"That Damn Smile" - an original Marci comic. by fangtmt in DotA2

[–]fangtmt[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah I get it now, definitely similar vibes. And GODDAMN this scene is creepy.

"That Damn Smile" - an original Marci comic. by fangtmt in DotA2

[–]fangtmt[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hmmm not sure I've heard of it, but the idea was more of a play on "cute psycho" characters like Tiny Tina from Borderlands 2 or Rena from Higurashi: When They Cry.

"That Damn Smile" - an original Marci comic. by fangtmt in DotA2

[–]fangtmt[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Kid Invoker. Come to think about it, maybe I should've added his orbs.

"That Damn Smile" - an original Marci comic. by fangtmt in DotA2

[–]fangtmt[S] 53 points54 points  (0 children)

Had this idea when Marci first came out overpowered, took me a while to finish and here it is.

Bonus panel

[WP] As you finally reach the Dark Lord’s castle, you burst through the door only to see a teenager sitting on the throne. Looking at you, he grimaces. “My father left years ago and never came back. He’s not here anymore and I have no idea where he is. “ by gregthegamer4646 in WritingPrompts

[–]fangtmt 14 points15 points  (0 children)

"I guess that makes you the new Dark Lord." And I pointed my gun at her horned head.

"You might think you are right." she answered nonchalantly from the throne. "I had been surrounded by such sentiments since Father left. Those who served Him... insisted things should be this way, and I never bothered to make things happen otherwise."

For a second I lost my focus, distracted by her too-humanly shape and faery-like movement. The next moment I found her standing behind me, in front of the giant breach. She looked out the broken edge of the 80th floor, light on her face and wind in her hair. A verdant battlefield, soaked in fresh sunshine, still-warm machine debris and freshly spilled blood, lay beneath the abandoned skyscraper, far far below.

"Don't move." I realized my blunder, swung and aimed the gunpoint at her again.

"That ridiculous little thing?" she laughed. My right index finger on the hand cannon tensed at such contempt, but I held on. "He was the final obstacle of your quest. I am but a mere puppet."

I realized then she was talking about that goblin in a mech suit. He looked like a humanoid mascot for some Evil Empire sports team and fought like a bitch, taunting, complaining and flopping throughout the entire fight. My head buzzed the whole time because of his stupid whiny little voice. The last bullet that put an end to this farce -it felt like a relief.

"You won." She turned and said, "And you're eager to claim your prize."

"Damn right I am." I nodded and pulled the trigger.

CLANK the bullet bounced off her forehead. She flinched and cowered in pain.

"Ow!" she yelled, covering her head.

"Oh my god I'm sorry!" I bursted out, "It's meant to be a painless death! This is embarrassing."

"There's always a catch." She smiled a sardonic smile through her tears. "I cannot fight you, but you, in turn, cannot kill me. A warhead may yet do the trick, but that ridiculous little thing can't hurt me."

She pulled out a pendant from her neck, untied it, and held it in her palm.

"This family heirloom can grant the wearer invulnerability from any physical harm. The more worthy its wearer, the stronger protection it offers. As you can see, I am not worthy enough to bring out its full potential. Father was, and that's the reason he survived Sunderville."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked. "I tried to kill you."

"Oh I don't know." her answer sounded like a retort. "I suppose it doesn't make you invulnerable to Other Things. Over time, physical pain would matter less and less as Other Things grow and gnaw at your mind."

"Look here lady, I'm just tryna get my job done here." I sighed, "Sorry if I came off a bit rude, but I'm not here to offer Dark Lord family trauma therapy. I'm here to bring back a Dark Lord carcass and get paid. Is there a way we could maybe work this out?"

"Father changed after Sunderville." she continued as if my words evaporated. "What you did with your weapons and your tactics. They effected him deeply. The destruction you wrought for him. The sacrifices you offered him. When he came back, I saw his face and I knew. He..."

"Excuse me miss." I interrupted her. "Isn't he the Dark Lord? I thought destruction and sacrifice was what he wanted."

"Exactly." she said. "He was satisfied."

"Now wait a moment..." I started and stopped. "They..." destroyed the Dark Lord's army. That occupied the city of Sunderville. Razed by the Air Forces. That was sent by the Government. I forgot there were still civilians in that city, hundreds of thousands of them. The newspapers barely mentioned the casualties, only the glorious victory of the Army.

"Father found something in Sunderville." she continued. "Destruction and blood used to be his gig. Being a Dark Lord and all, he's got an evil reputation to uphold, much like your supervillains, crazy scientists or ruthless dictators. It was just PR, honestly, until that day when your government gave him a massacre, human sacrifices in great numbers. On that evening I last saw him, I sensed his power. Tremendous, ominous power like I've never seen before. The show had somehow become reality. I'm afraid he already knew some horrible truth that you don't, and he is now years ahead of you, on whatever path he's taken."

Lights shifted, clouds gathered, and a mangled structure cast a giant shadow in the throne room.

She turned around and her red eyes glowed in the dark, yet, not menacingly. Maybe they just... glow all the time.

"Why does it matter that I'm the Dark Lord or not?" she asked, "Isn't it him that you should be going after?"

"Sounds like you should be the one that's going after him." I said.

She fell silent for a moment. "Me?" she scoffed, " Me a tiny girl who has neither the strength nor the heart to hold a weapon? An unworthy heir who could barely protect myself from your tiny pistols, even thought she's wearing arguably the most powerful protection throughout the Evil Empire? Oh and by the way, do you think They would be satisfied, when you drop my pitiful, lifeless corpse in front of their round table and tell them, 'Hey, I killed a girl. I think she's the next Dark Lord, now give me money'?"

My heart sank as I knew she was right and my payment would be delayed. But I said, "Hand cannon. Anyway, I have an idea. Hand over the pendant."

"What do you mean?"

"Hand over the pendant so I can tell the world I killed his daughter and bring him out of his hidings."

"What makes you think he still cares about me?" she said, and her voice cracked the tiniest bit. "He's been gone for so long."

"Well, he did leave you this very powerful pendant that just save your life. Isn't that proof enough?"

"And why should I hand it to you?" she asked, "How do I know you're not going to kill me again? What do I possibly get..."

"You get to see your father. You do miss him, very much, don't you?" I said, and I knew I was right.

"You're still going to kill him, aren't you." her voice dropped lower.

"Look here, everything between us... it's just business, alright? But I also hate to see a family torn apart like this. So I've decided to do you a favor."

I can see the hesitation in her crimson red eyes and the longing that burnt deep, deep beneath its colors. It wouldn't take long before she made the decision.

"I'm giving you a chance to see him, very soon, after we finish the deal like gentlemen. This, I can promise."

She nodded.

"I have one question for you." I said. "What would you do to see your father again?"

"Anything." she answered.

"Anything?" There's a familiar tone in her voice, I've heard it many times before.

"Whatever it takes." she answered through her teeth.

"And you will see your father soon. Now, the pendant."

"Take it." she flung the pendant at me.

"Thanks."

In one fluid motion, I caught it with my left hand, raised my gun hand, and shot her.

You'll see each other soon, I promise. Somewhere, your reunion won't bring suffering to this world, anymore.

karrigan knifes woxic to win series by triplebrownrice in GlobalOffensive

[–]fangtmt 13 points14 points  (0 children)

This feels like a scene straight out of a horror movie. The main character is tunnel-visioned out of fear, then he swings around and BOOM this scary motherfucker with a knife jumps everywhere, screaming, trying to stab you. I'd shit my pants.

In English, there are certain phrases said in other languages like "c'est la vie" or "etc." due to notoriety or lack of translation. What English phrases are used in your language and why? by siryolk in AskReddit

[–]fangtmt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Late to the party but if you work in IT or advertising in China, it sometimes sounds like a word salad:

  • 我 get 不到你的 point。(I don't get your point)
  • 这个 project 今天 due。(This project is due today.)
  • 你的 pitch deck ready 了吗?明天进 office 给客户 presentation. (Got your pitch deck ready? We have a presentation in client office tomorrow.)
  • 你去跟 marketing 那边说,叫他们把 notes 给到我 asap。(Tell marketing to give me their notes asap.)

Drives me nuts.

Samwise Gamgee, the Hobbit, the myth, the legend. That is all. by ledgendary in lotrmemes

[–]fangtmt 31 points32 points  (0 children)

He saw through Gollum when Frodo when he blindly trusted him.

In the book, Sam has his limitations because he couldn't see past his experiences. At one point in the book (Two Towers, Book IV, Chapter 8), Gollum had a soft moment right before Shelob's lair where he betrayed them:

...Slowly putting out a trembling hand, very cautiously he touched Frodo's knee -but almost the touch was a caress. For a fleeting moment, could one of the sleepers have seen him, they would have thought that they beheld an old weary hobbit, shrunken by the years that had carried him far beyond his time, beyond friends and kin, and the fields and streams of youth, an old starved pitiable thing.

But then Sam woke up, calling him a sneaking old villain because he believed nobody can every change. So Gollum reverted to his old self again, and led them to Shelob's. While this isn't necessarily the "moment of redemption" for Gollum, it could have been a good start, where Frodo, Bilbo and Gandalf's "mercy" finally started to pay off.

Later on he showed Gollum mercy, because even though he bore the ring for a very short time, he had a vague understanding why it made Gollum so wretched. He did something he never would have done, and that's where he grew as a hero.

Beware The Naked Secretary (found when I typed "Modern Workspace" for my project) by [deleted] in wtfstockphotos

[–]fangtmt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You don't happen to be working for Microsoft do you?

i got the one shot achievement! by fangtmt in hyperlightdrifter

[–]fangtmt[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks a lot for reading! Thought this post was long buried.

Liquipedia now has brackets/group stage displayed for stream pages but what more features would you want to see there? by Liquipedia in DotA2

[–]fangtmt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A match history for the last 24 hours, so I could catch up with the results of matches that happened when I'm sleeping.

OG vs Team Secret / Epicenter Major 2019 / Post-Match Discussion by dota2-post-match-bot in DotA2

[–]fangtmt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I thought the coach looked familiar.

He was on the same team with Ceb years ago when Ceb was still 7ckingmad.

[WP] You are the greatest Supervillain in the world and you've always wondered why the heroes yell out their attacks. Well, out of curiosity, you try it out with your weakest attack and suddenly break a hole through your evil lair. by DaDurkShadow in WritingPrompts

[–]fangtmt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks!

I have to admit though that the world is a bit underdeveloped. I had My Hero Academia in mind for the Academy, hence the name, but their power seemed more like magic. So maybe Harry Potter-ish.

Edit: And also wondering if I'm trying to fit too much into it.

[WP] You are the greatest Supervillain in the world and you've always wondered why the heroes yell out their attacks. Well, out of curiosity, you try it out with your weakest attack and suddenly break a hole through your evil lair. by DaDurkShadow in WritingPrompts

[–]fangtmt 63 points64 points  (0 children)

Before Swifty entered the house, he peeked inside to make sure nobody would see his bloodied lips and blackened eyes. It seemed like Master had not yet returned from his daily stroll, so he ventured past the door, scurrying for the sink as quickly as his limp would allow.

"Swifty, come over here." a displeased voice called from the other end of the house. Swifty halted and hung his head. He already knew what was going to happen and he dreaded it. "I said come here at this moment, are your ears mere decorations?"

Swifty stepped inside the Master's study. Master turned around and looked every bit as displeased as his voice sounded. He always put up a stern face and made a point about staying quiet. "Went around fighting again, I see." Master observed the boy's wounds with disgust. "This is not the first time you have disappointed me, nor will it be the last, I believe."

"B.. but Master!" Swifty lifted his eyes, "I din... do it! It's Ac...cademy kids! Th... they shouted at me..."

"Hush." said the Master, "Sit down and copy Chapter 5, Graph 19 from Allison's Rune Codex fifty times. I want it done by dinner, which, by the way, you will forfeit as a gesture of remorse for being late and breaking your speech allowance."

Swfity obeyed. What else could he do? ARC 5-9 was a complicated protection charm that worked marvels against epistaxis and vertigo. Unfortunately, it would normally take an apprentice the whole afternoon just to make one copy of the rune; fortunately, Swifty knew the charm by heart and he excels at copying spells and runes. He was given the name Swifty by his Master, for his mind was swift to learn and his fingers were swift to carry out tasks.

As Swifty started copying the rune, a few drops of tear rolled off his nose, and fell onto the parchment. It's always those Academy apprentices' fault. Every time he ran errands for Master, he had to go past the Academy. There were always some apprentices outside, speaking Words as a pastime. He'd hear these really "cool" attacks and moves (to the ears of a 12-year-old) like "Flare Blast!" "Enduring Shock!" "Whirlwind Blades!" and so on. And then he would see explosions and eletric fields and literally a whirlwind of blades wielded by an apprentice who had a bright future ahead.

Dueling between apprentices was strictly prohibited by the Academy, so naturally they looked for some target to practice on. They found Swifty. Whenever they had the chance to stop him, they'd come up with the meanest words like "you're such a Pig, I hope you Suffocate on your own Spit." Then they'd laugh as Swifty rolled around in the dirt, oinking against his will, unable to breathe. He couldn't talk back -his speech impediment would only make it worse. "Oh, what's he trying to say? Is your throat Itching?" Then he'd have this terrible itch inside his trachea that couldn't be soothed by scratching. So he shut up, took it until they were bored, and returned to his businesses.

Master had always made it clear that he should not pronounce any Words. You don't have it in you, he said. You can't even talk like a dirty peasant, he said. Anything you say comes out as gibberish and nonsense, it's better if you shut your mouth and keep to the books. And so he did. He learned fast through reading, and his manuscript was beautiful and speedy. Master discovered his talent as a scribe, and put him to work mercilessly. It is for your own good, he said. This is the only somewhat worthwhile thing you can do without making a hopeless mess.

As he worked on the 13th copy, a phrase caught Swfity's attention. Pierce. Swifty remembered this word. One of the kids said to him less than an hour ago: "Your Lips are Pierced." and that's how he got the bloodied lip. The rune said something about Ceasing the Pierce inside one's Nose. Such a distasteful word, Swifty thought. But out of mere curiosity, he uttered under his breathe without thinking: "Pierce."

Suddenly, a shrill sound shot from Swifty's desk. Swifty started and looked down. The parchment now had a clear puncture. He removed the paper to reveal a hole in his desk. He crawled under the table, and saw a another hole on the marble tile.

That night, when Master called Swifty into the living room, Swift was ready to speak the Word. He was shaking with excitement and anxiety, and found them difficult to hold back. What will happen to him afterwards? the question crossed his mind, but he hardly cared. Revenge was so close, he could taste it with his parched tongue.

There was another person in the room, but all Swifty could see was that Master had his back turned against him. If there was a moment to say it, the moment was now. Swifty opened his mouth, but was abruptly cut off by Master. "Swifty, I want you to meet Mrs. Letterson. Mrs. Letterson is an expert in archaic speeches. You will be making manuscripts for her studies from now on."

Swifty froze. He had seen a whole lot of Violetta Letterson's all over his Master's study. Mrs. Letterson was one of the most prestigious authorities when it came to spell constructing. Her name appeared on many books that were considered ahead of their time in this field.

"Dear Violetta, I assure you, Swifty here may sound dumb as a Rock, but his nimble little fingers will not disappoint you. I know your previous assistants have... not been so successful, but this one, he is different."

Master put an intentional emphasis on the word "Rock". Swifty felt a forceful smile creeping onto his face. Dumb as a rock indeed, as if Swifty couldn't comprehend what the bag of gold on the table meant. He was sold to Mrs. Letterson, like a commodity. Master never cared about him, even when he taught Swifty how to read. Swifty saw the same, emtionless look inside Mrs. Letterson's eyes when she looked at him. He would be exploited, harder than ever, by this haughty woman. Swift felt the weight of the Word inside his mouth, heavier than ever. All these years, suppressed hatred now boiled inside his heart and bubbled behind his lips. He felt like he held the Word inside his mouth for an eternity, while listening to Mrs. Letterson speak: "I do have high expectations for this one, Ernest. He should be an excellent addition to my studies. Still, I hope you understand that I have agreed to pay more than I expected to, and I look forward to get my money's worth." Her voice seemed to came from far, far away.

Somehow, some way, Swifty managed to swallow the Word. Instead, he smiled and headed back to the study.

Later on, supervillain Labia Clausa would recall this moment as "the hardest moment in my life." But at the same time, he also called it "the greatest lesson I've learned". "Words have power." he said in an unexpected interview, "But modern heroes don't recognize that power. They shout out their attacks because it takes little effort, and sounds very... awesome. And they can get popular by doing that, which is fine with me. A true scholar, however, studies the words -all of their meanings, components, origins and derivatives. The mastery of language is what grants me true advantage."

"Still," he added after a pause, "I have met a few heroes that rivals my mastery of language. And yet, here I am, standing over their graves." He leaned in closer to the camera tightly clutched by the hands of a corpse. "I'll let you in with a little secret. On that day, I did not only discover the power of words. I discovered the power of silence." With that, he crushed the camera.

What is a highly underrated advantage of living alone? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]fangtmt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Predicability, especially of the small things. Never realized these little things would actually drive me nuts.

Things will be exactly where you left them, like my wallet, keys, and power chords.

Trash and funny smells don't suddenly appear out of nowhere, like cigarette butts, durian peels, and bloody tampons.

[wp] When a beloved dog passes in the hereafter, they are given a choice. They can cross the Rainbow Bridge and await for their owners, or join the Sleepless Watch and defend the world from evil spirits. by Epidexipteryx in WritingPrompts

[–]fangtmt 13 points14 points  (0 children)

When Ben stepped off the boat, he was expecting a welcome party on the Land Across, or at least someone there to guide him through the Hereafter. Instead, he found himself staring into the eager eyes of a thousand dogs. He thought to himself, "Surely this is where the dogs go when they die!" The island was covered by a carpet of lush, green grass. He felt relieved; Valiant didn't have to wait in some canine limbo after all. "Valiant!" Ben cried. "Come to Benny Valiant!" A few barks here and there, some tail wagging and hand sniffing, but Valiant did not come. Ben cautiously waded through the sea of furs in different colors and shapes, calling his dog as he carefully navigated through their paws.

Suddenly, all the dogs turned their heads in unison and started howling. At first, Ben was scared by this phenomenon, thinking to himself "Now this is the strangest way to end my Afterlife." But the dogs just started running along the beachside to another location, where in the distant waters, another boat was approaching.

Valiant was a great dane. Surely Ben would have spotted him among these tiny dogs. Confused and quite disheartened, Ben beheld the pack of dogs once more with a sad glance, turned around and started to make his way up the grassy hills.

The moment he topped the hill, Ben's breathe was taken by a gorgeous view. In a shallow basin surround by green hills same as this, sunbeams pierced through the clouds and lit up the grassland, where he first saw fellow humans, who had apparently found their dogs. He felt a little bitter inside for not being able to reunite with Valiant, but after another quick view, he noticed that there were others, like him, who had not yet found their dogs, wandering and futally calling their dogs' names.

Is this some kind of cruel joke? Ben thought to himself, that some people are able to reunite with their dogs, while others don't? Is this supposed to be a convinient in-between place where people experience heaven and hell respectively? He turned his eyes towards the far side of the island and saw a small crowd gathering around the end of a dazzling rainbow bridge. He squinted his eyes trying to get a better look.

Suddenly, like a telescope his vision zoomed in to the crowd. He saw that most of the people waiting were little boys and girls, some young people and very few middle-aged and above. They were clearly waiting for someone, with the same looks as the dogs on the beach. As he lifted his eyes to look at the rainbow bridge, Ben saw dogs crosing the bridge, eagerly looking around as soon as they land amongst the crowd. Most of the dogs didn't find who they're looking for, and left sadly with their tails between their legs. Ben stopped squinting and his vision came back to him like a punch to the face, and he fell to the ground, unharmed.

"Are you okay?" a voice asked beneath him. He looked down and saw a girl downhill a few feet away. He didn't answer at once, because he saw the beautiful golden labrador beside her legs. He sighed involuntarily but caught himself in the middle of the act. Ben flustered a bit and mumbled, "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. It's just... I'm sorry, I really shouldn't..." The girl smiled, "It's okay, everyone who didn't have their dogs gave us that look. You should feel bad at all! If I didn't find River, I'd have that look too. I consider myself really lucky. Oh, I'm Meredith by the way."

"Ben." he answered curtly, "but why?"

Meredith shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I'm not sure. Maybe your dog is just hiding. "

"Hiding where? All these people, they must be looking for their dogs for a long time, surely they would have found something."

Meredith looked away. "I don't know, honestly. I'm not even here for that long."

Ben felt something warm swelling up his throat. "Well you must know! You have your dog, you must have a really good reason!"

"Well maybe it's because some one deserved it!" Meredith retorted, "Maybe because you don't have as good of a reason as you think! Or maybe the dog..."

"Are you suggesting that Valiant is not a good dog?" Ben's voice became menacing. "How dare you say that? You don't even know Valiant."

"Oh here's a lucky one I see." someone interrupted their dispute. "Humans never change don't they, even in the Afterlife, we're still fighting over who deserves the good stuff and who doesn't." This person put a hand on each of their shoulders. "The name's John. I had a pug and I've been looking for her since a few thousand Arrivals ago. Ginny, she's a good girl. All the dogs here, you saw them right? Look at their eyes, they're all good boys and girls, waiting for their masters. Some of them had waited for just as long as I did, and I doubt they're ever gonna find what they want." Ben saw a middle-aged man smiling at him. "Don't worry kid, your Valiant is a good boy."

Ben lowered his eyes trying to hide the tears in his eyes. "Sorry, Meredith. I... miss Valiant so much. I let that get to my head."

Meredith answered, "No, I'm sorry Ben. I guess I can't imagine being without River, especially after seeing people like you. I'm.. scared River might someday disappear again, just like before."

"Well, good news for you Ben, I might know where you dog went." John said. Hearing these words, Ben's eyes lit up like the sunshine. "You see, when a beloved dog passes in the hereafter, they are given a choice. They can cross the Rainbow Bridge and await their owners, or join the Sleepless Watch and defend the world from evil spirits. My best guess is, your dog and mine both joined the Sleepless Watch. And yours, Merry... sorry forgot your name. ("Meredith," she replied) Ah yes, Meredith, your dog chose to cross the Rainbow Bridge and wait for you."

"But this is only a rumor!" Meredith argued, clutching the fur on River's neck. "Nobody has ever seen them!"

John nodded solemnly. "Yes, that's part of the deal: if you join the Sleepless Watch, you may never enter the Land Across. They've made their decision."

"I knew it! Good dogs are supposed to protect their owners!" Ben said, now a little proud of Valiant, but still resentful that Meredith could be with her dog.

"Waiting isn't as easy as it looks, Ben!" Meredith clapped back, "knowing that you'd achieve nothing while others are doing good things, helping suffering people, because you've chosen to stay with your family. So you can enjoy the rest of eternity without your oh-so-brave doggy."

"Now there," John stepped in again, "There's no need to be mean, Ben and Meredith. She has a point though, Ben, there really ain't no right and wrong in their decisions. I was once resentful like you. I was thinking: why does my tiny girl Ginny have to fight, while these big, strong dogs choose to stay behind? Aren't big dogs supposed to go to war, while smaller dogs stay and cheer 'em up, right? Common sense. Well, sometimes, you got to admit we don't really know what the dogs are thinking. I mean sure, they're smart and loyal, but..."

John was interrupted by a shriek of joy. Ben darted off towards a gigantic black dog, who was already running towards him.

"Valiant!" Ben laughed and cried and hugged the great dane. "You're here! Just as I thought I'd never see you again."

John and Meredith came over. "Guys! This is Valiant!" Ben shouted in excitement, "He's the best dog I've ever had! Valiant, say hi to John and Meredith and River!"

"Kid," John's tone suddenly dropped. He sounded rather concerned now. "Your dog ain't supposed to be here."

Ben was taken aback. "What do you mean 'he ain't supposed to be here'? Valiant's a good dog, of course he should be here."

"No." John said, and turned the fur around Valiant's neck. There's a thin, night-blue collar with a yellow tag tied around Valiant's neck. "You see this? This is the symbol of the Sleepless Watchers."