#and I never really upgraded my stuff because I'm not sure where to begin

[rawliverandgoronspice]

also I'm pretty excited about returning to the place where I have a keyboard next week. If I can carve out some time, I'd love to keep on working on musical themes for the animatic project because I have ideas and I want to jam them out

[a-random-weeb]

bsd yandere headcannons

This is just a quick drabble because I have no more requests to write and I constantly need to be writing. ←(This part (the intro) was wrote before I started the event and got a flood of requests. I had so much fun writing this that it's been my own little side thing (Not in the dirty way, weirdos)

Warnings: kidnapping, Stockholm syndrome, murder, slight nsfw in chuuyas part, anything else that comes in yandere writing.

I had a lot of fun writing this, there's a oneshot in chuuyas, theres not one in Dazais, this whole fanfic was really fun to write and I kinda did my own thing for it. I hope you guys like reading it as much as I liked writing it! (This took forever)

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Dazai:

Yandere type: clingy, obsessive

Danger level: 8/10

•He starts off by confessing his feelings

•If you share the same feelings towards him, your relationship will start off normal (other than the constant question of "will you do a double suicide with me?)

•Eventually you become his reason to live, he loves you too much!

•he'll do anything for you, anything. Even hurt himself if you asked him to

•Hed definitely kill for you. The guy who looked at you the wrong way last week? Oh look, his severed head, now where did that come from?

•Hed never hurt you though!

•He loves you, you're his everything, his world, you're perfect in his eyes.

•Now, if you were to reject him, that'd be a different story (this also counts for if you break up with him)

•He'll kidnap you and tie you to a chair in his basement.

•Itd be a pretty cozy chair.

•Hell only untie you when he's sure you won't attempt to attack him or grab the key from him

•When he does untie you, he also upgrades the basement

•He puts a bed down there (Aka his bed because he can't afford another one. He just sleeps on an air mattress upstairs)

•He also invests in a big screen tv for you

•He spends most of his money on you, no matter how much you hate him

Punishments: his punishments differ. Let's say you smashed the expensive big screen tv that was mentioned because you were frustrated or angry at him. He wouldn't buy you another one for quit awhile. He'd also slap you across the face and beat you up a little. If you were to try to run away, it depends. If you succeeded in running away and he got you back in his basement... he'd be furious. He'd torture you for around a week. He hates torturing you, but you have to learn your lesson. He's done so much for you, why would you run away?! If you were to fail, he'd probably hit you a little, but nothing horrible. If you were to try to kill him (and fail obviously) he'd start by killing your best friend. He would only show you a picture of their head for proof, he doesn't want to traumatize you more than you already are. He also might hit you depending on how mad he his, and he's really scary when he's mad surprisingly.

Perks: You get cuddled, a lot. You're basically worshipped. You get to be taken care of by a hot guy, is there much else you want. He also gets you expensive jewelry with kunikidas wallet .

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘

Chuuya:

Yandere type: Obsessive/possessive

Danger level: 9/10

•At first he stalks you

•He'll stalk you for about a year before he begins to write you creepy letters. They consist of stuff you've never told anyone

•He knows every little thing about you

•He loves you so much!

•Anyways, his letters also say stuff like what he wants to do to you, or how Bad he wants you

•the letters he will write you would be like

"Dear (your name), i saw you walking your dog today... you looked so cute! Oh how I love you, I can't wait to make you mine... if you date me, I promise to spoil you! I'll praise you for everything and take proper care of you! I'm gonna kidnap you someday soon, just you wait...

Ps: if you call the police, your dog dies

- sincerely, your admirer" it also has a picture of you walking your dog.

•He also writes about his weird fantasies

•slight NSFW in this next letter , just be aware

"God you looked so hot today... god, I just wanna pull as much pleasure from your body while you beg me to stop~ That'll be us some day, just wait princess~

-your secret admirer"

Along with a picture of you changing (Or masterbating if you do that ;])

•you can't tell anyone about these letters, or he'll kill your dog, which makes this whole situation 10× worse

•He does confess in real life to but you reject him because you barely know him and had know idea he wrote the notes

•You go to the police, showing them the letters. You also take your dog

•The police can't find any finger prints or evidence as to where the letter could've come from.

•The next day, your dog goes missing

•You feel incredibly worried

•Soon, you get another letter

•You hesitate to open it, not wanting to know, praying your dog isn't dead

(Tiny oneshots up ahead)

"Oh darling, I told you not to call the police~ do you want me to kill your dog? Don't worry, he's not dead.... yet. Come to xxxx xx (adress) at midnight if you Ever wish to see your dog again, bring no one.

-Secret admirer"

You Reluctantly go to that address at midnight, but you bring a knife. You drive there only to find it's a mansion. You slowly approach the large building, the tension building up. Your eyes widden as you see Chuuya answer the door.

"Oh hey Darling~ you made it!" He has this weird, creepy grin plastered on his face.

"Ch-chuuya? What's happening?!" You ask as as he pulls you inside, locking the door.

"Simple. You're mine." He smashes his lips against yours. You back away, absolutely disgusted, you try to run. He instantly pulls you back "Don't you want to see how your dog is doing?" He whispers seductively in your ear. You tense up and nod "How is he?! You didn't hurt him did you?!" You panic as he chuckles.

"Your dog is fine... for now." He smirks and pulls you to his chest "But for now, let's focus on you, ya?" You can practically hear the arrogance radiating off of him.

"No, let's focus on my dog!" Chuuya scoffs "Shut up about your damn dog already! He's fine! You should be focusing on how you're in my arms, all cute and scared."

"You're mine." He begins to mumble "Mine mine mine mine MINE!"

Punishments: Normally, if you try to attack him or escape he'll lock you in a room for a week. No water for a day, no food for three days. He doesn't want you to go insane, so there is a few mangas and/or books in that room. If you attempt to kill him, successfully run away, or hurt him (which you probably won't) then it's a bit worse. He doesn't want to hurt you, doesn't mean he won't, especially when he loses his temper. He might beat you up until you pass out, but he'll never kill you. After you pass out he'll realize what he's done, sigh, and lift you into bed. He's really scary when he's mad, but he always cuddles you and apologizes after any punishment , giving you a bunch of kisses and praise. Doesn't mean he won't punish you again though, he 100% will, after all, you have to learn your lesson.

Perks: he'll buy you whatever you want, if he trusts you enough, he'll even let you go out by yourself with his black card! He makes you wear a listening device though, and makes sure he knows where you're doing at all times. He's also hidden tracking devices in your clothes, you don't even know where some of the are, you can't feel them. Another benefit is he cuddles you a LOT. He likes to praise you and tell you how pretty you are. He's a great cook, and always makes sure you're well taken care of, even hires a (Very trusted) maid for you!

⋆⭒˚｡⋆⋆˚✿˖°⋆⭒˚｡⋆⋆˚✿˖°⋆⭒˚｡⋆⋆˚✿˖°⋆⭒˚｡⋆⋆⋆⭒˚｡⋆⋆˚✿˖°

Hey guys, sorry I've barely been posting, I've been working on this fic for a while, I wanted to add akutagawa and maybe Atsushi but unfortunately I'm so sick it's hard to think straight and I want to get some fics out for y'all

[fernsnailz]

Not sure how much meat this question has to it but if back in 2006 you were the one that spearheaded the shadow the hedgehog game, how would you have done it?

i'd want ShTH 2005 to keep the same core energy its final form ended up with, but tbh there's a lot i would have done differently lol. here's my 3 step plan for how i would have directed it previously/would direct any sort of reboot or remaster

1. TIMELOOP!!!!!!

i'm not the first person to come up with this idea and i won't be the last to talk about it, but the gist of this point is that ShTH's story makes WAY more sense when you treat it like a timeloop. you finished a story path and end up back in westopolis? great job, you're at the beginning of the timeloop again. it's a smart way to make this wack story a little more cohesive.

i would LOVE to further utilize the timeloop concept for this game because it could be a very simple addition to add flavor OR it be the core of the game's story and gameplay. small things like shadow going "hey wait, have i seen this before?" when he's going through westopolis for the third time can hint at the narrative, and once shadow realizes he's in a loop he's motivated to find EVERY path in search of the full truth. every new story path could be treated as a new game+ as shadow starts to consistently remember more from previous timeloops, carrying over certain weapons, abilities, and memories from his previous experiences.

one really cool idea i saw a while ago on here (edit: FOUND IT! i'm talking about this post) is someone's ShTH timeloop pitch where after a few resets, silver starts to show up and tells shadow to stop messing with the timeline. this continues, and eventually silver becomes a final boss of some of the paths. this idea has never left my mind since i saw it and i need to find the person that came up with it they mean so much to me

i have more timeloop thoughts but i will move on for now

2. simplify or rework the morality system and levels

this is my big gameplay critique - there is A Lot to do in ShTH and very little of it is consistently fun. i have grievances with the morality system i talked about a while ago, the gist of my opinion boiling down to "the system removes agency from shadow and the story doesn't fit within the morals you choose anyway." i'd either MASSIVELY rework the morality system to make it feel worthwhile or just throw the whole thing away. unfortunately i don't have many pitches for what to replace it with since i haven't played that many games with branching stories - maybe the story paths you go down are based on BIG story decisions shadow makes during boss battles or in cutscenes (?) like choosing which boss to fight, which characters to save, what moves or weapons to use, stuff like that. i just want the stuff that leads to branching stories to be more impactful and a little simpler.

this also applies to the levels, of which there are... a lot. and maybe there should be less? i think it would be smart to cut down or combine some of the levels, then really flesh out the ones that matter. and given the non-linear nature of ShTH, i think a version with levels more focused on exploration and combat would fit the game better than the linear mission-based gameplay of the original.

3. MORE GUN

listen man. they advertised this as the sonic game with guns and in my opinion i think they could've done better. i mostly just want a more fleshed out weapons system with upgrades, a little customization, better controls, etc. just put the merchant from resident evil 4 in there and have him accept rings and i would be happy

-------------------------

those are the big points i would personally stick to, but i do have smaller points i would consider as well, including:

make black doom seem competent

explain who the chaotix are working for and fit it into the story

no more "kill this many enemies to progress" missions. please

super shadow can have a gun now

[guardian5tiger3]

Energy check in tarot reading & channeling - what's happening ?

*collectively I feel a cycle is being complete and things around this time are being shaken up and or metaphorically were experiencing some turbulence . Definitely a lot of soul and energy upgrade stuff happening . Star card energy ! Water and dolphins may be significant. Also cookies or biscuits I can see someone has those ?

Let's get it goin -

Pick a picture

1 (Kali). 2. 3.

Group 1

My first two cards say eat/drink , and relax so that's self explanatory but to get a bit deeper I'm seeing that this group specifically should focus on the present moment and taking things one by one and going day by day . So you all may get overwhelmed even just oh I have to do this that and shower and cook and clean and feed my pet and call this person or whatever right. and you get overwhelmed so try to focus on the next thing in front of you and if you have troubles figuring out what to do first to write a list on paper or your phone to help you organize that ok . I'm also getting you all need some encouragement and stuff or recognition also maybe. I'm seeing that you may have or are going through something that just seems like a situation where you're losing but as a matter of fact this is coming out as a situation that is somehow giving you an advantage ultimately and is best for your development and somehow , for some of you, even your safety. This could even be something along the lines of being temporarily homeless or anything. You could not get something you want because if you got it sooner it would be bad say you want to get food somewhere but somehow the store is closed so you have to wait but if you did happen to make it in time to the store and get the last order it would have gave you food poisoning, just for example, you never know. You guys are definitely going to win something whatever it might be you're going to be a or the winner. As a matter of fact. Peace. Divine timing is significant at this time especially.

Group 2

A lot of you feel really confused in some way or about something or someone . I'm just getting a lot of confusion and stuff . It could also be disorganization or being overwhelmed .you guys are very blessed the universe is trying to bless you in multiple ways or one big way and someone is wishing negatively on you and or sending negative energy towards you unintentionally or intentionally it depends on who you are here. The group message at the beginning definitely heavily is for y'all here . I'm seeing some person or group of people being mad about the energy youre in from an outside perspective once again you all are very much in star card energy I suggest looking up the meaning too. If you experience (d) a heart breaking ending it's actually cause whatever is being put to an end is very bad know it or not it's bad for you ok. ESPECIALLY if it's socially. For someone there is two people showing up who are very very manipulative and very horrible energy ok.if this message for you it could be frustrating, the whole situation. Lies always get exposed in the end by the way. Make sure you do not involve emotions into situations that it's not necessary too and look at any situation you can with logic , kind of business minded and without much emotion ok. Peace peace.

Group 3

*accidentally called y'all group 4 ?

I'm keeping this group short for good reason something is being balanced out and you are somehow someway winning big this is just cause it's part of the universe balancing things out . I'm getting patience would be good to practice right now. Some not all of you though are unenthusiastic about this possibly cause there's something else you want or you might not see what's coming in as a big deal possibly cause you're already in the energy where your energy is matching that of what blessings are going to or are hitting ya. Y'all really might not even notice this to where you give it thought!!! Maybe cuz it feels natural somehow I don't know. Make sure your heart is open and you're not chasing waterfalls ya know.focusing on things far away you might not appreciate what you have to the fullest.but you do deserve whatever, whoever this is ya know. :) one love.

[invisibleraven]

"This will not be awkward at all." - For Flynn and Luke because we were talking about them on the server.

Flynn and Julie had been best friends since diapers-the type of ride or die best friends that were stuck together like Krazy glue. They had each other's back, and valued each other's opinion.

So when Julie got into someone new, she always relied on Flynn's opinion before she got in too deep, and Flynn was never afraid to tell her like it was.

That is, until Luke.

Flynn doesn't like Luke. Sure, he's cute-even Flynn can appreciate that, even if she is majorly not into dudes, so she sees the appeal. But she just-doesn't like him. Maybe it's the cocky attitude, or the singular music obsession. Maybe the fact that he has no back up plan other than make it big with his band-who are great, no mistake, but they live in LA, the city of hopeless dreamers, where even ambition and talent might not get you there.

She tells Julie all this, but her friend is too far gone-ass over teakettle at first glance. Flynn gets it-she had been the same way for far too long with Carrie, only getting out of that toxic situation after major heartbreak, even after Julie tried to warn her.

So she puts up with luke, the way he and Julie are so wrapped up in each other, and prepares to be there when it all hits the fan.

"I want you two to get to know one another," Julie said. "I can't have you hating my boyfriend Flynnie."

"I don't hate him," Flynn protested.

"Just... give him a chance? For me?"

Flynn sighs-Julie is in full pleading puppy mode, and as much as she doesn't really want to spend time with Luke one on one, she still hasn't found a way to say no to Julie.

"Fine."

Julie of course, orchestrates the whole thing-saying she's putting them in a room to talk and will be back later, hopefully with the both of them alive. Flynn turns away when she kisses Luke goodbye-they always give her the oogies.

"This will not be awkward at all," she mutters to herself.

"So..." Luke begins, flinging himself back on the couch. "What's up?"

This was going to be a loooooooooong night.

Flynn tries, she really does, but outside of Julie, they don't have much in common. Luke is obsessed with music-mainly rock and punk. Flynn enjoys music, even pays her bills as a DJ, but that means she's more into dance and electronica-she and Luke's drummer have had many a long conversation about the different genres of house music they enjoy. Luke thinks it's all noise, preferring stuff created with instruments than computers.

Flynn likes fashion-it's her major after all, and enthuses for a while about the different styles she likes, how much fun she has designing and creating outfits. Luke wears the same thing every day-baggy jeans and a cut off band tee.

'I mean, you rock the look-but you have got to get a better belt than old shoelaces," Flynn critiques.

Luke laughs at that. "Fair. I promise to upgrade if you design me a suit without sleeves."

"So you can show off the guns?"

"It's a sensory thing," Luke admits. "Makes me feel constricted, and after finally ditching the binder-well I'd rather not feel that way ever again."

Flynn stalls at that-"I didn't know."

Luke shrugs, then stretches-his torso is covered in tattoos, but when she looks closer, she can see the faint scar tissue. "I don't exactly advertise it, but yeah. Since I was a teen-my folks were really good about getting me on T, getting me the surgery. The music thing, less so. It's why I left."

Shame floods her-sure that every time she had made an offhanded remark about his plans to make it big it must have stung. But when she opens her mouth to apologize, he shakes her off.

"I know it's unrealistic, but I have to try you know? I'm sure people have told you the same sort of crap about designing."

"Yeah," Flynn replies, even if it isn't true. She doesn't need her own big line, or even a place to sell her stuff, and everyone has been really supportive of her being realistic.

They table the discussion for a bit, talking instead about the joy of creating, their hatred of healthy eating-even as Julie rags on them for needing vegetables in their diets, a book series they both love, and their ambivalence towards sci-fi, even after Reggie has tried to get them to watch all the Star Wars movies.

"You know, I was wrong," Flynn said as they settled back on the bed together.

"Alert the presses, that never happens," Luke snarked.

Flynn stuck her tongue out, then laid her hands over her stomach. "I don't think we'll ever be best friends, you and I. But I like you."

"Aw, I like you too Flynnie," Luke replied, a little teasing, with an undercurrent of sincerity.

"However, if you break Julie's heart, I break your strumming hand."

"Understood." Luke yawned then. "How do you feel about naps?"

"I enjoy them, but if you try to cuddle me I will whack you with a pillow."

"You are talking to the Camp WanaWeep Pillow Fight champ-bring it on," Luke said with a grin.

"Didn't that place get condemned?' Flynn asked.

"Oh yeah, it was the worst," Luke giggled.

Flynn snorted at that, but soon let herself drift off to sleep-though she was clutching a pillow-champ or not, she was serious about whacking Luke.

Later she woke up, finding him writing something-probably a song, and Julie sitting on the bed next to her.

"Hey Jules."

"Do you approve yet?"

"He'll do," Flynn replied, stretching as she got up. "But I did give him the shovel talk."

"I expect nothing less," Julie replied.

"Cool. I'm out, I have homework to do." Then she got an idea, grinning to herself, before picking up a pillow. "Patterson, think fast!"

She lobbed the pillow at him, laughing as he sputtered after it landed on his face. "Pillow fight champ my ass. Have fun you two!"

With that she left-hearing Julie's shrieks of laughter as she did. Yeah, she and Luke would probably never be super close, but he had passed muster with Flynn-and that was good enough.

Even if she was still totally making sure he got a better belt.

[britt-kageryuu]

Leo is streaming, lounging on the big beanbag chair again. His model is in space themed comfy clothes, with slippers, and a star covered mask.

He was playing through a rouge like game, not fully sure what he needs to do yet, but still having fun fighting off the multiple waves of enemies. It's noted that he's sticking to the sword based weapons, even if there are multiple weapons available from the beginning.

Suddenly the graphic of a cartoony slider riding a skateboard, rolls across the screen followed by "Thank You Chaotic_CinnamonRoll for the $10, 'Why did you decide to go into the medical field? You might've mentioned medical books in the past?'"

Leo let out a nostalgic sigh, "Well, that was part of why I got into medical stuff, let me tell ya. I think Dee mentioned how we didn't have legal identification for years, so if something happened with us Dad couldn't really take us to any medical facility. But he got ahold of as much supplies, and field medic training manuals, and medical guides as he could find." Leo has a smile on his face as he continues, "And while Dee is big on science, they don't like viscera, so Pops started to show me how to help. It just goes from there."

Leo spys a comment in chat, "For the person asking about Pops not using insurance, well after his sudden retirement, he didn't have insurance anymore, and he didn't know how to apply." Leo lets out another sigh, "Plus he wasn't familiar with how things worked, because he had a manager or assistant to do all that stuff for him. He was just a confused father of 4 who was trying his best while dealing with his own depression! I'm not trying to justify anything, just stating a fact."

Leo suddenly stretched himself out to grab something and rolled over onto his stomach, facing away from the camera, he's grabbed his phone to check a notification that wasn't heard over the mic, for once. What ever the message was it made his happy, because his tail was wagging a bit fast. He spends a few minutes messaging back and forth with who is assumed to be Leo's boyfriend.

He eventually remembered that he was in the middle of a stream, and sheepishly apologized for ignoring them.

"So since this game is newer than most that I've played, there aren't many guides on what I chould do yet. Sooo I gotta keep throwing things at the enemy and see what's most effective. Like that, wait was he a Croc, or and Aligator? Either way he was the first mini boss! Image how hard the other will be until we get more upgrades!" Leo says excitedly as he goes over the upgrades menu after returning to the start after dying right after the boss, from low health. "We also got this new 'Side Scroller Beatem Up' game because it and the DLC was one sale. Though that might be better played with more players, and our schedules don't always line up multiple people being on the stream. Plus I promised Dee our next game would be his choice."

Leo is half focused on going through the upgrade menus, and talking to the characters around the hub area. Thinking that the blue guy he was playing as could lighten up a bit, be more like the orange dude, but hey their Dad is missing and everything is tense. And where is the last person of the group, or do they only appear after going a certain distance in the game?

"Though I do like the look of that spikey turtle dude, reminded me of Red, though he's wearing, was it dark blue or a deep teal, either way cool dude. Hope he shows up in the hub area. Now do I want to switch to one of the other 3, or just continue as my blue guy?" Leo is rambling, if only because the analytical part of his mind is currently at war with the 'Oh Shiney! What was I doing?' part of his mind. "ALSO! What is with the odd element system that the flavor text is talking about, not the water I get that, this Utrom thing, it's kind described as tech based, but what is an Utrom? Why am I asking chat when they mostly say they've never seen this game before?... Did I forget to take my medicine, because I don't usually ramble my thoughts out loud this much."

He then pauses the game to check his phone for his medical data. "So I need to take a break again real quick. I either didn't take my medicine, or somehow took the wrong medication. So please hold while I go check. And don't any of you go looking up the game to purposefully cause spoilers. I want to figure out enough on my own first. Okay BRB!"

The screen switches over to an animated scene of the guys cartoony turtle selves are swimming about, though Mikey is jumping between Raph and Leo, and slightly submerging Leo in the process. Donnies is occasionally trying to bite Leo for bumping into him.

The chat is talking among themselves, notifications are going off, and some jokes about the medic taking the wrong medication.

------------------

Masterpost

I still don't quite understand my own writing process. Like I had only the 'why I got into the medical field' part planned, then just decided to have him ramble about the game which is 'TMNT Splintered Fate' but not quite. Then at the last minute I was like 'I should make up a reason for him being very ramble-y right now'.

If I should change this, let me know. I do like feedback.

[tobiasdrake]

The Demon General Burmese Tapir has been slain! Onward, to victory!

Quadruple Shithead at 12 o'clock and closing in fast. Let's fuck him up, Manfred, so we can end this whole thing and go home!

PINWHEELS OF DEATH! I fucked up the Sycophantic Speedster and now I'm here to--

Wait, why does this seem alarmingly familiar? I am at 12 out of 10 on the What The Fuck Scale.

Oh my goddess, we are doing this again.

The fucking Time Shards. They manifest whenever time's being looped. I was waiting for something like this but I wasn't anticipating... this.

That's what Western Hero means!?

It's not a fucking prophecy, it's a goddamn loop. Oh yeah, the great prophets predicted NO THEY FUCKING DID NOT, THEY'RE JUST WATCHING RERUNS.

...

Uh, please disregard my sacrilegious fury. You have done nothing wrong.

I can't believe our whole order is an Avatar chain of postal delivery workers passing the same package along.

What the fuck are we even doing here?

I think... I think I need to lie down and think about my life. Everything I thought I knew about what we were doing was just shot to hell.

I've been moving at a frantic pace from one thing to another and... and for what? I can't do it anymore. I need some time to process and really think about--

FUCK YES I'M THERE LET'S DO IT

You know what, that makes sense yet is somehow tremendously disappointing.

I've built up so much mystique, so much allure surrounding what this even is. But there was never anything there to begin with. It was just a closet. The allure came from the narrative we wove together surrounding the cabinet, moreso than its true contents.

A pretty little fiction in a pretty little bow, tied around a mundane piece of nothing. An apt metaphor for the entire Messenger syst--

Hang on, do you use a glamour photo to get dressed instead of a mirror? Because that's amazing. 10/10 Luana-approved.

So now I'm being inducted into the Cryptic Asshole community? Sure. Whatever. I could use friends, I--

OH I'M YOU NOW AM I

Is that how this works? ...wait, hold up, does that mean your true identity is the Archer who Western Heroed all over my burning village? This is where you've been all this time!?

BYE!?

I have so many questions about--

WELCOME TO ASSCLOWN'S ANAL EMPORIUM. If you give me a moment, I'm sure we have something your size.

Expect to do remarkably little shopping here. There's a bit of it, but for the most part, I'm just going to give you useful geographic background information and stuff. Oh, and I suppose I could read you my favorite passages from the Moon Goddess fab-- I mean, I have some neat stories to share.

Don't get used to freebies; Those only come along when you need a traversal boost for the next leg of your journey. I expect you to pay me in Time Shards for most of your Upgrades. Don't ask what I'm doing with them. You're still too young for that level of cynical disillusionment.

He seems nice. We're going to be best friends.

Wow, from my perspective, you were gone five seconds. For some reason, I anticipated being unmoored from time and space to still progress time at the same pace as, y'know, being moored in time and space. I don't know why I thought that.

Sure, I guess we'll breeze through this loop.

Gonna be totally honest with you, about 80% of the lore you're going to receive from me is probably going to be made up on the spot. I wish I understood even half as much of this world's deep secrets as my predecessor did, he was always so quick with the....

...

Oh, son of a bitch.

I need a moment. I'm having horrifying revelations. The shop is temporarily closed due to existential despair.

[shinidamachu]

I also noticed in my reread of the manga that the anime made Kikyo seem more powerful. In the manga Inuyasha easily parried Kikyo’s attack when she was first resurrected and chose to throw aside the sword to reason with her, and even got ready to strike her down and cracked his knuckles in order to bring Kagome back. In the anime he was easily overwhelmed by Kikyo and was only saved by Kagome waking up. I’m seeing Sunrise’s bias 🙄

And there's nothing wrong with making Kikyo seem more powerful. Inuyasha was constantly getting upgrades for Tessaiga without us as much as batting an eye over it.

The difference is that we were there when he found and got Tessaiga. We were there to see him struggle to master it. We were there for each and every single breakthrough. We know the how and we know the why.

Kikyo's power-ups, on the other hand, seem to come out of thin air most of the time. I'm sure she must have worked for it, but it wasn't shown, so there's a bit of a disconect between her journey getting there and the audience, which makes her achievements turn out to be not as satisfying as they could have been.

It's like, we know what the stabilished powers of a pristess are and so we think we know what Kikyo's powers are limited to, but then she does something new that doesn't fit that criteria and our only explanation is that she was the most powerful priestess of her time. Which makes sense, but also tells us that it's not important how she came to be so powerful, only that she is.

So why should we care when she uses a new trick? It's probably something she has known how to do for a while, anyway. We weren't rooting for her to get it right. We weren't anticipating it. We just roll with it.

The problem is that, in order to make Kikyo seem more powerful, Sunrise often gave her scenes where Kagome was originally the one kicking ass and taking names. And that's what I have issues with. Take this scene for instance:

Kikyo is the kind of character who doesn't do anything without a reason, so why would she interfere? She doesn't really knows Koga. She has probably no idea of his connection to Inuyasha — and even if she had, I don't peg her for comeone who'd care, considering how she treated Kagome most of the time. Koga is a demon with two jewel shards. Why help him out instead of taking them from him herself or waiting Naraku's incarnation finish the job to sweep in and do it? Because in the manga, Kagome is the one who saves Koga:

Which makes infinitely more sense and proves that there was no actual reason behind this "creative" change other than making Kikyo look cooler. The entirety of Sunrise's adaptation is full of these little shenanigans. Do you want to see a practical example of how this affects the general perception of the audience regarding the characters?

Here's Kagome diligently destroying a Naraku puppet to save an unconscious Kikyo. She actively uses the bow and arrow she didn't know how to shoot in the beginning of her journey to save someone she judges to be her love rival. And she suceeds without overthinking it or breaking a sweat.

But Sunrise thought it would be better to just do this instead:

The result? People naturally praise Kikyo for being the biggest girl boss in Inuyasha for stuff that was originally done by Kagome:

Don't get me wrong, it's great that people will appreciate Kikyo — this was exactly what Sunrise was going for, anyway — but it rubs me the wrong way that it came with the price of Kagome getting constantly criticized for being a "damsel in distress" who never does anything.

When your adaptation changes the story so much that people wrongfully perceives your female lead as useless despite the many, many scenes you still animated of her saving the day — and specifically saving the life of her supposed rival, who they judge to be much stronger and independent than her — that's when you know you fucked up.

And the worst part is that people are either blissfully unaware of this irony — because they haven't read the manga — or straight up dishonest about it.

The funny thing is: Kikyo didn't need any of that. What Sunrise did was the equivalent of taking original scenes of her being kind or compassionate and giving it to Kagome instead. It wasn't necessary. Kikyo was stabilished as a powerful woman from her very first appearance:

Kagome was the one who needed to prove herself in battle because she was the 15 year modern girl who was tossed untrained in the middle of a feudal era "life or death" situation. She was the one I wanted to see exploring and using her spiritual powers, because that's what her character needed to grow.

What Kikyo needed was humanization, glimpses of the ordinary woman she has always wanted to be. Empowerment is important, but it's also multifaceted and it falls flat when it focuses on power for the sake of power.

I'd gladly exchange any of those changes for scenes of Kikyo coping with taking a human life or using women's souls to stay on the world of the living. Scenes of Kikyo realizing she has become the very thing she used to fight against and how seeking for revenge affected the people she loves.

Scenes of Kikyo regretting decisions she can't take back, scenes of Kikyo bonding with Kaede both before and after her death, scenes of Kikyo acknowledging the part she played on the way her relationship with Inuyasha ended and apologizing for the hell she put him through over it.

That's how you make her character relatable and empathetic. That's how you highlight her complexities and makes her interesting. Kikyo being pretty while shooting arrows is absolutely stunning on screen, but it does little to create a truly emotional attachment to her character, at least for me.

As for the particular scene you brought up, Inuyasha was, in fact, easily overwhelmed by Kikyo in the anime. When she first attacks him, he just... lets her.

While in the manga, Inuyasha is quick to dodge it.

He does try to defend himself in the anime. However, Kikyo's arrow manages to stop Tessaiga's transormation and almost hits his heart.

None of which happens in the anime, where Inuyasha not only defends himself but also actively pushes back.

Sure, Kikyo still succeeds in zapping the hell out of him, but only because Inuyasha threw Tessaiga aside to reason with her, like you pointed out. When that didn't work, he cracked his knuckles in order to strike her down, before realizing he couldn't do it and then Kagome comes in with the save. In the anime, he didn't even try.

And the hug I mentioned, when he's attempting to appease Kikyo and she cries on his arms for a moment? Completely erased in favor of making her push her elderly sister aside twice and hurting Inuyasha more than originally intended while also referring to him as "beast", "monster" and "half breed."

I understand why Sunrise wanted to give Kikyo more screen time – she's a key character and people seem to have a good time drawing and animating her – but they focused mostly on making her look "cool" by kicking up a notch on the whole "vengeful spirit" thing and ended up shooting themselves on the foot by going too far.

They really thought the nonsense added scenes, like Inuyasha watching her bath or telling the audience they were always by each other's side – while actually showing them sitting far apart, Inuyasha being left to chase after the carriage she was in instead of being there with her, etc – would make up for the hug they cut out in order to give Kikyo more "badass" moments.

That's because they realized the couple had no substancy whatsoever and to remedy that, prioritized telling us that they were together for at least a couple of seasons instead of making the effort to show us this so called deep love. The hug was meaningful and made sense. Inuyasha dramatically laying on the ground while mentally screaming her name after telling her she needed to return the last piece of Kagome's soul – which is how Sunrise decided to end the episode – did not.

Especially because in the manga, he checked on Kagome before...

And after he left to try and get the remaining piece of her soul back – knowing what it would mean to Kikyo.

Plus, while obviously sad about Kikyo's "death", he also seems to accept this was for the best and acts like he is pretty much ready to move on.

Not to mention how he panicked when Shippo brought up the possibility of Kagome not being Kagome anymore and how absolutely relieved he was when he realized it wasn't the case.

And if this wasn't enough, he spent a good three panels blushing over Kagome right after the whole ordeal.

Those scenes had two purposes. One was to solidify, once more, Kagome as her own person to the audience and to Inuyasha, as well as a love interest. He had the opportunity to get Kikyo back and still wanted her to return the soul – even if it meant Kikyo would cease to exist – because he didn't want to risk Kagome not waking up or not being herself anymore, since he was already falling in love with her. Kikyo herself guilt trips him about it when he tries to convince her.

The other was to contrast Inuyasha's first reaction to Kikyo's ressurection and the information that they were both set up with his reaction after he was told that Kikyo died for him and therefore he owes her his life. The former consists on him standing up for himself and rightfully seeing himself as a victim, the latter consists on him blaming himself out of proportion based on a blalant lie. That's why in the manga he takes her "second" death so well, while the others really take a toll on him. In the anime, however, it's like he is already blaming himself when she falls off that cliff.

I attribute this change of attitude to another scene Sunrise thought fit to delete:

Of course the anime also has Inuyasha denying Kikyo's accusations, but he is way less effusive about it in there. Originally, when he realizes they were fooled into thinking they betrayed each other, he acts like they were both at fault for distrusting each other and are, therefore, even. So when she "dies" there's nothing he can do but wish for her to rest in peace and move on despite how sad it makes him.

All of this really sucks, because as you can see, the changes they did in favor of Kikyo either didn't work on her favor at all or heavily impacted the characterization of others – Inuyasha and Kagome especially – in a negative way, in addition to creating huge inconsistencies plot and narrative wise.

TLDR: yes, Sunrise's bias is obvious. And ironically, I think if they had liked Kikyo less, she would have been a much better written character because they wouldn't be afraid to give her the development she needed.

[a-pale-azure-moon]

I've barely scratched the surface of TotK and I can feel my brain wanting to disappear down the Zelda rabbit hole. I am desperately trying to keep at least half of it in my writing brainspace but damn is it hard. There's so much temptation to just plop down with my Switch for the next eight hours and forget about everything else.

Anyway, I'm still very early in but I'll put my ramblings under the cut just in case.

-I know the popular joke was that TotK is just "$70 DLC." Obviously it is not with all of the new content, but it genuinely feels like I'm playing BotW again, only with new tools and new places to discover. And I don't consider that a bad thing! I spent almost 300 hours playing BotW and still wished there was more I could do (aside from hunting down all the Koroks because screw that), so I'm happy to be revisiting this world and exploring it all over again. Though I won't lie that I miss having all the gear and upgrades I had by the end of BotW. I'd forgotten how easy it is to die in stupid ways early on.

-Holy hell is there so much to explore. Maybe too much. Even with the nudges the game gives you, it's really hard to know where to even begin once you leave the Great Sky Island. I haven't even done any of the main dungeons yet; I've just been wandering around looking for shrines and seeing what's changed. It's even more daunting knowing there's stuff in the sky and in the depths to explore as well.

-The Depths freak me out. I've only been in there once and I'm not eager to go back until I'm stronger. Never been a fan of dark places in video games; you never can know what's lurking there, waiting to ambush you.

-It's nice to see all the familiar NPCs. Bumping into Purah and Robbie right away made me smile.

-It's also nice to see that Hyrule's been rebuilding since the end of BotW, but that evidence of the Calamity still exists (Castle Town especially). It makes the world feel that much more organic and real.

-That opening sequence was choice. Like, the approach to Ganon's lair, with the increasing gloom and the ominous music, literally sent shivers down my spine. Good shit.

-Ultrahand is amazing and I've only just begun to really play with its powers.

-To whomever at Nintendo designed the Gloom Spawn/Grabby hands/Nightmare Fuel, I hate you. May all your bacon burn for the rest of your life.

-I miss the Bomb runes SO MUCH.

-What happened to all the Sheikah technology anyway? I totally get dismantling all the Guardians considering they were the scourge of Hyrule for a long time, but did the towers and the Slate just...stop working?

-I'm fascinated by Rauru (and no, it's not just because he has Dimitri's voice, though I won't lie that it makes him that much more appealing, lol). So, we know that's his right arm that Link is "borrowing," and all of Link's new powers specifically come from that arm. And that same arm was keeping Ganon sealed away for....some length of time I'm not aware of yet, but I'm guessing it was awhile. And the new shrines are implied to contain fragments of Rauru's power as well. Just how powerful is this guy? Also, the reveal that he's the first King of Hyrule too (and married to a Hylian woman!) just makes things more interesting.

Also, also, look how adorable he is! I want to pet his ears and brush his hair! But I also want see him go ham at some point because the game sure as hell implies that he's god-like and I'm here for it.

...But it'll probably also make me sad because he's well, dead now and it's likely because sealing Ganon away cost him his life. =(

(I'm still reeling that Rauru's voiced by Chris Hackney, and it's even more wild with Matt Mercer being the voice of Ganon. How is it that the VAs of both of my FE husbands wound up in this game? Thanks for making sure the brainrot never ends, Nintendo!)

[leaf-kei]

Hey, bud! I know that you love Time Squad right now <3 Say, who's your favorite character? Favorite episode? Favorite character dynamics? My all-time favorite character is Larry 3000... my favorite episodes tie between Day Of The Larrys, Larry Upgrade, Cabin Fever, and To Hail With Ceasar... and then my favorite character dynamic is Larry and Otto since it's like a true parent/child relationship. I dunno, I'm a sucker for non-humans raising humans, especially if they're kids.

Hi silverkitten! Your art is VERY CUTE!! ;w; ❤️

I love all three of the main trio characters & each is vital to the dynamic for sure, but I think my favorite is also Larry! He’s really unique, and the way he interacts and clashes with Buck and Otto is super fun. I was listening to an interview with Dave Wasson the other week, and he said that his rule of thumb is to write main characters who have clashing personalities so that there’s always a source of conflict and friction. There’s no one more different than Buck and Larry, LOL!

All three of the main trio (ESPECIALLY Larry) have a lot of depth to them that’s handled casually by the writing, so they’re very rewarding to think about on a deeper level. Im sure you feel the same way! … I have like 8k words of little stories and headcanons in my phone notes so far, that’s always how my hyperfixations begin lmao

I’M SUPER INTERESTED in how Buck and Larry’s relationship could develop in a hypothetical adult reboot or third season (which will never happen but who cares)!! —Romantically, of course. >:) It’s implied a bunch of times that they’re attracted to each other in some way… I have so many thoughts about their romantic chemistry, pls allow me to ramble about it/copy-paste some stuff from my aforementioned phone note:

Imo, in the first two seasons, Larry is in love with Tuddrussel and hates it. Tudd annoys the shit out of him, but the heart wants what it wants… to me, it seems like Larry’s constantly cycling through being happily in one-sided love with Buck, desperately longing for any affection from him, being repulsed and angered by his own feelings, telling himself he deserves better and is going to leave, and eventually accepting that he won’t… all without Buck realizing anything is going on. Larry also hates Buck WAY MORE than Buck hates him, lmao?? My favorite instance of that is in Hate and Let Hate—when Buck points his phaser at Larry, it’s just to demonstrate that it’s filled with water, but when Larry points it at Buck a minute later it seems like he’s 100% ready to kill him… Hate and love are two sides of the same coin, after all. Overall, Larry gives off the vibe that he wants much more than Buck is giving him emotionally.

Meanwhile, Buck is not in touch with his feelings at all. He assumes that, after his divorce, he's just been living the bachelor life & hasn't been too fussed about getting another lady yet... but why is it that he doesn't care about finding another partner? Is it because his needs for affection, companionship, and care are being met by Larry? He has no idea. Critically stupid. Later, I think he starts to clue on to Larry’s feelings and realize he’s attracted to him, despite his efforts to repress it… considering how he reacted to Larry’s clones & how he imagined him in Thrilla at Attila’s, he might be into that effeminacy he’s always telling Larry to knock off. I think Buck would have to change A LOT in order to accept his own feelings as legitimate. I mean… in the show, he’s DEEP in the hole of toxic masculinity.............. A lot of my writings and HCs are about digging him out of there/putting him in situations where he’s forced to confront his feelings. He's gotta accept that they’re not going to make him less of a man. I JUST LOVE THAT LARRY AND BUCK ARE SO DIFFERENT BUT THEY CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER, AAAH !!!

AND I HAVENT EVEN SAID ANYTHING ABOUT SHEILA AND XJ5 OMG I love them and their own dynamic too, it’s fun to see what an actual functioning time squad is like lol. I like to imagine that XJ5 is crushing on Sheila, but in his own extremely awkward way… this reply is already too long orz

Day Of The Larrys is ICONIC, and there are so many more eps I could call favorites!! Love At First Flight is so heartwarming I squeal every time, Floral Patton and Shop Like An Egyptian are hilarious, and Thrilla at Attila’s is valuable for the sheer amount of shipping material it provides lmao. Forget the Alamo is a bit questionable (some things in this show did not age well…) but I can’t resist how sweetly Tudd treats Larry despite being opposed in what they’re trying to do there (and very fatherly towards Otto too!!!). Ok the last one I’ll name is Ladies and Gentlemen, Monty Zuma, mostly because of the line delivery when Otto says GEORGE….. wwwWWASHINGGTON

Holy crap this is long. Props to you for reading all of this.,.,, actually, no pressure to read it all lol.,,,,, THANK YOU for sending me an ask!! ;w; IM SO HAPPY TO BE TALKING ABOUT TIME SQUAD EEEK, and I’m excited for ur cat adoption story!!

[groggydog]

Requiem (Interactive Fiction Devlog #6)

(See my previous posts here.)

Because Requiem is more of a *game* than anything else I've created thus far, I spend a lot of time tweaking stuff on the back-end that the player will never really see.

An example:

Once the player has reached a certain point in their early journey, they unlock The Armory, a place to upgrade their gear with currency found in the Well.

So, a question presents itself... How do I appropriately scale the cost of the upgrades?

I don't want it to be linear, because right now better rewards are earned the later in the game you are - it would be entirely too easy to trivialize the combat encounters.

So originally, I was going to manually set each value. So the game would check $player.armor, for instance, to see their current max health value. Then it would assign a cost value to the next level of upgrade based on my manual input, in gradually increasing amounts.

But this is *really* clunky, and requires a lot more code than I think I needed. The Armory passage was getting entirely too long.

So today I cleaned it up, and here's what it looks like now.

Up at the top we begin by using a polynomial to calculate a nice, steady cost increase automatically based on the player's current number of upgrades ($player.armor). It looks like 50 > 80 > 130 > 200, etc. etc. The cost-increase itself increases by 20 chits for every level.

The rest checks to make sure they can actually afford the upgrade (and just displays plain text if they can't). If they then click the available link it reduces the player's chits and processes the upgrade. The $purchase and $purchase_chits variables exist to display a purchase confirmation message when they reload the shop.

And that's it! I've taken what was dozens of lines of code for each upgrade set to just 11 lines. It took some playing around to get the polynomial right, but I'm happy with where it's landed.

I think that's a great, elegant improvement.

[the-firebird69]

Part 1 - It begins! Harley Street 500 to 750 Upgrade

The reason Harley-Davidson makes them so big is because they provide some beef to the mechanism which actually makes it work longer and better and they Outlast most of the Japanese bikes even the ones with high performance steel but the ones that make a little bit bigger work better than these two and they're still way too big they're too heavy. You can see this transmission is gigantic it's just a clutch and it's huge it's about one half the size of a car and people are amazed when they see it this will fit into the HK one but it will not fit into the toy or a child's Enduro and it won't because it's way too big but they're looking forward to the next size up and his son says you have to at least have the go-kart for Christmas and he's going to try and do it it's only days away and people are chomping at the bit to get this go-kart and it's a single cedar but it's a little wider and you can lighten it and and put a drop on on and you'll have a mini and the mini Lamborghini works on it no there are several cars that do one of them is the raser Tesla and it's made for the street it's a prototype and Tesla wants to put it out there as a drop on. We are proving this idea and we're getting him assistance and people to help work with him on this thing and I'm signing my people and he's assigning his and he says we have to have people do it and so they're getting people together and she is too and asking from the other side of the family and they're moving out right now this is for children and we need it now this would be a great dirt bike it's going to be like an old fashioned one on the fairings and fenders won't be that big but they're going to be like a radio flyer and not a metal it's not really that safe but it does deflect rocks better and it is going to be smaller but it's going to be really cool looking the old fashioned bikes look cool and they're fun and it has power and for a child it's going to have gears to be for 8 to 12 and that's how you all the child will be and a lot of 5 year olds and others will ride it but and it's probably going to make it into the racing circuit people love this kind of bike they adore it and Harley-Davidson will start making it it's going to be cool you're going to be amazed how cool this is and it's RTA it's exactly what father's want to do for Christmas and we're going to go ahead and help our son here

Thor Freya

Olympus

You can make just about anything and your kids are amazed later and they say there's so much care and joy putting it together that you ask me for help make sure you doing it right and I'm helping and watching and you're catching on and starting to work a lot better and you make like four of them and they're one more to make and you got real tired and there are two girls and two boys and the last one was a girl so I started putting it together and you're watching me you found out you do similar stuff and we went out to sleep and we both fell asleep and slept all night and we almost didn't get the stockings done now we had them ready so we put them out and they were asleep already and we woke up we went in and they were decimated they ripped everything apart and it's so much joy and so much fun and you talk well at Christmas it was great they're saying it I'm saying it too this is going to be great I can't wait they went down and the bikes were under the tree. They couldn't believe it and opened them up no I took the bow off and asked if they could ride it inside and you're saying I don't see why not and they were not electric so I said no they're not electric you have to write them outside and you let out this big roar of a laugh and they're almost afraid and said she never lets me get away with stuff and the guys are like yeah that's right so out there riding around and he said I wonder where the other counterparts are and they came out of the woods with their bikes it was intense I've never seen anything like this they have little BMX bikes so they know how to ride and they came up and they're looking at them and riding around just unbelievable fun

We have little minis and we got on them but we're still huge so like how are you going to ride around with us and why are you so huge said your babies and said we're not babies anymore and they're like 8 ft but they're still young now it's when they're young and but we're huge so it's a little confusing to them not too confusing and they're going to grow up and they think they're just babies but they're special and they start to feel it

On this very day Christmas Day

Hera

Zues

We thank you both very much and we're looking forward to this and we can't believe what's happening here there's too much going on and it's crazy but this is happening now too and we're going to help and he wants us on the assignment and ask us and then ask her he's usually asking her a Hera first and really this is great

Savage opress

We approve the idea Olympus

[leashade]

40 Questions (2023 edition)

Answering these 40 questions for the first time.

https://github.com/kepano/40-questions

What did you do this year that you’d never done before?

Traveled to a different country to get a visa and also travelled to new continents.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions?

I don't even remember my resolutions for 2023 honestly. But I am alive, it's already an achievement.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Almost.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Not yet.

5. What cities/states/countries did you visit?

Seattle, USA. Jakarta, Indonesia.

6. What would you like to have next year that you lacked this year?

This year was so packed with events, that I'm more afraid that I won't be able to meet the same level of expectations.

7. What date(s) from this year will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Last week of October, it felt magical.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Got to work at The International 2023 on-site in Seattle.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not really my failure, but still: contract with Valve was terminated because of Tundra.

10. What other hardships did you face?

Hard to fit all the cool ideas in terms of time

11. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nope.

12. What was the best thing you bought?

Laptop/PC upgrade, I think? I didn’t have the access to my PC for a while, and this laptop essentially replaced my PC altogether.

To a point when my PC is just standing here unused for a couple of months now, because I just don’t have time to do something about it, and don’t really need to do anything about it for now.

13. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Not sure what the question means exactly, but what Sheepo and other talents did for me this year was spectacular.

14. Whose behavior made you appalled?

A certain pro org’s CEO.

15. Where did most of your money go?

Tech upgrades and food.

16. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Going to TI12.

17. What song will always remind you of this year?

kendall :3 – Blue Shift

18. Compared to this time last year, are you: happier or sadder? Thinner or fatter? Richer or poorer?

Happier, about the same, definitely richer, but also with way more expenses.

19. What do you wish you’d done more of?

More travelling and socializing, more work. I feel like I could’ve done more, but don’t do enough.

20. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Procrastinating and worrying about stuff.

21. How are you spending the holidays?

Not sure yet.

22. Did you fall in love this year?

No, it happened before.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

No.

24. What was your favorite show?

Kinda hard to say.

Out of everything I watched this year… Probably House of Dragon actually.

UPDATE FROM FUTURE ME: Just finished Loki (Season 2) and now THAT's my favorite show of 2023.

25. What was the best book you read?

Didn’t really spend that much time reading, and most stuff didn’t really make that strong of an impression.

Asimov’s “Naked Sun”, I guess?

26. What was your greatest musical discovery of the year?

Ermmm… Taylor Swift, I guess? Everything else was kinda discovered beforehand.

27. What was your favorite film?

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

28. What was your favorite meal?

Nothing out of the ordinary. At least can’t remember.

29. What did you want and get?

Going to TI12.

30. What did you want and not get?

…nothing?

I’ve got everything I wanted, but also I didn’t really want that much to begin with. And I also don’t remember many things.

31. What did you do on your birthday?

I don't remember. Probably working.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

It’s good enough as it is.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion this year?

Regular dude, I guess? Nothing that looks good or stands out.

34. What kept you sane?

Doing cool things.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you admire the most?

Nobody really.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

The same one from the last year.

37. Who did you miss?

Not sure, nobody comes to mind.

38. Who was the best new person you met?

Mary, Chase and Brian. And, well, many more, but these three are the best.

39. What valuable life lesson did you learn this year?

If you act hard, do your best and treat people well, things will get right back at you eventually.

40. What is a quote that sums up your year?

…idk

[phoenix-is-the-hottest-thing]

hello uhh I hope I'm not bothering you but can you help me with er stuff, you're the expert that I know of

I was watching this youtube video tutorial for HoHE(??) and they use terms for the signets like Griseo 2 and Kalpas 2 but I have no idea which that is... so how do you figure out which signet is signet 1 or signet 2 or signet 3 and so on, please help me I'm suffering in ER and this youtube tutorial is my salvation but I can't figure it out..

THANKS IN ADVANCE I REALLY NEEDED THIS

Alright so!!! First off here are some text guides (warning for some choice cropping coz they’re made by redditors):

When someone says “Griseo 2” or such it means her second Nexus signet. You get to pick one Nexus signet per Flame-Chaser per run when you have have 3 or more normal signets of a Flame-Chaser upon beating a level where their portal appeared.

In other words, you should try to get the same Flame-Chaser over and over again until you have the buffs you want. You can do this by equipping a corresponding signet rate up item and/or being lucky. You also get to reroll portals three times in a run, and three additional times if you equip a specific item.

When you’re picking a signet from the list of 3, the above guides will often have recommendations of which signets you should take in priority. If you can’t get the one you want, it’s okay, you will probably go through that door again, just pick the next best thing you can think of— either more damage or utility (Mobius Lodging: -20% cooldown for summoned entities, support valkyries and ELFs, for example, is a pretty good utility signet to have even if it doesn’t give you more damage)

When you’re in the shop, you can buy signets without going through doors BUT you’ll never get a Nexus signet that way. I would recommend you try to have 2 signets of the Flame Chaser(s) you’re aiming for when you’re ready to exit the shop, so that next time their portal shows up you can directly get their Nexus signet. If you have extra coins of course you can grab more stuff (to take the previous example, Lodgings is always useful to have).

Pay attention to what you’re taking though— less damage taken is usually useless, and Hua signets have damage types that can be useless for your valk (Pardo does ice damage so she can’t use Physical Breach or Physical Damage, while Miss Pink Elf does physical damage and can’t use Elemental Breach or Elemental Damage). If you’re never dodging, Sakura signets will probably be a waste of time. If you’re always at full HP, Kalpas signets will be useless until you grab his second Nexus, etc.

Follow the guide for your valk, and remember what kind of damage you do and what kind of abilities you use!

That said. An important point these guides forget is that not every player has beaten all of ER’s story. Flame-Chasers are unlocked by storymode. If you haven’t met certain characters during the story chapters yet, you won’t be able to get the signets of the corresponding Flame-Chaser.

So if you’re in that situation, use what you currently have and play storymode to unlock more Flame-Chasers! If possible, play a character who’s using the early signets.

Unlock order:

Chapter 1 + potentially the beginning of Chapter 2

Elysia

Hua + Kevin + Sakura

Kalpas

Eden

Su(?)

Mobius

Su(?)

Chapter 3

Pardo

Kosma

Griseo

Aponia

Vill-V

I’m not sure about Su because I’ve heard his order was changed to after Mobius for some people, not sure if it’s random, an update change since I played it, or a bug.

You will unlock the items of the Flame-Chasers by playing Elysian Realm and upgrading their Remembrance Vessel with a currency you earn with every run. This will unlock a cutscene (don’t skip it, ER story is really good) and pretty quickly the items. Additional items and emblems can be unlocked through doing certain tasks in ER over and over. Don’t sweat it, just keep playing the game mode and they’ll be unlocked eventually.

Each time you upgrade a vessel you’ll also unlock a text called a Recollection, reading it gives your crystals and it’s more delicious, delicious lore.

Sometimes there’s bad translations though, especially in chapter 3. You can read most of the recollections as better quality fan translations here:

And you can find a sometimes anotated transcript of all of ER-related content here:

Hope these help you enjoy the story as well 🥰

Oh and, as for rewards, the minimum difficulty you need to beat to get all of them is Corruption. Finality is for the bored and the tryhards. If you can’t beat Corruption, just downgrade the difficulty until it’s easy enough for you to beat then try to go for harder content progressively. Even if you can’t win, you do unlock rewards relative to your score, and your valks become stronger the more often you play them in ER (and upgrading them all the way to ER level 15 also gives crystals).

Good luck o7

If I didn’t cover something, feel free to send another ask.

[miraculous-trinity-leo]

Whacky Gotham, Goofy New York, and Chaotic Paris

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7)

Chapter 3: Kindred Spirits Always Find A Way To Assemble

•—–—–†–—–—•

Time: 5:30am

location: Louvre

Ladybug, Abeille, Bunnyx, Trickster, and Chat Noir are fighting an akuma, not anything major, just Mr. Pigeon and his pigeons trying to melt the Louvre with deadly acidic bird dropings, so yeah, nothing major. Just another early bird gets the akuma kinda day...

"Looks like the early bird is trying to melt the Louvre, what say you M'lady, shall we make this swift and- *Loud sneeze* Let me now *sneeze* when I'm *sneeze* needed" - Chat Noir

"For to long our kind has been oppressed, they feed us miserable seeds, when we beg for bread, we shall show them no mercy, as our justice shall be swift!" picks up two pigeons, holds them by their legs and aims the rear cannons "Surrender your Miraculous and your justice shall be swift and painless!!" with an evil villain laugh at the end bla bla bla.

" Anyone else getting Pigeon (French) Revolution vibes? No? just me? Cause I swear he said seeds instead of cake."

"Not the time Bunnyx." - Abeille

"Oh it so Is The Time." - Bunnyx

"Off with Mr. Pigeon Antoinette's Akumatized object!" - Chat Noir from a distance.

"Viva La Revolution!!!" - Trickster

"Dear Kwami, how did it come to a frickin Pigeon Revolution?!" - Ladybug

As the last line is said, Mr. Pigeon fires the -ehem- cannons at the heroes, only for them to be an illusion. In the confusion Bunnyx pops out of her burrow and wacks Mr. Pigeon on the head, effectively knocking him out.

"The Pigeon Revolution is over, we have taken back our home, and shall continue to defend it from the creepy Man of MOTH!!!!" - Bunnyx

and with that Bunnyx brakes the Akumatized object, and Ladybug purifies the akuma.

"Ok, I will admit that last speach was funny, now lets hurry back before hells bells go off." - Ladybug

•~—~—~—~—~—~—~•

" Bla bla bla, nothing important, bla bla bla bla, yada yada yada bla yada." - Mrs. Bustier

"'Viva La Revolution', that was perfect." - Whispering Alix

"It just came to me, but Chats 'Off with Mr. Pigeon Antoinette's Akumatized object' line and your 'Man of Moth' speech were really well timed !" -whispering Peter

"well of course, I'm always punctual with any time sensitive joke/pun." -whispering Alix

"Will you to zip it! we can't have these simpletons finding anything out!" -whispering Chloé

"Please, they all share a broken defective regect of a brain cell, I doubt they could ever put two and two together." -whispering Alix

"Hey, do you think we should start a protest in our classroom?" -whispering Peter

"... Viva.La.Revolution!" - whispering Chloé with a mischievous grin

"No." - Maria

•~—~—~—~ Later when Mrs. Bustier is out of class ~—~—~—~•

"I just don't know what to do." - Lie-la

" You think she finally realized how horrible that hair style is?" - Alix

"After visiting Gotham a few months ago I met Damian Wayne, you might've heard about him, he's just so amazing, kind-hearted, and brave. We had a wonderful time, but then he asked me out! And I don't want to hurt Parkers feelings, I care for both of them!" - Lie-la

"Man, she must be extremely full of it to keep pulling that sh-t out of her @ss every hour or so." - Alix

"Wow Peter, didn't know your cared for Ms. Rossi like that" - Chloé said in a sarcastic tone.

" I'd rather strap her to a supersonic rocket heading for a black hole, and I'm pretty sure this Damian Wayne would do the same... he probably has the money for it actually." - Peter

" Enough plotting, we still need to get enough money, if we want that summer trip, we've already crossed off: Baking sales, becoming a mime, jobs are out unless they're fine with you leaving right after joining, and we can't just ask for donations." - Maria

" I can use my MDC mon-" - Maria

"Oh hell no you won't! You worked your butt off to get that money, you said it yourself! That money is for when you apply to college! I refuse to let you waste your money on our ignoramus classmates!" - Chloé

Thankfully by now everyone was out of the classroom.

" Oh Kwami she's serious, she never uses her big words!" - Adrien

" Then what do you suggest Chloé?" - Maria

" I'll ask daddy to pay!" - Chloé

" I can also ask my father, he'll probably do it if Mr. Bourgeois puts in a donation." - Adrien

" But- " - Maria

" No! The decision is final all in agreement say aye!" - Chloé

"Aye!" - Everyone

"You've watched to many movies Chloé, fine, but please don't drastically overdo it." - Maria

" When have I ever drastically overdone something? Name one time." - Chloé

"Well, there was the time you over did it, by not sleeping for almost three weeks." - Maria

" and after that you got so fed up with one akuma that you kicked him with the force of a thousand suns down unda, you may have scared him for life after that honestly. " - Adrien

" Oh! or the time you went overboard with Peters B-day, and the cake landed on his face! - Alix

"Well in her defense, the cake was great, but it was kinda a mouthful." -Peter

"... I said name one time. (ー_ー)" - Chloé

•~—~—~—~—~—~—~•

Sooo, after all that happened Mr. Bourgeois, Fallowed by Gabriel Agreste, gave a very generous donation, so that solves that problem.And since I'm sure you don't want to see (More Lies) boring stuff, lets skip to two days before the trip begins.

〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜time skip " You're welcome, I'm here all eternity." - Bunnyx〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜

•—–· At Chloés Hotel ·–—•

"Ok are we sure we have everything?" - Maria

" Yes now can we please watch something already, we've triple, and even quadruple checked everything, we're good." - Alix

" I have to go out and inform Tempête and Vipère, before anything else, be back soon." - Maria then heads out calling upon the other heroes.

" So what do you need?" - Vipère

" Do you have a top secret mission for us?" - Tempête

" For the summer Abeille, Bunnyx, Trickster, and Chat Noir will be unavailable, unless they are truly needed, I however will be able to travel back and forth via portals for fights. Paris will be in your care while we aren't here." - Ladybug

"It is our honor, we shall defend Paris with our lives." - Tempête

" Agreed, enjoy your summer." - Vipère

"Thank you, stay safe."  and with that Maria headed back to the hotel prepared to watch movies, only to be bombarded with questions as soon as she got back.

" HOLD UP! You know MAGIC?!" - Alix

" When were you going to tell us?!" - Chloé

"So cool, how does it work?" - Peter

" Can you teach us?!" - Adrien

" Spots-Off, yes I know magic, I swear I've told you before. Do you want a demonstration?" - Maria

They all shook their heads excitedly.

" Ok well, I'm able to Heal myself if I get hurt, but I don't wish to hurt myself just for that, I can also increase my Luck with magic, as well as Communicate/ Manipulate plants, and see peoples Souls, thanks to Tikki. I learned Protection magic thanks to Wayzz, and Illusion magic thank  to Trixx. I'm also learning Teleportation from Kaalki, which I've almost completed, and Mutitude from Mullo, which still needs work." - Maria

" If you can really talk to plants, what did we do earlier while you where out, hmmmmm?" - Alix

Maria then walks over to the roses near the couch and whispers to them, after a moment she turns back to her friends, and calmly says "Traitors."

" What do you mean?" - Peter

" You continued watching Star Wars: Clone Wars Without me!" - Maria

" Ok we believe you, but does this mean we can also use magic?" - Adrien

"Hmmm, let me see" as she says this her eyes start to glow an almost ethereal icy blue.

" Why are you eyes glowing?" - Chloé

"Looking at you souls... ok" she then claps her hands and her eyes go back to normal "Adrien, you can use slight Destruction magic on objects, if you use it on a person it would just cause them extreme pain, you can also cast Bad Luck on someone, so I guess thats good, and you can also learn slight Jubilation magic. Peter you can learn Illusion, and Protection magic. Chloé you can Learn Subjection, and Multiplication magic. And Alix, you can learn Evolution, Intuition, and Teleportation magic." As Maria finished, she saw the star struck looks in their eyes at the thought of learning magic became obtainable for them.

"Teach us!" they all bowed only to get a laugh from Maria in response.

"You would have to ask the Kwamis that, I only know what I know thanks to them." - Maria

And for most of the night they all started practicing magic. And when they woke up, they continued to practice, they had fun and were really enjoying it.

Then came the day Maria and her friends were to head for Gotham, and it was hectic, but everyone made it in one piece after an 8 hour flight, which at this point Maria was glad she sent all of her important luggage ahead of time, because somehow her luggage with only her toiletries and pyjamas was stolen, so all she had now was her back pack on her and the Miracle box in a Pocket dimension (thanks to the training from Fluff and Kaalki)

Lila was annoyed, when Maria didn't even care that she lost her bag with all her stuff (jokes on you she sent that one to the hotel 2 days ago HA!) they ended up checking into the hotel, everyone was with someone, Peter was with Adrien, Chloé was with Alix, and Maria... just had the Kwamis, yup that's right, apparently Lila has a condition that prevents her from being in any room below a quality vip room, so now she was upgrade and without a roommate, good for Lila, and Lucky for Maira, because now she doesn't have to worry about someone noticing her climbing out the window to go free-running across rooftops as Multimouce.

Around 7:30 pm. everyone heads out for lunch... and they leave Maria behind.

"Of course this happens." and with that she asked the receptionist for the directions to where her class went, afterwards she went out and proceeded to get lost, after trying to retrace her steps, she just got lost quicker, and her phone was at 20% what luck.

After walking for a little bit, she had decided to take a break, and as she leaned up against a wall, she closed her eyes.

'Maybe if I search for the receptionists Soul I can find my way back.' as she was doing this, she saw souls of all colors walking by, she even noticed a dark emerald green soul, and a dark blue soul across the street on a rooftop... and then she felt her hair stand on end, a few feet to her right was a bloody rust looking soul, she could tell it was a male, late 20s, average build, and 5'11, he was targeting her. As she opened her eyes  she did a quick scan of her seroundings, noticing an alley, she started to walk again. Sensing the slight increase in speed from the man now behind her, as he got closer, she made a sharp left into the alley, she made it a few feet in before the man started laughing and walking closer, she saw the disgusting look in his eyes, and the outline of a gun in his front left pocket.

"Come on now girlie,  I just wanna talk."

" I am good thankz." she made sure to add an accent to make him feel like he had an upper hand, which seemed to work, if his sickening smile was anything to go off of.

He stepped closer and Maria (the little genius she was) decided to act nervous, which only lowered the guys gaurd even more, once he reached to grab her in a quick motion she proceeded to do this.

She held the guy in a lock until he fell unconscious. As she stood up, she noticed a hand reaching for her, she then grabbed the hand and flipped the figure over her shoulder hard, hearing a yelp from the man as she did so.

When she realized who she had flipped over, her face turned bright red

"Mon dieu, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you are you ok Monsieur Nightwing?!"

"Yeah I'm fine and don't apologize, reflexes like that are key to survival here in Gotham, isn't that right Robin.... Robin?"

When Nightwing didn't get any sound from Robin he looked over to see the boy a blushing mess, then Robin snaped out of it, cuffing the mugger, and turning his attention to the girl.

" Ehem. Mam it's dangerous to be out here at this time alone, please allow us to take you wherever you need to go." - Robin

"Oh thank you um, do you know where Wayne Hotel is? I was supposed to go with my class to dinner, but they... “forgot” me, I decided to try and meet up with them, but I failed horribly." - Maria

"Wait they just left you? and in Gothan of all cities?! What kind of teacher does that?!" - Nightwing

" An instegator." - Maria said under her breath in French, she didn't notice the slight shock on both their faces from what she said.

"Anyway lets get you to your hotel before it gets any later." - Nightwing

"Thank you again." - Maria

She arrived safely, thanks to Nightwing and Robin, she thanked them one more time and went inside, when she got to her room she found her friends pacing back and forth in the room, Chloé and Peter looking like they would soon become two people on a mission to find her, but thankfully she was back, she of course had to answer alot of questions, but that was no big deal. After answering all their questions, everyone went to their rooms, and fell asleep, they had a big day tomorrow afterall... ... and then Marias' Akuma alert went off, ok so it took about thirty minutes to defeated the akuma 2 more before she could cure anything and another 5 minutes before she could head back to her room, and it was now 2am, but she could still wake up early right? hehe (・–・;) right?

No, the answer was no she couldn't, well technically she was up on time for when the bus "should" have started getting ready to leave, BUT turns out Lila SOMEHOW, managed to get everyone on board without even thinking of her an hour early! Maria asked for directions once again, and the receptionist had a worried and apologetic look on her face, Maria thanked her again, and headed out, this time however, she made it without getting lost and without getting mugged, Yay! She even had enough time to get a coffe (Tim special was a wierd name but oh well it did the job pretty well) from a shop near by (double yay!) before entering the WE building.

" You have to start the tour! we've been here for an hour and thirty minutes already!" - Ms. Bustier

"Like I said before, I will not start the tour until your student gets back, and if they don't get back, then we better hope nothing happened to them, or else it's your fault for your negligence." - Tour guide

"Sorry I'm late, the bus left earlier than what we scheduled, why didn't you inform me about the change?" - Maira

"Lila said you were the one who made the changes and that you were just trying to get attention, I am VERY disappointed in you Maria, now apologize to your class for delaying the tour!" - Ms Bustier

"I think you mean “I'm sorry we left you behind in a city where murder happens to young kids on a daily basis” now you apologize to Your student that is Your responsibility." - Tour Guide with a glare that could kill a thousand armys

Ms. Bustier proceeded to apologise to half the class's disbelief.

"Alright then, now that thats all taken care of, Hello and welcome to Wayne Enterprise, where we focus on making Gotham and the world a better place. I'm Dick Grayson, and I'll be you tour guide for today."

As the tour went on Maria stood at the front with her friends, she took notes of everything that was said, and she ignored whatever nonsense Lila was spouting, somthing about saving or dating Damian Wayne, she didn't really care.

When the lunch break came, she sat with her friends until she needed a long overdo refill on her coffee, she walked over to the coffee machine and started figuring what combination will keep her brain working for the rest of the day.

"Press button 3 followed by 5, 6, 8, 1, 2, 4, 9, and 7, that is the ultimate coffee mixture, if your mortal self is up for the challenge." - Sleep deprived guy

"I accepte." she presses the buttons in the exact order and then " Wait none of the cups are big enough."

"Here, secrect cup, from beyond the mortal realm." - Sleep deprived guy

" Thanks" she grapped the very large cup, and filled it with coffee till it was almost to the rim, she put the lid on and instantly took a big sip from the scolding hot coffee (she can heal, her tongue's fiiiiiiine)

"... Not bad, taste similar to the Tim Special I had earlier, but maybe a bit stronger." - Maria

" Kindred Spirit, let us be friends, you have drank the sacred coffee and are now immortal, congrats." - Sleep deprived guy

"It was not easy, but I have come this far, and I shall go the distance with nothing but coffee in my veins." Maria said in a serious tone as they shook hands "I am Maria, keeper of all nighters, and who might you be, my kindred spirit."

"I am Tim, the keeper of sacred coffee and all that is unholy."

"It was an honor to meet you Sacred Tim, may the coffee gods guide you in your journey, sadly we must part ways, for the lunch break is over, farewell..." and with that Maria left to rejoin the group.

"Dear god where the hell did you get that much coffee?!" - Chloé

"Kindred Spirits always find a way to assemble." - Maria

"Huh, so there is someone out there who is also a sleep deprived child." - Alix

The tour continued, and Maria noticed their tour guide kept looking at her with growing concern as she slowly made her way through the lovely coffee, she finished the cup within 1 hour and 30 minutes, and most of the staff kept looking at her as she now held the empty unholy cup, that was said to put people (that weren't chosen by the coffee gods) into caffeine induced commas, but she was fine, if anything she was more awake than yesterday and today combined. So yeah Today had a rocky start, but I'd say things are only just beginning.

•—–—–†–—–—•

〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜 Bonus Art 〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜

This is what it looks like from Marias' normal vision, to her Soul Vision (~‾▿‾)~

Chapter 3 completed, hope you're all having a wonderful day, and staying positive BUG-OUT 🐞💮🐞

〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜 Tag List 〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜

1st Place★: @animegirlweeb ☕

2nd Place★: @jumpingjoy82

3rd Place★: @zalladane

4th Place★: @jayjayspixiepop

5th Place★: @arty-shadow-morningstar

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29th Place★: @t1dwarrior-of-earth

30th Place★: @lady-phoenix-of-tardis

@lupagrimm

[secret-engima]

Ooh, what's this? A new ficlet? For a new fandom? Somehow you did it again, never had an interest in ghost of Tsushima but your little idea has gotten me hooked.

Is this the one where Jin (that's his name right) has to share his mind space with the player? In this case the SAO Not-Ulric? How does he appear to Jin, is it like a voice in his head or like an Apparition only he could see? I'm just imagining scenarios of Jin going to various shrines and monks, trying to exorcise this demon while the SAO Not-Ulric is freaking out.

Yeeaaah It’s a new ficlet.... possibly one-shot collection or multi-chap we’ll see what the muses go for. But like-

IT’S SUCH A GOOD GAME OKAY.

I only just cleared the initial major plot point (Rescue Uncle Man From Castle) and there is SO MUCH MORE GAME but it is so pretty that I legit want to cry sometimes and just- stare in awe at it. And I’m on a normal PS4 without the fancy upgrade or the mythical PS5. I think if I ever get to see it on a PS5 I might actually die of feels from how beautiful the game is.

AND THE STORYLINE IS SO FUN. It’s like playing a Samurai movie. Which is ... like playing a Western but it’s lovingly Japanese and with cool hints at mythology and stuff instead of cacti and stupid hats (tho the game does have a surprising amount of stupid hats). AND THE COMBAT SYSTEM IS SUBLIME.

Ahem. Yes. Fic. This is the one where Jin (that is his name) has to share headspace with the player. In this cause SAO not-Ulric. Nix is a voice in his head rather than an apparition, because they’re going to also be sharing control of the body (eventually. After much panicking on both sides). Like- I’m only in the beginning stages of the fic, but I’m doing my best to show them both thinking even though it’s Jin’s POV. He doesn’t realize he has a headspace roomie yet, so he’s just- kinda assuming he has one heck of a concussion and that’s why some of his thoughts are in such wild directions and wording. But actually it’s Nix trying to figure out what’s going on and why he’s backseat driving a ... a Samurai? An actual Samurai? What?

:3 Jin will definitely CONSIDER the exorcism thing but HERE’S THE THING-

He doesn’t know what will happen if it works. He is the ONLY Samurai to “survive” Komoda beach. So like- will he DIE if this strange demon/spirit/who knows (Nix: I’M A PERSON YOU JERK) gets removed? Will he be injured? If the spirit fights on the way out how much damage will that cause? He is literally the only hope his home has against the Mongols right now, can he REALLY afford to risk being either killed by the process or sealed away by the monks if it *doesn’t work*?

No. Not really. Not when Nix is fully willing to help him fight the Mongols. And maybe Jin can’t trust the word of a spirit, but even the spirits are surely angry at the way the Mongols defile Tsushima’s soil, so as long as they have a common enemy maybe they can ... come to an agreement.

Annnnd the friendship slowly builds from there.