type it out😭

Little League

Luke Hughes x mom!reader

Note: don’t worry! I totally understand what you’re saying. I read this and kinda had a social media/irl storyline come to my mind so I hope that’s alright! Also I kinda made them slightly know each other, but like acquaintances and they have like mutual friends kinda sorta.

Warnings: a shit ton of fluff. Literally it’s all fluff. Like I don’t even think this has cursing in it. And if so maybe once.

My name is Y/N, and when I was 15 I had a son. He is absolutely everything to me. I was young, and dumb, but if I was given the option to go back and never hook up with some senior at my school, I wouldn’t take the offer. I love my little man too much.

When he was 2 he fell in love with hockey, so at 3 I let him start learning how to skate and grasp the basics of playing hockey, even though for his age it was just floor. Now at 5 he’s playing fully on ice and his team was even invited to practice with the New Jersey Devils, as his team, and we, are based in Newark.

Once we got to Prudential Centre the boys were sent to the main locker room, their names were on tape right under their buddy for the day. I was looking around and right under ‘Luke Hughes’ in full capital letters read ‘Ethan Y/L/N’. I walked my son over to the stall where his name was (obviously avoiding the logo) and I helped him change into his pads, uniform and skates.

After all the kids were settled and ready, coach Ruff started explaining to the kids and the parents how this practice session basically works.

It’s a 4 week training camp, and it’s every Wednesday that the devils are in town. (So 4 Wednesdays, but sometimes there’s a week between the practices without one cuz they’re away) after everything was explained, the Devils were brought into the locker room to meet with their buddies for the program.

The second Ethan saw Luke the smile on his face grew by about 100%. He watched him on Michigan last season as my sister goes there and is friends with some of the older players on the team, and they’ve met before, so he’s excited to see his old friend.

“LUKEY! You’re my buddy! I’m so happy! I missed you! Are we gonna shoot pucks and score on everyone!?” My 5 year old said acting like I just fed him 3 coffees with a side of 10 pounds of sugar.

“Oh yeah we are! We’re gonna be the best group on the ice! With the best cheerleader! Right Y/N?” He said and I smiled at them giving a thumbs up.

After the rest of the kids got to know their buddy a little more the teams were ushered onto the ice, and parents were to stay along the sidelines and not interfere unless there was an emergency.

The team had several smaller nets put up along the boards to practice shooting, cones near centre ice to practice skating, and pucks EVERYWHERE. The kids were all having a blast, and so were the professionals.

By the end of the 2 hours all the kids looked ready to nap, and honestly so did most of the players. Everyone went into the locker room and the players helped the kids with their skates before they talked to the parents.

“So, how was Ethan out there?” I asked the curly headed man smiling at me.

“He’s great. Future NHL superstar I think. The next Gretzky! Forget about bedard!” He said.

“I’m glad my kids THAT GOOD.” I smiled.

“Yeah he is. How are you though? I haven’t seen you since you and Ethan visited Sarah?!” He said bringing up my sister.

“Everything’s great here actually! He’s loving kindergarten now and I got a raise which is why I put him into this. As a little treat for him.” I smiled.

“You’re such a good mom to him. You know, since we’re both in Jersey, I think we should finally exchange numbers, and maybe we can go out for lunch one day Eth’s in school and you’re off and I don’t have practice!” He said smiling.

“You know what, sure Hughes. Pass me your phone and we can text tonight about said lunch date.” I said before taking his phone.

Ynstagram

Had a great time with the @njdevils and @lhughes_06. Eth will never forget this. Thank you so much 🫶🫶

╔═══════════════════╗

The second week was 2 weeks later as the devils had their first road trip of the season. The kids were extra excited because the wait was longer than they expected it to be.

The second Ethan saw Luke he ran to the man and attached himself to him, it didn’t seem weird because quite a few of the kids did the same to their buddies.

Today on the ice they were doing more team oriented practices instead of just one on one. So Luke, Jack, Dawson, and Nico were working together with Ethan and 3 other kids. It wasn't too eventful, just 2 on 2 scrimmage and small drills that 5 year olds can handle.

But this time after helping Ethan change and it was time for Luke and I to talk about his progress, he asks me out for the next evening, I said yes because Ethan was already gonna be at my parents so I'll be home alone anyways, why not spent that evening with Luke!

#luke hughes #luke hughes x reader #luke hughes fanfiction #luke hughes imagine #luke hughes fanfic

[texasthoughtsaboutnothing]

Walpurgisnacht and how it ties it all together

So what is Walpurgisnacht?

Walpurgisnacht is a once a season fanservice event. It's a story thing with light character development. It's a banner with functionally an entire new rarity of ID. It's a game mode meant to demonstrate the power of those new IDs. It is a massive money maker for the company. And I believe it is kinda sorta the thing endgame players will align their behavior around.

That's a big claim at the end there, but I'll try to explain.

The key thing to focus on is the banner and the units that come with it. Walpurgis IDs are unique in that they are only available to purchase during a Walpurgisnacht, with the banner IDs being completely unpurchasable the first time they show up. Yes, you need to win the latest hype units from the Gacha or wait 4 months to buy them. These IDs are powerful, and, as this is a fanservice event tend to be referencing some of the coolest shit in PM's universe.

Needless to say demand is high while "supply" is dictated by a 1.5% drop chance or a 200 pull pity. This is pretty normal for a gacha, but a radical departure for Limbus, and it has some serious consequences on how we think about resources.

So in my last post I went over how Limbus' gacha after a certain point isn't worth it, and it ends up being mathematically better to convert premium currency to stamina to just grind out the units you want. There are several extremally important caveats to that statement, and the biggest one is Walpurgisnacht. I want to address that point here.

You want pulls for this, because you can't buy the unit until months after its arrived and you'll probably want it now. This changes how you might think about refreshing stamina, because you want to stockpile currency for a big pull session every 4 months. Counterintuitively, you want a lot of shards if you're new to buy the old Walpurgisnacht stuff, as unless the game powercreeps to hell and back a lot of these will be good forever (Regret Meursault EGO fundamentally changes how we think about his IDs and gameplay in perpetuity).

If we math it out (and use vague estimates so this doesn't become a wall of numbers), you can get 100 pulls from purely weekly Lunacy gains between Walpurgisnachts, but that number decreases for every refresh you do. if you refresh once every day, you're down to 85 pulls, and further down to 26 pulls if you double refresh. Ouch. However. there are other sources of pulls than just the 750 a week, and they add up substantially.

All of which is to say it's probably better to only do a single refresh to save pulls for Walpurgis, but if you do double refresh you will still have the ability to pull on this and maybe get the Banner ID.

But there's one other aspect to Walpurgis that has been met with some apprehension by the community, but makes me wonder at PMs intentions for the late game experience.

Gacha Announcers.

So Limbus has a system for Combat Announcers, There's no gameplay advantage for this, it's just to have your favorite characters comment on how bad you're playing, a nice little bonus reward that's easy to do if the VA is in the studio.

Walpurgisnacht slightly changed that, in that it added 2 Announcers to the Walpurgis gacha pool, Malkuth and Pierre/Jack. Malkuth is a major character from both Lobotomy Corporation and Library of Ruina and a fan favorite; the response to her being available was... significant. Pierre/Jack are also here. The Announcers are very rare (1.3%), and cannot be purchased, but are Pitiable (Malkuth most of all, heyyo). They take their rarity from the filler pulls, so nothing is actually lost as far as odds goes.

A big sticking point is you can roll dupe Announcers as they aren't removed from the pool like EGO, and many are upset they might not get Malkuth and instead the other guys. Undeniably that sucks, it's probably rare to save up 200 pulls for the pity and it might feel like a waste. But this decision also propelled Limbus on Steam's top 10 seller charts for the day, so PM rang in the new year with a smashing success of sales. It's also unclear if we can purchase the Announcers later, so that also is driving some fomo.

So that might seem bad, but one interesting thing is that dupe announcers give a lot of thread, 50 crates worth. Thread is the primary currency for upgrades and at endgame you want thousands of the stuff.

This creates this image to me of what an endgame player looks like, and I wonder if it's intentional. They have all or most of the game's available IDs and are now just spending Lunacy to stamina refresh to grind more boxes or thread or exp or w/e. That person now gets a second Thread bomb from Walpurgis separate from the seasonal turnover Thread bomb, which is the primary restriction of end game. I'm probably reaching here, but there's a logic to this that makes sense to me.

That's about all for Walpurgisnacht, but there's a couple other things I think are neat.

One, the game becoming one where you hoard gacha currency for a big dump to hit pity every 4 months is hilariously normal for this genre, albeit we actually get all the units.

Second, community engagement spikes with this as we get classic gacha posts like:

"Hey I just got every relevant unit in a single 10 pull, how wacky is that?" "150 pulls and nothing, it's so fucking over" "Can I get this unit in 3 single pulls? If not game sucks and devs are @%$#." "I STOLE MY MOM'S CREDIT CARD WE ARE SO FUCKING BACK"

Classic.

That's all folks, play Limbus Company.

#limbus company #project moon #limbus #gacha games #gacha #walpurgisnacht

[billys-pilgrimage]

I’m sorry but the narrative of DRX this year just makes me tear up even thinking about it.

Every player on this team has their own story. Of course, Deft, the prodigal son finally returning to the top 4 of Worlds teams in what may be his last year ever. Pyosik, who was part of the beloved 2020 DRX roster but constantly targeted by the past DRX coach for misplays and placing the blame of their losses on his shoulders. He’s struggled with his confidence for so long and has finally overcome his self doubt, but in 2020, he was the only member of the roster to stay on DRX for 2021 while all his friends left for “better” teams. Kingen joined in 2021, suffering through the repeated heartbreaks of that season and faltering in his dream of becoming a household name among top laners in the LCK. He was close friends with Zeka who played in the LPL at the time, but he too was struggling. Kingen promised Zeka that if he came back to Korea, they’d go to worlds together, and so Zeka trusted his word. Beryl, a world champion in his own right, brought on to support Deft and bring some experience to this team of “relative” newbies, breathing creativity into their games and bring the stability to balance out Pyosik’s chaos. And then, with a new coach, they struggled to find their groove during the regular season. They lost games they should’ve won, and barely squeaked through to the regional qualifiers after getting knocked out of the playoffs. In back to back best of 5s against teams no one thought they could beat, they went 3-2 to become the LCK’s fourth seed against all odds.

THEN!! They start play ins, beating RNG, against all odds. They make it to the group stage, winning 1/2 games against TES AND the inning the tiebreaker with Rogue to be 1st in their group, something almost nobody expected.

They make it to quarterfinals, meaning all LCK teams qualified, and in an absolutely insane best of 5, BEAT EDG!! LAST YEARS WORLD CHAMPIONS AND DEFT’S OLD TEAM, MAKING THEM THE FIRST LCK 4TH SEED TO EVER MAKE IT TO SEMIFINALS!! And Deft CRIES in the post game interview talking about how thankful he is. And in addition to that, GenG and T1, superstar teams in their own right, both having members of the beloved 2020 DRX roster on them.

Meanwhile, Deft is giving interview after interview about how much he loves the journey towards Finals more than the destination, and saying that everyone has always underestimated his teammates and he truly thinks they are the best players in the world. Meanwhile, Deft and Pyosik will play against their old top laner and mid laner on Sunday. And if they win that, they might play against their old support AND the most famous LoL player in history, Faker, WHO DEFT WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH!!

I don’t know man. If you don’t like DRX I don��t know what’s wrong with you at this point. They make me cry.

#forgive me lord for I must post about professional league #it just gets me man #long post #drx #drx deft #drx pyosik #t1 keria #geng chovy #geng doran #lol worlds

[mrslittletall]

I was reading an article and it only was nagging about video game DLCs and that made me think. Are DLCs really that bad? I admit, there are DLCs that are nothing but a cash grab, but most of the time, when I don't want a DLC, I just... don't buy it... Of course, I say this right away, I think it is scammy to finish the whole game and then put part of it behind a paywall. That is not what DLC should be about. Now let's look at this from another angle. I played a lot of games. DLC only became popular around the mid 2000s. Before there was no internet. You either bought add-ons or special editions. Now... when do I think a DLC is okay? Actually, I think selling a DLC is totally okay if the main game is already an enjoyable experience on its own. Take Dark Souls or Bloodborne for example. These are two solid and very enjoyable games. Heck, Bloodborne might the best game for the Playstation 4 and one of the best games of all time. Both of them got a DLC and this DLC... while super duper hard, was also kinda the best part of the game. It built on the world and the characters that were mentioned in the base game and gave us a whole new playground and four whole new bosses to fight along with new armour and weapons and magic. That is what I want from a DLC. It should build of the main game and add things that are fun to do and items that are fun to use. Now let's look at a different game. Anno 1800. This game already had massive content when it came out as the base game. You could sink hours into this builder game. Over the years, the game got a few DLCs... and while it is expensive, according to my game magazine, the game with all its DLCs is one of the best builder games of modern times now. And the thing is... you don't even need the DLCs to still enjoy the game. You can just buy the base game and have massive fun in there already. But the DLCs added stuff and made other things that were a bit meh really fun, so they feel like they made sense. And why didn't they add all this stuff right away? Easy, because the game is massive and they neede time to create all this content first. They also could listen to player feedback and add things they wanted. But then there are DLCs who are just scammy. Take Story of Seasons Pioneers of Olive Town. You know what the DLC is? You get marriage candidats from the old games. There is no new gameplay, no new items, you can just fish up a few fish from the games. And even worse, they announced this DLC before the game was even released. I decided to never touch the DLC at all and I still haven't. Why should I buy something that I am not interested in? Another offender is The Sims. As much as I love the game, I can see how scammy EA is with the Sims 4. The base game was empty and not that exciting to play. I actually bought it with pets expansion to have a little more to do in it. It is kinda typical for Sims to only get really good with a few DLCs, but Sims 2 was enjoyable even without the addons (not DLCs back then, they still called it addons ^^) and now I look at the EA store and see DLC that act like classical add-ons and gameplay packs and item packs. And the item packs! Who even buys them! The Modthesims community is making FAR better items and recolours! Yeah, another example of DLC that is really only made for the money. And then, of course, there is the FREE DLC.

We see this a lot in indie games. Hollow Knight or Blasphemous for example. Both games got more content after release and nobody had to pay a single penny for it. And these games only did cost around 15 or 20 bucks in total to begin with. But the creators loved the game so much, they decided to finish them and not charge for it. Those people are the real MVP. Shovel Knight is another one of these indie games that got content updates for free. What is your opinion on DLCs? Do you gladly buy them if they are good? Do you think DLCs were a mistake? Do you think gaming should get back to classical addons or special editions? I am interested in your opinions.

#video games #dlc discussion

[tigerkirby215]

Oopsie poopsie Riot did a fucky wucky uwu

It's been a bit since I've announced I'm basically quitting League and well... a lot has happened huhn? Between Riot not caring about the start of Season 13 and the OpenGL 1.1 shitshow I feel like I need to talk about the future of this blog.

1. WILL YOU KEEP MAKING D&D 5E CONTENT?

Yes. This is still the main TTRPG system I play and until the open gaming license completely forbids this blog I'll likely keep posting builds here. If OpenGL 1.1 comes out I'll likely be labeling all my builds with #WoTCBad & #OpenDnD for the foreseeable future but this won't impact what I post on this blog. Me boycotting WoTC's D&D branch won't stop me from posting builds with the content I have.

I might transition more into homebrew promotion if 5e's official content proves lazy and shady, but I am hesitant to turn this blog into primarily a homebrew blog if OpenGL 1.1 takes control.

2. WHAT ABOUT OTHER TTRPGS?

I don't know. I don't play other TTRPGs much: I have no interest in Pathfinder which would be the most obvious transition, and other systems would be... odd to move to, especially given the usual IPs I make D&D builds for.

Speaking of which...

3. WILL THERE BE MORE LEAGUE OF LEGENDS CONTENT?

Yes, but I don't see myself having any significant hype for new champions given the state of League after season 12 / moving into season 13. The game is moving in a direction I don't particularly enjoy or have interest in, and it's hard for me to find motivation to make content when I don't like the game. I still love League's characters which is why builds for at least K'Sante are coming but beyond that is up in the air.

3.1. WHAT ABOUT OTHER RIOT GAMES CONTENT?

Oh absolutely! If other games from Riot Games or Riot Forge provide compelling kits for TTRPG characters I may build them. The problem obviously lies both in the games I'm adapting (it's not like I can make much out of Legends of Runeterra) as well as how recognizable the characters are.

I have no interest in Valorant (though I'm not against trying?) so don't expect any Valorant builds. I'd like to stick to the Runeterra IP basically.

4. SO WHAT'S COMING THEN?

Not too sure. Not only did both Riot and WoTC do a fucky wucky, but I'm very busy with my own D&D campaign, a new semester of schooling and just... life? I have a lot less time in a psychology major than I do in my old business major is all I'll say.

I don't hate the current state of Dead by Daylight so I'm willing to provide promotion for that particular skinner box. Beyond that I'm not invested in many other games with the exception of... some...

Maybe I'll try to snag the Cult of the Lamb build before Tulok makes one. Maybe I'll finally go through my back catalogue of one-off builds. Maybe I'll become a filthy DOTA 2 player once again.

5. ANYWHERE ELSE TO FOLLOW YOU?

Linked above is one of my tweets: I'm active on Twitter (perhaps too active) but I primarily just shitpost about Dead by Daylight there. I do other things... but yeah it's mostly DbD shitposting.

If I go MIA on Tumblr again you can find me on Twitter, basically. And if I go MIA on Twitter then I'm probably going to be here lol.

#update #dnd #dnd 5e #league of legends #Open DnD #season 13 #Open GL #WoTC #wizards of the coast #Twitter

[clericlost]

default verse,  re  :  season 4 rewrite,  abridged   [  ish  ]   timeline. . .

note  :  all of this is flexible to plotting,  especially with other characters who will's divergencies overlap with   [  cali crew,  as well as how other characters like eddie or chrissy that might interact with him since he's not excluded from canon events  ].     i am also still very canon compliant friendly for where it better fits or is desired!

SETTING  :  the byers stay in hawkins,  jane still moves in with them,  and joyce decides to start her off with homeschooling instead of jumping straight into public school.     will asks to join.     honestly similar to max,  will distances himself a bit from the party with his new schooling as an excuse,  ghosting a lot of interactions unless they’re group or occasional.     nothing extreme,  but noticeable.     he isolates from both friends and family to paint and study and work his after - school job for some extra cash.     he still reaches out to max just to remind her he’s around if she ever needs anything,  and makes time for lucas’s basketball games where he can,  but otherwise tries to make himself scarce.     he does not join hellfire,  nor does he play dnd anymore after the events of season three.

volume i,  THE DEAD  :  the night of chrissy’s death,  will has an unnervingly intense upsidedown episode.     he sees the news of a hawkins high student’s death at the trailer park on the news and calls max to make sure she’s okay  ;  he notices something’s off,  but the conversation doesn’t last long,  and he’s left to venture over to dustin’s with a feeling of forbode.     dustin’s mom let’s will know that he is,  in fact,  out for the day,  and with max,  and will’s stomach rolls.     he goes on a bit of a wild goose chase looking for the others to no avail,  but eventually makes his way back to dustin’s for a spare walkie where he finds lucas and a few other basketball players digging around where they’re not supposed to.     lucas and will split off to go find dustin themselves.     the night of fred’s death,  will has another episode.

volume i,  THE CEMETERY  :  once all convened in mike’s basement with the knowledge max has been cursed,  will tells the others about the episodes,  as well as this strange knowing creeping back up,  not dissimilar to his intuitions in season two and three.     it feels like the mind flayer again,  yet the killings are different.     they can confirm his second episode coin - sides with fred’s death as well.     by the time team babysitter are at the cemetery and max’s eyes roll back in her head,  will’s knowing immediately expands to now - memory territory.     as everyone’s scrambling around trying to wake max,  will stands at the edge of their periphery,  skin crawling,  eyes glazed and breath quiet  ;  frozen.     when max finally drops back to the ground,  will breathes like he’s just come up from underwater.

volume i,  THE CREEL HOUSE  :  the whole victor creel lead felt like a huge waste of time to will,  in that he felt like he knew,  they all knew,  who it was  :  the mind flayer,  again.     right ?     after robin and nancy’s discovery at the library,  it pales in comparison,  circumstantial at best,  a waste of manpower.     but there’s no tendrils of shadow to chase,  not even a meat - puppet version,  no zombie - fied people looming about,  so he bears it.     they discover more at the asylum and will sighs and follows after them to the old,  decrepit house in question.     he begins to feel like a passenger in his own body almost immediately.     from the moment they step up the walkway,  reach the porch,  even worse once they’re inside.     unbearable,  once they’re in the attic.     every corner they turn to follow the lights,  will’s already drifting toward.     when the lights in the attic blaze and then burst,  he flinches his eyes closed and feels a body hit the water.

volume i,  THE GATE  :  as mentioned here and elaborated here,  will works similarly to a compass when it comes to upsidedown gates.     this very general awareness,  coupled with his episode leads them to the lake.     at first glance,  a lot of will’s knowledge of the upsidedown is honestly unhelpful due to it’s vague and ambiguous nature,  which he is very aware and tired of,  but he’d be able to tell them why vecna’s doing what he’s doing far before volume ii.     they’re linked,  somehow,  just like he and the mind flayer,  and will now knows the similarities are enough to be worrying.     he’d know these dead are sacrifices,  these sacrifices,  gates,  and that vecna needs four of them for his plan to work.

throughout all of this,  will is increasingly frustrated that he is not a target of vecna instead of max,  or even patrick,  or literally anyone else.     the upsidedown never passed up an opportunity to bite down on him before,  and this time,  it's even specifically targetting people with not only trauma,  but secrets,  and yet he's just as helpless as he's always been.     he's linked with the upsidedown in every way that doesn't help his friends,  and he grapples with this a lot.     when will described the mind flayer's intentions in season two,  he says it wants to kill,  and when asked if it wants to kill him,  he answers no  ;  just everyone else.     this appears to be true even now.     as the events of volume ii aproach,  will is desperate to the point of recklessness to do something,  anything,  with this connection that might help.

#study . . .⠀headcanon #st4 spoilers // #i will write up on will's more personal journey seperately so this can be more of a general timeline #i will also expound more on will's connection w vecna bc. >:) #i hate to elaborate cause i know once s5 drops i will likely have to rewrite all of it or go completely divergent but #that will probably be years away lol so! i will wing it again <3 #can't do a read more on mobile i guess lol rip the dash #if u wanna plot threads w this puhleaseeee lemme know bc i will be v happy to <3 #i will also put will's alternate vecna'd verse in a diff post but generally i do Not wanna take away from max's s4 storyline so. #this will be the Default default unless specifically exploring other vecna'd possibilities will or otherwise!

[ajournalingtrex]

AND SEVENTEEN DAYS UNTIL PRESEASON OH MY GOD LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL !!!!!!! LIFE MIGHT ACTUALLY REALLY SUCK AND I MIGHT WANT TO D1E A BIT ALL THE TIME BUT PRESEASON IS BEAUTIFUL !!!!!!! I!!!! LOVE!!!!! PRESEASON!!!!!

preseason is a gift. proof that there may be a god and that life may be okay. those invited (our student leaders, our graying athletes, the freshmen who have no idea what they’re getting into—trust me i was one of those kids—on campus faculty, and the football team. ), god what an incredible mix it is. an amalgamation of wonderful delightful people every time. it’s such a quiet campus but you know you’re not alone and 70-80 people are in just the same boat as you and it’s comforting.

((most of them are just starting their summer reading just like me, too.))

we throw ourselves at each other and at our rooms and at our teachers that first day, just how it normally is but easier on the social anxiety. we get the afternoon to set up and then we have meetings to go over the rules so that way they wouldn’t have to give it to us again when the rest got here. it felt like we were the guinea pigs, the men at the birth of time. the ones who knew how everything worked before the rest of the world and were—more often than not—the reason that the rules would be changed for the rest of the group. if you’re lucky, you don’t have practice until day 2. i normally don’t possess such fortune.

practice. the only thing any of us have to report for. for my team, that was 10-11:30 conditioning and 3-4:30 field work every day, and twice in that week we had 7-8:30 to continue our progress. it’s exhilarating, the only way to describe it. but maybe that’s because i’m an addict and my drug of choice is the same as it was when i was 10. sprints are no fun but we’re together and we’re laughing, and i get so drunk off the buttercup yellow and fluorescent green swimming through the air around me that i don’t care about how i’m going to puke up a dining hall muffin or how my shirt is an entirely different shade from sweat or how my ankle definitely didn’t hurt like that before.

we indoctrinate the new people with our questions of your favorite smell and then tossing you the unwashed pennies (even though we’re a team that cheers when you make a bad shot because we just can’t get enough of each other), and we reminisce about the games of old and the teams that brought us to tears last year—how 10 called me a bitch for elbowing them and 4 laughed at me getting carded because that’s absolutely something 4 would do god what a prick but it’s okay i think they graduated—and the injuries that took people out and how they’re just not allowed to happen again.

and the playing. holy shiting fuck. being one of the callout defensive players on the team, i take it as the time to introduce myself to everyone and get my bearings of who i’m working with; who’ll listen to advice and who’ll give me that furrowed eyebrow look for daring to question their stance; who’s a baby deer walking on ice for the first time and how can i help make this just a little bit easier for them; who’s getting of play time and where will coach put them; who am i getting paired with a lot and how can i adapt to their play style.

((since being drafted as sweep, this is my goalie. and after one week of hours on end with each other, both of us with the same goal in every drill and joking beside each other when the offense are being run into the ground. last year, she became my son by day three and by day 5 we scrimmaged in matching bathing suits and i turf burned all down my arm, and even though we didn’t win she cites that as the moment i became her person.))

((this year? i’m not allowed to get concussed because she needs me. she needs me out there. i missed her first season and she told me i owed it to her and that we needed to form the same synchronization we barely brushed last year before the accident. for this one green, sky blue, and red-orange week of the year, that kid is my everything. her thoughts are my thoughts, my calls are hers. i promised her we would have it this year, so whatever may happen to me and my destructive tendencies both on and off the field, i’m giving it to her.))

i get pads and pads of paper and i draft roster after roster, trying to get into the head of my former advisor while giving advice she’ll never hear to as many people who will possibly listen to me. i wave my hands around over orange chicken and jasmine rice and blue gatorade and chick fil a milkshakes and talk only of the future, the school year, the season, my family and my team-family and ways that things are green and shiny and bright.

((something a coach said to me last year will always stick with me. when conferencing with me about my role on the team, she said that during the season but especially during preseason, my eyes never sparkle more.))

my favorite day is when it rains. every year there’s always one. the day everyone dreads but i ADORE. last year the power went out, and it got me out of everything but practice. i didn’t mind, though. i never could on rain days.

we’re all outside going through the same downpour and it’s cold and your tank top is sticking to you in the wind, but the air is hot so it’s refreshing. and it sucks to be out there in the rain with your soreness and your slightly off shots and your feet slipping all over the turf (or getting mud in places you’ll talk about only in the locker room) but your heart is absolutely glowing because you’re doing what you love with amazing people in the greatest place you’ve ever been and even if you eat shit 5–10–20 more times, you wouldn’t trade it for the world. because life is good. there’s something in life to look forward to, and it’s you and your team against the elements: training and fucking up and learning from it to grow and to be the best. your eyes are still shiny and you’re alight with heart fire.

because that’s really what preseason is about: heart fire. finding something that makes you feel good about yourself and feel strong and confident and together to just set you ablaze.

#am if you’re reading this #you feel like preseason rain days #i was writing about you and that happened and i couldn’t stop writing #because that’s what your france/germany post reminds me of. you found your heart fire. and your presence reminds me of mine #and then i remembered that preseason is so close #my love for school and field hockey and family and preseason came roaring out of me i guess #rexy wrote a thing #i miss my brother and my younger/older sister and my greg and my son and my older sister and my sunflower #and my twin flame and my snack thief and my dad and my coach and my home and my family and my team and my sport #and the feeling of my heart fire. #dad and i were talking and he was like “i didn’t realize how important field hockey was to you.” and i was like “yeah me neither #“only know you love her when you let her go. that song by passenger?” #and he told me to get out and then got jokingly frazzled when i tried bc we had to talk about a lot more #17. days. 16 now the clock’s struck midnight. #wendy’s coke machine soon <3

[rentalservice]

5 Affordable Ways to Try PC Gaming on a Budget

 Most of us have tried PC gaming within our budget. We may not be able to afford expensive consoles and games, but we can always find alternatives to meet our needs. When it comes to PC gaming, you’ve got two choices: build your computer or rent one. While building your computer might seem like the way to go if you want to save money in the long run, it is also often more hassle than it’s worth. Fortunately, there are plenty of options that let you get started on PC gaming without buying an expensive new computer. From cloud-based gaming services to used PCs that still provide great performance and reliability, there are many ways you can try out PC gaming without spending too much money upfront. Check out these five ways that are budget-friendly and will let you dip your toes into the deep end of the pool.

 1.       Get a used or PC on rent

One way to try PC gaming without breaking the bank is by getting a used or refurbished computer. If you do not have enough cash for this, consider getting a computer on rent instead. You can also use your old laptop or desktop as your new gaming rig. Simply hook up an external keyboard and monitor and go! Renting a Windows-based game, many games are now available to rent online, rather than buy outright. Popular examples include Minecraft and Lego Worlds. In some cases, it may be cheaper to get a computer on rent than buy it outright if the price is affordable. Splitting with friends is another great way to get into PC gaming without breaking the bank with other people who enjoy playing video games.

 2.       Use free-to-play games.

 There are many great free-to-play games out there that will let you get a taste of what PC gaming is all about without having to spend any money upfront.  Free-to-play (F2P) titles are often more accessible than paid ones because they are free to download and play. Though some F2P games might be pay-to-win, many others do not require players to spend any money at all if they do not want to - making them a great place to start if you are just getting started with gaming. League of Legends and Dota 2 are both examples of popular free-to-play MOBA games that offer hours and hours’ worth of entertainment for nothing. An often-overlooked gem in the world of free-to-play is War frame, which features slick 3D visuals and an action RPG gameplay style like Diablo III.

 3.       Take advantage of sales and discounts.

Many retailers offer deep discounts or even flash sales throughout the year, so keep an eye out for those opportunities. For example, Steam, GOG, and Humble Bundle all have seasonal sales and regular discounts on their products. If you wait to buy games until they are discounted, you can save quite a bit of money.

 4.       Use less expensive hardware options.

PC gaming can be expensive. But the cost of hardware is not the only factor in play when you are looking for affordable ways to try PC gaming on a budget. There are many aspects, like what kind of graphics card and CPU you get, or how much storage space and RAM your computer has that contribute to the overall price. If you know what hardware components will work best with your setup, it might save some money.  Or if you have parts lying around from an old computer, then building your PC could also save money if it works properly. The other option is getting a console - they may not offer all the benefits of PC gaming but they are still plenty of fun. They do require games to be purchased separately though so there is a recurring cost associated with that, whereas playing PC games just requires internet access and downloads which are usually free or come at little expense.

 5.       Play browser-based or Flash games.

If you are looking for an easy way to get started with PC gaming, play some browser-based games or Flash games. There are hundreds of browser-based and Flash games out there that are completely free. You will need a mouse, but these games do not require any installation or downloading.

·       Even if you do not have access to the internet, you can still play some of these types of games offline by downloading them first. For example, try Angry Birds.

·       After downloading Angry Birds, all you must do is double-click the icon and it will start up right away. Some other free games like Scrabble also allow you to download their game before playing it.

If all else fails, head over to your local library which usually has computers available for use that can be connected to the internet. These computer systems might not always be running modern operating systems though so you will want to make sure you are prepared for anything. Also, because libraries sometimes restrict how much time users can spend online in one day, this is not the best option for people who want to stay online for long periods. And finally, there is no guarantee that every library in your area has a computer system available either. But if they do, then this is a good place to check!

 Conclusion

There are a lot of ways to get into PC gaming, and it can be tough to know where to start. We hope our guide has helped you figure out the best way to get started in PC gaming without breaking the bank.  Remember that getting into PC gaming does not mean you need to spend a ton of money you might just need a little patience as well as some clever research. Just because your game is not popular now does not mean it will not become popular later!

#ipad on rent

[fossadeileonixv]

Where are we now?

Let’s just take a moment to appreciate what these guys have done in just under 3 years....

Ok. Moving on. 

Here’s the current roster. Some of these positions are fluid but this is how I see it breaking down:

GK (3) Maignan Tatarusanu Mirante 

FB (4) Calabria, Florenzi, Theo, FBT, 

CB (4) Kalulu, Tomori, Kjaer Gabbia 

DM (5) Tonali, Benna, Baka, Pobega, Krunic, 

AM (3) Diaz, Adli, CDK 

Wide (4) Salad, Messias, Leao, Rebic

Strikers (4) Giroud, Origi, Zlatan, Lazetic

Gabbia seems headed to Samp...  I think we will try anything to get Baka somewhere else...  Zlatan is hurt and I'm hoping they find a loan for Lazetic. Him riding the pine all year doesn’t make any sense. 

That gets us down to 23 which means we probably have moves to make. 

CENTER BACK

Gabbia’s move is dependent on another CB coming in. The CB names in the news? Evan Ndicka who is a 22 year old 6′4″ left footed CB with Eintracht Frankfurt. Japhet Tanganga, a 23 year old 6′2″ right footed CB with Spurs. Finally Abdou Diallo, a 25 year old 6′2″ left footed CB from PSG. Ndicka’s contract is up next summer so he would most likely be either a straight buy or loan with buy option. The other 2 are on longer deals which probably means some kind of long term loan with all kinds of stipulations and such. Of the 3 I like the size and quickness of Ndicka. He seems the most like the Tomori/Kalulu style we favor with a bit more size. Also from talking to folks that watch such things he sounds like the real deal. 

MIDFIELD

Bakayoko HOPEFULLY is going. He was so bad in his 10 minutes against Marseille that it was almost comical. Honestly he has been trash all preseason. If we can find a home for him then we probably have a spot for Renato Sanches. I really can’t express how little excitement this fills me with. I just have no interest in an undersized midfielder with a history of missing games. This is a guy that’s made only 64 league appearances in 3 years. Durable he is not. Also after watching the path of Brahim Diaz the last few seasons bringing in another little guy into the midfield just doesn’t appeal to me. I like the size we have. If Bakayoko does go then I’m fine with rolling with 4 guys (Tonali/Benna/Pobega/Krunic) for the 2 double pivot spots. I don’t think a replacement is absolutely needed.

EDIT: Sanches signed with PSG last night. Dodged a bullet there. 

RIGHT WING

The other name long rumored out there is Hakim Ziyech. The thinking was that Messias and Saelemaekers just aren’t good enough and we desperately need an upgrade at RW. Yes and no. While neither are great we won a scudetto with them playing 2 sides of the same coin. Saelemaekers being the defender and Messias the attacker. Both were good in those roles but sadly Pioli can’t play them both at the same time. So what does Ziyech bring to the table? He’s a better crosser than either of them and probably a better one on one player. He’s certainly not a better defender than Salad. He might be as good a finisher as Messias but I wouldn’t say he’s better. Also Ziyech is 29 while Messias is 31 and Salad is 23. 

Would you sell Messias and bring in Ziyech? Sure. I think that makes the most sense. Would you sell Saelemaekers and bring in Ziyech? Oof. Not me. I don’t want my RW combo to be all offense, no defense and all of a sudden be the oldest spot on the field. Of course that all changes if CDK is gonna be groomed as a RW. He’s kind of the wild card right now as I see him being able to play all the positions up top including as a false 9. I imagine you could easily get 15 or more for Salad from the right team and it would be all profit. Also Salad has been a mess this preseason. I’d say he plateaued this past season but this offseason he actually appears to be sliding backward. Not good. 

Of course if you read between the lines here all these moves are dependent on the old Galliani axiom of “if someone is to come in then someone needs to go.”

Some things never change!

THINGS TO CONSIDER

- It’s a 12 week run straight from the opening weekend through to the WC. That run also includes the entire CL group stage. Not much time off in there. Having most of the group back should make this opening stretch easier.

- There is still 30 days left in the window and a lot of teams in Italy still have work to do. The top teams have been busy but so have the bottom ones. It’s teams in the middle like Atalanta, Samp, Verona and Sassuolo that still have a lot of work to do.  

- Speaking of Samp they are unloading Mikkel Damsgaard to Brentford for peanuts. I think that’s a huge mistake. My guess is he is moved on in the next year or two for 50-60 million to Chelsea or some other big club. 

-  There are also guys on a free out there like Acerbi, Mertens, Belotti and some others that will eventually find a home somewhere. It might take a while but it will happen. 

- Speaking of Mertens, him going to Lazio to reunite with Sarri would be a fun story. He could be the back up to Immobile that Lazio has long desperately needed. Make it happen!

FORZA MILAN

#IMIT

Lisi  

[acerace]

...you have opened my eyes to a vast universe of VintageBeef lore that I was unaware of. I knew about the New Hermit Order, of course, and the UHC invention, and I've watched a few of his CTM things but -- I will take all the info and lore you feel like giving out because Beef is amazing and my knowledge is so small.

Vintagebeef my beloved <3

So the thing is, right, until about 2016 I only watched two (2) youtubers- Vintagebeef for Minecraft and aDrive for Pokemon (and funnily enough both of them are named Dan irl). So I've watched most of Beef's videos over the years and have a general knowledge of most of his stuff, except because it's been like a decade I don't remember where most of the lore comes from XD

The thing with him is that he doesn't do Lore tm the way other mcyters often do lore- he doesn't have an extensive RP series to draw from like Grian, doesn't have a solo world with steadily increasing amounts of lore like Etho or Zisteau, and while he's played on SMPs and been involved in storylines before it's not really the focus of his episodes unlike with Evo or Legacy or Empires

So where does that leave us?

IRL, Beef always has multiple series running at the same time. Often he's playing on an smp while doing a singleplayer, often modded, series as well as a CTM or modpack with a group of friends. For example, right now he's playing on Hermitcraft, doing weekly Pixelmon and Building a Zoo episodes, and a CTM map with Slip. And to me, this translates to one thing: Beef is an adventurer. He travels frequently- he explores a world and when he decides he's done, he leaves for the next one. That's the basis of my personal interpretation of his series and his character for my writing.

Ok so reading this back, this got extremely long and didn't explain much in the way of lore, somehow? If anyone has any additions to add please do so, I am very definitely leaving out a lot and would love to see what other lore people remember and are using for Beef! I didn’t include the Hermitcraft stuff since my memory of season 4 is blurry (his base was themed after the Martian, that much I know, and he and Iskall were buddies :D) and most of the s5 NHO lore is best watched from Bdub’s perspective from what I remember, and the only s6 stuff is a single line in Hermitgang and then the Area 77 arc with its possibility of an NHO reunion which we did not get rip. And s7 of course had the cloning machine and also the Podzol Party as the main lore. So all the original rambling is still below the cut though it is very long, and I'm gonna bullet point the main stuff here instead:

Actual canonical things:

Invented UHC and was the only survivor of the first ever uhc (Mindcrack UHC s1)

Married to an ender dragon (one of the UHCs I think), later father to a different dragon (Mindcrack season 3? I think?)

Might not have legs if you choose to take that joke as canon (Mindcrack s2)

Was a wizard (RAD)

is a zookeeper (Building a Zoo) 

Had a wife and kids (Sims in Minecraft)

Part of the Trial of the B Team court case (Mindcrack)

NHO founder, founder of the Podzol Party (Hermitcraft)

Created a cloning machine that sort of works (Hermitcraft)

Played the Forest which is I believe the first time he and Keralis played together (look up the trigger warnings for this one, it's a horror game)

Was the creator/owner of Sourceblock SMP (featuring some familiar faces if you know Legacy, Empires, or MCC) and there is literal magic from a mysterious sourceblock of water that teleports people and summons mobs and probably more stuff that I haven't seen yet since I'm still watching it myself

Things you can infer:

Good with animals (Life in the Woods, Pixelmon, Ark)

Is a car nerd (irl and all of the car games he's played)

Is a highly experienced adventurer who has traveled through dozens of worlds both vanilla and modded, across multiple dimensions (Twilight Forest, the Aether, the Betweenlands, Limbo), completed dozens of monuments, fought in blood sports, survived apocalypse after apocalypse, tamed dinosaurs, and played a lot of prop hunt and golf with your friends

If you're looking for what to watch for lore purposes, I'd say the Mindcrack UHCs and Team Canada's RAD series are pretty good, definitely Sourceblock and HC s5, plus the Diversity CTM maps and Ruins of the Mindcrackers maybe? And Mindcrack Prank Wars for the chaos and the origin of Team Canada. And if you can handle horror than the Forest is fun and if you don't do horror you can watch the Pojkband play golf or prop hunt they're hilarious I love them sm I want a Pojkband reunion So Bad 

Beef's first series was a singleplayer series in beta 1.4_01 though he had played the game extensively before that, and was a big fan of Guude, having watched his own Minecraft videos. The series was functionally a hardcore one where if he died Beef would delete the world and start again! I haven't actually Watched this series so idk if he died or how often lmao. When Guude made Mindcrack, which was btw one of the very first Minecraft SMPs, he also hosted a competition for people to join, and Beef submitted a video (which is still viewable on his channel I believe!) and won, and was added to Mindcrack in season 2 :D (fun fact, Guude said that even if Beef hadn’t won he would have added him anyway) 

Two running jokes emerged from Mindcrack- pulling a Vintagebeef and Beef doesn't have legs. The first is a reference to Beef dying of fall damage (I believe the exact instance was him trying to jump into his swimming pool and failing spectacularly) and after the incident, every time someone died of fall damage they were pulling a Vintagebeef. The second joke comes from Guude, who joked that the reason Beef wasn't going to a convention was because he didn't have legs, and then he pranked Beef's base by building a giant pair of legs at the entrance to his castle so you had to walk between them to get into the base. This joke has long since died and both Beef and Guude feel pretty bad about it iirc because there were people who genuinely thought Beef was disabled and were emailing him supportive messages and stuff oops. So if you go looking on the Salad or find old Mindcrack fics, you might see references to Beef having prosthetic legs!

Mindcrack also brought about the creation of several Player groups- Team Nancy Drew, Team Canada, and GOB to name a few relevant to Beef. Team Nancy Drew consists of Beef, Pauseunpause, Guude, and Baj, who formed to investigate a prank on one of the members but I forget who. They're named Nancy Drew after the detective! Team Canada also formed in retaliation to pranks, with it consisting of Beef, Etho, and Pause, the three Canadian members on the server (not including Adlington who moved to Canada but never joined the group). There was also a Team America who pranked them with American flags everywhere. GOB is Guude, OMGChad, and Beef, who played stuff like the Ragecraft, Pantheon, and Monstrosity ctms together but that's way down the line lol

Team Nancy Drew is also notable for inventing UHC. It was Beef's brainchild but it was the four of them who first played it! The first UHC had the four of them working to kill the dragon with no natural regen, with everyone dying but Beef, who "won" the UHC. The second uhc was still dragon focused and iirc is where Beef married the dragon? Memories are hazy but they do kill the dragon in this one I think. UHC was then revamped as a pvp event and became a regular Mindcrack game every few months, featuring most of the Mindcrackers and several special guests, including Dinnerbone, who as we know Thanos-snapped Doc's arm out of existence as a result of Doc killing him in one of them

In one of the seasons of Mindcrack, Beef invited swedish Mindcracker and good friend Anderzel to go caving with him and invented ABBA Rules caving, where the winner takes it all. ABBA Rules is a game where each ore (and also dungeon loot like nametags) is assigned a point value and the person with the most points at the end wins and gets to keep all the stuff collected from the game.

In Mindcrack season 3?, Beef punched the ender dragon in an... awkward area, so when the dragon died and left the egg behind, Guude said Beef was the father of the egg XD I don't remember if I watched s3 so I have no idea if anything Happened with this concept but *history of the world voice* you could make lore out of this!

So Team Canada has played a Lot of CTM maps (which fun fact were pretty much invented by another Mindcrack member, Vechs, with his Super Hostile series! Super Hostile has a bunch of things called "Zistonian", which are references to another Mindcrack member Zisteau, who has a very wild singleplayer series with even wilder lore but I digress). In Ruins of the Mindcrackers, they had a running joke that Beef was Etho and Pause's mom, which is a joke we can leave in the past actually /lh. They also played all the Diversity maps, Sky Factory, Terra Restore, Uncharted Territory uhhh and a couple more ctms and adventure maps! Each map kinda has its own story so in Diversity 3 for example they were trapped in a simulation? I think? Team Canada also recently played the Roguelike Adventures and Dungeons modpack, aka RAD, in which Beef was a wizard with a magic staff that could do anything from summon lightning to control hostile mobs.

Sourceblock SMP is a vanilla survival 1.14 series that ran for one season and the series starts with each of the Players being drawn to a strange sparkling water source that, once they touch it, brings them to the Sourceblock world. It also summons a giant zombie at one point. There's probably more lore for this series but like I said I haven't watched it all the way through yet 

He has a Patreon server called VintageCraft and has done a series or two on there as well, and played a few UHCs with them, so lore that how you will! 

Beef also played a few popular mods, notably Pixelmon, Life in the Woods, and Feed the Beast, with LitW being singleplayer and the other multiplayer. He's also recently played the Zoo and Wild Animals mod a lot. He did a short series with the Minecraft Comes Alive mod where he married one of the villagers and had two children, so that's canon now :D he’s played a Lot of Pixelmon starting when the mod first came out iirc (he chose Turtwig in his first series and built a Grass gym, then made a Normal gym in another series in uhh 2016) and he still plays to this day. Quite a few Hermits played on his Pixelmon servers with him, like Wels, Etho, Iskall, Stress, Slip, Zueljin, and also Guude and Phedran (a Mindcrack adjacent player and creator of the LitW modpack) and a few Mindcrackers on the older servers 

Mindcrack and friends played a lot of other games too- 7 Days to Die, Ark Survival Evolved, Unturned, to name a few, so you can pull a lot of lore out of these as well. Speaking of friends and non-Minecraft games, Beef teamed up with Pause, Keralis, and Slip (a former Hermit) to play the horror game the Forest, which saw them stuck on an island trying to survive against terrifying mutated human... things. They played it a few times as the game updated but as afaik it's the first time Beef played with Keralis and possibly Slip and since the game starts with the Player's airplane crashing, that could totally be how Beef first met them in-universe 

I... think? that’s everything I mentioned in the tags? There is probably way more stuff I’ve forgotten that stems from inside jokes and things that happen within each series, but I hope that was a) helpful and b) at least somewhat comprehensible lmao 

#hermitcraft #mindcrack #vintagebeef #mcyt #long post #asks #redwinterrises #that was so many words #kudos to anyone who reads the whole thing lmao

[comradelasso]

i am convinced that with all this stuff about the “dark forest” and jsuds comparing season 2 to the empire strikes back, which famously ended with the heroes split up, that someone is going to leave richmond by the end of the season. and now there are 4 coaches when before it was only ted and beard, making it very possible one of them will leave, i ranked all the coaches in order of most to least likely to leave richmond:

1) nate. nate is definitely hurtling towards something this season, and we can all agree it won’t be good. his sudden increase in popularity and acclaim after winning the game for richmond means that it is very likely that another club will want to snatch him up. (in today’s ep we caught a glimpse of a newspaper article suggesting nate is ready to manage his own team .... and we know how much these writers love foreshadowing.)

nate clearly does not think he is appreciated enough at richmond, and he might accept an offer from a more prestigious club to impress his dad. if nate did leave richmond, i think it will happen an episode or two before the season finale and richmond will end up facing off against nate’s new team for their last match, which would be a neat parallel to them playing against jamie in 1x10. nate will likely come to regret his decision to leave richmond (the environment of kindness and support ted has fostered there is a rarity in competitive sport) and it might even be the push he needs to realize how terrible his behavior was. and when nate inevitably returns to richmond, it will set him on a path of trying to redeem himself and reconcile with the team, which again is very similar to jamie — ironic, considering that jamie was the primary bully of nate in season 1. the writers clearly have a very specific arc planned for nate, and i think he will get worse before he gets better (nick mohammed has said that he is nervous about audience reaction to nate when the season ends). nate is trapped in a downward spiral in which his newfound arrogance and old insecurities are at war with each other, and it will take a pretty drastic change for him to finally escape it and become a better person. a downside to this theory is it might be a little too similar to jamie’s arc, but i think the writers would avoid having it seem like a retread.

2. ted. ted’s character arc this season is focused on his struggles with mental health and him learning the importance of self-care. ted might finally be in therapy, but i doubt he will only be on an upward trajectory from now on — i think his storyline will only get darker as the show continues to explore his past trauma (im convinced that ted’s dad committed suicide and that this will eventually be revealed this season). ted is also struggling with being apart from his son and even seems to believe that he’s abandoned him. roy accusing ted of ruining jamie as a player and them then winning the spurs match without ted will likely make him feel worthless. this could all come to a head this season and result in ted resigning from richmond to return to kansas. if this did happen, it would probably be the cliffhanger the season ends on and season 3 will focus on his return to richmond. like nate, i think ted will hit rock bottom before he gets better and his panic attack in 2x06 is only the tip of the iceberg. ted leaving richmond for a period of time will allow both the team and ted himself to realize just how essential he is to them.

3. beard. i dont see beard leaving richmond the same way i can see nate or ted doing so, but his character arc is not entirely clear yet. he is still in a pretty toxic relationship with jane (he was wearing the hat she gave him this ep) but i think he will listen to higgins and break up with her before the end of the season. we know that unlike ted, beard cares deeply about richmond winning and the team hasn’t exactly been doing well since they started coaching them — they might be on a winning streak now thanks to roy and nate, but they still need to get promoted. if richmond fails to get promoted, beard might be so frustrated by their futile efforts that he quits. beard is clearly still pretty important to the team and him leaving would be a definite blow, especially for ted (it would also be a significant setback for ted’s mental health). if beard did leave, i think it’d be a season finale twist after richmond’s final match (again, beard leaving would probably be dependent on whether richmond wins or loses).

4. roy. lmao there is no way roy is leaving richmond after everything he went through in 2x05.

i can see a couple of these scenarios playing out simultaneously — nate could be recruited by another team and that could also lead to a depressed ted returning to kansas, leaving beard and roy as the coaches; ted could go home and beard could go with him; nate and beard could both quit and leave ted in a very bad place. either way, i dont think this season will have as hopeful an ending as season 1. sure, richmond might have been relegated but the team was still united and optimistic about their future — it goes back to what ted said about losing a game but still winning vs winning a game but still losing. richmond might get promoted this season, but they will still “lose” because they are left divided and still in the “dark forest” by the end of the season.

#ted lasso #ted lasso theory #ted lasso meta #nathan shelley #coach beard #roy kent #jason sudeikis #can you tell im just brain dumping rn lmao #i just have a lot of thoughts about where this season is headed that i wanted to get down #hopefully this theory doesnt age very badly!

[sazc94]

The Three Times James "Bucky" Barnes Broke your heart.

This was inspired by @msmarvelwrites 2k Writing Challenge because I'm a sucker for Taylor Swift especially sad Taylor Vibes. I chose the all too well lyrics.

Apparently, I can't do anything small so it's in two parts. Pairs Bucky x Reader and Pietro x Reader. (Not at the same time)

Part 1 Here

No smut but mentions of sex so 18+ Themes: highschool, cheating, college/uni. Friendship

Words 3368 it's Suburban AU.

2015 You finished up Uni staring in the school's production of Rock of Ages, Playing Sherry opposite Loki’s drew. Loki also moved to New York staying with his half brother Thor Oddinson. You stayed in touch with Loki and Pietro. The thing that took you by surprise however was six months after moving to Detroit, whilst working for Bruce Banner's start-up you received a DM on Instagram from Bucky. He heard from Sam and Jane that you were now living in Detroit and he was moving to the area after being scouted by the Detroit Lions. Hey Y/N, I hope you’re good. I know this is random and please feel free to tell me where to go, but I was wondering if you wanted to get a drink sometime? It would be great to see you again and catch up. Let me know. So you replied feeling like maybe after all this time it might be good to finally hear Bucky’s apology. Pietro and you had stayed in touch but you knew he was dating someone else. Her name was Sue Storm, she seemed like a nice girl, very smart and could easily give Pietro a run for his money. After hearing Bucky’s apology, you two started to become friends again, he invited you along to his games always offering to secure you two tickets if you wanted to bring someone. He was a machine on the football field, earning the strange nickname The Winter Soldier.

2016

Everything changed in the summer of 2016 though when Bucky’s mother passed away suddenly in June. She had practically helped raise you, so you attended the funeral with Bucky. You stayed with him in the guest room in his childhood house, helping him sort through belongings and paperwork. Bucky’s dad had died when you were 8 and Bucky like you was an only child. You took in food from neighbours wanting to pay their respects. You held his hand squeezing it in comfort during the funeral, assuring him you were there for him. Two days after the funeral you and Bucky had finished packing up the final boxes, you were upstairs, and he was downstairs being awfully quiet. You went looking for him only to find him sat on the living room floor. He was crying holding a picture of you and him one Halloween when you were 9, Bucky had gone as Superman and you as Supergirl. Your mums stood behind you, both of them chuckling whilst you and bucky tried to out pose one another. Your heart swelled. Your Grandad had died in November and god how your heart had ached, but to lose your mum, you couldn’t even begin to imagine. “Hey, hey. It's alright I’m here Buck”, you said cradling his head to your chest whilst he sobbed. You stayed like that for an unidentifiable amount of time before Bucky’s crying eased. He looked up at you blinking away the stray tears, the familiar blue in his eyes pulling you in. Your not sure who kissed who first but that was how you and Bucky ended up sleeping together.

You and Bucky officially got back together in July. Your Grandma passed away in September, the start of football season. Bucky was unable to attend the funeral, he tried god he tried. Pietro made it though. He and Sue had broken up not that he told you. By the time November rolled around things were good between you and Bucky. Wanda’s fashion label Scarlett Witch was taking off and she invited you and Bucky out to join the rest of the old gang at the official launch in December of 2016. You accepted and for the pair of you assuring Bucky, there would be no awkwardness. Pietro was casually dating and was bringing a date called Crystal.

You arrived at the party in NYC completely blown away. Wanda had asked you to wear a piece from the evening wear collection, a Black strapless dress, the top if form-fitting made from chiffon fabric, the skirt cut out the front made of black tulle sparkled with the touches of glitter. It felt like you were wearing the Milky Way. After stopping to pose for photos for the press you made your way inside. The party was being held inside a beautiful gothic building. “Y/n! You look absolutely amazing, thank you so much for wearing this and of course for coming” Wanda practically pounced on you the minute she spotted you. “Bunny! I agree absolutely amazing. Bucky, you don’t look too bad yourself” Pietro said kissing you on the cheek. Pietro was wearing a deep blue suit, it made his hair and ice-blue eyes pop. Bucky had opted for the simple black tux to match you and your dress. He almost looked good enough to eat. After grabbing a glass of champagne, Wanda and Pietro took you to the rest of the gang who had made it. Jane was here with a date, Thor Oddinson you recognised him from the few times he had been to see you and Loki in shows. Carol was here too. Peter Parker was working the event as a photographer he had brought a date a lovely young lady called Mary Jane Watson. After about 45 minutes of schmoozing and catching up, you went to the ladies room. When you exited you were a little taken aback by the sight that confronted you, a redhead was hanging of Bucky’s arm chuckling away with Thor and Jane. You could only see the back of her from where you were standing. You decided to walk over and introduce yourself. However, when you got closer to the group the woman started to look vaguely familiar.

“Hey babe,” Bucky said as you approached quickly removing his arm from the redhead. Babe. That was weird he never called you babe. His blue eyes looked like they were hiding something. “Lady Y/N. This is Lady Natasha” Thor said introducing you. The redhead turned to shake your hand smiling at you with a knowing look. “Lovely to finally meet the infamous Y/N,” she said. “I told Bucky how disappointed I was not to meet you when I was in the City in September. I’m so sorry to hear about the passing of your grandmother. Bucky kept me company whilst I was around on some Business” her voice sounded harmless, sweet and pleasant. Genuine. Her eyes and knowing smirk told a different story. Bucky looked at you, the familiar betrayal in his eyes, pleading with you. “I was just telling Bucky, I’ve been offered this amazing opportunity in Detroit so Ill be moving there in February, isn’t that wonderful?” she asked. You smiled taking a swig of your champagne. Jane looked at you, then Bucky. You shook your head.

That was the second time Bucky Barnes broke your heart. He assured you that they hadn’t slept together, however had admitted that he had kept her visit from you and that she had kissed him. “Did you kiss her back?” you asked pacing around your hotel room. “Doll, please what does it matter,” he asked reaching out for you. His calloused hands once again burning your skin with his betrayal. The fact he had chosen not to answer was all the confirmation you needed. You had left him in the hotel room. Loki had been unable to make the event due to being in a small play off-Broadway, but you had texted him asking if he wanted to get a drink. You had told him everything and he had walked you back to your hotel room. You were drunk and distressed. Bucky had opened the door his blue eyes flashing with jealousy when the handsome black-haired gentleman had his arms around you. “Easy James, if anything was going to have happened between us, it would have happened in freshman year of college,” Loki said helping you into your room. After you and Bucky returned to Detroit you guys took a break for a few months.

2017

Natasha’s job conveniently happened to be working as a fitness instructor at the Detroit Lions. After 4 months you and Bucky got back together in March of 2017. Things were going great, Natasha seemed to have released whatever hold she had on Bucky. Bucky was performing well with the Lions, his new teammate, Steve Rogers nicknamed Captain America seemed to have caught the eye of many ladies including Natasha. He however didn’t seem that interested in her and had his sights set on a girl from his home in Brooklyn her name was Peggy. Steve and you hit off due to your mutual disinterest in Miss Romanoff, he had come up with a nickname for her, he called her Black Widow because she seemed to devour the men in her life. Banners start-up tech company had taken off with thanks to your ad campaigns. You were also performing in the local summer show of Mamma Mia playing Sophie. In the summer of 17, Peggy Carter came to visit Steve, turned out she was from Britain originally. You liked Peggy and her no-nonsense approach. During July, the four of you went on lots of double dates like you were high schoolers again. For Steve’s birthday which happened to be the fourth of July, the four of you attended an event being put on by the Detroit lions. You had a great evening mixing with various teammates and their families. You even warmed to Natasha a bit that afternoon.

As the evening rolled around a giant cake was brought out to celebrate Steve’s birthday. Followed by a firework show. Everyone made their way to various blankets and cushions set out at the opposite end of the stadium. Somewhere along the way you and Bucky got separated. You didn’t worry too much, to begin with as you’d both drifted off to interact with various people throughout the event, however by the time the fireworks started Bucky was nowhere to be seen. You started to think the worst until you spotted Natasha’s red hair on the other side of the stadium flirting with a gaggle of players from various other teams who were invited. Confident Bucky would return shortly you turned your attention to the sky watching with a goofy grin, things were finally settled between you and Bucky. As the fireworks went on you decided to snap a few shots on your phone loving the way the sky lit up with bright colours. The Detroit Lions didn’t do things in small doses, so the firework display ended up going on for about an hour and a half. After about 45 minutes Bucky returned from wherever he had been slipping down behind you pulling your back flush to his chest. He stroked small circles on your arms. His rough calloused skin making you shiver from the contact.

In September you were approached by Tony Stark’s PA Pepper Potts, they had seen your campaigns for Bruce Banner and Tony was interested in headhunting you. Your contract with Bruce was up in October. You initially shot the idea down. Why would you want to leave Michigan? Your family home was a short 20-minute drive away, Bucky was doing well with the Lions. Peggy Carter was moving here after Steve had proposed at the end of Summer. It seemed ludicrous. After initially shooting down the offer. Pepper contacted you, doubling their initial offer. The offer was tempting, so you told Miss Potts you would think it over the weekend. There was no harm in bringing it up with Bucky, maybe a move would do you both good, Natasha seemed to have gotten under Bucky’s skin again. You left the office early that day. You didn’t bother to text Bucky figuring you could surprise him when he got home from training with a home-cooked meal. You stopped off to get some supplies to make Lasagne before heading over to his apartment figuring you could just let yourself in. You had called Wanda on the drive over through your cars Bluetooth. She and Vision were engaged, and she wanted you to be one of her bridesmaids. Partway through the call, Pietro had walked into Wanda’s office so you had told them both about the job offer. When you got to Bucky’s you immediately recognised the Black Widows black Mercedes. “huh, that’s weird, I wonder what she’s doing here,” you said out loud “who’s where?” asked Wanda. “oh um nothing, look I got to go I just got to Buck’s and I’m cooking dinner, going to talk to him about Tony’s offer,” you said before hanging up. You were so blind-sighted by Natasha’s car you didn’t clock Bucky’s Motorcycle parked in the corner of the small parking lot. You grabbed your bags walking up to Bucky’s figuring that you could invite Natasha in if need be whilst you waited for Buck to come home.

If you had noticed Bucky’s bike, then just maybe you would have been more prepared for the following events you unlocked Bucky’s apartment and you found clothes strewn everywhere, his jeans. A white Blouse. His boxer trunks. A Black lacy bra, that definitely didn’t belong to you. At first, you were so shocked by what you saw that you didn’t hear the moans coming from the bedroom. It was like you were possessed you carried your bag of groceries as you walked in a daze to the bedroom, you opened the door and found Bucky once again cheating on you. He and Natasha were in the throws of fucking each other, you found Natasha with her back to you, wrapped around Bucky’s waist. Bucky sat upright facing you however his eyes closed whilst he drank in the pleasure. You felt your heartbreak as you dropped your bag of groceries. The bag made a thud as it hit the ground, alerting Bucky to your presence. His eyes flew open connecting with yours. Natasha however didn’t stop riding your boyfriend’s cock. Bucky tried to push her off him, but you were already storming out the door. You grabbed your bag and left Bucky’s spare key in the door. Bucky grabbed a pair of joggers and slippers before chasing after you. Bucky’s apartment was on the second floor. All the apartments on the second floor opened outside to a walkway.

“Really James?!?” you turned round to face him before he could even say your name. “Was once not enough? Did you not hurt me enough the first time?” You asked. You could feel the anger threatening to burst in the way of tears. Bucky went to speak, his blue eyes once again filled with guilt. “How long?!” you asked quietly. Bucky moved towards you tugging on your wrist. “Come on Y/N, come back inside it’s starting to rain, we can discuss this inside,” he said, his eyes pleading with you. At that moment Natasha appeared in Bucky’s open doorway. She looked pleased with herself, wearing Buck’s shirt. The site made you want to vomit. “How. Long?!” you asked again through gritted teeth. Bucky faltered. “Since July. Since the 4th of July event,” he admitted rubbing his hand over his face. At that moment you felt completely and utterly broken. “I’m done, James. Do you hear me? I am done. We are through. You two.” You pointed to Natasha. “You two are welcome to one another”. That was the third time Bucky broke your heart.

You took the job working for Stark Industries. Your contract had ended with Bruce but your lease on your apartment was up until January so you stayed working for him until December of 2017 You said your goodbyes to Steve and Peggy in January and moved across the country to your new life in the big apple.

December 2018

The unknown number flashed up on your phone for the third time that day. You sighed before answering it. “Hello, Y/N Speaking how can I help?” you asked fiddling with your jumper. “Hey Doll, it's me. Don’t hang up.” Your breath caught in your throat. James Buchanan Barnes. You hadn’t spoken to him in over a year. He hadn’t even attempted to reach out to you after you split up mailing your things back to you, well all but a scarf. In January shortly before you’d moved to NYC you’d seen a magazine article saying the Winter Soldier was dating Natasha Romanoff. It confirmed what you already knew deep down, which was that you might be okay but you were not fine at all.

You’d worked so hard to forget about him long enough to forget why you needed to. He had better have a damn good reason for calling you. “You have 5 minutes,” You said getting up from the sofa you were sat on. “look, I know I fucked up with you. In more than one way on more than one occasion. I think it was the pressure to be the perfect couple, you know lifelong friends to more. And well I guess I just freaked out, and then I fell for her, but she didn’t want me, and when you gave us another shot, I thought I could convince myself to love you the way I did her, the way you had loved me. But truth be told, it was always Natasha after that summer. I know you deserve better, and I truly am sorry for hurting your doll. But I wanted you to hear it from me before you read about it in the news. She’s pregnant and also, we’re getting married.” Bucky said. You stood in the middle of the apartment stunned. “So, you call me up again, just to break me like a promise. So casually cruel in the name of being honest?” you whispered. Squeezing back the tears. “Well fuck you, James.” With that, you hung up. Of course, Bucky tried to ring right back, you declined the call, falling to your knees in pain. You had never asked for any of this, you had been quite happy being Bucky’s best girl as his friend. He was the one who kissed you at that prom.

You weren’t still in love with Bucky, you had moved on, forgetting about him and the pain he caused you. He hadn’t needed to call you, he could have given you a heads up through one of your mutual friends, but no. he had to go and stick the knife in. After lying there like a crumpled-up piece of paper and letting the tears fall. You picked yourself up. You washed your face and made yourself a mug of hot chocolate grabbing a Christmas cookie from the tin before making your way over to the bay window. You sat down taking in the view. The traffic had eased off a bit as things wound down for the evening. The snow had been falling pretty much all day. After about 15 minutes of sitting peacefully the key in the lock turned. You didn’t move you were incredibly content where you were, even if you could use a refill in the hot chocolate department.

“Hey handsome how was your day?” you asked not taking your eyes away from the street below. A group of kids were throwing snowballs at one another. You smiled to yourself enjoying their innocence. “It was good, busy” he replied taking off his coat and walking over to join you at the window seat. Wrapping his arms around you and pulling you close. “How about you Bunny? I saw a news alert. I’m guessing you know about the engagement?” he asked. You hummed a response. Before shuffling yourself around to face him. His floppy silver-blonde hair covering those beautiful ice blue eyes, they looked at you with such love and endearment, they also spoke a silent promise that he would never hurt you the way that Bucky had. You kissed him gently on the lips before standing up. “Come on Quicksilver let's shower before the Stark Christmas Gala,” you said pulling your boyfriend along behind you shooting him a knowing grin. His nickname may be Quicksilver for athletic reasons but there were some things he liked to take his time with.

A/N If you stuck with me through all this, I am truly sorry. I'm gonna go cry

Tagging the bestie @lannycleave

#bucky x reader #pietro x reader #avengers au #marvel #marvel au #avengers fanfiction #𝐦𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬𝟐𝐤 #bucky barnes fluff #pietro #pietro fluff #bucky barnes #pietro fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfiction

[juni-ravenhall]

20 things i want really badly for sso to update / add

1. regularly scheduled main story updates. this is THE most important thing for a game that is quite story-based, but something sso has problems with. it makes us feel disconnected from the story and main characters and makes players lose interest, not knowing when we will get more story, or if the story will ever go anywhere. 

2. work hard on fixing bugs and improving functionality - QA testing a lot more on their own. i know the game has a crappy engine and that theyre trying to improve stuff, but yeah, theres just a lot of stuff that needs to be worked on. (i think they should just move to a good engine. a huge investment, yes, but worth it in the long run with the potential benefits from selling a higher quality game and being able to work on it more smoothly?)

3. ability to use photomode and control the camera properly when our character sits down, at cafes, etc, basically just being able to go into photo mode at all times.

4. weather system. rain, snow, fog, etc. preferrably random aside from during quests that need specific weather ofc. possibly with an ability to turn off weather. optional: updated skies for more variety in colours and clouds and all that to go along with the weather.

5. new areas to be released of the ones that have already been hinted at for ages! north link goes where???????? ashland, etc. and also, ofc, for the new areas to be unique and interesting in design, and to bring related main story updates - or “big side stories” like the nightdust storyline etc. i am just longing to interact with npcs for long storylines again and see some drama :( 

6. new tack and equipment, specifically more halters (simple not fancy ones, but cute and colour variety!), would be nice with lead rope too, and ofc blankets, stuff like this. but also more new good designs for tack in general and more colour options for saddlepads and legwraps, it drives me crazy that most pads are ugly and old and hard to match to anything. i want realistic pads with dark, vivid, pastel and natural colour options.

7. new mane and tail styles that are available for all horses (aside from too old models). it makes horses feel more individual and unique as well as giving us options to dress up our horses for photoshoots, eventing, etc. 

8. updated player model with new animations and everything, diversity and good representation in the design options. facial expressions, blinking. i would also love if there were more animations for the player character to pet and groom the horses.

9. our own place to live (something theyve been working on but we dont know exactly where it stands) that we can also customise and decorate. i would prefer if we can choose where we live in the way we choose homestables, for example theres this little house between the rescue ranch and the lighthouse on south hoof that would be lovely to live in. id like to be able to choose wallpaper and flooring, curtains, stuff like that, and furniture. we should be able to invite ppl in as well. optional: the pet that’s in your saddlebag shows up in your home and you can pet it. also ability to choose music from lisa, miscreants, etc to play in our home. it would also be great if when it was raining outside you could hear it from inside your home and see it outside the window. oof actually when i say that now im imagining seeing city lights in the distance on a rainy evening looking out the window while acoustic sso music plays in the bg. can you tell how much i fantasise about living on jorvik by how long this paragraph got

10. customisation in our home stable, to be able to choose designs and colours of the interior, etc. i would love to be able to choose decorations like the ones we see during holidays (light strings etc). i would like the tack room and feed room to be more cluttered and stuff too for better realistic rp purposes.

11. more groundwork type of gameplay, like the working equitation races that have been added lately, but not just “races”. maybe possibility of training for xp in different ways than just finishing a race quickly enough. just realistic groundwork stuff. 

12. dressage gameplay, and more arenas for it ofc. 

13. for jumping courses to keep being better as theyve been lately! theyre more difficult and interesting now and the designs are better! i want for this to continue and im really enjoying the obstacle designs. 

14. pasture - i’d love to see my horses run around and eat randomly out in the field without me controlling them, being able to go up and pet them or give them snacks. it would be cool if a paddock near the homestable was just used for this purpose (where you see your horses, but other players see their horses, etc, and we have the ability to hide other players). maybe it would show 3 of your horses at a time, out of the ones that are kept in the field in our stable manager.

15. new (and regularly added!) quests at south hoof rescue ranch, as well as other places where it makes sense like jorvik ranger quests, etc. stuff that doesn’t necessarily relate to the main storyline (but it might!) and is just fun dramatic quests, but it can also have character developments for hugh and others on south hoof, for jorvik ranger characters, etc. it could also be a way to introduce new pets and horses that are adoptable after rescue quests have been completed, as well as unlocking new equipment related to rescuing, rehabilitation and ranger work.

16. more shops, cafes and other things to do at jorvik city mall alongside the mall being updated in general, and to jorvik city which i really love and just hope aideen’s plaza and governor’s fall will also be updated with more shops etc. (add a dance club to the mall like the fort pinta disco! cafes with different aesthetics and menus, a fastfood restaurant, a fancy restaurant, a photo studio for professional horse photos and for our character, a cinema, a theatre stage like thalia’s idk, that whole fashion week catwalk thing, theres a lot of different things i think you can add aside from more shops which could also be added)

17. updates and additions to the cafe food menus and foods we can feed our horses, goes along with adding new shops and stuff too. seasonal event food being sold in cafes like gingerbread at christmas, chocolates on valentine’s.

18. make archaeology more fun - i still haven’t got all the things after years because i just can’t be bothered to do it, it’s too hard to find all the things and it’s not fun.

19. if fishing is going to stay at all, it needs to be improved and be fun.

20. overhaul of all the prices in the game so it makes sense. there are clothing and tack items that just make NO sense when you compare them to each other both in sc and js costs, or when you look at how meh quality they are. and, i dont think it’s reasonable to make individual equipment items (clothes or tack) cost more than like 50sc at the most (look at the real life cost when you buy sc!!! should we be paying that much for a low quality pixel sweater, really?). a good time to do this price overhaul, would be leading up to the player model update being released, since ppl will be buying lots of new clothes after that.

bonus: give us a ferry from south hoof to mistfall PLEASE. PLEASE

bonus 2: updates to every existing area and npc model, this is obvious and will most likely happen given enough time

bonus 3: 500000 pages of backstory and character development quests and bonding with mc scenes for all my favourite npcs. i would also like to take rowan on a date. thanks

#long post #text post #sso #star stable online

[awanderingdeal]

Never too late - 4 - 5

A continuation of Leo and Regulus' attempts (antics) to give Regulus the childhood he never had.

CW: All content warnings relate to Part 5: piercings and food talk

Please message me if you feel I need to add any content warnings

Rating: T

Previous and future chapters can be found on my masterlist

Credit for the sweater universe and the characters within it go to @lumosinlove. What a hero.

4. Take photos! Candids, selfies and posed group shots. They’ll hold the best memories.

“Merde, what are you doing?” Logan asked, resting his head on Leo's shoulder as he peered at the laptop.

Leo grinned, tipping his head back slightly so he could press a kiss against Logan’s cheek, “I’m getting inspiration.”

“That cleared a grand total of nothing up,” Logan huffed, circling the sofa so that he could flop next to Leo. “Oh my God, no. I thought I had deleted everything from back then” he groaned, reaching to close the lid of the device.

Leo swatted his hand away with a scowl. “First of all, I am offended that you never told me that you used to have bangs,” he gestured to the image of a young Logan on the screen, laughter bubbling in chest. “Second, I think you may have caught most yours, but you failed to check your tagged photos.”

Logan sighed again, apparently resigning himself to the fact Leo was going to trawl through the photos no matter what. “Is there at least a reason that you are torturing me like this?” he asked, curling into Leo’s side.

“It started off as me finding inspiration for classic high school photos to take with Reg, but now I’m just looking at how adorable you were at 14.” Leo chuckled.

***

“I want to be on the top!” James yelled, earning a snigger from Finn.

“No, Logan needs to go on the top, he’s the smallest and I’m not breaking my back for you idiots,” Kasey said from where he was braced on all fours.

“He’s actually very heavy. Like a tiny ball of muscle,” Finn said. Logan seemed conflicted as to whether he should be thanking his boyfriend or reprimanding him, the confused frown making Leo smile, but he figured he should intervene before a full on argument broke out.

“Maybe we should ask Regulus where he wants to go? These are his photos after all,” Leo suggested, turning his gaze onto the man in question.

Regulus threw his hands up, shaking his head. “I was coerced into this madness,” he defended. “But if I must participate then I want to go on top. At least then I don’t get squashed when this goes wrong.”

“O, yee of little faith,” Thomas scoffed, making a dramatic show of stretching his limbs.

“I’m retiring after this season, I’m too old for this,” Dumo groaned as he joined Kasey on the floor.

“You say this every season,” Kuny laughed, taking the spot next to Pascal and nudging him in the shoulder.

“Alright, Cap. I think you better go on the base too,” Leo said, laughing at the scowl he earned. It appeared that Sirius had been trying to make himself blend into the cushions in the hopes he might get out of the photo, but Leo wasn’t about to let him off that easily. “For Reg?”

“Regulus doesn’t even…” Sirius began to argue, but he was interrupted by his brother’s low chuckle.

“I have suddenly changed my mind. Come on Sirius, don’t be a spoil sport,” Regulus teased.

Sirius opened his mouth to start a rebuttal, but all that came out was a resigned sigh, and the man heaved himself to his feet, getting a loud cheer from the rest of the team. Once he had taken his spot, the rest of the pyramid seemed to form easily. James, Remus, Leo, Logan and Finn all climbed on, until eventually it was Regulus’s turn. With a little help from Timmy and Olli, the man managed to take his place at the top of the pyramid.

“Okay, Sergei, take the photo,” Leo instructed, feeling parts of the pyramid begin to shake.

“Which button is -” Sergei asked, before a semblance of a smile crossed his face. “Oh, found it.” Just as the words left Sergei’s mouth, Leo found himself tumbling to the floor, several of his team mates on top of him, a chorus of grumbling in several different languages erupting as they clutched various body parts.

“If anybody has broken anything, I am not explaining this to Coach,” Sirius declared, from under James and Finn.

“Did you at least get the photo?” Dumo asked.

“No, we need to do again,” Sergei grinned, a groan reverberating around the room from the rest of the team.

***

Regulus wiped his hand across his cheek so subtly that he nearly missed it, but the redness in his eyes was obvious.

“Are you crying?” Leo asked quietly, feeling the muscles 0f his forehead tense into a concerned frown.

“I’m fine,” Regulus said, blinking rapidly, shutting the scrapbook perched on his lap with a little more force than necessary. Leo had spent hours compiling the photos taken over the last few months into it: the forming a pyramid, two dozen or so polaroids taken at various events, a fair few with peace signs; the transition of Regulus slowly becoming more comfortable with the action obvious with each one, another was a take on the classic shoe circle only with hockey skates. Somehow James had snuck several selfies of himself into the mix.

“No, Reggie, what’s the matter?” Leo pulled the book from Regulus’s hands and put it on the coffee table, turning so that he could face his friend more easily.

Regulus shrugged, playing with the sleeve of his shirt, a nervous habit Leo had picked up on over the past few months. “I...I just never really had any friends in high school. It’s kind of hard when you’re taught to see everybody as competition, you know? So, I don’t really have any photos that aren’t stuffy family portraits or media shots. I didn’t realise that bothered me until now.”

Leo bundled Regulus into a hug, his friend making a disgruntled sound as he found himself pressed against Leo’s chest. “Just accept it,” Leo huffed, wondering how he had managed to find himself saddled with so many emotionally constipated hockey (or ex-hockey) players.

5. Find your style - change your hair, get a new piercing, buy a new outfit. Go wild!

“Hey, Reg,” Finn waved, mumbling through a mouthful of cheese.

“Harzy! Do you know how much that cheese cost?” Logan scolded, his expression somewhat more horrified than Leo would deem reasonable, “Please respect it.”

Leo grabbed his jacket, patting the pocket to ensure his wallet was inside. He rarely used his physical cards anymore, but it gave him far too much anxiety to rely on just his phone. “We’re leaving now. Try not to kill each other while we’re gone. It would be tragic to lose both of my boyfriends in one day,” he said, dropping a kiss first on to Finn’s cheek and then Logan’s.

“Bye Reg,” Finn waved again.

***

“Thank you,” Leo smiled at the cashier as he took his purchases from them. He looked down, noting that between the two of them they had amassed nearly twenty bags. Leo wasn’t usually one to spend money frivolously, but he had found himself swept away by Reg’s enthusiasm. Apparently when he wasn’t being stuffed into tight button ups and tailored pants, Regulus really rather enjoyed fashion. Finn would have been proud of the multiple pairs of trainers they had acquired so far. Still, they probably had enough for today.

Before Leo had a chance to suggest a change of activities, Regulus beat him to it. “Do you want to get some food?” he asked, the grumble of Leo’s stomach answering the question with no need for any words. Regulus laughed, “I’ll take that as a yes. Are you good to get Thai?”

Somehow over the course of filling their stomachs with curry and Pad Thai, an innocent comment about how Regulus would look cute with a piercing resulted in them walking into the nearest studio that had decent reviews. Regulus had changed into one of his new outfits: a loose black and white striped shirt, a pair of black pants cuffed at the legs and chunky white sneakers because his old outfit was deemed unsuitable for getting a piercing in.

Leo had just finished up getting his lip done, pamphlet of aftercare instructions clutched in his hand, and was waiting for Regulus to come out of his room. The boy had refused to tell him what exactly he was going to get done, and the anticipation was killing him. A few minutes later, Regulus pushed out the door to the small room and Leo’s eye was immediately drawn to the light catching Regulus’ eyebrow.

“Oh my God!” Leo exclaimed, wincing as the movement sent a surge of pain through his lip. “You look so good,” he added, moving to inspect the barbell peeking through Regulus’ brow.

“Thanks,” Regulus blushed at the approval. “Yours is cool too. Logan and Finn are going to freak out.”

“They sure are,” Leo chuckled. “Alright, I’ll settle this and then I’ll drop you back home?”

***

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Regulus scowled, reading the instructions on the back of the box of dye for what Leo was sure was the fiftieth time.

“I told you, you haven’t been a teenager unless you have made some questionable fashion choices,” Leo countered. “Except I’m going to look amazing with blue hair so it’s not really questionable.”

“Well, it can’t be worse than this anyway, right?” Regulus grimaced, gesturing to his bleached blond hair.

“Noughties boy band members would be jealous,” Leo laughed.

“It’s a shame it is neither the noughties anymore, nor am I a boy band member,” Regulus replied, shoving the box into Leo’s hands. “Just do it.”

A little over an hour later, Leo was nudging Reg in front of the mirror. “Okay, this was definitely not a mistake! We look amazing. I am taking up a career in hairdressing if I get injured,” Leo declared, holding his hand out for a high five. Whilst Regulus did return it, it was less enthusiastic than Leo had been going for. “You don’t like it?”

“No, I like it,” Regulus shook his head, dragging his fingers along the short sides. The cut wasn’t that different to what it had been before, other than a slightly more dramatic fade. “Just feels weird. My parents would die if they could see me.”

“Well, I think we look badass,” Leo said, running his hand through his own blue hair. He’d left the front long and floppy, deciding to go wild and undercut the back. “Come here, let me take a photo.”

Leo was glad that Regulus had finally learned that while he was not one to throw a tantrum, he did have his ways of getting what he wanted and it was easier for everyone if Regulus just compiled most of the time. The post had barely been up on their Instagram pages for more than 3 minutes when Leo’s phone began to vibrate, Logan’s flashing onto the screen.

“Regulus! Why did my little brother just call to tell me that he wants to dye his hair blue?” Remus yelled up the stairs as Leo picked the call up.

And if drug stores all over the country sold out of blue hair dye the next day? Well, Leo guessed there were worse trends to have started.

#Leo Knut #Regulus Black #Sweater weather #lumosinlove #cw: piercings #cw: food #rating: t

[ghastspidergwen]

I love @doctorsiren's dadskall au, and I thought I'd write a little fic about it. basically, the dadskall au is where xisuma and ex (alex)'s dad is doomguy, but some sort of accident/crazy magic/whatever made him and iskall share a body, go check out doctor siren for the whole story, she has great art, too!

disclaimers (you can completely ignore this section if you want): I have played about 15 minutes total of all the Doom games, read none of the books, seen none of the movies, but the ost is great, so this will probably be ooc for doomguy. xisuma and alex are more based on the featherweight au versions, not the real hermitcraft versions. this story is not part of the dadskall au nor any of dr siren's other aus, it's just a break for me to write some fluff. it takes place ~3-4 years after where fw currently is (s7 election era) but is not set in the fw au world. link to the post part of this is based on. ...and I think that's everything, onto the fic!

.

Xisuma took a deep breath, “I think dad’s alive.”

“You said you saw him die,” Alex, previously known as Evil Xisuma, said, turning to his brother, “They told me he died”

“He wasn’t exactly dead, it’s hard to explain. It’s more like...the horcruxes in Harry Potter. When dad died, I think there was some magic at play that made it so his ‘soul’ transferred into the nearest healthy, person. And I think I found them.”

“Uh-huh, and who might that be?”

“HALLO!” Iskall burst in, “What did you need me for?”

“Iskall? Seriously?”

“He was there that night and I have no reason to believe-”

“You really think Iskall-”

“It’s my best guess, everyone else was injured, and the magic had to choose the nearest healthy person, so it must be Iskall.”

“What must be Iskall?”

“Are you sure we’re talking about the same Iskall?”

“No, Iskall86,” Xisuma said, sarcastically, “Of course this Iskall, how many Iskalls do we know?”

“I still have no idea what we’re talking about, can -”

“No!” The void brothers turned to him and responded in sync. Xisuma pulled his brother into a side room, “Stay right there, thanks Iskall.”

“What?”

Xisuma exhaled and closed the door behind them, “Phew, OK, I have reason to believe that 13 years ago, Iskall was present the night that dad-y’know-and since everyone else there was either corrupted or injured, as the only uninjured person, dad’s spirit ended up inhabiting his body, but’s been so weak that it was only using Iskall as a means of staying alive, not influencing him or trying to take control of his body at all. Do you get me?”

“A little.”

“And I think I know the spell that will separate them, and give dad his old body back,” They went back into the main room with Iskall, “Should I do it now?”

“Blast ‘im,” Alex backed out of the room, putting a protective wall between him and the magic.

“WHAT?!”

A glowing green ball of energy swirled between Xisuma’s hands, and Iskall backed into the wall, “H-hey Xisuma, what are you doing?”

“This...shouldn’t hurt.”

Iskall held up a hand in a stop gesture, “SHOULDN’T?!”

Xisuma blasted him with the magic. Iskall glowed green, floated into the sir, then split into two people who fell down.

“I...think it...worked,” Xisuma muttered, collapsing to the floor.

Doomguy looked up, and noticed someone lying, unmoving, on the floor. His saving-people instincts kicked in, and he pulled himself over to the person. “C'mon, don’t be dead, don’t be dead,” he said, shaking them.

Someone was shaking Iskall. He sat up and opened his eyes, “Holy heck, it’s Doomguy!”

“You’re alive!” Doomguy said relieved, and pulled Iskall into a hug.

Absolutely starstruck, Iskall sat there, frozen. It’s Doomguy, I love Doom, Doomguy is right here, and he’s hugging me, it’s Doomguy! Iskall’s mind looped.

Pulling out of the hug, Iskall spotted Xisuma crumpled on the floor, “W-wait, I got-gotta check on my friend.”

Doomguy turned around, and spotted his son on the floor.

“Xisuma!” He stood up and stumbled toward him.

“Wait, you know Xisuma?”

“He’s my son. Well, your son, too. Our son.”

“Wha-”

“Short answer, I am you. You are me. We’re the same person.”

Looking at his hands, one thought crossed Iskall’s mind, I’m Doomguy. It was closely followed by “I HAVE A SON?”

“Two sons.”

“TWO SONS? And one of them is dying!” Iskall sprinted across the room and cradled Xisuma’s head, “I don’t know what to do!”

“Health potion?” Doomguy suggested.

“Oh, yeah,” Pulling a potion of healing out of his inventory, Iskall splashed it onto Xisuma. He held his breath and waited to see if it would work.

Xisuma opened his eyes. He sat up.

“Dad!” He jumped up, and buried his face in his dad’s chest plate, giving him a hug the same way he did when he was younger.

“I’m your dad, too,” Iskall said.

“You know?” Xisuma asked, breaking off the hug.

“Yeah, Doomguy told me. So give your poppa a hug,” Iskall uncrossed his arms and gave a very confused Xisuma a hug.

“Oh, OK,” Xisuma awkwardly pat Iskall’s back until he stepped away.

“Is Alex here?” Doomguy asked.

“He should be right outside, he didn’t want to be in the same room as an untested spell.”

“Wait, you didn’t test it? Then why did you cast it on me?” Iskall asked, panicked.

“How many people do we know that have another person living inside them?”

“Wels/Hels, I’m pretty sure Ren did for a while, a pregnant lady,” Iskall ticked off on his fingers.

“Different circumstances. Wels and Hels are one person, like two sides of a coin, Ren-I don’t know what happened with Grimdog or The Red King or whatever, but I definitely don’t want to mess with those, and did you just compare yourself to a pregnant woman?”

“Uhhh...nevermind.”

“You said Alex was just outside?”

“Yeah,” Xisuma pulled the door open, to reveal Alex sitting on a bench outside, drumming his fingers against the seat

“Did it work?”

“Yeah.” Stepping out of the doorway, Xisuma revealed their dad standing behind him.

“Hi, Alex.”

“Dad?”

“It’s me,” Doomguy sat next to his other son.

“Dad!” Alex hugged him, and they pulled Xisuma into the hug after a second. They sat there before the hug was interrupted by another pair of arms joining in.

“Family, together again,” Iskall sighed.

“What’s up with him?” Alex asked, glancing at Iskall.

“I’m part of the family, call me Dadskall.”

“OK...Dadskall, can we have awhile alone with our dad?”

“Oh, yeah. Sure. See you later.” Iskall trudged out of the room.

“I haven’t seen you guys in forever! How long was I…”

“15 years.”

“So that would put you guys in your mid-30s, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Has anything big happened in the last 15 years?”

Alex pulled off his helmet, “Nothing too bad. I was imprisoned for a bit of it,” he glared at his brother.

Xisuma also removed his helmet, “I said I was sorry, how many times do you want me to apologize?”

“I wasn’t saying it’s your fault, I was just making the point that-”

“I get it! I was an idiot and I didn’t listen to you when you were clearly right.”

“Just like old times,” Doomguy chuckled, he examined his son’s faces, “You look so much older, like real adults. I’m so sorry I missed out on the last 15 years, I would’ve loved to see you grow up.”

“It’s not like you could do anything about it.”

“I know you would have been here if you could.”

“Also how did you guys get those scars?”

“Someone needed to keep slaying the demons after you left,” Alex shrugged.

“I angered some Watchers years ago.”

“You angered some Watchers?” Doomguy asked, standing up.

“I just realized someone was right, but it was too late to save them.”

“Darn right, I was.” Alex and Xisuma also stood up.

“I...forgot how tall you were,” Doomguy said looking, at up at Alex, who was only a few inches taller.

“Oh, yeah. Xisuma was jealous he never got this tall.”

“No, I’m not!”

“Sure,” Alex smirked.

“So, anything else new?” Their dad intervened.

“Daisy’s still alive.”

“Should’ve guessed,” he chuckled.

“Oh! You’re a grandpa!”

“What?!”

“Yeah! I adopted a guy named xB. I’ll call him over, so you can meet!”

<Xisuma> hey xb, can you come on down to my base, I’ve got something to show you

<xBcrafted> ?

<xBcrafted> yeah, be there shortly

“How did you meet this xB?”

“I was doing some exploring between seasons, looking for a good seed, when I found a small single player world. xB was alone in there. Poor kid was only 13, didn’t know where his parents were, said he had been handling himself for the last 2 or 3 years, so I took him back to Hermitcraft with me. He’s a great kid, you’ll love him.”

“Xisuma has practically adopted the entire server.”

“Server? You’re an admin?”

“We both are. I’m main admin of Hermitcraft, Alex is the backup admin.”

“I’m so sorry I missed out on all of this stuff. I really wish I could have been there for you two.”

Something thumped into the outside of the building they were in, and the door opened, “Freakin’ rockets, stupid friggin’ elytra,” xB mumbled. “Oh, hey Uncle Alex, hey, dad.”

Doomguy gasped, “I love him already!”

“Wha-”

“xB, this is our dad, Doomguy.”

“Wait, I thought he was dead.”

“Wonky magic stuff.”

“OK then. I’m xBcrafted,” xB said, offering his hand for a handshake.

Doomguy scooped him up in a hug, “Hello, xB, you can call me Grandpa Flynn, or just Grandpa, or just Flynn, I don’t care. I have a grandson!”

“Nice-to-meet-you,” xB gasped.

“Dad, I don’t think he can breath.”

“Oh, right,” Flynn released his grandson, “sorry, got a little overexcited.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’m glad you’re back.”

“Glad to be back.”

“Do you want to go meet the rest of the server? There’s just under 30 of us, total.”

“Oh, you’ll love all of them. There’s me, of course, but Hypno and Jevin and Wels and False are all set up near me, Stress and Gem are also pretty close, and Doc and Ren are just past them, and…” xB rambled as the other three grabbed their helmets.

“You ready?” Alex asked, pushing open the door.

“Let’s go, I want to meet the rest of your family.”

#hermitblr #hermitcraft #hermitcraft fanfic #doctorsiren #dadskall au #gsg writes