#and it reminds me of a boss fight where they do a move on beat

[infiltracion]

when you get this, post theme songs for your muse! then tag 5 or more people!

standard theme. WAY UP — jaden.

battle theme. CONFIG.SYS — master boot record.

emotion theme. ​ NO ES QUE NO TE QUIERA — hello seahorse .

boss battle theme. 404 — knife party.

tagged: @tlacehualli THANK YOUUU tagging: @batinstincts @toonsupe @mercymedic @quick-drawn @cartaxus & whoever else hasnt!

[moog-rt]

GO TO HELL [ch. 5]

[Lucifer Morningstar x Fem!Reader]

Previous: Chapter Four

➨ Chapter Five

Next: Coming Soon...

Premise:

You love your friends. You really do. But sometimes it needs reminding when one of them accidentally sends you to Hell.

Despite falling into the hands of Hell’s loveliest princess, finding a way back to the world of the living proves difficult as you tiptoe around its king.

A/N: Hold onto your britches, this chapter is chock-full of our Big Boss of Hell! Also, my sincerest apologies for the slight cliffhanger last chapter. Fingers crossed it doesn’t happen again!

If you'd prefer to read on Ao3, here is the link:

Otherwise, enjoy!

♡ ♡ ♡

CHAPTER FIVE

You didn’t dare take your eyes off of him.

The man took a step forward and you promptly launched a ladle at him, backpedaling behind the couch as he dodged it. You huffed when it only missed by a hair.

A plethora of household items were strewn about the hardwood floors of the foyer. Books, spray bottles, spoons (you broke into the crate containing the unpacked kitchenware in search of more ammo), etc. were scattered further and further away from their original home as you used them as a way of keeping him a safe distance from you.

“Please, put the skillet down,” he said, inching closer and closer to you, hands outstretched.

If he thought he could trick you into giving up your only form of defense, he was sorely mistaken.

“Stay back!” you hissed, grabbing a wrought iron skillet you had chucked at him earlier. He could try all he wanted to get at you, eat you, skin you, auction you off on the black market… You simply refused to let him have you without a fight.

“I’m not—” He was taking another step towards you but paused as you readied your weapon. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

You eyed him for a moment before taking a long, deep breath. Seeing that as a sign that you were trying to settle down, he carefully came closer.

Thunk!

A single swing of the skillet sent him toppling over.

He may have been your newfound friend’s father, but you were not going to roll over and show your belly in the face of potential danger. Being a parent did not make a person automatically worthy of your trust.

“Okay,” he said in a pained tone, slowly sitting up with a slight sway to him. “That’s fine...”

He crawled onto the couch, slouching over and cradling his head where you had made contact. Without lowering your weapon, you put yourself on the other side of the couch, standing at the arm and watching him very carefully.

The two of you remained silent as he rubbed at his growing welt.

It was awkward…

Why were you actually starting to feel bad about defending yourself? The guy had jump scared you and wouldn’t leave you the fuck alone when you were clearly panicked. He just kept following you, insistent on getting you to calm down but giving you no good reason to.

Honestly, what kind of logic was that? That’s like pelting beach balls at a child with a crippling fear of spherical objects and expecting them not to flinch just because you said it won’t hurt them.

If he wanted you to feel less threatened, he could have just planted his ass on the ground and waited for you to come to him like a stray cat.

“You weren’t supposed to arrive until this afternoon,” you stated.

“Right…um,” he said, looking off to the side, “You know, I just didn’t have much planned this morning, and it worked a bit better for me to come earlier—”

“Charlie told you she wouldn’t be here.” Your eyes narrowed. You knew he was making shit up, and you wanted him to know that you knew. If he wanted to beat around the bush, you would be delighted to become more proficient with the skillet.

“Right again!” The hand that cradled the side of his head moved to rub at his eyes as he sighed. After retracting his hand, he turned to face you, propping an elbow on the backrest of the couch. His eyes ran up and down your body, fully taking you in without your costume, which caused you to shift uncomfortably. Whether or not you were recognizable to him as the ‘demon’ he had already met was still to be determined. “You’re an odd duck, you know that?”

You shot him an incredulous look.

“Me?”

“Yes, you,” he said, jerking his head in your direction. “Showing up all caked in makeup or paint or whatever it is you people wear nowadays. You and Charlie were being painfully suspicious!”

“So, you decided to sneak in when you knew she would be away? To snoop?” you asked, putting a hand on your hip. “You know that’s breaking and entering, right?”

“I am her father,” he scoffed.

“And that makes it okay? If I called to tell her you let yourself in, you think she’d be fine with it?”

“You’re going to snitch?!” his voice went a pitch higher, and he scooted to the edge of his seat.

You took a step back, tightening your grip on the skillet.

“Maybe.”

You had no way of ‘snitching’ on him to Charlie. Your phone was fried, and even then, you weren’t too sure that your provider would have coverage in Hell. And to top it off, you didn’t even have her number…but he didn’t need to know that.

He rolled his eyes, grumbling something to himself as he crossed his arms.

“Why didn’t she just tell me you were human?” he asked no one in particular, throwing his arms out. “That is what you are, correct? In all my years, I have never seen a sinner nor hellborn look as human as you do.”

“Yeah, well…Charlie thought you might freak out if you knew,” you said.

He looked taken aback by that explanation before beginning to sputter.

“Freak—freak out? Because you’re human? I married a human. Her mother was a human!” His hands were waving around as he gestured along with his words.

“We didn’t really want to take any chances…” you said slowly, head tilted away but eyes still locked onto him. “The last time a demon saw me, I was nearly torn to shreds…or eaten alive… I’m not sure exactly what they had planned for me, but it didn’t seem like it’d be pleasant.”

“No, I can’t imagine it would be,” he sighed as he straightened out his hair.

This guy didn’t give two shits, did he?

He snapped his fingers and, with a plume of sparkling smoke, his top hat appeared in his hands. It had previously been about ten feet away on the floor from when you had knocked him upside the head. 

“Now just how did you stumble into Hell without the minimum requirement of death?” he asked as he brushed invisible dirt from his hat before placing it back on with a few adjustments.

“That’s a great question,” you said with a smile that didn’t quite reach your eyes. “I’ve got a friend who thought it would be a good idea to try to summon a demon. Obviously, they screwed up, ‘cause it sent me here instead.”

He cackled, and you stood there with a blank expression, cheeks growing hot. Why you were feeling embarrassed over something you had no control over, you weren’t sure.

Well, come to think of it, you did have a bit of control over whether or not Devon had the essential, hard-to-acquire ingredient needed to make the whole thing happen in the first place. Maybe it was karmic justice for your pulling unethical shenanigans in the workplace.

“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes, so they say,” he said, shooting you a shit-eating grin.

You rolled your eyes and turned to walk away. 

“No, wait–don’t leave!”

You ignored him. Since he was there, you might as well give him his shit back. You would have preferred it to be under different circumstances, such as those where you still had your disguise as a buffer or Charlie returning them in your place (because you’d be back home safe and sound). 

But there was no better time than the present, so they say.

You put down the skillet and grabbed the stack of books by the front reception area where you left them after being thoroughly disappointed by their contents. It appeared that Charlie’s father followed you over, as you turned around to find him looking over your shoulder to see what you picked up.

Lord have mercy on your heart.

“Okay, you have to stop that!” you scolded, taking a quick step back.

“Stop what?” he asked with a look of pure innocence.

“Popping up behind me and shit! Somebody needs to put a bell on you or something. Every time you show up out of nowhere, it gives me a goddamn heart attack,” you said, shoving the stack of books into his arms. “Here.”

“What–”

“The books you lent me. We were hoping to find something that could help me get back home but they’re all kinda…not helpful for that,” you explained, toying with a strand of your hair.

“That’s why you and Charlie were there?” he said, looking down at the books with an unreadable expression.

“Well…yes.” You tilted your head. “She thought that’d be the best place to look.”

He sighed before tossing the books up just for all of them to vanish into thin air. You blinked in surprise.

He must have been a magician when he was alive.

“I don’t understand why she didn’t just ask me,” he stressed, throwing a hand up. “I mean, I’m her dad. You’d think it would be instinctual for her!”

“She probably wasn’t sure how you’d react,” you said, looking off to the side. This felt like it could easily spiral into a family therapy session, and even if you were qualified, you did not sign up for that.

“I just have to prove myself to her!” he said in a determined tone, throwing an arm over your shoulder to walk you back over to the couch, “I’ll get you home lickety-split!”

You stiffened at the unexpected contact but conceded to his will, nonetheless.

“Like, now? I could be home today?” you asked, eyes alight with hope.

“Ah…I don’t now about that. It’s been quite a while since I’ve gone to Earth so my skills may be a little rusty, but it won’t take me too long to brush up on them,” he explained as he plopped you both down on the couch. “I’ll have a portal open and ready for you to hop through in no time!”

“It–It’s that easy for you?” you asked, aghast. If Charlie knew he could do that all along, she should have just bit the bullet and asked him. Daddy issues be damned!

“Hah! I used to be able to do it with my eyes closed!” He leaned into you as he emphasized his words. “Usually, I’d charge a sacrifice or something of the sort, but you’re no sinner. You shouldn’t have to be subjected to this hellscape until you’ve earned it.”

“That’s–uh–very kind of you,” you said, smiling and nodding along whilst looking longingly at the front door of the hotel. It was generous of him to offer his services to your cause, but a social buffer would be appreciated considering your circumstances. You hoped Charlie and Vaggie returned soon.

The man continued to converse with you on the sofa for the next hour, and slowly, you felt your anxiety begin to fade. He turned out to be quite the chatterbox, and his commentary was mostly light-hearted and humorous.

 Occasionally, he would stand up to poke around the entryway, commenting on anything that wasn’t quite up to his standards. That left you to come to your hostess’ defense whenever you could. After all, the hotel wasn’t technically up and running yet seeing as you weren’t an actual guest and Angel had yet to move in.

After getting all the parental nosiness out of his system, he settled back down beside you and began asking you about your life on Earth. You had to tell him again what you did for work–he apparently wasn’t paying attention the first time–and what all went into it.

The conversation jumped from topic to topic but left little room for you to ask much about him. His interest in Earth and humanity’s accomplishments was overwhelming.

When Charlie and Vaggie finally returned, they were greeted by the sight of the two of you chatting away and sipping on tea, which had been manifested out of thin air. You were highly skeptical of it at first but had decided to drink so as not to spite the one person who could get you back to Earth. You were pleasantly surprised by its flavor and relieved that it didn’t appear to be poisoned or drugged.

“Hey, Dad…” Charlie drawled as she walked up to the couch. It was clear that she was surprised he had beaten them home. “I thought you were going to come, like, an hour from now.”

“I had some free time this morning, so I decided to swing by a little earlier,” he said after standing up to nudge his shoulder into her, “Can’t put a price tag on extra time with my darling daughter.”

“Right…” Charlie said with a strained smile, looking off to the side where her eyes landed on Vaggie. She perked up and pranced over to her side, grabbing her hand to introduce her.

Her dad was ecstatic over getting to meet her girlfriend. You thought he was overbearing when you met him, but that was dwarfed in comparison. He was even more touchy and fumbling over his words.

Vaggie did her best to be polite.

“Haha…so–uh, have you been given a tour of the hotel yet?” Charlie asked, glancing over at you.

“I poked around this area a bit–-didn’t want to intrude too much,” her father chuckled with his hands propped up on his apple staff.

“I thought it would be better to leave that to you,” you said as you stood up to join the group, teacup in hand, “I still struggle to find my way around.”

The night prior, Vaggie had caught you wandering aimlessly on the fourth floor after attempting to find your way to your room on your own. They offered to walk you there since they understood the halls could be a maze sometimes, but you had decided to be stubborn, insisting it was straightforward enough. Clearly, you had overestimated your skills.

That being said, it was a miracle you were able to make it to the foyer that morning.

Vaggie chuckled a bit as she recalled the memory.

Charlie smiled at you knowingly, as well, indicating that the story had been relayed to her. She looked back at her dad for only a moment before her eyes darted back to you, eyes widening as the smile dropped from her face.

“Oh–Oh my god!” she squawked as she rushed to your side. “You’re not–Why aren’t you…” she waved her hand in circles as she tried to find the word she was looking for before leaning in to whisper, “...you know.”

Your eyes narrowed as they rolled over to look at her father.

“I barely rolled myself out of bed when he came knocking,” you explained, “Believe me, I tried to avoid being seen, but…”

But you were hunted down like a mouse running from a fox. Even when you thought you were in the clear, it seemed like he knew exactly where you were and where you would go next.

That man was scary.

“But you can’t hide something like that forever~” he sang, wrapping an arm around your shoulder to pull you against him. “However, I never imagined it would be this darling little human.”

He jostled you slightly as he spoke, and you could feel your face warming up from both his actions and his words. However, he had no right to be calling anybody else ‘little’ considering his stature.

“We really need to get her a new phone,” Charlie said to Vaggie, “If she could have called or texted us, we might’ve been able to intervene.”

Charlie’s father scoffed.

“What kind of sinner do you take me for? I’m not an animal, you know––” he began to argue but paused to turn his attention on you, retracting his arm. “You threatened to call her earlier, but you don’t even have a phone?”

Your lips twitched into a guilty smile, and you took a step closer to Charlie.

“You’re a filthy little liar!” He jabbed a finger in your direction.

 “You were breaking and entering!” you pitched back.

“I am her–”

“Okay!” Charlie tucked you behind her and put a hand up in front of her dad. “How about that tour then?”

She put one hand on your back and the other on her father’s as she began to lead the group of you through the hotel. You were secretly glad you were getting another chance to look around and get a grasp of the layout.

When you dared to glance over at her dad, he was already eying you bitterly, and the only thing you could think to do was shoot him a sheepish smile in return.

The childish part of you wanted to stick your tongue out and blow a raspberry, but you knew better. He made it clear he had some level of magical abilities, and to what extent, you weren’t sure. That last thing you wanted to do was learn the hard way. Besides, you needed to be on his good side so he’d help you get home.

As the tour progressed, he thankfully dropped his spiteful demeanor towards you in favor of soaking in as much of Charlie’s attention as he could get. You could tell that he was just happy to be near her.

It was sweet.

There were a few times where he exchanged some words with you lightheartedly. It reassured you that you hadn’t managed to say or do anything to genuinely piss him off. Rather, it seemed he was just the dramatic type.

You made it back to the foyer, and when Charlie was finished explaining her ideas for redeeming sinners, she waited eagerly for her father’s thoughts. She was disappointed that he had more opinions on the hotel’s appearance than its purpose, but she didn’t push the subject.

She would have a better chance pitching the idea to him once she had a few successful patrons to use as evidence that sinners could, in fact, be redeemed.

“I can certainly help you spruce the place up a bit,” he said as he waved his stick around the room, “After filling this place up with furniture and maybe adding a bit more light…I’m sure it will look wonderful, honey.”

He sent her a prideful grin, which she subtly rolled her eyes at.

“Thanks, dad… I really appreciate it,” she said as she pulled him into a hug. His face lit up before he shut his eyes and melted into her embrace.

When they parted, he made a gesture at you.

“I was also telling your friend earlier that I’d be more than happy to get her home. I just need some time to warm up. Don’t want to accidentally drop her off in the middle of Antarctica,” he said whilst nudging her and chuckling at his own joke.

“Oh! Well, I don’t really think we need your help with that…” she said, looking away.

You sent her a baffled look.

“We already found some people–today, actually–that can get her home,” she stated with a firm nod of her head. “So no need to worry about that! Sending over furniture is more than enough, which, again, I really appreciate!”

“Nonsense, this is what good fathers do! Besides, I highly doubt they could be more efficient than me,” he huffed before turning to grin at you. “I promise to have you home in no time.

♡ ♡ ♡

Tag List: @spookysisters @for-hearthand-home @crescent-z @mixplara @juskonutoh @tinywolfiegirl @lafy-taffy @glowinthedarkbones1150 @froggybich @darling-angel222 @preciousbabypeter @itzabbeym @mrspepper1885

[kevlarcrack3d]

I'm gonna write headcanon pasts for the One Piece admirals! They're just so damn interesting and I love their mobster/rebel/yakuza theme! Kinda reminds me of the games lol.

BEWARE OF ANGST!: MENTIONS OF CHILD ABUSE, VIOLENT CRIME, UNDERAGE DRINKING, AND SELF-HARM

So, I looked at the childhood images of Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru and made what I could make out of what I can see in the images. No kid photos of Fujitora and Greenbull yet, do I used canon events as refs.

Akainu (Sakazuki) 🐶:

He had a turbulent childhood in a crime-riddled place. His father was a crime boss who abused him for seeing Marines as his hero, because his dad knew more that the Marines and WG were corrupt and shit. After all, the dad was a criminal, while Akainu genuinely wanted to serve in the marines and stand for his "justice".

A Marine he idolized gave him the tattered cap shortly before he killed his father because that Marine brainwashed and gaslit him into believing in his twisted justice during his stay in that area while searching for pirates. Akainu saw the battle and was instantly INSPIRED. He would become like his hero and blow up his shithole hometown.

Akainu has seen crimes, vices, violence, and all sorts of moral decadence in his place, so it's not surprising his views on justice got fucked up. He learned street smarts and how to fight due to his environment. He met Aokiji after killing his dad (it's anime logic where the young kid can kill an adult with fighting experience) and both had a rocky, love-hate (yes, I used to ship these two) relationship while wandering and doing odd jobs before being taken in by the Marines.

Since both grew up in turbulent, violent environments, they had the physical and mental strength (and fuckedup-ness) to fight in the Marines, and it'd be a waste to just let them toil while doing household chores, right?

So, they were taken in and trained. All the time, even until they were admirals, Akainu and Aokiji were arguing, always. Their opposing views, personalities, and justices didn't help either. Sometimes, they'd even be petty, like, Aokiji just moves Akainu's bonsai vase a little and Akainu is in a real foul mood and then shit hits the fan. It's very hilarious to see, especially when they were kids, they always had to be disciplined because they were always fighting 😂.

Akainu always had to deal with Aokiji's apathy and laziness. Akainu was the kid always angry and serious, so he was a rather amazing student - always "upright" in the Marines' eyes. Aokiji was the lazy but smart one, as in, super lazy. During teamwork training, Aokiji was kind of a slacker at first and Akainu would fight him always. It kinda died down over time as they became adults, but Akainu is still pissed about it, as always 😂.

Soon, Akainu burned down his pirate and criminal infested hometown. Fuck the innocents and everything. There are criminals there and he will send them to hell. And he succeeded.

Akainu also had a rather romanticized view of the Marines as a child due to his circumstances. Anything about spreading justice, order, and punishing criminals, and he'll be pumped up. This is the shit for him, and he's quick to plan and act when it comes to these. Despite his angry, wild nature, ever since he was young, he was ever so PASSIONATE about being a ROUGH, STRONG Marine man. Hence, the rose of the fuckin' lady killer sheesh 🥵. Something here's burning hot and it's not just the lava!

Yah, yah, I just spent over half the year creating yakuza/boryokudan OCs and well, I guess the dashing underworld outlaw prince swept me off my feet 🤩🤩🤩...

Aokiji (Kuzan) 🐦: Aokiji had deadbeat parents who always let him get beat up. He lived in the same area as Akainu. Due to his family being deadbeat, he picked up vices and began to drink at an early age. He decided to wander away, doing odd jobs. Despite his apathy towards most of the world and anger towards criminals, helping people with chores kind of softened his heart. This has helped him develop a sense of compassion, unlike Akainu, who did these chores as a way to work towards being accepted by the Marines. Sometimes, Aokiji would be dog tired and sleep a lot in his free time.

Soon, he met Akainu and they accompanied each other. Being alone was boring, and besides, they were kids. They'd argue a lot, even while working, AND especially when sharing a sleeping space. Oh boy, they'd get violent when one starts pressing agains the other.

And that's the definition of true love according to what my shipper brain said

The Marines soon took them in and they began to train. Aokiji was rather apathetic to this at first, but then actually began to warm up a bit to his job. Sometimes, it was even entertaining, especially arguing with Akainu or simply bullshitting his fiery frienemy. But, as Aokiji became an adult, cracks began to show.

Aokiji began to see all the misery and corruption. The causes of poverty and crime, a lot caused by the WG. He saw innocent people hurt due to the WG. Soon, he fell back to his apathetic ways. But, despite being so jaded and weary, he still had that kind-hearted side for those with benevolent intentions, regardless of them being pirates or otherwise. Soon, he wanted to be free to do this and resign from the Marines. Deep down, he had a heart like the snow, cold, and yet beautiful.

Dagnabbit, I'm crying why the fuck do I do this to myself 😭😭😭?

Kizaru (Borsalino) 🙈: Kizaru's family was the type that placed all their hopes on him to achieve their broken dreams for them, so they encouraged him to learn and study. He was rather pressured sometimes, but he did truly enjoy his studies and reading. He'd happily skip to the library sometimes and told them his stories. A light to their world, if I must say. Aaaand the feels are back 🥲.

Kizaru then decided to join the Marines, a decision his parents supported, seeing he could finally give them an ego boost, like "HOLY SHIT MY SON IS A MARINE, NOW, CLAP, GUYS". Not really his dream or what he wanted, but he just went with the flow. He was an easygoing, cool, chill dude anyway.

Soon, he met Akainu and Aokiji in training. He ALWAYS had to be there to calm these two down if they started arguing. One mean look from Akainu to Aokiji or vice versa, "woah there, now stop my dudes" Kizaru was the pacifier between them. He was also the quiet, cool, but very smart kid who always was in the topnotchers. However, he was the type to suck up to the government's ideals and decisions of the majority of the top brass and whatever view a certain faction of theirs chooses as right. He was like a ship bobbing on the waves without someone to steer it.

Soon, he got to meet Vegapunk due to his knowledge on some certain machines thanks to his childhood of reading. He would keep a VERY CLOSE EYE ON THE SCIENTIST. That's what he was tasked to do. He had no problem with that anyway. Then, he met Sentomaru, Kuma, and Bonney, and maybe, just maybe, his nonchalant, neutral personality slipped away, having seen the innocence of a kid who viewed him as an uncle and the sweetness of a father and his daughter. He found himself having fun for the first time, but maybe, he just didn't know it. But the memory stuck.

To thisbday, Kizaru is still nonchalant as ever, but maybe, I hope, something might happen in Egghead arc now with him. Could be good development for someone so dull, yet so bright.

Dammit. Them 2D cartoon seamen making me cry.

Fujitora (Issho) 🐯: Oh God, this is a dark one. Fujitora was a very unfortunate lad. He had an, abusive, overpopulated family who hated him and beat him to near death. They saw he was durable when he fought back and decided to sell him to the Marines. It wasn't fair. But the world's not fair. Always, Fujitora saw poverty and very VILE bastards in his place. It was not surprising to him. But, his hell was just going to begin.

Fujitora had a strong moral compass (besides his gambling) and trained hard to spread justice in the Marines. But, as his rank got higher, the more horrible things he saw in the WG. Corruption, slavery, hatred, and all things unpleasant. Ugh, he wanted to leave. Why? Justice is for everyone, right? So, why can't he bring it to those above him, who abuse their power? That's right, it was the world being unfair.

All the shit he has witnessed made him sick to the stomach. Are these the people he was working with and working for? Yuck. He decided to resign last minute before a promotion.

But, before he left, Fujitora reflected on his life before being sold to the Marines and after being sold to the Marines. Just the same. It was just the same back there. It was just unfair, so unfair. Wherever he went, there were always bad people oppressing the lass fortunate like he once was. Fujitora was unable to take the gravity in that moment and cut his eyes. He decided to cancel his resignation and return to the Marines. That way, at least, he can rise up to a position where he can stand for fairness. But if any sign of humanity comes before him, Fujitora will be unable to see it clearly again, despite his kind heart. He may feel it, but never see it, so he can only partially feel it. A prize to pay for justice.

This one was sad. And when kindness did come to his heart genuinely in the form of Luffy, he couldn't see those kind eyes 😭.

Ryokugyu (Aramaki) 🐂: This dude seems to have sucked according to the fandom, but screw that.

So, since he's quite the simp for the WG, Aramakiwas bought as a baby by the Marines, so all he knew was the WG's ideals.

Though unruly and wild, he was valued because he was loyal, even when he did things outside anything approved, like not asking permission to deal with certain peeps. He was also very destructive as a child, so he needed lots of discipline, too. In fact, this wild boy has been chided more than anyone could count they stopped scolding him altogether 😂!

[weirdofish]

Sonic X Shadow Generations Spoilers

So, thanks to SillyEwe, I got to play Shadow's campaign in Sonic Generations early and I beat it last night. Despite it being really short (which doesn't surprise me at all), I still enjoyed it. The Doom Powers were fun, the levels were solid, and the boss fights were pretty epic. I'm especially fond of the fact the Biolizard looks more like a lizard this time around X3 (I love reptiles), even though the way its gills move disturbs me a lot.

With that said, I do have a few gripes with it. I don't want to sound ungrateful, though nothing is perfect. One gripe I have is how I felt that story-wise it was unnecessary. Like, we've already seen Shadow grapple with his past and Black Doom trying to make him his personal super weapon, we don't need to see it again. If this was released back in the mid 2000's, maybe it would have been fine. But now? We've been there and done that already. I understand that that's why he's so popular (even for me), but why not see our boy tackle a new adventure that has nothing to do with his past a la Forces? I've love to see that, honestly (maybe I could learn how to make games and do it myself (though I most likely won't since I'm too lazy lol )). Every other complaint I have is pretty minor.

I'll admit it was nice seeing Gerald and Maria interacting with Shadow, which in hindsight reminds me a lot of that one Archie Sonic story where Shadow went inside of Gerald's diary and learned about the Black Arms. That makes sense given that Flynn wrote both that issue and the story for this campaign. I'll admit when I first read it back when it was new I got super emotional seeing Shadow so sad saying good-bye to Maria :'(

Other things:

I kept wondering whether or not the Doom Powers would be temporary, which I figured was the case once I realized this takes place at the same time as Sonic Generations and that he never used them since. This was further confirmed for me when the Doom Wings disintegrated after the final boss fight.

I actually unironically love Black Doom's voice. He sounds so cool! I'm not used to him emoting while talking (or having human fingernails for that matter) since he was largely still in Shadow the Hedgehog, but I can adjust.

I initially complained about Gerald being skinny until I remembered that that's how he looked back in SA2. I was so used to him being fat that seeing him slimmed down was a shocker. I still prefer him being extra thicc, but oh well.

I love how Shadow gave Sonic the fake emerald at first but then switched it with the real one before the Time Eater battle. I also love how he was shown with both emeralds at the beginning (Chekov's Emeralds, anyone?) That's one of my favorite literary devices, hence why I love it so much.

Thank God that tear didn't land in Rouge's eye XD

I got so excited when Big the Cat first appeared that I started my cats

Fun fact: the 3DS version was my very first time playing Sonic Generations at all

[dira333]

Kenma - sleepover

Kenma wakes up to a furnace pressed against his back and a hot water bottle pressed against his stomach. He’s also wearing a hoodie and the only reason he’s not passed out from the heat is the fact that he always runs cold. For the first time since his holiday at the beach he feels nice and toasty warm and he highly considers staying in bed for as long as that hot water bottle keeps up the warmth.

But then the strangest thing happens where one end of the water bottle seems to move and curl into his stomach and with a sickening plunge into awareness he realizes that it’s not a bottle, it’s a hand. Attached to an arm. Belonging to a body that’s pressed to him. 

Anxiety floods his body, making it almost impossible to hear anything but his own heart beat.

He’s too old to have Kuroo randomly over for a sleepover but he’s also wearing a hoodie which rules out a drunk one-night-stand. His still sleep riddled brain is trying to piece together his memories of last night.

He was playing on his console in his bed. He can remember leveling up until someone distracted him and he kept dying in that one boss fight because he’s ticklish on his left leg and-

Y/N. Kenma’s flight response finally kicks in and he’s pushing himself forward, ready to leap out of bed. It’s no use against Izanami’s hold. 

What it does, however, is wake you up.

“Kenma?” Her voice is gravely and sending shivers up his spine. 

“Sorry.” He squeaks, cursing the anxiety bleeding into his voice. “I fell asleep.”

“I’m in your bed.” You reminds him. “Do you want me to leave?”

There’s a beat of silence when his mind fights with the growing part of him that he’s trying to get under control.

He should not cuddle with you. It’s going to break his heart when you leave.

But you’re also warm and comforting and his mind decides that this is the right moment to remind him that you called him pretty yesterday. 

“Pretty.”

“What?” 

He bites his tongue but it doesn’t stop the words from tumbling out.

“You called me pretty yesterday.”

This is it. This is how he’s going to decide. If you’re going to deny it or blame it on your earlier fever - which you should, it’s the only reason you could have for saying such things - he’s going to take it as a cue to leave before his heart gets pulverized. But if-

“Because you are pretty.”

He chokes on his saliva.

My Kofi if you want to tip me

[thejokig23]

Favourite and least favourite part of each FromSoftware game I've played

Demon's Souls:

I really like the freedom of choice on where you want to go. Stonefang, Latria, the Shrine of Storms, and the Valley of Defilement are all accessible after beating Phalanx, designed to be completed or visited in whatever order you choose. A lot of mechanics in Demon's Souls also fit this style pretty well, like the grass system.

When playing Demon's Souls, I find it lacking in amazing fights like the other games. The only one that's really a stand out is the False King. The lack of a proper dragon fight is particularly devastating to me. The fights aren't bad for the most part, just usually more puzzle based than I'd like.

Dark Souls:

The interconnected aspect of the first half of the game. It reminds me of Metroid in a way, being able to navigate through a twisting world to get stronger or pick up items you need, finding shortcuts. It would have been great if this carried into the second half as well.

I find out if all the games, Dark Souls has the most enemies that aren't really designed to be fought. A few coming to mind being the blue drakes, the cats in the forest, giant sentinels, Sen's fortress' giants, the Titanite demons, the giant maggots in Izalith, and the boars in the archive's entrance. They're just awkward to fight, usually with janky movement and collision.

Dark Souls II:

The variety of viable playstyles is at its best in DS2. Bows, crossbows, and magic are all just as good as melee. You can infuse pretty much any weapon, even special weapons and catalysts, really anything goes. There are certainly bad options, but they aren't bad in the same way as bad options in the other games.

Unfortunately, the game is just really fucking janky. Moving feels like your controller is covered in molasses, animations are both slow and weightless, and both enemies and the majority of areas look outright unfinished. I can't stand playing it for more than a few minutes.

Dark Souls III:

This is the most consistently great game FromSoftware has made (that I have played). Every area has looping paths, with shortcuts reusing bonfires and secrets to find. A vast majority of enemies are just fun to fight, even grouped together, and there are very few bad bosses, with many times more amazing ones.

Although, playing the game multiple times gets old incredibly fast. The combat is incredibly light attack centric, and most weapons function pretty similar to each other. Viable builds that noticeably devuate from this are few and far between: bows suck, sorcery sucks, miracles suck, and pyromancy is only okay.

Bloodborne:

The trick weapons are exactly what I like to see in a weapon's moveset: toolkits for beating shit up. Fewer weapons with more individual personality is an amazing idea, and while there are a few somewhat disappointing (note: I didn't say ineffective), like the saw spear and Ludwig's holy blade taking their untransformed moveset from the saw cleaver and Kirkhammer respectively, the majority are really cool and fun to use.

While the game looks gorgeous, the visuals do tend to get in the way of gameplay. There are framerate issues quite often, colours blend to mush a lot, and particle effects will just cover whatever you're fighting, which is made worse by how fast and twitchy enemies tend to be. A particularly bad example was fighting Ludwig's first phase. The second phase was fantastic, but god is getting to it miserable, with dust and blood everywhere as he flails around incomprehensibly.

Sekiro:

I did not get far in this one. People lumping it in with the other games is a mistake, it's really not that similar to the other games in most ways. Not to say it's bad, obviously, in fact I think deflecting is an amazing mechanic. I never quite got good at it, but it's engaging and fun to do.

Sekiro just wasn't really for me. I kinda just got lost and gave up, with no clue how to get better or stronger in any way. I wasn't having fun dying to the chained ogre over and over, gettibg no closer to beating it no matter what I did, and not really fibding anywhere else to go.

Elden Ring:

The setting of Elden Ring is fantastic. Lots of vibrant colours, but all within a certain natural pallet. The world is bursting with life in a way the other games weren't, and I find a living world bursting with energy more compelling than one falling into entropy. Character and monster designs are amazing and play into this as well, especially when comparing them to previous games. It's not perfect - I dislike how boring sorcery is as just being, for the most part, Blue Stuff, while incantations get many, MANY more interesting spell types to work with (and its Yellow Stuff being limited to one or two spell groups). But otherwise, it's my favourite FromSoftware setting.

Combat in Elden Ring can be kinda hit or miss. The main culprit, I think, is that fighting most enemies and some bosses feels unnatural, like they're all truing to just trip you up and hit you with bullshit. I like Dancer oft the Boreal Valley, I like Pontiff, I like the Nameless King - but not for every fucking fight in the game. It just feels tedious.

[istherewifiinhell]

i kept fucking up so i watched these on 2 diff mornings and couldnt even schedule post them. UM OKAY more eps joelle told me to watch i already forgot what number they are

roasted this sad boy so hard now i will learn why he is so so sad

kouka… kagura family member?

INTRO. FREEZE FRAME. is that sugis guysssssssss is that sugi in a comaaa is that fucking banzai

oboro. THAT MAN. shouyouuuuuu

hair? man??? ALIENS.

THAT MAN

being a pirate is MORE important that ur family. got it boss

damn u shit head did u abandon ur sister in the rain the same way ur father ababanoned you. BREAK NO CYCLES!

karuga girl i think your family sucks maybe???

GIN KINDNESS. FUCKING. uhhh infailable asshole kindness social graces of this place is a shithole but so are we all.

SHINPACHI! ur in this show! and you can speak. thats crazy.

YES GIRL GET UR PTO

GUN ARMS????

SAKAMOOOOOOOTTTTOOOOOO :3

where IS SUGI. IM ALWAYS ASKING THIS.

GUN. most girl design ever to girl but GUN.

banzaiiii no u good bbg?

FUCK OFF OBORO

space ships……..

what happens to That Man some insects will never stop flapping their wings UNTIL THEY REACH HEAVEN (archieval footage: him getting his Ass Beat) i got my wing from THE SAME MAN (that man…), so i know.

yes girl yes time to be soooo normal right

u cant tell sugi shouyou isnt dead. thats. thats his whole idenity there. u know

oboro in this outfit/shot framing… why he kinda….

HEY LITTLE FAIL SON. HEY LITTLE SHITTO.

GJHFGJHG GIVING THIS LITTLE CHILD UR. IMMORTAL BLOOD. I HOPE U LIVE AND HATE ME FOREVER. well. thats gintama isnt it. BUT OKAY. hmmmm. take responisiblity for ur actions

hesssss sooooo little……

IM NO TEACHER… well. uh huh. sure ur not sensei.

nooooooooo nooo u did NOT adopt the dog u hit with ur car who then TURNED U INTO THE FUCKING. GUY. THE THE. GIN.TAMA TRAUMA LINCHPIN GUY. nooooooooo

^_^ mode ACTIVATED.

ROBOT ARM. HOT HOT HOT. OBORO U BEEN HOLDING OUT ON ME

i cant believe im tryna watch these flash backs during a sugi fight. GIRL.

EYE TRAUMA 4 EYE TRAUMA. GIRLS I LOVE U SO MUCH. NEVER BREAK THE CYCLEEEEEEEEEE

a school born under a pine tree, its just you and me. hmm mmh im sure no other white haired child will ever echo words like this back at you. surely not.

LOOK OBORO YOULL HAVE SOOOO MANY LITTLE SIBLINGS. IT WILL BE GREAT. YOULL LOVE IT

are u becoming a devious little killer to save his live. even tho he didnt ask…..

STABBED YOURSELF. TINY CHILD. ohhhh

appearently I HE THOUGHT I WAS DEAD. YEAH. YEAH OBORO. ANY THOUGHT WHY THAT MIGHT BE. MAYBE THE. YOU KILLED YOURSELF AND A BUNCH OF OTHER PPL IN FRONT OF HIM.

i cannot believe. i get how. in concept. okay child raised in. killing world. solves his problems with killing. BUT ITS SO FUNNY GIRL NO ONE ASKED U DO TO THAT. i love you. WHY DID U DO THAT.

okay. okay. okay okay. YOU. YOU DID ALL THAT. so he and his school and ur junior students. GET TO LIVE. "and even tho im not at his side im satisfied" or whatever you said. (sees him and and your junior students. living) NOW HOLD ON. I NEED TO RUIN THEIR LIVES. girl….

okay hang on. "one swore to never betray him again" shot of oboro. "the other swore to bring him back, even if it meant having to kill him again" shot sugi. OKAY BUT. REMIND MEEEEEE. who. WHOOOO killed him. and knew he was gonna come back. cause… I FEEL LIKE IT WASNT SUGI.

ahhhh there was intercuts there but the flashing was too much i guess will never know.

CAN U PASS ON MY LAST WORDS TO MY STUDENTS. WITHOUT YOU I NEVER WOULDVE GOTTEN TO MEET THEM. WITHOUT YOU I NEVER WOULDVE BECOME (SHOUYOU). THANK YOU. sensei has one move and its thanking his beloved eldest daughters for killing him.

ive seen with my own eyes. my junior student im so proud of. actually i cant even clown on you for this trying to kill your fellow students cause you love them so much its textbook in this family. okay. continue.

OH YEA IS SOMEONE GONNA SAY. what utsuro (that man) is

oh hey the theme that has the. one cb bepop reference. ive seen that frame. <- this ended one ep and began the next.

NEXT EP

recap. i heard this. thats how. THAT MAN. became. blah blah.

oh he was not always immortal? or no one knew

DEVIL. GINTOKI. yeah okay. COOL yeah yeah.

his fucking uhhhhhhh anthy swag.

THAT WHY HE GAVE BIRTH? if u say so.

why didnt he just leave the prison. is he stupid. etcetc

okay go on killing spree. sure. thats fair. who hasnt

the one that hated humans. feared humans. longed to be human.they were all me. we love a thesis statement thank you.

WOAH shouyou protagonist eyes moment.

COOOOOOOOL SHOT. UTSURO GIN OVERLAP. ahah. fun tool to help us later.

hey is this the same green guy or a different green guy. cool voice.

everyone wants to use the unkilliable killing machine to their ends. BUDDY they wont even let. (joke pending) buddy he wont even let... himself. use him. to his ends. hmm.

Knows how to make others immortal. SAD OBORO FACE.

(atlana lore) DAMN THATS CRAZY.

WHAT IN THE KINGDOM HEARTS Organization 13 is this room.

anyway utsuro lol. um. damn are u a well looked after and revered gun but not the one who pulls the trigger. sucks bro.

(bunch of shots of cool alien dudes)WOW THATS CRAZY

put him in the saw trap blood extrator. sexual stylez.

lmao he uh. took the hands from ALL OF THEM. and NO ONE NOTICED.

MORE COOLL ALIENS. qwantz comic. i get it now.

shoyou gives BIRTH i get it

i could fight for sensis. That man. or myself

IF U COULD HAVE DONE IT AGAIN. you would just say. HI DAD. IM ALIVE. can i COME HOME NOW. PLEASE???? yeah. you should have. [being a cunt but very moved by the editing of his speech to the. intercuts of the junior students yeah yeah. okay YEAH]

fucking. OF COURSE sugi is there to be like. wow u waisted ur life and died so beautifully im gonna cradle his body so elegantly etcetc.

oh u guys also gave birth. (to utsuro) congrats

zuraaaa just. taking in the extra. big trauma moments info gin is given like a champ. dude. WHAT IS UR persepctive on all this. man.

↳ BUD ARE U GETTING POSSESSED BY SHOUYOU TO SAY ALL THIS. well that would track. WHAT THE HELL. yeah. the becon of hope kill his teacher to say the students the ideals. win the trolley problem. GIN STOP SMILLING AT PPL WHEN THEY DIE (he cant its what he was put on this earth to do)

sakamoto: everyone gave birth to everyone. thank u m.preg expert

kaguraaaaa dad. what. DO U HAVE THE LORE DROP? are u the eight dragons penis fight guy.

ROBOT ARMS

hey sad little gay boy gura brother.

SPACEEEEE SHOT HI HI HI SO BEAUITUFL BEAUTIFUL SHIPS

[crackedegotheories]

soooo.......

thoughts on the poppy playtime pt. 3?

I'm so proud that Mark is learning to read. It's tough to struggle through words you don't know, but the more you try the more you learn and the more you know...something about half the battle I think?

Sorry, couldn't help it. I'm guessing this is a follow-up on the last ask about the ego hints, in which case: I thought it was interesting.

I guess the big thing was about 7 minutes into the video, where Mark tells Ollie/Gregory "Things are just happening a little out of order for me at the moment, I'm kind of experiencing multiple realities all overlapping." (Sounds like a typical Thursday to me.)

More under the cut which I had to move up to here because Tumblr keeps rearranging all the photos and putting them one by one instead of a cluster like in the draft. It also keeps moving the read more link around, so who knows if it'll actually be here.

And then we get several cuts, each about a frame each, all from ISWM:

In order, we've got the guy in the woods from the Hee Hoo universe, Cecil H. H. Mills, Cryptid!Mark from the timeline where you mocked him for crying (how could you, Captain?), Abe, Chef, Old Man Mark at the restaurant at the end of the universe, Dorene Whitacre in the void, the campfire scene, Lady aiming a gun in your face, and the Invincible II seen from the outside.

I think the reasonable response would be to assume this is one of the editors slipping in a bunch of ISWM references after an off-the-cuff remark. After all, the second year anniversary is coming up in a little over a month, and Mark's been known to drop hints to go back and watch his larger projects before ("When's the last time you visited Yancy? He misses you, you know" or something similar.)

But eh, let's have fun with it and keep going.

Because I think we could tease out some more (very probably unplanned) references to ego stuff.

Take the very beginning of the video, during the elevator bug that started Mark's spin off into other realities. While Poppy and Kissy Missy have trouble with gravity, Poppy continues to speak to Mark--her voice seemingly coming out of nowhere as he gets farther and farther away. Cue Mark begging her to "Get out of my head!"

A similar scenario actually happens in Wilford Motherlovin' Warfstache, where Abe is monologuing to himself while driving and Wilford, in the backseat, intrudes on his thoughts. Abe tells Wilford to get out of his head and Wilford tells him to stop shouting without either one actually saying a word out loud, then Abe almost runs into a truck. During a series of red gas induced hallucinations about 11 minutes in, Mark responds to "Poppy's" question and says, "I don't know, how am I alive?"--something Abe also questions during WMLW, until Wilford snaps him out of it.

During the multiple realities reference, Mark mentions not being able to separate fact from fiction, something that comes up again later during a second round of hallucinations when "Poppy" asks, "Do you even know what's real?"

Difficulty separating fact from fiction is a recurring problem for Wilford, and even makes up a central theme when the WAIA is speaking to the viewer during The Warfstache Automated Interview Automaton video.

About an hour and a half into the video, after Mark, eh, successfully defeats Catnap, he says, "Remind me why I was doing this in the first place, because I don't recall," slipping into the Warfstache voice as he does so. Wilford doesn't exactly have the greatest memory, or really know why he does most things it seems like.

(He also slips into the Warfstache voice after he gets the finger gun, but that's par for the course every time Mark gets a surprise gun in a video game and starts getting shooty.)

Back to ISWM, we have the Catnap fight. Or more specifically, Mark's unfortunate choice of words, "And I wait to do it all over again." Cue it becoming the recurring phrase during a montage of Mark's failed attempts to beat the boss until, after an unknown number of retries, finally succeeding.

What is that, if not the exact same thing that the Captain goes through In Space? Whether it's the ultimately futile attempts to save the ship in Part 1, or your choice in the warp core that sends you all the way back to the beginning to try again?

When Mark is greeted by Ollie/Gregory who has the audacity to say things like, "Wow...you did it," "You must feel pretty good," and "This win is yours," he immediately breaks out into a storm of cursing.

Very much the same reaction we see in the Captain after failing and being sent back early in Part 1, but especially after obtaining an "ending" only to go into the light and find themselves right back in the cryopod again.

This is the hand gesture of someone (silently) cursing their existence.

Mark slowly turning to stare into the camera while going through the vents (twice) and suggesting he could come crawling out of the screen is just normal Mark behavior though, not sure what else to say about that.

[fantasticalbiology]

Undertale Cyan and Orange

So hear me out what if Undertale Cyan and Orange were combined and told the story of the first and second humans to fall. This would also be before Flowey

Cyan is one to take things slow and is rather meticulous for a child. Orange is the opposite headstrong and impatient, willing to talk with their fist and often gets overwhelmed or scared. So similar to Trine/ Mario and Luigi (idk which one I’m talking about) we are able to swap between them with the only difference at the start is that Cyan doesn’t move and Orange does. In addition when not playing Orange or is uncontrollable due to fear you must calm Orange or Warn monsters of their attacks.

So like most human based story in undertale, we begin at the fall point and we eventually meet toriel.

Pacifist

After the usual ruin shenanigan, we meet Toriel at her home. When playing Orange its clear through textboxes and dialogue that they want to leave. So in the night when Toriel is sleep or something Orange ‘kidnaps’ Cyan and leaves out another exit, but not before dealing with two bosses (something reoccurring) that were harassing Cyan and Orange when Toriel was not around. After sparing them we exit the ruins into Snowdin. Our next obstacles are puzzles and the bosses of Snowdin a pair of twins. After sparing them we reach the third area. There we meet not just the two bosses, but their boss a tight laced monster who personality would remind anyone of the pokemon character Larry. After sparing the third areas bosses the ‘Larry’ monster separates Cyan and Orange. During this segment we play as either Cyan or Orange and they now have the ability to turn orange and cyan attacks the other color respectively. Which ever one we play as at the end of their segment they have to deal with a spider monster. Meanwhile with the other one they make it hotland where we meet the royal scientist’s assistant who is getting barked at on a walkie talkie by the royal scientist "to make sure no one disturbs them." They are of course our bosses, with the royal scientist not in the fight physically but is controlling a rudementary defense system which attacks the assistant and player indiscriminately. After sparing the assistant by having them toss their walkie into the lava. We reach the judgement hall where the Larry monster is, then things cut to black. We then reach the judgement hall with the other human and we are greeted with the Larry monster holding a glass container with a heart in it and you can infer what happened. They give the container to another monster then the Larry monster explains ‘How some monster are naive, Asgore a lot more so, but they are not as much, they wouldn’t be able to take on two humans, so they separated Orange and Cyan, delaying one them.” this now starts a no win boss fight as we have limited loads and ends with the Larry monster killing us, and putting our soul in a container

Genocide

After some genocide shenanigan in the ruin, we don’t go to Toriel, but head directly to the alternate exit. We kill one of the bosses, but the other beat feets out the ruin's exit, escaping the fight. Same thing happens with the Snowdin twins, but the Larry monster shows up and impedes our exit out of Snowdin. Orange of course punches the obstacle down. After the same thing happens with the third area bosses we make it to hotland where the Larry Monster and the spider monster are getting yelled at by the royal scientist. They notice us and they throw the walkie talkie at us before making their escape. Our penultimate boss fight is against the Larry monster. Their goal isn’t to kill, well both humans, but to use healing items they took from the dimensional box or any shop we missed. They heal themselves and us because when we run low on healing items they give us some and even skip attacks to allow us to heal. After they runs out of healing items or we do more damage then they can heal, they begs for mercy. If we spare them, they kill Cyan and if we deliver the final blow they kill Orange with a counter green attack before turning to dust either way. This increases the LV of the other as the spider boss takes the soul of the dead one. Now the final fight of the genocide is against the bosses that fled, the ruins boss, one of the snowdin twins, the third area boss, the spider boss and the assistant. There are two ways this ends either to the judgement hall bosses or to Asgore.

Neutral

This one is rather trickey, because my idea is depending on when you decide to start neutral if you kill one of dual bosses when you can spare them they will appear with the Larry monster in the judgement hall exception being the royal scientist. For example you decided to slaughter most of the ruins, you get to its bosses you work to mercy, but you kill one of them but spare the other, the one that lived doesn't beat feet, but leaves the ruins and the next time you see them is with the Larry monster

[arwenlalaith]

Dating App Mishaps (Ch. 5)

Ship: Alex Blake/Reader

Summary: Alex didn't have Tinder by choice...but that doesn't mean it isn't going to come in handy.

Word Count: 1040

Slipping into your bedroom and softly closing the door behind you so as not to wake Quinn who was passed out on your couch, you offered an awkward little smile when you locked eyes with Alex. "I'm so sorry about my sister," you apologized, "It's her twenty-first birthday, so..." You trailed off with a little shrug, a shake of your head.

Alex nodded in understanding; afterall, she'd been teaching long enough to be familiar with the average twenty-one year old and their decision-making processes. "Is she asleep?" she inquired.

"Literally fell asleep mid-sentence." A beat passed, your gaze darting away from where it had been locked with hers. "You should be able to sneak out now," you said, wishing you didn't have to.

She cocked her head, giving you a curious look. "You want me to leave?" There was no judgment there and you knew that if you said yes, she would go without a fight. But...

"Well, of course I don't want you to leave," you insisted, "I just assumed..." You nodded towards the door in silent indication that your younger sister was but a wall away.

Alex crooked her finger to silently draw you closer and as soon as you were within reach, she began unbuttoning the borrowed blouse. "You'll be quiet like a good girl, right?" she whispered against your skin between kisses.

You nodded eagerly, her words setting you aflame with desire.

"Then it won't be a problem, will it?" she said, mouth just above where you wanted her attention the most.

"I'll be good," you promised, barely even breathing as you anticipated her next move. "Please, Daddy?"

With a smug little grin, she pressed one last kiss to your stomach before leaning back, patting her lap. You were quick to follow the silent command, settling your knees on either side of her thighs so you could grind down on her leg.

"Such a good girl," Alex cooed, her hands finding your hips, pulling you down so your bare cunt was rubbing against the fabric of her jeans.

You buried your face in her neck to stifle your whimpers and whines as you chased your orgasm against her thigh. You knew it wouldn't be enough, though, and it wasn't long before you were begging, "More... I need more. Please, Daddy?"

Alex clicked her tongue in scolding. "I'll help you cum, but you need to be quiet," she reminded. "You can do that for me, right?"

Nodding eagerly, you batted your lashes at her in what you hoped was a convincing manner...causing Alex to laugh. "Don't give me those innocent puppy dog eyes, Princess, not when you're riding my thigh like a dumb little slut..."

She brushed your bottom lip with her thumb, pulling your mouth open so she could slip two fingers into your mouth. When you obediently sucked on her fingers, you were then rewarded with her fingers on your clit.

From somewhere nearby, Alex's phone rang, interrupting you as you desperately chased your climax. With a frustrated growl, she pulled her fingers from your mouth to reach for her phone.

"Leave it," you begged. "Please, I'm so close..." You whimpered, still grinding down on her thigh with single-minded focus.

"I can't," she said apologetically, "It's my boss." She finally found her phone amidst the mess that was your rumpled bedclothes and brought it to her ear, answering, "Do we have a case?"

With a petulant little sigh, you moved off of her lap to flop back on the bed, pouting.

_____________

You picked at your omelette, pushing food around your plate absentmindedly. Across from you in the cramped little booth, Quinn tucked into her gravy fries with gusto. Gravy fries were her favourite hangover remedy, but the smell was turning your stomach. Not that you were all that hungry anyway.

"So," Quinn said, mouth full, "How was the sex?"

"Quinn!" you hissed, scandalized. Your gaze darted about the Denny's in search of anyone that might be eavesdropping on your conversation.

"What?" she said, seeming genuinely mystified as to the source of your aggravation.

You rolled your eyes. Leave it to Quinn to have absolutely no clue as to how loud and annoying she was being...she was the baby of the family afterall. "For your information," you said between gritted teeth, "There was no sex."

"What!?" she repeated in a shriek. "I worked so hard and you blew it?"

"Quinn," you said, staring her down with all the irritation pent up in your soul, "Kindly shut the fuck up."

She barked out a laugh. "I've never shut up before and I don't plan to start now." With a smug (and rather sassy) grin, she said, "So, spill. How'd you fuck this one up?"

Stabbing at the air with your fork, you bit out a sharp, "Not that it's any of your business, but she got called in to work before anything could really happen." A beat. Then, under your breath, you added, "Not for lack of trying..."

"Boo, you whore," Quinn quoted with a cheeky grin. Quickly, she changed the subject, "So, are you going to see her again?"

You shrugged. "We didn't have time to discuss it."

"But you want to, right?" She stared at you with blues eyes that pierced you down to your very soul and you know that, somehow, she'd know if you lied.

With a little harrumph, you crossed your arms over your chest. "She's gorgeous and a great kisser, so yeah, I want to see her again," you admitted. "But I don't know what she's looking for – she just wanted to make her ex jealous, so I kind of doubt she's looking for anything serious."

"Who said anything about serious?" Quinn asked. "If a milf wants hot no-strings sex with you, you should be over the fucking moon about it."

You couldn't resist rolling your eyes yet again. "You're a lunatic and I'm never listening to you again."

She just snorted with amusement. "Bitch please, you'd be lost without me."

[miloscat]

[Review] The Legend of Korra (PS3)

A budget Avatar game done right.

Platinum Games are well known as specialists in "character action" games, flashy brawlers with tight controls. Around this time in the studio's life (2014-2016) they cranked out a few smaller licensed games like Transformers Devastation, a Ninja Turtles game, and this. These are normally seen as lesser compared to their flagship titles but they still have a solid gameplay core, and compared to some other Avatar games I've played recently this one really shines.

I've been rewatching Korra for the first time since its broadcast and absolutely loving it. The ideal for a tie-in game like this is a new story, so I was pleased to see new events in this poorly-titled game taking place between Books 2 and 3... now, the actual gap between seasons of the show is small, but they managed to squeeze a little week-long adventure in there. The settings and array of baddies to beat up are very much rehashed from Books 1 and 2, but a new antagonist with a wacky reveal gives it some spice.

After Korra is ambushed in the streets of Republic City, she finds her bending once again blocked. A creepy old wizard man has nefarious plans for her, and she travels through the new Spirit Wilds districts, to Air Temple Island, to the South Pole, and eventually into the Spirit World to stop him. He can summon dark spirits but has also coerced Equalists, paid off Triads, and acquired mecha tanks to stop her. It's a small, self-contained story but comes with some nice cutscenes animated well in the style of the show by American studio Titmouse.

The voice acting is also authentic with the show's actors returning... although, the budget scope is indicated here again. Jinora shows up in spirit form to give exposition, and there are minor appearances by Tenzin, Mako, Bolin, and Shiro Shinobi the pro bending commentator with a few lines each, but most of the time Korra is just talking to herself. The creative staff on the show also were involved, with the show's writing and art leads contributing the story, writing, and character design.

As for the gameplay, it works very well. Korra has her four bending styles that are unlocked gradually, each one giving you different options: for example, waterbending allows for ranged attacks, earthbending is slow and powerful, fire is fast, and airbending comes last and has totally OP area effect attacks. Each style has its own experience bar that unlocks new moves, and you can customise further with some powerful modifiers bought from Iroh's shop (get the health regen comb asap!). Aside from the four fighting styles, guard countering is very important, as well as knowing when to dodge and the occasional mini-QTE against bender characters. Another central mechanic is chi charging, where you can hold an attack button to charge up and fill your chi bar, which then powers up all your attacks before it drains. It's a little risk-reward thing but managing your bar becomes essential and makes for an interesting balance during combat sequences.

Between all the knocking heads, there's some light exploration and platforming. The structure of levels reminded me of Platinum's recent World of Demons: pretty straightforward with some short side paths for goodies, only more developed and three-dimensional. There's occasional pro bending segments, that use a stripped-down control scheme, as well as a side mode where you play out a series of bouts. There's also Naga sequences presented as three-lane 3D autorunners, which are a decent change of pace (although I did spend a torturous hour or two doing the triple-mecha tank Naga-back boss fight in Extreme mode). They're a million times better than the animal-riding bits in Quest for Balance, at least.

Although Platinum are known for their demanding action games, there are plenty of concessions here that make Korra accessible, from difficulty select to the shop's talismans that can give you a leg up. You still get ranked on each battle but I didn't have much trouble doing well, especially after unlocking the better combos and items. Most of the time I didn't find it harsh unless I'd chosen the specific tradeoffs that made it rougher, and dying is only penalised by starting the current fight over again.

This is pretty much one of the best Avatar games out there; a strong gameplay foundation, authenticity in presentation, a little sprinkling of fanservice here and there, doesn't overstay its welcome... too bad it was delisted a mere three years after release! It was on PC as well as both the PS3 and PS4 generation consoles, although I didn't have a PS4 in 2014 when I bought it so I dusted off my PS3 for this. It performed very well despite being "last-gen" at the time, and barely feels dated technologically even now. There must be a way to pirate it, hopefully, and I recommend it for Korra fans. Otherwise, there's a 37-minute video that stitches the cutscenes together with short bridging gameplay snippets that I'd recommend. Either way, don't miss it!

[supergenial]

Unicorn Overlord: It’s good

Well you already know I like to talk about games sometimes and if you have ever read me you already know what gets me writing: When I think a game is really good but also tremendously disappointing in one or two relatively unimportant aspects. So let’s dive into my thoughts on the latest game by Vanillaware: Unicorn Overlord.

First off, nearly every attack animation in this game is a delight both graphically and sonically. The attacks truly feel like they have WEIGHT to them, like someone’s getting fucked up for sure. Of course halfway into the game I started skipping animations quite a lot but the reason I skipped is because fights are a bit hypnotic to look at, and seeing Every Single Fight would make the game last an additional 10 hours or so.

Beyond that, the fact that the game makes you a programmer is just cool, you get to set several conditions to decide if and when attacks will be used in skirmishes. This opens up a tremendous timesink to anyone who cares about optimizing their teams. And hey, if a fight doesn’t seem like it’ll work, just move the characters around a bit, or their skills, or turn the assists off and on again, the rng is seemingly static so you can try any number of combinations before combat, and the battle preview is perfectly accurate so any prediction you see is guaranteed to happen.

Ok but is it too easy?

Surely enough, you’d think any game with that much player freedom is bound to be either too easily beaten by skilled players or too hard for casuals and my surveying seems to indicate: both, but mostly the first one. Upon release date I had to read a plethora of people complaining that the game was Too Easy, even on expert and True Zenoiran difficulties (true zenoiran being the difficulty you unlock upon clearing the game).

Honestly though I think the difficulty should be fine for most players, the problem here is that obviously most of the people buying day one are seasoned srpg veterans who will obviously utilize the system to it’s greatest extents. It’s no wonder that I saw spoilers for The Worst ending (which requires beating the final mission extremely early into the game) before I ever saw spoilers for the midgame or even the actual finale. People playing this day 0 were freaks desperate for a new srpg.

So rather than complaining that the game is too easy, I’d rather say that the issue is that it is Too Rewarding. This is a game where doing stuff gets you stuff, if you make a well thought out unit that steamrolls your enemies it is no surprise that it actually works out and it successfully steamrolls your enemies.

It reminds a bit of the time Breath of the Wild was released. If upon clearing the Great Plateau you go straight to hyrule castle, you will have a fight against Ganon at this maximum possible difficulty. If instead you choose to actually do the game’s content, the divine beasts will let you skip the first few phases of the fight, resulting in an easier fight against Ganon not only because your Link is stronger thanks to the hearts, equipment, energy and techniques acquired through the journey, but also because Ganon simply has less hp. To a lot of people this was an issue, they wanted the fight to be hard, but clearing most of the game actually made it significantly easier.

As far as I’m concerned though I don’t really mind it! Obviously if you prepare for a fight the fight will be easier. This is a complaint that while I do understand, I don’t really share at all.

In the same breath that I praise it for being too rewarding I will however also admonish it for not having enough content for these types of players. Surely enough a casual like me feels like freaking Einstein for beating a boss while taking no damage but it’s fair to say more content or more interesting content needed to be there to fully satisfy those who love the struggle.

Not to say vanillaware didn’t try. You have the Coliseum where your units face off against actually well thought out teams, leading to an epic fight with a beautiful gigantic woman who will join your army only if you defeat her. And once you do defeat her there’s even more well thought out teams waiting for you in further arena levels.

This however begs the question: if you can make better enemy teams in this mode, why didn’t you do that for the main game too. Not only that but challenging coliseum levels will net you very powerful rewards that will make your army even stronger and the main game even easier. Hell, you can get all the way to Amalia early on and have a lvl40 behemoth among your lvl20 main army.

To make matters worse, Amalia’s fight is easily cheesed by the thieve, one of the very first classes you acquire. The fight will count as a victory as long as you lose less percentual hp than she does, which is way too lenient. For her final form at least they should’ve made it so you can only win by actually getting her hp to 0.

This highlights the issue we talked about earlier that I will spell out once again: the game truly rewards everything you do, however it doesn’t offer any further challenge for the rewards it gives you. To be fair with Vanillaware, they reportedly ran out of money while working on the game so it’s no surprise there’s no real post-game or whatnot.

The point is: you can show you understand team building and get Amalia early but this will make the following chapters extremely easy. Hell the game won’t force you to go to any place even though there’s obviously an intended order but if you skip ahead and go to the harder places, your reward will be having an abysmal time going back to easy low level content if you want to just enjoy the story. And oh boy, let’s talk about to the story, but first

The marketing

Can't recall if official sources actually said “From the creators of 13 Sentinels” or not but I'm still blaming the fans for spreading this one because no it’s not. Why would you ever say this. Different writer, different character designer and different game director. Blud_thinks_he’s_on_the_team.jpg. Yes it’s the same company and they have a similar style in the 2D segments but that’s it. If 13 Sentinels was an actually popular game (lol) do you have any idea how detrimental this would be to unicorn overlord?

These are completely different games. One is basically a visual novel with a gripping story that will have you hooked all the way to the end, which also happens to have some gameplay, while the other is an srpg with captivating gameplay, which also happens to have some story. These are two insanely different games, why even bring it up. Haven’t felt this mad since Zanki Zero said it was by the creators of Danganronpa. Bitch one of them is a cool, dark story taking place at the very end of humanity where some kids are humanity’s last remnants of hope, and the other is danganronpa. Don’t bring that shit up. They’re totally different games. Also before going on to the story:

The Characters

Auch is the coolest boy ever. He's my little blorbo or whatever tumblr people say these days.

Honestly, it’s a cool cast, for the most part. Some person said on twitter that the game really gets the essence of just throwing Guys at you and they could not be any more correct. “Hey guys I’m Lex and I climb trees”. What more could you possibly want from a character? One of them even has the balls to, in his epilogue, invent democracy in a story where there’s only kingdoms and empires, hell dude you helped a king rise to power. What the hell. You get an old witch that reverted back into being young and instead of looking like a 9 year old she looks like a regular grown woman. For a japanese company to do that it must have taken So Much restraint.  There’s also a half-elf that’s discriminated against by full-elves, epic dungeon meshi reference, amirite. Hell there’s even a catgirl that’s just a human with no cat features, she simply used to be a cat.

Aight you got me, the characters are quite simple for the most part but I assure you they are endearing precisely because of that. My favorites gotta be Melissandre (been a sucker for swordmasters for over a decade now, plus her rapport with Scarlet is really cute), Aramis (his poses are so extra, love him), Auch (not only is everything about him hilarious but his epilogue goes HARD) and of course my most beloved: generic female elven fencer, for no one has ever breasted quite as boobily as she has.

The Story

Alright so, the story, now we’re heading into spoilers. That’s right, spoilers for King’s Ranking and Dangan Ronpa, and also Unicorn Overlord to a lesser degree.

You know how in Ousama Ranking we see how despicable it is when the previous generation clings on to life and their so called glory so desperately that they would rather supplant or ruin the lives of their children who insist on being their own person as opposed to merely vessels of their will, an impending global issue happening right now as our planet slowly rots away to it’s demise because 80 year old politicians outright despise the newer generations so much they’d rather burn the world as opposed to letting them have it. Ok. what if we used that theme but like, uninteresting?

Don’t get me wrong, I had fun with the story. At first I was supremely pissed off when there was mind control like 5 minutes into the story but the game eventually reveals there is no mind control and when it does, it kinda doesn’t fix the issue? Surely enough this is better than just a generic mind control scheme, the type of bullshit danganronpa 3 the animation despair side (aired in 2016) would pull off, but it’s still not stellar.

Turns out all these mind controlled people are actually possessed by souls from a bygone kingdom from olden days. The unicorn ring doesn’t dispel mind control, it exorcises the souls possessing the body, so that the original owner can retake control. So that’s pretty ominous and dark for sure but fundamentally doesn’t solve the issue brought up by mind control.

When Super Dangan Ronpa 2 reveals that it’s cast used to be supervillains prior to having their memory wiped all the way back to the time when they were still innocent, for a moment it raises a lot of questions. Going further beyond the issue of forgiveness for those who repent their crimes: Should we forgive those who don’t even remember their crimes? Who commited crimes against their will? A man burns down your house, your family still in it, but he was brainwashed, would you want him jailed? This is a fun thing to think about before it is revealed (in the anime) that they weren’t actually evil, they were simply brainwashed by brainwashing tech. Their acts of evil did not stem from bad choices made at bad times, they were simply forced into doing evil. This reveal of course retroactively ruins a large part of danganronpa and most of what it ever meant to me.

Unicorn Overlord, in trailers, fancied itself a game with Tough Choices, I vividly remember the trailer showing the protagonist next to a defeated enemy and the options Recruit and Spare being shown. So I for one thought that perhaps recruiting a bad guy would make it so I can’t recruit a good guy later on, or some other shortcoming. Like maybe executing someone would result in a drastic change in the narrative. But this isn’t the case.

Gameplay-wise there is no particular downside to recruiting any character in the entire game. Everyone recruitable is a Certified Good Person, who was either possesed or Doing It For A Very Good Reason. Ultimately it’s just the age old question: would you rather spare a poor man’s life and hang out with him, or gain +1 movement?

Hell, there’s only two recruitable guys I actually wanted to kill. One survives anyway, you face him off again later on and he lives again and is spared without your input. He’s not even possessed but still did something questionable, I wanted him in jail but he just lives on like nothing.

The other guy I would’ve killed is immediately spared without player input. He also wasn’t possessed but still cooperated with the bad guys, in a nation high enough in levels to possibly be able to resist the forces of evil. Tough Choices my ass.

Even if there’s no changes to the story though, the ethical question would by itself be worthy of note. I forgave this guy who aided evil but did he really have a choice? Was he right in that it would protect the people if he cooperated or is there something inherently insidious about allowing evil to be in power? Unicorn Overlord says: Who cares. He was just possessed bro. Or his ends justify his means. Stop having moral conundrums we’re trying to have fun over here. 

Point is that it doesn’t matter if they’re mind controlled or possessed, ultimately it just absolves criminals and takes away any moral question to be had about their forgiveness. No one has to be a bad guy because the zenoiran empire are the bad guys.

I guess a more interesting question would be: What if the zenoirans were good guys? Or at least decent guys. What if they only possessed bad guys, and once in control they just chilled and formed a secret society instead of trying to take over the world. Would their robbery of people’s lives and free will be so inherently wrong that it fundamentally makes them evil even if they’re improving other people’s lives? Is it ok to let people lose their free will as long as they’re shitty people? If there was some kind of evil guy, a king who’s a molester and abused everyone around him, but he turned good once he lost his free will or was possessed by an ancient relatively chill guy, would that make it ok? If you think those are decent moral conundrums know that you’re indirectly praising Persona 5, a game were The Good Guys go inside people’s minds to take away their free will.

Anyway, I shouldn’t be complaining, I’m the type that for a while has been on the side of just wanting simpler villains, any time we get something with even a little bit of nuance to it you get the most annoying people online consistently arguing about it for… I guess 5 years now?

They did put plenty of effort into this possession stuff, particularly notable in The Worst Ending. If you sequence break in a tremendously unnatural way and clear the final mission before saving Scarlet (the main love interest who is kidnapped at the beginning of the game) you get the worst ending in which you face off against her possesed body (which is implied to have undergone tremendous suffering and agony before finally giving up to the possession). After beating her and the final bad guy, Galerius possesses the protagonist and we see an ending featuring all the good guys in black armor led by Galerius, implying they’ve all been possessed too.

What’s really cute about this ending is that the credits show Galerius and his buddy Baltro first in the credits, that shit is hilarious for something that so few players will actually get, showing the final boss first in the credits like he’s the protagonist.

Well, aside from that, all the stuff with the sanctuaries that tell the lore of each continent near the end of the game, that’s really cool. Angels aren’t heavenly, they’re a failed experiment that can breed. Furries aren’t a different species, they’re elves that adapted to the environment using magic, whereas elves from the south had no need to evolve like this because their environment is so different. Honestly, that stuff was cool, I liked it. Really cool world building.

Anyway, by the end of the story the game spells out even louder for everyone that judging is bad and forgiveness is good, as it gives you the option to either kill or cleanse Galerius, with the choice to kill Galerius leading into the bad end. So if you’re ever in a situation in which you can kill Hitler remember: Unicorn Overlord wants you to spare him, he’s just a little baby boy who’s probably doing it for very good reasons.

Jesus christ dude just stop talking and tell me if the game is good or not

It’s a good game. 8/10 at the very least. Elven fencer my beloved I will follow your tits and ass to any game you’re featured in. Also play 13 Sentinels, not because it’s related in any way but because it’s freaking 13 Sentinels, if you haven’t played it then you really should

[respectthepetty]

Since I decided the best way to make it through Our Skyy 2 with minimal damage is to drink my way through it, welcome to the sixth round of

CockTails in the Skyy!

This week's drink is Deja Brew since we just saw this group six days ago:

dark coffee for our "tough" boss

vanilla brandy for the boss's babe

soy milk and ice for the men holding it together Tubtab and Jack

whipped cream and chocolate shavings for the disgustingly sweet Three and Zo

I don't like coffee, I didn't like the series, and I don't think I'll like this, but I like brandy, I'm obsessed with how Cher says "Boss" and anything that gets me more ThreeZo and Jack is worth watching.

Bottoms up!

What in the Tom, Dick, and Harry is happening?!

Call him honey, darling, or DADDY! <- Aoi gets it!

Cher feeding Gun who has a visible mustache shadow is hitting a sweet spot.

This is what upsets me - JimmySea and ForceBook have the domestic chemistry down. They excel at, yet had the wildest plots to work with. I hope Last Twilight and Only Friends do these men justice.

The yellow writing that keeps popping up is throwing me off.

Nice to see the wild ass color scheme is still going strong here, Reon!

The friend group is the reason I showed up every week!

Zo threatening his man while smiling is why I love him the most-est.

Cher made that imaginary intern very cute, but we all know Gun, who doesn't like skinship, would not touch that man like that.

Aoi getting more screen time this outing makes me upset that I didn't get MORE of her in the series. She was the best officemate.

I wonder how the office feels about Cher being ridiculous during office hours when he doesn't even work there. I'd be entertained, honestly, because I love other people's drama.

Okay, this is the tough boss I waited to see the entire series! Where was this jerk for twelve episodes?!

The entire office is really asking Cher to get his man together before they Julius Caesar his ass.

Cher constantly wearing Gun's colors is warming my ice cold heart.

I would love to believe that Gun doing 500 sit-ups is unrealistic, but then I remember Force's body-ody-ody and . . . do what you gotta do to maintain, sir.

I've written this before, but Force looks like a marble statue, and I need him to be in a BL about gym bros. Book can play the guy looking to get fit, and Force can be his trainer. Don't let those arm veins go to waste, GMMTV!

Gun is smiling like a ventriloquist, and it's creepy af.

Y'all, I'm really liking this installment. It's the Vice Versa one all over again. What are they going to do to eff this up?

Cher to Gun - "Are you finished or are you done?"

Why is everyone acting sus at this dinner?

I'm clutching my pearls that Cher's bright idea was to have Three and Zo fight.

I'm so conflicted. I want to be upset, but now Gun just gave Cher jewelry! Then Gun was cocky, and Cher slapped him on the ass. I like this.

The Deja Brew has too much caffeine and I feel my heart beating (I don't like reminders that I have a heart), so I'm gonna be a sober seahorse for the second episode. I'm already regretting this.

Moving into Cher's tiny apartment with this small tub thing instead of Gun's apartment with that huge ass tub was a dumb decision.

Every part of me hopes Gun acts just as amusing as Cher in the office.

Deadass, if I worked in this office with a boss whose boyfriend was this entertaining, I would be thriving. I would never have to drink another drop of water because these antics would keep me hydrated.

Jack has no fucks to give about this role-play situation unfolding during his billable hours.

Did this man have confetti in his pocket for this exact moment?! I'm telling you that I'd be living my best life in this office!

If I was that security guard, I would NOT have paid that 80 baht for Gun. Boss man does not need my hourly wage.

You'd be a custard apple or a pomegranate cause you're being extra! <-I'm using this because I love good commentary about *fruits*

I can't keep writing this, but I genuinely like this! Cher slamming his hand on the table and Gun immediately babying him. Urgh! I'm pleased!

This is giving me What's Wrong with Secretary Kim vibes.

Something keeps happening with the lighting to make the guys seem angelic, and I want to know what pressure the lighting department was under to make this work under these conditions.

I have been a vegetarian for over two decades, yet my meat-eating friends are the picky eaters, so I pop off like Gun just did every time I have to order them food. Why is the order so complicated?! Why three different places?!

Gun having printer and copier issues is the office drama I crave.

"That last sentence was lit." - GMMTV's translators deserve a raise.

Oh my gosh! WHERE IS PORSCHE?!

Aoi gets where I'm coming from. She is not going to let her boss and his boyfriend ruin her happiness. In fact, she embraces the chaos.

Cher is playing with Gun's face, and I'm going to fully admit that I liked this entire installment. They even exchanged colors!

The game idea is actually kinda okay-ish.

This role-playing unlocked a kink in Gun because now he wants to receive and give regularly-scheduled commands. Okay, sir, I see you.

Cher's shirt reads "Error Since Birth" and I LOVE IT!

I'm shocked and appalled about what I'm about to do. I thought I was going to be upset watching this, but I really enjoyed it. The color-coding (that I hated during the show) was consistent here unlike the other previous installments (Vice Versa, The Eclipse, and My School President), the repartee between Cher and Gun never missed, and their chemistry was good as usual. There was no Porsche, we didn't find out about Jack's previous relationship, and I'm pissed we didn't get THIS during the actual series, so . . .

8/10 CockTails for giving me most of what I wanted long after I wanted it.

Now, BRING ME MY SLUTS!

And before anyone asks, I'm in a long-term committed relationship with Pat's hair. That's how much I love it.

[minimafioso]

Chuuya & Subtle Actions - 15 Arc (Anime)

This one is more of an observation

During the anime version of the 15 arc (I say anime version as it does deviate from the light novel) Chuuya's very guarded. He comes off as annoyed, haughty, and angry.

I noticed two subtle actions he made that shows off how much he tries to hide any form of concern or weakness.

As usual, lots of pictures ahead. I like visuals.

The first one most wouldn't noticed and I thought maybe I had been seeing things, but it's clear Chuuya's leg is pretty much incapacitated after Randou injures it. Broken? Sprain?

At this point Chuuya's been using his agility to launch kicks at Randou but with only one good leg he knows that's not an option anymore, thus he's reminded of his humanity and he removes his hands from his jacket. This is now a fight for survival.

When Dazai yells for Chuuya he puts gravity on the busted leg, knowing he cant move it anyway. So he'll become immovable and calls to Dazai to come to him, which he understands. Chuuya wont let Randou's subspace push him back.

There are subtle clues that prove this, such as when he lands originally he goes for his usual right leg but switches just before he touches the ground to put weight on his other leg. He also doesn't move unless with the left leg which he also uses as support. Chuuya's final attack on Randou isn't with a kick, it's a punch. He cant jump and uses gravity on rubble so he can finish things.

The light novel is much more brutal with how much of a beating Chuuya took, but this was at least a nod to the fact that more than likely he still fought with a busted leg.

The other observation is possibly just me over reading into things, but you know what? It ain't hurtin' anyone to post my musings.

The scene where Chuuya is betrayed by Shirase and Sheep is heartbreaking. This group that he thought were like a family immediately turned on him when they assumed he was with Port Mafia. I think they leave it up to the viewer if Chuuya is sweating or he does cry, and I'm leaving it up to interpretation here, but something I did notice was Chuuya's mouth.

There's a couple times I've noticed this, thought it could also just be an art director's choice, but when he's in obvious distress Chuuya's emotions are held back shown as he forces his mouth to stay closed. His lips look as though they are trembling.

This happens when he's fighting Randou. Once it's explained that his gravity wont work as easily you can see he's visibly nervous. Oh, my gravity wont work on him like this. Chuuya's eyes also tend to shrink, but this also happens when he's mad. His eyes are very expressive.

But what made me come back to this moment was a scene in season 3, when Chuuya finds himself in a position that he has to lead members of Port Mafia.

His boss could die, Kouyou, as well as himself, are unsure of their options, and Chuuya puts all this responsibility on his shoulders. He and Kouyou are the only available executives. They both know it's a set up but neither of them are anywhere near as tactical as Mori.

So when Chuuya goes to scope out the situation he's thrown off that the Agency is already going 'full force', something he wasn't anticipating. He's obviously not quite sure what to do, so he decides to go full force as well which ends up being his downfall.

And while this scene happens... his lips mimic the ones we saw earlier, not as noticeable but still there.

I tried to go back and see if this happens with other characters. I went through a few episodes and then lost focus, but I figure this could easily just be an animation choice for showing lips pursed together.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Avatar (2009)

As soon as Avatar became the highest-grossing film of all time, it became cool to trash it. While the movie may use familiar elements, you’ve never seen anything quite like it. Visually stunning and filled with rousing scenes, this is a groundbreaking achievement in special effects that's surprisingly memorable.

In 2154, humanity has reached Pandora, a moon in the Alpha Centauri star system. Unfortunately, the largest deposit of its valuable unobtainium is beneath the home of the Na’vi, the planet's 3m tall blue-skinned humanoids natives. After attempting to negotiate mining rights with them for years, the RDA (Resources Development Administration) has developed “avatars”, Na’vi-human hybrids that can be operated by their genetically-matched scientists. When his twin brother suddenly dies, Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is sent to Pandora to take his place. Head researcher Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) doesn’t trust Jake to integrate with the native population. She’s right not to, as he's agreed to feed Colonel Miles Quaritch (Steven Lang) specific intel to take the Na’vi down if no agreement can be reached.

Even at the time, the story by writer-director James Cameron felt both familiar and on the nose. It couldn’t be food or a cure for some deadly disease that humans need from Pandora, it's “unobtainium”, which might as well be space gold. Of course, the Na’vi live in perfect harmony with nature and display no barbaric behavior of their own. That’s reserved for humans - more specifically, the military forces and their boss, Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi), a weiner introduced when he shoots a golf ball into a coffee cup. The moment Jake meets the beautiful Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), you know he’s going to abandon his original goals and fall in love with the Na’vi and their ways - how could he not?

It's easy to find ways the themes and plot points could’ve been handled with more finesse or originality but in the film’s defense, all of that doesn’t really matter. The fact is, you fall in love with Pandora as quickly as Jake does. When Colonel Quaritch shows how ruthless he is and how little he cares about the Na’vi, you hate him with a burning intensity. When the natives fight back, you cheer loudly. Maybe the film is manipulative in that Pandora is a beautiful place filled with beautiful creatures that are easy to fall in love with and the villain is made so evil his hatred allows him to survive the planet’s poisonous atmosphere far longer than it should. These also make the film easy to follow and memorable. I hadn’t seen Avatar since 2009 but I remembered nearly every beat of the story. Unconcerned with the plot, I was able to bask in the lush jungles of Pandora the way I was meant to. Well, not quite. Unfortunately, the film isn’t quite the same when viewed at home, and in 2D, but you can catch a glimpse of what it was like on the big screen at the time. You understand why it was a game-changer, why people looked at what was on-screen as a true escape from their mundane realities.

The topic of escape brings me to my other quasi-criticism. If Avatar is the highest-grossing movie of all time, why isn’t it part of the collective conversation? Why don’t we see people dressing up as the Na’vi on Halloween? Where are the toys? Where are the memes and gifs alongside the ones of Thanos snapping his fingers? The thing is, as much as the film is memorable, it’s also so removed from reality it almost doesn’t belong in normal conversations. Ultimately, the story is about a white soldier who can do things better than all of the aboriginal people he originally came to conquer. The story is a power fantasy on a scale we’ve largely moved away from in the last 10+ years. Watching Avatar doesn’t really teach you anything about the world or about yourself. Is that a bad thing? No, not if you want a true escape. In fact, it's exactly what you want if you're looking for the ultimate getaway, something that reminds you of nothing from the real world.

At one point, I think I’d like to dig into the character designs, the cutting-edge special effects used to bring the film to life, the performances (Steven Lang is particularly great), the worldbuilding, and other technical aspects that make Avatar a good film but I’ve talked a lot already and ultimately, what matters about a movie is how it makes you feel and how entertaining it is. At both of these, Avatar excels. Watching it, you feel exactly as the protagonist does. You hiss at the villain as he does, you cheer when he cheers and you’re as awestruck by the colors as he is. The film generates a strong emotional reaction from its audience and that’s the mark of a movie worth seeing. (On Blu-ray, December 11, 2022)

[kiriscreama]

mark our hearts with shame

Whumptober 2023 - Day 2

Prompt: “They don’t care about you.”

Warnings: Canon-typical Violence, Self-hatred, Ambiguous Ending, Graphic Violence, Implied (possible) Character Death

Summary: The League of Villains have reached the end of the line. Tomura has to make a choice.

A/N: lake write the league in character challenge level: impossible. idk man if Horikoshi didn’t want me to love them he shouldnt have made them so likeable ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ somethingsomething redemption through the love of others somethingsomething.

also this isn’t canon compliant past, like, where the anime is currently, i think? regardless, this is not a canon battle lmao

title from Foundations of Decay by My Chemical Romance lol

also on AO3 | whumptober masterlist

Somewhere far away, Toga laughs and it sounds more like a scream. From the corner of his eye, Tomura sees Spinner drop the heroling he’s got by the neck and go running towards the sound. The little brat scrabbles to his feet, tail swishing dangerously, and darts off into another part of the battle.

Tomura pays him no heed. He wants to follow after Spinner, to make sure every member of his party is still standing, but he’s still locked in a fight with the Bakugou brat and the gremlin with All Might’s quirk.

They don’t care about you.

Plus there’s that. His master’s voice at the back of his head, reminding him of things he’d rather forget. Fears that he’ll never voice.

His guard is down for a beat too long, because Deku gets too close. Tomura narrowly dodges a kick aimed for his head. He knows what he should do here. He should catch the enemy by his ankle, wrap all five fingers tight, and let his quirk do its job. He should take both of them down and end this here, in the middle of a half-decimated city, and finally complete the win conditions to achieve total victory. (Or something. His video game metaphors are hazy these days, with less and less time or energy to play them.)

He should kill them, but he’s just… so tired. This fight, as vital as it may be for the main story, feels more like a grind. Tomura can’t remember the last time he got any real rest. Certainly before they moved headquarters to join the Paranormal Liberation movement. (What are they calling themselves these days? He can’t be assed to keep track.) He almost wants to stop.

Another shout in the distance. This one sounds too much like Compress yelling something. Tomura’s stomach lurches, and he drags his attention back to his own fight just as an explosion glances off his cheek.

Bakugou makes a furious noise, though whether it’s at the fact that he missed or the fact that Tomura didn’t try to hit him while he had an opening, he isn’t quite sure.

“Either fight or die already!” he screams. For a second longer than he is willing to admit, Tomura almost considers accepting the latter option.

A crackle in his ear, a forgotten comms unit sparking to life. He throws a hand towards Deku that the boy spins away from easily. His splayed fingers narrowly brush the fabric of his hero costume, but not enough of them make contact to matter.

“Boss, Toga’s bleeding bad and Compress is down for the count,” Spinner screams in Tomura’s ear. He dodges some kind of knock-off All Might ultimate move from Deku. “Dabi’s quirk won’t keep them back forever. Baby Todoroki will get here eventually.”

If he doesn’t flay himself alive first, is the rest of that statement, but Spinner wisely keeps it to himself.

Dabi grumbles nonetheless. “I’ll decide how much I can handle, shitface.” Tomura can picture the flames getting bigger in protest. He can practically smell the burning skin and see the distinct not-pained expression that he’s making.

They don’t care about you.

It’s the only thing that remains from his master in his head anymore. A daily reminder calmly intoning from the back of his mind.

He ducks another blast from Bakugou, swings around and manages to plant a solid kick into Deku’s side. The boy turns his fall into a roll and springs to his feet with his quirk crackling around his skin. Tomura ducks to press his fingers to the dirt and disrupt the ground beneath his feet. Deku springs away just in time and sparks fill Tomura’s vision.

The explosion burns through his shirt and down to his skin, turning pale skin bright red, but he barely feels it.

“Boss! What are we doing here?”

Spinner’s desperation is nearly palpable.

Tomura dodges a fist. He’s not sure whose it is.

He’s tired.

Magne is dead. Twice is dead. Sensei is as good as gone.

“Constitution check,” he snaps out. He watches the herolings’ faces contort in confusion.

Spinner’s sigh crackles over the line. He growls. “Not fucking good!”

“There’s a spike through her stomach. Don’t know if we’ll be able to save her.” Dabi’s voice is more level. The man may be insane as the rest of them, but his skill in keeping cool under pressure is unmatched. “Compress has some kind of concussion, at the least.”

In fact, it’s too level, as if Tomura isn’t in the middle of a brawl (even if his opponent’s attacks seemed to have lessened, as if they’re showing him some strange sort of mercy) and Dabi’s not delivering the worst case scenario. Tomura wonders if there’s any skin left on his arms at this point.

He locks eyes with Bakugou, whose hard glare turns almost amused. He rears back, raising his gauntlets, and oh, Tomura knows this move well. He ducks behind a slab of broken street just as a Howitzer comes barreling his way.

Bakugou survived being stabbed through the ribs. Tomura remembers that. He survived and he got stronger, better than he was before it happened. All Might is missing a piece of his stomach, but he has yet to let it stop him completely.

Toga has a spike through her stomach — and oh, she would love the irony in that, wouldn’t she, like a stake straight through the vampire’s heart. Even if they retreat now, Dabi is right. They can’t save her, not without the Doctor. If they surrender, though, there could be a chance…

They don’t care about you.

But he cares about them. Without his master in his head, jumbling up his thoughts, Tomura can almost admit that. He cares about them, and Toga is dying and Compress could be somewhere right after. Dabi is burning himself alive the longer he hesitates.

There was a time when Tomura wouldn’t care. He thinks of Magne, how her death did little more than infuriate him at the time. He remembers Toga sniffling about it for days, remembers Twice’s dramatic wails and Dabi’s mean smile and Spinner’s righteous indignation. He had only been irritated by their moping and enraged that Overhaul thought he could get away with killing one of His party members, but they’d still been little more than NPCs to him. What has changed in the months between?

He thinks he knows the answer to that. Spending so much time with his party has made them his, and Tomura was never very good at sharing.

They don’t care about you.

Tomura isn’t sure that matters anymore.

The heroes have fallen back. Tomura wonders what Deku had to do to keep Bakugou from ambushing him. But he knows they won’t stay back for much longer. They’re just toying with him, waiting to see what he’s going to do next.

Maybe somewhere in their stupid, pure hearts, they think they’re giving him a chance. Deku talks a lot of shit about saving everyone, even him. “Saving people with a smile.” Tomura’s practically got the damn speech memorized.

Stupidly, naively, Deku believes that even villains can be saved.

“Surrender,” Tomura says into his comms.

“Wha-“

“I said surrender.” It’s sharp. An order. One that he has no doubt they’ll comply with. He can hear it in their shared inhales, in the way the smoke over the rooftops begins to lessen. “Drop the flames after I turn myself in.”

“You got it, Crusty,” Dabi says. Even Tomura can hear the strain in his voice now. He won’t last much longer.

The heroes have them cornered. Maybe it’s for the best

Tomura emerges from behind the slab of concrete and watches the two heroes in front of him straighten immediately. Neither had left their fighting stance. Tomura wonders, briefly, if there's ever a time they aren’t standing at each other’s backs anymore.

He drops to his knees and both of them make cautious steps forward. They falter as he raises his hands.

They don’t care about you.

Well, it’s not like they would be the first. Tomura wears hatred and resentment like a second skin.

“We surrender,” he says, and the words sound a million miles away. “You’ve got us. You beat the final boss.”

It’s an especially sloppy metaphor, he thinks, but it’s enough to make Deku’s fists lower.

“The fuck?” Bakugou says, eloquent as always. His hands are still raised, his feet still planted. He hasn’t yet let go of this fight, but Tomura can see the gears turning in his head. “This some kind of joke?”

Spinner curses again in Tomura’s ear. “C’mon Tomura,” he mutters, low in his ear. “She doesn’t have much longer.”

Bakugou must take his silence for a yes, because he raises a fist and starts to growl, but Deku sticks his hand out in front of him. He’s frowning and muttering to himself, but they’re still too far away for Tomura to hear.

Suddenly, Deku looks up, green eyes locking on Tomura’s as if he can stare straight into his soul. It’s not the first time that laser-focused gaze has been locked on Tomura, but it’s the first that Tomura hasn’t been too focused on fighting or himself to feel the uncomfortable weight of it.

Deku’s brow is furrowed. “Who’s hurt?” he asks, suddenly.

Tomura doesn’t answer, but there must be something in his eyes that tells Deku what he needs anyway, because he moves forward.

As he approaches, Tomura turns on his comms one last time. “Surrender,” he says again. He doesn’t give Spinner or Dabi time to respond before he rips the earpiece from his ear and tosses it towards Bakugou’s feet.

“Shigaraki Tomura, you’re under arrest,” Deku begins, moving to cuff him.

They don’t care about you.

If that was true, they could join the fucking club.