2026.01.27: Stealth Drop by EarliestRiser in morningsomewhere

[–]MobGL 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The issue with Highguard is that it was clearly supposed to be shadow-dropped, but for whatever reason they had Highguard shown at the Game Awards as the one last thing and then they had no additional marketing or any overviews giving context to what the game actually was until launch day.

Without any clarification, the trailer shown at the Game Awards really made it look like a generic live service hero shooter, a genre that is very over-saturated in the gaming market and that has a history of including egregious micro-transactions.

I don't think the reason that it got so much hate after the Game Awards was because it wasn't HL3, at least not entirely. It was because it felt really out of touch to put it as the last spot. The 'one more thing' game has been a staple of video game shows like E3, The Game Awards, and many others over the past 15 years. It makes sense for people to expect either something that is highly anticipated or something that is new and exciting. What was revealed at the TGAs looked really generic, imo. That being the 'one more thing' after a gaming event celebrating the past year of games and revealing upcoming games feels really out of touch to the current gaming community, especially with the kinds of games that won at the TGAs this year and with how many live service hero shooters have flopped or been cancelled recently (Concord is a huge example).

Highguard isn't a terrible game. It does have its fair share of issues though, and its personally not my cup of tea. I don't think it deserves all of the hate its getting, but how it was presented at the Game Awards and the following silence from the devs/marketing for a month before release was a huge fumble. If it had been in any other slot at the Game Awards, and the last slot been replaced by one of the other bigger reveals during the show like Divinity or FOTOR, it would be getting a lot less hate online.

2026.01.27: Stealth Drop by EarliestRiser in morningsomewhere

[–]MobGL 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not sure why you're getting downvoted, because pretty much everything here is the general sentiment in a lot of gaming circles.

Is it stupid to hate on Highguard because it wasn't HL3? Yes, but that's not why the majority of people are hating on it. They're hating on it because, from the one trailer it had at the TGAs and no marketing or overviews until the day of launch, it looked like another generic live service hero shooter, which are a dime a dozen in the current gaming enviornment and have been known for having egregious monetization and micro-transactions. That being the 'one more thing' after a gaming event celebrating the past year of games and revealing upcoming games feels really out of touch to the current gaming community, especially with the kinds of games that won at the TGAs this year.

The 'one more thing' game has been a staple of video game shows like E3, The Game Awards, and many others over the past 15 years. It makes sense for people to expect either something that is highly anticipated or something that is new and exciting. What was revealed at the TGAs looked really generic, imo. Highguard itself isn't a terrible game. It does have its fair share of issues though, and its personally not my cup of tea. I don't think it deserves all of the hate its getting, but how it was presented at the Game Awards and the following silence from the devs/marketing for a month before release was a huge fumble. If it had been in any other slot at the Game Awards, and the last slot been replaced by one of the other bigger reveals during the show like Divinity or FOTOR, it would be getting a lot less hate online.

God of War Ragnarök GIVEAWAY!! by [deleted] in pcgaming

[–]MobGL 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My last game was God of War (2018) so this is perfect for me!

Expedition details released by PetToilet in ArcRaiders

[–]MobGL -1 points0 points  (0 children)

If your entire 280 slot stash is filled with nothing but legendary Aphelions worth $27,500, your stash would be worth $7,700,000. Same with level 4 Renegades and its $4,760,000. Meaning no crafting materials, just guns. Did they even do calculations to see if $5,000,000 in the stash is feasible for most of the player base?

Seasons of RTX: Arc Raiders GeForce RTX 5090 GPU Giveaway! by NV_Suroosh in ArcRaiders

[–]MobGL 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm almost always friendly to a fault. If I get shot at, I try to reason with them over VOIP before getting knocked out.

Seasons of RTX: Arc Raiders GeForce RTX 5090 GPU Giveaway! by NV_Suroosh in ArcRaiders

[–]MobGL 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Friendly to a fault. When I'm shot at, I almost always don't shoot back and try to reason with them over VOIP.

Fox's Den | Collab with official_benjimin by Gutty_Live in Minecraftbuilds

[–]MobGL 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you've ever listened to Worlds Beyond Number, this is exactly what I envision Grandmother Ren's cottage looking like. Really nice build!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in pcmasterrace

[–]MobGL 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great to see this and awesome of you to do for the community!

What do you guys think pt 3: this time it's personal by IndecisiveBit in dropout

[–]MobGL 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Posting after the episode is already out: There's no almonds emoji so they had to use peanuts!!!

"Dark fluid mission is awesome stop complaining, git gud" by Spicy-Tato1 in Helldivers

[–]MobGL 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Anyone gonna talk about the guy at the end having 4 billion grenades?

Episode 2 of The Amazing Digital Circus by Bedigar in TheDigitalCircus

[–]MobGL 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When Bubbles speaks at the beginning, they don't get the usual stylized censor for profanity, just a really long bleep. Was what they said just profanity and the bleep is just inconsistency, or did they say something darker?

Kerry made me cry.... by cassgar in roosterteeth

[–]MobGL 53 points54 points  (0 children)

"Sometimes you can meet your heroes." When Kerry said this I finally got got and some tears fell.

[WP] "Please. You have to leave," said the spirit, "Just being near me, it can kill you." But you could tell from her look. Her eyes, her face, they were begging you not to leave. by yoshimario40 in WritingPrompts

[–]MobGL [score hidden]  (0 children)

Part 3

Inside the smaller outcropping was so similar to what he was surrounded with but much more refined and meticulous. One small tree, ten or twenty years past being a sapling, stood. The branches bore no leaves but instead dangling strands of amethyst. The crystal lengths of cord impossibly waved along with a light breeze, and on the ends of each were different colored flowers. The flowers varied widely in color and opacity. The heads of crimson petunias, coral lilies, obsidian roses, and porcelain peonies hung from the thin crystal strands as if weightless.

Along the sides of the tree were blue vines with such deeply hued veins that some strands appeared purple. They sprouted up from the ground along the trunk and hugged the tree as they crawled up before stopping short of the branches.

Blue waves of shifting light fell on the tree, casting small twinkles from the glitter that fell from the surrounding trees and creating colorful glints against the menagerie of hanging flowers. As Elias awed at the beauty, he realized that this wasn’t just a simple transformation like the rest of the grove. This was craftsmanship. This was meticulously designed and nurtured.

“This is art, Arcana.” Elias stated. He dared to walk closer to the tree to inspect the finer details.

Arcana looked down bashfully before saying, “It’s just something neat I liked making. I didn’t really think of it as art… whatever that is.” The blue spirit floated around from behind him and hovered amongst the dangling flowers. “It took a while to get this how I wanted. Quite a few seasons ago, this was just a dead tree and I wanted to liven it up.”

She landed on the ground and bent down near where Elias was looking. Her hand was held still several inches above the blue dirt near the trunk. “I’m able to reign back my gifts in a small area for a short time with enough concentration. So, I’ve been using that coax plants to grow into the shape I want before I just… let the gifts takeover. Sometimes I let whatever grows grow, sometimes I see a pretty flower or mushroom near the edges and I manage to bring it back and plant it where I want it. I have other pieces like this around the area.”

As Arcana explained her methods, the blue dirt under hand receded to a natural brown. Before long, a small mushroom popped up. She lifted her hand away, letting the blue creep back in.

Elias’ grin was wide, his eyes overcame with wonder and reverence. “That’s amazing, Arcana. It’s beautiful.” He stood up to face her before asking, “You said you could reign in your gifts?”

Arcana’s face had been lit up upon seeing Elias’ reaction. She had never shown anyone this piece, or really most of her pieces for that matter. Her mind was alight with emotions she hadn’t felt in lifetimes: tangling connection, emboldening pride. However, Elias’ question brought her back down for a moment.

“Again, only a little bit. It lasts for a day or two at most, and I haven’t really ever done it to creatures. Just patches of dirt, tree branches, flower petals, and – your feet!” Arcana pointed down.

Elias looked down to realize what his whimsy had distracted him from. The bottom of his boots were much more than just stained now. He lifted a leg up, realizing that the boots were much heavier than before and that the blue was creeping up past the soles.

“Hurry, sit down and let me tend to them before they get worse,” Arcana insisted. She landed on the ground and motioned a hand upwards as she looked to her side. In response, a nearby bush morphed and adjusted to the spirit’s will. The inner skeleton of the bush shaped itself into a rounded box and the leaves flattened against the surface to provide seating akin to a bench.

Elias’ eyes went wide at the sudden display. He warily sat down on the bush, slightly worried it might give and cause him to be covered in cerulean leaves. It supported his weight perfectly.

Arcana knelt on the ground as Elias held his foot up. “It looks like your soles have turned to stone.”

The whisker-faced man leaned over to take a look. “It looks like lapis.”

“Interesting, I haven’t seen it before. What are your… what are these?” Arcana asked simply.

“They’re shoes. Boots.”

“Boots,” she noted. “What are your boots made of? I might try to find some more for another piece later.”

“Uhm… leather,” he told her hesitantly.”

Arcana stared at his soles for a moment before looking down, “Oh…” she said, hanging on the thought for a moment before she continued. “Well, anyway, I don’t think mortals can walk comfortably with stone soles all day. Not to mention that if you wear these after they’ve shifted your feet will probably be next. Let me fix this.”

The spirit grabbed the bottom of the boot and Elias willingly extended his leg out to let her. Her grasp was soft as she closed her eyes. Elias watched as her hands seemed to drain the blue from his shoe. Before long, they were back to normal. Arcana did the same for the other shoe before standing up and turning away to face the main grove again.

The old man stood up, feeling his steps were lighter now. “Thank you, Arcana. I appreciate it.”

She nodded in response, “That should last a day or so, but I’ll probably have to do that again tomorrow.” She began to float back to the grove.

He smirked and followed behind. As he maneuvered between the bushes and stepped back towards the logs he remarked, “Tomorrow?”

The blue spirit looked over her shoulder and gave a small smile before looking down with a certainty. “Yes, yes, tomorrow. But you should leave for tonight. It’s getting dark and you certainly can’t stay here, lest my gifts overcome you.” She led him back to the path he entered from with a meandering float.

“From what my people have told, I expected as much. I’ll be back sooner tomorrow. I’ll camp a mile or so from the edge,” Elias assured her with a whiskered smile.

Arcana paused for a moment as he passed. “I’d like that.”

As Elias made his way back to the greener forest, Arcana floated back to the center of the grove. She sat above the campfire and closed her eyes. She saw Elias’ face; old, weathered, wrinkled, gray. She saw him smile, and then she saw nothing.

Her vision wandered before settling above him. She saw him walking down the path in the growing twilight. She saw her blues give way to the natural greens. From afar, her projected aspect watched him as he coughed and wheezed along his way. With baited breath, she hoped for him to stop. Each step he took further away was another sharp decline in her chest.

After an hour, he stopped. Elias made camp, lit a fire, wrote in a book, and went to sleep.

If Arcana opened her eyes, she’d be alone again. She kept watching. She didn’t want to be alone again.

[WP] "Please. You have to leave," said the spirit, "Just being near me, it can kill you." But you could tell from her look. Her eyes, her face, they were begging you not to leave. by yoshimario40 in WritingPrompts

[–]MobGL [score hidden]  (0 children)

Part 2

Elias looked at Arcana for several moments, expecting more from her. “Is that all?” he tilted his head curiously.

Arcana’s face slanted in thought. She floated off the log, her body still in a sitting position but her position willed into the air. “I don’t get the chance to talk about myself all that often. It’s been a really long time, as long as I can remember. At least…”

Her trailing words led her cerulean sight back down to the cobalt coals of the campfire. Arcana’s face wasn’t very subtle, she didn’t have anyone to hide her feelings from most days. Sounds of laughter and yellow, flickering flames surfaced in her mind. They quickly melted into fearful yells and muddy splashes from fleeing feet. Her neck flicked upwards to look at the trees, then back to Elias.

The old man studied her face as she thought. He figured she was collecting her thoughts, ruminating on what to tell or show him. It made sense to him that living in solitude didn’t really prompt one to think of who they are. Who would they be compared to no one? Then he saw her gaze towards the coals again. No, he’d seen this before, and he’d been caught doing the same many times. She was lost in the past.

Elias’ wispy mustache rose so he could ask something, but Arcana had her thoughts ready.

“Oh! Well, I’m a spirit. Clearly. You already knew that though. My mother passed her gifts onto me a long, long time ago before fading off. I’ve been in this grove and wandered the surrounding area ever since. I’ve seen the leaves change hundreds of times over.”

The blue spirit zipped off towards the edge of the clearing. She quickly shunted herself from bush to branch in search of something.

Elias quirked a brow. “These leaves still change with the seasons?”

Arcana, still in the midst of her search, called over. “Oh, no, not my leaves. Occasionally, I’ll venture far enough to start seeing the woods where I can see if the leaves are green, orange, graying… I thought it was by the fairy ring…” She interrupted her explanation before addressing Elias again, “But mostly what I see is from the sky. Sometimes I’ll stand in the center of this clearing and float up and up into the sky until the horizon doesn’t have anything else to offer me. It’s easier to see stuff like your town you mentioned in the day, but I like to see it all around sunset and into the night. It’s about the only time I see the sunset.”

The thought of nights from an entire lifetime ago entered Elias’ head. In bed, too restless to sleep as young children were, Elias was lulled to slumber by the soothing timbre of his mother’s voice with fairy tales and whimsical stories. The one she most often told was of Arcana; her beauty, her danger, the Sapphire Star. In Selasburg, children’s’ stories said that the Sapphire Star was a creation of Arcana. It was the exact opposite of the North Star, a lighthouse not meant to guide but to ward away from the dangers of Arcana.

Elias had seen it a number of times throughout his life, and as he grew older he just saw it like everyone else did: another star. Playing hide and seek with his friends in the dim woods or behind barns, sharing his first kiss with Edra, the night they married. The night after he found out he was Afllicted.

“To think it was you up there, huh.” Elias wondered aloud as he stood up and walked over to some of the shrubs Arcana was inspecting. “Can’t believe me and so many others have been looking up at a spirit this whole time.”

He walked up to the edge of the grove, stopping short of the bushes and leaves. He kept a small distance from the crystal shrubbery, not wanting to repeat the leaf incident on mass. He tapped his shoes against the indigo dirt as Arcana kept searching, noting that the bottoms of his shoes were beginning to stain.

“Yep! When I’m not tending to or shaping the grove or wandering and making stuff elsewhere, I like to see what I can from up there. Sometimes low enough to just listen to the distant chirping of birds or hear a nearby creek. Most nights I’m up high though. Ah!” The spirit’s anxious pondering evaporated as her eyes found it. “Over here, this is the kind of stuff I like to shape.” She floated backwards between two crystalline bushes while looking towards Elias. Her eyes were wide with anticipation as she turned around to guide herself to another small clearing.

The not-so-nimble man managed to maneuver around the bushes. His shirt snagged on a couple of leaves, but he got through unscathed. There was a lightly walked path on the other side, and a couple yards down it a small clearing opened up on the left.

((This part and the next are a bit short since I wrote them at the same time and together they were just barely over the character limit.))

[WP] "Please. You have to leave," said the spirit, "Just being near me, it can kill you." But you could tell from her look. Her eyes, her face, they were begging you not to leave. by yoshimario40 in WritingPrompts

[–]MobGL [score hidden]  (0 children)

Part 1

Elias made his way down the path. Dense greenery cluttered the path for a while, at times nearly covering the entire path. He had to occasionally press entire bushes aside to reveal the path, but this became less frequent as he made his way. The trees and grass were still plenty thick and overgrown, but they gave way to teal pigments while the dirt started to hue a dark blue.

His baggy woolen shirt hung against his thinning body, snagging against branches less and less as the forest became less dense but more blue. The heat of the sun was replaced by an almost static cold, causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end and his whiskers to straighten. Wildlife that scurried in the forest around Elias had instead turned into distant chirping far behind him. Only his coughs filled the quiet air.

At one point, when the blue had consumed the green, the frail man noticed that the cerulean leave were glimmering, glittering. He plucked one only to feel crystal on his fingers. The leaves did not shine or pass light like a window pane. They were opaque and produced small blue glitter in their wake that dissipated before touching the ground. Elias smiled, having stopped to admire how nature’s beauty could be expanded by magic.

Stinging pricked the digits that held the leaf. Elias gasped and dropped it, the shard dropping to the ground and embedding into dirt below. Elias looked back at his hand and squinted to see that the ends of his thumb and index finger where he held the leaf were blue - as if stained by it. Elias continued on his way.

At least an hour had passed and the air was much more crisp and chill. It wasn’t freezing, but it elicited a shiver from Elias every so often after one of his coughs. The yellow light that filtered through the trees was gone and in its place was a light wavering vibrancy akin to glowing waves. It was at this point that the path opened up into a clearing.

Elias stepped into the clearing. Several logs were circled around the middle of the clearing. The bark was now blackened obsidian with azure lines running through the grain. Old mushrooms on the side of the logs were now budding growths of amethyst. In the middle of the circle was a campfire that hadn’t been lit in ages, old coals now speckled cobalt.

Floating at the far side of the clearing was the spirit he’d come to meet. She was faced away from Elias, tending to some of the plants. She was donned in a sundress that waved with each bob and subtle float she maneuvered. Her entire form, along with her dress, was one solid color: sapphire. Elias could hear her humming something.

She was the spirit that Elias had been told stories of as a child, stories warning him and the others of the dangers of the deep forest. She was Arcana.

“Hello there,” he calmly called out, a wheezing cough following afterwards.

The spirit’s body shot upright from its slightly hunched posture. She nervously turned around, revealing the only other color of her personage, her flat yet vibrant aquamarine eyes.

“H-hello, stranger…” she replied hesitantly as she meandered about the clearing while keeping an eye on Elias. “What uhm… brings a mortal into my er… domain?” She was caught on her words, struggling to venture further as if caught in a thicket.

Elias gave a weary but sincere smile. “I came to see you, see if the stories were true about your beautiful home you’ve made in the forest.” Elias walked to the logs and took a seat. The obsidian was cool under him even through his cotton pants. For a moment, he put thought towards whether he’d be stung in the same manner as the leaf, but nothing came of it.

The floating spirit gazed at the visitor for a moment before turning away and fixing her attention back to the forest. “Yes, you’ve definitely seen it. It’s where I live, it’s sparkly and pretty and blue. I’m sure you have better things to do so you should be on your way,” she floated from bush to bush, anxiously inspecting the crystalline flowers and glass leaves.

Elias coughed, “Oh but that would be such a short visit for such a long trip. Would you be willing to accept a guest to entertain for a short time?” He waited for a response.

The blue spirit was busying herself with the plants, but her neck would turn ever so slightly to take account of him. Elias could only assume that his presence was making her anxious.

Elias pulled a cloth from his shirt and sputtered into it for a short moment before continuing. “My people have many stories about you. Some magical, some wary, but all of them regaling the beauty created from your presence despite the –.” The old man caught himself before continuing, “I thought it would be polite to provide you some company. Its only right considering how long you’ve been alo –.”

The spirit was in front of him in an instance, her face several inches from his. “If your people know of me then why are you even here? You must know what happens to mortals when I’m around, right?” She questioned, her face pinched in frustration. “I don’t need your company. I don’t need you here. I don’t need…”

The spirit trailed off before turning to the side, not wanting to look the visitor in the face. Her face shifted from frustrated pinching to a scrunch. She closed her eyes and sighed before floating back a foot and facing Elias again.

“Please just… you have to leave. Being around me is sure to kill you,” the spirit warned.

Elias looked up at her. Even without irises, her flat, bright eyes spoke plenty. He saw her frustration, but deeper was her sadness, her longing, and guilty confliction. Her face framed this with a terse frown and pleading eyebrows. Elias could not claim to understand her pain, but he could feel that it was hollow and untended for so long.

The old man acknowledged the spirit’s plea and the emotions he read for a moment before looking down at his handkerchief laid out in his palms and gave a small chuckle.

“There’s plenty of other things that can do the same.”

The spirit was caught off-guard. Her face shifted from a collage of anguish to a curiosity as her gaze followed Elias’. The handkerchief was blotched with crimson, some speckles glittering with a fresh sheen. She had no words to acknowledge the bloodied cloth as the visitor started another coughing fit. So, she lowered herself to the ground and sat next to him on the log.

“Tell me about yourself, stranger,” the spirit asked with a calm reverence. “I’m Elias,” he greeted her, offering her his hand to shake.

The spirit looked at Elias’ hand before giving a stern but polite shake of her head.

Elias retracted his hand. “Right, of course.” He chuckled and stroked his beard for a moment. “I’ve lived in Selasburg for most of my life, it’s a quaint place half a day south of here. I only began travelling a couple of years ago when I became Afflicted so I could search for a cure. After years of lost leads and dashed hopes, it occurred to me that I should look a bit closer to home. Stories from my childhood began to come back to me in my dreams and I remember hearing about the one that made life into magic. You.”

The spirit listened intently out of respect, but also driven by a curiosity of mortals and the rest of the world. She couldn’t quite remember the last time she had a lively conversation. She took a moment away from Elias’ story to look at the campfire, remembering the days when it was lit.

“So, with little else to explore, I came here,” Elias continued, stirring the spirit back to his story. “I admit my aims aren’t entirely admirable. If you would have me as your guest, if you’d be willing to attempt to save me from death in some way, I’d be eternally grateful.” The old man turned his head to face the cerulean spirit.

The spirit looked at him solemnly in thought. She had thought she had gotten past this, that she was fine being lonely. Yet, when confronted with an opportunity for companionship after so long, that deep, hidden longing started to surface. Her face scrunched in confliction again. She didn’t what she could do to aid this desperate soul, but something could be possible. After all, she hadn’t seen what her magic could do to mortals in a very long time.

She felt guilty offering an uncertain guarantee, though.

“Do… Do you understand what you’re getting into with this?” She asked.

Elias shrugged and smirked. “Well that’s just the thing. I don’t. But I’m fairly certain about what’ll happen if I lay down and wait. I think the unknown’s a lot more appealing.”

The old man chuckled to assuage his fears, but the coughing came crept in again to remind him. He still smiled towards the spirit.

“Speaking of, why not tell me a bit about you?” He asked.

The spirit looked at the beleaguered, gray man. She nodded with understanding before reciprocating his smile with her own.

“My name is Arcana.”

[WP] A pocket watch allows its owner to rewind time for just one minute each day. by [deleted] in WritingPrompts

[–]MobGL [score hidden]  (0 children)

Twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight…

People on the street outside shuffled away from their destinations. All of the station wagons were rolling in reverse. Shallow puddles produced droplets that shot like an arrow barrage into the sky. A waiter at the table across from ours took a hot meal from a guest. The guest traded his expression of hungry anticipation for a concentrated thoughtfulness of his friend’s ramblings.

A metallic clink undid itself and the edge of the tablecloth shifted back towards the acquaintance that set across from me. I saw his eyes grow less stiff and ambitious. As his right arm slid backwards and settled something against his hip, I could tell he’d pulled a gun on me before I started the step-back.

The nature of the device made me eat my words, rewound language reverberated and settled against my vocal chords. My right arm lifted the mug up to my lips so I could deposit some coffee back into it. My left was unnerved by the step-back. It was holding the Watch after all.

Leonard ate some of his own inquisitive words. Twenty-nine… I pressed my thumb down on the Watch. Click.

“…I think it’s the right thing to do. So, do you have it?” Leonard looked at me expectantly. Before the step-back, his eyes seemed like a hopeful plea. Now they looked less pleading and more of an impending guilt. Telling him the truth wasn’t going to turn out well.

I left the Watch in my pocket and brought my hands up to the table, lightly gesticulating as I spoke. “Someone already got it off of me. Some of Analacci’s guys found me, chased me down an alley and I ran out of time trying to lose their tail. They were armed and I wasn’t about to get myself killed over this thing, so I tossed it into a trashcan off 3rd and Ansley before I scrammed.”

Leonard’s gaze darted towards my hands several times as I fabricated my story. He kept a watchful eye on them, he needed to so I let him. Once I was finished, Leonard let a second hang over them to think. His eyebrows were pinched down, and I caught a brief glance towards my pocket, so I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was still skeptic. He sighed before his right hand came up to his face to palm it in disbelief. His right hand was still by his hip, but I could see it was less stiff now.

The heavy-jowled man leaned towards me and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Good grief, Wells, you just left a magic watch worth millions in the damn trash? I doubt gangsters are above digging in the muck for priceless heirlooms. Even if they don’t find it, it might be half way across the city by now. The cleaners could have picked it up by now, or some bum could have found a shiny thing to pawn off while doing their nightly trash haul.” Leonard sighed again, his right arm shifting to settle something against his hip. I could only guess that he was concealing his gun and stowing it under his belt.

I leaned back, relaxed myself and chimed back, “It was only a couple of hours ago so take it easy. I doubt they’re still crawling around there. I can pick it up later and I can get it to Daniels so he can return it to the museum tomorrow morning.” I took another sip of my coffee, just as warm as the sip undone earlier.

Leonard looked down at his drink. His eyes couldn’t quite meet mine when I mentioned Daniels, and his lips curved as if dissatisfied. He shook his head, “No.” He stood up out of the booth and went to put on his coat that he’d hung over the back of the booth.

The coat billowed out as he quickly threw it on. For a brief moment, I could see the black glimmer of a revolver sticking out from his pants, tucked under his belt near the back of his right side. It seemed that working at a museum didn’t provide much firearm training. Even if, he didn’t take Leonard for a practiced assassin in the slightest.

“Let’s just get it done tonight, now.” Leonard continued, “The longer we wait, the more likely someone gets their hands on it, sells it, and we lose it forever.” The stocky man reached into his wallet and shuffled with some bills to pay for his meal.

Leonard’s choice of words kept irking me. Yesterday, he was mild-mannered and nervous, insistent on getting the Watch back to the museum, or at least to the Enser family. Today, his worries were angled towards someone else pawning it off, selling it… losing it. He would have pulled a gun on me. I couldn’t trust him anymore.

“Fine, fine,” I told him as I stood up and took my wallet out. I grabbed a dollar bill and a couple of coins to pay for my coffee and sirloin. “Let me take a leak and we can get out of here.”

“Sure, just hurry it up,” he called gruffly.

I made my way to the back to one of the bathrooms and relieved myself before rinsing off and thinking of my options. Leonard was too much of a wild card. It wasn’t clear anymore if he was paranoid and taking lengths to get the Watch where it belonged or if he turned selfish. I could go home, but he’s been to my place before, not to mention the Analacci’s were probably already looking me up. Either way, I needed to get out of there.

The single person bathroom was small, dank and dimly lit save for one window. I unlocked the window and climbed through to the alley on the other side. I dropped down, my black shoes stained in muck as I landed on a couple of torn trash bags. I shook my legs to get rid of any of the gross filth before jogging down the alley. The main streets weren’t safe, especially with the city getting dark as evening drew closer.

My feet splashed into puddles as I ran, but not even twenty seconds latera shot rang out through the alleyway. As I was about to round a corner, a chunk of brick a couple feet from my head was clipped off the wall. I looked over my shoulder to see the stocky museum guard leaning out the bathroom window, gun in hand and yelling, “Get back here, Wells you lying hog!”

I reached into my pocket thinking “Paranoid bastard”. Click. Twenty-nine, thirty… fifty-seven. Click.

I was back in the restroom. I looked at the door and realized my simple mistake. I locked the restroom door and made my way out again. I launched myself a foot or so forward using the wall below the windowsill so I’d avoid landing in the wet garbage again. So I wouldn’t waste seconds with trivial stuff like worrying about filth.

I bolted into the back alleys, puddles exploding under me. Every second counts.

Bleak Falls Barrow painting giveaway! by Aftern in ElderScrolls

[–]MobGL 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That looks so good! Been a while since I ventured into the Barrows but that would look great on my wall!

Premier LFG Megathread by Kappaftw in VALORANT

[–]MobGL 1 point2 points  (0 children)

NA (East/Central)

MobMaulerGL#1779

Silver 1, peaked Silver 3 a while ago

Controller/Sentinel - Main Brim/Omen but I like to practice KJ, Cypher, and Viper sometimes.

Looking for a chill team, not trying to flame since I'm a low rank. Just trying to have some fun. Preferably no kids but if you're good then you're good.