#and like we share 1 braincell

[jinnies-lamps]

me and my guy best friend talked on phone for like 1 hour and he told me im the BRAIN of group.. which is true.

[crystalrabbit246912]

First-Year Camping Trip

Over Spring Break or like, a four-day weekend, the first-years decide to head out on a camping trip!

(I know that all of the first-years other than Ortho were at Camp Vargas 1, but we all know how that went and there were other people and no Ortho. This is just the first-years.)

So they get their permission (Ace and Deuce ask Trey, Jack doesn't need to really, because Leona and Ruggie are in charge there for some reason, Epel asks Rook, Idia would say yes to anything Ortho asked if he was persistent enough, Sebek would ask Lilia, and Yuu's in charge of themselves and Grim at Ramshackle) and head out via the Dark Mirror.

It took them a lot of arguing to pick their location and Yuu asked Jade because they were the only one willing to do so, for some advice, since he's camped out before on weekends for his club activities, and it took them entirely too long (like a whole week of afternoons full of arguments at Ramshackle), but eventually they decided on somewhere similar to Camp Vargas, which meant a forest with a lake nearby, but thankfully no mine with Overblot Phantoms inside.

So they find a nice clearing to set up their tents, which they borrowed off Coach Vargas by saying they were going to train while they were camping, and the arrangements are as follows: Jack with Epel and Sebek with Ortho, because the largest people need to be with the smallest, or else they would take up one tent individually, Ace and Deuce because Ace was lazy and decided that sharing with Deuce would be worth not having to put up his own tent, though he definitely provided commentary while watching him, and Yuu and Grim because they were the only ones left and also Yuu was the only one willing to put up with Grim's snoring.

Now, onto the shennanigans!

They brought food, like sausages to grill over their campfire, which Epel is especially enthused by, and supplies for s'mores, but Jack decided to do some fishing and Epel wanted to join in because fishing is a manly activity, apparently.

So they got some fish and Yuu, because they have to be capable of cooking if they're surviving in Ramshackle with Grim, who absolutely cannot cook, and the ghosts, who don't have physical forms, and Jack, maybe Epel if he was taught to in Harveston, cook it somehow, in a simple way, because none of them are that good that cooking, (also I don't know much about cooking, if you couldn't tell) and they want to relax.

Jack and Sebek somehow get into some kind of physical competition, like a push-up competition or tree/cliff climbing, or a race, and the others have no clue how it happened, so they're watching the two of the only members of the group with actual, functioning braincells doing crazy things. Epel and Deuce's eyes are sparkling at the 'manliness' while Ortho is inputting the data he's acquiring into his database while Yuu and Ace just stare in shock.

Ace and Deuce's tent collapse on them multiple times, but it's always put back up haphazardly. On the final day, it collapsed on them in their sleep, but they stay asleep and the others think that they've already woken up and collapsed their tent, so they're the last to wake up.

Vil and Rook forced Epel to bring his skincare stuff and makeup, but he utterly disregards their instructions for him to use it aside from the bug spray, so he just has a giant extra bag full of the stuff they gave him sitting in his tent that he refuses to touch. (He's in for a large scolding once he gets back)

Ace and Deuce also get into the kind of trouble that you'd normally only see on a comedy show or anime and the others have to bail them out of it, like they somehow anger a bear, fall into the lake and get stuck in the mud, trip and roll down a mountain into a pile of animal dung, etc.

Grim demands food and attention every time he speaks, which happens rather a lot, while Yuu just stands there like a tired parents, sometimes fulfilling his demands while other times smacking him on the nose with a stick that they picked up of the ground and kept on them for behavioral purposes.

Epel and Deuce ask Sebek to teach them how to mock-sword fight with sticks and he agrees while calling them humans and pretending like he doesn't care about them and at some time during the trip, the two clear an arena and duel while the others gather around them and shout tips, encouragement, or make fun of them (namely Ace and Grim for the last one)

Ortho charges via a solar powered charging port that he brought that he leaves out over the day and figured out how to charge while laying down in his sleeping bag so that he can feel like he's sleeping in a sleeping bag like everyone else.

Yuu finally gets a break from being the school's unofficial therapist, although they do have to break up fights between Ace and Deuce every so often and watch over Grim like the overworked parent they are, so that's good.

The freshmen end up a lot closer due to this trip, and whenever they bring up something that happened during it while their upperclassmen are around, they get immensely confused because context is greatly needed for every single incident mentioned. (Like Ace and/or Deuce getting teased for their comedy show incidents when Riddle's approaching them to scold them, Jack and Sebek arguing over who won their fitness contest right as Lilia/Silver/Ruggie drops by to pick one of the two up, everyone as a whole talking about how cool the sword fight was as any of the upperclassmen approach them, etc.)

Yuu also kept the stick that they kept hitting Grim with to discipline him and keep doing that.

[skamenglishsubs]

Subtext and Culture, Young Royals, Season 3, Episode 3

Episode 3 picks up the day after the camping trip, and Wilhelm calls his mom to check on her. She dumps a massive guilt trip on him, maybe unintentionally, and Wilhelm is feeling a little bit down.

Culture: These are Swedish studentmössor. They originated in the 1800's among Nordic university students and they wore them as a common marker. Later, they were adopted as graduation caps for high school students, signifying that they were now allowed to begin studying at a university.

Culture: Valborg, April 30th, is a traditional Swedish holiday where you celebrate the coming of spring with bonfires. It is also the start of graduation season for high school students, and graduates are allowed to start wearing their caps.

Cinematography: This season they started writing most on-screen social media commentary in English, despite those users being pretty obviously Swedish. I suspect it's because it saves them having to subtitle all of them, it makes it a bit easier for all the viewers to follow along.

Subtext: No, keeping up appearances is more important than mental health for the royal family, which is why this is new behaviour that Wilhelm has never seen before.

Subtext: As a reminder of the increased interest, here's a paparazzi intruding on school grounds. Also, where the hell is Malin? Isn't it her job to shoo away photographers?

Culture: Vintern Rasat is a classic Swedish song celebrating spring that's often performed by student singers at Valborg.

Subtext: Boris cleverly offers August individual therapy, something he sorely needs.

Subtext: It's of course a bit ironic that pretty much the entire fandom hates August and has decided that he can't be forgiven or redeemed. Yes, you, dear reader. But Boris lays out a way for August to start his redemption arc. Will it work? Tune in for next week's episode!

Culture: These usernames reek of white supremacy. Norse mythology references are very popular, and 88 means H*il H*tler, so that's the kind of people we're dealing with. The show is also foreshadowing what's gonna happen at the end of the episode.

Blink and you miss it: Linda made Pabellón, a Venezuelan dish. In season 1 we didn't know where Linda was from, but in season 2 she was canonically made as being from Venezuela, just like Omar is in real life.

Subtext: I think August actually cares, Kristina is family to him too, but Wilhelm refuses to treat him as family, so he lies about how she's doing. Not very convincingly, though.

Cinematography: This is an absolutely hilarious shot with a bunch of students anxiously peering out through the windows as the dreaded enemy arrives: Skolinspektionen! Dun-dun-dun!

Blink and you miss it: There's a rainbow flag on the board to the left.

Subtext: Vanessa totally knew she interrupted a makeout session between our boys. Oh, and there's a lot of purple in these two scenes, colour theory exploded with joy.

Subtext: Simon will be proven wrong, someone will be honest.

Subtext: It's also ironic that Simon joins the rest of the Forest Ridge boys pretending to have a great meal together that is totally not stiff and awkward at all, absolutely not.

Lost in translation: Simon Walter says that May 1st is a "röd dag" - a red day, which is how Sundays and public holidays are usually marked in a Swedish calendar. "Bank holiday" is the term used in the UK for public holidays. There are 13 public holidays in Sweden each year.

Culture: Första Maj is the name of the International Workers' Day in Sweden, because it always occurs on May 1st. In defence of Henry and Walter's shared braincell, most Swedes actually don't participate, but it's a bit weird to not even know what it is.

Subtext: This entire sequence shows how Felice's dad tried to stick up for himself, but quickly learned to keep his head down instead and conform and roll with it. And it wasn't just the other students who were racists, the staff was in on it too. This goes for all the shit the students are doing, the partying, the booze, the alcohol, the bullying: The staff is in on it. They know. They're complicit.

And despite all of this, Poppe's immediate answer when asked how his time at Hillerska was, is that it was the best time of his life. This is why schools like this stay the way they are, why they never change, because they're very good and very bad at the same time. Trauma-bonding works, the kids will all get friends for life, they'll forget the shit and remember the good times. They'll become like him.

But when Felice learns what the school did to her dad, she decides to help shut it down, to stop the cycle of abuse. The reason she goes in alone is because she now knows she can't trust her dad, he's gonna defend the school, and she also doesn't want him to know that she snitched.

Subtext: In official surveys, students from schools like this generally rate them very highly. Student satisfaction is very high. Maybe they're lying, maybe they're delusional, but they sure care more about their schools than public school students.

Blink and you miss it: REAL SUBTLE THERE, SHOW.

Subtext: Keeping with the school theme, this is how students defend the shit that goes on. Outsiders are kept in the dark, you don't tell them anything, because they "wouldn't understand", they're missing the "full context", etc. Oh, I don't know shit about fashion, but Fredrika's jacket smells very expensive.

Blink and you miss it: While Wilhelm pinned a polaroid of himself and Simon prominently on his wall, August keeps a similar polaroid of himself and Sara hidden.

Subtext: Micke's redemption arc is in full swing, so why not play a song that reinforces the idea that people can change?

Subtext: August's redemption arc is in full swing, so let's cut to him nervously waiting outside Micke's place for Sara to come home, while the same song is playing. Is he gonna be a villain forever?

Blink and you miss it: Micke introduces himself as Micke af Eriksson when August introduces himself as August Horn af Årnäs. The English subtitles for some weird reason went with "Micke Eriksson of Bjärstad", but that's actually not what he says.

Subtext: Sara is pretty realistic about her expectations of her dad because she's seen this before, but this also applies to her expectations of August, because she knows that he can also slide back into his normal shitty self. Also, she's wearing a purple sweater.

Subtext: In case you forgot, August's dad also struggled with addiction, and died from it, so he and Sara actually has that in common. Maybe there's hope for this redemption arc thing?

Cinematography: I don't fucking know why they included this baking scene. It serves no purpose, and I suspect quite a few people in the production have a serious hand fetish, because what is this? What is this? Also, why are Simon and Wilhelm joining what appears to be a Manor House thing with the rest of the girls? How? Why? This makes no sense! It's very cute, though!

Subtext: Oh ok, we got a social media pic that Sara could see and feel bad for her lost friendships. But man, those Hillerska aprons! On point!

Subtext: This is unfortunately a very common thing for people on any kind of psychoactive medication. How can you tell if you need medication if you feel good right now? Is it lasting or temporary? Can you trust your own brain? Either way, fantastic conversation between Micke and Sara, which starts her on her journey to reconcile with Felice at least.

🎵 I can change, I'm not the same, not forever. 🎵

Culture: The official hat-on-putting ceremony where all the third-year students put on their hats, set to another traditional Swedish spring celebration song: Vårvindar Friska.

Culture: It's Valborg, so Hillerska has their own little bonfire. We saw some students with torches pretending to light it, but it's actually floating in the middle of the fountain so, uh, how did they do that? Normally, your local bonfire or Majbrasa is just a huge heap of wood that you set on fire.

Cinematography: Man, this is a pretty show. Look at that shot. The fire, the sunset, the pool reflection. The end of April is over a month after the spring equinox, so the days are getting longer, and the sun now sets at about half past nine in the evenings.

Subtext: Ok, let's do one more on-the-nose lyrics thing for when August sees Sara back at school. Yes, yes, he needs her.

Culture: I had to post about it immediately after watching the episode, because setting a sex scene to Uti Vår Hage is hilarious. Everyone in Sweden knows it, most people have sung it at school, it's a cute little song about enjoying your garden, flowers, and giving your loved one a wreath of flowers. I can now never hear this song without thinking about this scene. Thanks a lot, show.

Blink and you miss it: Simon fucks Wilhelm. Yay! Versatile supremacy!

Subtext: Sara is still so suspicious of her dad's behaviour, she can't make herself trust that his current good period will last.

Subtext: Even though this dialogue is about how Simon and Sara are so different, it of course also applies to how Wilhelm and Erik were different, because Wilhelm struggles with not being able to handle his duty the same way Erik could.

Culture: Alright, it's time for the actual local Första Maj event in Bjärstad. The town is probably a bit small to have a proper demonstration parade, but there's people with banners and socialist slogans, and a bunch of local organisations have joined in, including Bjärstad BK, the football club Rosh plays in.

Culture: Meanwhile, the absolutely not socialist rich kids at Hillerska are nursing their hangovers and enjoying the day off, and they're doing some yoga and playing some padel instead. As you do.

Subtext: Drugs. He looks like he's selling drugs.

Culture: These apparently confused a bunch of viewers, but they're just raffle tickets. It's one hundred numbered, rolled up, paper tickets stuck on a metal ring. When you buy a ticket you just tear it off at the perforation, and when all tickets are sold you can just break the seal on the ring and pour all the stubs in a bag or whatever so you can draw winners.

Blink and you miss it: Cute kiddo has a pride pin on his jacket.

Lost in translation: The show waited a bit with showing what it says on the banner behind them in the photo, but if you can read Swedish you immediately saw that it says KROSSA ÖVERKLASSEN - CRUSH THE UPPER CLASSES. Oh no, Simon, what have you done?

Blink and you miss it: Like a pack of rabid wolves, the social-media starved Gen Z kids rush to their phones for an hour of glorious feeding on Instagram and TikTok.

Blink and you miss it: I love Vincent so much, he's terrible, but he's just so much fun! The little fist he makes as he says "kampen" just seals it.

Subtext: The show still hasn't revealed the banner text to the non-Swedish audience, but Wilhelm immediately sees it and knows how bad it is and why Farima tried calling him seven times. Also, Vincent is just on a roll here.

Cinematography: Man, this is a pretty show. Look at that shot. Look at how they perfectly aligned the hole in the window with Simon, the police car, and the entrance to their house, as he discovers that someone decided to vandalize it.

[theshitpostcalligrapher]

req'd by @shadow-of-a-dream

so long as the actual blunt stays away while you're driving you're fine

text: The people in this car share 1 braincell and we pass it around like a blunt

[hana-no-seiiki]

Yan himbo by definition is also dense so Yan Himbo x Dense Reader is just a duo that shares the same 1 braincell

tw/cw: yandere, manipulation, abusive/toxic behavior. unedited word vomit. dubcon leaning a bit to noncon.

Y E S. The whole concept was based off of a BL Novel I once read where the entire plot was the ML being too dense to realize that jerking off his buddy and wanting to monopolize him aint so cishet behavior.

Himbo is a tactical genius when it comes to manipulating reader and he doesn’t fucken realize it. He’s going by pure instinct to possess reader for himself. Pushing boundaries of their’s cause he knows they’re close enough that they wont mind. Erasing lines cause “they’re friends and should always be open and supportive towards one another.” Getting mad and whiny in the rare times they attempt to refuse so that you’ll feel bad for not letting him get what he wants.

Poor Dense! Reader never really had their thoughts and opinions respected, and so they aren’t used to being entertained much in that aspect. They’re the no thoughts as long you’re happy type of person. And since Yan! Himbo is their closest and only friend they can only grin and take it when he drags them to the locker rooms for some fun times. They’re more afraid of him leaving them than of their privacy being invaded.

Dense! Reader had a crush on himbo for so fucken long but with the lack of experience they’re just 🙂 at everything. So you can’t really blame Himbo for not noticing when Dense! Reader doesn’t know this is stuff couples do, and therefore can’t truly show how happy they are.

At this point the two of them have rings and signed a contract where the two of them can never be apart, but they still think of the other as bros.

“What’s more bro-like than getting promise rings ! Haha, we should all totally move in together next. What’s wrong with our current arrangement? Duh We sleep in different bunks. True bros sleep beside each-other all the time. We can help one another with that problem much easier this way!”

[cxffecoupx]

all i want for christmas

boo seungkwan + christmas music blasting at all times wc: 697 warnings: seungkwan being absolutely intolerable with his singing (not necessarily a warning tho), made in a rush, not proofread author's notes: i wrote it this morning pls forgive me if it's not good i tried my best😭 i still hope you like it (even just a lil) winter wonderland masterlist

it all started the day after halloween.

[november 1]

you wake up to the radio playing in the living room.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Everywhere you go Take a look at the five and ten, it's glistening once again With candy canes and silver lanes that glow....

sleep still looms in your head, but the sunlight streaming in through the windows, the pots and spoons rattling from the kitchen and the loud song playing all quickly drive away any remainders of slumber. you sigh and get up dejectedly.

stumbling into the kitchen, you see a very joyful seungkwan dancing around in the kitchen, hands moving animatedly as he sings along with the song. you'd have turned off that loud thing minutes ago if it weren't for him singing, so you reduce the volume and wait for him to notice. his head whips towards you.

"yn! you're up!" he beams.

"halloween was just yesterday; the dead are still lurking around, and you're playing christmas songs?"

"it's all for getting into the spirit of the holidays, babe. that's why i'm playing 'its beginning to look a lot like christmas'; it's not christmas yet, but we're getting there."

you'd want to fight, but then you realise you two share the same braincell because why else does his logic start to make sense to you?

so you just stay there, at your makeshift dining table (that's also your workspace), watching him belting out notes that could honestly rival mariah carey while making pancakes that ended up being too salty.

[november 23]

you've now reached the stage where seungkwan speaks with christmas songs.

you're driving to seungcheol's house for jihoon's birthday party, and you realise your mistake halfway: seungkwan has the aux cord and this is the eighth christmas song playing.

What a bright time, it's the right time To rock the night away Jingle bell time is a swell time To go glidin' in a one horse sleigh...

"kwannie... can we please play a normal pop song now? i will actually lose my mind if i hear one more bell jingling," you tell him.

he lets out a dramatic sigh. "what sin must i have done in my past life, to deserve such betrayal?"

you roll your eyes, but can't help letting out chuckle.

"i dedicate this next and final song to my partner that does not appreciate the holidays with me."

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart But the very next day, you gave it away This year, to save me from tears I'll give it to someone special.

seungkwan starts singing in a way that would make anyone think he's going through his fourth divorce. but you know better; you know all his dramatics that only make you scoff in amuse when the first thing he utters after meeting his friends (while they were discussing his christmas movie list) is:

"my partner doesn't love me like i thought they do guys. i'm in love with someone who doesn't appreciate my flair."

[december 6]

the gradual decline of music in your house ever since that last conversation suddenly became suffocating when you noticed it. you meant it as a joke; he knew it was a joke; and yet, no matter how annoying you found it, you noticed how the approaching christmas didn't feel like it without your boyfriend competing against the original artists of the songs.

so when you see him shuffling around the house with a pout on his face while 'normal' music plays, you discreetly try to change the song.

I don't want a lot for Christmas There is just one thing I need...

seungkwan pops his head out of the room like a toddler who heard candy packets opening. he keeps watching as you attempt to sing the song, voice cracking and scratching more often than not. when the song reaches the chorus, you look to him, and he reacts like a deer caught in the headlights. you point towards him and gesture him to come closer, holding your hand out in a fist to mimic a mic and urging him to sing.

"i thought you hated christmas songs..." he mumbles.

"this is december, baby. it's officially christmas season," you scream over the music. he gives a shy smile.

"besides, i don't want a lot for christmas, other than watching you sing," you say and give him a little smooch on the lips.

he blushes for a moment before holding the mic (your hand) and singing at the top of his voice.

...Santa, won't you bring me the one I really need? Won't you please bring my baby to me?

all is well in the world again, you think.

as seungkwan eases into his element, all you can do is admire from afar. you might not be the biggest fan of christmas (not when seungkwan exists), but Santa gave you an early x'mas present, and you're forever grateful for it.

prompt by @novelbear divider by @adornedwithlight

[cinnamonest]

the incel scara post activated my single braincell..

Just imagine his mom just got married to yae miko and reader is now his step-sister, this girl isn’t even an overly nice bubbly girl he can hate on for getting on his nerves, she just keeps to herself and only talks to him when his game gets too loud or his side of their shared room gets too dirty.

“Can you pick up that potato chip bag from the floor? It’s been there for a week…”

“Shut up… cant you see im in the middle of the game?!”

Even though he yells at her to mind her own business he cant help but overtime becoming fond of her (the only female his age he sees more than 1 hour every day) He probably jacks off while shes in their room too pretending to be asleep so she doesn’t notice, he even gaslights her into sleeping with him since “its okay we are not even related”

He probably develops a sister complex too, even though he sleeps with her, he cant stand his sister even being in a 3 meter radius of another guy. (Yes only after he started sleeping with reader he considers her his sister) It bothers him so much that he started choosing reader’s wardrobe, and checking her phone so she doesn’t end up like other girls. It has become his life mission his pretty and quiet little sister stays like this, pure and only touched by him.

Meanwhile Ei just thinks reader is just such a good influence on him since scara is not screaming at his pc at midnight for once in his lifetime

Im sorry I just love the idea of scara having a sister complex 😭

For your information he is Grandmaster ranked in league of legends and he is not about to let YOU interfere with that with your dumb cleaning requests 😤😤😤 he’s busy. Just do it yourself, it’s not like you have anything important to do, unlike himself who has skills to be honing.

He takes his crippling addiction to online games very VERY seriously and God help you if you do anything to mess with him regarding that. One time you were mad at him for not listening to you because he was in the middle of a ranked game, so you huffed, stomped out of the room, and immediately went to unplug the router… you get a few seconds of silence before the predictable, but nonetheless frightening, yelling of your name and storming footsteps headed straight for your direction. You start to regret your choice a little bit as you’re chased around your own home, squealing and stumbling until inevitably tackled and dragged back to his room. No one else is home either, so no reason to hold back…

[hulloitsdani]

*slowly rises from my coffin*

So Alfonse and Kiran right?

I was talking about this game the other day to the poor yet willing ears of friends (a very common occurrence bless them) and I finally managed to articulate what I found compelling about their dynamic. And I want to share these ideas with you all, because if I don’t I will explode. You understand.

As a refresher to previous ramblings about this game, Fire Emblem Heroes’ consistent theme across its characters seems to be loneliness. Everyone is haunted by what a lack or loss of companionship threatens to do them. On top of this, based on the characterization we receive from side materials and the tiny glimpses we get in-game, I believe Kiran has the capacity to be the core of a lot of these themes. An isekai protagonist suffering from being isekaied would be a gold mine for this idea. I deeply enjoy further extrapolating their character and giving my pitch for what this goofy tactician could be like if they were allowed to be an actual character outside of a self insert.

With all that in mind— oh no Alfonse and Kiran’s loneliness latch onto each other like glue.

Alfonse’s loneliness is a culmination of how he was raised, but funnily enough, it’s not immediately clear that this is the case. It’s both a little baffling and borderline amusing to see how much the abandonment of Zacharias affected him in book 1. It reads as a bit romantically coded for a reason. Not hard to assume that Alfonse took it so hard because of some unresolved pinning. Which I’m not going to even remotely deny isn’t the case, but it is intriguingly not the full answer.

In book 3 we meet Alfonse and Sharena’s parents and come to the understanding that oh! Oh no! Their childhood was not good! Having two stable parents did not alleviate them from the themes of loneliness. Their childhood was a very isolating experience and smothered by the extreme expectations that defined that household. An idea which is only reinforced by book 4, where as child, Sharena was lonely enough to want to leave reality entirely and escape to the realm of dreams. And depending on your read of it, she did. Needless to say that these two grew up lonely with a capital L. This means that Zacharias was potentially one of their first and only friends. Period. That recontextualizes how hurt they were when one day he just vanished for no attainable reason. As one of their only sources of connection, that would be traumatizing.

Now Alfonse in particular is someone who, once he is attached, cares so so deeply and is completely ride or die. It’s as if all the love that had nowhere to go for years finally comes out all at once. And, surprisingly, he knows that. He knows because he tries really hard NOT to be. Being that emotionally driven and vulnerable is something he is expected to grow out of if he wants to succeed as a ruler. So he tries to temper it with extreme practicality. Big emphasis on tries. After the loss of Zacharias, he logics out that if he can’t stop these strong feelings for those he cares for and ending up profoundly hurt at the inevitable loss, then he’s going to remove the problem from board. Entirely. No more bonds of friendship. Shoo. Go away. The isolation from before was better than this. He could control that, at least.

Enter Kiran, who sees that and says, “aight bet.”

Despite Alfonse’s best efforts, they end up hitting it off and becoming friends. Just instantly click. Two halves of the same braincell. Commander Anna was initially worried about how standoffish they were, but her worries were clearly misplaced. Now she is left trying to figure out what the hell her tactician and right hand man are even talking about as she struggles to pinpoint when exactly she lost control of this meeting. And this becomes a delightfully common occurrence. Alfonse has fully failed his attempts to keep them at arms length and Kiran has succeeded in kicking his walls down. They are now both deeply attached.

But this means Alfonse has a new problem. He’s gotta navigate two conflicting and volatile emotions— feeling increasingly awful for incidentally forcing Kiran into their given circumstances but DESPERATELY wanting them to stay. And I could theoretically come up with a more eloquent way of putting this, but I described the situation to my friends as having the same energy of the “hey can I try rizzing you up?” bit. But instead it’s “hey can I convince you stay in Askr as the Order’s tactician?”

“PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE—”

I find that this wonderfully communicates how much he genuinely really likes them. It’s honestly very sweet and very clearly mutual.

This then brings me to the fan favorite voice line, in which Alfonse says, “Promise that you’ll never leave us… without warning me first.” The line delivery emphasizes the duality of the previously stated feelings he’s working from. Alfonse wants to be clingy so so bad, but he respects Kiran’s autonomy and is willing to cast his fears to the side for their well being. Just… warn him, please? If that’s going to be the case? (Which he’s desperately hoping it isn’t.)

There is a deep irony to this situation. He’s not too aware of it yet, but lucky for him, Kiran isn’t going anywhere! But unfortunately that isn’t as great as it sounds.

See, Kiran’s loneliness is a different demon. As briefly touched on before, Kiran is facing the natural mental and emotional consequences of being isekaied to a new alien world. Their life just got entirely reset and that’s not the purely fun escapism that you desperately want it to be for them. It turns out culture shock has some serious hands! Hell, it’s almost funny. There’s this twinge of dread whenever they mention the world they left behind. They’re from our modern day, sure, but… maybe it was bad for them? It’s odd to wish for a tragic backstory on a character, but it would mean coming to Askr was better for them. That no one would miss them and they don’t have anyone to miss.

But that is not the case.

Kiran had family. Kiran had a life. Kiran had goals and dreams they wanted to accomplish that are truly no longer possible. They cannot go home and they’ve been dropped into an active war zone. And the only way to survive is to partake.

That’s all pretty bad, right? Absolutely awful? But… somehow it hasn’t been. Sort of. Not fully. Of course some of it is, however, our other protagonists put massive effort to ensure that Kiran is as happy and comfortable as they can possibly manage. And then some! Commander Anna, even upon realizing that this supposed savior was just a scared civilian with no combat experience, gave them shelter, food, and a job. Instantly. Without question. She didn’t even know them! That’s not something they take for granted. Hell, if they think too hard about it, they might start crying. Because that’s genuinely so fucking nice! She took what should have been the worst day of their life and turned it into the start of something new.

And that’s just Anna. All of them did this! Even Alfonse, who despite his clear issues, made an active effort to ensure they were alright. It was not as almost aggressively friendly as Sharena or as surprisingly giving as Anna. No, it was a bit more subtle. He would observe, inadvertently find them struggling with something, and then offer his services. Even if it was for something Kiran might not have been bold enough to ask about. Because Kiran is not going to pull Anna away from her work to help them find a modern map in a library. That feels rude! Or at least intrusive! Instead they’re going to struggle in the corner until they figure out how Askr dates things. Or not apparently, because Alfonse spends a lot of time in the library and has noticed their visible distress. He comes in for the rescue and fails to suppress a smile at Kiran’s dumb “aw my hero!” pun.

You can begin to see why Kiran called bullshit on Alfonse’s no friends deal.

All of this has had a funny little consequence on our silly little summoner. Kiran deeply mourns the loss of their home. They might not show it, but they do. However, thanks to the massive support of their friends, they start making a life for themself here. A new home, with some of the nicest people they’ve ever met, in the most beautiful place they’ve ever been, and in a way that means the world to them.

A home that they are going to defend fiercely, because they know damn well that they don’t have it in them to start from scratch again.

No one embodies this desire more for them than Prince Alfonse. He becomes the emotional center of it. A home in Askr doesn’t exist without him in their life. So no, Kiran is not leaving. Kiran is dying in Askr— dying for HIM more often than not. When we look upon the breidablik Líf carries, we stare in quiet horrified knowing. Alfonse did not active the blood rite. It was not his blood spilled on the altar. It was not his heart beating until no one was left. It was theirs. They couldn’t do it again. Kiran took the only out. And when Líf stares at the summoner with mourning and vitriol, we know why.

Clearly, the way their loneliness comes together can and has been played for emotionally devastating consequences. This intimate relationship is born from this deeply personal and less than perfect part of themselves. Yet, somehow, we get to see the version of this relationship that prevails against all odds. Where they inspire each other to be better and lessen the burden of the loneliness that threatens to undo them. And damnit that gets me.

TLDR; they should explore each other’s bodies sometime and be locked in the world’s slowest slow burn. Thank you and good night!

[bryce-bucher]

500 CALIBER CONTRACTZ Post #12

Dialogue!!!11:

The main thing I did over the past week or so was put together this dialogue system. The system itself was fairly easily to implement, and I think the only interesting part of the process to share is how I went about making the UI. As per usual, I wanted to have a cool mechanical feeling ui, but at the same time a friend of mine suggested an AOL instant messenger inspired chat window. I loved both of these ideas so I decided to combine them into a screen that pops up and contains the aim-like window. The modeling process for the screen was similar to how I went about making the other two bits of ui that are on screen in the above photos, but I decided to include a VGA port.

VGA PORT:

I didn't originally plan to include a VGA port, but I was in the middle of researching monitors and accidentally left a window open on my computer that just had a big photo of one and I went "wait a minute.". With my final two braincells I suddenly decided to slap together a model for the port which I ended up being proud enough of to, for some reason, make an entire section for it.

Sorry if any of the above sentences read horribly. I am going to need a third braincell if you want this stuff to be coherent. Anyway, Blender is so cool. Using the array modifier to make all these lil squares for the holes in the port is just such a satisfying process. I've come to really like makin pre-rendered assets like this.

New Movez:

This is actually a pretty big inclusion, and I probably should've ranked it in my mind above the VGA port. I added some new movement options to the game!

Firstly, I added this melee move where you swing the back of the sniper forwards to propel yourself a bit. It is mainly useful as a bunnyhop that allows you to conserve momentum.

Next up I added this kick that happens if you melee while in the air. It's basically just the one from mario64. It lets you gain a little bit more height and distance. It also becomes way more effective if you have a lot of momentum. A good tool for correcting jumps and reaching new heights.

Finally, we have the big schmovement slide. This slide gives you a huge burst of speed that you can jump out of in order to send your self flyin. Surprisingly, it didn't really break any of the level design and ended up being a really fun addition imo. In order to perform it, you have to do a ground pound and then melee as you hit the ground. Also, I feel like I basically stole this from pseudoregalia. Played through that recently and it has been a good source of inspiration.

Nova!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:

This is a cameo skin I've been really excited to finally make myself put in the game. Anodyne 2 is a really important game to me, and I love it much. I'm really happy tha folks at analgesic let me put her in here, and I'm p happy with how her model came together. If you haven't peeped the Anodyne games I highly recommend them. The first one was a major inspiration for parts of Fatum Betula.

Conclusion:

Lately I've been playing this game way too much. It has made it impossible for me to tell if it is fun or well designed. Some problems cropped up during playtesting that ima need to address, and I hope that it all comes together into something that one could say is "fun and cool". I think takin this weekend off is gonna do my brain good. Oh yeah also I feel like I should advertise that I'm still doing commissions if anyone is interested. Anyway, have a good 1 and enjoy urself.

[storgicdealer]

ahem. cracks knuckles.

you know what time it is boy

highlights of attacking the innocent (also balling): general analysis of influencer arc episode 1

(so. the green onceler arc might be actually real)

THIS EPISODE WAS SO SICK. the animation????the music??????? the 3D CYBERSPACE??????????? MWAH chefs kiss . and the most interesting new thing: new character to play dolls with (thank you everyone who put their 5 cents in and shared a braincell: calling him greenscreen)

and. god.

the 3d insides of the computer box and programs... GOD !!!!!! GOD !!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS WHAT I LIVE FOR BABY!!!!!!!!

i NEED to find out the dimensions of it.

the way the ab team decided to expand on the 3d perspective just like this is. oh my lird

personally this means SO MUCH for me as the #1 lover of the "internet is walkable" trope. one of the main reasons why i adore avam so much

more points on that: the icons dont seem to.. "gain shape" until they're interacted with: in this case picked up by the cg. another point: sticks need to apply force to an icon to open an app . swag

additional note: the episode itself seems to begin in sticksfight?? or just a random table that was drawn

additional note electric boogaloo: green seemed to hit the CEILING when performing his ballin movement. is the gui of the computer really not that high?? and.

where are the doors. where are. where is the backstage that the sticks constantly come out of. hello

the way they interact with adobe premiere is SO SO interesting. the whole process of videomaking in the universe is something im gonna be thinking of for a GOOD while

(small note: i know sticks own hammerspace and can basically bring out anything but. is the red cape the red fabric green used in the matador short?

now, onto our new character

greenscreen seemed to appear out of the adobe video being overloaded? with effects n unnecessary sfx and clipping masks and such, causing it to glitch. in fact, adobe itself warned to proceed with caution the second the cg put too much stuff into it.

honestly, we can always put this monent into the "something glitchy-fucked happens and there are consequences" category, with the consequences just happening to be a new guy (thank you so much whoever did that). but worldbuilding wise, how exactly did it manifest? did the excessive amount of effects and glitches.. shape a creature into existence? with it taking the appearance of green as the main character that appeared in the video the most. sort of like a puzzle to create a being?

what's interesting, the screen focuses on the cg throwing the video away before the sequence with it gaining sentience by taking the form of green starts.

now, the main thing about the fight scene to me is how greenscreen took all of his movements/actions from the video itself,

and how many people have already pointed out, is that..

he doesn't seem to have wanted to attack in the first place.

screen, from the beginning of his existence only possessed powers/moves that green & cg themselves have shown in the video. and of course, the main point of the video itself was fighting a monster — obviously filling up the video, the whole essence of the character, with mostly that. his whole being was shaped up that way.

screen might've tried acting friendly, or neutral at least — but the whole way the video, a fighting video, was jumbled with glitches kind of.. forced him not to exhibit any other behaviour. perhaps, if not for these glitches, he could've controlled his own actions — he would still know the most of the world from the video, but at least, if he wanted to fight — he could control it. and do it himself, if he wanted.

(additional note: greenscreen seems to glitch everytime he's hit, also.)

the time he does attack, himself — is when he is cornered, and has been shown nothing but violence from others.

woah that pal has some seeerious issues to get under control ! anyways, onto other highlights of the video! (/silly)

the new video did a WONDERFUL job at showcasing the cg's fighting style in a new, clear manner. the gang regained the weapons they have wielded in the first part of "wanted", but in another form.

orange, equipped with the classic brush tool, seems to be mostly focused on defense. (regaining the previous defense styles based on the last parts of wanted & avm s3!)

red seems to focus on melee and hand-to-hand fighting,

blue, classic: fighting at a distance with the bow.

yellow seems to also fight at a certain distance, but it is only a hand's reach: enough to hit, enough to not get hit. (this also heavily reminds me of yellow's behavior with the staff, where in fight she has mostly hung out in the middle: aiming and attacking from a certain distance.)

i'm not particularly sure what category to put green in, also taking in his usage of the rod in avms3 and a .. gun. in the beginning of wanted. but his moves are the most agile and sharp (literally) out of the crew.

a bit of the video i am . Really interested in

finding out about his adobe-abilities, screen consumed other bits of the program to use it for attacking. including posterizing time, which is not only a quite strong ability in on itself, but!

..also seemed to affect other sticks, while he, himself — was unaffected by time.

the move seems to be incredibly powerful??? like. if it was that easy for a glitched video to consume parts of adobe, use it for his own powers, to a point of manipulating time???

damn. the cg basically created an adobe demigod????????

another supposition i have onto why it worked on sticks: the cg were drawn themselves, and drawn in adobe flash, therefore being interacted with as symbols whether they were affected because of just being drawn beings themselves, or because of some kind of influence all adobe programs might have on each other — their creation itself is probably the reason for this. (once again. they created a killer machine and provoked it itself!!!!!! damn pick a struggle!!!!!/j)

the episode finishes off amazingly in my opinion by the cg recreating and using the basketball movements they learned when filming their first video. they Slamdunked a stick. good lord

anyways. FEEL FREE TO ADD ON TO THIS POST WHATEVER YOU WANT !!! i appreciate all notes !!!! :D

[kehideni]

Part 2 of https://www.tumblr.com/kehideni/756020526614478848/the-time-has-come-the-aroacest-person-ever-will?source=share

Spoilers for season 5

S5E1

When Macaque is going off on Wukong about how his companions are suddenly back and he didn't think that suspicious (which is a valid point btw, when MK forgets to hold his braincells, this season it's Macaque that holds them for him)

Wukong's reaction is to go defensive, because why would he question why they are back, when Macaque is back too.

Wukong will not say it because why would he, but he is most probably glad that his friends are back. I mean Season 4 ended with him saying that's life. Just him and his buddies having a good time on the beach.

Macaque saying "all his old companions" are back, and leaving himself out of that statement is also a quiet jab. "His old friends, your journey companions are back." What... are you not his friend too, Macaque? Are you not also back?

That pouty face to me looks hurt, and that's why Macaque backed down. I don't think he knows why Wukong looks hurt, but he is so he backs off to get the conversation back to intended tracks. MK's identity.

Macaque from his pov was trying to warn Wukong that he is being too careless, but it came accross as criticising, something that Wukong never took well, but when Nezha does it in Season 4 he only gets a crayon thrown at him, when Mac does it, it actually stings so of course he bites back. Not that he doesn't think about what Mac said to him, but well... these monkeys are horrible in communication.

I grade them both -F. Try again next year.

S5E2

Wukong picks a fight with Macaque again, which wouldn't be strange given the situation, things are tense.

But it's not like it's unreasonable for Macaque to be upset about being jailed. What is he supposed to do? Cheer?

What makes this scene kind of elevated from being a casual "things are shitty, let's bicker" scene is that... MK takes note of it nonverbally.

"You think it's my idea of a good time? Trapped in here with you?" *bites his lip

which is... whoaww tsundere much? Not like you are not also trapped there with MK... did you... forget he is there? Weird case of Macaque prioritization no. 1.

And it's not like it was just a gag and we forget it, because a few seconds later MK takes note of this verbally too.

"Nezha help, i don't wanna be a divorce lawyer." /j

The season is full of Wukong's micro facial expressions.

Half a minute ago he was pissed at Macaque and now he chuckles about how Macaque just outed MK's lawyer bit like it was nothing.

And he wasn't really laughing about MK specifically, because as MK continues his bit, his expression turns to annoyed.

Nothing, just appreciate him laughing along the get away stunt while you still can

Wukong's line here is very deliberate

"I don't trust anyone who isn't standing here with us right now." He knows what he said, and knows who heard it. An olive branch alright, but he still is shocked when his trust is proven to be placed right:

And one example of rightly placed Macaque-prioritisation (the only example, really)

Not 3 minutes ago he was laughing along, having fun and we already have the stress lines back.

People have pointed it out already, but you guys are actually correct to notice:

Wukong, you were not hit on your chest, your head is what's supposed to be hurting. And look at those increasing amount of stress lines, whaow. When MK asks if Mac got away, Wukong knows no.

And let me remind you, in Season 4 Wukong sarcastically says: "Oh right, because you always RUSH to my rescue." Well there you go honey, Macaque rushed to your rescue.

S5E7 Into the Pagoda

The thing with the 100 eyed demon is that as we saw with MK, he is looking for THE most traumatising memory with his victims.

Wukong's canonical most traumatising memory *IS* his fight with Macaque, when there could have been hundreds other memories. One of the freshest ones seeing Azure disintegrate in front of him (and yes we did see him be upset about it), but i guess that's not enough to make him cry. But if you want another example of hurtful memory (strictly taking from the show because that's what we know for sure happened) is when Mei chewed him out for being a bad friend to MK. Or... well i guess Wukong is the older brother of MK now.

Look at those stress lines

Before this scene, let me remind you, the last we saw Wukong was having fun on Tang's expense.

Macaque once again sees how Wukong is upset but has no idea that he is the reason behind it and ends up being rather inconsiderate of Wukong's mood.

(This exchange is tonally deaf from Macaque's side.

It's akin to like when you just lost your pet and when you get home your mom goes off on you for not having washed the dishes.)

Wukong really doesn't care in this second that they got captured, nor that MK went off alone in the pagoda. This is Wukong's second case of "weird Macaque-priority". Something that he really shouldn't allow himself in the apocalypse.

The third time he prioritises Macaque is even weirder. MK just left to KILL HIMSELF. You really don't have time to check on Macaque, Wukong.

But he does.

Even Macaque calls him out on that:

"Stop the kid, you idiot!" and Macaque is right. TF you doing wasting time Wukong?

At the end Wukong is being perfectly open about Mac being important to him.

Thing is, it's also well timed that he starts to care about Macaque again, because alarmingly lot of times this Season Macaque was isolated from everyone. Not in a physical sense, although that too happened, but in imagery as well:

Everyone is grouped: Mei with Wukong, Tang Pigsy Sandy, Nezha and his father. Note their position too.

And yes, the hand holding block happened on purpose too, btw:

Macaque's reward in season 4 for helping the good guys was that he is no longer alone, unlike how he was from season 1 to 3. But season 5 suggests that he *IS* still alone, and while Wukong seeks him out, they are not there yet. Wukong is no longer alone, but Macaque still is.

[accio-victuuri]

June CPNs round-up ❤️💛💚

• Children’s Day candies

• similar we11done pants - i personally love seeing them in same style clothing, especially if it’s as unique as this.

• LOZ preview candies: having the same braincell playing w/ an abacus & the ok gesture reappears

• i can’t link it here because the posts are locked over at weibo, but someone on douyin commented they saw wyb on set of LOZ. but then later on said that they were mistaken. hmmm. you can take it as it is, that this person said something he shouldn’t have. or that he retracted his statement to prevent any problems or rumors. as with these things anyway, we will know as time goes by and as we see clues here and there. i’m just archiving this incident here for future use.

• Beijing same city 6/5 to 6/7 before wyb flew abroad for the french open.

• 6/6 XZ chongqing photos candies 📷

• WYB and the innocence of the little prince

• Look at them and their hats and long hair!

• french embassy paying attention to THEM!

• GG spotted wearing green tod’s shoes! and it looks like they purposely matched their airport fits 😭😭

• XZ’s dragonboat festival photos

• 6/11 xz and wyb together on the hot search

• The similarity in their ELLE magazine previews. you can say that it’s the editing from the same magazine publication that’s why this happened but it’s so uncanny!!!!

• weibo opening screen of their movies winning at weibo movie night!!!!

• August issue of MOVIE STAR magazine featuring them for CQL 5th anniversary!!!!

• venchi chocolate

• new apple watch after spending time in beijing

• rolex daytona paul newman 6263

• XZS chongqing vlog: stone island wardrobe, suitcase, ipad and same city (shanghai) - what i didn’t include here about the suitcase is that, i like the cpn of wyb bringing home stuff that xz’s parents ( in chongqing where he came from before shanghai ) has asked him to give yibo. it may be food items and other things and it makes sense that yibo is the one to take it back.

• 6/16 xiao zhan weibo posts a 🐽 and them posting so close to each other & some more clowning about a sus necklace, 18:23 and venus - i swear! this made me lose my mind! xz is so loud 🗣️🗣️🗣️on yibo’s end we got him imitating the family picture

and i forgot to add the betty boop that looked like she’s wearing luffy’s outfit!

• 6/17 zsww fake rumor

• a cpn compilation about the pig 🐽

• Loewe candies + them being in europe at the same time for 622

• going back to Beijing the same day 6/23!

• rufeng posts new audio snippet where wyb implies he is not jealous of wwx and wq

• them being number 1 for the respective weeks their new endorsements were announced. king behavior!

• tod’s x loewe business photo shoot looks! it’s matching!

• another example of ybo and xzs similarity ( yibo moment )

• the bonus content this month is a tarot card reading done for the boys. if you’ve been following me for some time you’ll know that this is my guilty pleasure when it comes to them. i understand it’s out there so feel free to skip. here is the original video. i will just share here the interesting part that made cpfs 👀.

reading was made 6/19 and people were asking about if whether they will go to europe together. the person said that it’s within the month and not a two person trip cause they will have people with them. and that they have been preparing for this. a section also explained how their state is, that it’s treating one like a husband and they will stay sweet forever. also how the two will remain “hot” or popular. and— that they will sign a contract to put themselves in equal footing which is not limited to a marriage certificate etc.

a part of it too which was asked is how wyb’s relationship is with his dad + i guess how he is taking the romance between him and xz plus other things ( probably ) idk how cpfs thought of asking this. i’m not implying anything okay? the question was “Has the father’s attitude softened?” OP said that wyb has not returned home during this period and him & his father is always separated by by geographical distance. there is no time to sit down and talk with his father so the final result is still a deadlock.But they have to talk and wyb needs to take the initiative to speak to his father.

• adding this here cause it’s blowing my mind how much they look alike recently. like this airport video of xz. i mean. he even move kinda like wyb. LIKE…WHAT…..

-END. See you next month!

<<< previous post

[lostsometime]

WHAT IS THE FIGHT SCENE CONVEYING? (a breakdown of OPLA episode 1)

Fight #1 - Luffy vs. Alvida: 1) Introducing the stretchy thing. If you have somehow tuned in to watch One Piece without knowing that the premise of One Piece is that this kid can stretch, well, good news! Now you know!

2) Establishing that this is fun for Luffy. Luffy is having fun. Luffy is also protecting Koby and shit, but most of all, this is Luffy having a good time. He does not make choices in this fight based on what will end the fight quickly or efficiently, because he does not actually want to end the fight. "Picking a fight with bullies" is one of Luffy's most favorite pastimes and it's important to establish that early on.

Fight #2 - Zoro vs. Mr. 7: 1) The next fight deliberately takes us directly from Luffy and his cartoon character fighting to Zoro, whose fight choreography is more or less plucked out of a samurai movie. It lets us know that the show is going to be doing both those things, and also that Zoro, before meeting Luffy, basically lives in a completely different genre.

2) Unlike Luffy, Zoro ends his fight fast and he ends his fight lethally. This demonstrates how good Zoro is at this, and also that they're going to be killing people, onscreen, in this show - even the good guys. Like, they need to get that out of the way quickly here in episode one - you are going to be cheering for Zoro and also, this man very much does kill people for a living.

Fight #3 - Zoro vs. Everybody In the Bar: If the previous fight was to establish for us how good Zoro is with his swords, this one is to show how he's just as good without them. This sets up the important theme about "only draw your sword if you mean to use it" - which they will call back to later, with Mihawk.

(Side point: Nami very quickly taking advantage of the bar fight chaos to slam the guy's head on the bar and take his shit is a beautiful, succinct illustration of her skill set - she prefers to talk her way into what she wants, but she's always on the lookout for opportunities to take advantage of.)

Fight #4 - Nami vs. Those Two Marines: Expands on that last point - Nami prefers to talk her way out of problems, too - but she's prepared to also hit things with a big stick if that doesn't work out. She's not playing around, and she's not worried about being honorable - as soon as it looks like things are not going to go her way, she's ready to smack some folks in the head and get the fuck out.

Fight #5 - THE BIG ONE: We get our 3 heroes finally working together for the first time! It's thrilling! It's exciting! It's also doing a lot of important character work like

Showing Luffy & Zoro going from getting in each other's way to working together to take down a guy too tough for either of them to take alone. Teamwork! Friendship! MAJOR CHARACTER THEMES!

The very, very smart use of the 3-sword-style. They made such a good call waiting to use that until this moment, honestly. And they managed to choreograph it such the third sword is actually important - even critical! - to the victory. (I mentioned before how that's really fucking hard to do in meatspace for... obvious reasons.)

We see all 3 of them being competent - but it's clear that Luffy and Zoro are enjoying it in a way Nami does not. Nami does not want to be doing this. Luffy and Zoro are sharing a single braincell, and that braincell is saying that fighting an entire base full of marines is a great idea and a really fun way to spend an afternoon!

[inkracken]

1. Frost

Love how every hermit artist saw this prompt and was like “oh, tango. Obviously.” we all share the same braincell and it is locked in the dungeons of DO2

[primoppang]

hi. hi. here to request. a little seungmin fluff where we are kind of lonely and sad and he reminds us that he’s always there : )

HI HONEY TY FOR BEING MY FIRST EVER REQUEST <3333 ily and seungie so I got u bby ◡̈ mwah ur the best ( ˘ ³˘)♡

warning: swearing is inevitable with me sorry ¯\_(˶′◡‵˶)_/¯, fluff, like gross amounts of it, seungmin says "this is so gay but..." because he cringes at showing affection but refuses to let you forget how he feels about you fr, he's a tsundere ok? ok. he licks your face(?) , one (1) kiss, he joking threatens to fight you, and mentions of self doubt and anxiety, angst if you blink but I think it's mostly fluffy... anyways! lmk if I missed anything!!!

WC: a little under 500 :D

AN: this is the first drabble I've ever done in bullet point format so just pls lmk how it goes??? Im super nervous I hope it's at least an easy read :(

so the first time he realizes that you're feeling lonely he slaps himself internally because how DARE he make you feel that way, but he's not home rn and can't show you physically so he comes up with a Plan™️

you're literally the light of his life

so he just >:(

but not at u

he just wants to make you feel happy and loved and safe

so he starts brainstorming

but he's naturally a menace

so when you're texting with him while he's working and you're being kinda short

because yk

u just feel :(

he just sighs and texts back

"look, please don't feel sad. I know this is pretty fucking gay but I love you."

which makes u giggle

because that's YOUR seungie that YOU know and love so much

<3

BUT whenever he's able to be physically with you and he can just feel your self doubt and anxiety creeping in and trying to swallow you, he once again uses his braincell.

so he just grabs ur hand

and leads u out of ur bed and to the living room

sits u down

and starts running around ur shared apartment grabbing every blanket and pillow that exists within the space

and I mean

E V E R Y. S I N G L E. O N E.

puppy zoomies moment hehe

and don't even think about trying to question him

he'll just say "shut up and wait while I set up a big ass fort for us to cuddle in, ok?? I love you but I wanna make u SEE THAT."

which u smile at

because him telling u to shut up

but then explaining why

and then also watching him move furniture and start building the fort, you tear up with happy tears

because???

:(

he's the sweetest and u love him so much

but when he hears u sniffle

he turns on Extra Puppy Mode™️

pops out from under some blankets and tackles you into the couch and holds your face

wiping ur tears

maybe even licked one because he's a freak and wanted to get a reaction

which u just squealed at bc wtf sir

but then he realizes

oh ur crying because ur so touched by this whole thing that he's doing

!!!

"... you dummy. stop crying... we gotta get snacks and stuff for our super awesome fort yk??? and you won't be able to see if you're cryi—"

you cut him off by giving him a little kiss on his pouty lips

as a silent thank you :(

which he realizes that oops maybe he got too serious and overwhelming

but you reassured him that you're just so glad to have him as your partner and best friend in one :(

"please just remember that I do love you, and I'm always here even if that brain of yours tells you otherwise, ok? or I'll have to fight you... affectionately."

and then he proceeds to smother you in kisses and cuddles :(

[nica-my-beloved]

Things I Love and Dislove About Ikemen Games

These are my opinions!

CONTAINS ADULT CHARACTERS

You don't know how much this means to me because most of the time I try finding shoujo mangas I end up with stories that involve high school kids.

I'm a die heart fan of demon romance but majority of the shoujo manga that explores supernatural beings involves a 1000 year old demon king falling in love with a 16 year old high school girl. This sickens me not only because of the age gap but one of the party is a freaking minor.

As an adult, I'm so happy the Ikemen Games doesn't involve younger characters or at least characters that are 'minor' as a romantic partner.

MC's ONLY JOB IS TO SIMPLYFY THE STORY

I have said this before, MCs are just props to simplify the story and characters to us because the writers think we're too dumb to understand what the character is saying. They're like Paimon so that we don't use our braincells to understand the characters better.

I wish they didn't do that and have MCs backstories that describes their personality. I mean, all the MCs want to 'prove' to the male leads that they wanna be 'strong' but I'm tired of this trope.

Why does MCs have to always be innocent and prove themselves? Why does she always want to 'understand' the male leads? Can't we...for once have a romance that doesn't involve MCs teaching male leads true love?

Also STOP give MCs odd jobs! Book stall employee...letter carrier? I mean who is happy and satisfied doing this? How about giving the high-paying jobs like Auditor or Businesswoman or Scientist or etc etc...I know Mai is a fashion designer and businesswoman and Mitsuki is a travel agent turned maid. Alice is a baker and Yoshino is a pharmacist. The only MCs that continues to follow the path of their dreams is Mai and Yoshino.

MATURE ROMANCE

I enjoy seeing two adults slowly fall in love.

There is something different about teenagers falling in love vs adults falling in love. The romance is more realistic. They don't talk about how they're gonna plan their future together or which college they're going to go instead their chat is much more deep and that's refreshing.

NO BAD ENDINGS

Happy endings are nice. Everyone deserves one! But when there are no bad endings, the story won't have stakes.....and when there are no stakes, I can't take any gunshot sounds, blank screen and MCs saying 'Is this the end?' seriously.

Just stop being cowards writers! Put some bad endings!!

FAIR SHARE OF ROMANCE

Although I have played my fair share of Maiden games, majority of them are not that romantic.

I love cute romance moments to lighten up the mood and I really need them. Ikemen games delivers that too well....way too well...

I do have some criticism for random steamy scenes, I don't mind as long as they have context and mood.

The story is not so story focused all the time and also has time for mischievous romance which I like! It helps in calming me down and enjoy at the same time.

BULLSHIT GACHA SYSTEM AND NON-EXISTING GRINDING SYSTEM (Not very F2P friendly)

Even though Genshin's gacha system is shit (you need mf 90 wishes to get a guaranteed 5 star and 180 wishes to get the limited 5 star you want!) I still think it's ways better than the gacha system of these Ikemen Games.

Yes I agree that both the games are different in genre, one is an open world anime rpg and other is a maiden game with gacha mechanics. But that doesn't mean that I have to always pay to buy limited gacha tickets!! At least genshin gives us an open world to explore and grind primos (even though its time consuming)

Yes they do give limited tickets when you enter an event or complete the mission board but that's only ONE TICKET and you need 50 LIMITED TICKETS to get your guaranteed limited 5 star card. On the other hand, they give out many standard tickets but what am I gonna do with it if they aren't gonna update the standard banner?

These games are NOT F2P friendly and if you wanna...like say, want rank no.1 in an event you'd have to save a lot of items.

Ofc I know about the subscription thing and you do indeed get a lot of items, but the most essential thing for me is limited gacha tickets and diamonds because I wanna collect as many beautiful cards as possible and you don't get them from these monthly subscriptions. It's a waste of $5 very month. I'd rather buy a nice hair care or skin care items from that.

INTERESTING SETTINGS

I have my criticism in some of their stories but I can't deny that I LOVEE their story settings. Their premise for each game is solid to the point it makes me wanna actually try it.

This is something I find very rare in 'shoujo' genre.

For example, I don't like Vampire themed games because they suck! (both figuratively and literally) but Ikemen Vampire interests me because they take real historical figures and makes them vampire, which is a really cool idea! You don't know but I'd die to get myself in situation like that because it would be an honor to meet some great historical figures, chat with them and make them lose all their brain cells just like me. I would die to meet especially Isaac Newton and grill him for making those torturous physics theories that gave me brain tumors in my school.

Very cool setting! I can't wait to see what's in store for us in the future!!!

EVENTS ARE INSANELY BORING

I've never enjoyed a single story event from Ikemen Villains. They are boring and makes me fall asleep immediately at chapter 1. I think that kinda spread to Ikemen Prince because I barely open Ikemen Prince app now.

I honestly don't find the stories of these events interesting at all. It always feels like 'I have seen this before' maybe in some other game or some other manga.

And the Collections events.....yeah, I hate them! I wish they never existed!!! They keep the fan-loved characters at the butt-end of the list where 90% of the players don't even make it unless they burn their whole month's salary. I know that's why they do these anniversary elections because I bet if Sariel was the most voted character, his story would have been the most expensive one to get.

VERY LIKEABLE MALE LEADS

This is a personal thing but I love charismatic male leads a lot! Male leads with a lot of suave and beauty! Yes I care about these things when I play gacha games okay! I play gacha games to look at hot guys (because I know I'm never gonna get one in real life!)

But I also love that the devs puts an effort to make them feel good too. So I wanna give a shoutout to them!!! 'KEEP GOING!!! JUST DON'T MAKE TRIGGERING MEN WHO SAYS 'I'LL KILL YOU'!!!