#and this was at such a big event for nerds!!

[bulgariansumo]

Rambling about Adeline and Eiland's social lives under the cut.

For being the super responsible, super organized, for lack of a better word, nerd, I initially assumed that Adeline would be the type that struggles socially. And to some extent, she does a little. She admits to struggling with balancing her work and her hobbies because her work is her hobby, not to mention how important it is to keep up the town.

But that's where Reina and Celine come in. They will make her take a break from work to hang out with them. I get the impression that Adeline is not quite as prone to feel overworked as much as someone else in her position might be because of how her brain is wired. (Just saw her six heart event. Nevermind! Please rest, ma'am!) Still, she enjoys their company and fits in with them well whenever they do hang out. It may help that having good relationships with members of the community is part of running it, which is her fixation.

Then there's Eiland. He doesn't seem to be friends with any of the other bachelors. That's not to say that he's on bad terms with them, but there's no one he hangs out with regularly other than Errol. Most interactions with Balor and March are business dealings related to his interest in archeology. There's room for some kind of relationship development there, but it's interesting to me that it hasn't happened already.

I feel like a big part of the reason Adeline made friends with Reina and Celine is because they're all girls around the same age, so they probably grew up together (though I can see her having met Celine through Nora instead of the other way around).

I haven't read all of the new stuff related to the recent 0.12.0 update, so I don't know March and Olric's backstory or when they ended up in town. Balor and Ryis are new in town. Hayden is much older than Eiland, but more importantly, he doesn't have an interest in archeology. Eiland doesn't usually hang out with any of the girls, either. Celine sometimes talks about him, but in a very "my friend's brother" kind of way. Even his sister, who he's closest with out of any of the singles, is only ever with him during business or dinner. There's dialogue that implies that they're not really interested in the other's fixation, but they respect it. If Eiland had other friends in Mistria, then they must've left after the earthquake.

This is interesting to me because between the siblings, Eiland is the more casual one. He's friendly enough, he's got a sense of humor, and he's not that responsible (messy room, prioritizes sweets over necessities, hates any meeting or paperwork that isn't archeology-related.) If it weren't for his intense focus on archeology, he'd be the kind of person people his age would find easier to vibe with. But he's so obsessed that I genuinely think he struggles to get through any interaction that doesn't involve archeology or sweets. And that's not as easily translatable to everyday conversation as town maintenance.

I get the impression that part of the reason he focuses so much on the past is because he finds it far easier to understand than the present and the people in it. And judging by some things I read about the update, I think I'm right.

[loweffortopinions]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Play Time: 70 hours and going because I like to hurt myself?

Platform: EA Pro Play 

Rating: 4/10

(Moved this Review from my other account because I can't mix art and text)

Environments 

I had a few oh, that’s pretty moments, but overall I found it hard to feel immersed. The cities are nice I guess and detailed, but they lack distinct, memorable qualities. 

A city like Minrathous has the potential to be an exciting showcase of magic woven into everyday life. Mages using spells to transport goods or to perform mundane tasks. I was also looking forward to see a clear divide between magic users and non-magic users, as previous games have implied that Minrathous is Ferelden in reverse. Instead, NPCs feel static, and there is nothing new or interesting done with the magic. For a place built up as legendary in previous games... Minrathous just doesn't deliver. Further, you only get to explore one district, so there is no contrast between richer and poorer areas. And Treviso? It's pretty... but I mostly remember pointy roofs and ziplines.

Character Design

Faces and hair are a big step up from previous games, and armors are varied and nice to look at. But it comes at the cost that it feels overdone, leaning into flashy, cartoony territory. I ran around in my starting armor for half the game because nothing really fit my character.

The companions suffer from this too to some extent. Darin’s open-chested armor seems impractical for a warrior, Neve, supposedly from Docktown, looks more like an aristocrat from Orlais than her background suggests. Bellara’s design is fine, but aside from her vallaslin, she doesn’t seem particularly Dalish. Emmerich and Harding look fine, especially in their camp outfits, which I prefer for most characters.

Combat and Gameplay 

I’ll be honest—I eventually turned the difficulty down to story mode just to get through the game. The combat didn’t do it for me: repetitive enemy hordes that seem randomly placed, limited abilities, and dodging and rolling mechanics that don’t feel very engaging.

Aside from a few setpieces and two boss fights, no encounter stood out. It’s not a particularly hard game, it just got tedious after a few hours.

Another complaint is that every class now feels overly magical. Since the lore around magic is such a key part of the series, this really rubbed me the wrong way. 

Story and World-Building 

Starting with the biggest issue: Veilguard’s main story is a weak.

In Inquisition, even if Corypheus wasn’t the most compelling villain, there was still a sense of growth as you built up your organization and connected with companions. In Veilguard, it feels like they stripped away what worked in previous games and just kept Corypheus. And the worst part? I miss Corypheus. At least he had a booming voice and some interesting lines. Veilguard has none of that.

The villains in this… honestly, where to start? Rather than feeling meaningful, they’re just names repeated so often it feels like the game worries I’ll forget them. Villains aside events unfold without much connection, leaving me questioning why things happen the way they do.

Why are we choosing these allies?

Why am I stuck doing busy work for them while the world is supposedly ending?

But who cares! It's not like your allies really matter. Rook is a one-man army after all. If we’d had them instead of the Hero of Ferelden, the Blight would’ve ended in Ostagar—and every named NPC would’ve survived, including whoever slay the Archdemon. 

Character and Companion Dynamics 

While presented as experts, they rarely get the chance to demonstrate their skills. Harding sometimes provides useful contacts, and Emmerich occasionally shows his abilities, but beyond that, companions often feel like tropes with minimal growth or depth.

For instance, one character is the “unwilling father,” but we never see him grapple with it genuinely—he just says it. Others are similarly shallow: the socially awkward “nerd,” the “noir detective” with a heavy burden, and the “tortured assassin” who doesn’t seem all that tortured. Insights rarely go deeper than quirks, like loving coffee or fish, which get mentioned repeatedly without further development. 

Previous games built strong, opinionated characters who added depth to the world, but here, companions are lacking. Banter is shallow, with little conflict or chemistry. I’ve never played a Dragon Age game where I wanted to skip side quests or companion quests, yet here, I actually did.

I honestly prefer Andromedas cast over this on. Never thought I'd say that but here we are.

Main Character and Roleplaying

Rook’s voice actor; I love em'... which only makes the limited dialogue options more frustrating. I tried to play Rook as a practical, no-nonsense character, but the writing kept steering me back to a softer, more agreeable tone.

If you’re aiming for a tougher or more forceful personality, you're out of luck. If you plan to play be prepared for Rook to come across as a diplomat. Further, you are forced to agree with everyone, and never get to question them or their motives.

So... maybe don't get this if you're into Baldurs Gate 3 and player agency?

Ending Words 

If you’re like me, and the highlights of previous games have been the banter, character depth, and exploring the world and lore, you’ll likely be disappointed. Honestly, I’d even recommend skipping it. Then again, I've seen people say the opposite. So what do I know?

No matter what you do, I’d suggest waiting for a sale. It’s not worth the full price. 

Extra shit

Combat and Gameplay 

There’s the matter of the quest marker, which gives you tunnel vision which distract you from the enviorments.

The loot feels out of place due to its flashy animation. I started skipping loot in certain areas because it felt inappropriate and slowed down the pacing.

You'll fast travel a lot. And I don't mean in a big open area. It's more of a design flaw: Fast Travel to the Lighthouse to talk to a companion. Fast travel to a location to start that companion's quest, walk to said spot to start the quest. Repeat 5 times.

Story and World-Building 

The ending to its credit, was nicely paced and visually strong. If the rest of the game had been more like that, it would’ve been a decent experience. 

The Shadow Dragons, the Crows, the Wardens—all these factions make sense to be here but do nothing meaningful for the story or the worldbuilding.

Even dramatic scenes lack memorable moments. For example, there is a prison escape that's visually pretty but otherwise lacks substance. The person you rescue has supposedly been there a year, but nothing about their appearance or behavior reflects this. There’s no memorable dialogue, nothing deeper—it’s all surface-level.

I personally think Bioware are cowards for only letting you side with an anti-slave organisation. Come on: This isn't the Teviner you've built towards for 3 games! *shakes fist*

[mushroomcrepe]

In a single touch

Prompt : a jayvik 🔨⚙️ college!au in which Viktor only had to flirt once to fold his lab partner and big popular man Jayce.

Tags : friends to lovers or some shit, they know what's up but no one talks about it, nerds working on Hextech together as ✨quality time✨

Disclaimer : first fic ever wrote. Fasten your seatbelt because you're about to enjoy some cliché ass very badly-written oneshot. All thanks to @anendtopursuit who convinced me, love you muah, hope you had a good laugh

-----------

It's been years since Jayce and Viktor became lab partners. Years since they met on Jayce's college disciplinary board reunion - about whether or not the man deserved to be expelled after literally blowing up his dorm room. Their unpromptu meeting and their shared passion of science made them feel unstoppable together. The absolute genius of Viktor in the robotic field and the innovative mind of Jayce in new technologies and smithing were qualities they were proud of.

They became friends naturally, barely talking to other people and almost living together since their routine was either working in the lab or working at Viktor's dorm - just them and their coffee pot.

Jayce is quite the eloquent man, but he isn't as much of a social butterfly as his big muscular peers. Viktor was pleasantly surprised to learn his body is shaped by the hard work of smithing his own materials for experiments.

Viktor isn't isolated, and certainly not shy, but he is so invested in his work than no social event could bother him out of it. His honesty and sarcasm sure was new to Jayce. He let words roll so smoothly that the winner of their friendly bickering was almost always the same.

As their project went on, Viktor noticed how their -already close- friendship slowly became more affectionate, even intimate. It was mainly thanks to Jayce, who seems to greatly enjoy surrounding Viktor's mind and body with his warm presence.

It all started with his hands always finding their way to Viktor. Shoulders, arms, hands, face sometimes, waist once, hips sadly never (surely this isn't appropriate to think about it, thought Viktor). It wasn't the vulgar hands of the strangers trying to get him to bed, neither were they the friendly contact of encouragement from a colleague. His touch held confort, and care, and were never leaving the other's body for some reason. Not that he disliked it.

So much care and love radiats from Jayce actually. Viktor pretended to not notice the yearn in his eyes, the long stare making him feel like he was trying to scan his whole body, or the glances at his lips.

Viktor isn't physically expressive like his partner, but god knows he feels this way too. He knows his eyes also convey the love he has for him, in their own way. Despite his work centered words, he showed just the amount of care for Jayce to notice as well.

That's how their relationship evolved, and a few years after, here is two close friends, dancing around each other but too absorbed in Hextech project to actually consider making a move (ah, nerds).

Viktor often contemplates about deepening their relationship. He never doubted Jayce's eyes, what he sees in it is as clear as water. And he knows that now they have more time for themselves, Jayce is beggining to think about it too, considering how much more restless he is becoming around Viktor. But the man is too much of a gentleman, he always keeps himself in line, perhaps terrified of scaring his beautiful lab partner away.

Viktor likes to play with it sometimes. When they are working hard on a sleepless night again, he takes pleasure in watching the immediate switch of Jayce posture after he casually praises him. He likes to see him losing his ground after offering to sleep in his dorm room late at night. Oh and he definitely enjoys returning the burning stare he often gets.

He never cross the line either, never clearly shows his intentions. This back and forth hidden behind friendship is keeping on, a pleasant moment of fun fated to evolve greater one day.

However, a new problem is disrupting his little private peace. Jayce just became a member of the student council, and the rise of popularity didn't take long to follow. Right now, juniors are trying to get him in their good grace with friendly smiles and sweet eyes. They came up all the way to the two men's lab in the middle of an experiment of their latest Hextech work what ? Studies ?

It's been 40 minutes now, the experiment was definitely left aside by Jayce as he was standing in front of Viktor but far enough to not bother, politely answering their questions.

The smaller man was annoyed at first by the interruption, but quickly let it pass it as he finds his partner's confident senior-like posture and tone to be quite the sight.

Well, i guess it is amusing to hear him try to get away from the conversation.

He's close enough to hear Jayce's polite laugh. He's trying to show his best side despite the wrinkled pants from sleeping on the lab couch, the tired shirt rolled up on his sleeves, his tie neglected and loose.

He looks good like that.

Viktor hums at the thought, but gets back to assembling a robotic arm. The juniors empty questions aren't interesting enough to keep him distracted. He doesn't notice the appreciative glance of Jayce at his own tidy but tired appearance.

"Mister Talis, can you tutor us ?"

"Please, show us what's this Hextech the professor been praising about !"

Jayce looks embarassed "Ha... V. and I are too busy for the moment. And i can't show you the details of Hextech. i'm sorry." His sorry is surprisingly strict, a way of saying it's Viktor and I project, not yours. Jayce likes his personal peace with his partner more than he likes sharing his vivid passion of Hextech, it seems.

"Who ? Ah, your lab partner right ? We're sure he won't mind a few hours alone."

Lab partners. So this only is what people think we are ? Eh. Viktor laughs and continues to listen as he keeps his focus on the arm prototype.

"yeah come on, we can get coffee too !" Suddenly two juniors grabs Jayce's strong arms, getting insistantly closer. He turned his eyes to Viktor, imploring him to find a way out. "Save me, V...!" screamed his face, but Viktor didn't even look up from his task "Don't dare give me the puppy look, Jayce Talis. I'm assembling the motion sensor for the system stabiliser"

He could feel the pout on Jayce's face more than he saw it. Then suddenly eager voices loudly cheered "wow can we see ? Viktor can you show us-"

Jayce instantly interrupted "No. We both need to work right now, let's just talk another time, ok ?" He's frustrated, why couldn't they simply leave them alone ? Should he make them get the hell out ?

Viktor didn't miss a single second of this Jayce. He raised his eyes in time to watch his unusual upset and commanding face. Having him refusing to let the juniors get closer awoken a sleeping fire in Viktor. The Jayce he knows is a doomed people pleaser, always trying to make everyone satisfied. So that firm expression of refusal, standing high on his ground, it just called the feelings Viktor holds for so long.

However Jayce seems now to be in a conflict with himself. He doesn't dare to risk the council's reputation when he's just a fresh new member. He finally grits his teeth and forces a smile, not caring about the juniors holding his arms as he is too busy thinking of a new way to handle the situation. He doesn't notice Viktor slowly getting up from his chair.

Well, he couldn't let his poor partner in such a delicate situation, doesn't he ? It's definitely not because he wanted to see more, and certainly not because he wants to show Jayce he liked how he defended them right now.

As he grabs his cane, an idea appears through his brain. Maybe he'll take care of two issues in one hit.

"Jayce ?"

"Ah you solved the problem, V ?"

Jayce's attention turned immedialty to his partner, which send him another shot of this pleasant feeling. Viktor kept walking closer, close enough to make the juniors step back from Jayce arms in curiosity.

"Eh, i'd need my partner for that, Jayce." He shrugged. At the unexpected suggestive tone, Jayce didn't take long to blush and stutter.

He rarely calls me his partner.

"huh- oh-yeah sorry let..let me just finish to answer their questions and i'll come back-"

Viktor doesn't let him finish and grabs softly Jayce by his shirt, letting his finger slowly move along his torso in a fake attempt to tidy up the wrinkled shirt

"Jayce, will you be good and help me get back to our home ? I have a task only you can do". He almost breathed the last words, a glint of burning dare in his eyes. Then he decides to walk by his lab partner and the confused juniors, not looking back.

As he calculated, he only had to walk a few meters outside the lab before hearing Jayce successfuly make everyone to leave (he was struggling with that just a minute ago), locking up safely the matierials and lab door, and finally catch up to Viktor's side. In no less than 30 seconds. And now Jayce is restless and hovering him with attention. Yes, a puppy.

"Eh, acting so eager, are you a kid ?"

"oh come on, you know how happy i am to help you right now"

"well you don't even know yet about the task i'm giving you"

"whatever, i'll do anything you need me to" Jayce answers quick, ready.

"anything then" Viktor pauses, "Sadly i can only tell you once we will be home"

"what's with this secret task ?"

"I'll show you what i want" a burning stare in answer was enough to know Jayce was getting hopeful. The truth is, Viktor really does have a smithing task for him, but now an opportunity to get what he craves to claim is appearing, and it's Jayce's lips.

He smiles, his partner is too easy to read. He feels Jayce hand and arm casually sliding on his waist. Then his thumb start to sofly move in circles on his side, smoothing his bad leg's hip. Viktor quietly hums.

Oh Jayce, you actually didn't need much from me to act this sweet.

--------

The end (yes now)

[microphone-idol]

"No. It's fine. I just need a minute. I'm sorry I shouldn't be like- Dumping all of this on you. You should've went home by now and like... I don't know. Do nerd stuff." -> He pushes his face into the pillow, hugging it with both arms now. He didn't want to look Ghostwalker's way, he didn't want to see that face. A face he knew PAINFULLY well. "Sorry. I'm sorry I'm just- Everything's been a lot recently.... Only like- Two good things have happened. Or well- No. Three actually." "We celebrated Megs' birthday at Uncle Lu's temple, auntie Winds ands Uncle Lu are gonna be like- Special guests to the phights for some big event since me and Megs had to like- Close down phights for a while. They're back up and running now! And I got a boyfriend..."

👻

The deity of death rushed over, practically breaking down the door in a panic- throwing himself into the studio, nearly falling over. He... looked like a worried mess, carrying his large medical briefcase.

He stood himself up, straightening up his posture in a hurry, adjusting his glasses. Why was he... rushing himself? He looked so worried & so panicked..

"Valk!? Are you alright?! I.. I came as fast as I could..."

-@post-justice [Ghostwalker]

-> The yellow idol was chatting it up with his brother and two workers before flinching, his heart-tipped tail sticking out in shock at the sudden visitor before he turned, relaxing. "Oh- Hey Uncle G! Wasn't expecting you to show up." -> He smiles, adjusting his shutter shades before crossing his arms over his chest.

[chodzacaparodia]

I went to a book fair and passed some girls. One of them told her friends something like that she had watched an anime where you don't have to like football to like an anime about football.

I stopped and asked "Blue Lock"?

She confirmed.

And I walked away.

Why am I like this?

[canisalbus]

What if I told you that RoobrickMarine went and wrote an entire novella starring my 16th century dog couple? It's very canon-adjacent, well researched and thoughtfully put together, has inspired me a ton during these past months and it's now publicly available at AO3. I highly recommend it.

✦ Separation ✦

[everypanelofizuku]

Chapter 95 - End of the Beginning, Beginning of the End

[nerds-yearbook]

The last episode of Larryboy the Cartoon Adventures aired on May 6th, 2003 (according to IMDB). The cartoons were first produced as stand alone videos, with this episode originally released on video on June 10, 2003 (according to wikipidia). Unlike the original VeggieTales and Larryboy shorts, the animated adventures used 2-D animation and was helmed by ex-Disney animator Tom Bancroft. The videos ended after only 4 videos as part of the fallout of Big Idea's bankruptcy. ("The Good, The Bad, and the Eggly!", Larryboy the Cartoon Adventures, Animation Event)

[silverislander]

working here is making me a little bit nuts abt antibullying again <3

[bigothteddies]

I know this is a porn blog and all but it's so hard to like. explain to people what Dave Mirra meant to the BMX community

[joleneghoul]

I know quests are just named as they are bc its a game and the game has quests... but I like the idea that since the courier does keep notes on quests that the fact so many quests are named after song titles/references to music and old movies that they just have a insane rolodex of musical/movie knowledge for no reason.

like yes sure its heavily implied they cant remember parts of their past but they remember their holo-mixtape playlist and favorite movies!! fuck everything else!

[the-acid-pear]

I need to draw Midori on my knees sobbing I miss my daughter chat

[broughttoyoubytheletterf]

Liv was so happy at the end of season 14. Just like content and happy with her career and Brian and finally past Elliot and just happy.

That scene at the beginning of Her Negotiation with her on the couch... Just carefree in a way I don't think we've seen since. It's a testament to Mariska's acting really. Olivia carries a weight now, even when she's happy. Her job was harrowing and she'd seen the world at it's worst but she could still completely compartmentalize. She lost that after Lewis, never again would rapists and murderers and abusers stay partitioned in her mind.

(Also it must be said she's fucking hot as hell in that white shirt and black leggings when she's first interrogating Lewis.)

In that scene when she fully meets Lewis' eyes for the first time, you can see the ice run down her spine. That might actually be the exact moment she became "after-Olivia."

[strixhaven]

truly nothing irritates me more than the mythologizing of the french revolution. the legacy of the guillotine and terror but zero awareness about the actual realities of what that entailed and Why it occurred. do you even know about the war in the vendee that killed hundreds of thousands of people and was a huge factor in fueling the terror. the september massacres and the killing of prisoners that preceded the terror. the wars france was fighting externally at the time. this occurred for very specific sociopolitical reasons guys please try to get a bit of context for everything that went down instead of just having a perpetual hard-on for you political killing fantasies.

[ectonurites]

I don't have fully formed thoughts on the matter but my brain has just been rotating these two images around next to each other for days. interpret that as you will

(Crisis on Infinite Earths #12, published December 1985/cover date March 1986)

(Stranger Things S4E9, takes place in March 1986)

[elaeomyxa]

Also on an ATSV note…

I'm like. Notoriously bad at recognizing unreliable narrators and the likes so I don't really have much place to talk, but like. I thought we all sort of agreed that "canon events" were bullshit, right?

Like the only proof we get is a vague personal anecdote (that could possibly be chalked up to the proven issues with dimensional travel) and something that happened immediately after a super-collider went off (which also has been established to have similar reality-fucking effects). Plus, the time frames are incredibly dissimilar- we can assume that Miguel had at least a few days with his wife and kid before the universe started tearing itself apart; meanwhile, Pavitr's dimension apparently goes to hell in a matter of minutes after a cop lives. And double meanwhile, we've been shown at least three universes (Gwen's and both of the Mileses') with averted canon events that are, at the very least, taking a enough time longer than Pavitr's to collapse to prove that the latter's was something other than broken canon.

Additionally, the apparently set in stone issue of glitching is able to be fixed with a wristband without tearing apart universes, so what would make broken canon that much different and unfixable?