#at least solitaire was spared

[feybride]

Did you guys know i am into WH40k? Have some memes.

[oneatlatime]

The Boy in the Iceberg

58 seconds in and I can already see why people say this show is gorgeous. Look at those colours! Although the double image around some of the line art is distracting.

Can water do that? Just have random fast currents in an otherwise pretty still ocean? Also, Catara couldn't have grabbed a spare paddle and helped? Actually they seemed screwed anyway. If they were going any faster they probably would have landed harder, or not on ice at all.

Judging by Sokka's lack of reaction to Catara's temper tantrum, I'd say she has that exact rant at least three times a week.

It's a face!

Maybe the giant orb created the current to summon them there?

Catara has no self-preservation instincts at all. Giant glowy orb washed up in front of you, don't poke it!

Tiger seals.

Solitaire. Neat.

That haircut is not good. Also a very unique choice for a voice. Wait this is Zuko? The guy everyone's obsessed with?

I love Appa already.

"this is Catara, my flying sister." A man after my own heart.

They really would have been stuck without Aang to offer a ride. What was their plan to get home?

Zuko is a prince? Hunting the avatar to reclaim his honour. Not sure how those two go together but ok. I guess 100 years ago the avatar stole a time-travelling Zuko's honour.

Appa can swim through the night? Why does he have six legs?

I didn't know this was a dream sequence at first and I was wondering where Sokka and Catara were. For future reference: dreams are brown.

Aang should have frozen to death by now. That's nowhere near enough clothes. And Catara can't be only just noticing the blue lines now.

Seems like the village has hit a rough patch.

If this is how catara reacts to a bald child, she's gonna spontaneously combust the first time she meets a teenage boy who isn't her brother. And how is an air bender going to teach her water bending?

Between the Appa snot and the watchtower gag, I sense Sokka will become the butt of many jokes.

You know, if you want him to actually learn, maybe tell him what he did wrong rather than reciting philosophical stuff and then shooting fire at his face? His presumably scarred face? Scarred presumably by fire? Kudos to Zuko for not flinching.

Is there a stick in Zuko's hair that's supporting it upright or does his hair just do that? Does Zuko have Pippi Longstocking hair? Speaking of hair, why does Catara have her hair like that? Surely that gets in the way of seeing stuff? It does look good when her hood is up though.

Good sneaky exposition dump Zuko. Didn't notice it until I thought about it after.

There's something hilarious yet tragic about Sokka spouting the wartime equivalent of live laugh love quotes and losing the battle with potty breaks. He has no idea what he's talking about but he believes in what he's saying so much.

Did Aang spend an hour in there?!?

So pretty.

Appa has six legs and penguins have four wings. Is the rule in this show that animals have 50% more appendages?

Last airbender smothered by penguins, more at 11.

"I haven't done this since I was a kid!" "You still are a kid!" That line feels like something that's going to come back.

Was the whole 'being a bender is showing no fear' or however that line went actually about bending, or do you really just want to explore the ship, Aang?

Gerbils at the south pole?

Would the fire nation send people back to rig a lost ship or are all fire nation ships rigged at all times and the crews are just used to working around the traps? Actually that would be a great way to catch spies.

I would jump to brain-damage induced amnesia from being trapped in an iceberg for a few hours before I'd ever think of a century long cryo-sleep. "it's the only explanation." Really?

All of these backgrounds are so pretty.

Air bending gets you some serious air. Those hops are stupid big, even accounting for cartoon physics.

I really like the end credits music. And according to the credits, I've been mispelling Katara's name this whole time.

Some final thoughts:

Katara (with a K) is too idealistic and trusting and Sokka is too cynical and suspicious. A perfect sibling pair. Also I love Sokka's sense of humour.

I like Aang's specific flavour of goofiness. He seems secure in himself and genuine. He has attention issues though.

Appa is a sea bison actually. Common misconception.

I like that they introduce the antagonist like 10 minutes into the first episode, but they're going to have to flesh him out way more before I read Zuko as anything other than an asshole. Also the voice is going to take a while to get used to. It's not that it doesn't fit the character design, it's just that I've never heard an actual human talk like that naturally. It's kind of muppet-like. Maybe he damaged his throat when he got that scar?

The voice acting is just superb. Even single lines like Gran Gran have distinct character. I did have to rewind a couple of times to catch what the old man with Zuko was saying.

The shading on the snow, the clouds and the skies, it's all so beautiful. You could watch this episode on mute and still be satisfied.

Katara is the only waterbender in the whole south pole, Sokka is the only man in the whole village, and Aang is the only air bender in the whole world. Gonna be a lot of lonely kids in this show. I sense a theme. I bet Appa is the only sea bison too.

Sokka is my favourite so far, but I think Aang is going to grow on me. Katara is a little bit too much of a Little Sister (TM) and Zuko just feels flat. But that just means more room to grow for both of them as characters. Of course Appa reigns supreme. I hope there's more of him in the next episode.

Even though this was half of a two-part episode, the cut off didn't feel abrupt. Maybe not a full self-contained story, but they left off at a perfect place.

Rereading this before posting, I asked a lot of quetsions. That's good! So many hooks to get me into the show, all in the first episode. I'm looking forward to the next one.

[pallysuune]

Yep~ And yeah, Motley's a different flavor of Solitaire compared to Nocturne. Personally, they're both hella *fine* to me. You'll get to see more of Motley's thoughts and morality as you go on to Path of the Archon (also where the euphemism-filled flirt-fight happens).

I'd like to think being Iconoclast is the primary trait that got Nocturne into RT (Meli, in your case) too. What about her being Iconoclast that sets her apart from the others that made him attracted? And from that latest character study, what interesting thing about humans that he finds "unpredictable"?

I do like seeing a variety of xenos perspectives. In the Heirs of the Laughing God audiobooks, you have three Harlequins that, while they do think humans are barbaric, also argue about whether they're worth saving/sparing from different perspectives.

I love seeing different personalities in Solitaires, and how differently they all can react to their position in things. I'm looking forward to reading more about Motley and seeing how he is.

For me, at least, I think a lot of it is sort of rooted in the Harlequin's focus on community (for lack of a better word). We see in several stories their focus on making sure the past isn't forgotten, yes, but also, in Masque specifically, we see them investigating the destruction of a craftworld. They *care* about other aeldari and about getting justice for them. We see this with Nocturne, too, in how he wants to avenge Crudarach and see Yremeriss punished for it. I think he sees an Iconoclast RT, Meli specifically, and recognizes that empathy in her as something similar to how he views other aeldari. She's not like those who give themselves to Chaos, or those who are fanatical for the emperor. It's probably pretty refreshing to him.

As far as the unpredictability, a lot of different fantasy media talk about how, compared to longer-lived races, humans move pretty fast and sometimes almost erratically, since they don't 'look at the big picture' as much. I think Nocturne find it entertaining to see how humans react, and especially enjoys it when they can surprise him, as Meli does.

[livvyofthelake]

beth, can I ask why you didn't like heartstopper? I've seen people say they didn't like it but I don't understand why? To me it was fine. Nothing out of the extraordinary. But curious to know why u didn't like heartstopper.

oh no i liked it i only said that about it being bad because. um well it was kind of bad. it’s complicated. i forgot i haven’t said shit about this show to anyone but tee idk no one has been talking about it so i kinda haven't had anything to say either. it's crazy how at the end there's nothing to say. there’s so deeply nothing to say that i’ve been meaning to finish typing out this reply for a week at least now and just haven’t had much energy to spare a thought to it…

it’s not necessarily that i think it’s bad. which is not to say i find it exceptionally good either. it’s complex. but no i do like it and i did like this season due to factors outside my control, to be honest i probably wouldn't have liked this season if i had watched it even one week before i did, it would have gone the way of season 2 (which i hated, again for reasons outside my control) the vibe needs to be right for me to like this show it's so complicated to get into. but no i actually did enjoy this season and charlie is my good friend charlie of course! good for him for everything! i actually can’t point to specific things i liked about it i just know i enjoyed watching it… and there’s almost nothing to say…. but like i mean we cannot deny that it’s kind of. bad. like in the sense that season one was so monumentally Something and then both following seasons have been an underwhelming Whatever in comparison. i blame 60% of this on the music. i fear giving them a budget where they can afford popular music and main pop girl needle drop moments was a mistake. especially when they played taylor swift in season 2 that was a REAL hater moment back when i watched that one wow. like that’s so just not the vibe and energy of heartstopper. they shouldn’t play popular songs in this show they should play weird niche indie bedroom pop 🙄 what happened to baby queen…. why are we playing olivia rodrigo!!

i also think the pacing of season three was crazy but honestly not the worst shit ever. but crazy. charlie has an eating disorder charlie is depressed charlie is the lowest he’s ever been charlie goes to therapy charlie is better now charlie wants to FUCK. that was the season. and again. not the worst ever. but the thing is that alice oseman simply cannot commit to the lowest lows SHE put in the fucking story. like if you want it to be BAD you have to make it bad. but they won’t make it bad because it’s Heartstopper and it has to be Nice and Cutesy and Positive <3 like alice in solitaire you wrote that charlie tries to kill himself and now you want to walk it back. and it was always going to come off weird because of that. it was always going to be slightly off!! which is fine. but also. weird to watch…

so like. in conclusion. i don’t Really think heartstopper is BAD but like it is kind of bad in a technical vibey sense. you understand. but i like it, i enjoyed the new season (i will never be rewatching it but i will hold it in my heart with love and fondness and peace 🫶) and i will likely watch any future seasons and of course i loved season one at the time so it’s always going to have a place as a show i like… i was just saying like. it’s a bit badish. in a certain light. yeah

[dweetwise]

[Ace x David] Behind Closed Doors

For @frivolousace and their favorite rarepair <3 Rating: G Word count: 2.1k ao3 link

"Come on! Truth or dare?"

At what sounded like Nea's impatient voice, Ace looked up from his game of solitaire.

Some of the younger survivors had formed a circle around the fire. Their night's entertainment of choice appeared to be the simple—and campfire favorite—game of truth or dare.

"The last time we played you made me eat a slug," Meg said. "So definitely truth."

"Okay." Nea smirked. "What happened to that purple flashlight you stole from me? Because I know for a fact the killer didn't have Franklin's."

"Wait, she stole one from you too!?" Steve exclaimed.

"Well yours was a victim of an item-camping Bubba," Meg told Steve. Then she smiled sheepishly. "Nea's I went out running with and dropped in the swamp."

"You what!?" Nea screeched.

"It was an accident!"

The group chuckled at the girls' bickering while Laurie patted a fuming Nea on the shoulder.

Ace smiled at his friends having fun. It was times like these that were his favorite: with the day's trials over and done with and an air of easy camaraderie settling over the survivor camp.

It was a shame that Ace had been banned from the majority of games after numerous accusations of both cheating and extravagant lies. But at least he could enjoy laughing at the others' expense as truth or dare inevitably got out of hand.

Because it always did.

"C'mon, Red, your turn to ask," Quentin said.

"Hmmm…" Meg's eyes scanned the group. "David! Truth or dare?"

David, who hadn't even looked to want any part of the game, merely perked up with an amused smirk. "What the hell. Truth."

Meg's smile was full of mischief. "Fuck, marry, kill. Free choice, survivors and killers!"

"Really? That the best you got?" David grinned.

Ace huffed out a quiet chuckle. It was amazing how far David had come. Only a year ago, he would have refused to even participate in games like these—claiming they were too girly and childish, in not so polite terms—or at the very least thrown a fit after a question like that, punching a tree and oozing toxic masculinity.

"Plenty o' killers I'd wanna off, but I think we all know which one I'd pick given the choice," David huffed.

"Do they happen to have a white mask and go hmm, hmm hmm—" Kate started humming the Huntress' lullaby with eerie precision.

"Ugh, stop!" Feng smacked Kate's arm. "I went against that bitch twice today! If I hear one more second of that fucking song…"

Kate smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Okay, okay," Meg said. "Kill Huntress. So who'd you fuck?"

A dozen pairs of curious eyes were aimed at David and Ace couldn't help but roll his own under the brim of his cap. 

This was another new thing. After David had come out to them—and mellowed out in the process, since he no longer had to keep up the appearance of some ridiculous macho man—the survivors had become very interested in who David was interested in. Even though David clearly wasn't ready to tell them.

That didn't stop them from trying to dig for crumbs in the form of silly party games, apparently.

David just shrugged. "Maybe Triangle Head."

"What!?" Meg yelled while many others erupted into laughs.

"Pyramid Head is a monster! A killer!" Laurie hissed, clearly scandalized.

"Dat ass, though," Nea commented.

"He's a prick, but he's hot," David said. "Strong, too, if he can lug that sword around—"

"Ugh, spare me, please." Meg scrunched her nose. "So, for the last one…?"

"Hmm," David said. "I'd probably marry…"

He paused for dramatic effect, pretending to mull over the answer.

The atmosphere in the whole camp was now one of anticipation; everyone far from subtle in their nosiness of their friend's love life. Ace could even spot the normally polite Claudette eagerly leaning forward in her seat.

"Don't get your hopes up, he's just gonna give you a troll answer again," Quentin commented.

Ace smirked to himself. He had a pretty good idea of who David had his eye on, but then again, he hadn't exactly played fair to figure it out. 

Still, Quentin was right; there was no way David was admitting his interest in front of so many people—

"Ace," David said, and Ace's world screeched to a halt.

Thirty heads whipped around to look at Ace, and the gambler only hoped that nobody noticed how it took him a second to put on his patented smirk instead of the slack-jawed staring that David's simple confession had reduced him to.

Ace raised an eyebrow, cursing himself for not having his sunglasses on hand. "That so, King?"

"Uh." Yui grimaced and turned to David. "Are you sure about that?"

"Told you. Troll answer," Quentin said.

David merely grinned and offered a one-shoulder shrug.

"I can see a Vegas wedding," David said. "Ace'd make a nice trophy husband, yeah?"

"If you mean 'gamble away all your shared assets as soon as you signed the papers,' maybe," Zarina huffed.

Ace saw the twitch in David's hands; a reflex from years of resorting to fighting at the first sign of offense. But now, the ex-brawler just took a deliberate breath before splaying his fingers back to his sides.

…And people were still staring at Ace, watching him watching David.

Ace leered at David, giving him an exaggerated wink. "You had me at Vegas, handsome."

"Gross," Meg commented. She was clearly disappointed at not getting the gossip she wanted.

"Come on!" Feng yelled at the group, snapping her fingers obnoxiously. "We're playing a game, not a fucking daddy dating sim!"

And Ace had never been as glad for the girl's impatience as when David predictably picked Feng as his target and then dared her to do a handstand.

Fortunately, in the midst of laughter, Feng falling on her ass, and Nea showing off how to do a proper handstand, nobody noticed that Ace was still left reeling by David's confession.

—---

After the game, Ace found David at his usual spot in the woods—recognizable by the dozen trees that had been cracked and dented by angry fists during the years.

But now, David was only sitting at the root of one tree, leaning against the bark and looking out over the forest in thought.

"Knew I'd find you here," Ace said, making his presence known.

Immediately, the pensive expression on David's face was replaced by his bright grin. "Hey, luv."

The stupid little nickname didn't normally make Ace blush, but after today, he felt his ears heating up.

"Hey yourself," Ace said, going to sit down next to the man.

But David had other ideas, grabbing Ace by his hip and manhandling him into his lap instead.

"Oof," Ace protested the treatment and adjusted his hat. "Careful, pumpkin pie, these old bones aren't what they used to be."

David snorted and shot up an unamused look to where Ace was straddling him. "When we first met, you said you were thirty."

"And you laughed in my face and said in yer dreams, pops," Ace shot back.

David winced; it was far from the first time he'd been embarrassed by his past behavior.

"But I was just happy I got you to laugh, so win-win," Ace said.

He got a hesitant smile in return. David's hand, scarred and callused from a life as a fighter, cupped Ace's cheek oh so gently, before his fingers trailed up to—

Yoink Ace's hat from his head and throw it into the depths of the forest.

"Hey,'' Ace protested. "I liked that cap."

"And I wanna see your pretty face." David was smirking way too smugly. "Dunno why you insist on hiding it from me."

"God, you are such a sap." Ace grinned. "The others would never believe me, if I tried to tell them you just want to snuggle and tell me cheesy one-liners 24/7."

"That sounds like a them problem," David sassed.

And then he shut up Ace's would-be comeback with what Ace imagined was called a thorough snogging.

David kissed much like he fought: wholeheartedly and with his entire body. Chapped lips stole the breath from Ace's mouth while strong arms pulled him closer and caressed over his back. Even David's legs shifted under Ace, like every part of him yearned to be as close to Ace as humanly possible.

And Ace tried to give back as good as he got. He tilted his head to deepen the kiss, running clever hands over David's shoulders and up his neck, earning a bone-deep, satisfied moan for his efforts.

When they pulled apart, Ace was more than a little out of breath. And David was still smirking infuriatingly, like getting Ace hot under the collar had been some self-issued challenge and David had won.

But Ace rarely went down without a fight.

"So, Pyramid Head, huh?" Ace asked.

It was satisfying to see the cocky smirk fall as David groaned in protest and his head slumped to rest on Ace's shoulder.

"Not like I could pick you twice," David grumbled. "Dumb fuckin' rules. Had to come up with somethin'."

Ah; David King, fiercely loyal even during hypothetical, immature party games.

"You're getting pretty good at bullshitting." Ace grinned. "Wonder where you learned that from."

David chuckled and pulled Ace even closer into his arms.

"And… yer not mad?" David asked.

"About a couple tiny white lies to get our friends off your back? Do you know me?"

David huffed. "You know what I mean."

"Well, you might have gotten them to speculate whether you were really kidding about being into me, so maybe not the best move if you didn't want them to find out about us." Ace shrugged. "But it's all the same to me. If our friends finally figure out that we've been doing this for the last… what, two years?"

"A year and ten months," David immediately replied. "Well—earth years. Fuck knows how long it's been in here. Still haven't figured out the equations."

Sometimes Ace forgot just how goddamn smart David was. Ace wasn't shy to admit he'd judged a book by its well-defined, muscled cover. But after his little character reform, David had been helping out Adam—and the other people lightyears smarter than Ace—in figuring out the ins and outs of the realm.

"Right,'' Ace said. "In any case, it's still a little embarrassing for the others to not have figured it out. Well, I know I'm the master of subterfuge, but you? I mean, marriage?" Ace laughed. "Maybe it was just absurd enough that they knew you were kidding."

David didn't laugh with Ace at the shared joke. On the contrary, David was frowning.

"Uh," Ace said. "David?"

"I wasn't kidding," David said. "If I got the chance to, I'd marry ya in a heartbeat."

Ace froze. He'd probably have fallen off David's lap unless the ridiculously defined biceps weren't there to balance him.

"Ha-ha, very funny." Ace's grin was shaky. "You're getting a little too good at that bullshitting."

"'m serious," David said. "I'm in this for the long haul. I love you, and I wanna marry you someday. I'd do it now, if you asked me to."

Ace fidgeted and felt himself flush. He cursed the lack of hat to hide behind, because this was… Ace didn't do this, these earnest confessions and plans for the future—hell, he'd never even been able to say those three little words back to David. Yet here David was, already talking about tying the knot.

"But I know ya need time," David said, smiling much too happily considering Ace's emotional constipation. "Lucky for me, time's all we've got in here."

He leaned in, rough fingers rubbing gentle circles over the stubble on Ace's jawline, leaning in to murmur against Ace's ear.

"Take all the time you need, luv."

Ace almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. That was David King for you; stubborn, loudmouth, loyal to a fault…

And hopeless romantic, even when it came it washed-up gamblers with commitment issues.

Ace smirked. "Kiss me like that fifty more times and I'll see what I can do."

And David threw his head back and laughed, a deep bellow that had to echo all the way to the shared campfire, looking so damn happy that it made Ace's chest feel tight and butterflies dance in his gut.

And, then David's mouth was on Ace's again and his goddamn gentle hands were caressing Ace like he was something precious. Ace felt like he was falling, tumbling into something unknown and maybe not as scary as he'd always feared. 

One day, he'd be able to say it back. For now, Ace only smiled and melted into the kiss, settling in for a cozy night safe in David's arms.

[skyburger]

this is a long ass post because i accidentally started rambling about nonsense (jjba characters playing video games) so im putting it under a cut to spare you all. read at your own risk...

oh i know im a massive fucking nerd when i realize one of the reasons i love jojos so much is because it's got characters from both japan and america (and many others countries which also fucking rules but for the purposes of this post im singling out these two) which means i can imagine them having some stupid lost in translation shit going on. okay. so:

kakyoin talks about the famicom and avdol is like ohhh i know that*!! and they talk about mother** and dragon quest*** and final fantasy****. and they're chatting happily but joseph looks at him he's like man i only know that super mario game. and kakyoin is like ohhhh i played that too!! and so the two of them are yapping away it's absolutely fine until someone mentions koopas (as in, the minor enemy, koopa troopas) and kakyoin's like. Huh? kuppa's the final boss of the game, the one with the big shell that's got spikes on it...? but joseph is like no thats bowser??? koopas are the little ones with the shells you can jump on and send rolling!! (polnareff is a master system diehard fan so he's just watching this with confusion. he barely even knows who pacman is let alone mario.) kakyoin doubles down on this hes like Listen. ive played more video games than all of you combined. the small ones are called nokonokos. the final boss is kuppa. and they start arguing about it (loudly).

avdol is watching this happen and he says to polnareff i didn't even know anyone other than mario had a name. polnareff replies man all i play is monopoly on my sega master system. Whenever i go to an arcade i just play pinball (he forgets there are other games he's just a absolutely entranced by pinball). joseph and kakyoin are arguing for fucking ever and they only stop because they get attacked by a stand user or something.

many years later jotaro will think back on this conversation and realize a few things. 1) he sees modern (by his standards, so, at least 20 years old today) depictions of mario and he thinks ohhhh kakyoin knows that guy. 2) after living around gamers in both japan (kakyoin) and in america (joseph, when he visits, and later his wife and jolyne*****) he does some research (picks up a book about the history of video games on a whim) and discovers that joseph and kakyoin were both, in fact, right-- in japan, the smaller turtle-esque enemies are called "nokonokos" and the final boss is called "kuppa", but due to translation nonsense, in america (and most western countries), the smaller enemies are known as "koopa troopas" and the big bad himself is known as "bowser". he wonders how the hell that even happened. he then goes on to continue his tradition of being an old fucking man in spirit when it comes to video games. he likes games like mahjong... solitaire... minesweeper... the fanciest he's ever gotten is text adventure games. maybe one of the older simcity games, if he's feeling brave.

jolyne lets him play tetris on her gameboy one day and just doesn't get the appeal at all (but holly absolutely does so jolyne will play tetris with her grandma for ages). joseph can kick jotaro's ass at any version of mario kart even in his 80s and 90s because jotaro cant even handle atari games this "gamecube" and "wii" stuff is too much for him.

anyway over in naples polnareff is struggling to discuss pokemon with anyone because he played the french version, which translate all the names to french, but in italy they just use the english names for the pokemon. if anyone asks him about pokemon hes just given up on naming any of them at this point. so at my hypothetical fucked up stardust crusaders reunion that they all bring their buddies to, polnareff is like what the hell is a "butter free". a stick of butter pokemon? what? and jolyne is laughing her ass off while mista tells him no dude it's the butterfly one, the one episode of the show you cried at and he goes OHHHH YOU MEAN PAPILUSION!! jolyne is still giggling but she does actually find it really cool to know butterfree's names in different languages. she tells him it's butterfree in japanese, too (she is not fluent in japanese so she makes jotaro help her. he can name a ton of pokemon but he doesnt even know about types or evolutions.), like how pikachu is the same in english and japanese!!

this is kind of unrelated but if you asked me most jojo characters' favorite pokemon i would not be able to tell you. however i know jolyne likes butterfree (she likes butterflies she likes gen 1 its a no brainer). i think jolyne's mom likes ho-oh i don't have a reason i just think shes into the bird ones and thats a sick as hell bird one. jotaro's favorite is magmar****** because that's the only one he can remember the name of. like he seriously remembers magmar more than pikachu. joseph likes bulbasaur because jolyne showed him the whole pokedex and he said bulbasaur was his favorite because its. the first one you see in the dex. and hes stubborn enough that he just stuck with it. if he wasnt a stubborn bastard i think hed say meowth because i know jolyne makes him watch the show and he gets a kick outta team rocket. holly likes mew again i dont have reasons other than thats her vibe. polnareff likes farfetch'd. the vibes are right.

kakyoin and avdol sadly died several years before the first pokemon games came out but if they had survived: i think kakyoin would like cherubi but considering that one only came out in 2006, i think his initial fav is seel (and dewgong). dont have a reason for this he just seems like a seel and dewgong kind of guy. avdol likes tauros the most but everyone assumes he likes flareon or moltres instead and hes like ehhh. theyre cool but tauros is cooler. gen 1 is his favorite methinks but if someone (jolyne) got him to play gen 2 i think cyndaquil would be a second favorite (and probs his favorite starter. he always picks charmander in gen 1 but aside from charizard hes pretty neutral on that evolution line).

anyway when polnareff finds out about pinball games (like on handheld consoles) he goes nuts. his favorite console game for YEARS is pokemon pinball for the gameboy color (and it's only usurped by pokemon pinball ruby & sapphire for the gameboy advance). his favorite pc game is 3d pinball ‪space cadet (but second place is always whatever the most recent version of monopoly for windows is). (he doesn't bother buying new consoles just for monopoly but if monopoly releases on something he DOES own? oh you bet your ass he owns it. he was an early adopter of iphones so hes also played every shitty version of monopoly for iphone. he spends money on micro transactions and then lies about doing that. he doesn't even collect physical copies of monopoly, like, the actual board game? he owns this one beat-up copy of monopoly las vegas edition and he's like yeah why would i need another one? i already have one...? (he does not understand peoples confusion when he goes on to buy multiple monopoly video games instead.) he ate the monopoly money once because he wanted to know what it tasted like (he wasnt even playing it at the time. he went and got out monopoly and ate a single bill of monopoly money and then put it back).

holly cant play a lot of games because fast-moving camera angles make her motion sick however joseph does not share this problem (or if he does? he hides / ignores it because he wants to play these fuckass games.) so he loves playing first person shooters. he loves half-life and fucking. counter-strike i dont know. i dont actually really play fps. anyway he doesnt own any consoles and he never will (he says hes "too old" for that and "he'll be dead soon" but he's been saying that for 40 years so they all just know hes being a stubborn bastard) so instead he spends that money on making sure hes got the beefiest gaming pc ever. if he can't run a new game due to his hardware (not often) he just replaces it with the newest possible part. i need you to picture his gamer setup i will describe it to you:

imagine your grandparents house. maybe even your great grandparents house. if youve never been to yours or anyones grandparents house then just google it i promise i am talking about a really stereotypical old people house. like this house has had the same cord phone for decades. the furniture has not been updated in just as long. however at like the kitchen table (the dining room table HAS to be empty. "what if we have a bunch of guests over?" suzi q says. they havent had more than three guests since holly moved out.) is home to joseph's gamer setup i can picture it now. he's got a single cheaper monitor that sometimes just flickers off if you hit the table by accident. the case for the computer itself is from like 2007 and joseph refuses to update it because he doesnt want one of those "obnoxious rainbow light-up computers" (fair). he does not know you can still get plain cases these days. if something doesn't fit in this stupid case he takes it to a friend (someone he found on craigslist who is charging him ridiculous prices) to make a custom part for this case so he can plug in xyz and have his floppy / cd / dvd ect. drives. this case has so many wonky custom parts it looks like frankensteins monster and its pretty much the ship of theseus at this point. anyway he's got this boring as fuck computer tower underneath this really basic wooden table in the corner. the monitor sits on the desk with a keyboard and a mouse (both wired. joseph gets really annoyed if he has to change the batteries in a mouse.) and theyre all black with no decorations. the desk is probably too big to just have a single setup on it but probably too small to set up a second one (which wouldnt even get used, anyway). the only other decorations on the desk are framed picture of family and friends, which WOULD be nice, except all the frames are cheap, broken or both because this table is kind of wobbly and he's always getting really mad at his games and knocking them over on accident. he's got a medium bookshelf next to this table which is home to huge but very disorganized collection of pc games that has not been updated much since steam became a thing. he owns the sims 1 & 2 with all their expansions. he owns a lot of bootleg copies and indie games he got from many different people over the years, all with sharpie label on the disc (and in a jewel case if the creator was feeling fancy). he owns every half life game & expansion.

he gets into emulating at some point but he doesnt own any controllers and refuses to buy one so he plays all these games with keyboard controls (he doesnt know you can change the control mapping so he just gets really good at using weird fucking controls).

he loves simpsons hit & run. he's not a huge minecraft guy but he does play if jolyne asks him to (and she does). if this is one of the rare times hes playing mc on his own he only plays on hardcore and sees how far he can get on a quest to kill the ender dragon (he usually doesnt even make it to the nether). he loves playing awful romhacks. please picture joseph joestar in his late 90s playing a fnaf game. okay i think thats it

oops this post has gotten really far off track from my original point of "i think the sdc having video game conversations get confusing cause of localization differences" but thats alright. old man joseph playing ultimate custom night ok?

*it's also called the famicom in egyptian arabic everyone say thank you to the wikipedia editors who translated the NES wikipedia article into so many different languages! even so, avdol does seem like the kind of guy (to me, at least) to know lots about different games in different regions, even if he has not, in fact, played most of them.

** as in the first mother series game. the one before earthbound. it didn't get an english release for at least a couple decades after sdc so.

***dragon quest didn't release in north america until august of 1989, so it wouldn't have been out yet! i don't think it even released in europe on the NES at all lol

****again, final fantasy didn't release in north america until 1990 on the NES, and europe didn't get it until the ps1 era!

*****i know jolyne and her mom are gamers. trust me.

******this is inspired by wayneradiotv saying gordon freeman hlvrai's favorite pokemon is magmar. i just think yeah... they're the only two magmar fans ever

[deb79ful]

Let's go and introduce the next OC, shall we? This here's Jaga Aranea, a princess on the distant planet Arakis, though she's not one to rely on mere diplomacy—she's also a member of an ancient ninja clan! She combines her katana and stinger to surprising effect, and is deft enough on her feet to sidestep blaster shots and climb up walls. In her spare time, she plays a Solitaire-like game called Kuresoera to keep her mind sharp.

One thing to keep in mind if you meet her... She may be a princess, but don't feel the need to bow to her. She's not a fan.

Jaga's a character I created for a friend's tabletop RPG campaign way back when, a spacefaring one. Unorthodox, sure, but I didn't want to go bog-standard, and with the system we were using allowing for a Giant Insect character (yes I know they're arachnids shush), I decided to play it risky. Invested in tech use, at least, so those pincers of hers didn't just break anything she tried to grab!

Sadly, the campaign in question kinda fizzled out when we went our separate ways between high school and college, but Jaga's stuck around in the back of my mind. Like with most of my OCs, I'd love to bring her to more stuff in the future—an RPG, certainly! Maybe one day, when I can get into making video games...

(And yes, Jaga's name does come from Bionicle's Nui-Jaga. I loved that franchise as a kid! Still do, actually.)

[jonmcbrine-author]

The Fandom Game

I’m not that kind of nerd…”

I like to say this when it comes to repairing equipment like computers or knowing how to write code. If it is more of a technical skill or a problem that requires practical knowhow, then, well, I’m not that kind of nerd. If you want useless sci-fi trivia and deep-seated opinions on superhero costumes, then I am the dork you are looking for. When it comes to video games, I am definitely an outlier.

Not possessing any talent for playing games from any generation’s console isn’t the only reason why I am not a gamer. The hardware and downloadable content can get expensive, but the cost is only a partial factor for my gaming negligence. Like so many things in life, it comes down to time and the lack thereof.

Gaming continues to develop its own broad subculture, and like any major form of entertainment, video games are varied among not just genres, but fandoms as well. When I was kid, of course I played. My gaming habits dwindled as I entered my late-twenties and gradually evaporated further as I crossed into my thirties. Now in my forties, playing something as simple as solitaire on my phone doesn’t interest me. I don’t feel superior to gamers, but the fact remains that when I do have recreational time, it is never a choice of mine to fire up the gaming console. The older PlayStation in my home mainly serves as a way to stream series and movies - and that’s the machine gets activated at all.

A lack of spare time plagues many people, and it is true that the older you get, the less interested you are in the hobbies of one’s youth. This is the case for me, but the video game industry is still producing games and content. The video game business takes its wins and losses like any other, but the gaming community remains active and steadfast. They certainly don’t need me, though I like to think I’d be welcome. But would I actually be, though?

It’s very easy to focus on the ugliness of a fandom. Comment sections and forums are rife with negativity, and the nasty gatekeepers seem to be the most prevalent. On any end of the gaming fandom spectrum, there will be bitterness and rage, so it is not difficult to be turned off and ignore the whole thing. Despite this, I have a curiosity about what goes on in the gaming universe despite not playing myself (it’s not too far of a stretch since my appearance is that of a standard nerd). This peripheral interest is nurtured by what my social media feeds think I want to see. Even my digital presence is misconstrued as a gamer.

Dipping your toe into a new fandom can always be daunting, so what is it about gaming that feels so unwelcome? Especially when I have a preexisting fascination? Perhaps feeling like an uninvited outsider isn’t accurate. Numerous gaming communities and channels are fun and operated by friendly folks who encourage noobs to join in. The unappealing element of gaming belongs to anything that makes seem not fun.

I don’t expect to enter any new fandom thinking I am familiar with every nuance that exists within lores as well as the history of the subculture. A casual scroll through X showcases several hot takes by gamers displaying their thoughts on the app formerly known as Twitter. There is an abundance of accounts posting what at least seem to impulsive opinions on a character’s appearance or how they are used in a story. Welcome to the Internet, right? I’m not even going into the whole “toxic” territory. Frankly, it doesn’t matter much which sect of fans it is or where their extreme views come from. Eventually, it all becomes, well, not fun.

A legion of nerds with bad taste isn’t exactly a new phenomenon or enough to dissuade me from simply trying something new. Board games, films, television series, sports, comic books - no fandom is immune to the eye-roll-inducing cringe-base that seem like they are only around to purposely turn off potential newcomers. Again, you’d think it’s day two of my online journey and I’m just now discoveries that meanies log in and tweet out things other than kittens and fluffy pillows. What I’ve deduced after considering so many similarities shared by multiple forms of entertainment is that yes, there will be unpleasant people who “well actually” folks while they themselves need to be well-actually’d - and sure, I will disagree with the majority of my my fellow fans other opinions - but the bottom line is, I only have so much bandwidth.

In my early forties, there isn’t enough motivation to shoehorn yet another obsessive pop culture hobby thing into my already taxed fan-brain.

Play on to those that play. I’m sure the gaming universe will continue just fine without this kind of nerd.

Stay in the loop for more details by following Jonfiction Blog on Substack and be sure to check out jonmcbrine.com for more info about this and all my books.

Unsecret Identity: Eric Icarus - Book One is available now from the Amazon Kindle store.

https://a.co/2XAtxvH

New blog every Monday. Newsletter first Monday

[solitaireships]

Hello, Bruce! Could you answer 👀, ⭐️ and 🗣? -- violetsareblue-selfships

Sure.

👀 - What's your favorite feature of your s/o's?

In terms of physical features? Her hair. It’s soft, and I like her curls. She usually has it down in her day-to-day life, but she’ll put it in a bun at night because she says that helps protect it, and she keeps it in a ponytail most of the time in her Solitaire costume.

⭐️ - Have you ever gone stargazing with your s/o?

We have a couple of times. The watchtower has an incredible view, especially when we’ve just gotten back from a mission.

🗣 - Do they compliment you commonly? What do they say?

Publicly, Alex is sparing with her compliments. I think she finds it too intimate to talk about around others, or at least too much to say when people are within earshot. But she’s very complimentary in private. About my looks, my abilities, the things I do- everything, really. She’s far too kind to me, but I make sure to repay her with my own compliments for every one she gives me.

[academia23]

English lessons for students

If you are looking for the best tutor for English lessons Singapore then you are at the right place.Academia provides our clients with a customized path to learn English and to achieve their academic goals. Since 2013, Academia has brought together a vibrant community of educators who share the same philosophy that learning can be a transformational and transcendental experience.As a collective, our educators bring to the table a diversity of teaching styles, pedagogies and passions which they are empowered to construct their lessons. Academia is a diverse and communitarian company that places educators at the heart of the company, so they can bring their best selves to every single lesson. 

Learning English is an essential life skill that gives you the opportunity to succeed in your daily activities. Many employers recommend that you learn at least a basic level of English. For example, employers in the United States consider fluent English speakers to be more efficient employees. Learning English can be a challenging process, but it's essential for students to become proficient.

People use English every day to communicate with others. People also learn English to read, write and listen to instruction manuals. In addition, many people learn English so they can study it in schools. Many of these users have no idea how important English has become in daily life or in learning programs. Essentially, they fail to see how much they're using English every day. Consequently, they have no idea how difficult it is to learn it.

It's easy to see how necessary English is when thinking about the many ways people use it. For example, many people use English when accessing the internet or sending emails. Furthermore, many people use English when speaking on the phone with friends, family members and colleagues. Even if you don't speak any of these languages, you'll still come across English on social media websites like Facebook and Twitter. Plus, many games now require players to speak English for in-game quests and rewards. Essentially, there's no way around it- everyone uses English every day and must learn it as part of their education plans.

Most students choose to study English through learning cards via the internet or from books. These methods work well for learning vocabulary and grammar rules. Plus, you can easily review the lessons you've learned whenever you have some spare time. However, some students prefer offline methods such as podcasts or videos for learning new material quickly and efficiently. There's no wrong choice when learning new words or phrases- there's just a style of learning that works best for you.

It's easy to understand how students learned about 10 million words and phrases through playing cards games in the past decade alone. Games like Solitaire or Freecell are highly engaging and allow players to spend their time achieving their goals without worrying about their lessons. Plus, these games are easy enough for anyone with minimal gaming experience to play effectively. You can easily learn games such as Solitaire by studying pre-made decks of cards that teach you strategies for winning matches against the game itself!

Students need to study English if they want success in their daily lives| There are many ways to learn English; but the most effective way is through learning cards| It's easy to learn cards and keep yourself entertained while learning English!

As a collective, our educators bring to the table a diversity of teaching styles, pedagogies and passions which they are empowered to construct their lessons. Classrooms are always sites of pedagogical research as our educators continually assess their own lessons to push the boundaries of what is possible. Decision-making is decentralized, allowing each individual voice to be heard and de-prioritising top-down approaches to education in favor of collective responsibility and accountability. In short, Academia is a diverse and communitarian company that places educators at the heart of the company, so they can bring their best selves to every single lesson.

[raisengen]

Lucian the Blood Diamond, the default final boss of Crimson Solitaire, is quite a complicated boss fight, so I thought I’d try to write up some suggestions for how to approach the fight in case anyone’s having trouble.

First, here’s the stage map, with the boss’s path marked, along with where he pauses and for how long:

TL;DR tips:

Don’t put your defensive line in the red hatched zone, the boss will walk through there and shred them halfway through the fight.

Put an AoE Sniper (or Schwarz/Fartooth S3) on the lower sniper spot early on to kill the Scarlet Singers and hit the boss when he spawns.

Unless you have loads of life points, put an anti-air sniper like Kroos on the upper sniper spot to intercept the balloons and chip away at the singers.

Bring along a Wandering Medic like Honeyberry or Mulberry.

Try not the block the boss unless you’re ready to deal a lot of damage.

Try to have at least 5 life points spare to let enemies leak through the routes that open once the roadblocks are destroyed.

The boss will likely wipe any ranged ops in the top-left then at the bottom, so start with medics etc. deployed at the bottom then swap them out for replacements in the top left after the boss passes by.

More detail/explanation under the cut:

The Scarlet Singers are the second biggest threat on the map, but they spend a lot of time circling around before doing anything. There are too many to put an operator within 2 tiles of them without being destroyed, but you can use a long-range operator to attack them.

AoE snipers are ideal, since the singers only have 300 def, are packed close together, and the boss spawn will be in the sniper’s range. Schwarz and Fartooth work well too since they can kill the enemies in only a few hits. Casters are harder to use without good relics, since the singers have 60 Res. In general, you want heavy hitters since the singers double enemy attack speed for 10s when they take 20 hits.

Anti-air snipers don’t do too much to singers without relics due to their low Atk, but you’ll still likely want one to deal with the 13 balloons. You can put them facing upwards on the upper sniper spot, but I prefer them facing right to shoot down the balloons further away and to deal extra chip damage to the singers.

If you have Thorns S3, you can put him above the sniper spots facing right to deal with both the singers and the balloons.

Since the boss, the singers and the balloons all deal neural impairment damage, it’s very helpful to bring along Honeyberry or Mulberry. E1 is enough for them. I’ve marked the two medic spots that give them the best coverage, though you can adapt to your own formation.

After the boss spawns he walks around the edge of the map counterclockwise, using his dash to destroy the roadblocks and his AoE to KO your ranged operators. As already mentioned, you can expect to lose some ranged operators to him (assuming you can’t kill him early on) so try to bring backups where you can and place them where the boss has already passed by.

While the extra lanes opening up can be scary, the top lane is only used by 3 defenders and the bottom lane is only used by 2 singers. It’s easier to just let them through, so try to stock up on enough life points beforehand.

Every time the boss dashes through a roadblock or operator he spawns an extra enemy that also uses an AoE attack that deals neural damage. As such, try to be careful about how often you block him. However, he can only use the dash once every 15 seconds, you can use a “decoy” to waste it then block him with a second operator if you want to hold him in place. While unblocked he has a 40% dodge rate, so this can be a useful way to hold him in range of your DPS.

Multi-target skills like SilverAsh S3 are useful for the above tactic, since they can attack the boss and the spawn at the same time.

The top-centre of the map is a useful place to focus your DPS, since the boss passes through twice, giving you time to recharge your DPS skills and pausing the second time.  Most enemies pass through that area too, so you’ll need some damage dealers there anyway.

[jackslilwhore]

Soothing Kisses; Jack Harlow x Fem! Reader

Yes. I am up at 1 am writing. Yes, I just finished a whole manic depressant breakdown. Yes, I am mainly writing this for me. No, I don't sleep. Yes, I am an insomniac. Yes, I am adding in memories from my own childhood bc I just want this mainly for me, but I know some people feel this way, it may not be their grandfather, but we've all had these thoughts.

Warning: Anxiety attack, angst, fluff, mentions of death

Summary: You are having an anxiety attack while Jack walks in right in the middle of your break down and starts to soothe you.

You lay on your bed, wrapped in the warmth of the covers on your's and Jack's bed, playing a random phone game, while listening to music. You finish the level you were playing when an ad popped up, normally you would be annoyed and roll your eyes at the silly ad, but this ad was different. Your eyes tear up as you watch the silly card game, Solitaire, play. That was your papa's favorite card game, memories flood back to you, hitting you like a bus. You've missed him so much ever since he passed away, you feel the tears fall down your face until suddenly the song changes and you're greeted to the sound of Lweis Capaldi's song, Before You Go, and that's when the flood gates break. You hold on tightly to your pillow as you sob loudly and messily into the pillow's case. You miss him so much, you were never able to control your emotions when it came to your papa. You began to question God. "Why did you have to take him away from me? I was only a child!? You took him the moment I needed him!" The whole time you screamed, shook, and sobbed. You didn't notice the sound of Jack's voice calling to you until you saw the bedroom door open to find Jack standing there, the look of pure worry and concern on his face as he rushes over to your side and holds you tightly in his arms.

He runs his hands through your hair as you soak the front of his shirt with tears, snot, and drool. "Calm down baby girl, take a deep breath in," Jack tells you as he climbs into the bed, still holding you closely to his chest. "What happened princess?" He asks you, begging for you to tell him what hurt you this badly.

You listen to his instructions and took a slight deep breath and sniffled pulling away from his chest, looking up at him, tears still falling down your face. "Why did God have to take him!? Why did he have to be the one to die!!?" You question, more to God and yourself than to Jack.

Jack knew who you were talking about and rubbed your back gently. "I don't know, maybe God decided it was his time to join him in heaven.." He tells you quietly.

You start sobbing again and hiding in his chest again. "It hurts to not have him here on Christmas," You choke out, muffled by the shirt Jack was wearing. "Christmas was his favorite holiday!!" You choke out, this time letting out a heart ripping scream while sobbing still. It broke

Jack's heart to see you hurting like this, he never liked when his pretty baby cried like this. "I know baby..."

"People ask me every year what I want and I always tell them money or small silly things... But, that's because they can't give me what I really want, what I want is to wake up on Christmas morning with my papa sitting in his rocking chair at my granny's, reading the news paper while drinking his cup of coffee and eating his usual piece of bread with the jelly that you would always make when the fig trees produced!" You say, crying, your sobs becoming now silent, shaky, heaving breathing and sniffles as you choke out each word.

"I'm so sorry princess," Jack says, kissing the top of your head, he never knew how to reply to the things you would tell him, but he always tried to let you know that he was at least listening to what you were saying. "I wish I could take all your sorrow and just throw it away.."

"I wish I could go back to being the unproblematic 8 year old girl, sitting in her granny's spare room with her papa while making paper phones and him telling her what colors he wanted on it. Telling her that he is proud of her creation even though a five year old could make it..." Your breathing wasn't normal as you struggled to get a breath in through your nose and you gasp for air through your nose and start back to sobbing at the memories. "What I would give to ju-just go back to when I would sit on his bed and just sketch silly dresses in an old notebook and watch old western shows in the living room. To just go back to when everything was normal and I had EVERYTHING I wanted.." You sob, holding onto Jack as tightly as you possibly could, which makes Jack hold you tighter and kissing your head.

"I'm sorry.." He says, this time being able to feel tears roll down his own face, that he quickly wipes away in your hair.

"I wish I could give him one last hug and I wish I could hear him tell me that he loves me before he passed, instead of having to hear my granny tell me that he said it..." You say, sobbing terribly loud and shaking violently.

"I hate death," Jack says, running his fingers through your hair and rubbing your back softly. "I hate death so much."

"I hate God for taking all the people I love away from me..." You whisper, barley able to control your breathing, which makes Jack pull you back from his chest, to make you get fresh breath.

"He hasn't took me," He says, wiping your tears. "What am I? A used condom?" This comment makes you chuckle a little and you sniffle.

It didn't last long until more memories hit you, making you break again and you start to sob again and Jack pulls you back onto him. "I wish I could go back to when he would take me fishing, we would just loose track of time and be down there until we were sunburnt. Go back to when I had bought my first and only favorite dress, and he pose with me in the living room..." You say, this time recalling a few lost memories.

"Awe," Jack says softly. "He sounded like an amazing person.."

You nod in agreement. "He was," You look up at Jack and smile a little smile. "You remind me of him.." You tell him.

"How?"

"You remain patient with me while trying to show me how to do something and I get frustrated with it, like when I was little my papa would try to show me how to play his favorite card game and never gave up until I stormed off." You tell Jack, your voice cracking, becoming hoarse from all the sobbing you were doing. "I just wish I could apologize to him for being such a pain in his ass when I was little.. I wish I could hug him tightly just one last time and just tell him I love him... I want my papa back! I would anything and everything just to see him once more, he deserved to die, why do all good people have to die?!" You choke out feeling your wall break again and you start sobbing again.

"I understand princess. I know you miss him. I know you want him back, I feel your pain. Just let it all out!" Jack tells you, kissing your head between each sentence.

You felt yourself crack and shouted as loud as you could, in a way you haven't done in years. "WHY COULDN'T I HAVE KEPT HIM!? WHY GOD WHY COULDN'T I HAVE KEPT HIM!!? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO TAKE HIM AT THE MOMENT I STARTED TO NEED HIM!?" Your sobs become silent, unable to speak hardly anymore due to all your yelling.

Jack pulls you away from his chest and moves your hair away from your face. "Look at me," He says, softly, you look at him, tears still falling and struggling to breathe. "Take a deep breath in through your nose," He instructs you, you follow his demand and breathed in. "Out through your mouth." You did this as many times as you needed and finally calmed down.

"I'm sorry..." You whisper to him as you cuddle up to him, feeling your eyelids force closed, still awake though.

"Don't be sorry," He says, caressing your face with his thumb and kissing you softly. "You have every right in the world to feel this way, and everytime you feel this way, I will be right here to hold you." You smile a small smile and yawn. "I love you." Jack says, holding you close to his chest again, radiating heat onto your small figure.

"I love you more." You whisper to him, barley able to stay awake.

You feel yourself drift off when you hear Jack whisper in your ear softly. "I love you most, butterfly."

[angrelysimpping]

can we please have what video games LI’s play. -capybara Anon

Alex

Doesn't really play video games but was addicted to snake and pong as a child. They would steal their parent's flip phones and play until the battery died.

Avery

Solitaire. Chess and checkers. Older Tomb Raider games. Turn-based strategy games.

Eden

Hasn't played video games in at least a decade, but used to play arcade games if they could find spare change.

Kylar

Plays a lot of arcade games. They're at the top of the leader board for Space Invaders at the local arcade. Plays visual novels, dating sims, and h-games. Owns all the sims games and will go into periods of only playing the sims before not touching it for months.

Robin

Minecraft. Nintendo games. Tries to pick games that have a lot of replay value. Strategy games.

Sydney

Doesn't play a lot of video games now, but used to play educational video games when they were younger.

Whitney

Call of Duty. Party games. Mains Kirby and King Dedede in Smash Bros. Bloodborne. Low key addicted to HuniePop.

[the-lost-girl-you-didnt-know]

Ok, so The Lost Boys was made in the late 80’s yeah? Just play with me in this space for a bit… if they were to live in modern times, and owned smartphones, what do you think they’d use them for? Like, Instagram? Twitter? Watching pirated movies? 🤣🤣🤣

Oh boy, first request, here we go!

The Lost Boys with Smartphones

David

My gut and my brain agree and say that David would only use his smartphone for the most basic shit. Probably only uses a few apps at most (that aren't mobile games).

He's one of those kinds of people who like to be "off the grid" more often than not.

Prefers calling over texting because texts can't get his point and intentions across nearly as well as his own voice can.

David definitely has a Twitter and likes to watch threads blow up with drama. You know, you just KNOW, that he has started shit on Twitter just for the fun of watching other people either agree with him or vehemently argue with him, whether or not he actually has a stance on the topic.

Would only follow his boys, maybe Max, and no one else, but somehow garners at least a thousand of his own followers.

Probably has Grubhub and Postmates, just in case none of them want to go out to grab something to eat. That way they get their food and he gets his blood all in one go.

The only other apps this man would use regularly are streaming apps (e.g. Netflix, Hulu, Tubi, etc.) cause the man is a movie buff.

Binges new seasons of shows he likes in two nights, maybe one if it's a shorter season with fewer episodes. He will stay up into the daytime, because you can't just stop right before the finale--

Marko tried to convince him to get Instagram but he adamantly refuses, but he did end up getting a Snapchat only to communicate with the boys in a fun way. He rarely (if ever) uses it, and every time he gets a photo from Paul he is only that more convinced that it was a mistake to download it in the first place.

Dwayne

Is a texter through and through. If you call him you're most likely going to get his voicemail, because unless he has your number, he is not answering.

Is similar to David in that he also probably doesn’t use very many apps, but he does use more than David does.

Likes to play mobile games when he has some spare time, but not just any mobile games; this man likes puzzle games, relaxing games, games that he doesn’t need to think too hard about.

Some of his favorites include Solitaire, Lets Create! Pottery, Mahjong, Taptiles, and Bejeweled.

He really values this time, because even if his brothers are being a borderline nuisance around him, he can zone into his games and become involved in something that won’t cause his muscles to tense up every five minutes.

Dwayne uses YouTube the most, though, because the number of videos he can watch on any topic he wants is damn near endless.

I headcanon that if the boys had a working kitchen of some sort in the cave Dwayne would love to cook in it. That being said, he would start off by looking up cooking videos and recipes on YouTube because people are creative with cooking on there.

But then one day a video is suggested to him that is apparently vintage footage from the 1920′s, enhanced in 4K. And his curiosity will be peaked because hey! He remembers the 1920′s! He clicks on it and is amazed at how clear the video is.

Vintage videos quickly become his favorite videos to watch because he can, in a way, go back in time and relive it. He could watch hours upon hours of these videos, and sometimes he’ll even get David to watch a few with him and they’ll reminisce about good memories together.

Paul

Paul is a caller and a texter, and whichever he uses will depend on where he is and what he’s doing. Good luck actually getting ahold of him, though, because his phone is almost always on vibrate.

It’s just annoying to hear his ringtone and notifications go off when he’s at a concert, or a live show, or making out with some hottie under the pier.

Is the kind of texter that sends individual texts anytime he has a thought. He just wants to make sure you know what he has to say before you respond and because he doesn’t want to spend the time typing out big paragraphs.

Uses the most apps out of all the boys.

Paul also uses YouTube quite a bit, because where else is he going to watch all his favorite music videos? He’ll also watch bootlegs of old concerts he’s seen or didn’t get a chance to see and wanted to.

He makes it a point to send David a snapchat at least every other night to just let him know that he hasn’t done anything majorly illegal. David always sends back a photo of whatever is in front of him and some sort of sentence insinuating that he “hates this goddamn app.”

But! Paul’s favorite app of all is the Soundcloud app, and I think we all know why.

There are just so many great indie bands on there! He avidly follows his favorites on any social media he has. He’s got to know if they ever come to Santa Carla or the next city over, because if he can catch their show he is there.

100% uses dating apps, but only for one night stands that always turn into his next meal; has tried to convince the others that this is a great way to lure in prey, and has only successfully gotten Marko to hop on this bandwagon (though he only uses it for easy dinner).

Marko

Marko is also both a caller and a texter, but he prefers to text more because it gives him time to think of what he wants to say.

Texts in large paragraphs because he thinks the individual texts are annoying, but it works out because Marko is the fastest texter out of all the boys.

Instagram is his go-to, baby. He follows all of his favorite artists, musicians, and of course, Paul, because neither David or Dwayne have Instagram.

He gets so inspired by seeing his favorite artists' work, and enjoys discovering new artists as well, because Marko knows that inspiration comes from all over.

But when they start selling prints of their work on Etsy, it leads him down a whole other rabbit hole.

Etsy nearly becomes an addiction. Because Marko could scroll through people’s work for hours. Original paintings? Hand-crafted goods? Unique clothing pieces? Marko has at least ten collections full of items that he wants to buy because he has zero self-control when it comes to these things.

Most likely to have to be monitored because of his Etsy addiction, or else their funds will be drained in 30 minutes.

As previously stated, Marko will use dating apps to catch his prey from time to time. He never uses it for sex or finding a serious relationship, oh no; he knows he’s hot, and dating apps just make it easier for singles in his area to flock to him, making him and Paul have some of the easiest times grabbing a bite to eat. However, he does still like to hunt in person to keep his skills intact.

[cdroloisms]

more of the mutually assured destruction duo, post-prison this time! this one was really fun, thinking about what this dynamic might be like in the future gives me SO much brainrot, im so excited. this one’s also a little dark, so make sure to read the warnings + tags !! :D 

tw: implied prison abuse, starvation, toxic relationship, touch starvation, manipulation, panic attack, trauma, blood, injury

Dream hasn't been the same since he escaped prison.

And it's ironic, because Wilbur hasn't even been around, has been in hell for fuck's sake playing Competitive Solitaire for nine-odd years, but even he could've seen the self-destruction hanging like a cloud around the other's head from a million miles (and several months? years?) away. Perhaps, he thinks wryly, you can only see the signs when you've lived them, or maybe red flags don't raise alarm when you’ve painted the entire figure in blood, but it doesn't really matter, in the end, because the final result is the same.

Still, it's just a little funny when he's stopped in the middle of his journey through the Nether, not a piece of armor on him per usual and an unused netherite sword slung over his hip.

"Hello, Sapnap." The kid is standing in front of him, eyes gleaming in badly-hidden anger and desperation, smoke rising from the mottled red-black skin on his hands. "Fancy seeing you around."

"You-" Sapnap sputters, unable to speak as his face flushes red in frustration, and Wilbur smiles at him condescendingly. The expression on the other's face is one he's seen before - one Tommy had been particularly inclined to give him in the past, when his emotions raged so heavily that there was nothing for the pressure to do but build, too thick and heavy to force themselves out of his throat. "You're monsters," Sapnap manages, finally, and Wilbur quirks an eyebrow.

At least we're self-aware, he thinks, the all-too-familiar twinge of irritation at Tommy's - and apparently, Sapnap's particular brand of reckless naivety pulsing at the base of his skull. He lets none of these thoughts show on his face as he cocks his head to the side, smiles wider - and Sapnap, just like Tommy, takes the bait.

'Why are you smiling?" He looks achingly young - they all do, really, their expressions and reactions dripping with a sort of innocence and sincerity that dissolved from Wilbur's own face somewhere around the fifteen-hundreth game of poker, and it really does feel ironic, how quickly the outside world can fall apart compared to the unending constancy of the void - but he digresses.

He didn't know Sapnap well before his whole death thing, and as much as he wants to use his partner to get information on the other members of the server, he doesn't really think Dream is really even lucid enough for that - the man clearly hasn't been thinking clearly, not for a long time. It doesn't matter, though, because you learn to read people when your life becomes nothing but running the same broken-edged memories over and over again in your mind and smiling jaggedly over the same few card games - Wilbur had always been a people watcher, and Sapnap's feelings are stamped on every corner of his face.

"Monster, huh," he says, saying the word slowly, rolling it over his tongue like he's tasting it for the first time, watching from the corner of his eye as Sapnap squirms, "Interesting word you've got here. You use it often?"

Sapnap bristles, smoke curling from his nostrils - "It's what you are, dickhead."

Rolling his eyes internally, Wilbur keeps up the act, humming as he fiddles idly with his cufflink. "I mean, if you really believe that," he rocks forward on his right foot, stifling a smile at the way the younger draws back, "But really, it's all a matter of perspective." He twists himself around, pivoting around his heel, beginning to walk in an arc around Sapnap's left side, watching as he spins around, shoulders drawn up to his ears. "What do you think?"

"I think that you're full of shit," he says, voice flat, and Wilbur laughs. It's genuine, really, because well - Sapnap's different. He's fun; the entire server is, after so long in the void. You can only spend so much time with the same two people before they drive you a little up the metaphorical wall, but Sapnap's reactions are fresh and new and different, still saturated with vitality that hasn’t been leached out by the same deck of cards in the same scarred hands shuffled and reshuffled for eternity. He's interesting, and new, and most of all, predictable.

"Say, Sapnap," he continues, blowing over the other's anger, knowing that it'll only make the frustration build more. He lets his hair flop lazily over one eye, lets his smile grow wider, lips pressed together in amusement, turns his face so that it's lit eerily by the lava lake beneath them. "If we're monsters for, I don't know, setting off a few stacks of TNT," he waves his hand flippantly, watching the muscle of the other's jaw jump in poorly-hidden rage, "What does that make you for what you did to Dream?"

Sapnap's eyes go wide, and Wilbur knows he's struck the jackpot. He lets his lips part to reveal bared teeth, jagged and glinting in the light. "I'm sorry, did that hit a nerve?"

The kid's mouth opens- closes- emotions warring on his face, fists curling and uncurling at his sides, lip trembling. "We- we had to-" his hands come to his face, palms digging into his eyes, and while he's not looking, Wilbur draws his expression back a bit, becoming softer, more welcoming. When Sapnap looks back up, his eyes are shining, hands shaking still; he steps forward, then rocks back on his back foot like he doesn't know where to go. "What do you mean?" he throws the words like they're meant to be a threat, but by the end his voice has devolved into something high-pitched and keening, overflowing with desperate grief that Wilbur latches onto like a starving man (ha) with his last meal.

"I'm sorry, it does seem rather insensitive for me to assume," he resumes pacing around the other, voice lilting, soft, "I just mean, it seemed pretty obvious, don't you think? I don't think I've ever seen someone so skinny, really, but I guess that is what happens when you get starved,"

"Shut up-"

"Not to mention the whole panicking thing, I mean, he's like Tommy sometimes with all of the fucking shaky breathing and mumbling around like creepers, not that I'd know what all of that's about," he watches Sapnap through half-hooded eyes, darkly amused, "and pickaxes, oddly enough, but oh well. Who am I to judge?"

"Shut up-"

"And all of the scars - I thought they were from you, honestly, he told me about the whole 'taking his last life' thing, but then he jumped into lava one day - I guess there wasn't much to do in that cell, huh? He didn't even scream, it's really pretty fucking incredible - I thought I'd actually have to break him down a bit, but really, you've made my life so much easier-"

"SHUT UP-"

Wilbur watches with a too-wide grin as Sapnap finally, finally charges, a netherite sword appearing in his hand as he races blindly ahead, tears shining on his cheeks, his words more pain than thought as he brings the blade down-

A blur of purple, the sound of crumbling netherrack and metal meeting metal, flesh hitting flesh - Wilbur moves smoothly out of the way as Sapnap crashes to the ground, an armored figure bearing down an axe against the shield he's raised between them.

Dream, hair tangled and long, wearing armor that is far too heavy for his skinny frame, every inch of him shaking in panic, should hardly be a threat - but this is Sapnap, weakened by Wilbur's sharp words and crippled by the shock of seeing his former best friend's face again, eyes still unfocused from the rage and tears that had clouded over them moments before, so he can do little but raise his shield as the netherite slams into it, again and again. Not a word falls from Dream's lips, but he brings down the weapon at a ruthless pace - ever since he's been free, his attack style has changed greatly from the defensive style he used to favor, even to Wilbur's untrained eye - there's no skill, no art to the way he attacks anymore, just the fearful ferocity of a dog trapped in a cage for far, far too long.

He finally kicks Sapnap down the netherrack cliff that they're on, the other man left to nurse his wounds below them - Wilbur doesn't bother sparing him another thought; Dream's far too weak to cause any permanent damage. Instead, he approaches his partner, weapon, with a smile, watching, satisfied, when he whirls around with a manic expression.

"I'm alright, see?" he croons as Dream's shoulders move up and down with his heaving breaths, eyes fever-bright, teeth bared. He brings a hand down on the other's shoulder and watches as he flinches at the movement, breath hitching, every muscle freezing, knuckles pale on the handle of his axe, before moving again, stumbling forwards, hands reaching for Wilbur's head and stopping halfway. Wilbur tips his head forward, lets the shorter brush his face with trembling fingers, checking his unmarred skin for blood through the purpling bruises already forming on his cheek, and thinks how powerful he is to have a god at his beck and call, a perfect attack dog brought to heel, death itself obediently at his side.

Dream hasn't been the same since he escaped prison, and as Wilbur runs his hand up and down his back, feeling the way his spine arches at the touch, at the fluttering pulse under the skin-and-bone wrist under his fingers, he thinks how fortunate he is to be the first to notice.

[ka-writes]

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Notes: I felt evil..

Also cross country sucks, now I feel sick.

But I gift longish chapter!

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Incase you missed:

Chapter 1:

Chapter 4:

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Inspired by:

Humans are Space Velociraptors

By:FreshRoses_InMyGarden_NeedTheRain

Some kids come from storks, others come from crashed spaceships

By: mmmajora

Home Again, Home Again

By: teeth_eater

All works can be found on Ao3

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Warning: trauma flash backs, cussing, mentions of character death, fear.

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Chapter 5: Rocky Road

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Techno certainly didn’t expect Tubbo’s sudden outburst. Still Techno sort of expected bitterness towards the human.

The droneling marched off presumably to go to the garden. He shoved Wilbur out of the way and continued speaking gibberish.

“What’s with Tubbo?” The phantom asked, casting worried glances towards the door.

“He just threatened the human.” Techno said as if it wasn’t the most stupid move on Tubbo’s part. Wilbur’s eyes grew wide and he attempted to run to the holding cell, only to be stopped by Techno’s hand on his shoulder. The phantom sighed before turning towards the guard.

Silently the pair made their way to the common room. Flicking on the illusion projector, and turning the channel with the ISF news. Techno opened a novel not paying any mind to the news reporter who was going over the case that Techno had just escaped.

There weren't any further advances on the story other than what they knew. The ship had crashed on Omar, a nature preserve, which led the ISF to find eight human bodies and twelve recognized crew members. Though there were fourteen to begin with, not that the news knew that of course. The ship was also deemed as a poacher ship and not much else was discovered.

After the story was covered a different news reporter came on screen. He was shifting his papers nervously and glanced down every so often. This caused Techno to close his novel and pay attention to the illusion.

“Just one day ago, one of the Dream Team crew members quit.” The news reporter took a shaky breath before continuing, “Today the crew has reported that the ex-crew member had taken one of the humans they were using for testing.” A picture of Tommy appeared on screen, “This is what the human looks like. We advise citizens to be on the lookout for this man,” a picture of Wilbur popped onto the screen, “and the human. If you see either one in public do not engage and immediately report it to one of your stationed guards.” The man finished and Wilbur immediately flicked off the TV.

Him and Techno shared a glance of pure shock. Wilbur shed a couple blue tears and immediately started panicking. The guard wrapped his brother until a tight hug and fought off the voices chants of “NOT SAFE”. Silence drew the pair into an unsteady atmosphere.

——————

“Honestly that kid is a burden. I don’t know why you think we can take care of him.” A lady said, fury wasn’t hidden behind a fake smile at this point. The man standing next to her nodded silently.

“Ma’am, I don't understand what you’re saying.” Another lady responded, patience running thin.

Tommy held back the tears that were threatening to fall. His lip was already bleeding and his fingers felt raw. His bruises were itching uncomfortably under his tight shirt. He was starting to overheat, yet kept his jacket wrapped around him protectively.

“What I am saying is, we don’t want him, and I doubt anyone else will.” The lady started, “That kid is a nuisance. He makes our children look problematic, when in reality he is the problem child. I don’t understand how his parents put up with him for so long.” The lady finished.

“Only my mother put up with me,” Tommy thought, “my father couldn’t spare me a glance without yelling at me..”

He sat in the waiting room for what felt like hours before making the decision. The one that caused him to live on the streets.

He took his bag and sprinted out of the facility. He just kept running, nowhere to go and no money to use.

….

Suddenly it was a different night. He was sitting on a park bench looking at the stars. He was somewhere in Colorado, not sure how he made it here, but here he was. He breathed in the fresher air and pushed himself up.

He turned left then right then another left. At this point he was on one of those nature paths that seemed to be everywhere.

He sat in a field. Wasn’t it night?

A light and a huge gust of wind was the only response he got.

Then footsteps. A distant scream. Then cold sharp pain accompanied by a void of darkness.

He woke up in a cage..

He shot up in bed.. His head throbbed, but there was no point in sleeping it off.

So he got up. He hobbled over to the bookshelf and looked at the weird games and toys. His eyes fell on what he presumed to be a stack of cards and a pen of sorts.

It took an hour to label all the cards, but when he finally did he played a game of solitaire. Then another and another. By the time he finished the sixth one he was bored.

He went back to inspecting the bookshelf. The middle shelf had jigsaw puzzles.. didn’t Clem like puzzles?

He picked out what he presumed to be a flower field. There were a bunch of blue sunflowers.. wasn’t that her favorite flower?

Tommy sat on the floor creating a puzzle his sister would’ve absolutely adored. Silent tears slipped down his cheeks every once and a while. Only to be hastily wiped away.

——————

His eyes felt like they were glued shut. They attempted to sit up only to find creaks in their back and neck.

After a minute he sat up. His mind was still foggy from sleep, but he made his way to the security office, ready to work through his sleep deprived state.

Before they even left the room Phil told them to go back to rest. Ranboo obliged, and closed his door.

Having no work left he decided to write down as much information as he could about both Earth and Tommy.

Surprisingly they were able to recall a lot of information from the night before. That usually didn’t happen..

Once they wrote an entire dictionary on both topics, they tried the door again.

Phil, once again stepped in front of them, “Mate, I really think you should rest.”

“I know, but I am hungry. Can I at least have lunch?” Ranboo felt like a child once again, but knew it always worked with the captain.

After Phil rolled his eyes, Ranboo practically skipped to the kitchen. He grabbed some of the leftovers from last night and popped it into the insta-heater. Making two plates of food.

After the food was ready he looked down either hallway. Phil was preoccupied with Wilbur in the common room. Deciding it was the best time to sneak to his friend, he made his way to the holding cell. Only to be stopped by none other than Techno himself.

“Oh! H-hi Techno..” Ranboo said awkwardly.

“What are you doing?”

“I-I was just getting Tubbo some lunch!” Ranboo cringed at their own lie. Only to be met with a raised eyebrow.

“Ok I was gonna visit Tommy.” Ranboo caved. That was the right answer as Techno nodded and let Ranboo pass.

“You’re only giving him lunch right?” Techno inquired.

“Er- that and talk a bit.. I mean that was my original plan.”

“Then I will stay with you.” Techno left no room for debate.

Ranboo nodded and approached the cell, setting the plate on the automatic tray. Techno stood in a small hallway allowing his presence only to be known to Ranboo.

Tommy was sitting on the floor putting together a landscape puzzle.

With what they saw, their curiosity intrigued them.

“Can I go in?” He asked first to Techno who shifted off of the wall.

“Only if I am in there.” Ranboo nodded and turned to Tommy who was busy with the puzzle.

Ranboo knocked on the window once. Tommy’s head shot up before the human stood up and approached the window.

“Hello!” Ranboo chirped, “I can see you’re working on a puzzle! I would love to help if you want? Me and my friend won’t go in if you don’t want me in there. But just so you know I brought lunch!”

Tommy stared at the enderian before answering. He was clearly debating the options.

“Only if Techno doesn’t talk.” Was the only response either got.

With that they grabbed the food and let the door open. Techno entered first, immediately going to the back chair and pulling out a novel. Ranboo handed Tommy a plate and sat next to the strange human.

It didn’t take them long for them to start rambling. Both about everything and nothing.

Surprisingly Ranboo lost all fear that should’ve been gripping them, and felt comfortable sitting with one of the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy.

——————

“So people are looking for you?” The captain asked, impatiently tapping his foot against the metal floor.

“To put it simply, yea..” Wilbur said pretty much losing all confidence within the span of an hour.

The caption responded with a sympathetic look and wrapped his son in another tight hug. Wilbur didn’t pull away this time. He melted into comfort.

After a minute the elder pulled away, “How about you watch one of those documentaries you like. I will make some iced fluff and join you in a bit.” The phantom nodded and trugged himself over to the common room sofa. Turning on the illusion and flicking to one of the only things the ISF was allowing people to view from Earth, Netflix.

He skimmed the documentary section and came upon one that was about the Ocean. Three minutes later he was completely into it.

Phil returned with two bowls of iced fluff. Wilbur dug into the sweet treat. Phil sat next Will and wrapped a wing around him, to which Will leaned into the embrace.

——————

“So what’s your favorite treat?” Ranboo asked, after he got another piece Tommy wasn’t able to get.

Tommy scoffed, mumbling about how he was just about to try that spot before answering the question, “I love Rocky Road Ice Cream. My mom made it without nuts so it is far superior to anything anyone would get from a store.” Tommy was satisfied with his answer and tried another piece.

“Hmm.. What is ice cream?”

“It’s a sweet frozen cream of sorts.”

“Oh so like iced fluff?”

“No idea, I would have to try it first..”

Both continued the conversation mumbling about other different foods and what not, before falling into a comfortable silence.

Tubbo was absolutely furious at the scene. He sprinted off to the garden where he slammed the door and melted to the floor.

When was the last time anyone had a conversation that was about everything and nothing with him?

He hated the fact he was jealous over a fucking human.

Tomorrow was the day he would prove the human wasn’t all he seemed to be. That the human was nothing more than a monster.

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Chapter 5-End

Words: 1826

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Notes: I still have a few filler chapters, but am getting there!!

Go take care of yourself, love ya!! <3

Reminder likes are appreciated but reblogs are even better! (Suggestion make a side blog where you just spam creators works... just saying, I have one..)

Also my layout for chapters has changed a bit. I have the last chapter at the top and the next one at the bottom.. and no I am not doing the inspired by on Ao3, simply cause it’s easier for people to see it in the first few, I am keeping it here tho, cause I know people aren’t really gonna see my first chapter right away. I will be keeping the link to the first chapter at the top as well just not the middle ones.

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Tubbo has evolved in to

J E L L Y B E E

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Chapter 6: