#Seriously. Please do. I love talking about and looking up RPGs.

[finitestateai]

Yeah, D&D and Pathfinder have taken over the space in a way that makes it extremely difficult for newcomers to actually find things. It's fucking annoying. Especially when I see people go "D&D is a story game." No. It's not. It's a meh at best wargame that you can attach to a story.

I've literally had to drag people into playing a TTRPG with me because they tried D&D and disliked it (and thought that was all there was). The game I ran for them lasted for about a year before other things happened, and apparently, they really enjoyed it.

There are so many good TTRPGs that no one knows about because of D&D and Pathfinder and especially because of the people who go "We'll use it for everything." Go learn more RPG books. Even if you go "I actually still like D&D more" I can guarantee you that you will be a better GM and a better player because you know about them. And, if you ever meet someone who doesn't like D&D, you can go "Try this maybe then." Instead of leaving them to not be able to get into the hobby.

If you want to know if a game is a story game or not, try telling it to a friend who doesn't care about TTRPGs. Don't tell them about the times you rolled a high number and it was cool. Tell them the story. Then compare the amount of time you spend talking about things to the amount of time you spent playing them.

I can almost guarantee you that a good story will spend relatively more time talking about the non-combat elements and much shorter about the in-combat. Actually, more so in a D&D or Pathfinder like game.

If you play an actual story game like Blades in the Dark (Or other Forged in the Dark games) or Thirsty Sword Lesbians (And other Powered by the Apocalypse games), you'll find that the time you spend talking about the story is about the same time you spend playing it.

Anyway. If you like wargames interspersed with a bit of story, go ahead. I've been enjoying a PF2e campaign for exactly that. But please don't call them story games.

Please don't make people hate TTRPGs because you need to know a guide or dive extremely deep before you can find anything other than that.

Any-anyway. Thanks for reading/skimming my rant. Here's some recommendations for games to look into that aren't D&D/Pathfinder likes that I have personally played or ran.

Lasers & Feelings by John Harper. A free, one page game about being on a space adventure. It's made to be played in about 4h and isn't the best for starter GMs, but there are a lot of hacks (versions) of it for different settings.

Apocalypse World 2e by D. Vincent Baker & Meguey Baker. There's been an Apocalypse, now the world has turned to shit. What are you going to make of it? Don't just survive. Thrive.

MASKS: A new Generation by Brendan Conway. Teenage superheros coming of age. If you ever watched Teen Titans or Young Justice and said "I want to play that" this is the game for it. To the point that I have literally watched Young Justice and called out how the action on screen would translate to the game.

Monsterhearts 2 by Avery Alder. A teenage drama, but you're all monsters, and also, all the monsters are metaphors. Riverdale, Buffy, Twilight, and more can all fit in here. It's very good.

Thirsty Sword Lesbians by April Walsh. Angsty lesbians with swords. Every character will focus on a specific emotional conflict. It's about being queer, about fighting the patriarchy, and about flirting with your friends (Sometimes at swordpoint).

Blades in the Dark by John Harper. Enter the industrial-fantasy city of Doskvol where lightning barriers keep the ghosts out and gangs fight for control. It creates Oceans 11 style heist movie games, you're scoundrels and you're trying to make your way to the top. But you'll have to deal with other gangs, the Bluecoats, and your own Vices.

It doesn't quite fit that list, but I do want to aim anyone who is on the fence about going super away from combat focused games at NOVA by Spencer Campbell (and other LUMEN games). It's focused on combat, but the rules are evocative and extremely quick and fluid. I've never described a fight with moment to moment action as much as I did when telling people about my game of NOVA (And that's without mechanics).

If you want to send me ASKs/DMs/@me about what games I would recommend for specifically what you want out of it, please go ahead. I have way too many TTRPGs bouncing around my head.

My thing with table tops, whenever anyone tried to make me play them it was always d&d and pathfinder and I always found it to be such a fuckin drag, I really wanted to just hang out and be dumb with everyone but the game always had these annoying ass combat patches and I just got so annoyed during it. Then I'd watch some show someone recs me and its the same shit I don't want battle sequences I want fun story telling and fun shit to do and I genuinely thought that ttrpgs were just all that, boring fucking combat and no fun..but the truth was you gotta find people who don't play DND and pathfinder, like there are fun fucking games out there apparently that aren't just boring as fuck typical fantasy combat shit.

[little-star-bun]

⋆｡‧˚ʚ 𝙇𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙧 𝙀𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙚 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙥𝙩｡ 𝟮 ɞ˚‧｡⋆

because you all liked the first one so much, i have more for you <;33

warnings: 18+ Lesbian fanfiction!! Men and Minors DNI!! masturbation, low-key stalking, Ellie is a bottom, mentions of drug use;;

enjoy angels ♡♡

I do not own Ellie or anything associated with TLOU.

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌𓆩♡𓆪﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

✎ ;;

Loser! Ellie is a stoner. She has joint butts littering her car and her room. She smokes after school, before work, after work. Pray for her lungs please.

She wants to smoke with you. She low key fantasizes about getting you high for the first time, to watch your eyes turn red and your lips form around the blunt.

She made a playlist and fills it with songs that remind her of you. She's so stereotypically lesbian it hurts.

She has at least a dozen drawings of you in her journal. Sometimes she'll sit in her car, watching you talk with your friends while she doodles you. Sometimes using your social media as references. But it's so sweet the way she adored every feature of yours :((

Like I mentioned last time, she definitely whimpers and begs. I love top! Ellie, but let's be honest, she's a total bottom. She loves to think of you touching her, eating her wet cunt. She genuinely has so many perverted thoughts of you. She wants you to take control of her, make her do anything to give yourself pleasure. Use her face to masturbate, please.

Not just that, but she watches porn thinking about you. She can't help it, she's just so in love. Loves to rub her needy cunt to videos of girls scissoring and cumming, thinking of how she could try it with you.

One day you had asked her if she finished the homework. You were out and hadn't had time to do it. Poor girl could hardly speak, handing you the answers before you could even finish asking.

Your words had played in her head for three days straight. "You're a life saver, Ellie!"

Later that night you even texted her.

[Thanks again! Seriously, I owe you one.]

She stared at the message, heart racing. Come on Ellie, say something clever!!

[No problem, I'll take you up on that one day!]

Nice.

[You're cute. Goodnight, Ellie.]

She had stared at the conversation for hours. She couldn't believe you had been so grateful to her that you texted.

She was so flustered that of course she had gotten hot and bothered, touching herself through her boxers at the way you called her cute.

Shes a gamer, duh, preferring open world rpg shooters. She's tried every cringe game at least once. Fortnight, World of Warcraft, Valorant. She loves GTA and RDD. Her perfect night is just sitting in her room, smoking a joint, playing on her XBOX. (XBOX is superior idc)

She did get the Sims, making a sim of you and then a sim of her. She made you two have a dog (she didn't even know if you liked dogs). And she makes them woohoo. Alot.

Definitely plays with mods and cc. She has wicked whims and basemental. Loves looking at your Sims tits and making them get high together.

And the drawings I've mentioned before? Half of them, you're half or fully naked. She loves to sketch your boobs, your curves. Makes her mouth water. She has no shame, she masturbates to them when she's done.

Her major is defined the arts. She loves to paint and draw and sculpt. She may not seem like it, but she's such an artistic person. Sometimes you'll see her walking around with clay or paint on her hands. It's honestly adorable :(( Thinks of your body as a work of art fs.

Def shops at Spencer's and Hot Topic. She's so fucking emo and cringe. Reddit user vibes.

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌𓆩♡𓆪﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

My requests and asks are open!! I'm so bored, please send some!!

૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ♡

© 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟹 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎-𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛-𝚋𝚞𝚗 — 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚞𝚗𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚎. 𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚍𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚖𝚘𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚢, 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚖, 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝, 𝚘𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚙𝚢 𝚖𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔!

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Adoration

You know, between Sabrina and Zoe, it's hard to tell who gets screwed over more in this episode.

Let's get into the seventeenth episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Adoration

We start off with Zoe talking with Andre about a movie he made when he was younger. Apparently, he made it to declare his love for Audrey. The fact that he thought making a movie to please someone as abusive as her either means Andre is a real idiot, or Audrey is an absolute goddess in bed.

We then cut to school the next day, where Marinette and Zoe are put in charge of organizing it. The two met up at Marinette's room, where Zoe comments on how beautiful it looks... even though she was already there at the end of “Gabriel Agreste”.

Okay, in all seriousness, this is a minor error compared to the other retcons this show has made, and I can see the writers forgetting that scene since Zoe didn't say anything in it anyway, but this does have a purpose. While thinking about where to hold the dance, Marinette settles on the Eiffel Tower, and asks Zoe if she can talk to Andre about it.

The two go to Zoe's place, and surprise, surprise, Chloe throws a hissy fit about Marinette stepping on one of “her” stairs. Okay, writers, just admit you're running out of ideas for Chloe to antagonize Marinette. Zoe stands up to Chloe, who then goes to Audrey, but she's so apathetic, she doesn't even intervene, so Zoe calls it a win.

Marinette: What happened to the scared Zoe who moved here from New York a few months ago?

Zoe: It's all thanks to you, Marinette. You're the one who helped me change!

Uh... how? Outside of “Sole Crusher” and “Queen Banana”, the two have never really had any meaningful interactions. It's almost like Zoe has had absolutely no development since her introduction last season, and the writers are trying to convince us that they actually gave her character development.

Andre decides to approve holding the school dance under the Eiffel Tower, he tells Marinette and Zoe not to tell Chloe. Chloe overhears this, and gets angry for... some reason. Seriously, what did they even do? All Marinette and Zoe did was ask to hold a dance, Chloe overheard it, and the very next scene, she's talking with Lila and Sabrina about how to get revenge. She doesn't even make it about the dance, she just gets angry Zoe is talking with her father. Again, after five seasons, it really seems like the writers are running out of ways for Chloe to incite conflict, because this is just lazy.

At the Agreste Mansion, Adrien talks to Gabriel about asking Marinette to the dance, but Gabriel forbids him from doing so. Nathalie convinces him to concede, but then he calls Lila. The next scene has Chloe talking with Sabrina about a plan she has.

Chloe: Do you want to be demoted from underling to punching bag? You want to join the baker girl and the half-of-a-sister?

Sabrina: (gasps) No! I'm your friend!

Chloe: (shakes her head) My underling. You are my underling. If you're not willing to do anything for me, then get lost!

This can't seriously be the script the writers stuck with, right? Now Chloe's just saying things you'd hear from a dark lord from an RPG. Granted, it's hard to tell how honest Chloe is since her chewing out Sabrina is revealed to be a plan by Lila, but given how Chloe has been this episode, it's hard to really believe she was exaggerating anything. Either way, Sabrina is upset enough for Monarch to send an Akuma her way, akumatizing her into Vanisher again through a whistle.

Vanisher's design is pretty lazy, even back when it first appeared in Season 1. It's just Sabrina with a purple filter when she isn't using her powers to turn invisible. I guess it kind of makes sense given she's not meant to be flashy, but this just screams “cutting corners”. The Miraculous power shown this time is the Dog Miraculous' Fetch, allowing Vanisher to steal as many things as she wants.

Vanisher comes back into the room, and we actually get a funny joke where Chloe asks Lila if she's a witch, even if a funny joke in this kind of show only gets a reaction along the lines of...

Anyway, Marinette and Zoe plan out the dance some more, where Marinette talks about how hard it is to tell Adrien she loves him, to which Zoe agrees, revealing she has her own crush on someone. As the two talk, Vanisher sneaks in and we get a montage of her tagging things with her whistle. During the montage, Marinette assumes that Zoe has a crush on Adrien, which will be more important towards the end.

Once things with the dance are set up, Vanisher uses Fetch to teleport all the things she touched into Marinette's bag. Chloe accuses Marinette of being a thief, and even though Lila isn't in the rest of the episode, everyone's about as gullible as they normally are in a Lila episode, so they decide to believe Chloe. Mr. Damocles prepares to expel Marinette, but Zoe takes the blame for it, allowing Marinette transform into Ladybug.

Ladybug figures out that Vanisher is behind this because Chloe threw some paper flowers that accidentally fell onto her, so she summons her Lucky Charm, a pinata. While Ladybug fights Vanisher, Adrien gets to a safe place to transform into Cat Noir. Ladybug hands Cat Noir a bottle of some kind of spray-on glue and just as Ladybug breaks the pinata above Vanisher, Cat Noir sprays her with it, covering her in confetti. Ladybug ties up Vanisher while Cat Noir Cataclysms the whistle, freeing the Akuma.

Ladybug de-evilizes the Akuma, uses Miraculous Ladybug to fix the damage, Chloe yells at Sabrina for failing, and even though this blows her cover, somehow isn't punished for it, Sabrina gets a useless Magical Charm from Ladybug and because I've already seen the rest of the season, I already know that Sabrina is still going to work with Chloe for some reason.

Anyway, Marinette and Zoe talk about the latter supposedly having feelings for Adrien.

Marinette: I know... you're in love with Adrien. Don't sacrifice your feelings for him because of me. He has the right to hear your declaration.

Zoe: Adrien? But you're the one he loves.

Marinette: Even if he loves me, he'd be flattered to know that you love him too. Let him know how you feel about him. Zoe, you're an amazing person. One can only feel honored to be loved by you.

Zoe: Are you sure?

Marinette: Of course! You can't keep it to yourself! Zoe: But... Adrien’s not the one I’m in love with.

Marinette: Oh? Who is it, then? (Zoe simply looks at Marinette and smiles) Oh... Oh! Oh. I am truly, very honored. I mean it, Zoe.

Zoe: Thanks, Marinette.

Oh my God... I can't believe Zoe has feelings for Alya.

Okay, in all seriousness, let's discuss this scene. While I'm glad that we have confirmation that Zoe has feelings for Marinette, which is a big deal after the show danced around the idea with Juleka and Rose, and the reveal itself is done very well with Zoe and Marinette's facial expressions doing all the work, my problems with this scene stem from a different issue, and it ties back to my earlier point about Zoe.

Zoe as a character has always been criminally underdeveloped. Other than the fact that she's nice and is different from Chloe, very little is done to establish who she is as a person. With every focus episode she gets, the writers just slap on some kind of trait or idea to try and get viewers invested in her. In “Sole Crusher”, she had her vague backstory about being bullied, in “Queen Banana”, she became Vesperia, in “The Kwamis' Choice”, she temporarily replaced Cat Noir as Kitty Noire, and in this episode, we have her feelings for Marinette. None of these are really bad things, but the show just expects us to connect with Zoe for all of these things that happen to her with little buildup or character development. Like I said earlier, the show tries to act like there's been character development with Zoe, but it doesn't work because she's barely gotten to do anything that isn't the writers trying to shove her into the main cast.

As for the reveal that Zoe has feelings for Marinette, it sort of falls flat because again, the two have barely spent any time together since “Sole Crusher” and “Queen Banana”. Yeah, Zoe was present in other episodes like “Gabriel Agreste” and “Crocoduel”, but she was only part of the group and didn't really interact with Marinette on her own. It's hard to really see this reveal as impactful because not only did we not get a lot of hints that Zoe was into girls, but we didn't even get a lot of hints that Zoe had developed feelings for Marinette in the first place. That's not to say this couldn't work. In The Owl House, there weren't any hints that either Luz or Amity were into girls, but the difference there was that their growing feelings for each other became an ongoing story. Here, there's nothing that really comes of Zoe having feelings for Marinette other than so the show can say they have an LGBT character. If there was an episode about Zoe struggling to deal with her unrequited feelings for Marinette, or an episode where she tries to ask another girl out, this could have worked, but nothing really comes from this.

And finally, there's the reason behind this reveal. The episode goes out of its way to establish that Zoe has feelings for Marinette not to really expand on Zoe's character, but rather, to expand on Marinette's. Zoe's coming out story is less of a big reveal about her sexual identity, and more of a cautionary tale about not being able to confess your feelings to someone you care about until it's too late. The reveal that Zoe has feelings for Marinette isn't about Zoe taking a risk that could jeopardize her friendship with Marinette, it's about giving Marinette the confidence she needs to tell Adrien she loves him, and even then, that moment is undercut because the very next scene, Gabriel uses his influence to order Adrien to go home when he's about to kiss Marinette. The episode basically ends with Marinette trying to reassure herself that progress was actually made when we know Gabriel screwed that up.

So basically, THIS EPISODE WAS A GIANT WASTE OF TIME! Oh my God, this was bad, and it's hard to really explain. I'm not really as angry as I was towards episodes like “Kuro Neko”, “Penalteam”, or “Illusion”, but this episode just had so many little things that got to me that all piled up by the end. The attempt to give Zoe character development didn't really work, Gabriel and Chloe had no reason to incite the conflict other than because they felt like it, Lila had no real purpose being here (yet she gets to be in the end card instead of Chloe), the Akuma was underwhelming, Sabrina still hasn't gotten any major character development herself, and the ending just felt like a cheap excuse to keep the story going. This is still one of the worst episodes of the season, but I still think “Derision” and “Illusion” are worse.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... ANDRE (THE OTHER ONE)

While Gabriel came close to getting his third Biggest Idiot Award in a row, I ultimately gave it to Andre because the episode tried to make him out to be a good father even though he's scared of his own child. He made an entire movie to show how much he loved someone as terrible as Audrey, wanted to keep organizing a school dance a secret from Chloe, kept enabling her even when she framed a classmate, and didn't even punish her afterwards when it was obvious she framed Marinette with the help of an Akuma.

[boxwinebaddie]

hi uncle neen! in honor of freckle kyle becoming canon, does jers have freckles? <3

yES!!!!! YES HE DOES!!!!

YES!!!! HE!!! DOOOOOOES!!!!

hooooooly shit, oh My GOD, i am so sorry for being FERAL, you guys, but when i tell you that i have been WAITING FOR THIS QUESTION!

because jerseykyle does not just 'have freckles'.

obviously, everyone's kyle is different and i think a lot of people hc kyle having a nice light smattering over his nose, some light ones on his cheeks, neck and shoulders, which, again, i think is so lovely, i love when kyle has freckles, i think that is a perfect hc, tbh.

bUT JERSEYKYLE??????

JERSEYKYLE HAS FRECKLES.

for days and weeks and months and YEARS!!!!!!

anyways, follow me under the cut if you want my yelling.

okay, so, i wasn't sure how to explain this, but if we don't know, my embarrassing uncle nina lore is that in mid-highschool i used to tumblr rpg often which required the use of faceclaims or irl actors and models so i actually have...a surprising depth and wealth of knowledge when it comes specifically to models/supermodels so...

this is cintia dicker. X / X / X

( yes she is beautiful )

JERSEYKYLE HAS CINTIA DICKER FRECKLES.

like aaaaaalll OVER his damn face. like jersey be dominating boys in the bedroom, but those freckles be DOMINATING HIS FACE, BABY! like light ones, dark ones, idk, but they are fucking everywhere, all over his face, his neck, his arms, his legs, his chest,

EVERYWHERE.

which...Whew. he is sooooo pretty. it is seriously striking like he looks like pale pink sky with a blizzard of amber sparkles on his face. it's so wonderful, like jersey kyle please model for VOGUE. he is that bitch, he is freckly as damn hell, there are HUNDREDS, possibly thousands.

i might be exaggerating...

BUT I NEED YOU TO KNOW HES FRECKLY AS FUCK.

which...he was very embarrassed about for a long time. to this day, it is a large point of insecurity for him bc he feels really weird about them and considered using foundation to cover them up because of how strange and messy he thinks they make his face look because of the way society used to treat them, like they made his face look dirty or imperfect or ugly and AAAAAA OKAY!

so throwback ( as in i want to throw that man off a cliff and run over him several times w/ the barbie jeep i don't know how to drive ) when rm cartman said jers looked like he was 'speckled with shit'. :(((

it made kyle morbidly depressed/insecure to the point where he wanted to rip the skin off his face, but then stan told him that his mom said 'freckles are places where you've been kissed by the sun' and that ky must be 'the sun's favorite' bc he's been kissed so many times and he's trying to catch up…

WHEN I TELL U HE SWOOONED.

ravenstanley marsh, ceo of simping for freckly boys.

speaking of, so one time, i think they were watching a movie and stan was, uh, not watching the movie, he was literally watching jerseykyle. and kyle was like "what are you doing, dummy? is there something on my face?" and ironically stan shook his head and said "yeah, but they're fine where they are..." then trailed off in thought, still intently staring at kyle with Extreme Laser Focus.

and normally, kyle is used to people staring at him, y'know, bc he's fine as hell and really tall, that doesn't really phase him, but ravenstan staring at him makes him SUPER nervous, awkward and flustered, so he's like -anxious laugh- "seriously, dude, what are you do—“ and stan's like "shh" ( in a not condescending, loving way )

"i'm trying to count."

jerseykyle furrows his lovely auburn brow, trying to figure out what he's talking about, realizes what's going on, but still literally in shock, laughs again, because he thinks stan must be joking and goes "oh my gahd, are tryna count my freckles? stan's literally imposs--" and stan shushes again him in a gentle manner and is like "shh, i need to focus. quit distracting me, you're gonna make me lose my place."

literally on his face, counting kyle's, i shit you not, probably over 100 freckles, which i think is soooo fucking CUTE of him because he's literally swimming against the deadly current of his adhd, forcing everything in his constantly fidgeting body to focus so that he can keep count. it's a truly beautiful thing watching r.s.' brain whir and his pretty blue eyes narrow and widen, counting softly under his breath.

ravenstan does, unfortunately, find he can't count them all because like jersey said, it is a pretty damn near impossible task...that did NOT however, stop him from trying multiple times, the last time though, he didn't actually lose count, kyle just kissed the FUCK out of him because it was literally the loveliest thing he'd ever seen.

he did possibly get laid for that, i'm sorry.

but yeah FRECKLE SUPREMACY KYLE AND SPECIFICALLY JERS. that man has so many freckles that his body looks like the night sky on a perfectly clear day, it is...beautiful. it is a work of damn ART.

anyways...i'm done now.

do we see the vision ( of loveliness )

that is jew jersey kyle matthew BROFRECKLOVSKI????

-uncle nina, feral about extremely freckly jersey

p.s. ravenstan, as a man of justice for all and fairness, basically loves all of kyle's one hundred thousand million freckles equally but there is a darker one that is just above the right curve of his lip...THAT IS HIS FAVORITE FRECKLE, I AM SO SORRY IT IS THE EQUIVALENT OF THE RAVENSTAN RIGHT UNDER EYE BEAUTY MARK BUT FOR STAN LIKE HE IS FEEEERAL ABOUT IT. he does...give it a special kiss often...very gay of him. his second favorite freckle is...

anyways!

Next Question. <3

[oddnry-silent]

•Infront of me.

>Y/N sacrificed himself so that Negan won't get Daryl to be one of them.

(Connected to >You hate me?< one-shot!)

Daryl Dixon x Male Reader

S7 EP1

Pronouns : He/Him

Pure Angst!

TW! Language, Mention of Killing! Guns! Blood!

Color text

Y/N Daryl Negan Rick Maggie Carol

!!READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

This one-shot contains killing, guns, and it's very detailed. If you're uncomfortable of any of the warnings before or during reading, please read another one-shot. I don't want my readers to be uncomfortable of my work so read at your own risk.

Tears and screams are heard from the group, seeing Glenn and Abraham die brutally by Negan with his baseball bat Lucille.

They kneel on the uncomfortable road with rocks, guns pointed behind their backs so that when they do something stupid, bang.

And the lifeless bodies on the ground makes their blood boil just kneeling there, doing nothing feels so fucking wrong for them.

Negan laughed like a maniac as he looked at Lucille, covered with Glenn and Abraham's blood, some flesh from their heads, everything.

He walked to Daryl and squatted down to face him. "You." He said as he pointed Lucille at Daryl makes Y/N drive crazy just by looking at them beside him.

"You're a big, big problem to us." Negan said as he lowered Lucille and looked at Daryl straight onto his eyes.

"You killed many men of mine, with a fucking RPG? That's what you call a big fucking badass!!" He said with his annoying tone of his.

Negan signaled Dwight and the other men to put Daryl onto he truck. "STOP!!!" Before Daryl was put into the truck, Y/N screamed with all of his heart out.

Negan looked back to Y/N and signaled the men to stop.

"Let's make a fucking deal, Negan." Y/N's voice broke by crying as he talk to Negan. Negan laughed as he squatted down to Y/N.

"No, no, no.." Daryl whispered as he forcing himself to break free from the men but it's useless.

"What do you want, is it Y/N?" Negan said as Y/N nodded, "Kill me with that bat of yours and let go of Daryl." Y/N said while looking at Negan's eyes seriously.

"NO!" Daryl shouted as he got punch by Dwight in the stomach.

"Let go of Daryl and DON'T hurt him." Y/N looked at Daryl got punched as tears fell from his eyes.

"Well well well!" Negan raised his eyebrow chuckling, "So you two have a thing?" Negan looked at Y/N.

"Boyfriends- no, husbands." Negan let out an "oooh" as he looked at Daryl crying.

"Why do you want to sacrifice yourself JUST for him?" Negan asked.

"I don't want you to torture him, I don't want you to lay a damn finger on him ever again. I'm sacrificing my life because I fucking love him with all of my heart." Y/N tried not to cry while talking.

"That's the power of love people!" Negan stood up as he laughed, and hit Y/N's head.

"NOOOOO!!" Daryl shouted as he looked at his husband's face, tears uncontrollably flow through his face seeing Y/N like that.

Blood gushed out of Y/N's face that you can see the flesh detach to Negan's bat.

Y/N sat there as he looked at Daryl, "Look.. a-at.. the paper.. I gave y-you earlier, love.." Y/N smiled at Daryl, as Negan hit Y/N head again the other side this time.

Y/N swinged the opposite way caused by the hit and he sat again. The blood dripped down endlessly and some parts blown with blood, his teeth was showing with a hanging flesh at the corner where Negan hit.

"You still stood up? What about this?" Negan hit the back of Y/N's head, causing Y/N to drop to the ground.

Blur is taking over Y/N's vision as he can only hear Daryl's screams. "I love you, Daryl Dixon.." Y/N tried to speak his last words as Negan hit the back of his head over and over again.

The brain pieces held onto the wires of Negan's bat along with flesh all over it, and blood flooded to the ground.

Daryl cried a lot, causing his body to give up as he kneeled down to the ground. The men didn't held him back up as he cried.

"We'll that is some good sacrificing shit I ever heard!" Negan still laughed like a maniac, making Daryl's blood boil.

"Let's roll out, leave them there." Negan signaled to everyone as they got into their own trucks and left the group, kneeled at the road.

Daryl rushed to Y/N's lifeless body, he kneeled down beside him and held his hand, his tear fell down uncontrollably.

He looked at Y/N's other arm, like it's holding something. He opened the hand, revealing 2 silver rings.

Daryl's eyes widened as he quickly got the paper out of his pocket that Y/N was talking about.

"Hey my love of my life, and the gorgeous man in the whole universe Daryl!

Look, I know I said read this after we drop off Maggie to the hilltop but guess what? I found 2 silver rings during our last supply run, but I don't have the guts to say that time soo will you marry me?

I know you would look up to me right now thinking "why is my man proposing to me with a paper?" I could imagine that right now while writing this!

I don't have time to propose to you because we're both busy and it's okay, as long as you read this letter, you'll say yes right?

I love you with all of my heart until the day I die Daryl, I would never let anyone to hurt you, I would kill someone that will lay a damn finger to you, all of that just for you my love.

Look, I know we met with a bad start but here we are now right? You don't get angry if I save you from a walker!

After you said sorry that night, Carol got inside and I told her about what you said, she laughed! "Us group didn't saw that side of Daryl yet!" She said and we both laugh our asses off (my scar kinda hurt so we stopped HAHA)

I really really reallllyy love you Daryl, you know that right?

I love you Daryl Dixon.

From your husband♡"

Daryl shouted painfully as he hugged the lifeless corpse, he closed his eyes shut and let his tears flow.

The others got shocked from the shout as they all looked at Daryl, Rick decided to walk to Daryl and held his shoulders.

"Hey man, we're sorry for your loss. We should get going now-" "No." Daryl said still hugging Y/N.

"We need to get Maggie to the Hilltop-" "Just fucking leave me alone Goddammit!!!" Daryl shouted at the man, who took a step back.

Rick looked at Y/N's other hand and saw the 2 silver rings. Rick's eyes widened and tapped Daryl's shoulders he went to the group.

The group leaved the spot as they took Glenn and Abraham's corpses while Daryl sat there beside Y/N, crying.

He took the rings and put one in Y/N's finger while the other on on himself. He rested his head to Y/N's back as he smelled his scent at his polo.

Flashbacks him and Y/N runned to his mind, taking over anything that he was thinking about.

▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎

After Daryl spoke to Y/N, he got out of the room and saw Carol standing beside the door.

"Did you said sorry young man?" Carol raised an eyebrow as Daryl nodded, "He's tired man, let em' sleep." Daryl looked at Carol and rolled his eyes.

"I'll just give him some meds Hershel gave to me, have a good night Daryl." She smiled and went inside the room as Daryl went outside.

He looked at the endless stars above as he sat at the front porch and sighed, he got one of his cigarettes and lit them up.

He stare at the stars, thinking deeply.

Y' know what, you'll protect him no matter what. I promised to ya, Daryl Dixon. It's your sorry for him because your stupid red head ass got angry at him for saving you.

He chuckled at the thought and went to his tent to sleep.

After that, Daryl protected Y/N no matter what happens. He'll be beside Y/N everytime while supply runs, missions, even at the dinner table. He kills walkers he saw at the distance so it won't hurt Y/N.

"Why ya doing this to me Daryl?" Y/N said suddenly while looking something useful at the shelves.

Daryl got silent as they heard soft groaning. Daryl quickly checked his surroundings, looking for the walker.

He looked at Y/N and saw the walker almost eat him. He quickly pulled the walker out of Y/N to the ground and stabbed the head many times until it was crushed.

"Daryl stop! It's dead!" Y/N pulled Daryl and they looked at the headless zombie at the ground, it's brains and flesh spreaded everywhere and it got Daryl's vest.

Daryl looked blankly at the walker, "Hey I'm sorry-" he turned around to Y/N as Y/N looked at Daryl's vest. "Omoo, you got flesh all over your vest!" Y/N faked cry as he looked at the vest, finding a cloth near them and brushed away the flesh.

"You haven't answered my question, Daryl." Y/N said with an serious tone and Daryl knows he is. "I.." Y/N raised an eyebrow to the taller man and tilted his head sideways.

"I...??" Y/N prolonged the word as he was done brushing off the flesh from the vest and throwed the cloth somewhere at the ground.

"I.. want to make up what I have done to you back then.." Daryl lowered his head and mumbled the words, enough Y/N to hear. Y/N chuckled as he cupped Daryl's face and make him face Y/N.

"It's fine, Daryl. That's not a big problem.." Y/N reassured Daryl as Daryl shook his head, "It is, Y/N-" His words got cut by Y/N's lips connecting to him.

Daryl's stomach exploded with butterflies all over and without hesitation, he kissed back Y/N with his hands on Y/N cheeks.

From that day, they become boyfriends. They care for each other, taking care of each other, and especially, loving each other full time.

From the farm, the prison, to the roads, and straight to Alexandria. They been together and they got their backs for each other.

▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎

Not until this day, Daryl failed to protect his love of his life.

That promise he made for his love broke.

He walked back to the hilltop with Y/N on his hands, not talking to anyone. He buried Y/N himself and sat beside him for the rest of the day, with no eat or sleep.

Maggie got out with a plate full of food in her hands and sat down with Daryl at the bench.

Maggie out he plate beside Daryl and sighed. "Look Daryl, Y/N don't want you to be like this. Think about it, him seeing you like this up there makes him sad. You don't want him to be sad because of you right?"

Daryl nodded slowly as Maggie put her hand and rubbed circles at the man's back.

"I just broke the promise I made myself jus' for 'im.. And 'm completely stupid." Daryl said as he looked down to Y/N's grave, silently crying.

"You're not stupid, he knows that you did all of your best just for him, and he wants something for you in return. He didn't said your stupid, Daryl. And you're not." Maggie said as she heard Daryl crying silently.

"It's hard to move on, even for me. I'll never forget what happened and we, we will take our revenge just for them alright?" Maggie tried not to cry as Daryl nodded.

"I will fucking kill that bastard." "Yeah, we will."

▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎

It's connected to >You hate me?< one-shot because of the flashback so yeaaaah!

THIS IS SAD I KNOW IM CRYING WHILE READING D':

THANK YOU FOR READING! LOVE YOU

[bahamutgames]

Super Afterthoughts Wonder

Game: Super Mario Wonder (October 20, 2023)

Console: Nintendo Switch

Only 2 days until the most important game of all time comes out. And I only have 2 big games I haven't written any thoughts about yet... Hmmm... could I pull it off and have a clean video-game related plate come this Friday? Maybe! Probably not though.

Regardless, now that Mario Wonder has sat for a little bit and we're past the honeymoon phase, I've been wanting to talk about it for a bit. So why not? Let's go ahead and spill the beans (petals?) about this new Mario adventure!

As always, this isn't a review. So please don't read it as such. This is just me throwing up my thoughts because I can't stop talking so damn much about video games. Seriously, I think it's a condition. So please don't use ANY of my afterthoughts as a guide on if you should buy the game or not.

SPOILERS FOR SUPER MARIO WONDER BELOW! YOU MIGHT NOT THINK THERE'S MUCH TO SPOIL, BUT IF YOU'D RATHER NOT SEE, DON'T READ!

Opening

So as some of you may be aware, I'm a little into Mario. For various reasons I've fallen out of love with the series, but for most of my life it truly was my favorite franchise of all time. So, while I'm not as enthusiastic about the series nowadays, I still keep close tabs on it and will check out whatever catches my eye (usually the main series games and the RPGs though those has been kinda out of a sense of obligation lately lol)

However, Wonder looked like another winner. And at first I was probably gonna pass it by cause I'm exceptionally broke atm. But my awful Mario brain got the better of me, so I caved and picked up Wonder! And now we're here, $60 poorer than before!

Stuff I liked

But anyway, I like the main series Mario games, pretty much all of them. And while I PREFER the 3D ones, I also love the 2D ones and have a soft spot for them (Super Mario World was my first game ever afterall) and as such, I actually enjoy the NSMB games, yes especially U (my least favorite is 2). And this game really looked like what I wanted from the next entry of the series. Continuing what New did right, while finally taking the chance to spread its wings and actually embrace a new direction with unique enemies rather than kinda just doing what had come before, regardless of how solid that was.

And, yes! I'm happy to say Wonder delivers on that amazingly! Everything is such a massive step up from NSMB. Massively improved art, creative new enemies and gimmicks being the focus rather than a fun bonus (if that makes sense lol), brand new sounding music, and something a little more story focused. But, it doesn't lose what made NSMB great, it still feels like the next step rather than abandoning what came before. You can notice this especially with stuff like Nabbit, Ala-Gold+Bucken Berry, and a focus on multiplayer.

So where to begin? The game looks GREAT, I love the forced perspective thing it has going on, the whole thing is GORGEOUS. The music is fun and energetic. The new enemies are delightful and fun (my favorite is probably the firework Bob-omb but there were a lot of greats like the slimes, baby thwomps, and sea cucumbers). I really loved that this game had a big focus on story too. I was surprised to see it actually have dialogue, a lot more than you would expect. There's set up and context to almost every world with some fun explanations on what's happening in each world. And it really helps add in a small way to making the world feel alive.

This game also FEELS great to play. This is almost a guarantee with Mario but they knocked it out of the park with this one. It's been a bit since I've played NSMB but this just feels so smooth and nice to play. Everything flows together nicely, the levels are fun and charming, I LOVE that there's tons of characters to pick (I played the whole game as Peach and I was SO happy to see Daisy be there finally.), and I really enjoyed the powerups. Drill was super fun but I actually think Bubble turned out to be the star of the show. It sounds like a kinda stupid or not particularly useful ability but MAN you get some mileage out of it and it's so fun to use imo. And I also really liked the badges! A lot of stuff in this actually felt a bit like it was inspired by Mario RPGs, and while this may be a coincidence, the badges feeling like something from the RPGs was certainly a great bonus. They're all extremely fun but I got SO much out of the parachute cap, and I basically used it the whole game with very few exceptions.

And of course, the main draw of the game: Wonder Seeds! Usually when I see something like this, it almost always immediately registers in my head as "stupid gimmick shoehorned in to put something on the back of the box" and that's what I thought about these at first. And while that might be what they are, they're actually FANTASTIC! Almost every level has a totally unique Wonder Seed effect to itself with very few repeats. And they're all a ton of fun, you genuinely don't know what'll happen next and it kept the game very fresh and fun the whole way through! My favorite was the slime one (for Slime Peach) but I also loved the top-down camera one. The whole game had lots of fun stuff like this, and even fun side levels I wasn't expecting to see such as Break-Times where you do a more relaxed challenge, or Treasure Hunts where you find coins hidden in a level. These sound boring but were actually a blast!

Which leads me into my final big positive and maybe my favorite part of the game. The multiplayer, no sadly I didn't get to play a lot of the game with local co-op. I'm talking about that online multiplayer. Specifically the ghost thing. When I saw this in the trailers I thought it would be a feature I only use once or twice then turn off the whole game. No. I LOVED this mode and had it on the WHOLE game! I'm not exaggerating when I say this added something so magical to the game that I really had never considered before. Having this multiplayer mode where you can't interfere with anyone, but you can still work together from afar was SO fun. Sometimes I'd meet people and we played the level together, or I'd find standees that hinted about secrets (huge for treasure hunt levels), or you'd just see someone and goof around with them a bit before being on your way. Regardless, it was a BLAST every time I got to be around others in this game. My favorite situations are when me and another player would go through a whole level, particularly through tough sections, and constantly revive each other to get to the end. It may seem small, but it genuinely made an already fun game SO much more fun of an experience and I genuinely hope we get to see this more going forward. Imagine a game like Bowser's Fury but sometimes you'll just randomly run into another player like Journey or something. And then you both fuck around for a bit, exchange items, and go about your way. Again, it sounds small but I think it was easily my favorite part of the game!

Stuff I didn't like

So, naturally, as is the case with all games. I don't think Mario Wonder is perfect. There's a few issues I have with it. First and foremost: It's kinda short? Like, I'm pretty sure it's shorter than NSMBU. But I can look past that because, hey, quality over quantity right? Other small issues include the Elephant power, while cute, and allowing for some fun water carrying stuff... Is kinda boring honestly. You get a surprising amount of mileage out of a short melee attack, but overall I think Bubble and Drill totally steal the show from it, considering it's the main power-up of the game.

Secondly, considering this game is REALLY themed around music. I kinda feel like they don't make enough of an effort to make the game... super music themed? Like, obviously it IS. But I feel like it could be MORE musically. I genuinely didn't really even notice the music theme until I reached the final battle. And while the game does have some FANTASTIC music levels that genuinely got a big rise out of me when I encountered the first one. I kinda feel like they're not that exciting, at least in terms of the music cause the visuals for all of them are great. But like, Piranha Plant Parade is SO good and is so loud and in your face. But I genuinely do not remember the music in a SINGLE other musical level, which is a disappointment. There was a King Boo Opera and a Halloween Rave. I should remember those, right??

Lastly, and I think most importantly. The biggest issue I had with Mario Wonder, and what is certainly the biggest disappointment of the game for me: The Boss Battles. There's certainly a good amount of them. About 5 I think, with a few mini bosses if you REALLY wanna stretch the definition of Mini Bosses. 4 of those fights are Bowser Jr. and then the final boss. And while they're fine battles. The desert fight and the final boss being particular highlights... That's... just such a let down? Mario games have been pretty good with their boss variety lately. 3D World had LOTS of fun guys, Odyssey had some of my favorite fights in a while, Bowser's Fury had a FANTASTIC boss that lasted the whole game, even NSMB when it recycled the koopalings, did do new fights with them every time and sometimes included new stuff like a Kamek boss or a giant Sumo Bro. But this? Just 4 bosses that are all kinda the same? It's sorta insane to me. 2 worlds don't even have fights! I was actually so utterly confused by this, it genuinely felt like I did something wrong and wasn't getting the real ending to the world. It's super weird and while it doesn't ruin the game, I look forward to those boss fights a lot so it certainly was a let down.

Final Thoughts

Mario Wonder is a FANTASTIC game that, once again, like Bowser's Fury, makes me VERY excited and hopeful for the future of 2D Mario games. I don't think it's perfect, and I might still have a bigger soft spot for some earlier 2D Mario's, but this game is absolutely at the top of the list and is a FANTASTIC entry to the series. I have TONS of confidence in the next 2D Mario if more of this is what we can expect in the future. Just... Please consider making some boss fights for next time? Please?

===

Thanks for reading! This one might be a little disorganized. But I figured I got time while I wait for work DMs. So why not churn out another afterthoughts, right? You love reading me talk about games in a super chaotic and disorganized fashion, right? RIGHT!?

Well, regardless, I love writing them cause I love talking about games. I heard it might be a condition. But don't quote me on that.

Things are looking up for Mario it seems. I'm interested to get my hands on some of the new stuff coming out for the series soon. I'll keep you posted on if I try any of it out, of course. We'll see how it goes!

That's all I have for now, go out and play damn good platformer!

[usagi-mitsu]

Werlyt & Gaius - a bunch of thoughts.

I am a little late to the party. I know. But I just finished the Emerald weapon and before I go to try out the „not Zenos“ weapon as in „Diamond“, I need to get my thoughts on the story straight.

Perhaps I have been spoiled by 5.0s brilliant MSQ and cannot appreciate the inherent beauty of at least decent writing any longer. But this felt so wrong and out of tune with the rest of the game. I started writing this 2 hours ago! I wanted to one in bed by now! XD But I had to get it out of my system… so….

Spoilers for the MSQ and Werlyt incoming??? And no I did not re-read this so not just spoilers but also writing errors incoming. -.-

The good

These fights are epic! I have only ever cleared the normal versions, but I loved those. They are amazing. The callbacks to Eula (her being a woman here! When did they discover that???), Regula (may he rest in peace) and Gaius himself in his prime were delightful. But I could do with a little less rotating, ok? A dragoon has positional, you know? And being allowed to pilot my very own mecha was like *chefs kiss*. On that front? Well done Square Enix!

I am also glad they were able to get another use out of Porta Praetora! That place looks amazing with the wide open field and the lake – and Ala Mhigo across it. It was one of my favourite Stormblood areas and I am always glad to return there. And of course… being able to visit the allied camp again… And Werlyt itself. It’s simply a beautiful place. It reminds me very much of southern Greece. If you’ve watched the movie Mamma Mia you know what I mean.

The music too was really nice. But I don’t think I’ll… you know… listen to it on repeat as I am doing with other parts of the soundtrack.

I’ve also loved how much amazing lore we got about Garlemald and especially the garlean military. And the military abroad. The way soldiers not from the mainland get treated. I love learning about these things.

Gaius

The man. The legend. The guy yelling in Prae.

He’s so very boring here. He has so much potential as a character and maybe I’m missing something, but all throughout this story he has been nothing but passive. He’s a reactive character in this storyline. You know. The guy who made deals with Lahabread (the d is intended), tried to take over Eorzea, lead a whole army, stood idly by as the moon dropped, almost died but then decided just not to die and then though „hm… I’ve got so much freetime now. How about I go and hunt some ascians?“ That guy is NOT a reactive character. He is active. He goes out of his way to make shit he wants happen. And in here? He seems too starstruck and devastated by his adopted kids actions to actually have one clear thought.

The only explanation I have is that he might have gotten hit in the head by something on his way to the ruby weapon. I get why he would rely on Cid for help, but the WoL??? The alliance? If you wish to be an ally and help or something, fucking act like it. You were a former legatus and I expect you to live up to your name – even after retiring.

And yeah.. I guess it’s hard having to watch your kids willingly, knowingly dying. But you fucking raised them. You are a big part of the reason to why they are in that predicament. So like… Aside from that I don’t even get why you are in this story at all.

And for the record: I’m not sorry for him. I’m just flabbergasted by all the bullshit we’ve been learning about him.

To be quite honest, I think this story could have worked just as well or maybe even better, if we got another man as the „hero“ of the story. I am talking about none other than our engineering, hammer-swinging, ex-enemy - of course talking about Nero!

The MSQ has long established that his research into the Ultimate Weapon had been taken, twisted and turned – Estinien had to experience this first-hand. I’m not saying that Nero was in need of a redemption arc and I cannot remember if these weapons were of his creation or even stem from anything he did, but it would make so much more sense for me, to have him confront his past in the garlean military like this and be responsible for the death of his former colleagues. Soldiers that he served with, whom he faught with. Give me Nero and them working together to get the weapons going and him bonding with them as his pilots to a degree. Comrades. Not that strange familiar bond that Gaius appareantly has with them. … Scratch that: Let Gaius be the father figure. Him being that wouldn’t change Nero’s relationship with them, but maybe his with Gaius as his superior.

The story wouldn’t even need to try and redeem Nero: He has already gone through major character development with the MSQ and the Omega raid tier. It would simply be Nero, confronted with the things he created, hopefully instilling more morals and a sense of responsibility for his creations. Heck: Let Cid yell at the guy! Seriously! Cid sticking around to help out would make so much more sense if it was Nero instead of freaking Gaius! Cid hated the guy! He might be a professional, but he is not one to torture himself by staying around a guy he (as far as I know) detests.

Make Nero the central figure and give Cid and Gaius the roles of „angel and demon“: One desperately trying to reach out to his old friend, reminding him why they became engineers and trying to make him realise that he can’t just run around designing weapons and leaving the scematics for everyone to read; while the other has trouble letting go of his imperial past and is struggling to see the errors of his ways – if Nero was wrong, than he (Gaius) was wrong too -and of course they did all of this for their home, to further their cause, and to bring peace to the savage lands of Eorzea, who had been fighting amongst themselves for so long… You get the point.

And you could still have these gundam themed fights. But I think everything would make so much more sense in general.

But speaking of which-

The children

I do not truly care for any of them. And that is a shame: I do think there are great characters and dynamics hidden behind these very few cutscenes. When they were first introduced I was wondering why I was suddenly watching „heartwarming“ cutscenes of my foes as children – until I realised that I was supposed to care and that they were supposed to make me feel pity for Gaius. I was supposed to feel bad for him, because they died and he blames himself. But while their fates so far have been gruesome, I cannot say that I am sad they died. They chose to die as they did. There were a myriad more options. And they chose that.

Actually. Their whole story makes me feel like they were huge masochist from the very beginning. They could have just run away and gotten help from someone more competent than them, but they stayed in an abusive military arrangement just so nobody else got hurt?? Please. Use your brains next time. And for the Berserk-like torture scene? I mean. I get what was implied here. But was it necessary? As a writer myself I follow the rule that torture and sexual violence should never be used in a story, unless it must be in there for the story to work or to bring across a vital point important to the story or it’s moral (or if you are writing porn and you are into it – but we are talking official in-game content here). But the violence towards these „children“ seems unnecessary for the plot and the violence of their deaths by piloting the weapons is already gruesome enough. Sometimes it’s better to leave things like this out – the emotional torture of feeling stuck and having a martyrs complex would have been enough here, I think. If the rest of the story had been well written at least.

(I believe my utter lack of sympathy shows how little character developement they had. I love tragic characters, who choose to suffer for the good of other people – even better if those people don’t even like them. It’s just my thing. And those kids are just… well.)

Their reasons and especially why they were making Allie out as the one who would need to survive was also just… weird. Like. I feel like 75% of what happened would not have happened, if they actually talked to each other, used their brains and had done something about their problems. But no…

These characters are also so exchangeable with basic anime/j-RPG character tropes… I only remember Alfonse, Rex and Allie – because I just did the Emerald weapon. And right afterwards I thought, „huh. So… Fullmetal Alchemist?“ Which brings me to my third point …

…the story at large.

„Pacing is a virtue“ or was it patience..? Anyhow: The author of this story should have had more patience with his story and characters and taken a bloody break! And I am not talking about the obvious blunder of „How is Allie feeling?“, „she is in shock and you cannot talk to her“ turning to „oh yeah if you are careful you can talk to her now“. I mean. WTF. That was MAYBE 10-20 in-game minutes of dialogue.

But everything was moving so very fast – and not even in a good way. There are few things better than a fast paced, action rich story about a group of young people trying to safe (their) world. But if you try to cram in two expansions worth of character development and story telling into about two hours of content each patch.. Well, then you get whatever the hell this is.

Gaius is a very interesting character and while I did not understand why they needed to bring him back in 4.4 (?), I do see how he could be a good asset for endwalker. And his involvement in 5.0 with Estinien was just a dear delight. So I am not opposed to learning more about him, to watching his character grow and changed with time. But I am not ready for badly written content of which 50% get told by suddenly induced echo-sequences. I mean – weren’t there rules for the echo at some point???

I’m not sure which one of the devs said it, but the feature that let’s you play an NPC is super convenient for them to tell the story, because before they could only show what happened where the WoL was.

And that’s just it. Rule number 1 in writing anything is „Show don’t tell“. It feels like they literally turned this one around for these cutscenes. While Valens torture and diet-Fandaniel-routine were very much „show“, the rest of the story was one long cutscene of exposition: We get exposition by Cid, by Gaius, by echo, by Gaius and his crew again, then by Allie. Before having to watch scenes we are not there for.

BTW. Dear square Enix: Your writers are capable of writing amazing villains, antagonist and despicable assholes. You don’t have to write „asshole, must die“ on Valens name card. And I also think the „WoL, strike here“ sign above his head was a tad bit too much. Nuance, dear writers. Nuance. Or perhaps I just got spoiled by these last few foes in the MSQ.

When I said I wanted to just be able to punch a bad guy for once and not feel bad about it, I did not mean this! I meant that I just wanted to play training dummy with Danny-Boy.

(Oh! And as far as I’m concerned you can just… sideline Gaius … „would be killer“ and the lady? Make them targetable NPCs with Dialoge to read. Let them stand somewhere accessible and comment on the latest developement. But ffs don’t give me hour long speeches about how you are going to kill Gaius if he does something you don’t like. The guy could and would wipe the floor with you if he felt like it. -.- So. Please. Shut up.)

Conclusion

Basically. I have to finish the Diamond weapon. But I doubt it will change my perception of this story line even in the slightest.

To be perfectly honest though … bringing Gaius back, having this story with and about him, forcing a sort of redemption ark here. It feels like they are really „grooming“ him to be a morally grey ally in Endwalker, with perhaps a big part to play in the endgame. At this point I wouldn’t even be surprised if they pulled a GoT and made him „King in the North“. Or if they had him die a heroic death to save the world, but especially his country. And to do so they need us to think his sacrifice means something. Or that he is the right person to lead Garlemald into a new future (I don’t think he is). But: For one, neither we (the players) nor the characters need to find him worthy of throne or death by heroism for his sacrifice/ascension to work. To be a useful tool for the story, only the other garleans who might oppose the alliance and scions need to deem him or his sacrifice „worthy“. And only they. And Ishikawa-san has all of 6.0 to accomplish whatever the hell she needs him for. He did not need to be the center of his own botched redemption ark. If that’s what they wanted to do. Or maybe I’m looking at this all wrong and all they wanted was to give the writes in training some literal training grounds to test their abilities.

But! On a positive note: I have yet to be told that raids and other side content are canon to any degree. So when playing the next story quests I’ll blissfully ignore all that happened in Werlyt and if it get’s mentioned (because they do that sometimes when you’ve done certain content) I’ll just ignore it.

Happy ignoring! Also: GIVE ME MORE NERO CONTENT!

[sugurus-slxt]

Hiya! May I request a matchup (Ruby) for Jujutsu Kaisen for the follower event? I just stumbled onto your blog; congratulations on getting 100 followers! Let’s see…I’m 5’9” and 25 years old, I have shoulder length wavy light blonde hair (bleached), hazel eyes, pale-ish skin, and kind of an athletic body type (with a little bit of chub). I’m pretty quiet and tend to keep to myself, but if I’m around friends or anyone that I’m comfortable with, I can be pretty loud. I have been told that when I laugh, I can be heard from several rooms over. I don’t really take life too seriously, I mostly just go with the flow. I’m a pacifist; I don’t like to start arguments or fights and I HATE confrontation. However, if someone genuinely pisses me off, I will not hesitate to call them out. I get rather shaky and anxious when doing so though, as I’m not used to it. I’m also pretty open minded and I try to see things from everyone’s point of view.

I love to hike, go running, read, bake/cook, play video games (occasionally), and listen to music! I like EDM; drum & bass, electronica, trance, chill etc. I listen to other stuff besides that, if it’s pleasing to my ears, I will listen to it. I generally read stuff on tumblr, but if it’s a book I gravitate towards fiction! I’m a Libra, and my mbti type is ISFP (though some other tests I’ve taken have typed me as an ISTP, I’m in the middle with thinking and feeling). I like to stay active, as I get bored if I’m not. I mainly do trail running since I love being outside! I have an appreciation for art in any form, and I enjoy looking at what others have created. My favorite types of video games are RPGS, or anything I can get lost in. I also have a weakness for horror games, or anything horror related. I like to listen to horror podcasts, and research urban legends and creatures. I honestly would love to go urban exploring, but I don’t want to risk getting caught trespassing on private property! I also have a pretty big sweet tooth, I have practically zero willpower when it comes to desserts.

Ok, some of these are oddly specific, but some things I dislike are closed minded people, people getting in my personal space, public speaking (I would rather throw myself off a cliff), the colors orange and yellow, deviled eggs, and country music (sorry to the people who love it, ya’ll are still great, keep doing your thing 😆). I’ve had sensory issues ever since I was little (I was always over sensitive), and people getting close to me or touching me has always made me feel very uncomfortable/nervous. I struggle with showing affection, so I can be seen as rather detached or aloof at times. I’m not a very clingy or needy person; I prefer being independent. Also, I can get somewhat irritated if a person keeps offering to help me with something I can easily do on my own. As silly as this sounds, even if their intentions are pure, I feel as though they are saying that I’m incapable. Unsurprisingly, I have a lot of trouble asking for help. I prefer to work things out on my own. I prefer to stay in my comfort zone, and I rarely move out of it. However, deep down inside, I’m craving an adventure.

My style varies; I can go from looking like an up and coming professional runner to a troll that lives underneath a nearby bridge. I tend to favor a lot of darker colors, black is my number one go-to! I wear a lot of athletic leggings and sweatshirts/oversized t-shirts. Mostly because they’re comfy. I do love the cottage core aesthetic, though my clothing/room doesn’t reflect that. For who I seek, I suppose I’m looking for someone who is similar to me! Someone who I can feel comfortable with, and someone who isn’t super into PDA (or too clingy). I can be kind of goofy at times, so a sense of humor would be nice too. Some other things real quick, my dream vacation(s) would be going to Oregon or visiting the Netherlands! My dream jobs would be either a pastry chef (hell just put me in the kitchen in a bakery and let me bake), or working at a nursery/greenhouse. I like to work with my hands, so I would love either one!

I don’t exactly have any characters that I don’t want, I’m just curious as to who I will be matched with! Take your time and have a wonderful day 🙂

Personality Matchup

One 𝑅𝓊𝒷𝓎 coming right up for anon

A/Note: Hey thank you so very much for visiting THE VAULT. I hope you like your match up :) Sorry that I’ve taken so long, I’ve been preoccupied with school, and even though you said to take my time I think I took way too much. I hope you enjoy this. Love <3 ~ Sar-chan

I match you with...

Runner Up: Inumaki Toge

Here are some HCs:

Nanami definitely loves your loud side though he often comes off as reserved I think he really likes how from being super quiet outside or in a meeting to just saying what you’ve been holding back from saying. He loves hearing you talk and every time you shift from quiet to loud he lets out a soft chuckle and a smile he’ll hide away from you.

I think when Nanami is with you he’d find ways to crack jokes just to hear you laugh and he often has this running line, “I’d say I wish your laughs were all mine but I’m sure the neighbour heard it dear,” and finish off with, “I’m joking it’d be a crime not to share your laugh with the world. You and your laugh are far too beautiful to keep hidden.”

I think your personalities and natures would compliment each other nicely. I feel like both of you give a very “it” couple vibe.

Regardless of the suit Nanami wears, I think he dresses more comfortably in his free time. Larger more oversized clothes specifically sweaters and looser pants. He often lends you his sweater, he was a bit hesitant at first but seeing you in his clothes makes his lips quirk into a smile he won’t let you see.

I think Nanami enjoys reading for you especially if you lay against him (if you’re up for it) as both of you get settled for bed. If you fall asleep while he’s writing he’ll place a soft kiss on your forehead and whisper ‘I love you’ as he places the book to the side and repositions you to lay down.

If an argument ever happens to break out between you and Nanami he’ll try his best to bring it to more of a conversation he doesn’t like yelling and he doesn’t want to make you anxious.

He often accompanies you on hikes but almost always on runs because it’s also good for his physique and he gets to spend a bit of extra time with you.

Nanami favourite moments are when he gets to hear you talk about your day in the evening but he also appreciates the quiet moments where you both are just anywhere in the same room doing your own thing, he likes your presence and if the other sees something interesting and just points it out.

He isn’t clingy but Nanami gets touchy on mornings if he’s had a nightmare about you or he’s had an extremely bad day. He likes when you smiley hold him and run your fingers through his hair. He just likes knowing you're there.

I feel like you’d buy Nanami a nicer tie and though he loves you he just might refuse because he’s very accustomed to them and they are in a way essential.

Nanami isn’t the video game type but I think there might be a few select ones he’ll try out with you on the weekends and he just might get pretty addicted to one.

If you ask Nanami he might just take you to some of the places he’s exorcized curses from and as put together as he looks, he’s definitely trespassed. He’ll take you to some quite chilling places and he’ll be keeping an eye on you, however, if you do happen to get scared he will snicker just a bit. He’ll probably take you to a bakery or a coffee shop after to make up for it.

Nanami likes to watch you work in the kitchen if you’re baking up a storm he’ll probably be nearby reading a book but sometimes he’ll leave you to it because he knows you like pace as well.

EXTRA:

I hope you liked it, I apologize for taking such a long time.

THE VAULT IS NOW CLOSED, THANK YOU :)

[hopefulstarfire]

Watta Plays: Dragon Quest Starter Sentences

So. One of my best friends has his own YouTube channel. And to show my support and to get his channel out there because if anyone deserves a spotlight, it's him, I figured why not bring in some highlights as sentence starters for people? Useable for writing prompts and rp purposes! Please feel free to reblog, change pronouns as needed and please go check out my buddy Watta Plays!

This may/will contain spoilers from Dragon Quest XI S. This post also covers quotes from episodes 1-12 of the playthrough.

"Oh, that's not odd."

"Oh, okay! Okay! Just a couple of Headless Horsemen! Nothing to be afraid of, nothing to worry about, just....oh boy."

"Hey, isn't that the guy from Smash Bros?"

"You're not nearly as important as that doggo, I am so sorry."

"That doggo requires my attention."

"I'm gonna love it here. I'm home."

"You made me talk to you for irrelevant information. You're first on The List."

"Aw, come on! They're not monsters! They're just...little blobs of joy and happiness!"

"Ah, medicinal -- medicinal herbs -- right, yeah. Yes, yes, medicinal. Strictly medicinal purposes, those herbs. Yes. Understood. Understandable. Have a nice day."

"You're uh...you're not the strongest fighter...are you."

"Is this town just a cult?"

"This music tells me Boss Fight."

"Oh this is some Sly Cooper shit right here."

"This music is giving me some anxiety."

"No, no, no we're going to worry about that now! What the hell was that? No, no, we're not going to wait until later. You tell me what that is, you tell me what that is right now!"

"(Name)? (Name)! You can't leave me like that!"

"There was no Christopher Columbus. He was a lie. A big fat phony."

"Excuse the what now?"

"I know I've been making a lot of Zelda references, but..."

"This isn't gonna be like Kingdom Hearts, where I take a ride to the island and I never see or hear from you again, right?"

"This is triggering a lot of my danger alarms."

"You know my memory is as foggy as those wind spirits up there."

"Let me get this straight. You tell me not to spend it all in one place, and direct me to the exact place in which I can spend it all in one place?"

"So I have to confess my sins to save the game."

"Can we go back to the part where you found me in a river??"

"Aw, sweetie. I've already forgotten you."

"I certainly hope I don't end up regretting that."

"What's so great about the pendant?"

"They've got four chandeliers and a balcony. If that's not fancy, I don't know what is."

"Oh, I already don't like you, friend."

"Why do I have a feeling he's going to slaughter everyone there?"

"Making a racket WILL help me!"

"You're gonna free me, right? You're not gonna kill me, yeah??"

"How long were you in there to dig that big of a hole?"

"Guess I should have accepted those quests before I became public enemy number one."

"Where the hell is that organ music coming from?"

"The rule of three doesn't matter here, don't give me a rule of three!"

"I don't wanna be Kentucky Fried Hero!"

"I would rather not be impaled today, thank you."

"I can't go back to the slammer! I did my time! ...Except that I didn't do my time."

"I think your brain map is kind of out of date."

"Can you just carry me? I need you to carry me."

"Damn, those archers scare the shit out of me."

"Famous last words; I'm gonna be fine."

"I thought it was gonna be a little secret chest alcove, I didn't think he was gonna be there!"

"You said you got jailed a year ago, do you think it's still there?"

"I bet you there's some regret in there."

"So guard boy likes money...oh, and hot singles in your area."

"I still don't trust him. Never trust a merchant. Then again, never trust big money."

"Why are appearing everywhere I go?? And in the most random places?"

"His eyes follow me. Oh, I don't like that. I don't like that at all. I'm getting out of here, I'm not dealing with that."

"Welp, I guess we're heading out at night. That's a spooky thought."

"Now I'm really gonna wish I had that sword."

"It's fine! Kid's not dead! All is good!"

"It's the hot single in our area!"

"Alright, you and me, (name), against the world! Or, rather...against...the government?"

"Oh God, what the hell are you!?"

"I hope that's not gonna come back to bite me in the ass."

"Screw it! Screw it! We'll just fight everything not super dangerous along the way!"

"I don't wanna risk him living to see another day."

"Discount goods??? Discount goods!!!"

"Oh, get a little pep in your step, buddy!"

"The pep is real!!"

"Don't antagonize them! You, like -- you almost died!!"

"What are these little goblinoid things??"

"It's hideous! But...yet...I'm intrigued."

"That's definitely not a good thing, but goddamn if it isn't funny."

"Everything went perfectly, according to plan! Everything!"

"Poor lumberjack doggo."

"Oh, WE'RE the cheeky devils??"

"OKAY, so he's got multi target attacks and he uses fire! Good to know, good to know."

"He'll die by my hand!! MY HAND!!"

"Is that a cow?? What's a cow doing here???"

"TALKING COW! TALKING COW! WHAT THE HELL!? TALKING COW!?"

"Also money. Don't forget money. I would like some money."

"Yeah, I know, my hair is marvelous and magnificent."

"I mean, I'm fine with it if you wanna stay here and praise me for the ends of all eternity. I'm perfectly fine with that."

"O, great angel of the church, I murdered a man today."

"I murdered a demon in cold blood. That's probably a good thing. That's probably what God would want me to do but, you know."

"I'm about to make pulled pork outta these guys."

"Everything's fine. Nobody's dead today."

"Holy shit, did I travel back in time!?"

"I was joking when I said I'd forget about you guys!"

"I don't think I need to confess my sins this time."

"Yeah, I joked about it a lot, so maybe that why it hurts, but..."

"Third rule of RPGs: always check behind the waterfalls."

"You'd think that living this close to a river, or to a lake or something, they would have taught you how to swim."

"Sorry (name), we're gonna leave you in my dust."

"I don't wanna have to look up a guide for something this stupid."

"Holy shit, I'M the heir to the throne!?"

"But, (name), grudges are the best things to bear! It's so fun to bear a grudge!"

"I need revenge, man."

"When you say rightfully yours...you mean that you rightfully stole it."

"Let's teach those assholes a lesson!"

"What a perfect time to raid a government facility for an item that was once stolen, that we're now stealing again."

"You're gonna carry me through this dungeon, right?"

"Oh, it's just a corpse."

"Oh, you're not tricky devils. You're just little devils."

"I don't know what that is, but I gotta fight it."

"How deep does this thing go?? It's like a fucking pyramid in here."

"Hell yeah! We're not dying today, boyos!!"

"He's actually rabid, oh no."

"Kinda unfortunate, but, I mean, I'll take it."

"That wad quite a teleport, young man."

"I have stolen his secret stash!!"

"I don't know if my heart can handle another chase scene!"

"Why are they hiding a dragon under the capital? Like, seriously?"

"Hello, snail!"

"This party is an equal opportunity provider."

"Come down here so I can smack ya ass."

"You're not Minotaur Man! You're an imposter!"

"This is a bar. I don't think this is where I'm supposed to be."

"That's why they sound so weird! They're speaking in haiku!"

"This dude has seen some shit."

"I'm ready for my indoctrination, Mr. Cult Leader."

[itawonka-creates]

This Jewelry Will End Up Killing Me - CH 1

So this Konosuba AU actually got attention and I love this dumb fleeting idea so I’ll run with it. It’ll be short and the chapters won’t be super long, but - by god’s name - there will be a story arch. [Prologue] [Chapter 2]

“What are your parents’ names?”

“Talia and Bruce.”

“Siblings?”

“Too many.”

“Pets?”

“Is this going to be the whole trip with you?” Marinette pouted and he rolled his eyes, “You don’t get out much do you?”

“Nope. Alya’s the adventurous one. I get kind jealous of her and Nino’s travels.”

“Alya?”

“Alya’s my best friend and Nino’s my longest friend. They make a very effective couple.” He hummed in acknowledgement. Keeping her talking meant he didn’t have to answer any more questions. “Do you have a best friend?” Of course it didn’t last.

Damian thought about it for a while before shrugging, “Jon. He’s one of the only people who can keep up with me and we work well together.” He scowled and pointed at her, “Never tell him that.”

Marinette blinked and shrugged, “Okay?”

Right, she didn’t know Jon. She didn’t know anything. Tikki tapped his shoulder and he looked around, “Are we close?”

“Very.” She looked at the bustling crowd in front of her and grabbed his arm, “C’mon.” Damian allowed himself to get dragged around the unfamiliar town and simply took in the scenery. As big as it initially seemed, he figured it wasn’t too hard to navigate. He looked around at the peaceful atmosphere and found himself feeling a bit envious. He thought back to his city and to the state he left it in. This world had literal monsters, yet his city was the one in tatters. “Damian?”

“Hm?” He brought his attention back to an odd looking building with large doors. If this was an RPG, this place would be begging to be interacted with. “I’m assuming this is the place.”

“Yep.” She stood there for a moment and motioned for him to open it. Damian sighed and pushed through the entrance and was immediately greeted by a man sitting by a bar. He looked rugged and almost stereotypical in his appearance. He was an adventurer for sure, but the leering put him on the defensive side. He was about to say something when Marinette gasped, “What are you wearing?” The man blinked and looked down at his clothes. She didn’t hesitate to run to his side and pull him to his feet, “Who told you this was a good look?”

“What?”

Damian widened his eyes once he realized this girl had a death wish. “Marinette-”

She didn’t even acknowledge him. She had the same look in her eye when she first looked at his costume. It was starting to give him the creeps. “This bulky armor doesn’t compliment you at all! I mean you look like a weird puffed up bird! No figure or anything!” She shook her head, “You need something leaner. You have broad shoulders but a small waist. This just hangs off of you and makes you look huge!”

Damian smacked the back of her head, “Marinette!”

The man towered over them and almost glared at her. Damian pulled Marinette behind him and tensed. This girl had death wish being so forward and insulting a man clearly used to fighting. He stepped forward and Damian reached to grab a weapon before the man frowned, “Is it really that bad?”

“Yes!”

“What?” Marinette pushed forward and continued talking to the man, giving him tips even. “What?” She shushed Damian and pushed him away as she continued to give the adventurer tips. “What?”

She finally turned and snapped at him, “What, Damian, what?” Damian really wanted to strangle her, but that would be against his father’s code. He opted to drag her away from the entrance and further into the building, “Hey!”

“You are incorrigible.”

“What?”

“Seriously? How’d you make it this far?”

Marinette narrowed her eyes and shook her arm out of his grip, “That’s not nice!”

Damian scoffed, “Not nice? What are you? 5?”

“I’m 17 thank you very much.” She looked him up and down, “And you?”

“We’re the same age.”

“I don’t know. Many of the men around here are taller than you.”

Damian growled and turned away from her, “Just show me where to register!”

“Fine! Fine.” She looked around and pointed, “Over there.” He looked over and saw a wall with clerk windows. There was a woman wiping the outside table down in a less than comfortable looking outfit.

His shoulders fell and he walked over, “Excuse me?”

She looked up and smiled, “Yes?”

“I’d like to register.”

“Oh? Do you have the registration fee?”

He pulled out the bag Chloe gave him and plopped it on the table, “This enough?”

The woman blinked and pulled a few coins from the bag, “Thank you?” She grabbed a very unique object and motioned to it, “Go ahead.”

He examined it. It looked like something out of a dumb manga Jon read. It looked like a large shiny blue orb being held in place by the brown iron mold and some gears. The space between the bottom and the needle sticking out of the orb was a fair size, but looked intimidating. The whole thing screamed magic.

The woman noticed his hesitation and simply smiled, “Allow me to explain how this all works.” Damian nodded, grateful for the woman’s kind nature as back home he’d expect nothing less than 26 hours of teasing for not knowing something. “Adventurer is a generic class and your skills are important.” She pulled out a card and pointed at it, “This brings us to your registration card. It keeps track of your level based on all the monsters you’ve killed! When your level increases, you’ll gain points that you can trade to learn new skills.” She looked at the two and gave them a thumbs up, “Work hard and you’ll raise your level in no time!”

She motioned back to the device, “On to the next step! Would you please hold your hand over the crystal, sir?” She put the card on the bottom and stepped aside.

“Sure.” He took off his glove and held his hand over the orb, “Like this?” The device lit up and gears started rotating. Light from the crystal orb funneled down towards the needle. After concentrating on the tip for a moment, the light burst out into a steady stream and started writing on the card. “Woah.”

“Once it’s finished the evaluation process, you’ll get your current stats. Based on those, we’ll know which class suits you best!” After a moment the device stopped and the light died down. Damian pulled his hand back and the woman pulled the card out, “Alright! Let’s see your stats.” She read over the card, “Damian Wayne? Interesting name. Huh?”

“What?”

“Your agility and dexterity is incredibly high! Your intelligence isn’t anything to scoff at either! Strength is above average as well as well as your health. Your luck is terrible and your magic is low but still!” Damian smirked and put back on his glove. “Your magic is low, so you can’t be an arch priest or a mage. However, you could probably be a crusader or swords master – Oh! I know! You could be in the assassin class!”

Damian flinched, “Assassin?”

“Yes! Either that or a thief could be a great pairing for your level of dexterity!”

Damian’s eye twitched, even in this new world he couldn’t escape his past. Marinette gently placed a hand on his shoulder brought his attention back to the present, “Hey, if you don’t like the class you can choose to be an average adventurer class for now. We can always decide after you level up some more.”

Damian relaxed a bit under her touch and shook his head, “No. Give me the assassin class.”

“Are you sure? She’s right you know. You can always come back later.”

“Yes. Trust me when I say that’s the best class for me.” Marinette frowned and he shook his head, “Your turn.”

“What?”

“Your turn.”

Marinette looked between him and the woman patiently waiting by the window, “Me?”

The woman smiled, “If you’d like.”

Marinette jumped back, “No! No! No! I couldn’t – I mean, there’s no way!”

Damian quirked a brow, “Are you serious?”

“I couldn’t!”

“Of course you could, just go.”

“No!”

Damian reached for her hand and she drew it back. He frowned and stepped forward, making another attempt to snatch her arm. Again, she evaded. They looked at each other for a moment, a beat passing between them before both pounced. “GIVE ME YOUR HAND!”

“NEVER!” The two ran around the tables, completely ignoring the other patrons who simply watched amused and confused. Marinette slammed her hand on a table and Damian stopped on the opposite side of it. “No!”

“C’mon!”

“NO!”

“You just talked about your friends’ adventures-“

“They’re real adventurers!”

Damian rolled his eyes, watched her for a second before mumbling, “Screw it.” He jumped on the table and threw himself at her. She screamed her dropped to the ground and crawled under the table. The yelps from the women she crawled past to get to the other side were completely ignored as she ran. “MARINETTE!”

“NEVER!” The patrons were getting a kick out of this. She could tell and she glared at all of them. She grabbed the arm of the man she met when they first walked in and hid behind him, “Stop!”

Damian merely saw the man as an obstacle, a pillar between the two, and made a grab for her. “Just register!”

“Damian!”

“Marinette!”

Marinette pushed the man forward, making him stumble into Damian, and scrambled. The other bar patrons cheered her on as she made her escape. “Damian, no!”

“You are being too dramatic here!” He looked around the bar. Simple. Bunch of tables. Not a lot of hiding spots. She can’t outrun him, only evade him. Good. He watched her and she looked like she was going to turn right. He took the opportunity to shove a man out of his seat, running and jumping on the table tops as he did his best to avoid food and drink. He was gaining on her this way, but he was surprised to find that he was pushing himself in this chase. He dove off the table and toppled her over, both rolling on the ground until he pinned her down. The men and women cheered at the escapade as two struggled to catch their breath.

Marinette blew her bangs out of her face and pouted, “I don’t wanna.”

“Stop acting like a little kid. You know you idolize these people.” He pulled her to her feet and kept a firm grip on her wrist. He took a step towards the registration desk, but she didn’t budge. She shook her head and he narrowed his eyes at her.

A moment passed before she gasped, “You wouldn’t.”

“I would.”

“Damian, no-” She shrieked as he flung her over his shoulder. She kicked and screamed, “DAMIAN!” Some of the men laughed and whistled at the two while she hid her red face. She groaned, “No…”

One dared to yell out, “She’s a feisty one!” Marinette and Damian both glared at the man, making him cough and look away.

Damian walked over the desk and set her down in front of the device, “Register.”

“Damian-”

“Register.”

“But-”

“Re-“

“C’mon-”

“-gi-“

“But-”

“-ster.”

She stomped her foot and looked at the device hesitantly. She held her hand a safe distance away and groaned, “I don’t want to.”

Damian rolled his eyes and sighed, “You’re like a little kid.”

“Thank you.”

He placed his hand over hers, exposing the palm and dragging it to the device. Damian wondered if she was still reeling from the chase because her face continued to stay red as it printed on a blank card. She stopped struggling in his grip, though he didn’t think he was clutching too hard. When it done printing, Damian tried to pull his hand back but she grabbed it again and gave it a squeeze. He was about to ask her why when he noticed she was staring intently at the woman reading her card.

“Let’s see. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Ah! The baker’s daughter!” Marinette smiled, but he could tell it was a bit forced. The woman hummed as she continued, “Average across the board. Your intelligence is high, that’s good. Oh wow! Your luck is way above average! Unfortunately, that’s not an essential stat for the adventurer class. With this much luck I recommend you be a merchant instead.”

Marinette sighed and frowned, “I knew it.”

The woman noticed her disappointment and was quick to do damage control, “L-Like I said before, you can choose to be an average adventurer class for now. We can always change it later or-”

“No, no. It’s fine.” Marinette shrugged and forced another smile, “I’m just the baker’s daughter after all.” She looked at the card in the clerk’s hands and mumbled, “Of course I’m just average.” She sighed and there was a clear melancholy in her eyes, “Just a normal girl with a normal life.”

The woman continued to do her best reassure the girl in front of her, “Merchants can make a very good living and with your luck you’d be very well off and-”

“She’s an adventurer.” The two snapped their heads to Damian and he repeated himself, “She’s an adventurer.”

The woman nodded, “A-Alright.”

She handed over the card and Damian snatched it out of her hand. He grabbed the coin bag off the counter, “C’mon.” Marinette struggled to say something, anything, but the sound of a strangled cat was all she made as he dragged her away. She noticed how he kept looking forward and she wondered if something she did offended him. Marinette stuttered a bit before sighing and squeezing his hand again.

“I’m sorry.”

“No I am. I got caught up in the moment.” It was the first apology he’d given her and from the little time they’ve spent together she could tell it was a rare occasion. “It’s not a bad thing.”

“What’s not a bad thing?”

“Being average. It’s not a bad thing.” He pulled her in front of a bulletin board and looked at her, “It means you’re well rounded. You have potential to be anything and everything. Besides, with your luck you could probably find yourself doing whatever you want.”

Marinette relaxed and she smiled once more. This one wasn’t forced, instead it was a soft expression. There were a few wrinkles around her eyes, telling him that it was genuine, and he was surprised to see it. He’s seen her embarrassed, he’s seen her worked up, he’s seen her hyper fixated, and he’s seen her sad but this was different. It was something authentic and sweet. He suddenly felt the need to pull his hand back and instead shoved the card into her hands. “Here.”

She looked over her card, “Thank you.”

“I’m assuming I look here for jobs and monster quests?”

She looked up at the bulletin, “Yep.” She looked around the board and tapped on one of the fliers, “Let’s hunt toads outside the town. It’s breeding season for them so they tend to be around a lot.”

“What’s wrong with a few toads?”

“They eat the goats off the farms and sometimes kids go missing.” Damian’s eyes widened, he wondered if she was messing with him. Her matter of fact tone told him otherwise, “Their meat will sell well.”

Damian groaned, “Alright.” He pulled his mask out and looked it over. No matter where he went he had to fight something. He frowned as he put it over his face, adjusting it until it was resting comfortably. He pulled out one of his swords, briefly looking it over and he caught his own reflection. He narrowed his eyes before looking over at Marinette. “Let’s go.”

When he usually gets ready to go, people follow. It was a routine occurrence when with team and his family. Hell, even if he wasn’t with them anyone took it as a sign to roll out. Based off of Marinette’s expression, he was doing something unusual. She bit her lip in a miserable attempt to hide some snickering. Damian frowned, “What?”

Her snort made him glare, “What was that?” Damian’s shoulders fell as Marinette hid her grin behind her hand, “Was that supposed –“ She giggled, “- was that supposed to be cool?”

Damian sighed and lowered his sword, “No.”

“I mean the cape, the dramatic turn –“

This type of thing is so mundane in his world, but replaying the scene through her eyes was telling. “No.”

“- the mask, the sword –“

He knew Dick was dramatic at times, but he figured he took after his Father. Was his father this theatrical? “No…”

“- the frown -”

“Marinette-”

She licked her lips and did a dramatic turn, purposefully lowering her voice and narrowing her eyes at him, “’Let’s go.’”

He ran his fingers through his hair as his eyes widened, “Oh my god, I’m becoming Grayson.”

“Who?” Damian shook his head, she had no idea who he was talking about. Marinette licked her lips and grinned, “You know for an assassin, you really stand out.”

Damian sighed and put his sword away, “Okay, fine.” He looked Marinette in the eye and took a deep breath as he forced his next comment out, “Tell me something. What should I wear then? Clearly, I stand out here.”

There it was again, the same look in her eyes as before. She examined his expression, hesitant to jump on the chance in case he wasn’t serious. When she found no hint of deception, she gulped. “Really?”

Damian wondered just how many times she was denied the chance to display her skills. Clearly she knew what she was talking about and had a passion for it, but she was so afraid to take the chance. It was as if he would laugh at her or take the opportunity away once she grabbed for it. Damian filed that train of thought for another time. For now, he could feel the stares of the other patrons watching them and he was growing more uncomfortable by the second. “Yes?”

First was the spark in her eyes, next came the ever-growing grin, then bouncing. She could’ve bounced off the walls, instead she grabbed his arm and headed for the nearest exit. She started rambling about the different aspects of his uniform. “Why does an assassin need those loud colors? You are asking to get caught. And what is with that mask? Your name is on your adventurer’s card! Don’t get me started on the cape!” She continued on as they made it outside and she looked towards the shopping district. She held him close as they weaved through the crowds and she expressed more of her ideas.

Damian didn’t know what to make of her. He snuck a peek at Tikki for any type of guidance, but she provided no help. Only a knowing smile and quiet giggle. He looked around and noticed a girl on a rooftop watching them closely, but before he could say anything Marinette pulled him into a shop. She was in her element despite the residential chaos surrounding them in the market. It was like watching a different person.

“-his one?”

Damian shook his head, “What?”

“What do you think about this one? As an assassin class you’ll want darker colors and clothes easy to move in.” She pushed a shirt into his hands, “Tell me if you like anything.”

“Aren’t you the expert?”

“I’m not going to force you to wear things you don’t like.” She held up a red shirt resembling the top of his uniform. She smiled and handed it to him, “I want your input too.”

He looked back at the rooftop and noticed the girl was gone. His nerves stayed with him, but he still looked around the shop. “This isn’t exactly my scene.”

“Well, that’s why I’m here isn’t it? Guess you’re just lucky to have me around.” He raised his brow at her and she giggled, “It’ll be fun. I swear.”

He highly doubted it. Still, standing out could just make him an easy target in the long run. He needed to integrate himself here. He’s playing by different rules and right now his only real ally is the girl in front of him. He rolled his eyes, “Give me the dark green one.” She gladly handed it over and he bit the skin in his inner cheek. Even if he was getting help, he was already tired of this mission. He whispered to Tikki, “You are going to owe me big time.” Tikki giggled as another shirt hit his face.

[duhragonball]

Yamcha if you're still doing the character meme?

I am still doing these, and I’m enjoying it, so keep ‘em coming.   Before I start, let me promote the original post, in case anyone else wants to start their own thing.  I’d link to the OP, but I guess they deleted this from their blog, probably because their notifications went nuts.

Give me a character and I will answer:

Why I like them: Let’s be honest, Yamcha doesn’t get a lot of big “hero moments” in Dragon Ball.   Or Dragon Ball Z, or Dragon Ball GT, or Dragon Ball Su-- Look, you get the idea.   In most arcs, he’s the first one to get benched.   In tournaments, he always loses in the first round.   He spent the King Piccolo Saga recovering from a broken leg.    Against the Saiyans, he was the first one to die.  Against the Androids, he was nearly killed and had to sit out the rest of that arc.   In the Buu Sagas he was retired.    In a number of major storylines, he just isn’t there, because no one called him.

But he remains a fixture in the franchise anyway, because he’s always showing up for more.  Let’s take the Buu Saga as an example.   It didn’t surprise me to find out he had retired, mainly from a dramatic standpoint.    There’s a lot of new characters in the Buu arc, and it made sense for some of the older characters to step aside and make room for them.   But he’s still there, because he wants to see Goku one last time, and he wants to hang out with his friends and watch some of them kick the crap out of each other.   It was kind of sad to see him stay behind while the others rushed off to follow the Supreme Kai, but he’s retired, after all.    Also, they didn’t stop to fill him in on what was happening.    I suspect he might have tagged along if they asked.  

As it was, he still ended up getting involved, and he was with the Dragon Team right up until Super Buu cornered them on the Lookout.     And the next time we see him, he’s on the Grand Kai Planet with Krillin, and King Kai seriously considers sending them in to take on Buu in case Goku and Vegeta can’t get the job done.   

And that’s a big deal, because it even comes up in the anime.   King Kai tells them that he arranged for them to keep their bodies as a precaution, but he’s totally in favor of letting them remain on the Grand Kai Planet with all of the other honored warriors, like Goku.  So you start with this desert bandit, a highwayman without a highway, probably because he’s afraid of all the women that use the interstate.   But he gradually overcomes his fears and insecurities, never completely, but just enough to put one foot in front of the other and become a better man.    And finally he ends up receiving a place among the great heroes of old.  

So why doesn’t that get more attention?   You could make a whole epic story out of that, except it’s not Yamcha’s story.  He’s a supporting character.   So the franchise itself tends to play it down.    Even Yamcha doesn’t really take it all that seriously.   I don’t know if that’s modesty or cluelessness or Big Himbo Energy or what, but that’s why it’s so easy for everyone to write him off as a loser or a failure.   They’re overlooking the bigger picture.

The best way to illustrate this is with this TFS short that serves as an epilogue to their DBZ Abridged series.   Yamcha goes back to playing baseball for the Taitans, only to get fired, because he’s so talented that he’s literally broken the game, and no one buys tickets anymore.    But he gets a gigantic severance package, and he still goes down in history as the greatest ballplayer in history.  What always gets to me is that they have to explain to him that this is actually a win.  As his coach puts it, “you do nothing but win.”   

Like Yamcha himself, we often see him from the lens of these insane Dragon Ball adventures, where you have to have glowy hair and a hot cyborg wife to be considered a success.   But to the rest of the world, he’s a jacked up millionaire with fantastic hair, and he’s a real sweetheart.   Who couldn’t like this dude?

Why I don’t: As you may have noticed, I tend to only use this section to talk about why I disliked the characters initially.   I have to think back to 1999 when I was still having trouble keeping track of who’s who.   In particular, I found Yamcha’s presence frustrating because he looked and dressed almost exactly like Goku, but not quite, which seemed bizarre.    Later, I picked up on the context, and it didn’t bother me as much.  

Yamcha does have a bit of an overconfident streak in some situations, which might look like unfounded arrogance, but I think it’s really just his carefree nature and enthusiastic can-do spirit.   He was confident about their chances against the Saiyans, but I don’t think that was him being cocky.   He just knew they had all trained hard and he was stronger than he’d ever been.    But that’s easy for people to jump on as a reason to hate the guy.  

Future Trunks claimed that he fooled around while he was involved with Bulma, but come on.    Does anyone really buy that?    Besides, at best, that would only apply to Future Yamcha, the one who died in the other timeline.   Once Trunks changed the past, all bets were off.

Favorite episode (scene if movie): I’m gonna get a little nuts here and go with TFS’s playthrough of Legacy of Goku I, where they decided to level up Yamcha and have him solo Broly.

Basically, in an RPG game like this, Wolf Fang Fist can do monster damage, so they maxed out Yamcha’s stats to wreck the game’s hidden superboss.  You have to skip to 1:40:00 or so to see the successful attempt, but I loved this video.   This is where I learned to respect the utterance of “Roga... fufuken!”  Broly probably would have respected it, too, except he died from all those hits he took.

Favorite season/movie: You know, that fight with Tien was a classic.   Not sure it’s in my top ten, but it’s on a lot of people’s lists, and I absolutely get that.

Dumb as it may sound, I enjoyed seeing Yamcha in the hospital, wrestling with his own despair as he recuperated from his broken leg.   And when he shows up at the end to congratulate Tien and accepts Tien’s apology, well, like I said, Yamcha has this great character arc, but it’s easy to overlook with everything else that goes on.

Favorite line: I forget which game it was in, maybe Budokai 3, but one of his pre-fight taunts is “Watch this, Puar!  I’m gonna win!”, which always makes me think of Puar sitting just off-camera, watching the action from a little lawn chair.  

Favorite outfit:

I may take some heat for this, but I like the Androids/Cell Saga version of Yamcha, with the short, spiky hair.  This dude’s long, luxurious rockstar ‘do is a national treasure, sure, but I dig this look more.  

Also, I consider Yamcha to be the only guy from the Turtle School who pulls off the slippers and no-blue-undershirt look.   It looks off when I see it on Krillin and Goku, but with Yamcha it just feels right. 

OTP: This guy gets shipped with a lot of people, probably because he’s one of the major characters without an established love interest.   Folks still carry a torch for Bulma, some people ship him with Tien, Frieza hit on him in FighterZ, and I’m still trying to make sense of that.   He flirts with your character in the Xenoverse games.    Years ago, I considered doing something with that, but I’ve fleshed out my OC enough to where I don’t think that fits. 

At the end of the day, I can only see Yamcha getting together with @cozymochi ‘s OC, Marzi.  

Brotp: Tien, Krillin, Goku.  Hell, I always figured Yamcha was one of the few people Vegeta could get along with to some extent.  

I mean, Tien couldn’t stand to be one the same planet as Vegeta, but Yamcha keeps coming over to have hot dogs at Bulma’s place, long after the Namekians have left.  

Head Canon: He’s Luffa’s type, don’t get me wrong.    I just don’t see any room in my fic for a whirlwind courtship.    The stars just don’t align.

Unpopular opinion: I’m not really behind this notion that they should give the humans more stuff to do in future series.   When it comes to supporting characters, sometimes they get phased out, and there’s no point in phasing them back in unless there’s a compelling story idea for them.   

I think it’s dumb how they teased Yamcha in the Tournament of Power prelude, only to leave him out of the tournament itself.    On the other hand, they put Tien on the team and barely used him, which tells me that even if they’d put Yamcha on the team, it wouldn’t have amounted to anything.   

I get it, people love these characters and want to see them used more, but I’d rather have one strong Yamcha story than a hundred non-starters.  And at this point, I think the only thing anyone can do is rely on fan-created content.    Be the change you want to see in the world.

A wish: Crap, it’s after ten pm.    I dunno, I wish Marzi was canon.  

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: I feel like the character’s already been through worse than I could come up with for him.   

5 words to best describe them: Cat loves food, yeah yeah yeah.   That’s six, but who cares?

My nickname for them: Yeah, I don’t have one.

[itstittycitybaby]

May Death do Us Part (Benrey/Gordon Freeman)

A/N: ahaha im a bit nervous to post this one ngl but fuck it might as well give it a shot. if you haven’t seen hlvrai please do it’s so good and so fucking funny. Thank you @kryogie for helping me with this fic! I really appreciate it bro.

Warnings:angst,suicidal thoughts,suicide attempt,hurt/comfort,dissociation.

Benrey couldn’t die. Anyone else would be ecstatic to know that they could out run the hounds of death. Gordon’s apartment was dark that night. He’d mention earlier that morning picking up another shift, so he’d be home later. The silence was deafening as Benrey stared at the bright T.V. screen. His thoughts felt like he was dragging through quick sand and his brain lagged. “not pog. cringeworthy moments right here,” Benrey murmured to himself as a CPU beat his ass on Smash. Sonic, the one Benrey mains, looked glum as he clapped for Bowser. It was suffocating; the silence and the distant but also bright colours of the T.V. The switch hummed faintly but Benrey had trouble focusing on it. 

He hated the quiet. Whenever it was quiet the guilt came rushing back. The memories of Black Mesa were fuzzy but Benrey couldn’t forget what he had done. His hand laid there on the cold cement ground as Gordon cried out in pain in the dark. His form being dragged by three soldiers as they left him to die. Benrey could faintly see the blood as Tommy started to cry.

“N-no! What are they d-doing to Mr. Freeman?”

Benrey choked on his breath; his chest felt tight and his throat contracted harshly. The whispers of the dark swirled around him and laid on his trembling form thickly. The T.V. that sat on its stand became blurry and Benrey felt as if he were sinking.

He couldn’t move. The soldiers around them paid him no mind. They laughed and carried on like nothing had happened. After all, Benrey’s job was done righ? This is what he had wanted?

“calm down,” Benrey told himself. “this..this is baby behaviour...we’re supposed to be..epic gamer....” Gordon had moved on from Black Mesa. Or so he told himself anyway. His arm was back, something Tommy’s dad had fixed. Even with his hand being back, Benrey could see the underlying anxiety Gordon had. He could see it in the way Gordon fidgeted and jumped at every loud noise. He couldn’t blame him at all. This was all his fault. He had always enjoyed making Gordon irritated. It was funny and entertaining but he had taken it too far.

Benrey knew he didn’t deserve Gordon’s kindness. He didn’t have to let Benrey in his apartment as the rain poured that night. Gordon was anxious and still held some malice towards him, but Benrey could see his big brown eyes soften with concern as he saw the blood seeping through his security shirt. Gordon was insistent on tending his wounds even though he knew Benrey couldn’t die. Something Benrey still couldn’t wrap his head around to this day.

How long had it been? Hours? Minutes? Benrey couldn’t tell but the thoughts were getting louder and louder as he sat there on the couch. He had to do something. His limbs didn’t feel like moving but he wiggled them as a test. They felt sluggish and heavy but Benrey eventually got a leg off the couch. He deserved this didn’t he? He deserved the pain and despair of the aftermath. It’s what he caused after all. So why was it so hard to move on?

“wasn’t suppos’ to be..like this,” Benrey mumbled one night as the both of them sat in front of the T.V. Some stupid rom com played. Pretty and Pink, was it? Gordon didn’t say anything but his brows furrowed. “What?” Benrey huffed. “can’t hear me feetman?..gordon freeman??more like.. gordon deafman haha...can’t even hear his bro talking to him..” Gordon rolled his eyes and sighed. “Can you ever talk seriously?” “yea...I tried but deafman couldn’t hear me....” Gordon just snorted, picking up the bowl of popcorn from the coffee table. “Whatever man just watch the movie.” Benrey could see a small smile on Gordon’s plush lips. It made his heart flutter.

The balcony felt cold underneath Benrey’s feet. Gordon’s apartment was high enough that he’d smack on the concrete and die from the impact. Sure, he’d resurrect again, but it helped with the pain. All the emotions swirled around him and bit at his gut. It was an endless torture of not being able to be at peace. People saw the ability of never being able to die a blessing. Hell, they would kill for it. Benrey saw it as a curse. It was perfect for him and the thought made him laugh hollowly. It was raining again and the air nipped at his toes and fingers. The wind made his skin numb from the cold. He laughed at the clicheness of it all. Like some damn cheesy RPG game where the main character hit his low. The sky wept with Benrey’s misery.

Benrey’s fists clenched tightly on the balcony. The metal railing was cold to the touch and the water made it a bit slippery. The laughter wheezed out of his chest. Was he crying? His tears felt hot;His arms felt slackish and unbearably slow.”c-could end everything r-right now....little feetman wouldn’t have to...p-put up with me anymore...i’ll just respawn like a gamer and...keep d-doing it....” Maybe one day he’d disappear. Maybe he’d actually stay dead. Benrey cackled at the thought. It was wishful thinking, he knew it. Yet, he couldn’t help but think of the science team. What if he actually stayed dead? Tommy would cry and wail like a good friend. He cared about Benrey even after all the shit he put them through. Dr. Coomer might be a little sad but would be back in no time. Bubby..well Bubby was and always will be a wild card. Benrey’s heart lurched when he thought about Gordon. The science team never worried too much when Benrey died but this was different entirely. Benrey wanted to die. Would they even care? Gray orbs left his mouth as he remincised over what he had done. He had fucked up and couldn’t forgive himself. How could he when he had hurt the man he liked. 

Gripping the railing for support, Benrey balanced himself onto it. Carefully, he stood up on it. His stomach lurched with anxiety as he looked down. Cars honked and people walked among the sidewalks blissfully unaware. Benrey couldn’t help but think about if his head smacked onto the pavement. How traumatized innocent bystanders would be and if they would tried to help. Was it wrong that he couldn’t find himself to care?

“Benrey!” He jumped in surprise, causing him to teeter on the railing. His arms waved and so did his fingers for balance. A hand grabbed him by the back of his shirt and yanked him onto the balcony floor. Benrey let out a hiss as his back made contact with its cement floor. He cursed once he realized who prevented him from jumping off the balcony and ending his misery for a short awhile. “W-what the fuck man?!” Gordon Freeman hovered over Benrey. His glasses were speckled from the rain and his hair that was pulled up was starting to get damp. His brown eyes were wide and..was he crying? The waves of guilt that were already washing Benrey away were now crashing to the surface. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

He looked so afraid and hurt. Benrey averted his gaze. “L-let’s get you inside,” Gordon said, mostly to himself. He was trying to reassure himself, Benrey noticed, as he helped him up. Gordon’s hand wrapped tightly around his as he lead him back into his apartment. God, Benrey felt so damn guilty. He just wanted to die for a bit and be nothing. It only lasted for a couple hours before he came back but the seemingly never ending darkness called to him. It called for him to come home. Benrey could barely register a fluffly towel being wrapped around his quivering frame. His clothing clung to his skin in a gross way and he felt cold and warm at the same time. There were groceries and a pack of Moutain Dew on the kitchen isalnd. Benrey’s favorite.

Gordon ran a hand through his hair. A nervous tick he had which didn’t help Benrey’s guilt at all. “’m...s-sorry,” Benrey choked out. “weren’t suppose...to see that.” Gordon’s head shot up. His brown eyes wavered as he looked into Benrey’s seemingly cold black ones. “No man don’t a-apologize. I-If I had known...” Gordon trailed off. Benrey shook his head. “n-not just for that feetman...for everything..” His lip quivered and he dropped Gordon’s gaze. Finally, he had said what he’d been keeping in for so long. “Is that why you tried t-to..do that?” Gordon gestured to the balcony. Benrey nodded. Gordon let out a shaky sigh. “L-look man.. I’ve already forgiven you. I care about you and...I worry about you Benrey..I l-lo-” Benrey’s eyes widened. Gordon’s cheeks heated up and he swallowed thickly. “..wha?..” “U-um,” Gordon stuttered, eyes averting anything close to Benrey. “U-uh..fuck it man! I like you alright? I-I.. love you after all these months! I was gonna tell you but... I-I didn’t think you’d feel the same.. Now of all times isn’t g-good to tell you either.” Benrey stood there stunned. 

Gordon swallowed nervously as he waited silently. Benrey’s silence and his stare didn’t help Gordon in the slightest. “L-look man if you don’t feel that way it’s fine. I’m more concerned about you though...I-I have a friend who’s a therapist! S-she’s great and she-” Gordon got caught off by soft lips against his own. His eyes widened but when Benrey clutched tightly into his shirt, he kissed back. 

Gordon cracked a smile once they pulled away. “I-I don’t wanna pressure you into anything while in this state...so I-I understand if you don’t wanna g-get into anything-”  Benrey cut Gordon off with another kiss. They were a bit cold and damp from standing in the rain. “y-you’re my gamer boyfriend now feetman..” Gordon barked a laugh as he pulled away. “I still want you to get help though okay? I want to help you through this.” Benrey nodded, “i-i’ll try bro....i’ll try.” Satisfied, Gordon beckoned to the couch. “Wanna play some video games or something?” Benrey nodded, already shuffling to the couch. 

After Gordon put the groceries away and grabbed Benrey a can of Moutain Dew and his so called “gamer snacks”, he joined him on the couch. “Can I,” Gordon asked, hovering his arm over Benrey’s shoulders. He nodded and as soon as Gordon wrapped his arm around him, Benrey nestled into his side. They both smiled as they basked in each other’s presence and played Heavenly Sword. Tomorrow will be a better day.

[mimi-cee-hq]

It’s Blue - Kuroo x Reader

[Masterlist]

I guess this is my contribution to all of the Kuroo writing out there with this cute match-up oneshot. lol.

Request from @jessie4098:

hi, I’m jessie, could I please have a matchup? I have long dirty blonde hair, that I constantly braid, I’m pale with freckles on my nose. I’m not that tall, I’m only 5'2" but that doesn’t stope me from playing volleyball. I’m a libero for my volleyball teams, I play for three teams, and just for fun I play beach volleyball with friends. I do well in school, and I volunteer a lot I am the grandma of the friend group, i know many weird home remedies, I love hard candy, I give good advice, I can sew, cook, I love books, and I’m always cold. I love both old music and new music. I have pretty bad insomnia, when I can’t sleep I will practice volleyball till ungodly hours. I’m a hard worker, and stubborn. I can make friends with anyone. I’m caring and loyal to my friends. I love affection and playing with peoples hair. Im a bubbly girl, who loves volleyball.Thank you!

Summary:

During Kuroo’s first year, a petite libero volunteers to cook at the training camp. She didn’t expect to leave with a crush on him. Kuroo noticed her feelings but is hesitant to accept them because of something blue during his childhood.

AO3 Link if you want to read there

I removed a part of what Jessie wrote in her request because it’ll actually spoil the story for everyone else. I’ll add it at the end. I also changed a tiny detail and didn’t hit every single thing listed for plot reasons.

Match-up stories taglist: @nagichi-deku, @nxlx96

It’s Blue - Kuroo x Reader

Words: 2,697

“You should be our manager, Y/n,” laughed Kai as he watched the brown-eyed girl chop onions with Nanako.

“What? Are you kidding me?” replied Y/n to her classmate. “I wouldn’t be able to play volleyball then.”

Y/n and Nanako were both on the girl’s volleyball team. Nanako was their third year setter and captain of their team. She only came with Y/n because she had forced her to. Y/n told Nanako that she needed to learn how to cook, especially if she wanted to survive after graduating high school. So Y/n volunteered to help with the boy’s training camp during Golden week to teach her.

That wasn’t the only reason she had offered to help cook. The girl’s team didn’t get their own camp because their coach always visited family out of town during Golden week. But Y/n loved volleyball a little too much, so she told the boys’ coach that she’d help with the food if she could sneak in some practice during their training camp.

“Seriously,” said Nanako, “this girl works too hard.”

“How else would I get better?” asked Y/n.

“You already receive our serves and spikes really well,” commented Nanako. “Well, I guess we don’t have a lot of strong spikers in the first place.”

“By the way, Y/n,” noted Kai. “How are you not crying right now?”

Nanako had been tearing up and sniffing the entire time from chopping onions. Y/n, on the other hand, seemed fine. “Oh, that’s because…,” she started to say. “I just have a secret remedy for that,” she said with a grin.

“Pfft,” Nanako laughed. “There you go with your home remedies again, Grandma.”

“This one actually isn’t a home remedy,” she replied. “But it’s a secret.”

“Grandma?” asked Kai. “But you’re in the same year as me.” Nanako laughed at Kai’s comment. She explained that even though she was the captain of the team, Y/n would ‘mother’ her enough that she would call her mom. But the other first years thought of Nanako as the mom of the team. As a result, Y/n got the name grandma instead.

Kuroo and Yaku entered the kitchen to mix some more of their sports drink. But when Kuroo noticed Y/n, he stopped walking and stared at her. “Do I know you?” Kuroo asked Y/n.

“Seriously?” asked Yaku with a laugh. “Already using pick up lines? That one’s a lame one.”

“No?” replied Y/n. She wasn’t sure why Kuroo was looking into her eyes so intently. “I don’t think I know you.”

Kuroo sighed, rubbed his hair and walked away with his sports drink. When Yaku joined him, Y/n heard Kuroo telling him to remember to eat his veggies. She laughed at their dynamic as she continued to teach Nanako how to cook.

Y/n later learned that Kuroo was the only one on the team who knew how to do a jump serve. She was impressed that he was able to do one even though he was only a first year like herself. None of the girls on her team could do one either. So when the boys had free practice, she took the opportunity to pull him aside and ask him to practise with her.

“Are you sure?” asked Kuroo. “Yaku is the only one who can receive my serve well right now.”

“Yes!” she said eagerly. “We might go against other teams with strong serves so I need to get better.”

During that week, she asked him to practise with her every chance she got. Kuroo would scold her for overworking herself. She’d retort that he’d been practising a lot more than she had been because she would have to go and cook. But one night, Kuroo saw her up late, practising her receives by herself. He snatched the ball from her and held it above her head.

“You’re only allowed to have the ball back if you’re able to take it from me,” Kuroo sneered at her. Of course, she wouldn’t be able to because she was only 5 feet and 2 inches tall.

Y/n, getting frustrated, couldn’t think of a witty comeback. Then, she gave him a smirk, “It’s not like your receives are any good anyway.”

“Ha?”

“Why is the one who’s bad at receives preventing the one who good at receives from practising?” she giggled.

“Why, you…”

The two of them laughed as they continued to bicker with each other. When they settled down, she did end up encouraging him to practise his receives more. “I know that attacks look a lot cooler in volleyball, but even the small and seemingly unimportant parts of a body are actually really important,” she told him. “It’s like how we never notice how much we use our fingers during the day. But once we get a paper cut, it’s like it affects the rest of the body.” She smiled and continued, “It’s like a team. When one member of the team isn’t doing well, the whole team is affected. The opponents are always looking for holes to pick at.”

“Ugh…,” complained Kuroo. “I guess that means I have to practise receiving more.” The two of them sat inside the gym against the wall. “Kenma was telling me otherwise because I’m tall and a middle blocker. He said that magic users in RPG games need to put their skill points in intelligence. So similarly, I should be focusing my skills on blocks and quick attacks. That’s why we practised our time difference attack a lot.” He smiled at the memory of practising with him. “But I guess you’re right too.”

“Who knows,” she said with a giggle, “Practising your receives might come in handy one day.”

He smirked at her, “You’re pretty smart.” He rubbed the dirty blonde hair on her head as he got up from the gym floor. “Here’s my jacket,” he said as he gave it to her. “You look cold.”

She was surprised he had noticed that. But then again, it was rare for her to not be cold, even though it was the beginning of May. She blushed as he scolded for her to go to sleep. With the rub in her hair, the jacket, and even the scolding, it was hard to not interpret these actions as being affectionate. She got a bit frustrated with herself because she had just met him earlier that week. She already knew that she was starting to have a crush on him.

*****

After Golden week, the two of them continued to be close friends. Although they were in different classes, they would greet each other and chat whenever they saw each other in the hallway. She was in Kai’s class and Kuroo and Yaku would come and meet up with him before practise. One day, as Kai wrapped up his notes, Kuroo and Yaku sat down as they waited for him.

“I still don’t understand why you like dogs,” mentioned Yaku.

“I don’t have to like cats just because I go to ‘Neko’-ma,” answered Kuroo. But he froze when he started to feel someone playing with his hair.

“How does your hair even get like this?” asked Y/n. “It just sticks up without any product at all!”

Kuroo started to feel a blush form on his cheeks. With a sigh, Kuroo asked her in a serious tone, “Y/n, can you stop playing with my hair?”

Y/n quickly pulled her hands away and apologized. When her teammate called her to go to practise, she left the classroom, leaving Kuroo, Yaku and Kai behind.

“Is she on the volleyball team?” asked Yaku.

“Yeah, she’s the libero,” replied Kai.

“Really?” Yaku said, suddenly more curious about her.

“Oy! You’re not allowed to be interested in her!” said Kuroo.

“What? Why not?”

“B- Because she has long hair,” replied Kuroo. When the two of them looked unconvinced, he added, “Didn’t you think that other girl was cute anyway?”

Yaku and Kai laughed at his pathetic attempt to cover up his crush on her. “You obviously like her,” commented Kai. “And it looks like she likes you too. What’s holding you back?”

Kuroo sighed. “I don’t like her okay?”

“What? Are you not over your first love or something?” Yaku asked sarcastically.

For a moment, Kuroo didn’t reply. He got up and told them, “Let’s just go to practice.” As they walked to the gym, Kai asked Yaku if he had tried to talk to the girl in his class yet. Yaku got flustered at the thought of talking to her. Kuroo strolled beside them, trying to remember something from his childhood days. “I’m pretty sure it was blue,” he thought to himself as he sighed.

*****

Several summers ago, Kuroo’s dad was preparing food that they had brought to the beach. So Kuroo was sitting at the picnic table near the barbeque grill his dad was using. Looking around, he saw a group of people playing beach volleyball. Before he realized it, he had wandered away from his dad and stood beside the court to watch.

A volleyball rolled over to him. “Mikasa?” he thought to himself as he read the brand name of the ball.

A young girl with a long braid ran over to him, presumably to retrieve the ball. But as she approached him, he looked away, trying not to make eye contact with her. He still wasn’t very comfortable around other people.

But she still tried to look at his face and told him that she had seen him watching them. “Did you want to join?” she asked with a smile. When he didn’t answer, she said, “You don’t have to be shy. Even though we’re both just kids, my parents will make sure we get an opportunity to hit the ball.”

Kuroo finally looked up and saw her face. His mouth was open as he stared into her eyes. “Y- You look like my dog!” he exclaimed.

She burst out in laughter. “What?” she said. She wasn’t expecting that to be his first impression of her. “Is that a good thing?”

After that day, Kuroo kept asking his parents to go to the beach. He had fun playing volleyball with her family. They made him feel welcome even though he wasn’t very good at volleyball. Her dad even pulled him aside from the game and took the time to teach him the basics. “Place your feet shoulder length apart. Bend your knees,” he instructed. “Put your arms in front. Turn them slightly out to make a flat surface with your forearms.”

But those days had to end when Kuroo told them that he was moving to Tokyo. “What? You’re moving?” she said with tears in her eyes.

“Yeah,” he responded. “That’s where my grandparents are.”

She gave him one last hug before he had to leave. But she clung on him tightly and didn’t want to let go. Kuroo blushed at her gesture. He didn’t have many friends but she made it easy.

He was thankful that he met Kenma after he moved. Without him, he wouldn’t have tried volleyball again and would have stuck to watching volleyball videos instead. Kuroo wondered if he would be able to see her again if he kept playing volleyball. He thought that it shouldn’t be too hard to find her if their paths crossed again. After all, she had a very distinctive trait.

*****

Kuroo arrived at school one day to see Y/n being scolded by the principal. “You’re not allowed to wear sunglasses in school,” he told her. After she bowed to him in apology, she turned to walk down the hall. Kuroo found it odd that she was covering her right eye with her hand. He chuckled when she almost walked into a wall.

“You know you don’t get any depth perception when you walk around like that,” he teased her.

“Oh! Hi, Kuroo,” she said as she smiled at him. But her right hand didn’t move from her face.

“Are you seriously going to walk around like that all day?” he asked.

“Well, I can try, can’t I?” she replied with a giggle. But when Kuroo saw that she was going to hurt herself if she did, he attempted to pry her hand off her face. She was relentless though.

“Why are you being so stubborn?”

“Gah! Stop it Kuroo!”

He stopped - only because she had used both of her hands to push him away. Y/n stood a few feet from him and glared at him as she caught her breath.

Kuroo’s eyes grew wide as he stared at her. “It’s blue,” Kuroo commented to himself. Y/n quickly covered her eye again. “It’s blue,” he repeated in disbelief.

Kuroo took a step back until his back hit the wall and stared at her. He then started to laugh at himself at how ridiculous the situation was if he had understood it correctly.

“Has your right eye always been blue?” he asked, trying to process everything.

“Yeah,” she simply replied.

“I’m guessing you’ve been wearing colored contacts to cover your heterochromia iridium?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Because someone made fun of me,” she said. “Having different colored eyes isn’t exactly common.”

Kuroo vigorously rubbed his hair out of frustration. “So you mean if it wasn’t for some jerk, I would have asked you out a while ago?” he muttered to himself.

“Huh?”

“What?”

It took Kuroo a moment to realize that he just admitted to liking Y/n out loud. He started to panic and think of an explanation, but Y/n quickly latched on to what he had just said.

“Wait, what?! What do you mean?” she exclaimed as she freaked out. “Explain right now!” she demanded.

“Explain what?!” he yelled back. “That you’re my first love and that I’ve been looking for you for who knows how long?!”

Y/n was speechless. Kuroo knew she had a crush on him. But he had been so hung up over his childhood crush that it prevented him from allowing himself to fully like her back.

“I was worried that I only started liking you because you reminded me of my first love,” he explained. “But I guess I don’t have to worry about that anymore.” He then smiled at her, knowing that they had some catching up to do.

It took Y/n a while to fully process what had just happened. She didn’t remember Kuroo initially, but as he explained, she started to remember bits and pieces. Kuroo told her not to worry about it. She just left a big impression on him. She blushed in response. She never knew that what she thought were just small gestures of kindness would make a big impact on someone’s life.

But it wasn’t until Kuroo told their story to Kai and Yaku how big of a difference it really was.

“So wait a minute. She has long, braided hair…”

���She has a Mikasa beach volleyball…”

“Your dog also has different colored eyes…”

“And the two of you met at a beach during the summer”

“…”

Kuroo tried not to show his embarrassment, but they had totally seen right through him.

“That’s 4 out of the 7 things you like,” Kai chuckled at him.

“And I thought that you kept choosing what I didn’t like just to spite me,” Yaku laughed.

“Oh! But, he started playing volleyball because of her, so wouldn’t that be 5 out of 8?”

“What are they talking about?” asked Y/n.

“Nothing,” he said, as he quickly pushed her away from them.

“Hey Y/n! Do you like eating sweet curry?”

“Fish?”

“Japanese cuisine?”

“Shut up!”

*****

Extras

Y/n didn’t cry while chopping onions because she was wearing contacts. I don’t know if this actually works in real life, but just pretend it does for this story.

Kuroo is still concerned about his bedhead but doesn’t mind as much because she likes playing with his hair.

Their teams call them grandma and grandpa. :D It’s not surprising because Yaku called Kuroo an old man in first year and Kuroo considers everyone younger than him as youth or kids.

Coach Nekomata returns from retirement around their second or third year and is pleasantly surprised that the players are still good receivers even when he wasn’t around. It’s all thanks to her and Kuroo. (I haven’t read the manga. Just going by the wiki.)

Her advice about a team being like a body gave Kuroo the inspiration for his mantra - much to Kenma’s dismay.

@jessie4098‘s full request:

(½) hi, I’m jessie, could I please have a matchup? I have long dirty blonde hair, that I constantly braid, I’m pale with freckles on my nose. I have one blue eye and one brown eye, I usually wear sunglasses, I used to get made fun of because of my eyes. I’m not that tall, I’m only 5’2” but that doesn’t stope me from playing volleyball. I’m a libero for my volleyball teams, I play for three teams, and just for fun I play beach volleyball with friends. I do well in school, and I volunteer a lot

(2/2) I am the grandma of the friend group, i know many weird home remedies, I love hard candy, I give good advice, I can sew, cook, I love books, and I’m always cold. I love both old music and new music. I have pretty bad insomnia, when I can’t sleep I will practice volleyball till ungodly hours. I’m a hard worker, and stubborn. I can make friends with anyone. I’m caring and loyal to my friends. I love affection and playing with peoples hair. Im a bubbly girl, who loves volleyball.Thank you!

I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please like, reblog or send me a message. :) Let me know if you want to be tagged for the next match-up (whenever I actually do that.) Check out my other stories too. :)

[Masterlist]

[bahamutgames]

CHAINED AFTERTHOUGHTS

Game: Chained Echoes (December 8, 2022)

Console: Xbox One (Via Xbox Game Pass)

ALRIGHT! After a long and stressful move, a long and stressful destressing period, and just generally being busy. I finally wanna share some more thoughts on games I played recently. I figure I should start with Chained Echoes. Cause it's already been like 2 months since I beat it and with my steel trap mind (for keeping thoughts OUT rather than in) it's only a matter of time before I forget what the game was even called... What was I talking about?

I only found out about this game a little before it launched, but it looked GREAT and so I had my eyes on it for a bit, sadly I couldn't pick it up right away. But thankfully, Game Pass once again came in clutch and I was able to play through Chained Echoes on a trial! And now I'm gonna tell YOU what I thought!

As I always say, this isn't a review. This is just a messy write up on my thoughts about the game! Don't expect some sort of definitive review or well structured writing! If you're even slightly interested in the game, please check it out and support the hard working devs!

SPOILERS FOR CHAINED ECHOES AHEAD!! DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT ANY SPOILERS!!

Opening

As I'm sure you all know, I'm a bit of an RPG fan. I haven't played all the greats, but I am always on the look out for something new and interesting to play. And nowadays most of the best turnbased RPG experiences generally come from indie games. So when I saw this game making the rounds as a call back to older turnbased RPGs, but with a wholly unique story and world that does everything its own way, I was really interested! It took me a bit to truck through the game but I'm very glad I played it finally!

Stuff I liked

Man, where to begin? Chained Echoes is AWESOME! There's so much love and passion poured into pretty much every corner of the game. First thing you'll probably notice is how WONDERFUL the sprite art is! The graphics of Chained Echoes seriously look AMAZING! Everything in this game looks wonderful! From the environments, to the enemies, to the characters themselves. The music is also sooooo good! Relisting to the soundtrack while writing this, I absolutely LOVE how it all sounds! It all feels perfectly right at home in an RPG if that makes any sense aha. The battle themes in particular are great, like "Never Forget Our Promise"!

And those characters, in addition to have really nice designs. Are all great! I actually really liked every team mate in the game (with a few exceptions but I still used Robb a BUNCH despite him being an awful person for most of the game lol). My team by the end was

Glenn > Amalia

Victor > Robb

Ba'Thraz (of course) > Mikah

Sienna > Lenne

And yeah you see that right, 8 teammates! This game has an AWESOME system where you can have 4 reserve teammates in addition to your main team and swap them out with each other mid battle! Which ROCKS and means you aren't gonna have to leave all your favorites behind. You can make use of most of the team in a single battle!

The whole game has a lot of systems to take the stress off usual JRPG burdens and also add a lot of unique flare to the game. Stuff like fully replenishing your team between battles is a GREAT touch that reminds me of Chrono Cross. Where it allows and encourages you to go all out in each encounter, rather than saving it (and potentially wasting it) at a boss. That's probably the biggest one people bring up. But there's also stuff like the Overdrive Bar, which encourages you to make a wide range of attacks to keep the bar in check so you don't spam your best skills over and over. This is a really neat concept and also a neat balancing tool since you get fully healed after each fight. Some of my favorite systems in the game were absolutely the ability to find random smaller teammates around the world who help from the home base in smaller ways. And also the reward board! Where you do small quests and earn rewards, then by linking those rewards together can get even bigger rewards! I actually found myself doing TONS of side content in this game cause it was just fun and easy to do thanks to the quick travel and the Sky Armors.

And that's not even all the cool stuff in Chained Echoes. The way you level up and learn new moves is cool, learning and equipping unique abilities is cool, emblems, even crafting (something I usually dread) is pretty neat in this game. And then of course there's the unique Sky Armor battles which are also cool. There's SO many unique systems in this game and they're all VERY cool!

The story is also neat, I like the world they created for the game. Particularly I thought the mana flow stuff was fantastic and very interesting. And the True Kings were SOOOO awesome! I loved the concepts behind them so much! And the different races were great, always appreciate any game with lizard people. And the classic clashing against the gods is always a nice touch, I LOVED the Gurren Lagann influence in this game. Great choice to include nods to that in here.

Also, yeah the ending of this game is VERY strong. A lot of games can fumble the finale, but Chained Echoes actually has a great and satisfying ending in my opinion. Genuinely almost cried while recapping it to someone after I beat it lol.

Stuff I Didn't Like

And, even though it is filled with so much creative stuff and interesting systems... Chained Echoes is not perfect... Let me start with the biggest issue in my opinion: The fights in this game can be TOTAL BULLSHIT sometimes! Don't get me wrong, the systems are all REALLY cool and the fights are genuinely neat! But sometimes... Oh man... Sometimes they are just total chores and last SOOO long!! The first major boss lasts FOREVER. And that wouldn't be a huge problem, especially since you start every fight at full power no matter what. Except for that pesky little Overdrive Bar.

On their own all these concepts and systems are GREAT, but it's once you start getting them all a little mixed in with eachother that they become a massive pain in the ass imo. Going through SUPER long fights, made even longer because you can't go all out on the enemy because you have to babysit the bar nonstop. Then losing the whole fight cause your teammates are dead and you can't properly use all the different moves to control the bar. It's a cycle. And especially early in when they CONSTANTLY MAKE YOU USE UTILITY MOVES EVEN THOUGH YOU DON'T LEARN ANY FOR A GOOD WHILE! It sounds small, but to me it made the game almost impossible at some steps.

And you can't grind either, which I know is a blessing to a lot of people. But I like grinding because it's an easy and measurable problem solver with an easy to see goal. But in Chained Echoes, you only level up after a boss fight, where you spend the boss fight currency I forgot the name of to learn new moves. So... if you just have the wrong moves for a fight? Tough. Your ass is NOT progressing. Again, all these concepts are GREAT! And I think with a bit of tweaking, they can all flow together nicely. But I don't know. They just... Didn't imo. I think having enemies also have to deal with an Overdrive bar would make fights feel on more equal footing? But obviously that could make the game too easy if you're not careful.

And you CAN lower the difficulty, but imo medium is just absolutely brutal, while easy makes the game unbearably easy. It's not a good middle ground. By the end of the game I straight up could NOT beat the final boss. So I had to go down to easy. Which was disappointing. Idk. Just made the whole game insanely frustrating to me even though it is forgiving.

I also have some other issues. Some NPCs deserved more time over others (Sienna's wife should've been a teammate and I WISH SO BADLY YOU GOT TO INTERACT WITH MORE OF THE TRUE KINGS!!). There's a lot of weird writing choices like I seem to recall there being NO contractions which is a nitpick but it always bugs me. A particularly big problem I have is. And I can't believe I'm gonna say this. Sexual Assault / Maybe Homophobia TW??? There's some story beats that REALLY rub me the wrong way. Particularly, Killian's backstory is that his sister was sexually assaulted into a coma. The coma part makes for a very compelling backstory, but the SA part is... completely unneeded. Like, I don't think it's ever mentioned ever again in the game. Which you COULD argue is good. But then. Why include it at all? Also I feel like Killian sleeping with another man is presented in a kind of homophobic way? Or at the very least, why is there no gay couple that's like, actually happy and together? To be fair there isn't a lot of love and romance in general but still. Idunno.

Final Thoughts

And even still? Despite the MASSIVE headache this game was to get through at times??? Immediately after I finished it, all I could remember was everything cool about it. The amazing music, the wonderful sprite art, the cool story, the great ideas, the times where I did like 50 reward board goals in a single sitting cause I couldn't put it down. There's a reason the massive roadblocks didn't stop me from playing. And it's because Chained Echoes is a fantastic RPG. I didn't want to give up at those roadblocks, no matter how many swears they made me shout. Because the game is genuinely cool as hell. (plus it doesn't help I realized you have to equip abilities learned through level ups until the end of the game). I think Chained Echoes is a game I will love even more when I get the chance to replay it in the future with a deeper understanding of how the game works and what I did wrong in the first playthrough.

Genuinely if you're into RPGs and you haven't given this game a shot yet... well, why did you read this? And also, I think you should give Chained Echoes a shot and see how you feel about it! Maybe you'll have an easier time with it and then you'll realize I actually suck at video games.

===

Thanks for reading. I'm a little out of practice so this one is probably particularly messy. But I keep thinking about it and I just REALLY wanted to talk about some damned vidjya games! Since the move I've been mostly playing older stuff on Nintendo Switch Online cause my time has been very limited. But I'm hoping to return to more RPG goodness soon with Dragon Quest II!

In the mean time, as always you can follow me on twitter to see in real time whatever the hell I'm playing instead of doing work to make money and be useful. Stop by! You might like what you find!

That's all from me, thanks for your time. Go out and play a game with cool new ideas!

[dukeofonions]

Reaction Redux (I know it doesn’t make sense but it sounds cool)

Alright, here is my initial reaction to Putting Others First: Selfishness vs Selflessness Redux.

It’s finally here, I’ve watched it a total of two times and currently have it on in the background as I type this, and I have a lot of feelings. All of which would be too much for one post, so after I do this I’ll be making a few separate posts addressing certain points I’d like to expand on further. 

So what I’m going to do is have the video playing as I write this out, that way I don’t miss out anything I wanted to discuss. Basically it’s not gonna be a full on analysis, just a lot of random ramblings with what I hope are some insightful gems sprinkled throughout. Consider these my notes for all my future serious analysis posts. 

Good? Great. Let’s go.  (Also spoilers under the cut)

So, how did I feel as I watched the video for the first time? Well considering I got the notification for the video while I was still at work, I couldn’t get as excited as I wanted to be about it because I didn’t get off until 8pm and had to deal with one too many dunderheads so I was pretty grumpy once I got off. 

However, as soon as I got home and retreated to the safety of my isolation fortress (aka my bedroom) I was finally able to get excited as I got on my laptop and pulled up the video and let me just say I was a mess the entire time. I missed my boys!!! I knew they wouldn’t all be present, but I still missed my boys!!! And I loved seeing them again!!! 

First things first, that song at the beginning! I think it’s called Review Redux (correct me if I’m wrong) it’s such a freaking bop and I wish it was longer because I could listen to it all day. I loved the artwork and little details that went into their characters, and how each of the circles represented who was singing/talking by their colors. Fun stuff and a great way to recap everything! As well as foreshadow things to come within the episode… “If our goals aligned with his what would that say?” Roman you’re in for a rude awakening bud… 

Also, the little moment near the beginning where Patton is about to shut Thomas’ negative thinking down, but stops himself and allows Thomas to explain why he feels that way. Showing that he’s learned to ease up just a little since he learned to do so in Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts. Good for you Patton. 

Speaking of Patton, oh he is so confused. I understand where he’s coming from, and honestly everything he said are things I have been taught growing up, and this is something I’ll address in another post because I have a lot of things to say about it. But just know that I adore the development Patton has been going through and watching him grow and mature. 

Oh yes, I must mention I was pleasantly surprised to see Logan. I didn’t think he’d show up in this episode, or at the very least have a brief appearance, but I love how he took part and by far the funniest part in this episode (to me) is when he had so much to say in one little post that it popped up and hit Patton in the nose. It was one of the few moments where I laughed out loud and I rewound it a few times on my first viewing. 

Plus Thomas being more concerned about the blinds than Patton. My type of humor. And Roman actually gets to use his sword for once, good for him! 

(Funny enough as I typed this the video got to that part at the exact same time so I got a nice little laugh again) 

Which brings up my next point: Logan getting yoinked after Patton skips his dialogue. No one talks about how he does his little impression of that philosopher, am I the only one who found that utterly adorable? 

Let Logan geek out over philosophers please. He clearly loves it so much. 

Then we get to Roman believing he’s the one responsible for everything, wanting to give up the driver’s seat to Patton. And just… This exchange of dialogue:

Thomas: “Roman, I only mean well when I say…” Thomas: “That that is the stupidest thing you have ever said.” Roman: “Oh Thomas, you’re just blowing smoke.” 

I don’t know why I enjoy this so much but I do. Give me more of this. I crave it now.

And I just need to make a whole post about Patton in this video, there is so much to unpack with him alone.

Looking back and noticing that Thomas only starts listening to Logan after he’s been replaced by Deceit kinda hurts. 

Speaking of which, can we appreciate how much better Deceit has gotten at impersonating Logan? Looks like he took Roman’s advice and focused on the little things. Good for him. 

Alright, one of my absolute favorite parts from this episode and where things really start to shine: Patton freaks out and turns into a giant frog because he’s so desperate to have an answer for them he flips and honestly, sounds a little crazy. Which, I don’t know why but I find it both menacing and hilarious at the same time? 

Also the fact he turns into a frog because he was talking about Frogger earlier, nice touch! (And Lilypadton that’s so cute) 

Then we get probably the single greatest character entrance in the history of character entrances. We find out that Deceit finally reveals himself and steps in to stand up to Patton and get him to see how his actions have been having a negative effect on Thomas. 

The way his voice changes from Logan’s to his own, his music kicking in, “The Lord of the Lies” oh my gosh it’s all just perfect! Also Roman’s “Reptilian Rapscallion! Reptilian Rapscallion! We’ve got a code yellow!” 

And if I may: Roman: “What have you done with Logan?!” Deceit: “Nothing at all and I resent the question.” 

WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM YOU SNEK?! 

(in all honest probably nothing but what if) 

Important to note here that Roman instantly begins defending Patton from Deceit as soon as he accuses him of misleading Thomas. This goes to show just how much Roman views him as a villain. Or in other words: Patton, good. Deceit, bad. A viewpoint he continues to hold onto until the end of the episode, which also deserves it’s entire post because we all know how much turbulence that caused within the fandom. 

And to the observant eye, you’ll notice that the cane (or staff) Deceit uses is the same one that dragged Logan off screen. 

Frog puns. That is all.

I just, I love Deceit’s dialogue throughout this scene. It’s stuff I need to hear and tell myself on a regular basis. And I’d honestly rewatch this part (along with the rest of what Deceit and Logan say later on in the video) because it’s all something I need to also teach myself. But this ain’t meant to be a personal post so I’ll just move on. 

Deceit’s walk towards the camera. I don’t know why. It’s so smooth. He’s amazing. I love him. Snek… 

I have problems don’t @ me. 

Also no one is mentioning the reference to that one “Turn based rpg” short that Thomas made with his friends and I find that sad because it’s a neat and fitting reference given the theme of this video. Also earlier on when the trolley problem is first brought up all the people on the bottom track are Thomas’ friends. Another neat little detail, though sadly, their digital selves perished. 

PETER SINGER 

Logan doesn’t seem to like Deceit much, not outright hate him or anything, but it’s more like he just tolerates him but doesn’t seek to get on good terms with him. Which is a shame because as both parts of SVS have proven, these two have the capacity to work together. Which is why I hope Logan gets a debate episode with him as well because out of all the Sides, these two have interacted the least and that needs to be remedied (especially when they’re my two favorites) 

Deceit is trying to make Roman understand, but he’s so caught up in this black and white thinking that he disregards everything Deceit says! Why? Because the last time he tried to hear Deceit out he was reprimanded. (In other words, I relate to Roman so much in this that it hits a little too close to home and I’m definitely making a separate post about this. 

Deceit: *confused* Trees? And I’m so glad I found out I’m not the only dunce who thought Deceit’s name was going to be written on his hand… 

But seriously this whole moment, with the buildup, Deceit’s reluctance to share his name, the music, I’d put it up there with Virgil’s “I was one of them” for best Sanders Sides scenes.

Also, Deceit’s name is Janus! I was a little iffy about it at first, but since I didn’t ever really have a prediction for his name, I wasn’t disappointed and the name is growing on me. 

And then, the moment of trust is immediately ruined by Roman laughing. Dude, come on. (again though, post for another time because I understand where Roman is coming from here)

In all seriousness though I just love the last bits of this episode. The emotion, the angst, it doesn’t hold back and I appreciate the team taking things a step further than normal. Usually, moments like this are followed up by a joke to play it off, but they don’t do that after Roman sinks out. They stay in the moment until it’s had time to sink in. I wish the episode had ended a little more somberly, but I think this is a good step in the right direction. Showing that there won’t always be a 100% happy conclusion to things. Sometimes you need to take time in between to figure things out. 

This line: “Do you think there’s a limit to how many times someone can say sorry before you have to admit that they’re just bad for you?” This line is so important to me within the context of the episode and outside of it. I won’t get too personal but I will say that I was raised to believe that if a person wronged me in any way, that if they said sorry, I had to forgive them. Even if they did the same thing over and over and over again. As long as they apologize, you have to forgive them and move on. And that has messed me up in so many different ways, especially when those people are family. 

Janus sums it up best with “It depends” because yes, some people make the same mistakes again and again. But there’s a difference between someone trying to change and accidentally falling back on old habits, and someone taking advantage of your “forgiveness” that they continue to do those hurtful things because they know they can get away with it and not have to change. 

Also, while it’s totally fine for people to dislike Patton, I can’t understand how anyone could watch this episode and claim that he’s still the same as he was at the beginning of SVS Part One because he has changed. He has finally realized just how much he’s been hurting Thomas, and even Roman. He sinks out at the end to apologize to him, he recognizes his faults, and he’s seeking to make amends. He wants to do the right thing here, and keep in mind that recently a lot of his views (which are also Thomas’ views) have been flipped on their heads and they both need to rethink some things. It’s part of growing up and becoming your own person. 

I need to make a whole post about the more personal things that I got from the last three episodes (excluding Asides) because there’s just so many important things these episodes teach and I feel the need to address them. 

Also everyone sleeping on the fact that Leslie Odom Jr. just casually makes an appearance and attempts to start a pilot episode for his own series “Odom Sides” which I wish him luck on. He just wants to be in the room where it happens. 

Everything Patton did was for Thomas, so he wouldn’t be left in the dark again. He promised to keep fighting but ultimately, ended up fighting himself. Am I deep yet?

“Those imperfections don’t make you any less worthy of love” can you tell how much this episode means to me yet? 

Janus’ “I’ll take care of him.” Ack, he just cares so much… My gosh… Where did this character come from and what did he do with the slimy boi? (I mean that in two different ways)

Oh, there he is. That’s my boi. 

“There are smarter ways to get people to do what you want anyway.” “There are much less barbaric, much more fun, forms of sabotage.” 

Parallels? Maybe? What the heck I love Janus whether he’s encouraging Thomas to look after his mental health or plot his schemes in the shadows. Do I trust Janus? Oh heck no, of course not. There is something suspicious going on here and I both love it and hate it. More on that in a different post though.

“You’re not stuck with an evil snake boi. You’re just stuck with a snek boi.” 

Yes Thomas, continue to overthink every little issue until it results in a mental breakdown. Hm, sounds like what someone with anxiety does… I suppose that’s why this series exists. 

Okay call me a bad person but I almost always space out during Thomas’ messages to the viewers at the end of the videos. I don’t know why but I cannot focus on them to save my life and usually end up skipping past them to get to the end card. I dunno, maybe because it takes me out of the moment? Especially during episodes where they don't’ address the audience at all and then suddenly “Oh yeah! This is a Youtube series lol” it just feels out of place in more story driven episodes like this one. 

Okay am I the only one that’s kinda creeped out by Lee and Mary Lee? I dunno they just seem, off. Like if they were characters in a horror movie they’d be that overly nice couple that turn out to be the killers. Those are the vibes they give me. Maybe it’s because I have zero people skills due to being homeschooled all my life and the only social interaction I get is with coworkers so I dunno. They still creep me out. They creep me out more than Remus. And he legit freaked me out for a bit before he stole my heart. (I suppose this means I need to make a separate post about these two because I do have some opinions about whether or not it was a good idea to actually include them at the end. When I said I had too many thoughts about this episode I meant it)

And if the end card is any indication, I’m going to assume that the Sides are invisible to everyone except Thomas. Unless they’re just “observing” and not even Thomas can see them at this point, given he shows no indication of seeing or hearing them there. Maybe they get to choose when they’re visible? Or Thomas does? I dunno, the rules of this universe have never been clearly stated and are inconsistent. 

I didn’t expect Patton to be the first to accept Janus, and I’m kinda glad I was proven wrong. It does seem fitting with Patton’s growth and I liked their little moment at the end. 

And that wraps up my commentary. I hope you found something in this mess of, things. I plan to go more in depth with my separate posts which I’m going to have fun writing, so be on the lookout for those! 

Also at the time of writing this I now have 63 followers?! Thank y’all so much! I never thought this blog would get this far and I’m so glad it did because I’m having a lot of fun with it and hope to bring out more content regularly! Again, thank you!!

[manjuhitorie]

Shinoda’s Instagram Q&A July 18th 2020 - Part 1

👋How are Retro Tone’s Saddles? 🗣The steel saddles are way worth a shot　 　👀 http://astronauts69.com/retrotone/ - https://twitter.com/sho_do_teki/status/1019548356383682561

👋What bandsmen have you been keeping in touch with? 🗣I got calls from Hiroki-san of Lego Big Morl And Adam Touch Takahashi of Bed In (honorifics omitted) I’m usually never the one to hit people up first... 

👋What are you doing awake this late? (approx 3AM JST) 🗣Listening to Audrey on the radio 　👀 Audrey are a manzai comedy duo! https://wow-j.com/en/Allguides/other/tips_manners/02304_en/#2

👋 Have you eaten any pudding lately? 🗣I deeply apologize for waiting so long to make this clear. The pudding phase has long ended. We had a good run everyone.

　👀 https://twitter.com/sho_do_teki/status/1245973638550917121 Shinoda had found a pudding recipe on cookpad which requires only a microwave, a single egg, then milk, sugar, and a sprinkle of vanilla essence! This discovery sparked a trend among Hitorie fans, as many were giving it a shot themselves and joining in on the sweetness!

👋 What is your favorite? 🗣My favorite what?

👋 Are you sleepy? 🗣No problems here

👋 What’s your opinion feeling on cicadas? 🗣My opinion is that they’re dogshit

👋 I’m knee-deep in depression right now, what do I do.. 🗣Watch Audrey videos on youtube You’re bound to laugh and whisk the time away, it’s ideal

👋 How are you? 🗣Physically I’m healthy. Mentally I’m so-so.

👋 Did you get ygarshy any presents for his birthday? If you did, what did you get him? 🗣I can’t tell ya bastards.

👋What happened to your smoke machine? 🗣I still have it 　👀 https://twitter.com/sho_do_teki/status/1269167465499521025 
For SND’s birthday, ygarshy had gotten him a smoke machine. The kind commonly seen at concerts to add effects.
 To quote Shinoda’s reception, he said, “I’m sure y’all got a taste of the level of insanity our bassist is, judging from the MC chat reports of last year’s tour but… This should really set in stone just how insane he is.” 

👋Any new song recs? 🗣SUTENEKO by Siamese Cats 　👀 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVSBarQH6ZY

👋Are you still working out? 🗣If it’s okay to say that I’m still at it then.. Yeah I’m still at it.

　👀 He had been developing aches/feeling like he had muscle atrophy due to drawing so much manga. Thus, after even Hitorie’s manager urged him about the necessity to work out, he finally picked it up. Though he did tweet “I was working out while I slept last night, and now I can’t stand up… Fuckkkk thissssss!!” https://twitter.com/sho_do_teki/status/1264486160211951617  So… Fight on, SND!

👋I want to know what you’ve been eating lately! 🗣I’m cooking hamburgers and hotdogs at home

👋What have you been up to? 🗣Listening to Audrey on the radio

👋What are you up to right now👀 🗣Listening to Audrey on the radio

👋 Do you create distortion by using your amp, or by stomping around by your feet? 🗣By my feet

👋 What’s next after the pudding phase? 🗣I’m in a hamburger phase now

👋 Who manga artist you especially like 🗣I’ve always loved Douman Seiman sensei 　👀 https://myanimelist.net/people/12266/Sayman_Dowman

👋 What’s good about Jaguars? (*the car I think) 🗣They look all robotic

👋 What cigarettes have you been smoking? 🗣Marlboro gold

👋 You strike me as the type who talks to himself a lot, so I ask, do you talk to yourself a lot? 🗣Kinda, yeah

👋 What Hitorie songs are best to start out with? 🗣Like Senseless Wonder Or any relatively simple one

👋 What shampoo do you use? 🗣The Seven Eleven one

👋 I can’t make a song.. The day is going to end in vain again..

🗣The day you finally make it will answer everything Or at least we can hope...

👋 How’s your kitty? 🗣I don’t fucking have one

👋 I want to go to a concert 🗣I wanna go tooo

👋 Any RPG recs? 🗣Landstalker You can play it on a SEGA Genesis Mini, go ham on the ungodly maps

👋 I like you? 🗣What?

👋 Do any movies hold a special place in your heart? 🗣9 Souls probably  Chihara Junia is so awesome 　👀 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0370244/

👋Please take a selfie 👣 🗣I can’t right now fella

👋What onigiri filling do you like? 🗣Spicy cod roe and/or tuna

👋I just want to give up on studying for entrance exams. But I can’t. How do you achieve that which you don’t want to do? 🗣I feel like I’ve never ever even achieved that which I don’t want to do.. 👋 Any recent purchases?
 🗣 *https://www.jimdunlop.com/cry-baby-mini-wah/

👋 Who’s the greatest genius you know? 🗣Shimoyaka 　👀 Check them out here: https://twitter.com/simoyaka - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9qsoxiPKaY - Tanaka Bunko is the name of Shimoyaka’s doujin group.

👋 Do you ever have troubles or worries? 🗣I do

👋 Which do you recommend out of the great Ghibli 4 playing in theaters? 🗣Well, anything but Mononoke Hime..

👋 My ex girlfriend introduced me, so when I listen the memories come flooding back... 🗣What are you talking about?

👋 I’m torn on whether to cut my hair or not, should I? 🗣Enough already, just cut it.

👋 Do you have a favorite Tanaka Bunko song? 🗣High Score Girl (👀 https://ch.nicovideo.jp/simoyaka/video/so36488388) It sounds like Dinosaur Jr. ( 👀 The western band)

👋 Have you gotten good at any cooking recipes lately? 🗣Do hotdogs count as cooking?

👋 What to do when you can’t sleep 🗣Listen to the radio and stuff

👋 Why don’t you get a kitty?
 🗣Laziness and allergies as a joint force are preventing my kitty endeavors

👋 Will you sleep after this? 🗣I don’t know

👋 For my Coming of Age Ceremony, I’m not sure if I should cut my hair into a short bob or let it grow long so I can style it. Which suits your tastes more Shinoda-san?
 🗣The short bob 100%

👋 So you like girls with short hair.. Then, what hair color do you like? 🗣I don’t really care as long as it looks good

👋 I slept as this time yesterday, but I woke up at this time today. I want to be reborn as a Marlboro gold cigarette.

🗣It may be wise to not aspire to turn into consumables much

👋 What kind of gear is on your current pedal board? 🗣 *A picture consisting of a BOSS TU3W, Xotic EP Booster, WEED MDW-1 wah, Crowther Hotcake, Electro-Harmoni Nano Bass Big Muff, Arion SCH-Z Stereo Chorus, and BOSS DD-20.

👋 I just woke up, good morning 🗣Good morning

👋 Then I want to be reborn as a bed or sofa 🗣Chill

👋 Time to go to work! Cheer me on! 🗣Have a swell day

👋 I’m job-hunting right now, tell me something 🗣I hope it all works out…

👋 I’m a fan from Taiwan and a guitar newbie, do you have any tips and tricks for pressing chords? 🗣Make sure you’re pressing cleanly, I think

👋 Good morning~ Due to various circumstances I’m living in Tokyo for one month starting today, cheers to our battles to come 🗣Battles!?

👋 After drinking all night yesterday, I fell back to sleep 3 times before finally waking up just now. I woke up out of fear after remembering the news about the man who’s bladder exploded. 🗣That shit’s scary as hell? 　👀 https://nypost.com/2020/06/23/mans-bladder-explodes-after-holding-pee-for-18-hours-after-beer-binge/

👋 As a guitarist/vocalist what are you most careful of? 🗣Don’t wiggle around too much and wear yourself out

👋 Alco and Peace’s radio segments are just too damn good, ain’t they…? 🗣I’ve listened to the skit about Ichiru at an international tournie so many times that I’ve lost count, they’re seriously the best 　👀 They’re a manzai comedy duo too!

👋 What temperature do you keep your air-conditioning at? 🗣It depends but, when I do use it I’ll bring it all the way to 24 degrees celsius.

👋 What are you going to do now? 🗣No idea

👋 Have you ever been approached by fans at festivals or out in town? On that note, is it okay to approach you? (；.Д.) 🗣I have. It depends on the time and place.

👋 I love you. Time to go to work… 🗣Have a nice day

👋 Do you ever go to cat cafes and stuff? 🗣I’ve been.

👋 I’ve been job hunting with no resolution in sight, please give me words of encouragement! 🗣You can do it~

👋 Good morning,,, I bombed my mock exams and would love a picker-upper,,, 🗣Well, mock exams aren’t the end so

👋 What do you think of girls who cheat? 🗣I think they’re girls who cheat

👋 I keep doing Hitorie cover bands but I can’t seem to improve the skill* (I’m the drummer) 🗣I’m amazed that you’re even trying at all

👋 Good morning.. Please cheer me on,, 🗣You can do it~

👋 Can you tell me what entertainer you like! 🗣Kamomental 　👀 Another nother manzai duo!

👋 How to restore absolute exhaustion 👀Find something immersive, or laugh-inductive, or just go to sleep…

👋 What’s your favorite out of all the Hitorie merch released thus far? 🗣The album art pins

👋 What is the philosophy behind men who have affairs? 🗣They’re the type who can do it and stomach it, so they just do it, I think

👋 The album cover pins are so cool that I hesitate to use them, Shinoda-sensei what pins do you use? 🗣I always lose pins in a matter of minutes so I’m too scared to use them..

👋 I miss Shinoda-san’s girl and cat drawings 
🗣I haven’t been drawing much huh

👋 Do you listen to anything besides Audrey on the All Night Nippon radio station? 🗣Not much, only like Creepy Nuts (👀 They host a hip-hop/rap battle station!) or Sakuma (👀 He takes letters from listeners and digs into various hypothetical or real events)

👋 What’s the most recent movie you’ve watched? 🗣Lost Paradise in Tokyo 　👀 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1519647/

👋 It’s Sunday yet I have to wake up early and go to work, please put my heart at ease,,, 🗣I pray for your health…