#Where Turning Wheels Take Us [GACHA]

[animeweeb115]

“My, what a lovely potato.”

[somevillainfuckery]

Hello. I exist. *insert a sad yippee*. I'm bored off my ass rn, and I wanna make smth in gacha, so ofc, I went to pinterest for inspiration. What it gave me was an OC Music Challenge, and I'm gonna try it cuz.. why not- Join me on the journey! ((credit to Lay_s cuz thats where I got it from))

My spotify playlist is a god damn mess, and I haven't paid it, so this should be fun :'D ((slight editing here uhm like I'm stupid and wasn't reading, so I didn't see the eye color part but like.. I'm not gonna change it cause I like how it turned out)) 1st Song: Cats by The Living Tombstone (OC is male then) 2nd Song: Killer by The Hoosiers (I've made male characters with ponytails plenty of times, this shouldn't be a struggle) 3rd Song: Shadow Bonnie Music Box by Dheusta (gonna pray the clothing colors won't look bad with black and- blue? purple? Ima say purple hair) 4th Song: Take a Slice by Glass Animals (dunno how the hell I'm gonna put that into a personality cuz my brain small but I'll figure it out along the way) 5th Song: Something Good Can Work by Two Door Cinema (like the last one, I'll figure it the hell out along the way) 6th song: Don't Try Suicide by Queen (guess that solves my fears from the 3rd song) 7th Song: Welcome Home a cover by Caleb Hyles (Gonna go to the comments of this challenge to see how people handled their OC names) NOW THEN- *insert the long painful process of making an OC in gacha* Hair! For some reason nothing else seemed to look right so I went with what fit best. I found it so much easier using the ponytails as back hair tho, everything in the actual "back hair" option just didn't fit right.

Now for outfit and style (yikes). Got the basic look and ofc now the colors✨ (or the lack of).. The colors I tweaked a bit cause it looked just a little too basic. I think it looks nice :)

and now some finishing touches of course (aka making them look like an actual human)✨Couldn't figure out eyes n stuff so like- I just used a random online spin wheel of c o l o r s n shit *ahem* Meet Wilhelm (or yknow, just Will)

[pjskaiupdates]

Tsudere girl, Airi!

yeah, and exactly what you read, today we will have Airi's event! involving friendship

And we will also have new music

So, let's go!

Title: Friendship Rebuilt

Description: Ever since appearing in the TV show "idol Hazard", MORE MORE JUMP!'s everyday life has gotten a lot busier with various job offers. In order to accept even more work offers, Airi and the others decide to reevaluate their schedule. It was then when they started considering switching over to Miyamasuzaka's credit-based course to make things work...

Attribute event: Cute ☆

Members: Airi, Shizuku, Haruka, Minori and Kaito (from MMJ)

Event music:

Momoiro no Kagi

Name of the gacha event: Where Turning Wheels Take Us

Cards:

☆☆

[Soothed By Friendship]

Minori

☆☆☆

[Faith In Unfading Feelings]

KAITO

☆☆☆☆

[Growing Distance]

Airi

☆☆☆☆

[Things May Change]

Haruka

(Jealous Haruka)

☆☆☆☆

[Energetic On Location!]

Shizuku

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Start of the event: April 21 (now)

End of event: April 28

Well that's is

See ya!

☆~

[torihakaraublog]

Cookie Run Witch's Castle Review pt.1/3

I had totally forgot this game was coming out till I accidently clicked on the reward chart in CRK and apparently I pre-registered :0

I get super frustrated/absorbed with block braking games so don't typically play them, but since I really wanted the CRK rewards I decided to grind through ch.1 to get the rewards (please note as of writing this the CRK prize event is over) then delete the game (still need to do xD). I've only played a little bit of Oven Break so keep that in mind character knowledge/lore wise.

Story

Off the start the little introduction animation was amazing. Loved the puppet like vibe! This game also seems to take place between CROB and BRK? Basically the witch is baking cookies to eat.

Then when Gingerbrave wakes up in the oven the animation turns to the more familiar cookie run style. Gingerbrave escapes the oven...

In the walls he meets Witchberry cookie who shows him the window, but refuses to help. She is such the embodiment of a cat. Purple cat with magic powers is just *chefs kiss*.

The next cookie we meet is Gingerbright. She teaches us about the importance of life potions. Gingerbright is...really unnerving lol feels like she has hidden intentions. Gingerbrave is so positive and onboard to making new friends even if they are a bit sus! If you don't take a life potion you become stale *horrified gasp* (Gingerbright thinks it wouldn't be too bad...)

I just saved this screenshot cause I like the talking door xD reminds me of Gandalf.

Strawberry and Wizard cookie are up next. Wizard cookie is so sassy/sarcastic in this. Bro got stuck in a chest and said he wasn't stuck just not ready to come out lmao Strawberry is best girl. This 'room' generates life potions and some other rooms produce gems and soul stones.

Will talk a bit more about this in pt.2 but there is a boss battle against the witches cat where Gingerdozer appears (dozer like sleeping I'm guessing?) They are suspiciously interested in the witch. Very SUS.

Chapter 1 ends with the characters leaving the tower where the window can be seen because they smell something good and are hungry. A cookie dressed in white watches them from the window.

The story moves at a pretty good pace I think and its not too hard to complete most levels without boosts (of course it helps a lot to have boosts if you mess up). Lots of bonus prizes can be won by doing things such as competing to complete a certain amount of levels first against other players. However, there is A LOT to unlock and stars can only be required through playing levels which makes it a bit tiring.

Game Play

I pulled a pretty good cookie (vampire cookie) right off the bat from the gacha, his special skill helped a lot to progress through levels quicker.

The gacha has two sections 'basic' and 'season'. Basic can be achieved with tickets - get these as rewards quite often. Or with 1,000 coins. Not too bad a price I think as you do get a lot of coins in game. Season can only be rolled with special purple coins. I'm not really sure how these are acquired. Each pull costs 100 of these special coins and after completing chapter 1 I only had 90 of them.

When you roll in the basic gacha three dice appear. The pictures on the dice match up with the 5 images above + there is a bonus dice/roll image. Each image you roll gets added to the edge of the boxes above. When a box is 'full' you get to spill a wheel for that type of prize.

Furniture items can be used to decorate empty rooms. There is also cookie specific rooms you can decorate. If you get items for a specific cookie you have to wait till you get that cookie to place the item.

Not 100% sure how mole shipping works? Think you complete missions then can send packages?

A lot of the functions are the same as CRK - changing name, icon, season pass, etc.

Everything you complete can be viewed in collection + prizes are redeemed there for completing stuff.

You don't have to unlock sections to play more levels. Just click the yellow triangle in bottom right to play more levels. Prize unlocking on sections will be shown with a single star with a number beside it or a present box with a star above it (not pictured).

Story sections are shown with a book + star with number beside it. (shown below)

Hopefully that all made sense lol In the next part I will talk about game levels.

[thegeminisage]

doing a dog sidequest in zelda and i STILL cant pet them. got the ember trousers tho!!! i bet the whole outfit rules i cant wait to see it

wait wait these guys found a bottle...dont tell me its another gerudo love letter lol

oooh clues to the fierce deity armor...i found some already but that's COOL. and i gotta come back to get the sword even tho i snagged it with amiibo already lol

i've decided to clean up some shrines i've neglected to do...i promised myself i'd do more story but i never have TIME to sit down and enjoy it!!

this shrine by snowfield stable was absolutely delightful. 10/10. it feels like such a proper zelda dungeon

omg lol the well here is frozen

FAIRIES........man thats so cool. the way their light works in this game is absolutely stunningly beautiful. i wish they came in different colors like oot

always gotta grab a few seeds wherever i am but now it's time for A Different Shrine

i've got maybe 6-7 shrines i activated but did not do, and 2 shrines i did do but didn't get the chest at.....in hebra lol that was early game bs. "oh i want to have fun now i'll get the chests later" the literal devil talking smh

GOT MY LAST STAMINA WHEEL........taking a break 4 now but man am i ever stoked!!! my "being is overflowed with vigor" apparently. nice.

omg i never realized it but yunobo got added to the goron city statue!!

daruk looks like he's dabbing lol (i'm taking a pic of it for a sidequest)

death mountain intimidates me so i'm biting the bullet and heading to lanayru - i'm working my way from hateno up around the south/east side of the mountain. and i guess from there gradually towards kakariko, although i'm saving the ones in kakariko proper for later

IT'S NAYDRA HEY GIRL

good lord that horn went all the way back down to the ocean lol

omg my map says there's a letter in a bottle here...i see it now, but i can't believe i didn't see it when i was getting korok seeds before

i cheated and i know where the cave is, so i'm not gonna follow the brightbloom seeds. i'm going that way anyway on my korok journey and i don't want to do it twice in a row. koroks robbed me of doign this quest organically!! oh well. it's my own fault for looking at "user contributed" on the map lol

dragging my bike around in this cave with me bc my supplies are so desperately low lol. idw it to respawn i JUST made it

oh........................i don't know if i can get it back out lol

i did it!! it would have been less trouble to make a new bike which sort of defeats the purpose but whatever

mapla point, my old enemy...when i had 899 seeds in botw, here was the missing one

i can see the brightbloom seed trail from here! it's quite beautiful actually, especially at night. the reflections on the dark water..........

i wish i could shoot arrows while riding the bike/any vehicle. that would fucking rule

if theres one thing i do like about koroks its how the boulder rolling puzzles from botw became these put the boulder OUT of the hole into the tree puzzles. really good subversion since rolling boulders into holes is now completely doable with ultrahand without any effort or thinking at all. and thank god for that frankly.

i thot maybe this cave guy would turn out to be a yiga but he was legit lol good for him

ok, before i tackle lanayru proper i need more FANS........always out of mf supplies around here smh

the gacha i use for fans also gives out portable pots and flame emitters, at what feels like a higher rate...i don't use flame emitters often but it's nice to know there will never come a time when i'm not able to cook lol

49 fans, but only 9 steering sticks! if only there was a gacha that gave out nothing BUT fans and steering sticks...bc soon i'll have to go load up on THOSE

kinda good that i need fan refills so often tho bc from there i go straight down to this construct camp and then into the mining cave to trade zonaite for crystalized charges AND there's zonaite mining in there...a good thing to do regularly. i don't have as many problems finding zonaite as i do with that middle step of trading it for crystalized charges lol. i kind of wish they hadn't added that in there

ugh, off to lanayru we go.

it's fine. i have snowboots now, and so many fire arrows

WAIT DROP EVERYTHING STAR PIECE

lmao. warp into lanayru warp out of lanayru

oh my god i left at 2:55am i can't BELIEVE i made it in time. thank you, bike. thank you, dark link armor

ugh. ok. back to. lanayru

first stop of COURSE back to the wisdom spring. girl i finally have that claw

done. one down two to go........i have the claws i just never wind up at the springs lol. i never want to go near the quarry again <3

AWWW addison is here shivering in the cold...he says he eats food to deal with the weather conditions but man!!! buddy!!!!!

love it when he gives me muddlebuds. king

accidentally dropped my bike off the side of the mountain lol. i used recall on it just in time but it went too far before i canceled and dropped into a lizalfos camp. life is so textured

spotted naydra coming out of her hole (and doing just fine). beautiful! sadly not chasing her at this time though rip in peace the mats i could have farmed

plotting my next few korok seeds and apparently there's not one but THREE sets of gloom hands near one of them (purifier lake). no fucking thank you i'm quitting before i get to that one. a problem for tomorrow me

maybe if i'm careful i can fly over them...? eugh there's a shrine near there too. why do they make certain areas scary in both games!! there was a lynel here in botw!!!!

oh it's zelda 🥺🥺🥺 she's so far away though, i can't go chasing her either...babygirl i miss you

ugh fine ok it's the next seed and i don't wanna quit yet...i'm just gonna fly over them. you have to be kinda close for them to spawn...hopefully it will be fine...

yea tho i walk through the shadow of death or whatever i fear no evil if i can fly the fuck over it

successful landing. no hands so far. if i don't move much while i solve this block puzzle. OF ALL THINGS. maybe it will be fine

I DID IT......

AND it looks like the shrine is underground. huge win for me

wow! and one long trip thru an underground road later here i am at the good old promenade. a great place to either start or fuck off from tomorrow <3

[project-sekai-updates]

You have arrived at your destination!

Get this costume when you pull Shizuku's "Energetic On Location!" card~

Available from the "Where Turning Wheels Take Us Gacha"

[chigasakism]

Okay, so!! I was gonna talk about how I would cast A3! characters as tarot cards someday but I was beaten to the chase by the actual game so! I’m gonna take this time to talk in DEPTH about the choices for each character we saw in the gacha card showcase!! JP card spoilers below, obviously

Homare as the High Priestess

admittedly I have ALWAYS thought that homare is such a good fit for the high priestess card??

the high priestess focuses a lot on the subconscious mind and hidden knowledge, intuition, and divine wisdom, and being able to connect your inner knowledge with your outer knowledge. it focuses a lot on creativity and intuition, and how those can be used in tandem, and that it is important to trust your instincts to guide you. it also talks a lot about self-reflection and understanding yourself via development of your internal insight, and that if you have just begun learning to understand yourself and your emotions, it's a sign to continue

AND THAT TIES A LOT TO HOMARE'S CHARACTER ARC!! he's struggled with emotions an understanding right from the beginning, and it works perfectly as a milestone to show how much he's grown. the last part especially is an encouragement towards his progress and it just works so well for him because of it!!

reversed, the high priestess shows insecurity and the ability to be swayed by other's decisions due to a lack of trust in one's own intuition, which can cause conflict due to an inability to understand the self, and this can cause a disconnect between what one feels and what they think they feel

which ALSO works really well for homare (points directly at winter troupe 2nd play) because homare didn't trust himself enough to be able to understand his characters or troupemates without the help of the loupe of sincerity and it's so so so important that he DID, and that's what the reversed card shows!

Guy as the Hermit

I will also admit here that I never really considered guy for the hermit until now because in my mind I'd kinda of casted itaru as the hermit (which has changed since, though), but the more I think about it, the more guy fits for it because!! it's super symbolic!!

basically, the hermit represents a journey that you can't see the full path of, or a pivotal turning point in life, and also signifies that it's time to do some self-reflection to understand yourself better, and typically involves a journey that you must take with only the people very close to you or if those don't exist, on your own. it also talks a lot about self-discovery and understanding new parts of your life via seclusion from the world at large and instead focusing on yourself and the people you value most

and this is EXACTLY what happened with guy!! leaving along the fact that his act in the main story is LITERALLY titled "the greatest journey" it's so highly representative of the point of change where he had to learn and accept that he's not an android as he'd thought he was, and he literally embarks on a journey with the winter troupe to make sense of it for himself. it's just *chef's kiss* so perfectly symbolic and I am SUCH a sucker for symbolism

reversed, the hermit can also mean cutting oneself away from others completely and self-isolating due to a lack of understanding with one's inner self and that it's time to actually take a moment to come to terms with reality. it also suggests that it's time to start building up connections with people again even if you have chosen to isolate yourself in the past following being hurt because of a bad experience with others

which, if you think about it, is exactly what did happen with guy! his character arc is so reliant on him coming to understand himself and his place in reality that it really does just. fit perfectly!

Kumon as the Wheel of Fortune

now, getting to kumon, I will admit that I didn't really think too hard about kumon as wheel of fortune and I can't remember whom I initially had for it?? but it also DEFINITELY works!

the wheel of fortune is pretty adamant that life is always changing, and that even if things are hard, they can and will get better. even if you're going through hard moments, the wheel of fortune reminds you that good luck and better times are just around the corner, and it asks you to remain optimistic and happy, and find the joys in what you can until then. it also ties in to karma a lot, and encourages kindness and positivity in order to manifest it into your life. additionally, it reminds you to let yourself rely on people because there are people willing to support you. it also hints that there are a lot of external factors that are influencing your situation and those cannot be helped, but that it's important to improvise, adapt, overcome. it also states that despite this, new opportunities that you hadn't considered will open up to you

AND ALL OF THIS JUST. IT WORKS!! a lot of kumon's struggles with his fevers and anxiety is really way beyond his control, and because of it he wasn't able to fulfill his dedication to baseball for it, but because of that, he was able to open the door to theatre as a passion! there's also a lot of emphasis on how optimistic kumon is because despite the fact that he'd felt so lost with his dream, he was able to keep a smile on his face and move forward. there's also a lot of meaning in how he DOES let himself rely on the summer troupe (notable with his fevers and anxiety before the shows!) and that they are always gonna support him.

reversed, the wheel of fortune can represent a sudden streak of bad luck, and that it's important to decide whether you sit there and do nothing, or try and improve things. it also says that it's important to think about why certain situations occur and how you can rechart a course of action to change it. however, it can also imply a resistance to change that may have felt forced and be hard to accept, but it can also mean that you're finally breaking out from a negative cycle in your life and things will finally turn for the better

the first bit is really really interesting especially in the context of lucky god seven, but the latter bits are a lot more hopeful when you think about it! the change resistance does tie in a lot with kumon's initial desire to join autumn with juza, and how he eventually comes to really really love acting with summer instead! there's also the fact that as he grows with mankai, he's able to finally get stronger than the performance anxiety he gets and it shows he IS breaking out of the cycle!!

ANYWAY that’s all from me today, I’ll probably add on to this when we get to see the rest of the event cards!! I can’t wait to see if they align with my ideas of the A3! cast but (keeps my fingers crossed)

[whitherliliesbloom]

fate matrix

[ ffxivwrite2021 ] ★ [ masterlist ] ★ [ prompt #05 (free) - fate ]

[ alphinaud/wol & cameos and mentions of some friend ocs, you’re gonna have to read to find out who :) ] ★ [ 5,241 words (oof) ]  ★ [ fate matrix au ]

fate: be destined to happen, turn out, or act in a particular way

in a world where the hands of destiny are ones and zeros, at the center of the matrix was a little goddess who would soon find out that she too, isn’t immune to the pull of fate

Day ???? | 07:07am | Day of Destined Meetings

An alarm rings, beeping in an increasingly loud volume as the monitors begin booting up. As light from the screens flood the room, the sound of cotton ruffling can be heard, followed by a soft little yawn.

The girl stirs, clutching at her duvet for warmth before her eyelids flutter open. Bright violet eyes stare up at the ceiling, where the patches of glow up star stickers have lost their radiance in the midst of the fluorescent bulb lighting up. Blinded momentarily, she grimaces, before rolling onto her side and sitting up.

“Good morning, alpha.” A melodic voice chirps out merrily from her parted lips, and she raises a hand to pet the head of the stuffed chocobo that she had been laying beside. “It’s time for work again, huh?”

Stretching her arms high above her head with a final, long yawn, the girl shuffles over to the minibar that was tucked under the table, pulling the door open before grabbing a small tub of yoghurt and peeling it open to peer inside curiously.

Oh, it’s strawberry today, how wonderful! Whoever or whatever magical force is behind stocking up the minibar seems to be in her favor this morning.

Grateful now for her breakfast, the girl slides over to the front of the bed, and places her hand on the mouse after taking a spoonful of the yoghurt into her mouth.

System booting... Please enter password. >illyaskawi03112 Log in successful. Fatematrix.exe starting. Welcome, Alice. 

The monitors that surround her begin loading up window tabs after window tabs - and at the center on her main monitor, a sizeable grid of glowing icons pop up, along with a smaller, more discreet window showing a map tucked away at the corner of the screen.

Visual stimuli overload aside, the girl seemed to be completely unphased as she bites into yet another scoopful of yoghurt before setting the tub next to her white keyboard, as if this were a scene she’s had to see countless times now. 

It’s a routine, a well rehearsed routine that the girl effortlessly goes through the motions of daily. The fate matrix is ever in need of use and she, the center of it all, was more than happy to take control. 

That is, after all, the will of her late mother... the previous Alice and goddess of the fate matrix. It is simply her duty to carry on in her legacy. And as per her duty, she begins to spin the wheel of fate, clicking on the very first icon that boots up the fate matrix’s tool assistant. A bright blue pop up appears that the girl drags to the side, and text begins to appear.

Good morning, Alice. Today is a day of destined meetings. I would suggest working on getting soul mates together for the day.

Internally, Illya is delighted. Soul mates were one of her favorite types of work to focus on... and though they were rarely ever more urgent than other types of assignments like accident prevention, weather management or economic balance, it was one that often brought her a great amount of joy. 

After all, what was sweeter than nudging two souls who were meant for each other closer? It was the very concept of soul mates, and the tales of the red thread of fate after all, that drew her mother into the concept of fate and caused her to develop the fate matrix.

A soft smile graces her features, and she moves her cursor to click on the second icon, which loads for a second before breaking apart into smaller, glowing dots that scatter across the map - with two dots that indicated soul mates being linked by a dotted line. 

Time to get to work!

01:46pm

When Illya clicked on the glowing two red dots upon the map, she hadn’t expected to be shown live footage of the two targets in the very same room. 

It’s not uncommon for soul mates to have already met each other, or even be familiar with one another already despite not having made their feelings for each other known yet... but they were cases that were, in Illya’s experience, a little more difficult to work on. 

It was easy to nudge two strangers in the same direction or plant small, innocuous thoughts that would help draw two acquaintances into wanting to spend more time with their soul mate. It was far more difficult to convince stubborn people who have, despite many fateful circumstances, refused to confess their feelings to the object of their confession. 

After all, the fate matrix was capable of many things - but controlling or taking over the will of people was not one of them. 

Illya has convinced two stubborn souls to finally open up in the past though, she was certain she could do so again - she did so with the likes of the two childhood friends, Moth’ir and Thancred... a case which she would never in a million years soon forget... or the infuriatingly obstinate refusal of a pink haired miqo’te girl to confess to her close friend and personal trainer, Haurchefant Greystone... who had been more than obvious with his flirtations for years. 

Alice, you have yet to eat your lunch. A quick break is highly suggested. 

The tool assistant sends a reminder through a text in it’s window, which Illya is swift to ignore. She can eat once she’s done with this case. 

She watched through the monitor as the pair sat on the couch, a girl with straight cut bangs and piercing red eyes lounging lazily with her back propped against the arm rest and her legs laid over her taller, lankier male friend, who seemed to be frustrated at the girl’s refusal to pay him any attention.

“Why invite me over if you’re just going to play your game?” 

“Hmph! Says the guy who invited me over to his place only to kick me out halfway through because some of his friends were going to pay him a surprise visit!”

The man lets out a hefty sigh.

“I already apologized for that. And that was over a week ago. Are you seriously still-”

“Yes, yes I am!” Without even looking up from her smartphone, the girl lets out a dramatic huff while admonishing her friend. “I don’t get why you’re so adamant about me not meeting your friends. Why, are you scared they’ll misunderstand and think I’m your girlfriend?”

“That’s- That’s not-”

From the heartrate monitor, Illya can tell that was only part of the reason for his behavior. The true reason, and an explanation that the girl understood full well why he would refuse to tell his friend was written in text in a separate window next to his heartrate monitor. 

The girl, Totomi Tomi, or better known by her stage name as Mint, was something of a minor celebrity on the internet. Known for her jovial personality and the many covers of vocaloid songs she posted on her well known eorzeatube page, it wouldn’t be a stretch to call her an idol - even if she wasn’t officially acknowledged or employed as one by some idol management company. Her friend, Estinien, and the object of her very strong feelings towards, had friends who were apparently fans of hers. 

It was for that very reason that, for her protection and to spare her the oogling of strangers, that he’d kept his friendship with the young idol a secret from others. 

In his eyes, perhaps dating her would be the quickest way to convince his friends to back off... but that would only come after they’d confessed their feelings - which they haven’t. 

“That’s not important.” Estinien finally retorts after stumbling after his words for a moment, and Illya has to resist the urge to slam her head against the keyboard.

“Ohhhh... Kay.” Mint rolls her eyes, Illya mirrors the action. 

What Illya doesn’t anticipate however, is Estinien’s next words, for as bold and uncharacteristic for an emotionally closed off man such as him.

“Why? Are you disappointed? You almost sound like you want to be known as my girlfriend.” 

Mint chokes on her spit, sputtering and gurgling out incomprehensible words until she recovers - but only barely... and now with a dark red blush plastered over her freckled cheeks.

“I-In your dreams, maybe!” Her blatant lie is apparent to all but... the ones who are present in the room. “Besides, I already have someone I like!” 

“Oh?” Illya can hear the sheer contempt from her headphones, and she grimaces at the man’s deep frown. “Do tell, who is it?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, dunderhead!”

“Tell me. I’m curious.” 

“Nope nope nope nope nope noppetty nope! Why’d you think I would ever tell you, huh??”

Mint sticks her tongue out at the man, who scowls deeper and nudges the woman’s legs off of his lap.

“Fine. How about a bet then.”

“What bet?”

The man points to the phone she has in her hands.

“Since you’re so fond of your gacha games, and you’re always bragging about how good your luck is, why don’t we make a bet using your game?” 

Snatching the phone out of Mint’s hand despite her protests, Estinien taps on the settings button before clicking on the gacha button, the screen switching to the current limited rate up banner of a popular event character.

“If you get a character of the highest rarity within 50 draws, you have to tell me who your crush is.”

“W-why would I even agree to that?? I’ve been saving my primos for Xi-Ao you know?!” 

“I’ll pay for your pulls. It’s a win-win for you that way, no? You get free pulls from the game, I get to know who your crush is if you get a shiny new character.”

Mint pulls back, hesitant and suspicion clear in her eyes, but still enough to hint at consideration.

“And what’s in it for me? What if I do pull a 5 star character?”

After much consideration, Estinien responds once more.

“I’ll let you whale for whatever character you want next on my credit card. And I’ll cosplay with you at the next convention.”

At the condition of his loss set, Mint’s face lights up with pure elation, as she snatches her phone back from her friend with a cheeky grin on her face.

“Deal! You’re so going to lose, long bean! My luck in Genshin Impact’s second to none! I can’t wait to make you cosplay sailor moon!!”

An equally devious smile spreads across the face of Alice, whose hands are swift to pull up another window tab reserved specifically for video game and gambling luck. 

She has always admittedly been favorable and gracious in giving out good draws to people who deserve it - the program she has running in the background is testament to that... And she has no doubt in her mind that the fate matrix has been generous in it’s givings to Mint, if her boastings are anything to go by. 

Mint must thusly, be a good person.... and she deserves a fate more fulfilling than virtual characters on a screen.

The girl must truly feel confident in herself, as she hits the draw x10 button without a single hesitation. 

Illya begins typing the code into the new window, and sympathy wells in her heart as she hears Mint huff in minor disappointment.

“Only one 4 star? Eh, it’s just a fluke, I have 40 more pulls and I’m close to soft pity too!”

“Good luck.” Estinien chuckles mockingly, and Mint lets out a growl before pressing on the draw x10 button again.

Nothing. The third ten pull is no better - with nothing but a single 4 star weapon to show for her efforts. Mint is evidently getting more nervous as her finger shakes, pressing down on the button that will decide her fate for the fourth time.

She was so certain she’d get a 5 star by now - she normally gets what she wants within the first thirsty pulls, and it’s a normal occurrence to even pull multiple 5 stars within the same roll... So... why?

Her 40th pull ends with two 4 star characters, a sight better than the ones before... a sign of Illya’s pity on her... but still not a condition for her win.

“Oh, someone’s getting nervous.” Estinien smirks, “You’re on your last pull away from telling me who you have a crush on.”

“H-hah! That’s where you’re wrong!” Mint exclaims, jabbing a finger at him. “The chances of getting a 5 star increases with each pull, so i’m almost a hundred percent certain I’ll get one this time!”

Mint’s heartrate monitor is going off the charts, and Illya has to intervene by lowering her vitals enough so she wouldn’t pass out from sheer nervousness. It does little to hide it from Estinien, however, who could only relish every second of Mint’s rapidly darkening blush as she finally taps on the draw x10 button one final time.

The shooting star across the screen flickers, before bursting into a shade of pink that has Mint leaning back with mouth agape, a mixture of sheer shock and terror on her expression. 

Hopelessness is all she feels as she taps, taps and taps, and the roll summary page shows naught but a single Benny - the unluckiest character in the game, grinning widely at her.

“Well, well, well. Looks like I won.” Estinien sounds way too casual and smug, unaware of the monumentally immense amount of bad fortune that had just befallen his friends. “As per our deal, you’re going to have to tell me who your crush is.”

Illya feels sorry for her meddling, and she makes a mental note to herself to bless Mint’s future rolls with as many of the highest rarity characters she could possibly afford to give without breaking the laws of probability too much... but when Mint finally breaks out of her stutter and sets her phone down on her lap, hands grasping so tightly at the hem of her skirt that her knuckles turned white, the girl knew that she’d dealt the woman a hand far kinder than if she had not.

“I-It’s...... It’s you, okay?”

07:32pm

Alice it is time for dinner. The curry will get cold if you leave it out for too long.

Illya’s tendency to ignore the tool assistant in regards to her own wellbeing was concerning, but not an anomaly. In fact, it was far more rare for the text in the pop up to be spared more than a single second’s glance from her. 

Whether it was reminders for her to eat, for her to sleep early, to hydrate or to stretch after hours hunched over her keyboard in front of glaringly bright monitors for a good whole of her day, the tool assistant’s well meaning messages would always go ignored.

It’s a natural part of it’s program, Illya tells herself, as she filters through lists of finished cases before moving on to pending ones. Much like the fate matrix, that ran on a code that was, in admittance, far more complex than even she could fully comprehend... the tool assistant ran on code. It was an artificial intelligence her mother had created during her last few months of life, something that, according to the note left in the hard drive of the fate matrix, would help Illya better slip into her role as adjudicator of fate. 

She’d remembered when she first awoke in this room and on the bed, not having any recollection of how she’d even arrived in the first place. The momentary panic and confusion had been replaced with a sense of obligation... of duty and honor when she booted up the computer for the first time to be greeted with the words from the tool assistant - as well as a lengthy message from her late mother.

We who do not belong to the realm of mortals... we who possess the blood of fate. We bear the burden of watching over the world and making sure that it is a safer, happier, better place for everyone. Only you alone can take possession of the fate matrix in my stead, and I pray you’ll forgive me for not being able to say goodbye to you in person.

Family meant the world to Illya, it has ever been that way. She spent a good amount of her childhood in the company of her parents, with little understanding of the world beneath. She had no concept of the idea of fate, of how destiny was dealt... only that her mother had a significant role to play, and that her time with her family was soon to be cut short by a crippling, unkind illness that not even the fate matrix could undo. 

Illya’s never tried stepping out of her room before. She has always assumed that it exists in some kind of void or overworld that overlooked the mortal realm. It mattered not, really... The only thing important was that mother had left this place behind, and wanted her only daughter to inherit her role as Alice.

It was with that responsibility in mind that drove Illya to stay seated in front of the monitors for as long as she has. 

Time is no longer being a concept, the rising and falling of the sun no longer visible to her eyes aside from a arbitrary number on the clock that served more as a timer for how long she has left to work until exhaustion would consume her. 

Do you not wonder what it’s like to have friends, Alice?

Recently, however the tool assistant has been sending her more and more pointless questions... questions that went far beyond the daily self-maintenance reminders that she could understand her mother programming in for her wellbeing, questions aimed to be poignant and was targeted to making her feel more isolated and alone than it did help. It was bordering on annoyance.

You could leave this room any time you wanted.

And why would she do that? She murmured to herself as she typed in code to program a heavy storm, forcing a raven haired lalafellin man to offer his umbrella to his soul mate who had been stranded under a lone busstop - a pink haired woman with olive green eyes who seemed utterly smitten with him upon first sight.

Her purpose was here, to take control of the fate matrix, to grant happy memories, to save lives, to fulfill wishes and dreams. There can be no greater and heavier responsibility to bear in the world. 

Truthfully, the reason why Illya stayed at first had solely because of her mother’s wishes... But now, it was more than that. 

Because the idea of separating herself from the fate matrix... and not being able to grant the kindness of fate that so many people in the world deserved... it was a pain that was worth her own sense of self. 

Are you not lonely? Do you not want someone to love you?

Why did it matter if she was lonely? The envy and curiosity she feels upon watching a group of friends hanging out together is nothing in comparison to the pain mortals felt from a love unrequited, or a loved one losing their life. 

She taps furiously on a historian with bright red hair and eyes, forcing him to get a wardrobe malfunction that would push him to visit a tailor where an impish lalafellin fashion designer with snow white freckles awaited him with choice words of ridicule. She tips over a telephone pole that causes two surf shop co-owners who were on a road trip to park by the roadside so that they may witness a falling star, wishes made leading to their confession. She painstakingly guides a woman with silver hair and golden yellow eyes towards a drycleaner, where she initiates easy banter with a man who she later finds out was her old schoolmate.

Juno and Ysayle, Bianca and Varis, Niqesse and Zenos, Nowi and June. She remembers the soul mates she pushes together by name, and treasures the happiness they are sure to feel from their memories as if they were her own.

Detached from their world she may be, it is through the fate matrix that she can experience a sliver of their joy and love... even if it is for a fleeting moment before she must move on to the next. 

11:17pm

One more assignment, she tells herself, eyes bloodshot and fingers sore from typing. One more case and she’ll eat before going to bed. She has done much for the day as it is... but she cannot rest until she’s closed one particular case that has her vexed for the entire day.

A pair of glowing purple dots that has been plastered on the map since morning has her thoroughly vexed... because for some reason or another, she cannot seem to gather information on one half of the pair. 

She’s able to view the other half just fine - a dashing young man who seemed to be a senior in university despite his age, having skipped two grades due to his academic prowess. He is incredibly gifted, possessing not only of superior intellect but also an artistic hand and charismatic demeanor that makes him quite popular at his school.

But no matter how much she clicked on the other purple dot, or made futile attempts to manually search for data on his other half, nothing would show up. No windows, no tabs... What was even more perplexing was that the dot hadn’t moved on the map at all. 

Illya had paid especially close attention to the purple dots ever since she’d found this anomaly in the fate matrix... she was certain she would have noted movement if there had been any at all. 

But whereas the icon of the boy had understandably been moving throughout the city of Sharlayan, the icon of his mysterious other half hadn’t, laying stagnant on a singular point of the map in the middle of what appeared to be an old apartment complex.

It was as if his soul mate just... didn’t exist at all. 

The boy didn’t have any romantic feelings for anyone, nor did it seem like there was anyone at his school that would have an attachment to him that extended beyond admiration or a short-term attraction, which she’s long learned to tell apart from genuine love. If the tool assistant had a text saying that her target simply did not have a soul mate at all, she’d have been inclined to believe it.

But the other purple dot that connected to his does not lie. If he didn’t have a soul mate, his icon wouldn’t be connected to the other. Her tool assistant wouldn’t have told her, very deliberately she may add, that he did in fact have a soul mate and that it was imperative for her to unite them.

But how was she to make two people meet when she could not even tell who the other was? It was the first time Illya’s wondered if there was even any point to her efforts. 

Desperate times call for desperate measures, then. It may be unnatural for a piece of note to fall from the sky, but it was perhaps her final chance to get the boy to meet his soul mate before the opportunity would be lost forever.

Assignments from her pending window are known to disappear all of a sudden, and soul mates who were attached and at their prime for a fated meeting for the moment often times disappear from the map entirely... a tragedy as a result to the slipping of time that the fate matrix cannot rectify... and she’d be damned if she let it happen to this case just because of a simple glitch. 

The boy, Alphinaud Leveilleur, star student of the nation’s most prestigious academy, had been walking home from his late night seminars. His position was unnervingly close to where his soul mate is, and since she could not think of any way she could naturally nudge him in the direction of the apartment complex, she writes a note posing as his soul mate and drops it from the sky.

“W-what in the twelve?”

The boy catches it in mid-air, looking at the haphazardly scribbled words on the paper. 

PLEASE HELP ME. I’M BEING HELD AGAINST MY WILL. I’M BEING TRAPPED AT _______________

She made the handwriting disorderly intentionally... just to sell the idea of a person being trapped better, of course. She’d even slathered on a small smudge of blood on the corner of the note to make it more convincing... and it seemed to have done the trick as the boy widens his navy blue eyes in alarm, head turned up in the direction of the apartment complex he stood next to.

Illya can tell he has his doubts, and she doesn’t blame him... It’s suspicious enough that the call for help would just so conveniently fall towards him as he was walking past... but he’s never known any criminal activity to have taken place in that apartment complex - Sharlayan is relatively safe compared to it’s neighbor, Mor Dhona. 

A few simple thoughts however, might just do the trick into getting him to spring into action. 

Injecting into his mind, Illya types out frantically into the text box for thought processing. 

What if this is real? What if there really is someone in need of rescuing and I just walked by without helping them? What if they appeared on the news tomorrow? I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself. What if... what if this note really is fate?

She’s preying on his upright and morally upstanding character, she knows that... and it never feels good to take advantage of a objectively good person’s kindness... But her determination to grant him lifelong happiness wins as she watches through the live feed the as the boy clutches onto the note close to his chest and begins to run into the carpark of the apartment complex before heading inside.

Zooming into the map, she sees that her target is taking the lift up to the highest floor, his heartrate skyrocketing at an alarming pace as she panics for a moment and has to manually adjust it back down. He’s nervous... and she must admit that she is too.

When he leaves the lift, his footsteps are unsteady and hesitant... But a few more encouraging thoughts was enough to get him to push forward until he’s standing in front of a door - the only door on the last floor of the complex, as it would happen.

Illya tries to look into the room, but the window that pops up is but a single black screen that has her sighing. No matter. The fact that there even was a window in the first place is progress. 

She’s gotten this far into leading him here... all he has to do is open the door where his other half is sure to be on the other side.

The boy tries to twist open the door knob, the metal rattlingly noisily in Illya’s headphones. But it doesn’t budge or give way. 

Figures that it’d be locked. How is she supposed to lead him inside? She can’t ring the doorbell because, for as odd as it is, there is none... and she cannot pull up any information on his soul mate, let alone inject into thoughts into their head to open the door. It’s far too suspicious to drop the key to the door right in front of him. 

With each second that passes, it seemed like the boy was letting his doubts begin to sway his decision to stay more and more... and Illya’s heart drops into the pit of her stomach when she sees the boy begin to step away from the door and reaching into his bag for his phone, a thought bubble popping up above him.

I should call the police, instead...

“No! You mustn’t!” Illya yells out by instinct.

“Huh???” the boy’s eyes widen once more, and to Illya’s utter confusion, he bolts forward and is now banging his fist against the door. “Hello?! Are you okay?! If you’re in there and you need help, please say something again!”

He must’ve heard a voice.... Illya mused, eyes glistening with intrigue... her voice. Did her mic turn on by accident? Or perhaps she’d projected her voice onto the door out of instinct. She wouldn’t be surprised if she did... but the most important thing is that it worked, and it got the boy to stay. 

“Y-yes! I’m... I’m in here!” Illya responds, intentionally letting out sobs into her microphone this time, “p-please help me... I-I’m really hurt and I don’t know when they’ll get back!” 

Alphinaud’s heartrate is beating faster than it’s ever had before... and Illya makes no attempts to lower it as she watches the boy grit his teeth and set his bookbag down.

“A-alright! Stand back! I’ll try to knock the door down!” 

Good thinking, Illya hums to herself in silence. The door seems old and rickety on its own... unless his soul mate has very deliberately barricaded the inside, there shouldn’t be any reason why he’d not be able to knock it down.

The boy begins to slam his torso into the door, pulling himself back before once more rushing into the door, and the sound of banging fills Illya’s headphones. It’s oddly loud and deafening... but she makes no attempts to lower her volume as she grips the edge of her keyboard in anticipation.

“Don’t worry miss! Just a bit more! I’ll get you out, I promise!” 

His sincerity touches her... and though it is wholly unnecessary, Illya is moved to speak into the mic once more... and her words causes a surge of renewed energy to flow through him.

“Yes! I believe in you! I’m waiting!”

Illya has never known what the outside of her room looked like... nor the time or space that occupied it. It was never necessary, she’d convinced herself... She was simply content with watching the outside world through the lens of the fate matrix while playing the ultimate puppet master.

She has never smelled the outside air, never seen the light of the sun, never once touched the hands of another... not since she arrived here.

When the door to her room clattered noisily onto the ground, so loudly that she could not chalk it up to being a result of the projection in her headphone, the girl spun around... and stared with wide, bewildered and confused eyes at the boy in front of her - clear without the pixels of the screen obscuring him... clear and oh so very real.

Beads of sweat trickling down his brows from exertion... his usually neat fitting uniform disheveled from strain... 

And in his clear blue eyes was the reflection of herself, staring back at her as if they were a window to her future.

“Y-you.... you are....?”

The tool assistant of the fate matrix sends another text, which goes unread and ignored by Alice once again. 

You watch over the fate of others. But even you aren’t immune to the hands of fate.

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: How ODDTAXI's Big Cast Keeps Its Mystery Interesting

  How many different characters can an anime have before things get too hairy? Or — furry?

  Animal crime drama ODDTAXI takes its menagerie of a cast very seriously. ODDTAXI is about walrus taxi driver Odokawa, a runaway girl, organized crime, idols, and city living. It shares a “panoramic” day-in-the-life angle … with a twist. Despite its unique anthropomorphic animal character designs, its world is grounded in a reality where species is the least of anyone’s concerns.

  Taichi Kabawa explains the importance of social media to old man Odokawa

  EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

  You won’t find one-dimensional prey versus predator dynamics or a shallow status quo vaguely resembling a food chain. ODDTAXI’s cast unexpectedly finds themselves in Rashomon-esque contradictions and conspiracies with all the modern conveniences of social media.

  Mystery Kiss members Shiho Ichimura and Yuki Mitsuya contemplate their future

  Rather than tell a linear story, ODDTAXI insists on showing us offbeat paths, as if we were a city-dweller bumping into eccentric personalities across the street. What matters most is first impressions: your job, gender, income. Even the most mundane facts can change everything.

  Sensational idol Rui Nikaido and fanboy Shun Imai at a polaroid event

ODDTAXI hits the ground running introducing about a dozen major characters, zig-zagging perspectives between cab rides. Until Episode 4 — “Tanaka’s Revolution.” This anomaly in pacing throws a wrench into everything we assume we know. After giving a random, supposedly one-off character an episode about his moral crusade, nothing can be taken for granted. It’s a risky move, but it pays off.

  When you accidentally turn on selfie mode

  ODDTAXI’s “panoramic” pacing gets away with this by adding more pieces to an already incomplete puzzle. By introducing every character with the intent to break first impressions, we are forced to reconsider how ensemble casts make a mystery richer.

  WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

  Odokawa is boring by design. He’s a 41-year-old with a laid-back attitude toward essentially everything, including gangster baboons pointing guns at his head. Odokawa says he’s like an authentic bartender: someone who knows keeping secrets is half the job. Keeping a missing high school girl in his apartment feels more like an aside than a plot twist — the first question asked in Episode 1 is answered before the credits roll.

  Shirakawa rides with Odokawa

  Odokawa’s private cab service is for everyone. His ability to make easy rapport might as well be a façade depending on who gets in. Alpaca nurse Shirakawa is stealing pharmaceutical medication, Odokawa assumes she’s just naive. We catch glimpses of a hopeless bachelor trying to find a girlfriend, a struggling idol group, gangsters, a student trying to go viral — what are they all hiding? There’s a niche for everyone in this tidy metropolitan ecosystem, even if it’s just “bachelor” or “idol fanboy.” First impressions lead us to assumptions any anonymous taxi driver would have. This is why introducing so many players at once works.

  Odokawa recounts seeing Shirakawa meeting with notorious gangster, Dobu

  Dominos begin falling when Shirakawa’s activity leads back to a violent gangster named Dobu. She’s played as a possible love interest to melt Odokawa’s old, icy heart. It’s not exactly a slow burn, but by the time Odokawa becomes suspicious of this innocent-looking nurse, ODDTAXI’s omniscient bird’s-eye view of the city makes everything situational irony. Text messages we aren’t supposed to see, shady yet familiar figures in alleys … even when we’re not behind the wheel, we know just enough to piece it together.

  AGAINST TYPECASTING

  Rui Nikaido behind the scenes at an idol Halloween event

  Toy poodle Rui Nikaido leads the girl group trio Mystery Kiss. ODDTAXI feeds us snippets of Mystery Kiss on TV and the radio, but never the big picture. Unsurprisingly, the idol industry isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Mystery Kiss is presenting a face-façade. It’s not even subtle: Rui’s backup dancers are contractually obligated to wear masks so Rui stands out — quite literally making them “two-faced” with contempt. By Episode 5, Shiho suggests that Rui is so ambitious she might’ve already killed someone to get ahead. Mystery Kiss is a microcosm of ODDTAXI’s ensemble cast at large. Everyone wears masks even when they don’t want to.

  Pretty in pink, better in leather.

Episode 2 shows Mystery Kiss fanboy Shun having a sincere heart-to-heart with Rui during an event. She tells him the business is hard and sales are underwhelming. Afterward, we see Rui and her manager behind the scenes: a jaded-looking Rui sports a punk leather jacket. Even the tell-all idol persona Shun saw earlier wasn’t the “real” Rui. In fact, Mystery Kiss’ manager, a bodyguard-sized fox, is withholding information from the girls. ODDTAXI doesn’t waste time putting its ensemble through the wringer of mask-breaking situations. First, come the disguises, then always harsh reality.

  Shiho tells her manager what she really thinks of Rui

  PROTAGONIST SYNDROME

  Let’s come full circle. By the end of Episode 3, ODDTAXI gives us enough hints to realize Shirakawa and Mystery Kiss are perhaps part of something bigger. Not to mention the uncanny resemblance between an 18-year-old and Shiho partaking in dubious behavior on a dating app, or a possible gangster conspiracy against Odokawa. Unsuccessful manzai comedians confide to Odokawa about the competitive entertainment industry, while two policemen meerkat brothers play favorites with criminals. The world is an unfair anti-meritocracy, but no one’s insisting they’re the special hero who will fix it. Except for Tanaka.

  Tanaka cries tears of joy when he finally pulls a dodo in the mobile game “Zooden”

This is why “Tanaka’s Revolution” is refreshing despite being so jarring. In Episode 3, Odokawa nearly has a hit-and-run with Tanaka, causing him to break his phone. A dodo flashing on his screen before it shatters: “The bird that went extinct without ever learning to fly,” Tanaka monologues. “Perhaps I was projecting myself onto it. It was just like me.”

  "No, if I died here without achieving anything, I wouldn't even be Rare. I'd just be normal."

  What happens next breaks convention by switching gears to the first-person. Tanaka’s childhood obsession with erasers mutates into a life-consuming compulsion to acquire a rare gacha character. ODDTAXI’s “panoramic” perspective is stretched to painful extremes by unexpectedly introducing a narrator so self-aware of his obsession with status it emotionally wrecks him.

  Tanaka’s sacred dodo is deleted from his Zooden account after his phone is repaired

  SHARE THE ROAD

  Compared to Odokawa’s perpetual rotation of passengers, Tanaka’s voice is straightforward. He details his backstory until we know him better than Odokawa. Why frame an episode like this? Tanaka’s narcissism. It’s what makes him, and this episode, black sheep. In a world where everyone’s a main character, Tanaka suffers from toxic protagonist syndrome. His inability to accept reality for what it is leads him down a violent crusade. This episode doesn’t just serve to contextualize Tanaka in the ensemble itself but is also a warning against seeing only black and white.

  Odokawa drives with Mystery Kiss’s manager

With clever delivery of characters being in the right time and place, ODDTAXI is a rare breed of drama that prioritizes nuance. It’s a true testament to how ensemble casts best reflect the messy, unpredictable aspects of life. Although Odakawa isn’t without his own biases — no one is a perfect judge of character — you couldn’t have a better guide for this gallery of oddballs. When we start thinking of everyone as an empathic eccentric starring in their own backseat confessional down a bumpy road, we learn to listen.

    Which member of ODDTAXI's eccentric critter cast speaks to you? Let us know in the comments!

        Blake P. is a weekly columnist for Crunchyroll Features. His twitter is @_dispossessed. His bylines include Fanbyte, VRV, Unwinnable, and more. He stans Ichimura.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: Blake Planty

[peachebunnys]

The Pinkest Passion

Pairing: Horacio Carrillo x reader

a/n: I apologize for the long hiatus, this one shot is like 70% plot 30% smut and most of it is spent dissing Poison <3  

warnings: sex pollen smut ; light choking, degradation, slight cum eating, male masturbation, dirty talk  [18+ ONLY]  mentions of violence, brief mention of death

8.2k 

“Those fuckers won’t know what’ll hit them, and if the—”

The static of the radio cracks, and the rest of the conversation dulls in comparison to the ringing that emits from the old device. The car engine drones on, getting hotter by the minute as the men continue to observe the large compound from a street away. The windows were wound down, and the scorching heat that came with Colombia’s summers felt like a blowtorch that slowly dragged over every exposed inch of your body. 

To say you felt like you were on fire was an understatement, and as the beads of sweat trickled down your damp temple, you had half a mind to remove all your clothes right there and then. The bulletproof vest you had on was stuck to you like a second skin, with the material constricting your breathing slightly. For a while, you thought, maybe I could take it off just for a while. You regulated your breaths in hopes to exert as little energy as possible, fiddling with your fingers nervously as the vehicle continued humming on. 

Fuck, if only you could ease off the protective gear to cool down - but he wouldn’t allow it now, would he? 

Such a prude, he’s probably never seen a naked body in his life by the looks of it -- and the only thing he’s fucking on the daily is Escobar and our sleep schedule. You huffed, leaning back against the warm leather seat in discomfort, shaking away thoughts of the colonel as you continued mindlessly fiddling with your fingers.

The skies were now dark, with a blanket shade of prussian blue that was perfect for a raid mission like this one. There were barely any stars above, and the lack of twinkling had only added to your growing uneasiness of how this mission would turn out. 

You tried to lean back, digging your knees into the leather seat in front of you. The warm surface against your pants was uncomfortable, which made you move yet again, in hopes to find a better arrangement. The man who occupied that space in front of you grunted in annoyance, shifting rather exaggeratedly to make a display of the emotion you had just invoked in him. You merely scoffed at the sight, irritated at his childish behaviour and how he had unapologetically pushed you back into your seat.

What’s gotten into him today? 

Your eyebrows raised in confusion at his sudden odd behaviour. You’ve never seen him this uptight on a mission before, and with the way he was acting right now had you wondering if there was a buried sense of fear that he wasn’t showing to the world. 

Was he … scared? What could make him so unsettled, especially when he was right in his element? 

That thought alone had only made your heart dip, pounding in your stomach as you tried to focus on something else, anything that would keep you from thinking about the possible doom that awaited you. This mission was certainly no easy one, and with an unknown substance that stood between you and Escobar, you certainly were losing hope of being able to win this battle. 

You weren’t usually one to have your feathers easily ruffled by the colonel but you’d now blame it on this awful predicament the four of you were stuck in. Every small movement and sound had made you feel like the other occupants in the car were barely tolerable, driving you up the wall with each gesture they made. On top of the heat that was no doubt growing by the second, the wait for the man himself was causing dread as the night went on.

 “He should be here by now,” The man who sat in front of you spoke up, breaking the silence that was starting to feel almost suffocating. His voice was laced with a tinge of anger, along with restlessness that brewed from the long nights spent on carefully planning this raid. Horacio had let out a soft sigh as he eyed the way Javier merely shrugged at him with uncertainty, leaning back in disappointment at the lack of response. This raid was supposed to be it, the night they finally caught Escobar right in his tracks. But as the minutes went on, it seemed like that glimpse of hope was slowly dying out - like a flickering candle dancing with the wind. 

Horacio ran his fingers over the smooth surface of the steering wheel, turning his head to watch the row of cars parked behind him through the side view mirrors. The headlights of the vehicles were all off, blending well into the night as the tall grass that surrounded the large compound served as the perfect cover. You leaned your head against the door frame, staring out to the night sky as you tried your best not to look back at Horacio, who was unsubtly watching you from the reflection.

Ever since the night of Gacha’s passing - in which you had drunkenly kissed the colonel, things had started to become more heated between the both of you. Fleeting touches, lips that barely hovered over yours, and faint smiles that implied more arrogance than cheek, were instances that had no doubt left you squirming and wanting more. 

The man was a tease, and with each passing day, you felt the need for him grow as he continued taunting you ever so subtly.

The memory of that night floods your thoughts, and the vivid image of his half lidded eyes and soft moan as you pulled away from the passionate kiss, was one you were sure would burn into your mind for a long time. His lips tasted faintly of bourbon, a drink he would regularly nurse whenever he was stressed or frustrated. It was downright intoxicating, and just once, did you wish he would leave his straight laced demeanor just to indulge in that need you know was manifesting in him too.

 “Maybe he’s running a bit late, after all, he did have a special shipment from Mexico today.” Javier drummed his fingers against the dashboard, fingering the buttons of the radio as a way to pass time during this wait. Steve, who was silent for the most part, leaned forward to rest his hand on Javier’s arm, patting his partner reassuringly as he spoke up, “Yeah, that could be it. His men did mention something about it being a special type of drug, harder stuff I reckon. Do you think he’s leaving cocaine for this new drug that he’s bringing in?”

“No, I don’t think so. It was a one batch order that was quite a hassle for them to even transport over, I doubt Escobar would place his chances on something this troublesome.” Javier leaned back into his seat, stretching his arms out to rid the weariness that was starting to take over him. The distinct sound of the lighter rang in your ear, and you caught a glimpse of the man lighting up his cigarette before he spoke up yet again. 

“I heard this stuff is toxic, but no one really knows in what form though.” Javier takes a drag and puffs out a cloud of smoke, thinking pensively as he lazily taps out the ashes of the bud. “Intel said that even Escobar doesn’t know how strong this thing is, but whatever it is, we best stay clear of it.”

“Intel huh? Javi, this better not be one of your one night stands that gives us unverifiable sources.” Steve fishes out a manila coloured file, flipping through the pages quickly in search of something you couldn’t quite care less about. You continued watching the field of tall grass, tuning out the men in your car to listen to the soothing sound of crickets in hopes of easing the weight on your shoulders.

The drug lord’s newest hideout was beautiful, and as you stared at it from the dirt road about a mile away, you noticed the peculiar decorations that spanned across the yard that only enhanced the charm of that treacherous place. 

“Huh,” Steve’s hushed voice breaks you from your thoughts, earning a disinterested glance from you as he shoved the thin file into your palms, “It says here the drug is pink, like really fucking pink - it’s not something we’ve seen before.”

Pink? What the hell was inside this thing?

You flipped through the folder yourself, reading through the little information that was annotated at the side of the page. The words were barely legible that was made worse with the poor lighting from streetlights that were few and far in between. 

Fuck, this couldn’t be good now can it? 

“-- Causes uneasiness in the system, 

Patients experience varying levels of hyper-sensitivity and awareness, 

Heart rates spike at an alarming rate,  

Patients are seen to experience hyperhidrosis --”

“Hyperhidrosis?”

“Some medical term for excessive sweating, should’ve put that one in the footnote.”

“This doesn’t sound good Javi, we don’t even know what we’re up against. These guys have the upper hand, and if we go in blind like tha-”

“We may not ever get this chance again,” Horacio’s voice is rough, and it booms throughout the tiny vehicle. “This is the only fucking shot we’ve got, and it’s on us to make it work. Look, we may not be well equipped to go against this- this thing that they’ve got. But one thing’s for sure, it’s not going to kill us. Why else would Escobar personally transport it back himself if it was so deadly?”

The long awaited vehicles were finally in view, lighting up the road that was parallel to where you were parked. A trail of a dozen cars drove straight into the mansion, lighting up the area as they entered the compound. One by one, the cars packed with armed men drove into the area easily, unloading the boot that was filled to the brim with the strange drug.

 “Looks like they’re finally here,” Javier loaded his pistol and slotted it into his holster, adjusting the rest of his equipment before turning to look at Horacio, “It’s best if we move out soon, and quietly.”

Horacio lowered the binoculars that he held firmly in his hands, giving a slight nod to Javier before signalling for his men to be on their guard. You could feel your heart hammer in your chest, and as Horacio slammed the jeep door shut, you felt the impact snap you out of your trance. 

Sure, you may have done raid missions more times than you could count, but there was just something different about this one that had you feeling more unease than adrenaline. This fucking drug, there was just something about it that didn’t sit right with you - the very thought of the most notorious drug dealer in the world getting his hands on it, had almost made you puke. 

“Are you alright back there?”

You glanced up to see Horacio’s eyes glued on you, studying you with sharp eyes as you did your best to regulate your breathing again. Under the moonlight, he looked much softer than he usually did, and you felt your heart flip when he leaned his arms against the window frame. You simply nodded, holding your right palm firmly against your chest as you answered his question, “Just peachy colonel, the vest is just too tight, that’s all.”

You caught a glimpse of concern that flashed across his eyes, before it quickly went back to the cold, unfeeling expression that he usually had. “That’s the point isn’t it, agent? So that it’ll keep you safe?” He opens the door for you, allowing you to step out before locking all the doors. “Come on, you’re with me for this one.”

His men were all gathered around your jeep, awaiting orders from Horacio as the four of you ran through the plan once more. It was now or never, you thought, we will finally bring down the whole cartel. 

The plan was simple - to put it loosely. Three easy steps. Search Bloc would surround the parameters of the mansion, awaiting orders from Horacio to move in. The tall, uncut grass would serve as the best guise under the pale moonlight, concealing all of you in plain sight - perfect for the surprise ambush. Escobar and his men would be none wiser when the Search Bloc finally moved in, arresting everyone they could get, as well as bringing back the bags of drugs to use as evidence. 

This will work… Won't it? 

The sound of the crickets chirp on as Horacio instructs his men very carefully on what was to happen. They all nod in agreement before splitting up in teams, readying themselves for the green light that would no doubt come soon. Horacio and you walked towards the edge of the plantation, feeling the cracking of dirt under the soles now replaced with mud that sank with each step you took. Horacio had looked at you for a brief moment, smiling as earnestly as he could, he silently assured you that everything would be alright. 

“I’ll be right by your side in this fight, we can do this.”

Your palm claps against his large bicep, feeling the warmth radiate from his body. A smile grew on your face, feeling a blush creep up your neck. 

“Of course we can, Colonel.”

Horacio simply nods at you and surveys the area once more with his binoculars. As soon as the coast was clear, he turned his back towards you to signal to his men his approval.  

“Let’s move out!”

The ground was soft, a result of the rain that barely poured down a few hours prior. The mud squelched with each step you took towards the fences, soaking the soles of your boots completely. You hugged your pistol tightly against your vest as you crouched next to Horacio, studying the men who were unloading the foreign substance into trolleys that were being pushed into the home. 

The air was humid, and your skin burned hotter than it did back in the car. You glanced over at Horacio, watching him look through his binoculars, looking out for any blindspots that may ruin the chances of the mission being successful. He was on his knees next to you, and you could feel the warmth radiate off his body yet again. You’ve always known him to be somewhat like a human heater, emitting heat from his palms with each time he touched you. 

His jaw was clenched, eyes focused on the sight before him, and you caught yourself marveling at how handsome he looked like this. You turned your head back to the men in the compound, studying the way they interacted with each other as they carried the bags of drugs out in their hands. With each step they took, there was a stumble that no doubt came soon after. 

Drunk. 

These men were very visibly drunk. 

There was no sign of Escobar himself, and you wondered if he even came back to this hideout with the rest of his men. Javier and Steve were a good five feet away from the two of you, blocked from sight by the muted olive green plants that were over four feet tall. You could hear Javier’s voice, low and hushed, whispering a set of instructions to his partner who was right next to him. Horacio’s device came alive, with crackled, muffled voices from his men, that indicated to him that Escobar was nowhere in sight. 

You could hear the falter in his voice as he called out to all units, telling them to continue on as planned when he gave the signal. “We can still bring in some of his men, all will not be lost on this mission.” His breath was hot, feeling it ghost over your shoulder as he craned his neck to get a better view amidst the dense plantation. You felt a blush creep up your cheeks, and you busied yourself in checking your equipment, ready for the signal that would no doubt come sooner than you would think. 

Horacio’s eyes darted around the various men chortling and singing loudly, and for a brief moment, he held up his device to give yet another instruction. 

Pause.

The last man walked through the foyer, barely juggling six bags of drugs as he smiled at his friends from within the compound. Horacio had caught sight of Poison, who was at the furthest end of the entrance holding two bags himself with glee. 

It was now or never.

“Now!”

Horacio rushed in and easily jumped over the fence, clutching his rifle in his large hands before shooting at the man who had made the unfortunate mistake of walking out. 

Thump. 

And just like that, a man was dead. 

Two shots, and the body fell back with the impact, alerting the rest of Escobar’s men inside the mansion. There was a brief moment where time stood still, everyone staring at the lifeless body with morbid curiosity and confusion. 

The plants had soon started rustling, indicating the approach of more Search Bloc men that were finally stepping out of the shadows. The rest of the Search Bloc closed in behind Horacio, causing panic amongst the tipsy men who struggled to pull out their weapons on time. Everything happened too quickly, with Escobar’s men scrambling in all directions as they tried to shoot at you. 

Horacio was right by your side, shielding you from men who popped out from your blindspots. The two of you worked together like a well-oiled machine, covering each other’s backs from any potential threats that lurk from the dark corners of the mansion. The lights were barely on throughout the safe house, and despite the harsh moonlight that seeped in through the glass windows, the visibility was still rather poor. Search Bloc men were scattered all over the place, chasing after the men that were fleeing from the site. Horacio and you, however, were focused on finding either one of Escobar’s right hand men amidst the veil of darkness. This was possibly the only thing that could still salvage this mission. 

Bullets whirred through the air, with some missing you by a small margin. The familiar sound of gunshots resonated through the night as you moved closer to the heart of the compound. It was about forty-five minutes after the men’s arrival at the hideout, and there were already walls of pink drugs that lined the brightly-lit living room. The packages were similar to the ones that bagged an ounce of cocaine, with the only difference being the striking colour of the different substance. 

You caught a glimpse of Poison, who was in the midst of dashing across the empty courtyard, clutching the drug close to his stomach. He was dressed in his usual getup, with a cream coloured shirt paired with jeans to match. Despite the poor visibility in the compound, his appearance was a stark contrast to his dark surroundings - that was further accentuated with the moonlight that shined upon him. You pulled your pistol up quickly, hands steady as you followed the path he took to escape. Your pointer finger hovered over the trigger, waiting for the right moment when he finally crossed your line of vision - and when he did, you finally pulled the trigger. 

 Missed. 

Fuck. 

You nudged at Horacio, who had just knocked out a man with the butt of his rifle, pointing at the direction in which Poison had gone. If there was anyone who would be able to give insightful information about Pablo Escobar, Poison was that guy. Catching him would certainly bring you closer to arresting the notorious drug dealer, and that sparked a sense of hope that all was not lost in this raid. This would be your best bet yet.

You took a quick glimpse at Javier and Steve, who were around the corner pinning down one of the men they had managed to tackle. Too occupied with cuffing the criminal, the both of them had completely missed the way you were watching them from across the room. 

Looks like it’s down to Horacio and I to run after Poison, huh?

Horacio’s hand was on yours, guiding you in the direction of where Poison had just sprinted to just moments prior. The two of you raced across the courtyard, finding yourselves staring at two staircases that led to the roof of the building. Without a word passed between the two of you, you instinctively split up, racing up the two flights of stairs whilst following the trail of mud that painted the tilted floors. The marks had led all the way to the roof of the building, and you found yourself alone with only your pistol to fend with. 

The air was cooler here, with gentle winds blowing through your hair as you hid behind a concrete wall next to the stairwell. The lights from the floor below lit up the area, brightening the parapet to your convenience. You steadied your breathing as softly as you could, studying the muddy footprints that led behind the wall you now stood in front of. 

He was here. 

There were soft unsteady pants that came behind you, and your heart raced as it got closer and closer. With each step the unknown figure took, there was a distinctive sound of mud squishing against the cool cement ground. You straightened your back and leaned as close to the wall as possible, awaiting the moment when the stranger were to finally show themselves. 

The scent of cologne had filled the air, one that you weren’t quite familiar with. It was strong and sweet, catching you off guard with the pleasant whiff. Poison had finally come into view, with his distinctive slicked back mullet hairdo jutting out from the side of the wall and into your line of sight. You immediately pounced forward, throwing him off balance before he knocked the side of his pistol against your cheek, instantly drawing blood from the impact. The coolness of the metal had soon left your face, and you staggered back by the sheer force of the swift punch. 

You aimed your gun directly at his chest but he manages to push it away before it fires, effectively shooting the bullet in the air with no harm done to him. He twists your wrists, an attempt to weaken your grasp on the handgun, which fails as your left hand moves swiftly to punch him in the nose. You hear the distinct sound of his bone cracking and his blood drips out of his nose a second later - colouring his thick moustache as his face contorts in anger. 

You managed to dodge the next punch he threw, missing it by a hair’s breadth before noticing his leg swinging to kick you in the knee. You fell back instantly, immediately grateful to the vest for cushioning your fall a bit. The handgun in your possession had now been knocked away, flung several feet away into a nook you couldn’t quite reach. Your eyes widened as you watched Poison edge closer to your body, pointing his shimmering pistol straight at you. 

The air was still, and for a split second, it felt like the world had stopped moving completely. Poison let out a soft scoff, smirking over the pathetic situation that you had found yourself in - which would end badly if you didn’t do something within the next few seconds. You lifted your right leg up, positioning to kick his knees so that his balance would falter. But Poison was far too quick for your liking, catching your foot as soon as it went up. He instinctively elbowed your shin, causing you to cry out in pain as you pulled your legs up and against your chest - curling up into a ball after the impact.

His breathing is laboured, and he pants as he leans forward, watching you with hawk-like eyes. 

“Drop the fucking weapon, Poison.”

A familiar voice shouted at the man who hovered over you, and you recognised almost instantly who it belonged to. Your heart hammered against your chest, body sagging against the wet ground as Poison’s gun had now shifted away from you. You tilted your head to catch sight of Horacio who was standing several feet away from the two of you, pointing his rifle at Poison with tense fingers. His boots stomped against the smooth ground, carefully walking towards Poison who had his undivided attention. 

With his focus away from you, you lunged forward to reach for your handgun, immediately pointing it at the man as you crouched in position across him. With a look of defeat, Poison slowly backed towards the edge of the roof, clutching tightly the bags of drugs that he had held onto throughout the chase. His eyes darted between you and Horacio as you closed in on him, leaving him no room to escape from the both of you. 

As the two of you stood roughly six feet away from him, you carefully studied his stance and the way his outstretched arm moved back and forth between you and Horacio - pointer finger hovering over the trigger as his heel hit the edge of the parapet. 

There was no getting out of this one, motherfucker.

 Poison’s eyes shifted behind him, observing the one-story drop that had left him trapped between Horacio and you. His eyes snapped back at you, and with the sudden movement, you too had your finger barely hovering over the trigger. The silence amongst the three of you was almost deafening, and you could hear the commotion from the floor below get louder and louder - with sounds of engines starting up and blaring out of the compound.

 A huge grin had broken out on his face, and the long fingers that wrapped around the packaging of the unknown substance now held on tighter. You limp forward towards him, eyebrows knitted together as you realised his shoulders had sagged, visibly becoming more relaxed than he was a few minutes prior.

What the fuck is going on?

“You don’t always win, you know?”

His voice was deep and smooth, ending the statement in a light chuckle. His hands were now outstretched, seemingly allowing himself to be arrested. The smile had not faltered, and as Horacio and you moved half a foot towards him, the bag he held was immediately flung up into the sky. The noise from around you dissolved, and everyone’s eyes were now on the flying package that was slowly falling back down. You notice Poison’s gun pointed upwards, and it immediately registers what he was trying to do. 

He’s going to fucking shoot it. 

Your body moves faster than you could comprehend, speeding towards the criminal in hopes to tackle him before he shoots the packaging. Your heart races, and your eyes are dead set on the man before you. You hear a faint call of your name behind you, muffled and worried, drowning in the background. 

Poison’s eyes were on you, and he smiled mockingly as he fired the bullet through the bag, making your heart leap in your chest. At such close proximity, the shot rang in your ears, forcing you to duck as the pain spreaded across your hearing. You caught sight of Poison leaping off the edge, escaping your reach as the strange substance had begun settling all over you. 

The fine powder had filled your nose, causing you to cough with a strong force as it entered your system. You leaned over the edge to notice Poison’s perfect landing on the gravel floors, breaking his fall with a front roll that had surprisingly not ruined his hairdo. You watched him hop into a car with several other men, driving off quickly into the night and away from the compound. 

He was gone. 

Your body slumped backwards, and you noticed the powder settling on the ground around you, as well as on your military green vest. It had a disgustingly sweet scent that was stimulating all your senses at once.

Fuck, this wasn’t good. This did not seem good at all. 

Your body was quickly heating up, and the vest was starting to feel tighter as the minutes went by. Beads of sweat were forming above your eyebrow, and despite the cool atmosphere, it felt like you were on literal fire. 

Does this thing work instantly?

Horacio came sprinting towards you, with his large palm rubbing gentle circles on your back. He crouched next to you, placing his rifle down to get a better while you gasped hard for air. The drug had a cooling sensation that spread across your body, and you were sure that the effects would start to surface soon. There were still bits of the powder that had yet to settle, and upon reaching out to help you, Horacio had unknowingly breathed in the pollen too. 

Too hot, too tight — oh my f-fucking god. 

Horacio’s hand on your body had sent a shiver down your spine, and you felt your clit throb with each reassuring caress he made. “You’re going to be fine, it’s going to be alright.”The powder tickled the back of your throat, causing you to cough even harder. You made a frantic attempt to remove the vest that was constricting your breathing, panting heavily once the thick material was off you. Horacio had worry etched all over his face, struggling to find ways to ease the pain you were starting to feel.

As he moved closer towards you, he felt the effects of the drug take over his body - dilating his pupils by a small margin. He sniffled, feeling his nose itch as he breathed more of the substance in. Your thoughts were all over the place, focusing on a different sensation in your body each time.

 Your moans of discomfort were getting louder by the second, and you found yourself unable to move with the amount of friction that was sending pleasure straight to your core. You were practically trembling as you leaned forward on your hands and knees, sniffling as your hormones went into hyperdrive. Never have you felt this sensitive before, with each small movement you made causing you to drip all over your soft panties.

You could tell Horacio wasn’t having a good time either, with his face turning bright pink as he too started removing his vest and uniform shirt. He now sat next to you, in a thin cotton undershirt that stuck to him like a second skin, with sweat drenching the material, allowing his perfect build to be more pronounced under the moonlight. His pants were getting tighter, and he struggled to make a coherent sentence as he moved towards you. 

“Co—come on, we— we need to get you to the hospital!”

His speech becoming slurred, barely able to string words together as he started getting more aroused. The drug was working its way fast throughout your bodies, and the low drawl that came from Horacio just moments prior had done nothing but speed up its effects. 

“I— can’t, i’m too f—fucking sensitive.”

You started unbuttoning your pants, pulling them down until the fabric pooled at your ankles. With one swift motion, you removed it all together, sighing with satisfaction once it was finally off. The strange substance was making you more aroused by the second, the wetness creating a patch on your soft cotton underwear. 

Horacio stared at you, jaw slack as he watched your legs part. His hand had instinctively moved down to palm his bulge, gasping when you started crawling closer to him. His cock was straining against the material, and Horacio’s fingers trailed his length gently. 

“H-Horacio, I need you right now.”

“I-I don’t think that’s a good id-” Horacio stuttered, eyes looking everywhere as you kneeled before him. His breaths had become uneven, and he had to hold himself back from pulling you towards him.

“We can’t, I-It’s not right.”

Your whimpers were almost enough for him to give in, and he struggled to hold himself back. You couldn’t take it, everything was just too much at the moment - and you were sure you’d lose your goddamn mind if you beared with it for another second. The liquid fire that coursed through you was enough to lunge yourself into his arms, threading your fingers through his hair. 

“Maybe this will work, oh god- maybe this is the only way to stop it.”

Horacio’s eyes dart around your face, watching for any signs of doubt that may indicate that you didn’t want this. You tilted his chin up, forcing him to look at your half-lidded eyes as you gently licked at his bottom lip.

“Horacio, please.”

His hands trailed down your back, stopping at your ass to caress the tenderness of your skin. Your hips bucked at the feeling of his warm hands against your cool skin, grinding against the bulge that was directly under you.

He was already looking disheveled, with parts of his hair sticking out in all directions. You could tell the gears in his head were moving, fighting back the lust that was taking over him. The heat from your pussy wasn’t helping him think straight, and the way you peppered kisses all over his neck made him lose his mind. 

You moved up to kiss his lips, realising he was holding you back from doing so. He dragged his thumb over your plump lip, gasping as you licked the pad almost instinctively. His cock throbbed from under his tight pants, begging to be released as you continued sucking his finger innocently.

“Fuck it,” he mutters, removing his hand from gently cupping your face, “I’ll fuck you just how you want it, like the needy little brat you are.”

Horacio pulled you into his lap quickly, large warm hands on your back as he passionately started making out with you. His tongue worked his way past your lips, kissing you with a strong force that was starting to make you dizzy. 

Your fingers were tangled in his short hair, pulling him closer as you grinded hard against his growing bulge. With each roll of your hip, the delicious friction between the two of you made you moan into the kiss, sending sparks that only made you wanting more. His left hand moved to the back of your head, pushing you closer into the kiss as his hips involuntarily bucked upwards to dry hump your clothed clit.

Hot — too fucking hot.

The friction of the material in between you had rubbed you both in a way that made you moan in delight. His shaft was already at its full length, pushing against his canvas pants.

The action alone made you feel way too overwhelmed, with tears welling in your eyes as you wrapped your arms around him tighter. The moans you made each time his bulge thrusted against your panties were muffled by the deep kiss - making your head spin with the intoxicating sensation. 

Horacio pulled your thin shirt up, bundling the material just above your bra before unhooking them completely. As soon as the last hook came off, he aggressively pulled your clothes off you -  moving his head down to play with your nipples that were hard from both the arousal and the cool air.

His warm tongue against you felt downright sinful, expertly kissing and sucking on your nipples that elicited almost pornographic moans. His free hand was palming and rubbing the soft skin of your breast, stimulating you until he deemed it was time to move on to sucking on your other tit. 

“You taste so so fucking good, fuck, I could play with you all night.” Horacio’s voice rumbled in his chest, and he took his time continuing to taste you.

You grinded against him harder, in hopes to finally get him to fuck you like you desperately wanted him too - but all that did was to make his hips jerk upwards against your cunt. You tried your best to muffle your noises by biting into your hand, not wanting to bring attention to you - after all, the two of you were practically naked on this rooftop where anybody could find you.

Your nipples glistened when Horacio finally moved his head back, his hot breath making you squirm as he panted against your wet skin. His fingers fiddled with his belt buckle, unlatching them furiously before pulling out his large hard shaft. 

The sight itself was enough to make you squirm, and with heavy lidded eyes, you watched Horacio pump his cock with a tight fist, precum pooling around his slit from the action. 

It was huge, and so fucking beautiful.

It throbbed in his hand each time he moved forward to kiss you, while the veins that ran along it became more prominent with each pump. You whimpered at the sight, wondering how something that huge would be able to fit inside you. 

“Like what you see?” Horacio’s eyes were trained on you, smirking as he watched your breaths becoming more laboured.

“H—Horacio, fuck, I need you s—so badly. Please just fuck me already.” 

You practically mewled for him, downright begging for him to take there and then. Horacio let out a low growl, moving his hands down to spank your ass with one swift movement.

 “You’re just so fucking needy, aren’t you?”

His rough palms knead your butt, soothing the sting that had you moaning into the crook of his shoulder. Your grip on his biceps became stronger as his fingers trailed down your sides, tugging at your underwear to get it off. With your legs wrapped around his hip, Horacio found it a pain to remove the offending material from your body, opting to tear it completely with minimal effort. Your lips trailed up his neck, groaning as you felt his thick fingers hovering over your bare pussy, causing goosebumps on your skin in its wake. 

“You’re such a noisy little girl, do you want me to stuff your panties into that pretty mouth of yours? That’ll shut you up, won’t it?”

Horacio’s voice was low, dripping with lust as he growled into your ear. You instinctively grinded your bare clit against his cock, feeling the heat overcome you. Your mewls had come out choked as the downright filthy words he whispered  caused your cheeks to burn up. 

Your hands slid down his chest, moving over to take his large throbbing cock into your smaller hands. You adjusted your position to ensure your pussy was hovering directly over his length, smearing the precum all over your outer lips before settling down on it completely. The stretch that came as you slowly eased yourself on his entire length was mind-blowing, causing your knees to tremble with each inch that was penetrated inside you. 

It was too fucking much - and yet not enough. 

Horacio’s lips capture yours again, kissing you passionately while pinching your ass. The feeling was overwhelming, igniting a fire deep within you. 

“S-so fucking tight, fuck, your cunt is so fucking tight around me, baby.” His pants came out unsteady, and he rested his head against yours while waiting for you to make the first move. The use of the pet name hadn’t gone unnoticed, and the way he groaned into your ear had you clenching hard against him. 

“P-Please f-fuck, babygirl, I’m going to cum if you keep doing that.” His large hands are on your back, and he quickly flips you over on your hands and knees, “I’m going to fuck you so good, you’ll be cumming all over my fat cock, princess.”

Horacio moves his hips experimentally, slowly thrusting into your dripping cunt. His right arm snakes around you, applying pressure against your clit that almost has you screaming from the pleasure. Your hand bled from how hard you were biting down, an attempt to keep your voice down as Horacio practically fucked you senseless. 

His fingers play with your nub, rubbing vigorously at the bundle of nerves each time his cock rams back into your hole again. You felt your whole body tremble, threatening to give out at any moment with each thrust he made. Horacio planted frantic kisses all over your body, nipping and sucking at the skin every chance he got.

Horacio held your hips firmly, admiring the marks that he littered all over your skin. As his hips became to stutter and lose control, he gently reached out to card his fingers through your hair - thugging them with a slight force as he continued slamming into you. 

“You feel so f—fucking good like this, my pretty slut, so obedient— just for me.”

This whole experience was just too much for you, and tears trailed down your cheeks as you quietly sobbed from how overstimulated you were. Horacio cooed at how well you were taking him, softly muttering into your ear how good you were for him, all while he was pounding animalistically into you. You could feel a familiar sensation build inside you, knowing very well what was to come soon. 

“Ho- Horacio, ‘m gonna cum s- soon.”

He pulls you back up until your back is against his chest, continuing to thrust into you at an even faster pace. You could feel his wet kisses along your shoulders, causing you to shiver at his touch. His two fingers continue grinding against your clit, driving you closer and closer to your orgasm. 

Horacio’s hot and heavy pants against your neck fired up your senses even more, which completely wrecked your brain once he leaned in to lick the space between your neck and shoulder.

His left hand, that was once palming and squeezing your breasts, now moved up to wrap around your neck - applying the lightest pressure possible. If it weren’t for the fact that Horacio was holding you up, you would’ve fallen by now due to how badly your body was trembling from stimulation.

Horacio made everything seem so sexy, and as he gently choked you while groaning your name in your ear - you could feel yourself about to let go.

“Then come for me - I want you to soak my cock with your cum, pretty girl.”

Fuck- it really was too much. He- he was too fucking much.

Horacio picked up his pace, fucking you at an almost brutal pace as you clenched around him. The skin against skin sound, along with the squelching noises that came each time he entered you, got louder and louder. You could feel your vision turning white, orgasm ripping through you like never before. Your mind was full yet blank at the same time, crying out Horacio’s name as you let the pleasure rip through you. He tilted your head towards him, kissing you fervently as he lost control of his hips. 

Barely a moment later, he pulls out his dripping cock, allowing you to fall from the sudden lack of support. You rolled over to see Horacio staring straight at you, eyes pitch black as he jerked himself off to the sight of your essence dripping out of your pussy. 

You leaned back against the floor, lying flat on the cool surface as you moved your fingers down to clean your cum. You rubbed your fingers along the entrance of your cunt, dipping them into your release - only to lick your fingers clean when you noticed Horacio’s eyes still trained on you. He had let out a guttural groan, forcing his eyes shut as his pace became faster. You were enchanted by the sight of a man as authoritative as him on his knees, jerking himself off to the mere display of you naked on the ground, with cum seeping out of your gaping hole. 

Oh, how you were so wrong for misjudging him as a prude. 

Horacio’s hair was sticking out all over the place, lips swollen from all the kissing. His biceps flexed with each thrust, and his mouth was wide open - losing himself in the pleasure he was chasing. He spits on his right palm before continuing to seek after his release, with his head tilted back as he reaches his high.

His large hands wrapped around his cock tighter, and with one last pump, he came all over your stomach - painting your soft skin white with his release. He chanted your name like it was a prayer, chest heaving as the pleasure washed all over him. 

The view of him orgasming would’ve made you instantly turned on again, if it weren’t for the fact you felt like you were exhausted. Horacio hovered over you with his dick in his hand, completely unsure of what to do next. The drug was slowly wearing out, and the two of you awkwardly avoided eye contact as you took a breather from what was possibly the most intensive sex ever. 

The effects were leaving your body, and you found your heartbeat and breathing gradually becoming normal. You were becoming more aware of your surroundings, mind clearing from the hazy blur it once was. The commotion below had died down, and you wondered if everything had been settled while the two of you were up here having the fuck of your lives. You finally sat up and crawled over to your clothes that were thrown a few feet away, eyeing your torn panties curiously.

How the hell did this man manage to rip it perfectly in half? 

As you continued studying the now useless article of clothing, you heard Horacio clear his throat - effectively breaking you from your trail of thoughts. He already had his uniform shirt and pants on, stuffing the softening cock back before looking at you. He pointed at your stomach, face turning completely red as he started apologising for the mess he had made. 

As he reached out for his handkerchief in his back pocket, he caught sight of your fingers swiping up his release with your fingers, sucking on them with a smile on your face. 

“Stop it,” he groaned, “fuck, how are you still trying to tease me, even after I’ve fucked you? Hadn’t you already had your fill?”

“What can I say, Colonel? That was the hottest sex I’ve ever had in my entire life.”

You removed your fingers from your mouth with a wet ‘pop’, ensuring it was loud enough for him to hear. Once he had cleaned you up, he shoved the now dirty cloth back into his pocket, helping you up to your feet so that you could properly dress. Horacio’s radio called out to him, with Javier’s voice laced with worry. The message had come out muffled, with only bits of it successfully conveyed through. He answered  their questions, turning his back to you as you quickly got dressed next to him. His cheeks were still dusted pink, and he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as he thought of what to say next. 

“Guess we found out what this drug does exactly, huh?”

You let out a soft chuckle, tightening the last strap on your vest before turning back to him. The two of you adjusted your clothes once more before finally heading down the flight of stairs. The place had been cleared out entirely, with nothing but a speck of dust left in its wake. Javier and Steve jogged up to you, faces bunched up in confusion as they took in the sight of how awful you two looked. 

“Where the hell have you been? You look like you’ve just been through some rough shit.” Steve pulled the cigarette away from his lips, breathing out a small puff of smoke. “We’ve managed to take down a couple of guys, and it looks like our work here is done. Come on, we best get the two of you home - we’ll fill you in on the road.”

Your fingers comb through your hair, settling it down as neatly as possible while you tailed behind the men. Your DEA partners muttered something amongst themselves, paying no attention to you and Horacio who trailed far behind them. 

The tiny rocks crunched below your shoes, and you admired the beautiful view that surrounded the compound as you strolled with Horacio back to the car. The silence between you was starting to get awkward, and you fiddled with your fingers to avoid making eye contact with him. Whatever had happened earlier wasn’t something you quite regretted, but you wished it happened under more natural circumstances. 

Just as you were about to get into the car, Horacio opened the door for you - tongue swiping over his bottom lip as he looked straight into your eyes. The moonlight accentuated his strong features, and you felt yourself falling a little bit more in love with him. His hand reaches out to hold yours, gently rubbing his thumb over your knuckles. 

“Hey,” Horacio cleared his throat, smiling at you bashfully before he continued, “would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night? I want to get to know you better, if you’d like.”

The question had caught you off-guard, but you quickly recovered as you intertwined your fingers with his. You tiptoed up to gently kiss his cheek, smiling as you noticed the tenderness of his skin, “of course Horacio, I’d love to.”

The car engine hums as it starts on, and you found yourself replaying the events that had transpired an hour earlier. The voices of your partners were drowned out as you looked out the window and at the fields of plantations. The wind blew through the tall plants, creating a gentle rustle as you smiled to yourself with glee. 

Maybe that drug wasn’t so bad after all. 

[animeweeb115]

“I want her to decide when she's sure.”

[zelskzerker]

Mangadex went down so I read alot 1/7

Lets review a bunch of isekai and related stuff I binged because mangadex went down. The scale will be a single thumbs up to a single thumbs down in terms of how much I would consider recommending it in general.

Legend

Chapters 1-51 Pretty straight forward in most aspects. For the best. Nothing crazy bad or good happening, making it surprisingly straight forward for an isekai. [Insert isekai startup here] but this time the MC is given a super magic body and the knowledge of ancient magic. Which he promptly uses to create a griffon buddy. Gets a THUMB IN THE UPPER CORNER for just being a nice, believable stay in a world, but I have read some stuff that really has interesting sparks the way this doesnt. MC is brutal at times and General Princess is cute. They make a good pair for each other.  Although there are no ecchi situations, that artist really knows how to slide in the lewds, whether its mid combat flourishes or pre chapter artwork.

The Black Create Summoner: Revolt of Reincarnated

All Chapters

Truly is revolting. A resounding THUMBS DOWN.  Apparently this was just an advertisement manga, which means that its intentionally incomplete and unsatisfying. Ontop of that, the sketchy artwork was generally rough and got worse to look at the more it went on. [Insert isekai startup here] but this time he has a grimoire that lets him summon stuff he draws. The power isn’t used that much though or in that creative of ways. Characters didn’t really leave an impact except maybe the elf little sister that is stubborn yet knows she is incompotent and recruits a dragon out of stubbornness. 

Minotaur’s Sweetheart

Chapters 1-16

So what if a minotaur accidentally seduced the adventurer that was assigned to kill him? This is a good romance manga deserving a THUMBS UP because the pure-hearted minotaur boy and the unmarriageable adventurer girl actually develop a relationship and progress as people. The manga is ultimately about monsters and humans interacting and is fresh due to having a plot that evolves the situation a lot beyond the initial setup of the manga.

Moon-led Journey Across Another World

Chapters 1-64

[Insert isekai startup here] but this time the god of the new world calls the MC ugly and banishes him to the edge of the world to die off. In order to help out the MC, the god of our world (Tsukuyomi) gives him a bit of power. The MC is funny to watch once you realize that he is an incredibly cautious pureboy and expecting every common street thug to potentially end him but in reality he is a god-rivaling cataclysm himself and never realizes. He is so powerful that he recruits the blue haired mist dragon, Tomoe, and accidentally turns her into a weeaboo. Tomoe can read minds and access pocket space with her mist ontop of her sick weeaboo katana skills. She really shines as the most mature person in the story, gaining information that no one else in the story has and carefully withholding it from the MC in order to protect his innocence. She is a DAMN good tomboyish waifu and sarashii is a blessing. Other main girl is yandere spider, Mio, which has shockingly good and well conveyed bouts of emotion. She has an extremely rare “can’t cook at all” joke that is explained due to her “eat literally anything” nature. In terms of plot, the MC hates the god of the world he is in and pretty much plans to do everything she doesn’t want him to. Which means mingling with humans, and eventually, god slaying/usurption. Odd think about this manga is that it’s heavily Japanese-inspired. That may sound odd because its a manga, but generally isekai are most medieval/western skinned than this one which leans in on Japanese mythos. Just look at the god of our world in the manga.

THUMBS UP.

The Unsuccessful yet Academically Unparalleled Sage ~A Cheating S-Rank Sorcerer's Post-Rebirth Adventurer Log~

Chapter 1-10 So lets set up this genre here. This is a part of the “reincarnation” genre, which is a spinoff of isekai. They generally depict a very capable mage who reincarnates themselves into the future of their own world. At which point they realize that although they were pretty strong in their day, they are now practically a god in the deteriorated modern day. This genre will hereby be indicated by [Insert reincarnation startup here]. For this manga in specific, [Insert isekai startup here] but this time the MC could only use lightning magic and was the best at it but failed the gene gacha then [Insert reincarnation startup here] and he fails gene gacha again but is still the walking thunder god. These kinds of manga are always precious when the MC can walk through the world and see the fruits of their past labor. Specifically through Merlin, the MC’s adopted demon daughter who has grown up to be his heritor and bridge human/demon relationships. Truly adorable and heart warming. Lacks a bit of spice from themeing or ongoing plot due to its short length however. THUMB IN THE UPPER CORNER.

Older Elite Knight is cute only in front of me

Chapters 1-17.1

THUMBS UP. This is an oneshota manga where shota is a chad with incredibly good tastes. A really good ecchi manga with a light hearted story featuring Haru(the shota) knight that joins Karen’s(the oneesan) knight crew. As with all good romance manga, the main plot isn’t romance. Knight shenanigins are always happening, with a big (and lewd) bad entering recently. Top tier variation on the lewds, even including a princess loli in on the fun. Must read for all oneshota fans.

Lonely Attack on A Different World

Chapter 1-91

[Insert isekai startup forma de classroom here] but this time the MC gets leftover garbage skills and has to learn to survive. Learning to survive thus makes him the most op and he can magic trick his way out of literally anything. Strong start as the whole classroom first tries to get their footing, but after the starting arc is done this manga starts spinning it’s wheels. The manga is kinda lacking in themes, overarching plot and end goals, so stuff just happens to make this a sort of slice of life trap room escape manga. Magic “just works” in this universe so its not very dramatic when the MC pulls out a new trick out of his bag of million tricks. Just kinda stagnates too much for my liking. THUMB IN THE BOTTOM CORNER.

The Unwanted Undead Adventurer

Chapters 1-34

Rentt Faina, the MC, is a good guy with no talent who aspires to be a legendary adventurer. But then he gets turned into a skeleton, giving the chance to evolve his way to greatness, kinda like in Spider isekai or Dragon isekai. The MC is most like Goblin Slayer in his serious and knowledgeable approach to the world, how characters that know him revere him. End goal so far is just him seeing how far he can evolve as he comes across other vampires and vampire hunters. Really want to see him go to the top. Fuckin great art. Girls drawn perfect. Like the hat on the guild girl, but nothing beats the witch Lorraine. THUMBS UP.

Teihen Ryoushu No Kanchigai Eiyuutan

Chapters 1-13

THUMB IN UPPER CORNER. Pretty funny comedy about a lord of a poor land who wants to be a stereotypical evil lord but can only use healing magic. Therefore he bumbles his way into accepting a heretical cult nun, beast men who hate humans, etc. All the girls are to crazy for him to want to sex them(weak. give the assassin nun your babies). Most interesting parts are aforementioned nun, his fujoshi assistant, and the MC’s willingness to use his power to commit heretical and immoral warcrimes. 

The Undead Lord of the Palace of Darkness

Chapters 1-11

Art average, don’t come to this one for spectacle. It’s strength is in the subertfuge that it’s recently-necromanced-back-to-life MC goes through to get his Master killed and to later, probably, evolve into a vampire. MC isn’t evil though, just wants to survive. Main girl on cover was born and raised to hunt vampires but has a compassionate heart. Obviously she goes easy on and relates to MC. Story is still kinda in it’s first arc so the overall trajectory of the story is a bit hard to gauge and not quite satisfying enough by its own right. Probably a thumb up with more chapters but for now THUMB IN THE UPPER CORNER.

The Reincarnated Inferior Magic Swordsman

Chapters 1-38

[Insert isekai startup here] but this time.... uh... THUMB SIDEWAYS. Usually I am patient, but 31 chapters with no goal and just barely plot? Wow. Saving grace is uh... I guess the world of “other isekai people existed but they sucked because they didn’t level uncap like MC” could go somewhere but. I take it back, lowering this one to a THUMB DOWN.

The Invincible Sage in the Second World.

Chapters 1-12

[Insert isekai startup here] but this time a pro mmo player in a game called “Broken Balance Online.” Guess what his class, the sage class, was considered in the game? Not far along enough to really pop off but it isn’t horrible. MC is moderately cautious to a healthy degree which is actually rare in most isekai. THUMB IN BOTTOM LEFT CORNER. 

The Dark Queen and I Strike Back

Chapters 1-29.5

Although technically an isekai, no isekai startup here. This a battle manga with a big mystery on the backdrop of a war. That is to say, the MC gets teleported to a world to kill the demons but he ends up defending them from the humans with all he’s got. Of special note is the complete seriousness of this manga that whiplashes into debauchery like tentacles, the above cover, oneshota, and even really dark jokes in some of the omake. That tonal lash effect will be either make or break, and it is a HUGE make for me. I love when a single piece can have both absolute serious scenes and utterly lighthearted and fluffy ones. Or in this case utterly lewd ones. May the average-human-amount-of-perverted MC one day slam some demon lord loli. THUMBS UP.

Chillin' in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers

Chapters 1-24

THUMB SIDEWAYS. Has the feeling of a nerfed slime isekai. Nerfed in all ways except romance. Art surprisingly good.

[ohhstuffandfluff]

Well, games locking you out of content using a paywall is just shitty, but there are couple of real reasons for games and apps to use fake currency. I believe there are legal reasons to do so (I think it has to do with gambling and fraud laws but I'm not a lawyer), but I can tell you about the two big ones.

The first, and least insidious, is simply to avoid worldwide currency issues. No need to worry about converting real world currencies and all of the bizarre handling that comes with it. It functions the same as turning money into chips at a casino (albiet with no way to cash out). Having Monopoly money also allows for reward systems that aren't necessarily tied to real world cash, for the way games and apps will sometimes hand out freebies and such.

The second and more malicious is that it allows game makers to obscure and confuse consumers about the real value of their Monopoly money. Fortnite is particularly notorious with this. For example, let's say there's a gacha game and each spin costs 10 fun bucks. There are fixed probabilities of at what rate certain items show up (and these are visible in most games now, or available in some way, thanks to Chinese gambling laws), but it's ostensibly random what you get each spin. You can buy fun bucks at $10, $20, and $30 packages where you get 10 fun bucks for $10, $20 gets you 30, and $30 gets you 50. The value of your real world money is all over the place here, starting at 1:1 and then jumping to 3:5. It's obviously a better deal to take the $30 option but for five spins of an ostensibly random wheel, how much is your money actually worth? Especially if what you pull are low level items? And game developers can fluctuate these prices basically however they want to ensure you're paying more for not that many greater returns (presuming this game is like, the most scummy). This is basically how many lootbox systems work, though my description is pretty bare bones. Some systems are more or less scummy, but that's basically the gist of it. If you want a closer look at some of these systems, particularly how they work in Fortnite, I'd recommend this video by Folding Ideas. It's a really great watch if you're interested in games and their often shady monetization schemes, especially in a game as huge and influential as Fortnite.

why does every game company want you to buy clown money for stuff that should be included in the base game. like. our apologies valued customer but you haven't collected enough booboo bucks to access the 'load game' feature. be sure to purchase the 17.99 pie face bundle for 300 bonus booboos within the next 72 hours if you ever want to see your precious little characters again you utter piece of [HONK]

[entergamingxp]

Test Drive Unlimited drew a new horizon for racing games • Eurogamer.net

Did you know that they’re making a new Test Drive Unlimited? It’s true! Kylotonn, the French studio behind the well-regarded WRC and Isle of Man TT series, has acquired the Test Drive licence from Atari, and there are veterans of the Eden Games team that made it working at the studio. It’s exciting, but also a little scary. Kylotonn is a small studio owned by a small publisher. Test Drive Unlimited was something of a scrappy underdog in its day, too, of course, but back then its only competition in open-world racing was Need for Speed, a very different beast. Now, a new TDU would be going up against a game that has taken its rough frame and polished it to a gleaming finish: Playground Games’ Forza Horizon. Why bother?

It is, however, only fair that the French series returns to try to grab a slice of this pie: it wrote the recipe. Forza Horizon simply wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for 2006’s Test Drive Unlimited. Released so early in the last generation that it beat the PS3 to market, TDU dreamed of a different kind of real-world road racing to the studious lapping and tweaking of Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport. Inspired by the original 1987 Test Drive’s winding ribbon of cliffside tarmac, this would be a game about the glory of the open road; about exploring exotic, sun-kissed landscapes; about freedom and danger as you weave through traffic; about cruising as well as going flat out.

Revisiting the game on Xbox 360 now, it’s almost hard to believe it launched on the same platform that hosted the first Forza Horizon in 2012. It wobbles on what was then new hardware, stretching the limits of what the Eden team could achieve with it. The visuals now look muddy and plain, the car handling is agricultural, the frame tears and stutters and the human characters all look like weirdly sarcastic shop mannequins. (Did I mention the game is French?) Some aspects of the game seem embarrassingly dated now: the fashion brands (remember when people wore Ecko Unltd hoodies with cargo shorts?); the glossy, Second Life-style lifestyle MMO elements; the missions that require you to give ladies a lift home with their shopping. Suddenly the noughties seem like a distant land.

But good lord, it can still intoxicate too. It turns out that there are a few specific ingredients in Test Drive Unlimited that haven’t been successfully copied by Forza Horizon or, for that matter, anything else. So here is my entirely unsolicited advice to the Kylotonn team on what they need to preserve from the original TDU to set the game apart.

Let me choose my upholstery colour. Long before Forza Vista, TDU offered the ultimate car-shopping experience. You could poke around the car in the showroom, rolling down the windows, turning the ignition, listening to the reassuring thunk of the doors. And although its customisation options are dwarfed elsewhere, this is the only game I can think of that lets you match paint and upholstery colours straight out of the factory catalogue to find the perfect combination. Beautiful.

Don’t put too many cars in it, and don’t let me have all of them. The art and licensing teams can thank me later for this one. But it’s not just about reducing the scope to something a small developer can manage. It’s about the amazing sense of ownership TDU achieves. The way the game paces its economy, combined with the slowly expanding number of garage slots it gives you, forces you to make tough choices about what to buy; for the longest time, you can only afford one car in each performance band as you unlock them. You really invest in these machines, and consequently you love them all the more. Forza boasts an incredible selection, but its Gacha machine spits them out at a rate you can never keep up with. It becomes collection for collection’s sake, and looking at your garage is overwhelming. Going to your garage in TDU – which, by the way, is a physical space at your home – you feel the glowing pride of the curator.

Keep it real. Where Forza goes for condensed, fantasy versions of real-world locations, crafted to provide excitement wherever you turn your wheel, TDU and its sequel recreated the islands of Oahu and Ibiza more or less to scale, with a more or less accurate road map. It isn’t all thrilling; there’s a lot of freeway. But it feels like a real place, and driving fast there feels illicit, whereas Playground’s wonderful creations feel like, well, playgrounds: the real shrunk down and smoothed out into a sort of racing paradise.

Pile on the traffic. Comparing TDU to the latest Forza Horizon, I notice that in the latter game, the traffic is spaced out just enough that, with a bit of skill, I can thread through it without ever having to take my foot off the gas. Not so in the former. You’re constantly having to lift off, swerve, tap the brakes, check your speed. When you hit long stretches of freeway, every mile per hour you can add feels hard won and puts your heart further in your mouth. The great sensation of speed here has nothing to do with a dolly zoom camera effect or a whooshing sound in the audio mix – it’s all to do with your awareness of the risk you’re taking.

Do the car delivery missions. All of the above come together in my favourite part of TDU: missions that ask you to deliver an exotic car, one you probably can’t afford yourself yet, from one end of the map to the other. Crucially, there’s no time limit, but every scrape you add to the car knocks thousands of dollars off your fee. You can dawdle at 30mph the whole way if you like, but then you will have missed the chance to hear this Ferrari Enzo in song, to see what it can really do. So you watch the traffic, and the lights, and the junctions, cautiously but with an eye to an opportunity to open up the throttle. You spot your chance, floor it. The thrill is incredible.

No other racing game has ever made me feel like that. In no other racing game do I consciously move between different registers of driving: relaxed, fast or racing. I just go as fast as I can because that’s what you do. TDU showed another way. It was a gem, and a new one will always be welcome to show us a different way to drive.

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/07/test-drive-unlimited-drew-a-new-horizon-for-racing-games-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=test-drive-unlimited-drew-a-new-horizon-for-racing-games-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

[verdi25-blog]

03182020

I got home yesterday to find an urgent mail in my box. I had somehow missed paying one of my older bills and because of that, they’ll be shutting off my water. (oops)

Yesterday’s deskwarming was so boring that I actually read through the new Homestuck 2 story. It was strange and definitely felt different from the original Homestuck now that the story has a new plot point. It’s still entertaining... but it’s also a bit much to digest at once. This didn’t even last me that long and I still had a couple hours to go through.

I was reminded to do taxes so I started looking that up as well and... it felt really troublesome and annoying. I think for now, I need to send in two of the more important documents: changing my address and an extension.

Apparently, the JHS (unsure about ES) is thinking about having the students come back next week for two days of class... Why??????? Why would they do that??? I honestly think Japan wants to END itself at this point. They’re not taking advice or learning from other countries, and just doing things on such a surface level. The fact that Tokyo ALTs still have to go to work by commute at one of the most infected areas is insanity to me. Not allowing them to work from home and asking them to come in to work is the most insane thing I have ever heard.

I’ve been following up on the coronavirus, but mostly just news about Taiwan. That’s partly due to the fact that they ARE testing and reporting as numbers as accurate as possible. Whereas, there’s no news in Japan because it’s not being actively tested.

...But I digress. 

I’ve also started picking up Granblue again and finally managed to get to Rank 100! Thinking that that was the rank I needed to be able to start playing some of the tougher raids, I excitedly check my class champion progress and see where I needed to go to collect some remaining materials...

Turns out that you need to be rank 101. So, I’m back to grinding... I think the 6th anniversary is allowing us to get more exp than usual since I grew about 6 ranks?

Also, I’m getting bad spins on gacha wheel, but at least I got Gottfried. ^p^/

[animeweeb115]

“I guess this can't be helped...”