#And also because i hardly enjoyed playing mages

[acgamesda]

Now that I know Rook will be able to handle both weapon sub-classes, I have such a hard time resisting going Rogue... Damnit.

[nyctophiliq]

oneshot where kiriko notices that you’re feeling uncomfortable at a party, so she pulls you aside to get your mind off of things?

— ✮ ( 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐔𝐑 )

minors dni; nsfw ! — lowercase writing intended, sub! reader, dom! kiriko, semi-public sex, mirror sex, fingering, hair pulling, cum play, mention of alcohol, no real end :/

moss' notes; LEGS MOSS IS SO HAPPY YOU REQUESTED FROM THEM AHAHA hope you enjoy, and thank you and mage for the mirror sex headcanons, heavily inspired it here is the link

⠀⠀( pairing . . . ) — kiriko kamori + f! reader

you knew that coming to this party would be a mistake but kiriko was far too persuasive and insisted on you tagging along with her. the two of you arrived late, when the party was already in full force so her arrival made bigger of a scene than when she would arrive in time. a bunch of people who you could hardly remember the name of dragged her away, leaving you to figure out what to do.

there was a calm corner at the party where you could stay, where the music wasn't too loud and the drunk people seemed to not look. so you headed there after a few times filling your drink, looking above everyone else's shoulder to see kiriko downing her drink and leaving the ping-pong table before disappearing into the sea of drunk people.

"uncomfortable?" kiriko popped up next tot you, questioning as she takes your hand.

"i... maybe a bit. it's a big crowd..." you look at the people dancing in the middle of the room before your gaze shifts to your hands hanging next to your thighs. you look up at kiriko who has a little blue spark behind her eyes, whipping your head away you clutch the red cup in your hand before downing it all at once.

kiriko expected you to not be too fond of the party she brought you to, but hoped with her keeping tabs on you and with your friends also there you would be more comfortable. she didn't want to let genji down because nothing beats her watching as genji going out of his mind after she beats him at beer pong. well, nothing... except maybe you and certain features of yours.

"come on, let's go somewhere quiet. promise it's gonna be good." she says sweetly as her hand takes the cup from you and settles on the small stand next to the two of you. her fingers laced with yours before pulling you through the tipsy, dancing people towards the short staircase that led up to the second floor's small corridor. "so good."

"y-yeah?" you don't mean to stutter, following her without a doubt into the bathroom on the left.

"yeah." she hushes tenderly after you are through the sill, closing the door behind the two of you and the darkness eats the room up. her hand lets go of yours, instead an arm wrapping around your waist and pushing you up against something cold. you gulped, feeling kiriko's chest rubbing against yours as she leaned into you. the small bunch your panties were in your pants felt cold and wet, suddenly your spine felt like soda was replacing the spinal fluid and you could hardly contain your head from moving side to side. your thighs rubbed against each other as you tiptoed, one fold of the scrunched-up damp fabric caught onto your clit and you tried fighting back a groan that choked in your throat, but your hands slipped and it got out.

click !

the lights were finally on, bright and burning your eyes. "kiriko..." you breathe, and you wonder what was taking so long with the lights because she seemed like nothing had changed from before the two of you waltzed inside.

a small groan left your throat as her tongue delved into your mouth, eagerly swirling against yours. your arms wrapped around her neck, pulling her impossibly close to you, relishing in the heat of her body on you. as her lips trailed a line down your neck you rolled your hips against her, begging for more. kiriko's teeth sunk into your skin and you whimpered, groaning at the feeling of her fingers digging into your hip, tugging gently at the waist of your pants. your breath hitched as you felt her other hand running up your inner thigh, a gasp escaping your lips at the feel of her cold hand palming you through the fabric.

"kiriko...." you practically moaned at her teasing. this party was hectic, she completely abandoned you to compete with the shimada brothers and now you were absolutely aching at the thought of her fingers.

"turn around for me," she murmured, her lips coming up to take your lips between hers for a short kiss. you gave her a somewhat puzzled look, still trying to make a sentence in your head in the middle of a fog that your brain was. "promise it will be good." she repeated for the hundredth time it seemed and you once again just silently nodded, complying with her request and turned around.

multiple things run through your head when your eyes catch hers in the giant mirror on the wall, expecting her to embrace you from behind but what you haven't expected was the force which she did it with. you gasped when she pushed you back up against the cold granite counter of the sink, bracing yourself on your arms in front of you.

kiriko played with the golden button of your pants for a minute before ripping it from your pants and slipping her hand inside. your head hand as her fingers slowly traced your folds, teasing you, drawing your witness out as she tormented your clit. you heard footsteps outside of the room, and realizing someone might just step inside and see you two kicked you back into the same anxious mindstate before, causing you to panic. the shrine maiden's free hand clasped over your mouth, muffling any panic word that was about to come from your lips and have you forget about the party once again. you bit down on your lips when she buried a finger into your pussy. her pace was torturously slow, her thumb tracing around your clit as her fingers pumped in and out of you.

"look at you, such a pretty mess." kiriko whispered, hand slipping down to grip your chin, and forcing you to look at your reflection in the mirror. her eyes found yours, a smirk taking over her face as she plunged a second finger in, you let out a breathless gasp, doing your best to stay quiet as her fingers curled against your g-spot.

oh, you were a mess, tears of drool slipping from the corner of your mouth as she twists her fingers inside of you, her knuckles assaulting your clit. your chest was heaving, breath still heavy from kiriko's hand silencing you. and she, she was staring at your lust swollen face while her fangs sink into your smooth skin. "it's so g-good... kiriko!"

she wished she could wrap her lips around yours as her fingers continued to torment your cunt, but instead used the chance to torture you. she rutted light against your hips before thrusting a third finger into you, pumping it quickly, putting more pressure on your clit, rolling her harder and faster than before. you continued mewling, whispering half-audible words of application. your head sank even lower, sobbing as your walls clenched around her fingers and your arms shot backward to grab into her side. you caught her jacket, your knuckles turning white as she rubbed you through your orgasm, an army of choked-back moans erupting from your throat.

you whine once again, moving your hips to meet her trust like an impatience child while riding the last of your high, your arms giving out and having to resort to keeping yourself up by your elbows. she tutted you softly, relishing in the wetness wrapping itself around her as you tried to gather yourself. her finger pads collected your slick as she pulled out of you before bringing her soaked finger up to her lips. you finally opened your eyes again, catching her reflection's gaze as she stuck her tongue out, placing her fingers on it and deliberately licking your juices from them.

"hmm, you want a taste?" she coos into your ear, forcing her finger back deeper inside of your sopping cunny. you didn't even really know what you were saying to make her laugh before she was sticking her hand into her own pants and offering it to you.

"good girl." she kissed your neck as you wrapped your lips around her fingers, your tongue slithering between the three fingers to clean and suck on them lightly like a baby.

kiriko was pleased and you seemed to be worrying about anything but the party and all the people around, the fact pulling a smile to her face. her hand that wasn't in between your lips found its place in the middle of your back, soothing a spot between your scapulas.

[becquerelian]

tagged by: @asha-mage

last song I listened to: Oh god. Just listened to The Sailor Song by Autoheart on the way to school because it's on one of my OC playlists. I quite like Autoheart, I like Jody's voice and the angsty queer overtones.

currently reading: Very slowly making my way through Harrow the Ninth. I love it so much, just don't have a ton of time to read these days... But this book feels very made for me, with the blood and bones and horrible unreliable narration and insanity. Tamsyn Muir's prose also hits such a great balance of technical and casual, I really admire it.

currently watching: I just started both Dungeon Meshi and Black Sails, and I'm enjoying them both. I feel like I hardly know what's going on enough to really commentate on either of them yet, but having fun.

currently obsessed with: It's the OCs. This is the unifying factor in my taste in media these days. I really love not just pulling inspiration but also seeing how different writers and artists spin similar themes to what I'm working with. I haven't been super consistent in posting my art recently, but my art blog @saturns-rings-robins-wings is where the bulk of my OC lore and stuff goes. I also just convinced my mom to start playing my favorite Fire Emblem game, FE Echoes, hahaha. It's been a couple years since I played it for the first time, so I'm really excited to get back into that world again. The art and writing and music are all really stunning, it was hugely influential for me for a good while there.

Tagging: @tibialtybalt @insomnia-productions @squaggansalada @misskriemhilds @sun-dari @nynaeve-almeara

[heredis-sanguinis]

𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐍

- Tagged by: @piltover-sharpshooter & @shimmerbeasts -

-Under 'Read More' for length-

What made you pick up the current muse(s) you have? He's one of my absolute fave League champions. There were hardly any out there and I dipped by finger in that sanguine pool for a moment and got pulled in instantly. To me he has a ton of potential to be fleshed out, that I hope to put down in writing. Riot seems to forget the 'unpolished' gem they have created at times. Especially since he seems to always end up as a joke to people in the community and even the playerbase, and easily gets ignored that way. Or at least in my experiences. The amount of times I've heard jokes like 'discount-ripoff-Lestat/Dracula/vampire/-clown are too.fucking.many...

Is there anything you don’t like to write? Slice of life stuff... I just don't get any motivation to keep anything going in that genre. The same goes for modern verses? I just don't get inspiration for anything on my muses for this either. And not even because I dislike them or anything, it just doesn't mesh with my brain.

Is there anything you really enjoy writing? A n g s t It comes naturally to me, with little effort. And considering how swamped my schedule is, this is a blessing. Though I am not that fuzzed about what genre I'm writing in. I enjoy most things, as long as there is something that moves forward. Development and something to work with to continue that pace and progression are absolutely <3

How do you come up with headcanons? Inspiration from other sources Trying to look behind the basic lore and colour stories, but also look at any potential related characters or other sources and see if anything meshes with Vlad. Like, besides his own lore, I also looked at Noxian lore, Camavoran lore, Viego/Kalista/Hecarim, the Blessed Isles, Ruination, the Darkin and so on.

Do you write in silence or do you play music? I write mostly with something playing in the background. This could be any relatable music to my muses. Or just any of my playlists. A Youtube series I'm watching/listening to. While at work I tend to write down keywords if something comes to mind, and then at home I'll see what comes out of it. (if I remember that I wrote something down)

Do you plan your replies or wing them? I wing them, 99%, mostly. I don't really enjoy planning out every step of muses interactions and relationships. And besides, Vlad is not one to let his life and actions be dictated as easily. He does as he pleases and so too do I write him.

Do you enjoy shipping? I am a shipping whore, but I am very passive in seeking anything in this regard due to really bad experiences where I got accusted of only seeking out interactions for ships, just because I like some characters together. Like, my absolute otp is VladVayne, but I never interacted with any Vayne for the shipping reason. I enjoy their antagonistic dynamic potential a lot too, but yeah stuff happened and now I just tend to not bother to seek interactions. It's a good thing Vlad is not an easy character to ship with, so that saves me a lot of issues as well in this regard.

What’s your alias/name? Cella

Age? 36

Birthday? May 20th

Favourite color? I have several: Black, red, green and purple

Favourite song? This changes whenever it does, But currently it is 'The Skies Above' by The Black Mages

Last movie you watched? I can't remember. It might have been a horror movie when I went to my bestie, sometime last year, to watch 'something'. But I have slept since then, and just don't remember a title.

Last show you watched? I think that has to be Hazbin Hotel? I don't watch a lot of series or shows. Heck, I haven't watched TV properly in a decade now. And rarely go online to watch anything.

Last song you listened to? 'Oblivion' by Masayoshi Soken (Yes, it is another Final Fantasy XIV song)

Favourite food? Listen, I love food, so I don't really have one specific dish or type that I consider a 'fave'. So I'll give a couple: sushi, steak (rare, I need it to bleed), chips (fries for you USA lot), kebab and ice cream (lemon being my absolute fave flavour)

Favourite season? W I N T E R No sun, no spiders (severely arachnophobic), no skin-blistering heat. What's not to love? And if I'm cold, I just. wear. another. layer. of. clothing.

Do you have a Tumblr best friend? Quite a few. Shoutout to @angelicxlly @piltover-sharpshooter @thegoldentigress @weapon-turned-jack These four have been with me through thick and thin for several years now. I love them dearly and they're precious to me. Heck, Monkey-brain-sharpshooter is practically my clone. Literal spiderman-meme stuff there and it gets creepy at times how much we act and think and say alike...

Tagging: You, yes you! I don't know who has been tagged or has done this already. But consider this your tag now~

[kiruvry]

I NEED TO KNOW MORE ABT THE MIITOPIA PLAYTHROUFH

HIIII!!!!! OKAY OKOK

just to start with its just like. my teammates that are overwatchy and stuff because i hardly think id have enough people to work with if i made npc smth from ovw 🤨 but what i do have is uhh!!

jack, gabe, ana, reinhardt, cassidy, genji, moira, angela, torbjörn, lena and then winston for the horse LMFAOOOO

the blackwatch team were supposed to be the ones i had in realm of the fey rather than neksdor but i remembered you only get the tank job in realm of the fey so i had to swapsies 🤨

OK SO LJKE. OK.

im at the point in the game where ive just gotten to peculia and like. have just gotten to the darker lord yk 🤨

- jack is the main hero, i play him as a stubborn chef (grillmaster76 reference 😨) but bc of the yk . main hero thing he's swapped jobs to being a thief with the neksdor crew (i missed gabe) and was a warrior with the realm of the fey crew B)

greenhorne

- gabriel i played as a stubborn thief, moreso because you can't get the vampire job until way later on but also like ?? i dunno man!! i kinda fucked with it so it's staying

- ana i chose to be a kind mage i think . i was gonna make her cool originally but i kinda enjoyed the little quirks w the kind personality 🤨 mage i chose for reasons not even i really know ?? i was definitely tempted by the sleep tight skill i think LMFAO

- reinhardt i play as an energetic warrior, for like. obvious reasons id hope FGAHGSJAHDJAF

neksdor

- cassidy i played as a laid-back popstar, for genuinely no other reason that nothing else fit and i really wanted his hat 😭 also i thought itd be so funny to have him of all people be the like. relationship fixer 💀

- genji i played as a cool imp i think . ya. i would've gone warrior with him because of the sword but i really did NOT wanna repeat jobs it makes me so 😿😿AUEEUUgh repeating them so i ended up going with imp for him ?? it's really funny to be honest 😭

- aaaand moira i played a cautious scientist :] cautious not so much because it matched personality wise but moreso for the quirks that it has, i felt they'd be fitting !! reasoning for the scientist job though i think is obvious HSJAHAJAJ

realm of the fey

again this was supposed 2 be the blackwatch folks but i had to swapsies bc im crazy picky with my jobs 😿 ueueue

- mercy i played as a kind cleric, kinda because like. Woah. The Healer . but also the opportunity for the resurrection ability with angela gawddamn ziegler of all people is way too good to pass up on 🤨

- torbjörn i think i made a stubborn tank?? my friend violet suggested the tank job for him and it made me giggle bc it reminds me of his turrets HEHAGSGAJSJSF i also thought itd be really funny for him to straight up launch teammates

- tracer i chose to be an energetic cat i think . YA . energetic because like. this is lena oxton we're talking about . and i think i went with the cat job because of it's like. IDK it feels fast/agile and the claws reminded me a bit of tracer's double guns so 🤨

for non teammates i don't have many npcs who are ovw folks, but the process behind deciding the first dark lord was really funny HEHAHAHAJAJ

legitimately my train of thought was like... who in overwatch is just incredibly pathetic . nobody came to mind. thought harder. reach an epiphany.

and then we got here <3 (mii by @violetspark14 btw !!! they're fucking CRAZY)

and great sage ramattra followed shortly after, i think it's the way they dress + the staff and sorta the general vibes of the sage?? IDK. i remembered i had to assign a mii and like.

(VINE BOOM)

(AGAIN, MII BY VIOLET :] they're responsible 4 theeee ramattra + maximilien + torbjörn miis :])

you can't see everybody here properly but!!! the gang :]

and of course i can't just NOT let you all see this video when i managed to capture it in time ❤

[bnuuywol]

From the Life and Journals of Phoenyx Eldritch

Heyooo here’s the next part of his story that I actually have written. This is currently the second and final chapter that I have for ARR as I haven’t gotten around to going back and writing things from that era yet. But this is actually the first piece I wrote about him while playing! It’s also the first “journal” piece, so it’s in first person, so have fun with that. Enjoy!

PART I: A REALM REBORN

Chapter Two / Journal Entry #1

As the Ultima fell, collapsing into nothingness, I watched the inferno of its destruction burn around me. The group of adventurers who so honorably aided me in this plight made their escape while they could. I remained, the feeling that things were not yet finished gnawing at me. The reappearance of Lahabrea confirmed my suspicions. It had been but a fool's hope to believe that he would leave his enemy to simply walk out after the defeat of Ultima. As was inevitable, his attention tore away from the unconscious body of Gaius van Baelsar and focused upon me. 

My heart ached as he spoke to me. Not because of his words, but because of the vessel he puppeteered to deliver them. Thancred, who wanted naught but to do his duty to the Scions, and whose pressure upon himself led to such a cruel fate. To see such a kind, honorable man have his will and power stripped from him... A man that, admittedly, I love. Hard as I try, I cannot deny the feelings I have for him. Feelings that only grew stronger in his absence. All the time spent worrying over his fate after the attack at the Waking Sands, only to find he suffered a fate worse than death or capture.

I should have known. He'd grown distant, refused to speak with me while I was away dealing with primal threats in Limsa Lominsa. Had I not been running rampant slaying beasts and proving my worth to those who know me not, perhaps I could have caught it sooner. Perhaps he would be fighting alongside us, Noraxia and the others still living. But alas, we were afforded no such fortune. However, this was no time to dwell on what could have been. Now I finally had the chance to free him from this fate. 

"You will not leave this place alive." Lahabrea threatened.

Those words filled me with an uncanny strength. I would not die by this entity's hand. Determination fueled my every move. I felled Ifrit, Titan, Rhitahtyn sas Arvina. I've all but mastered the dark art passed down by the Black Mages of old. Before the sun rose upon Mor Dohna, Lahabrea would be banished from Thancred, with Rhalgr as my witness.

Yet even with all my power it seemed I was outmatched. I grew weaker whilst my most powerful spells hardly appeared to even scathe him. Dread flooded my core when he summoned four arcane spheres from which to draw power. I could do naught to stop them. I wasn't strong enough. His power increased tenfold and he cast a spell with such power... I've never felt more pain in my twenty four years upon this star. I felt my life slipping from me, and as I fell and the darkness claimed my vision I thought for certain I had met my end. I had failed Eorzea, failed the Scions, failed Thancred.

And then there was that light. She who has guided me since my arrival in Ul'dah. Guided me much longer than I'm presently conscious of, I daresay. The blackness grew brighter and brighter. It felt as though a fire had been set in my very bones and I snapped back to consciousness with a sharp breath. Though my every muscle still ached and begged me to give in and fall once more, I did not. I could not. The gift of a second chance shone brightly around me and I would not forsake it. I looked Lahabrea in his stolen eyes, my breath burning my lungs, and I made my decision then and there. It mattered not if I fell, if Eorzea lost he who they would call their Warrior of Light... all that mattered to me was to see Thancred freed. And so I thought: The realm be damned, I will save you even if it kills me.

I hardly recognize the man I was in those moments. I know not whether Lahabrea grew weaker or if I grew stronger but finally my magic began to have an effect upon him. I couldn't tell you how long I fought, I ran purely on instinct and adrenaline. I would die if I must, but not until I saw Thancred safe. I dug into my deepest depths to summon every onze of power I possessed thanks to the guidance of Kazagg, Dozol, and Da Za. It felt as though both seconds and eternity had passed before this encounter came to its inevitable end. I called upon Flare one last time, and with that final blow, the dark crystal around Thancred's neck shattered. I watched the form of Lahabrea separate from him before vanishing into the darkness. 

Ignoring the trembling that overtook me, I rushed to Thancred's side, falling to my knees. The possibility that in banishing the Ascian I had harmed or killed him suddenly formed a pit in my stomach. I felt like I couldn't breathe as I searched for his pulse. Though very weak, it was there. I pressed my forehead to his, letting his presence calm my nerves before rising again. Although the battles were won, I could not see a path of escape from the destruction Ultima had wrought upon the Garlean outpost. My chest grew heavy with this reality. Perhaps this was it. I could save his soul but not his life. And despite all the power that I possess it seemed I would go down with the foes I felled after all. Sure, I could manage a solution on my own, but none of my options would work unless I chose to leave Thancred behind... and this, I could not do. I would not. 

The Twelve must have heard my struggle and sent in their aid. Just as I were about to give in to our fate, that wonderful machine whom I'd believed fought her last battle some time ago came charging back to us through the fire: Maggie, Wedge's magitek creation. A final spark ignited in me the will to keep going. I ran to Thancred, using what little strength I had left to haul his body onto the back of Maggie before piloting the suit of armor as fast as I could through the only path left available to me just as it went up in flames. We outran the explosions, this truly being the very last chance of escape. Upon finally finding the rendezvous with the rest of the Scions my heart swelled with relief. We'd done it. I'd done it. Thancred was safe, we all were for the time being.

[nihiladditaenihilperdidi]

Teaching Trade || Rune + Enoch || November 2nd, 1924

Rune: Rune rested his chin on Enoch's shoulder while he worked on his writing.

Enoch: Enoch reached a hand up to gently run his fingers through his hair, leaning against Rune.

Rune: He gently stills, slowly looking at his apprentice. "Hm?"

Enoch: Enoch looked up and shook his head, giving his mentor's hair a slight tug. "Just getting comfortable."

Rune: "You're not teaching me English. You're playing with my hair."

Enoch: "Right... we can work on your pronunciation." He grins as he gives the other's hair another slight tug. "Unless you want to work on something else."

Rune: He's biting the inside of his cheek while swatting away that hand. He refuses to blush.

"Yes. Words."

Enoch: Enoch chuckled as he lowered his hand and folded it in his lap. "Ok, we'll start with words."

Rune: "Tell me again how you learn German."

Enoch: "I learned through reading and listening to my colleagues talk. I also took a lot of notes..."

Rune: "My captain, he teach me Japanese speaking only Japanese." He shook his head.

Enoch: Enoch smirked as he reached up to tug on a strand again. "Taught," he corrected him with a grin. "Maybe I should do the same thing."

Rune: "Taught," he repeated, smiling softly. "You torture me with enough English," he muttered in German.

Enoch: "Mhm, well didn't you ask me to help you?" He wasn't sure how this arrangement came to be, but he wasn't complaining. Enoch grinned, hearing the German complaint.

Rune: "I teach you magic; you teach me English. It's a fair trade." Though, he smacked Enoch on the forehead with a pencil, "You need more practice."

Enoch: Enoch winced, lifting a hand to gingerly rub his forehead. "Rude..."

Rune: There he was having to hide his smile again.

Enoch: He narrows his eyes at Rune as he lets his hand drop back into his lap. "How's your reading and writing?"

Rune: "In Dutch, perfect." Can you taste the sarcasm?

Enoch: Enoch stared at the other, rolling his eyes with a shake of his head. "In English...." He reached over to tug on those dark strands again.

Rune: Swat! "It's enough."

Enoch: Enoch snorted as his hand withdrew, clearly enjoying himself in these light teases with the other. "Mm, then why do you need my help if it's 'enough'?"

Rune: The mage huffed. "Because... it's... not."

Enoch: Enoch grinned and wagged a finger at Rune, "That's what I thought." He wasn't trying to hide his smugness.

Rune: Rune's fingers came in to pinch Enoch's cheeks.

Enoch: "Hey!" His hand moves up to gently rub at his cheek. "I'll have you start reading my textbooks...and we'll see how you like that."

Rune: "I'll stick you in a time loop."

Enoch: "That's not how you're supposed to treat your mentor. I'm helping you!"

Rune: "I can say the same!"

Enoch: "Hardly, look..." Enoch stood up to trial over to his stack of books and, after perusing, selected a slimmer-looking one and moved back to set it in front of Rune. "You'll read this to me, and we'll practice your English starting now."

Rune: He opened his mouth, jaw clicking shut; he'd almost said something he shouldn't.

The book was given a glance. "What is?"

Enoch: "What?" he caught the other as if he were about to say something before glancing at the book. "A story, an instant classic, and one of my favorites. A new author that came about, female at that!" If Rune looked at the title, it was called Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

Rune: If they were sharing favorites, then... He turned, riffling through his satchel, pulling out a very worn-out first edition Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. In Dutch, of course.

The book was held to his chest. "This one is mine."

Enoch: Enoch tilted his head to read the title of the book, slowly, but he got it and soon smiled, recognizing it.

"It's a very good one, and it seems well loved." He extended a hand out to take it and slowly thumbed through the pages if allowed.

Rune: Then, a trade. There was a very real apprehension that Enoch would rip the pages. He didn't know where that came from. No matter how his apprentice teased, he wasn't cruel.

"Frankenstein," he muttered, turning to the first page.

Enoch: Enoch would have defended himself against those ill thoughts towards him. He wasn't a monster!

"Yes, and you can read it to me," grinned the scholar as he leaned back in his chair, carefully placing Rune's book in his lap.

Rune: Rune took a breath. Neither had teased the other with their language barriers. Why would Enoch start now?

"Fine. Practice magic while I read."

Enoch: Enoch looked down at the book as his hand gently ran over the cover. “The only thing you’ve taught me is the Swedish one. What else do you have for me magic man?”

Rune: "You're ready for more stimulating?"

Enoch: "Give me what you got," he smirked as he raised the challenge to his mentor.

Rune: "Do you know how meditate?"

Enoch: He nods and looks at his mentor. "I'm not very good at it, why?" Enoch always found his thoughts drifting when he would meditate and often had to remind himself to stay focused on meditating.

Rune: "Spells are better when you can reach a state of Zen," Rune felt better to explain in German. "I'm working on a new spell for better focus. I can cast it on you."

Enoch: "Does it involve more singing?" Enoch grin ed, but he was receptive to the idea of getting a little guidance.

Rune: "No. Just a lot of eye contact," he smirked, keeping his eyes on his new book.

Enoch: "That's....not....better." Enoch looked down at his book and felt the tips of his ears getting red. He wasn't exactly comfortable with that either and it would come to no one's surprise that Enoch was an introvert who preferred to be with his books or off exploring the world in his own quiet way.

Rune: Rune took a slow breath. "You're a terrible poker player."

Enoch: "You're not the first to tell me that," he grinned as his fingers brushed over the worn cover of the book.

Rune: "You flirt with me, but you'll shy away if I cast a spell on you?"

Enoch: "..." Enoch felt the gears in his head abruptly halt. Flirt? Why did he feel like he was being called out? "That's quite an allegation. I think you are mistaken."  He looked up to meet Rune's face with a smirk. "Try me, I can handle it."

Rune: "Maybe." He would play along. It was easier that way, in the long run.

"Fine." Frankenstein was closed and set aside. He turned in his chair and stood, straightening his sleeves.

"Stand in front of me."

Enoch: Enoch wasn't sure what he felt for Rune, but there was a sense of comfort and familiarity with his mentor that seemed to grow the more time they spent together. And often, he was looking forward to it, but now wasn't the time to scrutinize his feelings when magic was afoot! "Aye, captain," agreed the blonde as he stood and moved to stand in front of Rune.

Rune: "Oke. Prima." He reached for Enoch's shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze. Feeling for any tension in his muscles. It was also in the hopes of distracting him from the next part.

"Look at me."

Enoch: There was some tension, but he would force himself to relax under the squeeze. When told to, he looked up to Rune, those blue eyes contrasting the darker pair. It wouldn't be long until he started to feel his face warm up.

Rune: "Don't look anywhere else," he whispered. There was a compulsion to take Enoch's hands, though he resisted. Just little urges some part of him believed would push things along.

Focus was the point of the spell and the point of casting. For Enoch to look deeply into his eyes, catching the garnet flecks jutting out from his pupils, piercing the rich brown irises. If he looked hard enough, he might notice the nuance of movement, like vibration.

"Nothing is as important." His words remained a caress of a feather. Those same words repeated, but not from Rune's mouth. The same four words over and over in his mind, warming his skin, fingertips, sweeping the clutter from his psyche.

At last, Rune blinked, taking a step back.

Enoch: Enoch kept his gaze on Rune, his hands hanging at his sides. With the intensity of it, he felt like he should have been holding onto something, but he was here along for the ride. So he focused on what he could, and those rich, dark eyes drew him in. Being this close, he could pick up on the faint smell of whatever soap Rune had used to get ready for that day and those finer details. The man was handsome, that was for sure, but the more he looked into his eyes, the more detailed nuances he was able to pick up, such as the garnet flecks and the flicker of movement. Nothing is as important, he heard in his mind, the voice soft as it repeated until it became a chant, a mantra that the scholar clung to. His mind started to wander, but it felt tethered by an invisible rope, guided back to focus on those four words until it was over. Had the spell worked, would he be able to focus on what Rune wanted him to do? Why had they done this again?

Rune: Whatever Enoch would focus on consistently in the next minute would take over his thoughts. Rune had no intention to plant anything directly beyond a need to focus. Whatever it was his apprentice chose, it would please him beyond the understanding he'd had as a sleeper, and his mentor was excited to see the results.

Enoch: Having been given the objective to focus on a new spell this is exactly what would happen. Rune wouldn't be bothered by another random hair tug as Enoch committed this to memory and everything that encompassed the moment.

Rune: Rune took a step back, then another. He turned to Frankenstein and brought the book over to the bay window, bringing his knees to his chest to read quietly while Enoch worked.

Enoch: The scholar felt his brain focus on each intricate detail, the way Rune’s features were burned into his memory. The more he thought about it, the more the spell made sense and the nuances behind it. Fascinated by this level of detail, the man scribbled his thoughts and notes as Rune moved to read the book Enoch had given him. But that focus would lose its intensity as time passed, and the blonde was left with scribbles on his notebook that left him blinking. He had never felt that intense about a subject before. “What…was that?”

Rune: "Hm?" Rune finished the sentence he was reading and looked up, book resting on his knees.

"I told you what it was."

Enoch: "Well...yes but..." He released a sigh through his nose as he tried to comprehend how it worked on it and why. But there was no clear explanation aside from the spell. "Ok..." He didn't seem convinced, but he'd let it be for now. "I thought you were supposed to be reading aloud to me."

Rune: "You were busy," he smirked. "Didn't want to disturb you."

Enoch: Enoch rolled his eyes at the response and waved at the other. "Get to it then, you're supposed to be practicing," ordered the scholar as he pushed back away from his desk to approach Rune by the window, peering over his shoulder.

Rune: See, this was why he was reading ahead. To prepare for the reading out loud he was about to do. With a sigh he flipped back to chapter one.

"You stand there?" he asked, switching back to English. He looked up at his apprentice with a furrowed, amused brow.

Enoch: "Mm, move over," nodded the blonde as he would take a seat next to his mentor, just to bug him a little because it was amusing.

Rune: Was there really enough room on this bay window? No, but he was scooting over anyway. Just to see how dedicated Enoch was about to be.

"Go on."

Enoch: On second thought, given the limited space at the window, they probably wouldn't both fit, but it felt like Rune was challenging him, and well...Enoch was not going to step down. Fine. The scholar didn't have a wide frame, so he'd scoot Rune enough to wedge himself in, now pressing shoulder to shoulder with the other, bringing him much closer than he initially anticipated to Rune...to prove a point.

Rune: Enoch might as well have been in his lap at this point. The book balanced precariously on one knee as he waited for his apprentice to settle. His expression teetered between exasperated and easily humored.

"Comfortable?"

Enoch: Enoch glanced over.ar Rune and nodded. He wouldn't admit that he felt the heat crawling up his neck at this bold choice he had decided to stick with, but it was too late to back out now. So he cemented his decision as he peered over Rune's shoulder. "I'm ready."

Rune: So, he began. Despite having read several pages while Enoch worked, reading aloud wasn't nearly as smooth as his many reads of Moby-Dick in Dutch.

"...My ancestors had been for many years counselors and syn - syndics, and my father had filled several public situations with honor and reputation. He was respected by all who knew him for his integrity and indef - indef...at...i..gable..." His shoulders tightened, continuing in a softer, lower tone.

Enoch: Enoch was able to look over, following along with the words on the page, and smiled as he listened to the other as he worked on his pronunciation. When his mentor seemed to struggle with sounding out a word, he let Rune give it a shot before he stepped in.

"I had trouble with this one too...not commonly used," he said gently, noticing how those shoulders had gone tense.

"Inde-fat-eh-guble." His hand reached up to gently squeeze Runes shoulder.

"You're doing well," he said with a gentle smile.

Rune: "No, I'm not," but, he was smiling just the same.

Enoch: Enoch rolled his eyes, reaching up and giving the other a light tug to his dark hair, chuckling as he did so. "Continue..."

Rune: Enoch was given such a look. "Why are you obsessi - obsessed with my hair?"

Enoch: "Because, it's a little amusing you're getting worked up over it. Now focus..."

Rune: "People obsess because I look different." But, he turned back to the book and found his place with his finger.

Enoch: Enoch paused and considered this. He did appreciate Rune's features, so he could see why. "Not obsessed," he repeated gently as his gaze softener, looking back at the book.

Rune: He almost said something he shouldn't. Shouldn't because he didn't know what the reaction would be to saying 'You're always looking at me' when the man was clearly looking at the book. Must be his imagination.

It was back to struggling with the rarer, longer syllable words.

Enoch: Enoch peered over Rune's shoulder, reading the next passage as he waited for the other to start, and smiled at the inward thought that the mentor had become the student.

Rune: Blindly, Rune reached for Enoch's face, felt at his jaw, then lightly popped his cheek.

Enoch: The scholar wrinkled his nose when the hand landed on his face, and he gave a soft yelp when lightly popped on the cheek. It didn't hurt, but it surprised him.  "Excuse me, what was that for?" he huffed, drawing back with a furrowed brow, but it was hard to fight off the grin.

Rune: "I felt that, besten Dank."

Enoch: "You felt what?" Enoch asked, narrowing his eyes at the other.

Rune: "You're my mentor, are you?"

Enoch: The man lightly rubbed his cheek but seemed surprised at the question until it dawned on him. "In this regard...also rude. Did you read my mind?"

Rune: "It's not words, all the time. It's... feelings. Impulses." He glanced over and smirked. "I didn't hurt you."

Enoch: "Maybe not physically, but here, Rune...here," he patted his chest but soon chuckled as he nodded toward the book. "Now stop distracting yourself and get back to reading." While tucked away this piece of information, remembering to be a little more careful with his thoughts around the other.

Rune: He looked at Enoch's hand and shook his head, smiling softly. Back to the book, then. With only a second of hesitation, he reached over, not to smack again, but to tease his fingertips where he had smacked. His own little apology.

Enoch: Enoch lowered his hands to gently fold on his lap, shoulder still resting against Rune's, as his gaze fixed itself on the book, expecting the other to start reading. Instead, he was greeted by the soft brush of fingertips against his cheek, and it caught him by surprise. It felt like his brain, for a second, short-circuited under the attention, and he could feel his features growing warm, yet he didn't pull away.

Rune: Rune continued to read where he left off, eventually letting his hand fall to the book to turn the page. Longer words still cause him to stumble, but the more they continued the less he looked to Enoch for guidance.

And he would pretend his hand wasn't just caressing the other's cheek. That never happened.

Enoch: The warmth radiated up his neck and ears as blue eyes tried to focus on the words on the page, yet he wasn't reading them. He hadn't expected the touch or for it to continue, but like Rune, he didn't immediately acknowledge it. Instead, he leaned a little more against his 'mentee' as he reached to trace the words that caused Rune to stumble, adding his own pronunciation to it. Hesitantly, he drew his hand back, internally struggling with the thought of resting his head on the male's shoulder until his shyness got the best of him, and he decided against it.

Rune: "Are you enjoying this?" Rune said with another flip of the page. "How much more shall I read?" They'd survive just fine moving past... whatever that was that just happened.

Enoch: "I am," he answered with a soft chuckle. His gaze softened as he looked at the book, considering the question before he nodded. "Until the end of this chapter, you only have a page left," he said as he reached to flip the pages to investigate how close they were to ending that section. And while he seemed cool on the outside, Enoch couldn't shake off the feeling from the gentle caresses.

Rune: "Just a page," he agreed, taking the page back from Enoch's fingers, mindful not to touch his skin. Couldn't be so excessive with touching. Not that... he was keeping track.

He was. Now.

The rest of the reading went smoothly. He did his best to enunciate. Perhaps going a little too cautiously.

Enoch: It has gotten harder for him to breathe for a moment and the scholar had to remind himself of that as he focused on the page, quietly listening as Rune carefully sounded out the words he struggled the most with.

"You're doing well," he commented as his hands fell to his lap and he leaned back once the passage was through. "See, not as painful as you were making it out to be." And with that done, the man moved to stand up, giving Rune that much-needed space as he straightened his shirt.

[ziracona]

For the videogame ask game 5, 7, 9, 11 :D

5: Game(s) coming out that you’re looking forward to

Hmmmm I guess the next Dark Pictures game, because I really like Supermassive, and I’m enjoying the series! Someday they’ll make another main series Fallout game, and I’ll be excited for that. I’m excited for the new Spider-Man determinately—not playing until I hear if they did right by Harry Osborn, because he’s a blorbo of all time, but if so, I will be over the moon. Wolf Among Us 2, like most people, and I’ve heard if it succeeds, Batman the Telltale series season 3 will be next and I desperately need to help John and Harvey and see what happens, so that too.

7: A series you’ve lost interest in

Right now I’d have to say Dragon Age, if this question means in a moving forward way? Like I still Adore Origings through 2, but DAI was so fucking horrible in a lot of the pulls they made that I have -200 interest in Dread Wolf or any new DA game unless the devs like, un-become shitty people. I felt genuinely betrayed by a lot of stuff they did in DAI, and I’m still very hurt over it.

9: A game you played completely blind with no prior knowledge of and enjoyed/loved

Hmmmm Oxenfree I think I just snagged on a PS sale? OH The Council is a fantastic little mystery/suspense/eldritch horror game, and I love playing titles where the ends aren’t even all known because it’s so branching and so few people have played (this was also my experience with Oxenfree, bc I played around launch back when people thought there just was no good ending). I googled like ‘suggestions for decision based games’ and that’s how I found The Council, but I hardly thinks subgenre counts as prior knowledge. — oh I could also say Fallout 4. I knew nothing about Fallout at all, and got a PS4 to play Until Dawn as many times as it took to save Josh right after launch, having played once with my brother on his. I came home with my system after a shady Walmart parking lot Craigslist deal half an hour away where both I and the seller were sure we’d be murdered by each other, and when I got home my brother offered me his copy of FO4 for ten bucks (a month after release, back when it was a sixty dollar game), because he’d beaten it and only plays games once. I owned no games yet and wanted to try out the system, and happily agreed. I’d never played an open world game before. Or one where followers had an affinity system, or branching choices in the large scale way, so my mind was blown. I remember Piper stopping me (literally) to tell me she thought I was a little bit of a do-gooder, and being amazed the game was keeping track of my actions and she had comments on it. Core system memory there. It’ll always be a special game in my heart.

11: Do you prefer ‘blank slate’ main characters you make yourself or otherwise project onto, or characters with a set personality and backstory?

I like both! I guess I prefer a little backstory though? Because a game like FO4 where you can chose almost everything but you had a spouse, kid, and specific job, solid building blocks to rp with while getting a more complex personality. if I start a game like Skyrim where there’s a fuck ton of backstory I don’t know for the world, and NO history for me, I have no idea how to RP correctly. Because I don’t have the social and historical context. Like, DAO? Okay I get a quick background. Tabris. I love in a shitty Alienage, humans oppress us, I’m getting married, here’s an overview of my immediate social and political system. A+ — my personality and feelings are mine, but I have enough context for the world and my species and class that I can rp well. DAI? Idk we assume you played the rest of the series and tell you fuckall. I was a mage Vashoth. I got ‘your powers that would have made you a threat back home made you a successful mercenary. People are afraid of your species though.’ I’m there for some meeting?? That’s nothing. I started DAI before any other game, and had fucking 0 clue what anything to anyone was, and I couldn’t even give ‘I don’t know’ answers to make that work. Terrible game design. You can’t assume every player in your franchise played all 5 games before this. I know like 30 people who started Witcher in Witcher 3, and it did a great job of giving us not only world background, but specific past game facts too, so we /could/ start in 3. Anyway uh, I like minimal but enough context to rp well out the gate I guess? But it’s also fun to like, play a Telltale game be Lee Everett or Bruce Wayne. Like that’s cool too, idk which is more fun. Both fun for different reasons.

Ask game

[whatudottu]

The Classic Ben 10 series had a lot more mutants and otherwise unexplained creatures and happenings that do not directly relate to aliens, and it’s with that absence thanks to UAF retconning a lot of mutant and magic stuff (as well as not even acknowledging the blatantly weird that just seemed to be so accepted) that I generally prefer OS over most other iterations of Ben 10. It also might be why I actually enjoy what I watched of the reboot, because there’s some stuff in there that is rather unexplained and bizarre.

But I come with this post with an idea, one based in the original series and also inspired by what Kai does in Omniverse much later in the show’s continuity. What if the Ghostfreak arc of Ben 10 was not based entirely on alien monsters?

This thought mainly came from the idea that it’s generally bizarre to have not only an alien mummy - which connects in a different way than most to the ancient alien trope especially around Egypt - AND a Frankenstein’s monster construct, based on a very independent and specific story written by Mary Shelley in what’s considered to be one of - if not THE - first science fiction novel. The concept of a bipedal wolf alien is hardly odd at all, considering the logical steps that one could evolve in such a way aren’t too high for leaps and bounds, but I suppose also a ghost alien may be a little too out of reach, but the twists that are made towards ectonurites in their function and form made me think of a curious idea.

So what if, within the context of OS, that the only aliens of the Anur team were Zs’Skayr himself and the Werewolf/Yenaldooshi, for I find from both the modern idea of the werewolf and the yee naaldlooshi that the name has been derived from, that the entire concept of Ben shifting from boy to lenopan in a weird error of the watch fits the concept of man-wolves and witches turning into animals. For whatever bullshit that happened for Ghostfreak to dip out of the watch, whether it be some shred of ectonurite DNA finally regaining it’s sentience or perhaps something else, anything directly affecting Ben and the Omnitrix in this instance at least should maybe be alien fuckery, and Ben having another Omnitrix glitch out causing the DNA absorption mode to slowly come into affect (maybe from the damage it sustained) would probably lead to a new alien in the selection.

But what of the others? What of thep khufans and transylians? What do I do now with the existence of the mummy and doctor Viktor himself?

Well, we have other main characters don’t we? We can’t have everything be just about Ben, now can we?

Perhaps I’m looking too far into this, but in the debut episode of the mummy in ‘Under Wraps’, Gwen made the attempt to cast her spells from within the containment suit... failing because of the suit. But that brought up the idea that, within this arc, while Ben faces against a lenopan and ultimately gaining a new skill set, that Gwen may find her arc-based rival in the mummy as a being of ancient magic, born of the funerary practice of ancient Egypt so long ago.\

With some searching, the rituals of ancient Egyptian burial - the mummifying of the body, the grave goods to send across to the afterlife, the casting of spells - were believed to be necessary in ensuring immortality after death. Hah, if you think that’s interesting, just wait until I tell you this! It was believed that, if the bodies were mistreated after death, that the buried would rise again and look who we find walking around playing quest finder to a team of monsters.

The fucking mummy, that’s who!

Now we essentially have the ancient body of a disrespected undead, perhaps a mage themself responsible for casting spells of their own for the funerals of others, of someone who probably was only a mere serf who has found themselves back in the world of the living and come face to face with a man made of other men and women staring back with eyes in the wrong colour. Yes I am back on my Frankenstein bullshit, and yes, I’m making Viktor the modern Adam by some modern Frankenstein fanperon who accidentally found themself with another crime to humanity.

And baby, this lad is now Grandpa Max’s rival of the Ghostfreak arc.

Of course, the visual design of Viktor is very much influenced by the modern and more bumbling beast takes on Frankenstein’s monster, but he also appears - at least pre-reveal - to have taken on the interest of the academic that the original Shelley monster had. And also, maybe the uglier and disjointed Viktor looks correlates to how much the disrespected mummy wants to work with him rather than target specific assholes who shat on their grave or whatever happened (US archeologists do it like the British and fucked over another country’s historical grounds and got a mummy sent on their asses?), but regardless of that, I find it interesting that he has that dynamic between monster and man.

His debut episode, he is very much a doctor who has found his way into the graces of NASA, and that alone could very much parallel Max in the perspective of a human reaching their hand out towards the stars. But if the grand Dr Viktor is a being made of the parts of people very much passed, a created life searching for life outside of the planet and between the expanse of space itself, boy howdy the modern Prometheus has gotten futuristic and DAMN if that isn’t interesting you can fuck right off i’m joking i’m joking i just think this is very cool-

It is also in this episode, that Max and Viktor are both of their team’s ticket to get within NASA and - very much for the latter than the former - get their hands on rather limited Earth developed space tech, even if Dr Viktor and the mummy don’t have experience of otherwise. And on that note, for as much as Viktor may be reaching to discover more about the stars above, it is Max who has known and met more aliens than the constructed man learning the theories and building the tech to reach them, the two - in this context - parallels of the scientist seeking to learn and the front-liner on the field getting first hand experience of intergalactic contact.

But all this comes to ahead with whatever the fuck ectonurites and Zs’Skayr are in comparison to team monster, what is he and what fuckery are his people?

Well, Zs’Skayr is integral to Ben as the alien that never felt his own and made his skin - it’s not his it’s not HIS - crawl whenever he had become Ghostfreak. But with his multiple showings within Omniverse, his significance in association with magic began to spawn and thus, Gwen too gets involved with the schemes of Zs’Skayr, not only from just being occasionally possessed that one time. And reversing back to his reintroduction into the series in UAF as a prisoner kept under watch for crimes unknown to us, but perhaps to Mr ‘top of the board’ galactic police Max Tennyson; dealing with the reincarnated DNA of a ruler of a nation and a criminal of interplanetary degree has never been more Plumber business, but with Zs’Skayr directly impacting on the lives and mental states of his grandchildren, it just got personal.

But what the fuck is up with that? How in the world does Zs’Skayr just do that? To essentially spawn copies of himself from shreds of DNA not just from stored data like the Omnitrix, but from the scattered remains of his ash against the brick and mortar of a preppy... high school? Collage? Whatever it was it was some form of clock tower.

Well, my dear friends, ectonurites are just built like that... because of their exposure to Legerdomain.

How I see it, certain locations within the universe have thinner barriers between dimensions (as actual dimensions and not alternate timelines like Dimension 23) and the thinnest between most planes is within the Forge of Creation, worn thin by the powers of celestialsapiens rather than a naturally fragile veil between realities. On Galvan Prime, for example, there was a veil thin enough for the galvans to discover and experiment with, developing the technology responsible for traversal into the Null Void.

For Legerdomain, a few notable planets have a thinner veil between them and the magical dimension, that being Anodyne, Aldabra and now Anur Phaetos (oh look they all start with ‘a’). The presence of Legerdomain in such proximity is equivalent to UV radiation from the sun, and much like the green grass upon our own planet being the colour suited to reject the majority of Sol’s light, beings like anodites and geochelone aerio have adapted to be filled with mana to the point where they’ve become resistant to the effects of it. In fact, because the veil is thinnest across Anodyne, even breaching the two realities and serving as gateways, anodites have completely converted into energy beings built from the mana itself.

In contrast, ectonurites on Anur Phaetos have become the equivalent of orange/red/magenta grass growing on a planet with an Earth like star, adapting to diametrically oppose mana to take in all of the background mana like a sponge. And akin to UV radiation, mana in such intense is very much a radiation of life energy, and for ectonurites to welcome it with open arms with their anti-mana bodies... well.

You might find that they have more life in them for one person to enjoy...

Between being rather adept with magic should they so try to develop the skills for it and being biologically more welcoming to extraneous life force, a lot of their ghostly powers are the result of mana manipulation in quite the opposite application of anodites, and are magically capable of retaining memories and intelligence in strands of DNA instead of being purely centralised in a brain; possessing one primarily for motor manipulation rather than for sentience. And it is with this intense exposure - what is equivalent - to mana radiation, there is no one form an ectonurite is nor is formed to be.

It is an anomaly to regenerate as one was before, being that the power of regeneration from particles is a form of asexual reproduction were the high presence of mana turns the pieces that used to be you into people entirely new, a planet-wide acknowledgement that - at least to them - reincarnation is very real. It is that anomaly that is why Zs’Skayr is so intrigued by the Omnitrix, because inherent as a machine there is no shred of mana within it, regardless of how much life is stored within it’s database.

The appeal of immortality, of existing as a constantly regenerating being through the use of the Omnitrix, is what led his DNA being gathered and stored within the watch. Though rather unfortunate, the Omnitrix did not end up being simply a DNA storing device as it was planned to be, as a very particular warlord interrupted it’s path towards the Omnitrix’s final and true destination.

And that’s a compilation of what I think might be cool if OS kept with the mutants and magic addition with aliens for I guess a rewritten Ghostfreak arc, with some exploration of ectonurite biology for a bonus, perhaps in some way a series of headcanons I can drag to the more canon settings of the Ben 10 series as a whole. I mean, I certainly am proud of that exploration of anti-mana and the fucked up things it can do to a species’ development, but do tell me what you think of that and my other ideas.

I don’t know, this was ultimately rather random and I just thought I’d share it, haha!

[four-loose-screws]

An Interview with Mr. Toshiyuki Toyonaga about Fire Emblem (Claude‘s Japanese VA), Pg. 7

Chatting As Just a Player

As a player, how did you play “Three Houses?”

Toyonaga     When I started, I planned to complete two playthroughs, and on my first playthrough, I didn’t look up anything at all.  Because of that, I didn’t know things like how to scout the characters from the other classes. Someone told me “It seems like you’re missing something,” and I thought, then maybe I have to raise their support level? But even when I did that, I still couldn’t recruit them, so next I thought that maybe it had to do with stats, and did a lot of trial and error. I only realized that it might have something to do with weapon proficiency (skill levels) and support levels during the latter half of the Academy Phase. Because of all of that, I was filled with wishes that I had recruited this character and that character as I was thrust into the War Phase, and I was filled with regret during the three-way battle. (Chapter 17 and the battle at Gronder)

Because you encountered the other students as enemies, right?

Toyonaga     Yes. I remember thinking “Curse you!!” when Bernadetta attacked from the ballista because I didn’t scout her. Laughs. Having to fight the characters that I wanted to come to my side was really painful as I cleared the map. And so, that was how I played the game. I remember thinking it was a particularly pure playthrough. I also remember thinking “There’s so, so many of these!” as I collected the fallen items from around the monastery. When I think of the lost items, I remember stuff like the fish. Laughs. Fishing was fun too, and so was growing things in the greenhouse… though I forgot about it a lot, so there were some plants that didn’t grow. As you can guess, I ended up harvesting what I planted before the time skip five years later, after returning to Garreg Mach.

Which difficulty level did you choose?

Toyonaga     On my first playthrough, I chose normal classic. I play with the thought process that has followed me throughout the series, that I can’t let anyone die, so I have never once chosen casual mode.

We’d like to ask you about what impressions you were left with when you played normal mode.

Toyonaga     I thought that even normal was hard too! I progressed through the game without utilizing the free maps much at all. I only leveled up by completing the main maps and paralogues, so the War Phase was tough. There were many times where Claude and Byleth did nearly all of the work. I also gave Lysithea Lorenz’s Thyrsus Staff, giving her four range, so there were also a lot of situations where her magic did a lot of work even from far away. There ended up being a huge gap between Leonie and Ignatz’s levels and everyone else’s, and felt sorry about that as I continued through the game.

Did you make Lorenz a physical or a magic unit?

Toyonaga     I made Lorenz a Dark Knight. He was closer to a dark mage cavalry unit. Also, I remember thinking it was kinda cool that Grappler Raphael could attack four times in a row as he punched his enemies with all his might. Marianne fulfilled the role of the healer, and Hilda swung around her axe with great force. However, my Hilda’s defense didn’t grow very much, so I kept it in my mind that she couldn’t go out on many risky missions as I played.

What scenes did you like, or what scenes left an impression on you?

Toyonaga     I liked the mystery of the scenes where Byleth and Sothis spoke in the place that resembled a throne room, that was a sort of spirit world. I also really liked Seteth and Flayn’s conversations.

They’re all characters that are all similar to each other in some way!

Toyonaga     They are. When their allies learned of Flayn and Seteth’s true identities and relationship, a lot happened, and their allies changed a bit… Aside from that, because Claude is an archer, I also really liked being able to hear his conversations with Shamir, as they are both archers. It felt like she was a big sister.

The developers said that this game’s storytelling, and the creation of how noble society functions, among other aspects, were developed with Genealogy of the Holy War in mind, so what sort of impression did that have on you, as someone who has many memories of that game?

Toyonaga     There were many times where I thought that might be the case, that Three Houses was based on Genealogy, but as we talk about it now, I sort of think that might be why it was so easy for me to become fond of Three Houses… They both feature a type of war that doesn't really feel rewarding at all… And questions like “Who’s really behind all of this?” and “Is fighting this fight really what’s right?”, that deepened Genealogy's story, were things I also felt really strongly during the War Phase of Three Houses.

We agree! And you can even play the villain’s side of the story.

Toyonaga     About that, I thought that Hubert and Dedue’s roles were so unfair! They are considered the closest confidants to Edelgard and Dimitri respectively, existing as their right-hand men. The Golden Deer don’t have anyone in that position… Lorenz would never be someone like that.

Both     Laugh.

Toyonaga     Lorenz finally comes to support Claude during the War Phase, but the way that Hubert and Dedue are so devoted because they are right-hand men is really moving, and as men, it’s so cool! Oh, I mean “man,” as in “manly man...”* I could talk on and on like this for five minutes about just one character. Laughs.

(above) Hubert and Dedue both serve their lord without any concern for their own well-being. Also, Mr. Toyonaga also told us that he didn’t choose a different class from the Golden Deer even for his second playthrough, so we showed him scenes like how manly (!?) Hilda acts when she faces Claude as an enemy.

It feels weird to hear your own voice

Did your impression of Claude change after recording?

Toyonaga     My original impression of Claude was that his core personality cannot be changed, but aside from that, he gives off the mood that he has the flexibility to accept the opinions of many types of people… That sort of image. That part didn’t change the entire time we were recording, so after recording, I don’t think my thoughts changed then, either. I just thought from time to time that he says some pretty snobby things. Laughs.

He does. Laughs.

Toyonaga     He talks like that to the professors, to his fellow students in his class… ‘He… He can say nasty things like that?!’ I thought. But I think it’s still a good part about him, or not bad, at least.

So your image for performing Claude’s role was consistent from beginning to end. Does that mean that you didn’t have to do many retakes?

Toyonaga     We hardly did any retakes. I corrected myself on my own when I mispronounced town names that were difficult to say, and things like that, but aside from those physically difficult to perform lines, I don’t feel that we did that many retakes.

So how did you feel as a player when you heard Claude’s voice?

Toyonaga     This much is obvious, but when I first heard my own performance in a Fire Emblem game, it felt weird. And on top of that, I don’t know why exactly, but I wanted Claude to get married and have a paired ending, and I chose Professor Byleth. So I ended up confessing to myself! Laughs.

Laughs.

Toyonaga     I enjoyed the game in a way that only I could. But it was really weird the entire time. Hm, how do I put it… I wanted to express myself in the world of Fire Emblem, and wanted to confirm that I did a great job of that, so I listened really carefully to my own performance as I played the game.

That’s the point you discussed before, that you wanted a portrayal that made the game feel like it really happened in history, right?

Toyonaga     Yes. Was I able to express what I wanted how I wanted? I played the game with that thought in my head. ...And lastly, this is completely unrelated, but as I played the game, I was also thinking “Ingrid sure is really cute!” the entire time. Laughs.

[a-shrieking-cloud-of-bats]

so earlier this year I attempted to stop buying so many video games because I thought I needed to finish the ones I have and while I still believe that, that attempt has absolutely imploded and I’ve given up for the rest of the year

which means it’s time to go over steam summer sale games that I bought, click the names for steam pages.

listed in no particular order

this is not an extremely in depth review set and I haven’t finished most of them (but I have played most of them long enough to get a handle on them)

so yeah

Steam Summer Sale Roundup 2022

The Last Spell - this was a game I was sort’ve nervous about getting and god damn I am so happy I got it; easily my number one

turn based strategy game (think fire emblem, isometric though), the hook is the in depth character creation, loads of stats to pick from, and while it’s a fairly difficult game and there are some clear winners, but I’d say none of the stats are useless, which is nice

additionally, weapon type determines your moveset, for instance...

one handed swords have a lot of mobility based moves, the attacks move you, you get more damage on one of their attacks depending on how many tiles you moved prior to using it

one handed axes are “cleave” focused, with a lot of skills that hit a small area (its basic attack equivelent hits 3 tiles, which is nuts), in exchange they are inaccurate

one handed hammers are big on single target damage and stuns

and so on; you can see how this variation would encourage you to build characters differently based on the weapon they’re using, I’m sure

with this said most weapon types must be unlocked, but the game is hard enough that I think having an introductory period where you’re racking up currency/getting achievements that unlock stuff is reasonable enough

unit death is permenant and in fact, damage is semi permenant; you go through multiple nights on stages and damage carries over between the nights, along with spent MP. This does two things, it puts a lot of focus on HP regen/MP regen when picking stat ups (not my favorite thing but I accept it as a quirk of the system they put in place), and makes you think about how often you’re using those big fancy skills that stun and do huge damage, a big part of the game’s difficulty is resource management, which leads into the next (and final) mechanic, town building

you’re defending a town in this game and it starts out mostly fucked up, every day (as opposed to night) you pick upgrades, build new buildings, and tell workers what to do for the day, there’s stuff that generates gold (needed to build buildings), materials (needed to build walls), stuff that gives free armor and weapons, stuff that restores HP/MP for gold cost (there are upgrades for freebies)

overall the game offers a load of depth and replayability and even as much as it’s twisting my balls I’m enjoying it quite a bit, it’s giving me darkest dungeon vibes

the plot is nothing to write home about but it works, basically wizards made a spell that fucks up towns, it’s used in military action, the spell creates purple mist that zombifies the dead, the rest is history, medieval zombie apocalypse plot take it or leave it; also as a result of this event mages have been spurned and are now forced to end the concept of magic, hence the title, you’re protecting a mage that’s working on a segment of the spell

there’s also some weird stuff going down with the upgrade vendors and how the MC seems to be resetting time but I dunno nothin about that yet

at any rate if you love difficult turn based strategies and character customization, you could hardly do worse!

Earth’s Dawn - Japanese Indie side scrolling beat-em-up, basically aliens invade earth and humans get beaten back but there’s a secret project that you’re a part of that makes you into a robo human that can kill the aliens and like I said with the last spell, take it or leave it; this shit ain’t shakespeare. what it is though is a surprisingly simple beatemup with some heavy focus on upgrades, you can upgrade your weapons, you can upgrade your armors, you can unlock new skills, and this is overall sort’ve a grindy beat-em-up where you’re doing a lot of little random stuff to get Points to Get More Upgrades to Do More Stuff, etc

that’s the draw of it anyway, I personally love this shit

the progression is a little funky in places (there’s an early game mission that puts you up against an extremely tanky basic enemy that you are basically guarenteed to die to) and I think the bosses are too tanky overall but death does nothing significant

not a bad beat-em-up, nothing groundbreaking, a lot of where it is on this list is due to my personal affinity for a good grind and beat-em-ups

Mind Scanners - this is a game a pal recommended to me because it looked like papers please (and it does! It was clearly inspired by the game), however it plays significantly differently. Less paperwork, more warioware. We’ll touch on the plot first though.

The game starts with the local oppressive government taking away your daughter because she’s got a rare form of infectious mental illness. You become something called a Mind Scanner, which is a sort’ve futuristic kinda campy form of psychologist where you determine if people are mentally ill and then administer treatment if so through various tools at your disposal (these are the warioware microgame things). As the plot progresses you learn about a revolutionary group that’s attempting to free the city from the reign of an oppressive government.

The second half of that paragraph obviously sounds familiar, it’s a fairly common concept for a game these days. But mind scanners works with it remarkably well. When you’re treating individuals, failures will build stress, where max stress makes the patient freak out and run away from you (and probably get you taxed the next day), and there’s a sanity bar, as there’s a subplot about how the tools can erase people’s minds or something, it honestly never gets explored particularly well. Regardless this sets up a few potential outcomes for various patients.

either you think the patient is sane, and let them go, this gives you a few bucks, you find them insane and treat them, this gives you a larger paycheck, or you find someone insane, think they’re not worth letting exist (or you erase them on request from someone), and erase their brain on purpose. This gives you a paycheck for treatment but if done on the wrong person can have consequences. Money is used on rent and buying new tools. The game tends to make you feel bad for erasing minds, obviously, and the revolutionary group doesn’t like it when you do it either.

All this lines up to make an interesting game that’s attempting to tell a story that’s way too long for it to sustain. The story isn’t bad; I especially appreciate that this is a game plot like this that doesn’t beat me over the head with how the fucking government is evil; I hate that; but ultimately 6 minigames with some side ones you can do to get minor auxilary benefits is not a lot of content. Additionally I think the game tries a little bit too hard to be “difficult”, because some of the later patients can take like 2 days to treat entirely, and it’s kind’ve hard to optimize the minigames you use. The game ends up dragging on for a plot that’s heading towards a pretty obvious direction by the time it starts dragging on.

It’s not bad and it’s pretty cheap; worth picking up if you’re looking for a decent plot and a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously mechanically. There was definitely interest in getting new tools and seeing how they worked, but the game ran a bit too long for me. Will definitely finish it eventually, but the repetition does make it hard to push through.

Full Bore - I am not a puzzle game player. Full Bore is a block based puzzle game. Full bore is Extremely Good. Full bore is also abandoned by its dev and has some bugs. They don’t seem to be game breaking, and I’ve never heard of them halting progress in the game, but it’s also not exactly a super popular game. They are Definitely Noticible, and Definitely Stress Me Out. Take note. Game would probably be higher then mind scanners if I wasn’t so concerned about the bugs.

Full Bore is a game about a boar that stumbles into a minefield that explodes, tossing him underground, which leads to him getting into a rocket that takes him to a Place, where the dominant species is boars. He’s also framed for a gem heist. There’s some time/location ambiguity going on with the plot, and while the plot is obviously not the main focus, is interesting.

Game is quite simple, you can dig blocks, blocks react in certain ways depending on where they are, what they are, and what they are surrounded by, in some cases. Rock falls slowly and digs slowly, sand and silt fall quickly and dig quickly (and can be broken from a distance by a stomp), that sort’ve thing.

Your goal is to get gems to pay off your debt. On the tin, anyway. The real goal is to dig down, find terminals explaining the plot, and eventually reach a culmination of said plot. Saying more would be too much. If you like block based puzzle games, check it out, I really think it stands out from what I’ve heard of the genre. If you like weird sci fi, consider it. It’s not a primary focus, but the plot might hook you. I’m certainly interested. The game doesn’t let the fact that it’s a puzzle game keep it from doing interesting narrative stuff, which I appreciate, I feel like a lot of puzzle games resign themselves to being a quirky vector for Weird Tetris. Or whatever. Anyway.

Skul: The Hero Slayer - Skul is another roguelite in a long line of roguelites. I keep buying them and I’m not sure why, but I’m not letting that effect my opinion of Skul. I initially thought it was pretty bad, but ultimately it’s a platforming action roguelite that has some excellent pixel art, a solid difficulty curve, and.. not as much variety as I’d like.

The game revolves around a little skeleton by the name of Skul, who works for the demon king. The First Hero captures the demon king in the intro and your job is to rescue him. Along the way, you and a witch that also works for the demon king learn the heros are using something called dark quartz which warps creatures into abominations and removes their will. Moral Ambiguity Plot

the plot is not incredible. Not a big deal, most roguelite plots aren’t. It’s a cute concept, but it’s mostly a surface level thing, beyond the primary gimmick. As a skeleton you can swap skulls. This gives you new movesets and gimmicks. This was part of the reason I didn’t like it initially; these skulls have A Lot of work put into them. They are all upgradable, which unlock additional mechanics in the skull, and you can generally think of a skull as a class moreso then a piece of gear. You can carry two skulls, somehow, and swap between them, with a cooldown preventing you from spamming it (many skulls do something unique on swap).

There are also passive items, and if you’ve played a roguelite you already know what they do. Increased attack speed, increased attack power, chance to stun, yadda yadda.

This overall makes skul a roguelite more about good execution rather then getting a series of items that makes something insane happen that wins you the game. To compare it to its contemporary, Dead Cells, Skull is more about precision platforming and dead cells is more about getting through stages as fast as possible, while killing as many enemies as possible. At the end of the day Skul feels like an odd combo of slow, careful platforming and replayable, six runs an hour roguelite stuff. I frequently feel more hampered by my ability to platform, which is weird. When the platforming and combat are put in the same place, enemies are frequently put in places specifically to make you approach things slowly and carefully, which is also weird, because the game is very fast when it doesn’t do that. It’s not a bad game. But it is a weird game. I suppose it’s to be expected from a genre as populated as this one.

Ultimately my beef with skul is that the platforming is Very Finnicky. The number of times I’ve bopped my head into a spike ceiling and lost a tenth of my very important health pool is absurd given I’ve never gotten past the first world. This frequently happens even when enemies are not present, and while I might just be bad, I also think that “be careful don’t jump too high ha ha” is a messy design concept to begin with. I’ll probably play it more but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s more because it’s designed to tug on my endorphin glands rather then a legitimate desire to play that game specifically.

Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate - Look I could keep you for like 4 paragraphs but Shiren the Wanderer is the grandaddy of mystery dungeon games. If you’ve ever played Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games, they’re similar, though it’s not pokemon so it has to get the Pokemon Variety from somewhere else, namely gear and items. You have usable items that cause effects, equipment that applies passive effects/has super effective hits on certain enemy types, and the game is tough as nails and more of a long burn thing. If you’re looking for a roguelike that doesn’t have a page of DnD stats on every item and does have a graphical interface, you could do much much worse.

Hellsinker - Hellsinker is an extremely fast top down shmup that will probably blow you apart if you’re not used to shmups. It probably will even if you are. It is also a historic game within the genre, and lead to a load of innovations in other games within the genre.

The game starts with 3 selectable characters and more unlock as it goes along. There’s a surprisingly in depth plot that’s mostly kept in the manual, and I don’t understand any of it because I’m still working on stage 2.

Mechanically it varies by having two meters on the left, sol and luna, which determine how much damage your primary shot does and how fast it fires, respectively. Luna depletes when you shoot, sol depletes when you bomb (which can only be done at 3 or more sol, both meters cap at 5).

So, yeah. Shmup! You either know how they work or you don’t. If you don’t I highly reccomend another shmup. I’ll reccomend Zero Ranger. Nice, easy going, and not too esoteric, but also won’t just give you the win.

Video James; the sale is still going on as of now so most of these games should still be on sale! Check em out. Or don’t. It’s not like I spent an hour and a half typing this up. (seriously though don’t feel obligated)

[all-hail-the-witcher]

cuddling

here is my contribution for ace week! im literally squeezing this in at the last possible second (as its 11:32pm on 10/31 as i start this) but better late than never i suppose!!

i dont often talk about my sexuality on this blog, but i do identify as ace and its not something ive ever been overly comfortable with. but seeing the plethora of ace week fics on my dash this past week (mostly by @jaskierswolf, hi, hope you dont mind being tagged) has been so awesome and has made me feel so much more comfortable in myself that i had to write something for this :)

this is some gray romantic/ace geralt with some ace jaskier. warnings for mentions of dubious consent/ not wanting to have sex but doing it anyway. there is no explicit sexual content but it is referenced.

___

Geralt was a Witcher. His entire livelihood consisted of him doing things for humans: killing monsters, bargaining with sorceresses, fighting wars, protecting them from pretty much anything that could hurt their fragile mortal selves. It had been trained into him ever since he was a child. Do what the humans ask of you. It is your job. 

So why would sex be any different?

Humans enjoyed sex. This was something Geralt had come to learn during his time on the path. What was even worse was that some of them especially enjoyed having sex with Witchers. 

Geralt did not enjoy sex. He was not a human, and it was decidedly a human activity. But that did not stop humans from wanting to have sex with him. Some sought him out specifically, wanting to know what it was like to lie with a Witcher for a night. Others insisted on paying him for his monster hunting duties with a round. He never took pleasure in it. Sometimes he would pretend he did. He had gotten quite good at pretending over the years, learning little tricks that humans seemed to like. But the act of it itself made his skin crawl for days on end and he could feel their fingers and lips long after the marks on his skin had faded.

But he worked for humans. He couldn't deny them what they asked of him. 

He assumed Jaskier would be the same. The man was certainly human, so much so that he would flirt with grass if it came down to it (which, admittedly, Geralt had only witnessed once, and Jaskier had been very drunk at the time, but still). But he never tried to bed him, which surprised Geralt. He knew he was good, if the praises of the the people he'd laid with before were any indication Humans generally needed him for a favor and then left him to the wind. Jaskier hadn’t asked him to kill a monster or help him track down an unruly mage, and it had been years at least since they had first crossed paths. The only logical conclusion that Geralt could come to was that Jaskier was waiting for him to bed him and then he would leave, just like everyone else.

The problem was that Geralt had grown quite fond of Jaskier over the years (and his incessant flirting) and while he didn’t want the bard to leave, he also didnt want Jaskier to be miserable following him around anymore. Five years was quite a long time to wait for a round, especially in human years. Resignedly, Geralt told himself that in the next town he would lay with Jaskier and then the whole thing could be over, and they could both move on with their lives. 

He rented a room with one bed, as they often did, despite there being enough coin for one with two. Jaksier hardly noticed, flouncing off to play a few sets for the locals while Geralt went upstairs to prepare. 

He felt the characteristic tightening of his stomach and the shakiness that always came with this particular activity, but he stripped down obediently, even talking the time to rub some of the oils Jaskier liked to much into his hair before laying down on the bed to wait. 

He didn’t have to wait long. “Geralt! You’ll never believe th- whoa, were you expecting someone?” He stood in the doorway awkwardly.

“Just you,” Geralt grunted. They should get this over with. 

“Me? Geralt...did you think I wanted to have sex with you?”

“Well...” Geralt picked at the blanket, feeling foolish for having to explain himself, he thought that humans should understand these things. “Humans always need me for something. And you dont need a monster killed, so I figured....” “Oh dear heart,” Jaskier walked over and sat down on the bed next to him, running his fingers though his hair. “Please do not take this the wrong way, but I do not want to have sex with you.”

“You don’t?” Geralt was shocked. “But...humans....”

“Not all humans like sex Geralt. I certainly don’t. It makes me skin crawl and I feel all weird after. So I don’t do it. I’m still plenty romantic with people, but I dont get into bed with them.” “Hmm.” Jaskier didn’t like sex either? Maybe it wasn't a human thing after all.

“What it Geralt? That was your I’m-Contemplating-Something hum.”

“It...makes my skin crawl too.” He said carefully after a few moments. 

Jaskier’s hand slowed in his hair. “Dear heart,” he began carefully. “Do you like sex?”

Did he? No one had ever asked him what he wanted before. He didnt think he did. It didnt feel pleasant and he usually had to jump in a cold stream after. “No.”

“Then why did you want to do it with me?” “You’re human,” Geralt shrugged. “Humans either want me to kill monsters or want me in their bed. I serve humans, I can’t turn them down. You are a human.” 

"But you dont like sex?”

“No. I’m a Witcher. It’s probably the mutations. But can still get by.” Actually, now that he thought about it, from what he remembered, he’d never been much interested in it before the trials either.

“Geralt,” Jaskier tilted his chin up to look at him and he saw sadness swirling in his eyes. “Not wanting to have sex is not a Witcher thing. Plenty of humans feel the same way too. Admittedly there aren't many of us, I’ve only come across a few in my lifetime, and I think there's a word for it but I can’t remember it right now. Sex does not interest me either, but there are far more other important things in a relationship than just sex.”

Geralt was confused. “But sex is the only thing people ever wanted me for.” 

“And I’m terribly sorry about that, dear heart, but you’re with me now and I will never make you have sex with me. Have you ever- or wait, is there anything else that you dont like?”

Geralt’s head was spinning, and he was still stuck on the part where Jaskier had said that he would never make Geralt have sex with him. For the first time that evening, he felt his hands stop their shaking and something like warmth bloom inside him. “Hmm?”

“Is there anything else you dont like doing? Besides the sex bit I mean.”

Besides sex....Geralt tried to remember what came along with laying with someone. He usually blocked it all out after. “Kissing,” he finally said. “Burns my skin.”

“Alright, we’ll do none of that then.” Jaskier moved from the bed, beginning to take off his doublet and Geralt seized up for a second, afraid that Jaskier was going go back on his word, but then he reached for his nightclothes. “Are you familiar with cuddling?”

“Cuddling?” The word felt unfamiliar in his mouth.

“I’ll take that as a no.” Jaskier smiled. “Go put your nightclothes on. I think I have something that you will enjoy far better than that nasty sex business.”

So here it was then, Jasper did need him for a service after all. Geralt got out of bed and slowly pulled on his night clothes, painfully aware this would be their last night together before they parted ways for good, before returning to the bed. 

“Right, so youre just going to lay on your side, yes right like that, and then I lay behind you, see? And I put my arm around you like this, and we snuggle.” Jaskier’s breath tickled his hair.

“What do we do though?” “What do you mean, what do we do?” Despite Jaskier’s words though, he didnt seem angry. “This is it. We hold each other and enjoy each others presence. We can change positions, if you want, like you can take a turn holding me for example or I could lay on your chest, but we just hold each other close. Show each other we care. This is called cuddling.”

“Hmm.” As far as Geralt was concerned, it was far better than sex. But he knew it wouldn't last. This was all Jaskier wanted from him, clearly, which prevented Geralt from thoroughly enjoying it. 

“Where will you go?” he spoke into the silence a few long moments later. 

Jaskier paused drawing light patterns on Geralts forearm. “What do you mean?”

“Tomorrow.” Wasn't it obvious?

“Well I’ll go wherever you’re going. Just like we always have?"

“You...you’re not,” Geralt swallowed thickly. “You’re not leaving?” 

“Leaving?” Jaskier’s voice rose an octave. “Why on the continent would I be leaving?”

“You’ve got what you wanted from me, with this....cuddling business. You have no reason to stay.”

“Oh dear heart.” The next thing he knew he was being flipped around to face Jaskier. Jaskier, who had tears in his eyes that were just barely visible in the low light. Instinctively, he reached up to brush them away. “I’m cuddling with you because I care about you, because I love you. Not because I want something from you.”

“Oh.” Geralt didn’t know what to say. Jaskier loved him? No one had ever loved him before, much less cared about him or wanted him to be comfortable. 

Jaskier placed his hand on Geralt’s chest. “You never have to do anything you dont want to do with me. And if you don’t want to travel with me anymore, I’ll leave. You are your own person, Geralt, even if you are a Witcher. And you make your own decisions. You wouldn't take a contract that you felt unsafe doing, so in the same vein, you dont have to have sex with anyone if you dont want to. You make your own decisions. You dont even have to cuddle with me right now if you want to. You choose what you want to do based on what you’re comfortable doing, do you understand?”

Geralt nodded into the darkness. This was all so much. He hadn't been able to make his decisions in...well ever. And now Jaskier was giving him permission to. “I want you to stay,” he whispered. “I....care about you too.” He didnt say that he thought he could love him, he wasn't ready to say that yet. And according to Jaskier he didnt have to say it if he didnt want to. 

“Good. Now that we've got that sorted, come here,” Jaskier pulled Geralt into his chest, running his fingers through his hair delicately. Geralt closed his eyes, never had he felt more safe in his entire life. Who knew humans could be so gentle?

Just as he was teetering on the edge of unconsciousness he whispered, “Jaskier?”

“Hmm?”

Geralt felt a small smile tug at his lips at hearing how own language on Jaskier’s lips. “Can we do more of this...cuddling?”

Jaskier’s laugh sounded through his chest, vibrating pleasantly against Geralt’s ear. “Of course we can, dear heart. Of course.”

___

that turned out way longer than i thought it would and its now 37 minutes late but oh well.

throw me an ask if you wanna be on my tag list!

taglist: @percy-jackson-is-sexy- @barlowarts @eminasan @llamasdumpsterfire @stinastar @nonegenderleftpain @electricrituals

[unlimitedfateimagines]

Cù Chulainn (Caster) + Master with low self-confidence

Ask: pssst tiane i need some inspiration for something i plan to write in the future. how about cas cu taking care of a master with low self confidence? you can make this as angsty or as fluffy as you want, i won’t mind either way 

Sent by: @sonyagi​

A/N: aaaaaa i remember this request from you, sonagi!! ;;v;; i quite enjoyed writing it back and rewriting it now UwU also seeing your url on my docs rly hit back hdskjfsl hope you’re doing fine and hope you don’t mind the tag either haha ;;v;;

Caster Cu is someone who easily notices and picks up things from afar, even from observation or for a short period of time. Given your experience with him in Fuyuki, you noticed that he quickly picked up Mash’s nervosity, as well as yours. He isn’t one to let something fly past his keen eye and sense. While the Caster Cu you summoned retains no memories from the Fuyuki Singularity, he is still the same as you have met him there in the flaming city.

At first, he did find it indeed quite strange that you were making such low comments about yourself and simply brushing most of the compliments off. However, he didn’t pay that much mind to it, assuming that it was merely the huge and overwhelming stress as Humanity’s last standing Master that was wearing you down.

He did have his suspicions when you were travelling through the seas with Francis Drake, as you had already faced against Jeanne Alter and Atilla the Hun herself, as well as restoring three Singularities already. But he told himself it wasn’t his business to pry into yours, so he decidedly left you alone.

However, after he takes note of how you were the same as you were back in Orleans, the nervous and unconfident Master you were that he had met, when in London, he began to strongly worry about your self-esteem. It wasn’t normal for someone who went through so much already and not feel even the slightest more confident about yourself after making it out alive through seemingly impossible situations. Although you had begun to accept compliments, albeit after much insistence from people, you still would compliment yourself before forming it into an insult, laughing it off like it was nothing or playing it off like a joke.

He knew that the longer this will last, the more it will be damaging to you mentally and take a toll on the mission to restore humanity, as well as your own physical well-being. He slowly began complimenting on the littlest things, like how your hair is nice or how you look cute with a smile. No matter his class and whatever small alteration to his personality, he still retained that little flirtatious side of him. You were quite used to his small flirty remarks here and there, so this was nothing new to you. As usual, you brushed it off.

After seeing you laugh everything off and compare yourself to other people, saying how you’re just a simple human that somehow got winded in this whole mess, Cu had considered sitting you down for a conversation regarding this for a long time. As a Servant, and one of your closest ones at that, it was his duty to see that you were in good condition, mentally and physically.

He prefers to take a calmer approach to this situation instead of a full-on confrontation. He first asks if he may talk to you about upcoming missions, closely observing and hearing your choice of phrasing and wording when he asks questions regarding you and how you’ll oversee the Servants you were bringing along.

You often just brush your role of Master aside, shrugging and saying you’ll just provide support from the backlines, just like you usually do. “I’ll just provide support from the backlines,” you shrugged with a smile, like it was nothing. “I’ll do my best not to get in the way and cause trouble. You guys have already too much to focus on when fighting. I’ll just get in the way.”

He assures you that hardly any of the Servants think you’re a burden and are all grateful for the consistent supply of mana they have been getting, as well as all you have done until now to restore Proper Human History.

Again, you laugh it off. “Oh please, I’m just a third-rate mage who barely made the cut from the selection test. The previous director even said I wasn’t even supposed to be here and I just got lucky. Hell, I wasn’t even the one who was supposed to save the world.”

Cu frowns at what you had just said. It wasn’t in any possible way your fault that you winded in this situation and no one could’ve done anything to prevent it. “Master, you couldn’t have done anything to prevent the accident. You have done nothing wrong and the fact that we’ve already come this far already means so much. You’ve grown since we first met. Master, if you continue saying such things about yourself, it will greatly affect your performance; we both know that this cannot last for everyone’s sake and yours.”

“What do you Heroic Spirits know?” you said in a low voice. “What do you know about how I feel when I see you all in battle?! I know I cannot change the fact that I am a third-rate mage who only knows the very basis of magecraft! How do you think I feel when I interact with renowned heroes of the past and myths on a daily basis?!”

“Master—” he started before you cut him off

“How am I supposed to feel in the presence of multiple kings and heroes?! People who have done so much! People who left their marks down in our history by doing such incredible things! Tell me, Cu Chulainn, how am I to feel?!” you continued, raising your voice.

Cu let out a barely audible sigh. “Master,” he started in a firm voice, making you stop. “Listen to me. We may be Heroic Spirits from the past, present or future. However, each one of our own stories are different, and yours as well. Whilst it is not my business to pry within your personal life outside of Chaldea, but as our Master, you are the one who holds us together. We are just a manifestation of our former selves and familiars for everyone to use as they wish. But you, Master, you’re the one who commands us.”

He stops for a moment before taking your hand with the red Command Spells imprinted on your hand, tracing them gently. “These Spells you possess symbolize the power you have over us. We Servants are mere chess pieces — pawns — for you. Look at what you’ve accomplished already. Anyone would immediately give up after one day, but you continued forward. Master, when I was young, I understood this feeling of worthlessness as well. I know that feeling very well, in fact. Undoubtedly, anyone has experienced this in their own life. You shouldn’t just lower yourself like this because you have something we don’t have; and it’s the amazing charisma and courage to lead us on, no matter who we are.”

You sigh, pondering over his words before letting yourself fall on your bed, asking him to give you some time alone. He obliges before reverting back to his spirit form and leaving your room.

Over the course of the next few days, you avoid talking to him too much asides some essentials, as you might feel awkward after that conversation you both had the other day. Cu doesn’t mind, understanding the situation and wants you to give more time to reflect on yourself. He gives you small words of encouragement and awkward pats on your head when you win a battle, hoping that you would gradually see yourself for your own worth.

[giorno-plays-piano]

Run, Hide, Leave behind

Pairing: warlock!Bucky Barnes x Reader  Warnings: yandere, obsession, swearing, stalking, mentions of kidnapping, death of minor characters.  Words: 2354  Summary: He was following you with such persistence as if you had mortally offended him once. It had hardly been a week, but you felt like you had spent an eternity lurking in the shadows, expecting the warlock to appear right in front of you any second.  P.S. Oh, Nasuverse magic system... One day I’ll make a better story about it.  _____________________________________  This place gave you creeps: abandoned medical facilities looked scary even on TV, but hiding in one of them at night by yourself was much more frightening. You would never come here if you had a choice. However, the one hunting you down did not particularly care for your fears, chasing you like a true police dog. The only reason why you came to an abandoned hospital at the outskirts of the city was because Wanda sent you here, saying that your shielding magic might work better in this particular location. Since you had no more places to hide – he destroyed every one of them, leaving dead bodies behind – it was your last refuge.

As you walked down the empty corridor, your sneaked into one of large rooms with several steel beds and no mattresses. The old creaky floor was dusty and bubbling, one of the windows boarded up, the others so dirty you could hardly see anything but silhouettes of the huge pine trees surrounding the hospital. Sighing, you took out a piece of chalk and got on your knees, drawing an uneven circle and started scribbling around it. You doubted it would really work when everything else didn’t.

The medallion on your chest got heavier with every word you whispered, and you thought how stupid it would be to die for just some old artifact. Sure, it carried the magic of the ancient, such power a mage like you could hardly imagine, but it was also the reason it was completely useless to you. Only the most talented and experienced magicians were to enjoy its power, while your pathetic charms could not even activate the medallion. You only kept it because it was your family’s heirloom, the one thing that was left to you by your parents. If you had ever known that it could nearly destroy your life, you would give it up the first time you saw Bucky.

Yes, he was the very same mage who was chasing you now, the legendary Winter Warlock who could cover the whole city in snow and ice in the middle of summer. You could still hear Wanda’s screams once he literally blew the door along with the half of a hallway with his magic.

Why was the medallion so important to him? He was above all the sorcerers you had ever known. He probably had tons of magical artifacts like this, the silver glove he wore on his left hand being a much more powerful item. Moreover, since Bucky Barnes was a well-known outlaw of the magic world who had been in hiding for years, it was odd he came out now. He was following you with such persistence as if you had mortally offended him once. It had hardly been a week, but you felt like you had spent an eternity lurking in the shadows, expecting the warlock to appear right in front of you any second.

The sacred symbols were glowing with gentle golden light as you finished creating your shield, probably the only thing you were more or less good at. It was a great pity your shields were just the means of protection, nothing else. You saw once how Pietro’s Bounded Fields cut an arm of a mage who wanted to break through, but you were so repulsed by the sight of blood and someone’s suffering that you have never tried to learn this type of magecraft.

Nonetheless, even Pietro’s charms were not good enough against someone like Winter Warlock. He was amongst the few ones who could use True Magic. They said he even knew the spatial warping spells.

You heard a loud bang and felt your skin crawling. Warlock was here, in the corridor on your right, you could see his massive distorted form through the open door – a dark cloud was slowly turning into a tall beefy figure. Apparently, Barnes was keen on keeping himself in a good physical condition.

You swallowed, your heart pounding wildly. It was the end of you. Quickly removing the medallion from your chest, you looked at it and bit down on your lower lip. You asked your ancestors to forgive you for not being able to keep your heirloom safe and stood up. When Tony, the head wizard of your coven, had given up on helping you, you knew you will die in a matter of few days.

“It’s nice to see you waiting for me.” Warlock said in a low voice, and you shivered: he had always been silent every time you saw him. Something was different today.

You could not utter a single word in return, watching him entering the dark room and smirking at the sight of your pathetic golden shield. He raised his right arm, and the chalk was immediately erased from the dirty floor, living you with no protection against his magic whatsoever. Well, it was worth a try.

As he advanced towards you, his black cloak almost reaching the floor, you suddenly reached out for him, having a medallion in your hand. Maybe he could give you an easy death then, you thought. Maybe he would not, but now there was nothing you could do about it. For some reason you were unable to end your own life – three days ago you tried to drink the poison but dropped the bottle once your lips touched its top.

“Why?”

Warlock narrowed his icy blue eyes, and you gasped for air. Did he expect you to fight him? Was he thinking you had to die an honorable death for your heirloom? Surely, he knew your pathetic sorcery couldn’t even reach him through his own magic circle.

“You wanted to have it. Take it then.” You managed to say meekly, watching the red star on his shoulder, a symbol of deadly blood magic user. “Anyway, there’s nothing I can do to protect it.”

“The medallion?” Bucky chuckled, coming closer to you with each step and watching your body tremble. “You think I’ve been following you the whole fucking week for this?”

Despite his harsh tone, he carefully took the artifact in his flesh hand and then touched the dull metal with his silver fingers, making the medallion shine all of a sudden. Ah, his power activated it.

“I… I thought… you reached out for it when you came the first time.” You mumbled, confused. “I have nothing except it. Nothing valuable.”

Suddenly, he tilted his head back and laughed loudly, still carrying the medallion in his hand. You were taken aback by his response and just froze on the spot – what the hell was happening here? He tried to snatch this little piece of metal from your chest once he spotted you. If he wasn’t coming for it, what else could he possibly want from you, a low mage who had only discovered her powers a year ago?

The corners of his eyes crinkled once he grinned at you, coming so close that you could feel his breath on your skin. He didn’t punch you, though, or hurt you in any other way. Bucky simply put the medallion back on you again.

“Look at me closely, little girl.” He demanded, and you stared at him like a rabbit in front of a snake.

Before you could realize what was happening, his face features started to change, the magic making him look younger, healthier as his dark circles and pale skin were transforming slowly. His dark long hair became much shorter, his smile less threatening, and in a few seconds, you were looking into the face of a young soldier James you had met something like a month ago in an amusement park. In fact, you started going out with him - he was probably the sweetest men you had ever encountered, gentle and caring. James was one of a few people who could make you laugh to tears with his jokes, too.

But a sudden appearance of Winter Warlock ruined everything. You had to hide, and since James knew nothing of your magic powers, it was very unclever to get him involved in all this. So, you simply stopped calling him and then dumped your phone shortly, afraid for both his life and your own. You were scared Warlock could do something to him once he learnt James was important to you, but, thankfully, it had never happened.

Then it suddenly occurred to you that you saw those icy blue eyes before. It’s just that time you thought they were the same color as the winter sky, and you told James a few times how unusual they looked. He was both proud and somewhat shy about it.

Clenching the medallion in your hand, you felt tears filling your eyes and stepped back from Warlock as he reversed his magic, and his hair grew back again, his face tired and aged up.

“Is this how you entertain yourself?” You barked at him and wiped the wet tracks with you shaking hands, but tears kept streaming, nonetheless. “Pretending to be someone you’re not and having fun with a mage who can’t win against you? Do you enjoy hunting people down that much?”

“No, I don’t.” He said sternly and made a step towards you while you kept going back. “You brought it upon yourself, don’t you think?”

“And what have I done?” You tried to fight back the tears, thinking of all the times you spent together, talking nonsense, having fun, laughing. It stung. It only made you cry harder, and you turned your reddened face away from his. “What didn’t you like? Didn’t my kisses feel nice? Or was it the way I dressed? Were you mad at me because you didn’t get into my skirts?”

“Oh, I could get there pretty fast if I wanted to, love.” Bucky smirked, and you sent him a glare. How could this bastard be your James, the man who spent all his money to win you a teddy bear in an amusement park? How could he play his role to perfection, making you never even once doubt his intentions? Did he use a love potion or charms of some kind to draw you to him? With his level of skill, it would be easy. Maybe it explained why you fell in love with him so goddamn fast.

“Then what the hell do you want from me?”

You realized he had cornered you only when your back was pressed into the cold wall beside you. Although you were ready to die just mere minutes ago, now you wanted to fight. Regardless whether you could use magic or not, you were ready to make everything a bit harder for Warlock rather than silently submitting to him.

“Why didn’t you come to the cinema that night, little girl? I was waiting.” His smug smile faded, and you felt fear rising up in your gut again. “I’ve been waiting for a damn hour for you to show up or send me a message. When you didn’t, I went to see you only to find a pretty blond guy taking care of you in bed.”

The color drained out of your face when you remembered the night when you didn’t come to see the movie you two chose. Warlock was right. You weren’t there for James because you had a migraine, and Pietro and Wanda came to put some soothing charms and help you relieve the pain. It was Pietro who had casted a sleeping spell when his sister was in the kitchen doing her herb potion.

When Warlock came to ruin your house in the middle of the night, you chose to run, completely forgetting about apologizing to James. You had no time for it. You fled immediately and never thought of the night when you were supposed to meet him in the cinema, instead thinking of keeping him away from the mess you got yourself into. It was impossible to link these two events in your head as Bucky had never said why he was following you in the first place. Of course, for you the only logical reason was the artifact.

But in the end, he didn’t want to grab to your medallion. He was reaching out to touch you.

Well, at least it explained why he was trying to tear Pietro apart, almost chopping his arm. If not the Bounding Fields and Wanda’s teleportation spell, he would be dead for sure.

“I was unwell.” You forced the words out of your mouth. “Pietro and Wanda were there to heal me.”

“Did they, truly?” His cool silver hand gently touched your wet cheek.

“Give me the Truth Potion then.” You almost spat in his face, clenching your hands into fists. “Go inside my head, see the truth for yourself. You blame me for something I have never done when you made me believe you’re a nice man, used me, manipulated my feelings, and then hunt me down like an animal. God, you had almost killed the man who only tried to help me! You murdered several trespassers who weren’t ever wizards at all!”

When you finished, you felt your hands going limp as you could no longer control your own body. You felt like you were floating in the air, your legs too weak to keep you standing, and you let out a small sob. Did you forget in your rage that you were talking to one of the most powerful dark magicians? He could kill you with his thumb.

“If what you’re saying is true, you’ll get your sweet soldier back, love.” A dark smile slid across his lips. “Or would you prefer me, the mage? I bet I could give you much more as a sorcerer. I could teach you to use your medallion, give you the power you’d never even dreamt of. Believe me, you’re going to like it.”

“I want you to leave me alone.” You said under your breath, frightened and distressed, but his hand was already on your chest leaving a bloody star on your grey jacket.

“Too late, dear. You’ve made your choice a month ago.”

[paragonrobits]

a friend asked me to give a shot at doing an entry in this tier list they linked me to, of the video games inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame since 2015, and I opted to give it a shot!

My rankings are generally biased towards games I personally enjoy playing, though I will give some commentary on their historic relevance:

S-Rank

Super Mario Bros: The game that repopularized video games in the US, that arguably began the entire platforming video game genre and all its imitators and spin-offs, that spawned a new generation of video games after the Atari Crash in the US, and still a DAMN FUN game in its own right! I simply had to put this at the top ranking. After the disillusionment caused by Atari’s failures, this game brought home consoles back in a big way to the US. 

World of Warcraft: Now, I’m not much for MMORPGs. Nevertheless, I’ve followed the lore and general information in the Warcraft setting for years now, and a couple years back, my brother asked me to play it with him. I had a ton of fun, honestly! Playing a goblin mage, I believe. WoW is notable for being THE MMORPG, and still going strong. Admittedly, nowadays many games do what it does better, and the time when it was dominant as THE single game to play is past, but it was still an enjoyable experience and I really have to like how sincere the game is about its aesthetics and campy vibe. Given that the entire setting is reputedly a reskin of a Warhammer Fantasy Battle video game that went south, it’s cheery and colorful, morally gray tone is... an interesting complication in its history. (Also, HORDE. I STAN THE HORDE VERY HARD.)

The Sims: A bit of history; I did not play this game as enthusiastically as a kid as my sister and mom did. We ALL spammed the hell out of the Rosebud cheat, though; not until recent times did I actually wind up playing the game properly, when the most recent iteration of the series was free for a while. My mom didn’t care to play the game, she just liked building houses. In any case, while my attention drifted from the game now and then, I always am fascinated by the actual gameplay of caring for your simulated humans, and the way you don’t actually control them directly. This sort of hands off experience is actually a bit similar to the ‘dungeon simulator’ genre, and while the game is notorious for enabling cruelty (something I never saw the appeal of!), it’s a surprisingly wholesome experience, and it can’t be understated how unique this gameplay was at the time.

Legend of Zelda: It’s actually rather interesting how different OG Zelda is from modern games. Not just the top down perspective (which DOES pop up, now and then); the game is non-linear and allows you to go to any dungeon at any point, completing the game at your leisure, and the story is extremely barebones compared to what we may be used to. It’s quite a far cry from the linear gameplay of gradually collecting tools and working through plots that the games are known for. Breath of the Wild is, in fact, a return to form rather than an upheaval of the formula. I’ll also admit that I have a lot of affection for the gameplay of this one, as well as Link To The Past.

Donkey Kong: When you’re talking old school, as far as what you might call the modern generation of games goes (which is to say, the games that resurged after the Atari Crash), it’s hard to go wrong with Donkey Kong. It’s certainly notable for being a weird stage in Mario’s character and something that is generally ignored; it’s just strange thinking that at one point he was supposed to be abusive towards a pet ape that went in an innocent, well-meaning rampage! Personally this one kind of breaks a mold for my S-class rankings because while I like this one fine, I don’t like it THAT much; i mostly played it in the DK 64 game, and found it very difficult and that’s stuck with me. Still, I place it here for its momentous position in placing Nintendo on the map, with the influence and revolutionary technologies and gaming mechanics they would introduce, to this very day.

Pokemon Red/Blue: Hoo boy. HOO BOY it is honestly something of an oversight that I didn't immediately shove this beauty straight to the front of the S-line because good god I love this game. It's been years and years, long since I was but a whee Johnny playing a strange new game for the first time just because there was a cool turtle creature on the cover (because I was super into turtles back then), and I still love this game. Even with the improvements made to the formula since then (getting rid of HMs, the fixes and new types introduced since) there's still something lovable about this game, even as something as basic as the official artwork that just tugs my heartstrings. This game is highly notable for being an RPG that popularized the monster collecting/befriending gameplay (so far as I know), and as an autistic person, i really appreciate knowing the whole thing grew out of an autistic man's bug collection hobby from when he was a child. Pokemon is an absolute juggernaut of a media influence, and THIS is where it all began. It's first stage evolution, you might say. And not like a Magikarp or anything. This one's more like one of the starters... appropriately enough. Final Fantasy 7: This is probably a bit of a controversial take, but FF7 was not actually one of my favorite Final Fantasy entries back in the day. I never played much more of it than the beginning missions, as my cousin owned the machine in question, and I moved out before i could play it much. Final Fantasy 3 (in the US; it's more generally referred to as 6 now) was my favorite for a long, long time, and that game pioneered many of the traits that would be associated with 7: the epic story, the complex ensemble cast, though 7 really expanded on that basic idea, and previous games were hardly shabby in that regard. 9 is my favorite of the pre-10 era, with its extreme shake ups to the mechanics of the game. No; what makes 7 stand out is that it was a shift towards making Final Fantasy a constantly shifting, unique franchise where every entry was its own thing; it introduced 3D graphics with a fun and cartoony style mixed with a story that wouldn't be out of place in a cyberpunk story, and heralds Squaresoft (as it was called at the time) splitting off from Nintendo, with its censorship policies, and doing its own thing with Sony, with a great deal more freedom to write as they pleased. The party design also stands out, which each character having their own unique function in the party while the Materia concept allows a degree of modular skills to be installed, customizing them in ways that, in my opinion, the best entries in the franchise (on a gameplay level) would revisit. Colossal Cave Adventure: I'll be honest; I never played this game, and I don't believe it's particularly familiar to me at all. However, I chose it for this vaunted spot in S-rank because games of this nature, of text-based prompt and responses, are some of the most interesting things imaginable! Games like AI Dungeon are similar in some respects, and its impressive to think just how dang old this game is, and yet it managed to pull off basically being it's own DM. It has an interesting history; created by a man who worked on the precursor to the Internet, the game was made to connect with his daughter and was inspired by recent entries into Dungeons And Dragons, and later expanded upon by other programmers. It's notable that while Zork is the sort of game that would probably involve more immediate recognition (I actually mistook it for Zork at first, from the screenshot), this game was the first of its kind, and that always deserve some recognition. Minecraft: I absolutely LOVE Minecraft, and it's rightfully one of the most popular games, if not THE most popular game, of the last couple of decades, and it's interesting to think just how unconventional it is; the game is, effectively, a LEGO simulator, and as someone who honestly always wanted tons of LEGO sets as a kid but could never afford them consistently, there's something genuinely very appealing about Minecraft's basic set up. It's open approach and lack of a goal, just gameplay mechanics that encourage you to build and do as you please, makes for a very relaxing and unusual mentality not often seen in games until this point; it doesn't even have a storyline, it simply gives you a world to play around in. Of note, Minecraft's entry seems to have relevance towards video games becoming a cultural touchstone; Minecraft's visual aesthetic leans towards both blocky LEGOs and retro graphics, and certainly proves that games don't need to strive for hyper realistic graphics to be appealing. ----- A RANK Doom: I genuinely like Doom, a lot! I still have memories of replaying this game frequently, long before Doom 2016 and Eternal were glimmers; it's just genuinely very fun to play. That said, I feel that there's other games that are a bit more historically notable and while i like this game, not quite as much as other entries. But it cant be understated that this was THE first person shooter, and more to the point, was fundamental towards game design as we know it. Of note, it pioneered the idea of a game engine, which has had tremendous impact down the road in terms of making a flexible baseline system that latergames were programmed around. Additionally, the first three episodes being free, with the additional ones being purchased as part of the full game, this was, I think, the first demonstration of a demo. Back then, we called this shareware; a game which was free but had full features locked off, but otherwise you could play it however much you wanted. There's a REASON Doom winds up on more systems than Skyrim! Ultimately, while it's not one of my favorite games, it's impact on the business of gaming and the functions of game design cannot be overstated. Pac-Man: This game, is THE game that made video games a phenomenon and its worth thinking about that and how video games as a modern institituion can be drawn, however broadly, from Pac-Man's commercial success. I should note that while I've played this game extensively, it's not something I'm particularly good at; there's a LOT going on here and its a bit much for me to handle. That's probably a strength; there's a reason people had to fake their accomplishments and falsified high scores. It's worth noting that Pac-Man is a unique thing in that it has been rereleased many times over, and every generation has found it enjoyable and fun, unlike other games that set trends only to be lost out in the end. (Goldeneye, for instance!) The Oregon Trail: Like many other people I assume, I first played this game as something available on school computers. Purportedly made as an educational game to teach students about history, this game may be notable for, among other things, being an entry point towards the idea of resource management in video games (as well as being hellishly difficult, by the standards then, but that DOES illustrate a point, does it not?). It's also the oldest, most continuously available game ever made, even now being ported to smartphones, or so I hear! It seems to be a very early example of edutainment games, and a genuinely great one at that. It probably helps that a selling point is that it doesn't really mince around with its subject matter; anyone who's played this game knows that total party kill is the default assumption, as it was in life. Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat: I place these two together as I feel that they form a duo of sorts, and defined fighting games of my childhood and modern gaming experience; name a fighting game, from Injustice to something as deliberately different as Smash Bros, and it has SOME relation to these games, even if its in terms of doing something completely different. These games set a mold for fighting games! Among other things, both games feature iconic characters as a selling point, and to this day fighting games make their mark based on how signature their characters are. Mortal Kombat is of course an incredibly violent game (though very tame, by modern standards), and its fatalities and depicitons of violence sparked thought and arguments on what video games ought to be allowed to depict, for better or for worse. It's not implausible to suggest that the overly strict restrictions on what video games could depict go back to Mortal Kombat's fatalities, specifically (since there's far worse games predating it, though too graphically primitive to be obvious). Street Fighter, conversely, strikes me as having more characterization and depth, especially as far as fighting systems go; I find it hard to be interested in many fighting games now, if they don't offer as much depth as the likes of Street Fighter 2. Street Fighter stands out for innovating multiplayer play, initially in the arcade, and its not implausible to say that the likes of Smash Bros is a descendant of sorts of the specific mentality Street Fighter brought to the table. Consider also that it is STILL a mainstay in the remaining arcades and cabinets in service today! Tomb Raider: This is a game i legit liked back in the day, and there's some part of me that's sad that the platforming, puzzle solving and focus on exploration has not really made it back into the modern Tomb Raider series, last I checked. There's probably something interesting in that Lara Croft represents a bit of an intermediate period between platforming mascots and modern Edgy Protagonists; you know the ones. Balding white dudes with vague dad vibes, but this is not a slight on Lara; she definitely has a ton of personality, even just at a cover glance. This game had a strong focus on exploration, and that's honestly something I really like. Super Mario Kart: I'm going to be controversial here; complaints about the Blue Shell are kinda overrated. It's not that different from, say, a red shell hitting you from behind when you're close to the finish line. But, jokes and old 90s memes aside, this game has some interesting status in that it started the idea of making spin-off games in dramatically different contexts; Crash Team Racing and Sonic Drift, for example, are listened as similar games. On a franchise level, this began the trend of Mario becoming a truly flexible character who could do pretty much whatever was required of him, not just the original platforming games, and its possible his imitators never quite learned the same lesson. Though one wonders what Miyamoto might have thought if he'd known how many thinkpieces he would spawn with 'why does mario go-karting with Bowser when they're enemies?'. For my part, I favor the idea that the other games are in-universe fictions they're actors on and this is their actual dynamic, or that Mario is a relaxed dude who doesn't mind playing kart games with his foe. (I mean, he's not Ridley. Bowser's easy enough to get along with.) Animal Crossing: Again, I have to emphasize that I've never actually played this game, at least on a consistent basis (and by that, I mean I MIGHT have played it on the Gamecube, once, in the early 2000s), and have to speak from what I've seen of what it sparked. And I really do like the way it really codified the sub-genre of relaxed, open-ended games where the player is free to do as they like, without much stress or fear, which is something I think more games could stand to do. On my personal list of features that my ideal video game would have, Animal Crossing would definitely offer a few ideas. I am reminded of farming simulators, such as Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley; while they are different beasts entirely, there's a familiar sense of non-combat relaxation that's pleasant to see. Spacewar!: This machine is GODDAMN old, and like an old fogey predating modern humans, it deserves our respect. It's so old, it predates Pong. Supposedly created as part of predictative Cold War models, with an emphasis on emulating sci fi dogfights, producing a game that soon proved popular, for over a decade remainign the most popular game on computer systems, and a clumsy foray into arcade gaming (that didn't pan out, unfortunately) led to the creation of Pong by its creator, which is another story all its own! And Pong is directly responsible for the idea of the video game itself; this game launched the entire video game industry as we understand it! No small feat, indeed. ----

B RANKED Sonic The Hedgehog: I must state that I DO like this game, though not as much as later entires like Sonic 3 and Knuckles, or the Sonic Adventure series; the fast paced action seems a bit hobbled by the traps and need to be careful of surroundings, which would seem to run counter towards the whole idea of GOTTA GO FAST, y'know? But the game presents an interesting viewpoint on the nature of mascot gaming; created specifically, so it is said, as a rival to Mario, Sonic was designed as a mascot with attitude, and inspired a host of imitators; he's probably the only one to escape the 90s more or less intact, and this may have something to say about his flexibility, star power, and also the fact that he's a pretty mild character, all things considered. This game certainly has its place in gaming history, giving an important place in the console wars of yesteryear. Believe me, I was a kid in the 90s, Sonic was a HUGE deal. Space Invaders: This game is noted to have catapulted games into prominence by making them household, something outside of arcades, and it shows! An interesting detail of note is that supposedly, the Space Invaders were meant to all move at high speed, but this was either too hard to play against, or too costly on the processor; it was found that by making them speed up as they were defeated, it created an interesting set of challenge. You have to appreciate game history like that. In general, its success prompted Japanese companies to join the market, which would eventually produce what I imagine was a thriving, competitive market that would eventually get us Nintendo and it's own gamechangers down the road. Grant Theft Auto 3: I'm going to be honest with you. I don't much care for this sort of game. The Saints Row series, with its fundamental wackiness, is the kind of game I really DO like if I'm going for something like this, and GTA sort of leaning towards the 'cruel for fun and profit' gameplay is really unappealing for me. However, I'd be remiss if I didn't address this game, and what seems to come up is two things: the game's sheer freedom in its open world (which certainly pushed the bar for games of that nature, and has made it a byword for gamers screwing around in a game just to see what ridiculous things they could or couldn't do) and the infamous reputation from the mature aspects of the game. Personally, I'm not much for this game's take on maturity (if I wanted to discuss a game of that nature, I'd suggest, say, Spec Ops: The Line) but I really do appreciate what this game and its series did for the open world genre, and the sheer possibilities presented for letting you do what you wanted. King's Quest: I've never played this game, but I am a HUGE fan of the point and click genre (also known generally as the adventure game genre) that it spawned; without this game, there's no Monkey Island, no Sam and Max, no The Dig or Full Throttle, or Gabriel Knight. This game was similar to previous text-based games, with a text parser to input commands, but with the distinction of a graphical interface to move their character around, which would be the seed of later games such as the SCUMM engine of Monkey Island and other Lucasarts games (which, to me, ARE Adventure Gaming). The puzzles, comedic sensibilities, and interface innovations originated with this game, and codified those later adventure games i love so much. Starcraft: This is another one those list of 'games I should have already played by now'. I'm not much of an RTS person, barring forays with games such as Impossible Creatures, Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War, and more strange entries such as Brutal Legend, and I contend that the combat aspects of 4X games like Civilization DO count on some level; the specifics of troop movement and unit strengths/weaknesses are a bit beyond me, when you get to more complex stuff. Starcraft, reading between the lines, really introduced the idea of multiplayer culture especially for RTS, pioneered the Battle(dot)net system (which I mostly recall from Diablo, if I'm being honest!) as well as the idea of relative strengths and powers for individual factions so that they became characters in their own right. It's still a very popular online game, and that says SOMETHING. Also, I tend to use zerg rushes, so I would probably play Zerg. Probably. (There is much speculation on whether or not, like Warcraft being a failed Warhammer Fantasy game, if the same holds true for Starcraft and Warhammer 40k. I lean on the side of 'probably not'; the differences are too notable. The Zerg and Tyranids have some similarties, but that's probably because they're based on the same broad hive mind evil insect aggressor trope, and they have enough differences from there to be very distinct from one another. It's not like how OG Warcraft's orcs were very obviously warhammer orcs with less football hooliganism.) Bejeweled: This is a firm case of a game that I don't play, but I really have to respect its influence on gaming as a whole. Apparently it started as a match three-type game with a simplistic formula that proved wildly popular (perhaps making a point that simpler can be more effective, in game mechanics), with a truly explosive record of downloads; over 500 million, it seems. Thus its fair to say that this game set the precedent for casual games, which have become THE market. Regardless of your feelings on that genre, this one was a real game changer. (Pun intended, absolutely.) ----

C RANK Pong: "By most measures of popular impact, Pong launched the video game industry." This line alone saws it all, I think. It wasn't the first video game, but it was one of the more early ones, and its the one that really made video games and consoles successful, gaining widespread attention from the mainstream audience, as well as getting Atari recognition (for better or for worse, but perhaps that was just a development of being on top, so to speak; maye the console wars at least kept the big three honest). It also started the arcade revolution of games, and this humble game is essentially responsible for the entire state of video games as a concept, as we know it today. Halo: No disrespect to Halo, but it's just a game series I've never quite been able to get into. Those games are very hit and miss for me; games like Call of Duty, Battlefield, Gears of War and everything like that are just... hard for me to get into. It takes something specific like Borderlands or the Besthesda Fallout series, or something else, for me to get hooked, and Halo just doesn't do it for me! Nevertheless, I would be QUITE remiss if I simply dismissed it, and there's reasons for it to be inducted into the hall of fame barely three years into the hall of fame making inductees. Firstly, it was Microsoft's big entry into the console wars, and it must be said this was a MASSIVE upset and a completely unprecedented shift in the assumptions of the console wars back then; NO ONE expected microsoft to actually do this, let alone redefine gaming out of Sony and Nintendo's favor like that. At the time, PCs dominated FPS games, and Halo showed that consoles could do it just fine. It must also be said that it has a very intricate and complex system of lore, backstory and material that was quite distinctive for a new setting back in the day, and while I've seen people object to it's gameplay, I suspect that its with the benefit of hindsight; Halo offered an extremely unusual degree of freedom in achieving the goals set out for you. (Cortana also didn't deserve getting her name slapped onto that search assistant that eats up all your RAM.) Where In The World Is Carmen San Diego: Surprisignly enough, based on the article, this game was NOT an adaptation, but the source material of this character. This is where the fancy, mystery lady in the red coat started! Evidently this game was originally an edutainment game with a cops and robbers theme, and inspired by Colossal Cave Adventure from higher up on the list, and one must appreciate the effort that went into it. This one is ranked low, mostly because it didn't seem TOO notable to me. Honestly I'm surprised this is where Carmen Sandiego started. (And that she doesn't get enough credit as an iconic theatrical villain who won't go a step too far, but that's another rant.) -

D LIST

Here we are. The D LIST. The bottom of the sorting pile; the lowest of them all, the... well, the ones that I honestly don't necessarily dislike, but couldn't place higher for reasons of notability, personal interest, or perceived impact on the history of gaming. John Madden Football: Sports games, as a whole, really do NOT do it for me. I don't like real like sports at ALL (with, as a kid, a brief interest in boxing and that was just because they had gloves like Knuckles from Sonic the Hedgehog) so its hard for me to say that I find the history of this one all that compelling. Even so, there's some interesting elements in how this game was a sequel to a previous failed attempt, with a bold new attempt at a more arcade-style action game with a more dramatic take on the players, who would in turn be rated in different skill sets. The Madden series is STILL going so... it worked out pretty well, I'd say. (FUCKIN EA WAS BEHIND THIS ONE??? wow, EA is older than I thought.) Microsoft Flight Simulator: It's honestly a bit painful sorting this one so low, since I had many happy times as a wee Johnny playing this game back in the old days. I mean the OLD, old days. This was like, the days when Usenet was the preferred way for people to talk online. (Not me, though. I didn't talk to people, then. I was even less social than I am now, which is saying something!) All the same, I suppose that it was important to not crowd too many entries in a specific folder, and statistically, something had to keep getting knocked down, and in the end, I couldn't honestly say I still enjoyed this one enough to place it higher. Still, credit must be given where it is due; this game stands out for being an early foray into simulator gaming, showing a realistic depiction of actual flight. It has apparently been updated and rereleased many times since, which is impressive! Tetris: I like puzzles. So it might be surprising to hear this seminal game ranked so low; firstly, I like different KINDS of puzzles (like weird ones where you have to fling your sense of logic to the moon and back, or make use of gaming mechanics) and honestly this game is kind of stressful for me. You gotta keep an eye on a lot of different things flying around all at once, and constantly move things around, and that kind of attention and quick thinking does NOT come easily to me. All the same, I really have to admire how it was born from it's creator's pleasure in solving mathematical puzzles about sorting shapes into boxes, in a manner strangely remniscient of Satoshi's bug collecting that became Pokemon. Certainly the game's simplicity has proven a universally appealing thing, and may say something about the value of keeping it simple. Microsoft Solitaire: This game apparently became pay-to-get some time ago in recent computer generations, and let me tell, you, it was genuinely depressing to find that out. I remember younger decades, from the 90s and on, when this game was a regular and free feature in Windows computers fir MANY years. You got a computer, this game was on here. I was a kid, and i remember watching my mom play this game and makign the cards go WHOOP WHOPP all over the place and marveling, because I couldn't ever do the same thing. (A related note: I am terrible at this game. Go figure!) Of note, this game was massively widespread, and just EVERYWHERE, and I think everyone who ever played a computer back in those days instantly remembers it in some way. It was just... ubiquitous. Centipede: Oh, ol' Centipede. I don't mean to be mean to you. But between the likes of Pokemon and Super Mario Bros, even the arcade Donkey Kong, someone had to keep dropping down the leaderboard that is this tierlist, and unfortunately, there were other games that felt higher up than you. All the same, you're a very good game, and honestly, I like you more than some other games ranked higher for reasons of relevance to gaming history. Certainly more than anything else in D-listing. The colorful and appealing palette is noteworthy. That trackball controller! Amazing! (More games should use trackballs. They're fun and easy to use.) At the very least, Order of the Stick did a joke with you once, and that's better than anything I can do for you. All the same, you're a cool game.

[writing-the-end]

LoL Chapter 27- Hermits

Masterpost

A Wizard Hermits tale (AU, designs, ideas belongs to @theguardiansofredland)

Its not often the hermits get a chance to all be together. And while they know battles lie ahead of them, they take this moment to enjoy being a family again. 

______________________________________

Etho appears beside TFC, causing the mineral mage to sputter out the coffee he was sipping. “I caught sight of xB a few islands down!” 

The hermits murmur with excitement and follow Etho to the shoreline. Sure enough, xB is hauling Hypno and Beef onto the warm sand. Hypno thumps his hand against his head, an attempt to escape his clogged ears which only fails for him. “Can’t we take a sky turtle next time?” 

“But it’s more fun to swim!” xB chuckles, and with a flick of his finned ears and his grey tail he runs to hug the hermits. “It’s so good to be back, guys! I can’t remember the last time all of us were on the island together.”

“You guys said something about taking back Lairyon?” Beef raises an eyebrow, looking over at Doc. “This isn’t your rebellious phase coming back, is it?”

“We’ll explain everything on the way. TFC has a lot to tell.” Etho wraps his arms around Hypno and xB, before disappearing into their shared shadow. 

The kipling laughs, shaking his head and looking around the island. “Some things never change. I see you haven’t fixed the hole in False’s forge either.” 

The hermits laugh, the entire group filled with life as they return to the guild hall. Joe and Cleo regale the missing hermits with the story of their victory at the Chimaera’s Championship. Their battles and challenges in the arena, facing off against the best guilds and winning the cup. They also tell Hypno, xB, and Beef about the heist, the discovery. 

“Why am I not surprised?” Hypno hums, tapping his fingers against the wood of the table that he sits down at. TFC pats the boys on the head, grabbing at Beef’s face and tapping his finger on a scar he sees. Beef shrinks away, concerned for a second, but the guildmaster only chuckles in response.

“I can’t wait to hear that story. It’s good to have you guys back.” TFC pats him on the back. “Treat you to a pint of beer next time we go to town.” 

“Let’s hear about this big job you’ve got planned for us first.” xB raises an eyebrow. In response, TFC rolls out his map.

The paper has changed since they first decided to go after Dolios and his creepy crystals. If there’s one thing an outlaw guild knows how to do, it’s to find new jobs through the grapevine. “Dolios has these tales silenced. I’ve heard of at least six other guilds being attacked or wiped out by unknown magic. Unfortunately, we’re too late to help them.” Team ZIT glance at one another, but focus on the here and now. “But there are places we can make a difference, as well as get information and better ourselves as a group.”

TFC motions to the Evernight forest. “An old friend of mine said there has been stories of familiars and companion animals going missing. No trace of where they went, except for a few patches of charred grass.”

“Charred, or drained?” Mumbo muses. To anyone, that sounds like the signs of a dragon ravaging Foresta, but after Mumbo’s duel with a draconic mage he knows dragons aren’t that dastardly. Nothing is as dastardly as Dolios. 

TFC grins, the newest member and the guildmaster sharing a knowing glint. “There’s also Shellor- which, I believe one of our hermits here knows quite intimately.” Etho gives a two fingered salute, rocking on the back legs of his chair until they fall out from under him, dumping him on the floor. Doc, Beef, and BDubs laugh at him. “There’s a few spies who’ve seen things Dolios has done, but the hard part will be earning their trust.” 

“Hmm, yeah. I don’t think I really left Shellor on a good note.” Etho grimaces. 

“That’ll be you, Keralis, and Grian’s problem. Meanwhile, we also need some help in the magical beings department. And if there’s one group that has mysterious, arcane magic on lock, it’s-”

“The fae!” Stress slams down her hands, a bright smile on her face. Iskall jolts upright and nearly hits the table again on the way down. “But where will we go? The fjords? The mountains? Heartbreak Trench?” 

“The flowerfruit fields. While you’re there, you and BDubs can gather ingredients that we’ve been running low on.” TFC glances at the map, running a finger over the lime green patch on the map. “We do have two confirmed crystal sightings, as well as Gildara. Edenswell seems to be falling ill to dark magic, and there’s reasonable belief that Dolios isn’t getting these massive rocks from nowhere- he’s using gems from the mines.” 

Heads peek over one another in an attempt to see the map. The charcoal diamonds and swirls. Gildara still sits untouched, and every hermit looks at one another. Do any of them want to return to the beginning of this all? Even to put an end to the dark magic plaguing the land, the memories of what they saw, what they experienced, still remain. 

Except for those that weren’t there. “I don’t think I’d mind checking out this hokey little town you guys keep talking about.” Beef grins, glancing over at Hypno and Wels. “We’ll have that place brimming with flaxen fields and green gardens all over again.” 

TFC grins, dipping his head in thanks to the returning hermits. He leans back, looking at the filled guild hall. “It’s been so long since we’ve all been together. If only it were on good terms.” 

“It feels good to return home.” xB ruffles his hair with a scaled hand, looking around for a second, then returning to speaking. “Even if it’s just for a short time, we should enjoy everyone being together again.” 

“What I’m hearing is we need to have our signature hermit celebrations.” Tango’s face splits into a devious smile. All around him, other hermits get a similar smirk on their face. Before TFC can agree to the idea, the hermits are gone. Cleo rushes to her wrecked pirate ship, hefting kegs of ale with the aid of Stress. Wels commandeers False’s forge to begin baking his favorite sweets, while Mumbo, Grian, and Iskall work together to fix the pennants, lanterns, and flags that decorate the guild hall in a myriad of colors. 

Tango snaps his fingers, and a small flame dances at his fingertips, jumping from his nails to the wicks of the lanterns. He ducks out of the way just in time to avoid being smacked in the face by a massive fish, tossed from the sea by xB and grabbed by Grian midair. The whirlpool mage disappears back underwater, back to hunting in the realm he was born in. 

The sun begins to inch towards the western horizon, turning the sky ablaze in a mosaic of pinks, oranges, yellows, and reds. A blue flag flutters against the ancient oak tree, catching on a branch. BDubs reaches out from his seat near the food platters, hardly even glancing away from the fresh baked goods, and with a flick of his wrist the branch bends away and the flag flies free again. 

False appears beside Wels, grabbing a brownie from the hot pan and sticking her tongue out at him as she passes. When Wels objects she’s quick to retort. “You used my forge. It’s rental payment, paladin.” 

Beef sets out plates, which are promptly ignored once Impulse and Zedaph have finished cooking the tuna xB caught. Music swells from a music box the creation of Ren, with the help of Mumbo, the upbeat songs written and composed with Joe and requests from the other hermits for their favorite tunes. 

The music thrums against the low roar of talking, the sound only broken by the common lilt of laughter. Hermits tell their stories, whether they be heard for the thousandth time or a new tale to tell. Beef causes Hypno to flush as he recounts the prank he pulled on the dream mage. Hypno turns bright red, quiet voice cracking over the tale. “I smelled like centaur shit for a week! It was awful, I’ll tell you that.” 

A raucous laugh erupts from that table, overshadowing the story of Mumbo’s duel to xB. “I swear on my life, I thought she was gonna swallow me whole. Or burn me like coal.” Mumbo shakes his head. “I don’t think I ever want to go up against a draconic mage ever again in my life.” 

“I’m surprised a kipling, a draconic mage, and a desert wizard were one team. That’s a strange group. I don’t think I’ve even met each of the others.” xB takes a bite of his fish, marinated in fresh fruits that Cub plucked from nearby islands. “But I’m sure that kipling gave you guys a run for your money. That magic she had… it’s rare beyond imagination. In kipling legend, it means a legendary hero is about to arise.” 

“He definitely kicked Ren’s ass. I don’t think I ever saw so much water moved at once.” Mumbo shakes his head, and stuffs a red jelly tart into his mouth. 

Keralis stands, tossing his woven hat from the brown curls of his hair, and inviting himself onto the open floor. “I love this song! Come on, my wonderful friends, let’s dance!” 

The setting sun casts a golden glow, bouncing off verdant leaves, twisting along the waves of the Ashioll sea. Laughter and music dance in the gilded light, playing in the curls of Zedaph’s hair as he joins Keralis. The two bumble around, drunk from Cleo’s ale but enjoying themselves immensely. 

Only one hermit wasn’t taking part in the festivities. Atop the canopy that protects the guild hall below, Xisuma watches as the stars appear in the sky. For a few moments in the day, the void and the sun share the space above. And he always thinks of the one person he knows he should forget by now. But he would’ve loved this, even if he’s constantly worrying about being caught doing something wrong. 

“Hey X, you gonna mope up there all day or join us?” Jevin grins below, one hand placed on his hip and the other waving Xisuma down. “Just because you’re a void mage doesn’t mean you have to a-void everything!” 

Xisuma rolls his eyes, but smiles beneath his mask. “After that terrible pun, how can I say no?”