#also i do this cute thing where i switch from past to present or vice versa so im sorry about that but it still works i guess

[giraffe-lesbian]

Usual Thursday Night - Darksparks Drabble

Based on this prompt from @/maxseidal

“ 2. A and B sharing a bed/tent and B puts their hand on A’s stomach and A pushes their hand away and B is offended until A lifts up a part of their shirt and moves B’s hand back onto their stomach bc gentle skin on skin is weakness incarnate okay”

Also Wattson definitely plays Pokémon Go

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28042320/chapters/72465135 

They’re having a usual Thursday night. Discarded take out containers sit on the floor beside the bed, to be cleaned up later. Extra pillows have been shoved to the floor too in favor of having more room, and the extra blankets are pushed down the bed, nearly following the same path as the pillows. Nikola has found a place at the foot of the bed, quietly snoozing, particularly because his usual spot has been taken.

Renee is thumbing through a book, carefully reading through the pages. There’s focus in her eyes, and occasionally her nose scrunches as she takes in the words. Natalie is settled beside her, pressed against the other woman’s side. She’s tapping away on her phone. She’s either looking at silly cat pictures, shifting through emails, or playing a game. By the repetitiveness of the clicking and the occasional huff of annoyance, she’s probably playing a game.

Her spare hand rests on the skirmisher’s stomach, occasionally messing with the fabric. Her grasp will settle for a few moments before coming alive again, rubbing the material between her fingers.

They’ve gone on like this for a while now, simply enjoying each other’s company. It’s a comforting, welcomed silence between the two, one that has been carefully cultivated as they’ve grown closer. Both throughly enjoy it.

Renee, though, looks up from her book. Her gaze falls to the other woman’s hand that toys with the fabric. She arches an eyebrow, a small frown now growing on her face. She moves her book to be held in one hand, and with the other, she pushes Natalie’s hand off, letting it off onto the bed.

This makes the blonde look up from her phone. There’s a matching frown on her face, and her eyebrows knit together. Oh, here came one of Natalie’s notorious pouts.

Of course, she shouldn’t really be upset, she tells herself. The skirmisher could be a bit reluctant to touch, often times leaving her uncomfortable or rigid. The blonde could never blame her, given her past. However, despite all these rational thoughts, Natalie huffed and began to pull her hand away, on the cusp of a whine. Sure, that all made sense, but she liked having her hand there, fiddling with that stupid fabric.

Surprisingly though, her hand was quickly grabbed by Renee, giving her a subtle tug on her arm to make her stop. Natalie raised her eyebrows now, and she began to open her mouth. What was the other woman doing?

A soft, gentle hum came from the skirmisher now. Renee now had placed down her book and was lifting up her shirt, revealing pale, toned skin underneath. Without a moment of hesitation, she placed the blonde’s hand back now on her bare stomach. And like that, Renee picked up her book again and returned her eyes to the pages.

Natalie sat there, silently sputtering as she tried to wrap her head around what Renee was doing. The gears in her head were slowly turning, and her eyes slipped from a confusion to a pondering look.

Renee took a moment to look up from her book, giving the blonde a small smile. “What?” she asked quietly, raising her eyebrows a little. “What’s got you in such a mood?” the skirmisher teased, her smile turning into a grin. A shit eating grin to be precise. “Did Tae Joon do something to annoy you today?”

Natalie stared her down, now piercing her lips. Asking would only make Renee’s grin grow larger, looking like the cat that swallowed the canary. Instead she moved closer, keeping her hand resting on the other’s stomach, and shoved the phone into her girlfriend’s face. “I caught this Pokémon today a little outside the labs; isn’t he cute?”

A light, airy chuckle left the skirmisher’s lips. “Yeah, he is cute,” she agreed quietly, now taking the chance to rest her head on the other’s shoulder. If there was one person’s close contact she couldn’t get enough of, it was Natalie’s. “Have you evolved your Ivysaur yet?”

The blonde’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Yes, I did earlier today!” she exclaimed, now all bright smiles. There went frantic tapping with one hand, desperate to find her beloved Venusaur, and soft, chaste caresses against the Renee’s skin with the other.

A usual Thursday night for the two, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

[marumafan]

Hi! I don't know if anyone have asked this before (I'm still reading the novels so I'm not at this point yet). But when do you think is the "moment" where Wolfram falls in love or fully dedicate himself romantically (not merely "I'm your fiance" sort of situation) to Yuuri and vice versa? Like something Yuuri did to turn that love switch on (I don't know the best way to present this question because the entire story is the great part about their relationship growth)

Hello Anon!

It's a matter of interpretation. There's no explicit "and this was the moment when X fell in love with Y" line in the novels, so I'll give you my interpretation.

If you have been following me for a while you'll know I'm convinced that Takabayashi-sensei is determined to make Yuuri and Wolf 'equals' in every way. So for me, they both 'realized' they were in love with one another in the same way.

1) Attraction

When it comes to 'attraction' I think they were both attracted to one another since novel 1 . With Yuuri it's easy to tell because we can 'read his thoughts' and when he met Wolfie he was gushing all over the place like ' gosh darn it this beautiful angel'. More specifically I'd say that by the end of novel 1, on chapter 10, we can really see that they're both attracted to one another.

for Yuuri you have this line: " From the far side of the corridor, the blond with wavy hair comes running. The intense navy blue uniform suits him; the mazoku Prince Wolfram. I muttered in a sigh 'Although he's a man, he's this beautiful, Günter'. Yuuri is telling Gunter how hot he thinks Wolfie is.

And Wolf a few lines after this: He glances here and there without looking at my face. It might be my imagination but his usually white, smooth cheeks were a slight red.

"Appearing without any treasure, don't embarrass my older brother and me!"

So anyway Wolfie was blushing because he was about to pledge to Yuuri and I'd say probably because he also kinda realized the double black was hot.  (Wolfie mentions in novel 2 that Yuuri is cute and Yuuri tells him he's cuter... plus all the other stuff )

2) Developing feelings

It didn't happen right away for neither Wolf nor Yuuri (despite the way their relationship was portrayed in the anime). Yes, they liked each other, but they didn't know each other well. The more time they spend with one another, the more they liked each other. Yuuri realizes that Wolf isn't just a hot tsundere, but someone who's always doing the 'right thing' (according to what he knows)... just like him. And Wolf also realizes that Yuuri isn't just a hot rookie, but that he actually also likes to do the right thing (according to what he knows).... just like him.

The thing is that they have very different backgrounds "so the right thing" meant different things for each of them, but over time and getting to know each other, and Yuuri changing what the 'right thing' is in Shin Makoku, they started seeing eye to eye and understanding each other better; and liking each other more.

3) Falling in love

This is my interpretation due to the way they act before and after what happens.

I think that they both realized they were in love with the other when they 'almost lost' the other person.

This happens for Wolf first during the Caloria arc.

Yuuri has travelled without being summoned by Ulrike. Gunter gets shot (killed?), they find Conrad's severed arm, and Yuuri is missing. It looks really bad.This is when Wolf barges into Shinou's Shrine having absolutely lost his shit demanding to see Ulrike. When she tells him Yuuri's alive, Wolfram is so incredibly relieved (his relieved smile in the manga gives me life), and after this he sneaks out (going against Gwen's orders) and goes looking for Yuuri. At this point, Wolfram doesn't give a flying fuck about anything other than finding Yuuri.

After finding Yuuri he pretty much tells him 'i love you' in the words "if that happens, then we'll fall together", in the scene where they both could have fallen down the cliff. (Wolf also slaps him back "as a reply to his marriage proposal" which I have argued several times he had replied to in the past (in novel 1), but he made it more clear in this arc after all of this.)

For Yuuri, this happens at the beginning of the Seisakoku arc, when Wolfram gets shot.

Yuuri and Wolf are on a ship that's being attacked, suddenly Yuuri can't feel Wolfram's hand that was holding his, and when he looks to his side Wolf is on the floor shot through the heart. Yuuri first tries to heal Wolf and when he can't (and thinks Wolfie is dead), he loses his absolute shit and turns into the maou (which he never did for any other "character death/injury" he had witnessed). He's about to fuck shit up when Wolf's like "Cut it out, I'm fine".

After this, they don't get to spend much time together, but Yuuri gets obsessed with Wolfie, and thinking about how he almost died.... He 'sees' Wolfie in places he couldn't be and finally, when they meet again, Yuuri tells him his ' i love you' in the words " I'm tired of pretending" before the bed scene, right after telling him he was happy Wolf was there with him.  (Also in the last novel he says Wolf is his 'most important person' which is code for 'the one they love' in the novels. Interestingly enough, the time when Wolfie almost died is brought up at the exact moment when he says the 'most important person' line.)

4) After realizing they've fallen in love

Wolf: For Wolfie is easy to see... he's not jealous anymore. He doesn't insist on the marriage, and he's more at ease with Yuuri and lets him do whatever. (When you love someone you just want them to be happy, so he's not obsessing anymore). Also, I think Wolf kinda knows that Yuuri's in love with him too, before Yuuri realizes, since he tells him during the Caloria arc: That it was a good thing Wolf made Yuu angry back in novel 1, or Yuuri would have never proposed and would be having a "one sided crush on Wolf"... XD I mean... Wolf would know best what his relationship to Yuuri is right? (I've talked about this before, Yuuri's an unreliable narrator and doesn't tell us a lot of things)

Yuuri: 1) the bed scene: he pretty much confesses he's in love with Wolf, asks to sleep with him in his bed and we get the 'cut to black' scene. (which according to a story that sensei herself wrote this, in Shin Makoku naughty books, cut to black means sex, but whatever if you think I'm overreaching I won't die on this hill -> it can have other interpretations) 2) The 'Are you asking for a divorce!?' line when Wolf punched him (to save his life-> for those who haven't read that far). Yuuri is kinda 'married' in his head now, so yeah. Plus 3) every single extra story from Crossheart, to Misepan2, to Love Letter, where Yuuri's super mushy in love with Wolf.

-> Misepan2: Yuuri: “ When it comes to things that I can give you, I would give you anything, Wolf."

TLDR: It's my interpretation they realized they were in love with one another after almost losing the other.

-

-

[coalessscence]

RULES.  Repost, do not reblog !  Tag 10 !  Good  luck ! Tagged by: @fatherofmachine (sorry it took so long and tHANK U !!) Tagging:  @desxderium @fireversed (for raja!) @aceinthehcle @haplesstimetraveller @jigowatt @doomedtogether (for anyone u like !!) @floriistry (for ur depressed florist ;) ) @stridande @annastrxng @feliciahadley @piper-aileen-lenox (ONLY IF YOU RLY WANT TO HUN !! DW IF U DONT !!) @thoracicbeams @agxntvanpelt (there’s no rush/don’t feel obligated oml !!) @pxperhearts (for jennifer) 

 (i’m doing this one for MIRA.)

BASICS.

FULL  NAME : Mira Kathleen Colburn (former alias, Nora P. Retwood) NICKNAME/S : None at the moment AGE :  verse dependent; default is 39. BIRTHDAY : August 12th, 1977 ETHNIC  GROUP :  Caucasian / white. NATIONALITY :  American. LANGUAGE/S : English, a tiny, acquired-in-passing amount of several others (spanish, french, etc) SEXUAL  ORIENTATION :  abrosexual (Abrosexuality is defined as a “fluent” sexuality in that that the sexuality is always/frequently changing, usually between the same sexualities. In example, an abrosexual female can switch between homo, hetero, pan, and asexual, so that a few days she can be a lesbian, followed by a few weeks where she is ace and not attracted to anybody, followed by a time of pansexuality where anybody could be found attractive.) Mira herself tends to fluctuate between hetero, homo, and ace. she also fluctuates a lot on the sex repulsion scale, especially post her traumatic experiences. ROMANTIC  ORIENTATION :  abroromantic (same as above but regarding romantic attractions). RELATIONSHIP  STATUS :  single.  CLASS :  working-mid class; presents herself unfailingly as upper HOME TOWN / AREA :  born in new orleans, louisiana, usa CURRENT  HOME :   EXTREMELY verse dependent. defaults are either texas or georgia, usa PROFESSION : as per, very verse dependent. has dabbled in acting & theater, modeling, law enforcement consultant, undercover operative for the ATF, performing her mentalist bit from the carnival (where she grew up & performed until the age of 17) in bars and clubs, and as the host of her own short lived television show.

PHYSICAL.

HAIR : brown EYES : brown NOSE :  a little on the wider side, not terribly large. FACE : prominent cheek bones; generally the more prominent, the worse she’s been doing (hasn’t been eating/sleeping as well, etc). small lines around the eyes and a hint of dimples with a wide smile. most signs of middle age are well hidden by makeup at all times. moderately defined chin. LIPS : a little on the thinner side, but well defined. often wears red lipstick, of varying shades. COMPLEXION : Pale. BLEMISHES : probably a few spots covered by makeup, here and there, on her skin, but for the most part, her complexion is clear. SCARS : on the inside of her right arm, a scar runs from just above her elbow up towards her armpit. it was incurred via a knife in a bust gone wrong, one which resulted in captivity & rape. it is part of the reason she does not wear very short sleeves. TATTOOS :  None. PIERCINGS:  just for earrings, lobe piercings. HEIGHT :  5 ft 1 in (154 cm). WEIGHT : 131 Ibs (59 kg or 9.3 stones). BUILD : short, but not stocky; she is not tiny, but also not considered ‘overweight’. has relatively even curves. FEATURES :  smooth but also somehow a bit angular; she has great control over her expression at all times, and she doesn’t like to allow herself to appear too much so- she usually holds a softer expression in place to balance it.  ALLERGIES :  none USUAL  HAIR  STYLE : long and flowing, lightly styled- mahimum length, mid back, minimum length, shoulders. (although a lot of my icons depict it much shorter lol whoops)

USUAL  FACE  LOOK :  

tends to maintain a pleasant expression most of the time; almost never is she seen with an expression that is indifferent, scowling, or otherwise negative. there is a vague sense of calculating about it, and her eyes are always watching. the expression is also unreadable- the cover-all-mask for whatever real expression didn’t make it to her face.

USUAL  CLOTHING : done up, a lot of red (or, more rarely, yellow or blue) accents paired with neutral tans, grays, blacks, and whites. dressy but not ballroom dressy; never casual, never t shirts or denim. a lot of makeup, but not in a made up sort of way; more a no makeup look that take fifty different products. name brands, things that look, (maybe are) expensive. a lot of jewlery- necklaces, bracelets, rings. usually does not wear dangling earrings, but always wears studs. heels on a daily basis. mostly dresses, nice tops with slacks, pantsuits. following the experiences that gave her the scar, she does not expose much, if any, skin, and she always dresses in layers. if you see her w/o her nails done, w/o makeup on, in something less than presentable- something is terribly wrong.

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR/S :  vulnerability, loss of power/control, being controlled, being manipulated, not being taken seriously, dependency. she does also suffer from ptsd following her experiences with the scar situation. she can be triggered by things like, men with powerful personalities trying to control her (or doing anything she may perceive as such), or getting too close to her; being touched when she was not asked if it was okay, did not see it coming, or is uncomfortable with the person touching her, being caught off guard by anyone in any situation. she also sprouted a fear of flying, which is based solely on an intense, triggering level of discomfort with the security measures proceeding the flight itself. ASPIRATION/S : she’d really just like to be happy. she’d like to be happy, and she’d like to not be alone. she’d like to move past her trauma without letting them change who she is because of it. she also does enjoy helping, although her methods of helping people out are rather unorthodox and may or may not appear incidentally threatening at some point in the process. POSITIVE  TRAITS :  intelligent, kind, tends to withhold judgments, makes people feel at ease, usually (seems) cheerful, willing to help, loyal to people she feels some attachment to. NEGATIVE  TRAITS : sometimes stubborn, closed off about important things, untrusting, secretive, tends to write off people she does not like to an absurd degree (for example, telling people her mother is dead, because they don’t get along), has the ability to be manipulative, to control a situation too much, etc, can be somewhat morally ambiguous, doesn’t take no for answer. ZODIAC :  Leo. TEMPERAMENT : calm, collected, seems to be quite easy going (whether she really is beneath the surface is anyone’s guess). keeps a level head in crisis. generally keeps a somewhat neutral opinion on most things (outwardly); and is as such generally non-threatening. SOUL  TYPE / S : the scholar: curious, analytical, & knowledge-seeking. ANIMALS : the fox. unassuming, seen as perhaps cute or approachable, but also has an air of wildness- an animal that should not be tamed, perhaps cannot be;  an animal with immense cunning, which people can sense deserves some respect for its capabilities. VICE  HABIT/S : always deflects the point away from herself, in a way that most people will never even notice. you may talk for hours, tell her your entire life story, and never realize that she didn’t even give her name.  FAITH : has no personal opinion. interested in the various faiths of the world, open to all of them, but claims none of them herself. GHOSTS ? :  rather indifferent.. AFTERLIFE ? : also rather indifferent REINCARNATION ? : same as above ALIENS ? :  would love to debate the topic, and assumes it’s probably likely, but is still personally rather indifferent.. POLITICAL  ALIGNMENT :  on the progressive side of things, probably. Chaotic Good. ECONOMIC  PREFERENCE : ? ? ? SOCIOPOLITICAL  POSITION : ? ? ? EDUCATION  LEVEL : did not graduate high school. due in part to the degree to which school bored her, but mostly due to a constant, moving home in the carnival and her mother’s insistence that the money she made for her was more important than education. this has limited her career options greatly (although she could have forged her way into college, she doubted she’d be able to pay for it). she is greatly ashamed of this, and has strove to rise above her carnie roots considerably. she speaks in a i read the dictionary for fun sort of way, rarely using a five letter word if she can think of one with seven. and since she does have and utilize a memory palace of sorts, she has memorized a lot of such words. in general, she strives to be well read, well informed, and appear to be very much an upper class member of society. it is partially personal preference, yes, but at least sixty-percent compensation.

FAMILY.

FATHER : unknown; random carnival goer her mother seduced. probably because she thought he had money. MOTHER : clara colburn. SIBLINGS : none. EXTENDED  FAMILY : unknown. NAME  MEANING/S :  of latin or slavic origin; mira may mean admirable, peace, the sea, the light, or female ruler. she was named for the meanings ‘the light’ and ‘the sea’. HISTORICAL  CONNECTION ? : none.

FAVOURITES.

DEITY : none. MONTH : September or november- the fall, but not october, because she’s not into halloween.. SEASON : fall. a time of casually layered clothes, her favorite colors, (except for blue, unfortunately) and spiced lattes. PLACE :  somewhere with a lot of other people, where she cans hoose to interact with them or not- someplace calm, but still busy, like the beach, a cafe or coffee shop, the park, etc. WEATHER :  on the cooler side- the 50s-60s F. ( 10s-20s C ). weather for jackets, sweaters, scarves, boots, etc. SOUND : gentle waves washing over the sand on a beach, the hum of a crowd of people doing whatever it is that humans do, rain splashing onto an umbrella on a cool september day. SCENT/S : sweet smells that are not fake or sickeningly so. perhaps a scent such a wisteria, or rose; but also, the smell of the beach- the scent of coffee- or perhaps even that distinctive smell of autumn. TASTE/S :  has a secret love of terrible carnival and fair foods, due to her past and the memories associated with them, but eats them very rarely. enjoys soups, salads, wraps, those sorts of things. lighter cuisine is more her forte; large, heavy comfort foods are not generally what she’s drawn to having. enjoys fresh vegetables and fruits, grilled meats, etc. also loves deserts, as long as they aren’t sickeningly sweet. FEEL/S : smooth and cool; silk, smooth cotton, something with a high threadcount. ANIMAL/S :  somewhat indifferent to animals, pets in general, etc. NUMBER :  none COLOUR :  blues, yellows, and a lot of fall/earth tones- grays, tans, sometimes even a forest green or a an apple red.

EXTRA.

TALENTS :  observation, reading other people (anticipating their emotional reactions, reading body language, watching for their subconscious tells, controlling and communication with her own ‘subconscious’ tells, which is useful in manipulation, etc) controlling a situation/what someone does or how they respond without their knowing it or realizing it. good at lying. good at memorization. plays the smallest bit of piano, good with things like makeup and fashion, a relatively good actress, very good at the practice of mentalism. knows how to pick locks, forge a signature, read lips, understands morse code, able to accurately guess someone’s name, age, weight, height, etc by just looking/interacting,  knows how to change a tire, can tell what someone is writing by watching the top of the pen, almost always knows when you’re lying, can perform countless tricks that imply she is capable of “reading your mind”, and a lot of other strange little skills that are not necessary, have little practical use, but which she has picked up anyway. BAD  AT :  true genuineness, being vulnerable, showing real emotion (rather than filtered or fabricated emotion), staying out of other people’s business, actually trusting someone, relationships, maintaining friendships, managing things that make her personally uncomfortable, blending in, making or keeping something simple, knowing what to do with children or animals, managing stress, not catering at least somewhat to other people’s wishes, anything technological (computers, smart phones, etc- they lost her after email machines if we’re being honest), video games, anything physical (sports, running, etc), does not know how to ride a bike (and is secretly ashamed of it), cooking, normalcy, making things inexpensive, changes on a fundemental level, doing anything in a hurry. TURN  ONS : intelligence, kindness, openness, cheer, a trusting nature. her ability to trust you (this one’s a rip off bc she blames u if she doesn’t when she’s the one with trust issues), uniqueness, gentlness, soft touches/kisses/etc, no expectations placed on intimacy. (which she is skittish of following her trauma). TURN  OFFS : rudeness, competitive nature, forcefulness, any man who is large and projects a powerful vibe (post trauma), controlling people (mun, coughing violently: WHO ARE YOU TO TALK-), a lot of expectations, anyone she doesn’t trust (basically everyone then), any sensed ulterior motives. HOBBIES : people watching, interacting with strangers, checking out new things, going to museums and art galleries and the like, reading at the beach, to some degree reading in general, fashion and makeup, going for walks just to enjoy the air, seeking out different coffees (she’s a bit of a coffee snob, but also enjoys tea), knows how to embroider and does occasionally make it a hobby, generally performing/being the center of attention. TROPES :  I WISH I COULD ANSWER THIS BUT..... I’VE ALREADY SPENT LIKE AN HOUR ON THIS IF I GO LOOKING FOR TROPES IT’LL BECOME THREE RIP AESTHETIC  TAGS :  light things, things with a lot of white in them, examples of solitude among people (like coffee shops, a small apartment overlooking a busy street, etc), the ocean, water in general, rain, designer fashion, the click of high heels, royalty.

FC INFO.

MAIN  FC/S : Rachel Weisz !

ALT  FC/S :  Naomi Watts (blonde fc; for the parallel lines verse; potrays the mira under the alias of nora retwood)

OLDER  FC/S :  none YOUNGER  FC/S :  aubrey miller (child), coner dwelly (teen), rachel weisz (from 20s and up!)

VOICE  CLAIM/S : i don’t actually have one. her speaking voice is measured, calm, unhurried but not slow. she has a soft louisiana accent, dulled from the years since she’s lived there, which tints certain words a bit, and she makes a point to speak in a way she considers to be upper class. her tone is usually even, but expressive; she doesn’t shout or growl or squeal or any such thing unless the circumstances are genuinely dire.

[entergamingxp]

Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl

March 10, 2020 4:00 PM EST

Snack World combines a tongue-in-cheek story with dungeon crawling, a loot system, and roguelike mechanics to make one surprisingly fun package.

Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl – Gold is the enhanced Nintendo Switch port of the original title Snack World: Trejarers, which was released in Japan in 2017 for 3DS and in 2018 for the Switch. This version includes all the DLC and expansion packs from the original version.

Immediately upon starting Snack World, you’ll notice the subversive, fourth-wall-breaking style of humor. It’s on similar levels to a game like Half Minute Hero. The game’s extremely meta introduction begins in which King Papaya points out all the issues that would realistically come with taking in some random adventurer passed out on the road outside his Kingdom and how doing so would put his people in danger. This, of course, is then thrown completely out the window once his incredibly spoiled daughter, Princess Melonia, decides that she needs a little excitement in her life and that this mysterious and amnesic adventurer, your customizable player character, is her ticket to alleviating her boredom.

However, once you’re all settled and medically treated, Melonia proceeds to completely forget about your existence as she goes on about a gem that she wants. The caveat is that this gem is located in an extremely dangerous area in which the normal kings’ guard cannot traverse. So, since your character clearly has nothing better to do at this point, they are tasked with retrieving this gem.

“It’s refreshing to delve into an RPG that doesn’t overly concern itself with some super epic, complex tale of world conflict.”

This entire ridiculous scenario reflects the overall plot of the game — if you can even call it a plot. To be fair, there is an actual story to Snack World, as the player and their party are eventually tasked with taking down the evil Sultan Vinegar as he attempts to resurrect the Deodragon, Smörg Åsbord. Yet, there’s such an intentional lack of urgency in actually achieving this goal that it becomes an almost running joke itself.

To be honest it’s refreshing to delve into an RPG that doesn’t overly concern itself with some super epic, complex tale of world conflict, an oppressive religion or government, or one that spends hours navel gazing about the duality of man. It’s a simple tale about an adventurer going on adventures because the princess wants things and then sometimes you fight a bad guy.

Joining you on your quest is Chup, the actual main character of the media franchise, and his party comprised of an inelegant witch, Mayonna; a muscular warrior, Béarnaise; a goblin-like creature, Gobsan; and a female pig-nosed dragon, Pigsy. Naturally, they’re as fun and dysfunctional as you’d imagine. That applies to the NPCs populating the world as well, as they often have witty, fun, and humorous dialogue that’s a blast to watch unfold as they interact with each other and your protagonist.

Snack World combines the genres and mechanics of action RPGs, dungeon crawlers, loot games, and roguelikes. So not only is the exploration and battling the main focus of gameplay, but there are also other systems that have a huge influence on how you play.

Because it’s a roguelike, dungeons are procedurally generated, which requires you to adapt to a brand new map and adjust your exploration accordingly. This gives the dungeon crawling a sense of tension and exhilaration and also pairs well with the loot system.

The loot system the title implements is one where item drops are randomized, which encourages repeated visits back into those randomly shifting dungeons in the first place, especially if you’re aiming to complete your collection or to optimize your equipment. The complementary nature of these two mechanics working in tandem creates this synergy that makes for very addictive gameplay all around.

Combat is action-based, normally implying fast-paced, no turn-based frills that allows players to dive right into the fray. However, you’ll find that before you can even begin to learn the fighting system, you need to adjust to the game’s clunky and cluttered UI. Players first have to overcome the obstacle of learning how to read and parse through the information that the UI displays on the screen, and then you realize that the gameplay system is actually pretty simple, making its presentation that much more frustrating.

Then there’s adjusting to the combat itself, as the controls — both attacks and the targeting system — can be a little slippery. But once you get past that hurdle, the actual combat system offers some great strategic depth. You’re allowed to carry six types of weapons, called jaras, on you at all times, along with two kinds of items. And you’ll find you’ll be needing to switch out jaras frequently thanks to the main mechanic: JP.

JP is measured in a gauge that goes down with every attack. It does recharge on its own but very slowly. Once you use up the JP for that jara, your wielding becomes compromised; your blows are much slower and much weaker to the point of being nearly completely worthless. Each jara has a type and foes are strong and weak to different types. For example, some enemies may be weak to swords but strong against hammers, or vice versa. This means that you have to constantly switch out jaras depending on enemy weaknesses as well.

These are simple mechanics but brilliant ones that prevent Snack World from being a mindless hack-and-slash. You have to think about what weapons you’re using and how often you’re using it, forcing you to pay attention to the information presented on the screen as you’re fighting. And if you choose to ignore this and dive headfirst, enemies, and especially bosses with their excellent AI, will absolutely punish you for it as early on as the tutorial levels.

The “Snack” mechanic, which is what the franchise is named after in the first place, allows you to summon whimsical creatures to aid you in battle. You can even trade these snacks with other real-life players. And though it’s a cute mechanic, I feel that it could have been more thoroughly utilized in battle, as it’s not difficult to ignore. Though you can make a case for these mechanics being easy to avoid, since it lets players fully customize the kind of experience they want to have. As a side note, Snack World also has online multiplayer and local four-player co-op for those who prefer to battle alongside friends instead.

Your character uses two types of equipment, which ties right back to the loot system. The first equipment type is the normal armor that denotes your offensive and defensive stats. The second type is your casual wear, which has a unique purpose. Located in the main menu is a tracker that informs players of the current daily fashion trends in the Kingdom, such as the most popular name, brand, or color. If you’re invested in collecting items, it’s imperative to pay attention to these trends because by properly outfitting your character with what’s most chic, you get a free percentage bonus on rare item drops.

And if you’re not that keen on the whole gear optimization because you simply enjoy the combat and exploration — a more than viable path as the game doesn’t punish taking the more conventional route — you’re free to almost completely ignore the more complex aspects. But if you decide that you want to collect rare and valuable items or equipment, these easy to obtain extra boosts are always available to you. Also, I find it a nice extra bit of world-building as it gives you a glimpse into the Tutti-Frutti Kingdom’s daily functions and routine.

“Overall, Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl – Gold is a fun title. It’s exactly what it sets out to be and it does so surprisingly well.”

The art style and graphics are, for lack of a better term, adorable. The use of a bright and vibrant color palette reflects the playful nature of the world well. Not to mention, the simplicity of the designs complement and enhance the simplicity of the plot as well as the style of humor. The variation in each dungeon’s designs, as well as the general environments, stand well on their own, too.

Snack World has a solid soundtrack, with each piece well suited for the setting, mood, characters, and scenery. While there’s no single track that’s worth writing home about, that’s no demerit. As an example, until Dragon Quest XI came by, the franchise had been using simplistic and retro-sounding tracks that never detracted from the overall experience. Although Snack World has higher quality music, it’s a similar scenario in the sense that the music is composed solely to compliment the game and not to be grand pieces that will be heralded as classics for years to come.

Overall, Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl – Gold is a fun title. It’s exactly what it sets out to be and it does so surprisingly well. While it’s not particularly complex in terms of either gameplay or story, there are surprisingly layered mechanics worth delving into if you enjoy light dungeon crawlers, roguelike games, or loot-based systems. Because of its jack-of-all-trades nature, each individual component isn’t as fleshed out as it would be in games devoted solely to one mechanic. However, when these components are combined, Snack World creates a unique system more than capable of scratching that itch for fans of those genres. In other words, it’s a game that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

March 10, 2020 4:00 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/03/snack-world-the-dungeon-crawl/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=snack-world-the-dungeon-crawl

[imaginingintensely]

10 Books I Read This Year

This was originally going to be a top 10 list, but looking back over my Goodreads ratings I realized that my ratings varied widely depending on my mood when I finished the book. So instead this is a list of 10 books that I read and enjoyed this year. There were a couple of things that affected my reading habits this year: my mental health was not very good, this was the first full calendar year that I have not been studying English, and I started following the Vaginal Fantasy book club online. This meant that I read a lot more Young Adult and Romance novels and tended to choose books for amusement rather than to learn. I have also been trying work against the belief that genre fiction is not “real literature,” which I realized that I had unconsciously assimilated. An interesting side effect of reading more YA and romance was that the majority of the authors I read were women, 72%. Although it is also worth noting that most of these were white women as only 17% of the authors were POC. So, in no particular order, here are the books:

The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas (2017) The Hate U Give tells the story of sixteen-year-old, Starr Carter, as she witnesses her friend being shot by a police officer and deals with the aftermath of the shooting. It explores race, racism, police violence, and media coverage while also taking up issues of class, family, community, and self-discovery. This topical novel does an excellent job of finding a balance between the mundanity of everyday life as a teenager and serious political discourse. Thomas tempers the dark emotionality of grief and trauma with humour and family. This is the kind of Young Adult novel that I wish was around when I was a teenager and believe should be explored in High School English classes.

Yardwork: A Biography of an Urban Place - Daniel Coleman (2017) I took a class from Dr. Coleman, while doing my Master’s degree at McMaster and was interested to see what he was doing in his writing and research; so when this book came out I picked it up. Yardwork: A Biography of an Urban Place is a combination of local history and life writing that tells the story of one specific plot of land, Coleman’s yard in Hamilton, Ontario. Coleman constructs this narrative through conventional historical research as well as oral history and indigenous sacred narratives. Yardwork: A Biography of an Urban Place acknowledges the settler colonial history of the land and attempts to work against western conventions by affording the land and animals as much importance as humans and by giving all source material equal importance. Reading this book made me wish I had got to know Hamilton better while I lived there and want similar books about other places I have lived in. However, it is worth noting that because the book is so place-specific it might not be as captivating for those who have not visited or lived in the Hamilton area.

Throne of Glass (Series) - Sarah J. Maas (2012-) The Throne of Glass series is an epic YA fantasy series that follows teenage assassin Celaena Sardothien as she fights against a growing evil taking over her world. The series has magic, mystery, intrigue, lost heirs, and fae kingdoms. It is a fun and enthralling read and Celaena is a badass heroine. However, the series is not without its faults. There is the usual YA love triangle drama, and I still have not forgiven Maas for killing off one of my favourite characters in the first book solely to provide motivation for Celaena. The first couple of books tend to fall into female exceptionalism, where one woman is exceptional by magic or skill in a world dominated by men and the narrative ignores the continued system oppression of women. However, this does improve somewhat as the series progresses and introduces more female characters and slowly reveals that Celaena is flawed, but willing to grow and change.

Saga (series) - Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (2012-) I frequently find it difficult to find comics that I like. Often I will appreciate the text but not the illustrations or vice versa. However, Saga written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples is a beautiful melding of words and images. The series tells the story of two soldiers from opposite sides of an intergalactic war who fall in love and have a daughter, Hazel. Saga is about trying to raise a family and forge and maintain relationships during a conflict. It continually asks the reader whose lives matter and whose stories are worth telling. The illustrations are colourful and stunning and the pacing stretches and compresses time to fit the narrative. I keep lending it to my friends so I thought it was well worth putting on this list. One note though: the series does contain graphic violence and explicit sexuality so if that is not what you are into you may want to give it a pass.

Me, My Hair, and I - ed. Elizabeth Benedict (2015) I got this book as a Christmas gift from my sister two years ago, while I was doing research on hair for my MA. Now that I am done my MA I finally had time to read it. Me, My Hair, and I is an anthology of women’s writing about their hair. Because of the variety of authors, I enjoyed some pieces more than others, but because they were all written by professional writers they were all well done. The topic of hair provides a fascinating lens through which to look at women’s lives and relationships. Many of the stories talked about culture, beauty standards, femininity, sexuality, and mother-daughter relationships. While I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I would have appreciated more entries about body hair and queer hair.

This One Summer - Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (2014) This One Summer follows pre-teens Windy and Rose through a summer at their families’ cabins at Awago Beach. The book focuses on their relationships to each other, their families, and the other residents in the small lake community. It is slow, quiet graphic novel that focuses more on place, feeling, and female friendship than plot. As always, Jillian Tamaki’s illustrations are full of life and emotion and depict the Canadian landscape beautifully.

Animal: The Autobiography of a Female Body - Sara Pascoe (2016) Animal: The Autobiography of a Female Body is a combination of British comedian Sara Pascoe’s autobiography and an exploration of evolutionary history. It examines what it means to be a woman in contemporary British culture and the thousands of years of evolution that contribute to women’s experience of their bodies. This book is grounded in Pascoe’s personal experience of her body which makes it funny, moving, and intriguing. Admittedly, Pascoe is a comedian and not a scientist so the science sections of this book are not as strong as the autobiographical section, but they do go some way to complicating how we think of women and inviting the reader to think beyond the present.

Midnight Crossroad - Charlaine Harris (2014) I picked up Midnight Crossroad because I heard about the television series based off of it and wanted to read the books before I tried it. The book is a murder mystery and takes place the small town of Midnight, Texas, which is inhabited by psychics, vampires, fallen angels, witches and all manner of other supernatural beings. A few years ago, I read and enjoyed all of Harris’ Southern Vampire Mysteries, which become the television series True Blood. Midnight Crossroad takes place in the same universe as the Southern Vampire Mysteries and has much of the same humour and small town setting. One major difference is that Midnight Crossroad features a large ensemble cast and switches point-of-view narration between characters, which took me a little while to get used to. I also watched a bit of the television series, and will probably return to it at some point, but I preferred the slow pacing of the book because it fits the small town setting better.

Turtles All the Way Down - John Green (2017) This is YA novelist John Green’s most recent and, in my opinion, best novel. It tells the story of the teenage Aza as she reconnects with an old friend, looks into a mysterious disappearance with her best friend, and struggles with OCD. Green draws on his personal experience with OCD as well as his life as a parent to create a realistic portrayal of mental illness and parent-child relationships. The conversations between Aza and her mom remind me so much of conversations I’ve had with my mom, especially the line “I see the pain on your face and I want to take it from you.” But I think what I liked best about the book was that it does not ascribe to a curative model of mental illness, but instead presents ways of managing and living with it.

Burn for Me - Ilona Andrews (2014) I debated for a while which romance novel to include on this list before deciding on this one. Burn for Me takes place in an alternate reality where a serum was created in the Victorian period allowing humans to develop magical abilities. While the serum was quickly outlawed, the magical abilities became hereditary and magical families began to shape society. Set in a version of the present, Burn for Me follows private investigator Nevada Baylor as she becomes caught up in an investigation into a conspiracy. The novel is fast-paced and entertaining in a way the makes me think it would make an excellent action movie, and of course everyone is attractive. It also has some interesting worldbuilding as it deals with the ramifications of the altered history. However, the book is not unproblematic: the meet-cute between Nevada and the hero, Connor “Mad” Rogan, is him kidnapping her and he continues to act overprotective and hypermasculine throughout the book. Though Rogan does become a more complicated character as the novel reveals his family life, military past, and PTSD. Also, the cover art is just plain bad and not an accurate depiction of the novel.