#best windup of all time

[daddysmusicblog]

Hasta que nos volvamos a encontrar hermano...

Rest In Peace

Fernando Valenzuela

1960-2024

[writing-makes-me-human]

🌊Love And Guests🌊

┍━━━━━»•» 🌺 «•«━┑

Pairing: Aonung x reader

PART TWO: HERE

Summary: Aonung has put out your usual sass with his recent flirting and it’s driving you insane. When he finally gets to speak with you alone as he shows off his spear throwing expertise it gets heated quickly

Warnings: Sexual tension and heated word choices, no smut but it gets close, mention of genitals 

Word Count: 3.1K

A/N: No updates, I’m getting back into writing after months of breaks so I’m sorry if i’m rusty.  Also I feel like it goes without saying that Aonung is of age in all of my writing. I am not just writing about a minor, you are close in age. 19 years old.

┕━»•» 🌺 «•«━━━━━┙

"I still don't know why you think it's better that I teach you instead of my brother", Tsireya warmly suggested as she handed you a beginner's spear to practice with.

"Because I want to learn from the best", was all you managed to say as you took the spear in your hands and inspected it with wandering hands.

The real reason you were so eager to meet up with Tsireya instead of Aonung was laughable. Aonung had been playing a dangerous game with your feelings, making you feel a way you shouldn't to fuel your thoughts about the chief's son. Avoiding the brat to the best of your abilities for weeks now was the only way you could fight the fact you were slowly starting to become infatuated with the boy that was growing into a young man.

He had become cocky now that he was of age, and while he still had a few years of learning left before becoming chief, it had become clear his training was making him more and more defined. The way his body moved with every hearty laugh or every faux wrestling match with his friends drove you up the wall, so you decided it was best to try and stop seeing him altogether.

However, this was becoming a challenge as he had recently decided to spend more of his free time harassing you than anyone else. It was very confusing, as you thought you had put this bullying behind you when you were children. That could easily be forgotten, though, as he was indeed still the next leader, and that could explain his rudeness, but what couldn't be helped was the blush that overgrew you every time he towered over you with that smirk that he didn't know affected you in such unforgiving ways.

"Well, thank you, I'm flattered", she giggled, then continued, "but Aonung is the top in the clan at spear throwing, and he's not gonna be happy if he finds out you asked me instead of him", she never felt bad for her brother. Still, when it came to the matter of his undying yet, painfully expressed crush on you, she felt merciful.

You scoffed, squaring yourself next to her as you looked towards the targets drawn on the ground.

The target range for spear-throwing was closer to the village than any of the other training areas because you needed the clear ground to allow a large windup for hurling the stick through the air. It was still private, which you enjoyed because you had a feeling this was going to be an embarrassingly miserable display of physical prowess.

The targets were set up in the distance and made up of 3 circles of fine white sand sprinkled in precise shapes on the ground. Tsireya had already collected the sand earlier in the day and laid out the rings in exchange for you to be the one that churned the sand into the dirt when you were done so the next person who came to train could easily set up the rings and get started.

"I don't think I could handle his smugness at having me asking him a favor", you smiled at her, holding up the spear like you had seen Aonung and his friends do when they came here to learn when you were younger.

It was the truth. Honestly, you wouldn't have been able to handle his smug looks or laugh or the fact that to teach you meant one on one time by yourselves. You would prefer being lectured by Ronal, and that was saying something.

She nodded, trying to copy you as she held up the pointed end of the spear into the air, getting herself ready to fling the wooden spike. The artillery was too large for her, and you watched in curiosity as she heaved it up a little higher with a grunt.

"Alright, so what you want to do is pull back and using your back leg, you want to push--" she was cut off by the sound of laughter in the near vicinity. Before she could resume her instructions, you heard the sound of foliage and leafs being broken as a group of four boys emerged into the clearing, each of them but one with their spears by their side.

Aonung was still laughing at something Rotxo had said, but when he looked up and saw you, with your arms still raised as his sister mirrored you, he felt his heart skip a beat and his face light up with delight.

You cursed under your breath and dropped the stick like it was a venomous snake, instantly turning around to hide your slightly tinged face.

This was so unfair! He hadn't even said anything so far. All he had done was smile and laugh! He never had this much of a hold on you when he was younger. As he got older and his hair grew past his shoulders, and his muscles became larger, you became less aware of what to do with yourself.

"I have to go", you mumbled, feeling the tinge fade as you turned to pick up the burlap sack you had brought with you and leave for the village.

"Well, what is going on here?" Aonung called out in the conceited tone he saved for when he was talking to you. His deep voice boomed around the clearing, forcing its way into your ears and silencing the chatter between his other friends.

You didn't respond and instead made your way in the opposite direction they had come from, but before you could escape, a few words were yelled out, making your face nearly melt off your skull and onto the floor below you.

"Somewhere to be, pretty girl?" Aonung called out while his friends spread out, tossing down their training gear and lunches they had packed in preparation for a few hours of training.

You turned sharply, trying to calm your breathing so the blood would move from the gathering in your cheeks down to your heart which desperately needed the extra help because the poor thing was beating overtime.

"Just remembered I have somewhere to be", you said rather awkwardly, not allowing yourself to come across as timid but not quite having the energy to yell back at him with the same enthusiasm.

"Oh, come on! You said you wanted to learn from the best, and he's right here!" Tsireya spoke. She lay down her spear next to yours and jogged up to you. She grinned as she gently tugged on your hand, coaxing you to come and stand to talk to the boys who were checking over their weapons.

You sighed, then gave in, dropping the sack and letting her drag you over to Aonung, who was still standing in the same spot. As you walked over, he had a proud smile etched on his face, and you wanted nothing more than to slap it off.

Your face dropped so you could look anywhere but into his eyes that would have caught you in his dangerous trap of good looks and gentle teasing and never let you go.

"Come on, teach her!" Tsireya was far too excited, nearly jumping up and down while her older brother rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Who said I wanted to help?" He snarkly asked, then continued, "and next time you're thinking of using my spear, ask!" He spat, gesturing to the spike that was laid on the ground rather carelessly. That cleared up the question of why the spear had nearly tipped her over when she held it up.

She elbowed him roughly in the chest with her free arm causing him to bend down a little in pain and scowl at her, but no sound of agony came out.

He quickly straightened himself and snarled at Tsireya, but she gave him a pointed look before her eyes darted to you several times. After a few seconds, he finally got her unspoken threat and sighed, pushing past the both of you to walk over to collect his projectile.

You ignored the feeling of his hand burning on your shoulder as he pushed between you two, breaking the hold Tsireya had on you.

"Come on, pretty girl, let's see what you can do", he called out, not bothering to turn around because he knew you'd be following.

You looked over to Tsireya before you elbowed her yourself, questioning her with a look. She knew you didn't want to speak with him, yet here he was and instead of ushering him away, she had insisted he teaches you.

She simply shrugged at you and pushed you forward before running off to sit next to her brother's friends.

You passed by Rotxo and nodded to him in greetings which he returned before tucking into the fruits he had brought with him. He was chatting with his friends, who all found a spot under a nearby tree that was far enough away from the targets that they wouldn't hear you and Aonung's words to each other but still close enough that they could still see any funny failings.Your eyes settled on Aonung's back, and you took a deep breath, you didn't even have the shame to look away when he crouched down and picked up his spear, checking it over for dirt or marks.

"You watch me first, then you try", he said, glancing over to see you were watching him with eyes slightly wide at the idea of trying to copy his expert throw with an audience.

He smiled at you, which caused you to blush and break the stare you had been holding on his body, which only made him grin, thus continuing the terrible cycle.

"Eyes on me, nobody else is watching, so you can look at me as much as you want", he called you out with a smirk when you finally scowled, giving him a reaction that he couldn't help but chuckle at.

"I worry for anybody that enjoys looking at you", you hissed while taking a step back, knowing he would have to have some space to move when he threw the spike.

He didn't say anything this time but didn't have to. His eyes spoke for him as they shone like the sea on a sunny day.

"So she speaks! I was beginning to worry!" He watched you roll your eyes in amusement with a slight smile on your face, and he silently swore at himself in his head for turning so you wouldn't see his sly grin that he only got when he made you happy.

"Let's start", he wasted no more time and held the wooden stick over his head. You watched with slightly awestruck eyes as his body moved so purposefully.

He raised the spear, and using his other arm, he aimed to secure the direction he was throwing in. He could feel your eyes on him, and it made him cocky. He wanted to show off, to show you he was strong and worthy of praise.

He pulled back his left leg, then after taking a breath, he threw it with as much strength as it took to land directly in the centre of the target. They were far closer than he usually had them, but it was to be expected since you were a beginner.

The weapon shot through the air before the sharp spearhead dug into the ground with a thud, landing directly in the centre of the most petite ring. A perfect bullseye.

He leaned back with a satisfied grin. He turned to look at you with the hopes you would be at least slightly impressed. You were still staring, mouth open in an 'o' shape, struck somewhat by just how gifted at the sport he was, and it made a part of his internal body tingle when you turned with the look changing from amazement to an affectionate smile.

"I'll admit you aren't bad, I've seen worse", you couldn't help the smile anymore. He always had a way of killing off your anxiety, and right now was no different. His cocky grin made your heart speed up, but your mind just wanted to insult him until he dropped.

"If that's all it takes to impress you, I am afraid to know how easy it is to please you", he took no shame in his words, and your smile quickly dropped to embarrassed growls as you hid your face, turning to look over at his friends that were all talking to Tsireya about something at the same time. The discussion looked heated, and none of them paid attention to you two.

You watched, eyes as focused as ever. 

"Arrogant brat", was all you could get out as you looked down at your feet and kicked at the dirt.

"Oh, did I touch a nerve? I didn't know you were such a goody-goody", he didn't wait for your smart-ass answer and walked off to tug his spear out of the ground sharply. Your mind was reeling as you heard a soft grunt escape his lips as he yanked his prize out of the ground.

You shook your head and bent down to pick up the training spear you had been given, not taking notice of your position that had your back to the sky until you felt a hand smack into your backside harshly.

The slap was loud, making your face turn scarlet red as you jumped up, abandoning the spike to glare at Aonung with a death stare.

You were shocked, he had never been so bold with his teasing, and while it wouldn't have crossed a line had you been alone, you could feel the four pairs of eyes gawking at the back of your head.

"Don't", you gently warned. You didn't want to admit it, and you knew it was wrong, and the pompous imp should have been ashamed of himself, Aonung should have been on his hands and knees begging to be forgiven, but a part of your brain was fighting not to jump his bones right now and embarrass him in front of his friends.

And he dared to look proud of himself as he laughed at your face, raising his hand in a half-assed attempt to hide the smile while you geared up to smack him across the face.

He noted how livid you looked and sighed. He hadn't meant to offend you. But when he was walking back and saw how your ass was staring at him like that, he couldn't resist the temptation.

"All right, I'm sorry" he held his hands up in surrender as a beam of playfulness poured from his eyes as a flirtatious grin overtook him.

"If you want to touch my body, ask, coward", you bit back, letting yourself grin as he took his turn of letting his mouth go slack at your actions.

"What's wrong pretty boy? Need some help?" you chuckled, nodding your head south. His eyes followed yours with a confused quirk on his brow as he looked down, and his eyes widened as he nervously took in that he had a half chub under his loin cloth.

You took a step back from him, feeling the heat between your legs signal it was time to go before you made some terrible mistakes that led you both behind a tree somewhere doing things you wanted to make him wait for.

He couldn't take his eyes off you, and as you felt the roles reversing, you suddenly understood why Aonung found the teasing so fun.

He looked back up at your smug face and peeked toward the group behind you with a silent plea in his eyes. Don't drag their attention down to his excitement.

"You need to learn some manners, Aonung, it's not becoming of the next chief to be so blatant in public, you've really hurt my feelings", you gave a dramatic exaggeration of a pout to him while your hands came to lay on your heart.

He was blocked from the sight line of his peers by where you were standing, but one step to the left or right and even from this distance, it was undeniable that he was hard.

He hadn't moved to cover his crotch yet but he dropped the spear, staring at you with begging eyes. It seemed that your sudden 360 from being a blushed-out lovesick moron to a vengeful demon had done nothing to ease him down, if anything, you made it worse.

You leaned forward, taking great pleasure in standing on your feet a little to get even with his ear, your hot breath panted onto his neck and he couldn't do anything to stop you. One move, and you'd be exposing him to his closest friends.

"Compared to me, I think it's you that's easy to please", you smiled, and he hated how he could feel the heat from your mouth as your teeth came so close to his neck that it drove him mad.

You quickly pulled away and smiled when you saw his eyes were closed, he was focusing on his breathing like he had you doing from his actions so many times before, and it felt so good to see him like this. A grown man that was bigger than you in every way imaginable was trying to calm his breath over you and your words.

"Well, this has been fun, but I'll see you later, Aonung", you felt confident for the first time in weeks and slowly, you felt the old you coming back, the sarcastic you that had just as much bark in you as Aonung.

You turned to leave, but he grabbed your arm, pulling you closer to him, not quite flush against his body, lest one of the others looked up again and saw you two so close.

"Wait a few minutes, then follow me", he didn't give you the time to reply once again as he picked up the spear and finally had the dignity to cover himself with his free hand before walking off to go deeper into the forest without so much as a glance back.

Oh, you knew you shouldn't. You should turn around and leave, let the warrior get himself off in the forest like the animal he was acting like. Still, the heat that had signaled you to go nearly 5 minutes ago had grown, and you knew that even if it wasn't visible, your body was nearly 10x as horny as Aonung was.

You wanted him.

But you knew you couldn't mate here, and certainly not like this.

'Leave, leave leave', your mind screamed as your feet took step after step of their own volition after him.

You worried for a second that somebody would call out to you and ask where you were going, but a part of you knew that everyone had already worked out the nature of what was going on with you two. They had all been staring at you after he slapped your ass, so they must have.

"I'll just talk to him", you finally muttered to yourself as you set off in a faster pace, going off to find him.

[little-miss-dilf-lover]

Ran over here as soon as i could!

Imagine Tan with his baby girl (4 years) and shes playing with his hair, putting clips and bows and ties in his hair or making tiny braids? Mum an Lem are trying not to laugh out loud when they see them, Lem asks his niece if she wants make-up which she finds a such a great idea! Mum has to stop Lemon. Tan trying his best not to upset his baby girl. And so on and so forth...

Have fun with it🍊❤️🫶🏻

this is the cutest!!! I forever love dad tan!! and with all dad tan stuff, mandy is his daughter (it’s like mandarin, another baby orange) thank you for requesting, hope you like it 💌

BOWS AND BRAIDS.

dad tangerine x fem!reader — fluff

word count. 532

Lemon and Tangerine often acted like they were twelve - the everlasting phase of wanting to annoy each other, joining them into adulthood. They were the others' biggest windup, and now Lemon was having the fun poking at Tan, knowing there was nothing he could do to retaliate. 

Uncle Lem had popped by to see you all - to spend time with his family during the week off. All gathered in the living room: you on the sofa beside Lemon, Mandy, your daughter, sitting on the coffee table with Tangerine cross-legged on the floor facing her. 

Mandy had her tiny hands in Tan's hair, placing accessories and ties in his curls - cutesy pink and purple clips attached in clumps around the front of his face, messily placed bows at the back of his head and knotted half-braids starting midway through his hair. It was admirable, really.

"Don't daddy look pretty," Lemon teases, crouching beside the coffee table to get closer to Mandy. "He'd make a pretty girl, won't he?"

"No," she shakes her head, shoving her finger into Tan's moustache. "He has a hairy face."

You resist the temptation to laugh, instead leaning closer, resting your elbow on your knee to cover your mouth. 

Lemon snickers before continuing, watching the displeased expression grow on his brother's face. "That's right. You should shave it off, Mands. Make him all pretty looking."

Your eyes widen. "No, no, absolutely not. We're not doing that."

"Boo, mummy. Mandy boo her," Lemon eggs your daughter on, lovingly brushing over her face.

"Why can't we shave him, mama?" Mandy asks, turning around to look at you, her face sweet and innocent. 

"It makes him look pretty. You know how it doesn't make him a pretty girl? Well, it's the same thing. He's not a pretty boy without it," you tease, looking over at Tan. Your words are harsh, but nothing like the soft, loving expression on your face. 

"Do I not get a say?" Tangerine adds, looking between you all with lightly furrowed brows. 

"No. You're a mannequin. Mannequins can't talk," Lemon pipes in, immediately dismissing his twin. "How about some make-up instead, Mand? That'll make him pretty."

"Yeah," she smiles, her grin wide and genuine. "Mama has some," she adds, climbing off the coffee table. 

"What a great idea," Lemon encourages, standing up to follow after his niece.

You look over to Tan, noticing the 'help me' face he is giving you - silently asking you to stop it.

"I think daddy's had enough for now, no? He looks so pretty, and you did such a good job," you pick your daughter up, placing her on your lap - kissing her cheek. 

"Mands," Tangerine calls, dragging out her name. "I just had the best idea," he looks between you and Lem knowingly, a small smile forming. "We should give Uncle Lem a makeover, too. Wouldn't that be fun?" 

She gasps, her face lit up in excitement, grinning as she climbs off your lap. Tangerine stands, following his daughter. 

"I'll help you, poppet. We'll get all your mum's make-up, yeah?" he chuckles, hitting his brother on the way out. "He's gonna look so pretty when we're done."

[seireiteihellbutterfly]

Unconventional Flowers Event - June

Father's Day Monkey Orchids ft. Geto

A/N: June prompt for my Unconventional Flowers Event. This was supposed to be written in time for Father's Day but go figure.

Rating: E, safe, fluffy, cute

Word Count: 524

The day Mimiko and Nanako came home was the best day of Geto’s life. He had never considered himself taking on a fatherly role at such a young age but it felt right. The girls were the light of his life and he adored them, doting on them and ensuring they were well taken care of.

They grew up around the temple, the devotees loyal to Geto keeping a close watch on them as they ran through the massive stone halls and the prayer room, giggling, the sounds of their sandals slapping against the ground as they ran.

Geto took their jujutsu training very seriously, often doing their lessons himself, taking great care not to exhaust them, rewarding their progress, and letting his love for them become obvious as they grew. The girls didn’t fail to notice that Geto’s most frequently used word was ‘monkey’.

“Did the monkey from the other day come in with a donation?”

“Another monkey with an ailment? Send them in.”

“Didn’t we deal with this monkey the other day?”

Monkey, monkey, monkey. 

The girls often giggled at their father’s usage of the word. “Papa Geto, why do you call those people monkeys?” Mimiko ventured one day as Geto combed her hair, fluffing the neat brunette bob so that it framed her little face. Nanako wanders over to their spot on the floor and plops down as though she would like nothing better than to know this too. Geto chuckles softly.

“Because they’re not special like us my sweet little dolls. They have no talent. Like monkeys that dance to organ music, not a thought in their heads, meant to be commanded by a master.”

Mimiko and Nanako giggled and pointed to a little toy on their nightstand, a small monkey windup that clapped two cymbals together as it skipped forward. “Like that Papa Geto?”

“Exactly like that.”

As Father’s Day approached, Mimiko and Nanako decided that since monkeys made their father laugh so much, he deserved something that reminded him of them. They showed the picture to one of the devotees who chortled at the girls’ imagination before ordering the strange-looking flowers.

When the bouquet arrived, placed carefully on Geto’s desk on Father’s Day, the young man had wandered in and looked quite perplexed at the sight. The flowers were almost cute, and the sloppy little card with Mimiko and Nanako’s names written in crayon brought a genuine smile to Geto’s face. 

He laughs heartily, then glances over at his door to see 2 sets of eyes watching him secretively from the boundary of the door frame.

“Come here.” He scoops up the youngsters, one under each arm, and pulls them in for a bear hug.

“Papa Geto not so hard!” The girls giggle and kick their little legs as he squeezes them. The things he did were dark. Mimiko and Nanako were his light. He presses a kiss on top of each of their heads before letting them go. 

“Happy Father’s Day Papa Geto!” they chorus together and the raven-haired man feels his heart grow light.

“Thank you, girls,” he says quietly He’d be lost without them. Truly. 

Geto Masterlist | JJK Masterlist | Taglist

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[rabbit-surfboard]

Fictional podcast recs

One of my friends got into audio drama and I just sent them a whole list of recommendations to go through, I thought someone who follows these tags might also appreciate it and perhaps have some more to throw in. I resisted the urge to throw in the little blurb about audio dramas as a weird little medium and their tropes that I wrote up. It was something to the effect of nodding at how the medium has rapidly been improving since Welcome to Nightvale started, also how a lot of the tropes that tie the medium together are products of the indie podcast scene being accessible and primarily based in audio. Also at how well horror works in the format. Those paragraphs went unsaved but writing first about the medium in general helped me to reflect on a lot of the things that make audiodramas appealing or repulsive to me for discussing each show in brief beyond just explaining what they're about.

All recommendations are tagged for the tldr.

Fiction podcast recommendations in no particular order:

The Magnus Archives

Horror

The biggest criticism I ever had of this podcast’s voice acting from episode 1 turned out to be a relevant plot point. This thing is probably the best of the best, but I would never recommend it to someone unfamiliar with podcasts because the listener only notices a plot hook somewhere between episodes 20-40 and that’s daunting in the face of a 200 episode show. Getting sucked in rewards you with 200 episodes of thoughtful content and a great explanation for most of the weird things this show chooses to incorporate.

Old Gods of Appalachia

Horror

Fantastic production quality on this ongoing show. Many seasons with interconnected lore and a hell of a narrator. It’s not my personal favorite but it’s quite excellent.

Red Valley

Found footage mystery

One of the newer shows I’ve gotten into, Red Valley is well-crafted. It becomes compelling very quickly with a rapid pace that slows down to land in a neat spot for a while so you can savor the cool parts. The production quality is excellent and the two main voice actors have excellent chemistry. The third and final season is currently being produced.

The Silt Verses

Horror

Often compared to American Gods, this newer podcast made by an experienced team is doing a lot of creative and fresh things at once. The magnificently fucked up religious system of The Silt Verses is both a neat plot vehicle and cleanly works as a criticism of late stage capitalism, where many podcasts like to jab at capitalism this one is much more pointed in its commentary. Episodes are long and very well produced. All the credits in the third season have been mostly diegetic and add flavor to the world.

Archive 81

Found footage horror

Slow to start but by season 2 the production quality and plot are among the best in the game. Unfortunately, on an extended hiatus.

Ars Paradoxica

Science fiction, historical

Very well produced considering its age, this is a highly regarded show among people who follow the medium. Excellent time travel mechanics here. The plot drags a bit by the end because time travel stories must violently contort themselves into a conclusion, but the first season or two are fantastic and it’s always nice to have an ending instead of interminable hiatus.

Caravan

Gay demons n stuff

Showed up, did magic and gay shit, disappeared and went on hiatus probably with some kinda unsatisfying cliffhanger seeing as I don’t remember the plot. Could I recommend it in good faith? Not until they at least cough up season 2. I don’t remember it being bad and that alone is notable for the medium.

Mabel

Gothic horror

This is the deepest cut on the list except for maybe Caravan. Lesbians pine at each other for increasingly complicated reasons, eventually devolving into them doing datura and then spewing cryptic poetry together for the rest of their days. The production quality is fair. The slow windup and creepy house are American-gothic af. This show has had a few hiatuses, but each time it comes back significantly more intriguing.

Welcome to Nightvale

Goofy spooky news broadcast

Old and iconic, not very consistent. Sometimes explores emotional, tense, spooky, or funny scenes well, but the show is really focused on being local news for an ooky spooky desert town because Cecil is damn good at his job. Don’t come here looking for plot, it’s a fun vibe and I don’t know that anybody’s ripped it off and notably improved on this classic. Above average production quality for its time which improved through the years.

Alice isn’t Dead

USA road trip, horror

Made by at least one of the Nightvale writers, totally different show with a lesbian trucker making wry observations of some magnificently twisted shit seen around the United States. The producers know how to run a show, so the production is pretty good.

Tanis

Found footage horror

Tanis is not good. However, it was the first fiction podcast to make me ask “Is this real?” and hesitantly believe it for a frankly embarrassing number of episodes. The stories in the first season were interesting and the lore is just some big-tent conspiracy style of cramming a bunch of fun Wikipedia research into what turns out to be an increasingly nonsensical plot. Every season after the second, I return to hate-listen and am gaslit into thinking the show might low-key rock a few episodes before the finale, which is routinely frustrating and makes sure to throw out any good plot points Terry Miles comes up with. The acting is routinely terrible, and the frame narrative allows lazy and frequent retcons, ruining what I think is a good premise. Also it’s incomplete.

The Black Tapes

Horror

Terry Miles started this show before Tanis began releasing about 5 months later. I think of it as one of his earlier works because it behaves like Tanis with an added layer of cringe from a time waster of an awkward romance(?) between the two main characters. I couldn’t finish this show. You won’t see this recommended as often as it used to be online because there’s many better shows now, but this used to be a big deal. There’s a bunch of memes making fun of the annoying cadence of the characters’ speech and iconic sponsorship reads in both this and Tanis. If you’re interested in some cringe atop your creepypasta podcast, the two are interchangeable.  

Rabbits

ARG investigation

Not as horror focused as Terry Miles’ other shows, the cringe is dialed down and the show is better for it. Tanis and The Black Tapes are more well known, I think the only reason more people don’t think about this one is because the first two don’t inspire trust in the production or narrative quality of this show, but I remember it being fine for a season. I have not gone back to catch up now that more is out.

Malevolent

Horror

Inspired by The King in Yellow, one man performs two voices and verbally abuses himself with aplomb. Having a blind main character with an extra voice in his head is a frame story I haven’t heard yet (unless it came up in the magnus archives and I don’t remember), the concept works out great for the frame of a podcast to deploy the environmental imagery that foley cannot communicate. It also prevents the podcast trope of lengthy exposition about visual surroundings from sounding awkward or potentially impacting someone’s character development to show setting.

Wolf 359

Comedy, science fiction

A crew of whacky characters is stuck in deep space, hanging out and researching a star. Since that’s not actually very interesting they crack jokes and fuck around for a slow burn until interesting stuff happens. Good but not great, this one is long and satisfying and a bit less heavy than all the horror this medium often focuses on. Decent production quality.

The White Vault

Found footage horror

I lost patience with this podcast even though the overarching story seemed very cool – it progresses very slowly yet appears to grow bigger and more confusing instead of deigning to answer basic questions for a frustratingly long drag through the first four seasons. I worry that this frustration may be the point and the Patreon gated stories are the drivers for this tendency towards the confusing patchwork of ideas this show communicates. The production quality is good though.

The Left Right Game

Found footage horror

Genuinely great reddit creepypasta got turned into an overproduced podcast – I say “over” in comparison to the voice acting quality because it’s kind of impossible to sell some of the lines, which makes sense considering the source. Brief, complete, punchy, interesting, and just a little odd to hear such a clean production but a creepypasta this fun deserves the effort.

Wooden Overcoats

Comedy

Surprisingly good production quality for its age, and also a refresher from the usual tropes of the medium. Just a chill sitcom about a funeral parlor in a small town. I haven’t finished this 4 season show yet but its good.

The Black List Table Reads

Movie script readings

Some movie scripts just short of making the cut to be turned into a full Hollywood production were well liked enough by a group of film nerds that sat down to act them out as a podcast. Half of the episodes are interviews with screenwriters, and the other half see a script read all the way through by actors. They’re all rejected for different reasons so there’s a pretty broad spread of genres. My favorites were Blood From a Stone and Balls Out.

[ddarker-dreams]

I love how your anons think of different scenarios about the characters they like. Like how the brain is brain-ing. I enjoy reading your stories, they give me peace even if the self-insert pov is experiencing toxicity. There must be something wrong with me. Anyways,

Darling just running up to Scaramouche, no words and just slams herself into him. She’s mad and she’s giving him a hug (cause she knows the consequences once she does something he doesn’t like), a crushing bear hug (the one that kinda hurts normal people) and he’s just.. flushing hot red like a mad man that he is.

3< this a heart btw.

I LOVE IT TOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it's like those old internet drawing boards (or maybe they still exist ??) where people would build art off one another's work. but like without any hate symbols. i think it's super cool. and i don't think there's anything wrong with enjoying horror, although that's a subject i've always been interested in... ahem. i'll save that for another time.

running hugs are a god tier trope. never gets old. i'm obsessed.

scara would go from bracing himself to pure confusion. his internal mechanisms are shutting down in real time. his brain becomes goop. all forms of intelligent thought are gone, off into the void, where they'll stay until you're not squeezing him. are hugs supposed to be this tight? he doesn't have much experience in the field (that is to say, none), so he can't make up his mind. he gets the sense that this is an act of violence, but... wow. you're soft. so, so soft. and you smell heavenly, like a home he never thought he'd have. he moves his heavy limbs as if he were a windup doll on its last cycle, securing you against him, where you belong.

he knows he should punish you for any attempted harm on his person, successful or otherwise, yet he can't. this is just too cute. your nose is scrunched up in concentration and he can feel your muscles straining to inflict any level of damage. you're trying so hard. if his pride wasn't such an obstinate obstacle, he'd chuckle freely, maybe twirl you around to hear you yelp.

... that desire isn't ever going to cross into reality, but, nonetheless, he lets you carry out your unsuccessful mission. once the moment has concluded, a little indignation stirs up in him. he'll satisfy it by urging you to "try harder" the next time you want to inflict any damage, because if this was your best attempt, it wasn't very impressive. he rather liked it.

[giggly-squiggily]

Inked (Big Windup)

Heyo! Guess who's back with Big Windup Content! :D I had this little ol' thing sitting in my WIP for weeks before realizing I should finish it up and post it lols, and here I am to do so! I hope y'all like it! :D

CW: Swearing

Cloud 9 (Taglist Peeps):

@cupcake-spice13 @intheticklecloset (I know you're not on the Taglist but BAM! Baseball tickles >:D)

Summary: Tajima after writing a massive "1" on Mihashi's back decides he should do it for Abe too. The other disagrees, leading to a rather giggly compromise.

“Hold still! Lemme write it!”

“No way! I told you I don’t need it!”

Tajima was back at it again, a black marker in hand as he tried once more to mark Abe. He figured the clean up hitter had let it go after a while, but nope- he was ever insistent on drawing a massive number “2” on his back!

“Why are you resisting so much? It’ll make Mihashi feel good!” Tajima was halfway to his target, eyes dancing as he flinched each way Abe tried to escape. “Don’t you want to be in a team with him?”

“I’m already in a team with him- I don’t need a number to prove it!” An opening had appeared! Abe made a dash for it-

“GOTCHA!” Tajima cried, leaping at him and sending them both flailing into the field. “Now hold still!”

“Tajima, I already told you, I don’t need a number!”

“Come on- think of Mihashi!”

“It’ll never come out!”

“It's an erasable marker! It’s good for clothes!”

“Tajima!”

“Oh okay- if you’re really against it.” Abe heard the marker being recapped, a small sigh of relief escaping his lips.

“Can I at least draw a “2” on you with my finger then? No ink, I promise.” Tajima asked, a clear puppy eyed pout in his voice. Abe closed his eyes as he pressed his face into the field.

“Give me the marker.” It appeared before him. Alongside a second one. Abe turned a bit to raise a brow.

“You always need a backup.” Tajima shrugged with a sheepish laugh. The catcher rolled his eyes before flopping forward again.

“Fine. But JUST with your finger. My mom will be pissed if I come home with sharpie ink all over my uniform.”

“I told you, it was erasable! I only use a sharpie for Mihashi.” Tajima giggled as he got comfortable, sitting up and positioning his finger. “Ready?”

“Sure-” Abe got out before immediately wincing, startled by the tingling sensation of Tajima’s finger running down his spine. “Mm! T-Tajima, lighten up!”

“Does it hurt?” The cleanup hitter asked, doing so. To Abe’s dismay, it only made it worse.

“N-No it ti-ihihihiihckles!” The catcher yelped before dissolving into laughter, fists curling against the grassy field as he kicked out a leg, trying his best not to throw the other off. Maybe all that time spent with Mihashi made him more accepting to tickles? “Tahahajima, huuhuhurry uhuhuhup!”

“No way..” Tajima gaped down at him with wide eyes. Then he grinned. “Did I just discover a new tickle spot on the Abe Takaya? How lucky am I?”

“Doohohohn’t say my nahahame like thahahhat! Gehahaha, if yohoohu’re dohohone, get ohoh-EEHEHEH!” The catcher arched even more when Tajima switched from tracing to scratching, dancing one finger up and down the invisible “2” he drew on his friend’s back. “Doohohohn’t doohohohoho thahahhahat, yohohoohu ahahhahhahass!”

“What? I gotta fill it in! Can’t go around having a outline- no one will be able to distinguish it from a number or a pe-”

“Iihihihihihit’s nohohohohohot ehehehehheven viihihihihihisblehhehehe! Whahahhat doohohohoes it mahahahhatter if ihihihihit’s fiihihihilled in? Nohoohoh ohohohone’s gohoohhohonna knoohohohow!”

“I will! And I’ll always be haunted by my unfinished work! Be still- my canvas; the artist is at work!” Tajima doubled his scratching, increasing Abe’s giggle fits and yelps of laughter tenfold. “Now that the actual number is done, let’s add some color!”

“TAHAHHAJIIHIHMA!” The catcher all but shrieked when his ribs were suddenly grabbed, fingers pressing in at both sides. “WHAHAHAT HAHAHPPEHEHED TO THE NUUHUHUMBER?”

“Relax, I’m getting my pens! They’re somewhere in here…” Tajima continued to “search” for his pens within Abe’s ribcage, narrowing in on the terrible spots along his upper and lower sets just to keep him laughing. “Man, I really need to organize this space better. They’re all over the place in there! Abe, you gotta stop moving so much; the pens keep rolling away!”

“STHAHAHP FUHUUHUCKING TIIHIHIHCKLING MEHEHEH THEHEHEHEHEN!” Abe cried, thrashing like a fish out of water as his worst spots were drilled into. Above him, Tajima giggled like a child, delighted.

“Oo, you’re saying bad words! Bad Abe! Hehehe!” Finally, Tajima pulled his hands back, returning to his spine as he finished putting the last few touches onto his “design”. The tickles died down to a comforting amount, leaving Abe coughing through giggles as he caught his breath. “There we go..and done!”

The catcher let out a huff of air as Tajima climbed off, far too tired to get up and chase him. Around him chatter continued, the boys laughing over the sight or carrying on with whatever conversation they were having prior. Footsteps shuffled into view soon, coming to stand before him.

“A-Abe..I erm, brought you this..”

Something cold and paperlike touched his hand. Abe all but shot up at the water, taking and downing it in one greedy gulp. “You’re a lifesaver, Mihashi.”

The pitcher squeaked with shy pride, cheeks warming as he smiled at his hands. “I’m glad…and erm- I’m sorry about Tajima..I didn’t think he’d try to erm, you know…”

Ah. Abe resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he looked at the markers left abandoned in the grass.

If ONE uniform was kinda stained, maybe his mom wouldn’t be too mad…

“Go get Tajima.” He sighed in resignation, making Mihashi squeak in surprise. “Tell him to use an erasable one, cause if we can’t get it out, I’m kicking his ass.”

“Oh..Oh! Oh, erm- okay!” The pitcher nodded, practically vibrating with joy as he ran to get said clean up hitter. Shaking his head, Abe fell back onto his stomach in the warm grass, accepting his fate.

If it made Mihashi do his best, then let him be inked.

Thanks for reading!

[spahhzy]

Black Sheep.

Jaune was carrying Neo, who was just about to be executed for her long list of crimes against the kingdom of Vale, looking as he heard a stir amongst the crowd below. Neo tilted her head.

Jaune: Bout time Roman.

Roman dusted himself off as he looked up at the execution stand to where his partners were.

Roman: It's hard to do anything flashy when you charge head-on like that, you moron!

Neo was happy, ecstatic even to see that her best friend was alive and well!

Jaune smiled as he then noticed more Valean guards forming from behind him.

Jaune: Alright, here ya go!

Jaune lifted Neo over his head with one arm, much her embarrassment, but that was soon replaced by confusion and then realization at what he was planning on doing.

Neo: 'YOU ARE NOT GOING TO THROW YOUR GIRLFRIEND ARE YOU!?'

Roman: Wait-wait hold on now don't you think-

Jaune: Catch!

And with a windup, he simply tossed the little mute like a baseball. The siight,if not for the circumstances, was comical.

Smol girl thrown by toll boy.

Roman: Jaune, you bastard!!

Was all Roman got out before being smacked by Neo body, the force sending him to the ground.

Neo was the first fo recover.

Neo: I am going to MURDER YOU! '🤬🔪😨

Roman recovered soon after.

Roman: You idiot!

Jaune smiled before seeing from behind one Glynda Goodwitch walking up from behind.

Jaune turns back to Roman.

Jaune: Take Neo and get out of here, Roman.

Roman: Eh? What about you!

Jaune: I'll catch up.

Roman: Oh no, don't you dare start doing sad movie tropes!

Jaune: I'll catch up, I promise, sides, I have an anniversary gift I gotta give Neo, can't do that from a cell, can I?

Neo blushed but still had a crossed look on her face, as Roman helped her up to her feet.

Roman: You better be right behind us, moron.

Roman began to leave, but Neo looked unsure.

Roman: C'mon Neo, If anyone is going to keep his word, it's Jaune.

Neo still looked unsure, but reluctantly, she followed behind Roman.

Glynda saw the two fleeing and was going to stop them but was cut off by Jaune.

Jaune: Eye's with me deputy.

Glynda: You could have had such a promising future Jaune, if you took Ozpins deal, you could have done your family proud.

Jaune: It's always what I gotta do for everyone else and not what's best for me.

Glynda: And what's best for you aligning with criminals and mingling with a psychopath?

Jaune: What can I say? I was always the black sheep of my family.

[kirbybecomesastarwarrior]

Celarthur (Arthur x Celestine)

Arthur & Celestine's love is a core part of the story now. (I love them so much...)

Lady Celestine: Navigator of the Constellations: Celestine is the "Merlin" of the series but goes by "Merlyn" instead... I've discussed this in my previous posts, but basically, she was treated like a caged bird all her life (by the Ancients). Keeping her locked up in the temple so they could have exclusive use of her future vision.

Merlyn was Celestine's alter ego.

Whenever Celestine wanted to sneak out of the temple, she'd go out incognito as Merlyn. She became a vigilante of sorts, an outlaw to the G.S.A. but beloved by the people. Protecting the common people from monsters & fixing the destruction the war left...

But more importantly, she took this form to save Arthur...

Before he took the position, Sir Arthur was originally the right-hand man of Sir Uther, the first leader of the G.S.A. who was also his mentor... and he was a tyrant. Molding him in his image, Uther had trained Arthur to be the perfect soldier... a real killer. His most powerful chess piece...

Arthur had accepted all of it; this was his lot in life. He'd justify it in his head that it was all for the "greater good"... even though it was killing him on the inside. It seemed like that was the only path he could take. Uther's influence was slowly snuffing out all the light he had inside of him... he was an empty husk. That is... until a certain wizard entered the fray.

She'd appear before Arthur, popping up every chance she got to teach him morals, giving him life lessons, (low-key) making him her accomplice for her vigilante schemes: showing him he could be more than Uther's dirty henchman.

As time went on, she realized how similar they were to each other.

Arthur was forced to be this pillar of strength, the perfect soldier, as Uther's right-hand man. As for Celestine, she was forced to be this symbol of divinity and purity. But in reality, she was nothing more than a windup doll to be seen and not heard. She was able to be at ease with him, to truly be herself with him. (Even though she technically wasn't exactly herself...)

Celestine enjoyed watching him grow; she wanted him to succeed. His bitterness stemmed from his lack of self-worth and never feeling like he was enough. Ideas that had been planted in his head by Sir Uther ... At his core: Arthur was always this kind, gentle soul with a strong heart... His talents were just being used to serve such a selfish, heartless man (Sir Uther).

It made her all the more determined to bring out the best in him and show him all the wonders life had to offer. Bring back life into those cold, dead eyes of his. And those times she'd see Arthur enjoy himself and laugh (boy, did she love that laugh of his), those were the moments she fought for...

Soon, she genuinely started to believe in Arthur... even if she didn't have these visions of the future, she knew she'd still believe in the man who stood before her... soon another feeling came about... feeling she couldn't quite describe.

At first, Arthur hated the old wizard, tricking him, dragging him on these ludicrous misadventures. And yet, somehow he was able to defeat a seasoned warrior like himself. But what really ticked him... was when the old codger would claim that he saw visions of the future and had some "great destiny." (Utter nonsense)

These were delusions of an old man...or a mere trick to avoid arrest; he was just a soldier destined to die on the battlefield. This crazy magician was no better than his master... just another chess piece to him to help further his goal. The only reason he humored these "interactions" was because there was a chance to captured this dangerous rouge. But soon, he was able to see that the old mage really did genuinely care for him.

Merlyn would ask about his aspirations, his dreams even, and supported him like no one else did. And in times of trouble, he was always right on time to save him. But above all, Merlyn showed that his life mattered... he could make something of himself... whether he was a soldier or not. No one has ever cared or believed in him like that... he had someone that was there for him.

Arthur eventually grew attached to his eccentric teacher as well. Instinctively, he began to check around... if there was a chance that Merlyn was close by. Seeking out their guidance, desiring their teachings, and missing his company. Their lessons had given him hope; the darkness that once scorned his heart started to heal. For once in his life, he had a friend.

However, there was something oddly familiar about this magical mentor. Then, through a series of events; Arthur was able to figure out that Celestine was Merlyn. Of course, he was shocked, but he didn't care he'd found "Merlyn"... but made him curious as to why she did this... especially since the personas of the two were so different.

Around the same time, he was assigned to be Celestine's bodyguard. This allowed him to see her act as Lady Celestine, and she was just as trapped (in her role) as well. They are confined by the system that raised them. They were both being used and lied to by their master for their own benefit as the two of them suffered. (No wonder "Merlyn" could understand him so well...)

Celestine knew if they ever found out her real talents, the G.S.A & the Ancient would monopolize her abilities. She only ever showed them her future vision abilities & her forging powers (she was the blacksmith of the GSA). Which is why they never suspected her of being Merlyn. The Ancients were pleased with this... she was docile and easier to control.

But this safety net came at a price... Often overlooked and seen as useless by her peers. To Uther, her very existence was an insult to the rest of the heroes of Yore. She was weak and lacked any fighting abilities. Icarus loathed her: she rejected all his experiments (since they had to go through the temple, meaning her)... claiming they were dangerous. And she wouldn't allow him to experiment on the Fountain of Dreams. (I went into more detail in a previous post link here)...

Celestine knew they all thought lowly of her... she couldn't care less about what they thought about her. But their words and cold stares still hurt her; she tolerated it... but Arthur didn't.

Arthur knew the truth; she was Merlyn... the Merlyn. The great mage that had overpowered & outsmarted them all. It enraged him; he knew how capable & talented she really was. She was amazing... they never gave her a chance.

But he knew... even if she showed her true nature, they'd never accept her...that's why she had to create Merlyn...

After realizing this, Arthur tries to strike up a friendship with her as "Lady Celestine." However, when he'd talk to her, she'd only give polite & perfect answers (kind of like Princess Rona's guard acted in the anime). Celestine was in doll mode... it almost seemed as if she was lifeless. This saddened him greatly; in her eyes, the real her was begging to come out.

But Arthur knew the key to bringing out the real her...

One day, during some downtime, Arthur brought in a chess game for them. Hoping to bring out her competitive nature. As Merlyn, she could never say no to a challenge. The rush and thrill of the game consumed her; she showed him no mercy. Dropping the lady decorum, not realizing all her sassiness was spilling through.

After she had won the game, she couldn't help but gloat... needless to say, she was not so gracious in her victory. Arthur couldn't help but smile at the sight of this, "Aw, there she is..." As time went on, Arthur would do little like this that would encourage the real her to come out. It was always a triumph for him when the "Real Celestine" would come out. Her kookiness, her wittiness, her feistiness, her cute little quirks... he loved it all.

Prioritizing Celestine's comfort and happiness whenever he was with her. And would defend her honor every time she was insulted. (Even though he'd get in trouble sometimes, but he didn't care.) He just wanted to return the kindness she gave to him as Merlyn... by allowing her to be herself. (Needless to say, Arthur was pretty much smitten with her at this point.)

Meanwhile, Celestine started to become guilty of hiding her identity as Merlyn. She was becoming so close to him outside of her persona, and this didn't help her unknown feelings for him. And Arthur was being so sweet to her too... and here she was lying to him every day. It certainly didn't help these unknown feelings of hers.

(Good thing he already knows...)

However, this all comes to a head when Arthur saves "Merlyn" from nearly being captured by Sir Nonsurat. Arthur accidentally calls Celestine's name by mistake...whoops. And in that moment, Arthur lays all his cards out on the table. And even apologizing for his previous misjudging of her. Humbling himself before her, revealing his face to her for the first time.

Celestine was extremely proud of Arthur at this moment. The old Arthur would have turned her in without hesitation. To her, this was proof that Arthur had truly changed for the better. And his words touched her heart...

But she was very disappointed (not really) to find out that Arthur was handsome under there. When he was still a jerk, she'd always imagined him to have the ugliest face to match his horrible personality... like a toad (hence the nickname Wart).

Well, that image is shattered... She could still call him a "Prat," but... And she was so fond of the nickname... how was she supposed to call him Wart now?! Do you not see her dilemma?! (she still does, though it's... just more difficult to tease him now).

They return to the G.S.A. base only to find Sir Uther complaining how once again Merlyn had alluaded his grasp. Completely unaware that she was standing right behind him!

To this day, Arthur is the only one to ever find out about Merlyn's true identity. It was a secret that he & Celestine had shared: a secret that forever bonded them together... and before they knew it... they were already in love.

Fun facts / Inspo info/ more about Celarthur:

BTW...this is their theme Celathur:

I was listening to this the whole time I was creating this post; (feel free to reread the post while listening to this... <3)

Inspo/References:

The nicknames Celestine gives him (prat & wart) are a reference to Merlin (the TV series) - prat and the Once & Future King by T.H. White. (Book series & Radio drama) & the Disney movie "The Sword and the Stone". They were all my main inspiration when creating Lady Celestine overall. She's basically like Eclipsa from Star vs. the Forces of Evil.

Much like her counterpart (Disney & Book- Merlin), Celestine would put Arthur in scenarios where he had to be put in someone else shoes. Desperately trying to get Arthur to want better for himself.

But that sass comes from the ( Merlin TV series) and the banter between him and Arthur was my favorite part of the show. Their chemistry was so great... And did I ship Merthur (Arthur x Merlin)... yes I did!

The Once & Future King is my favorite retelling of the Arthurian legend if you want to listen to the Radio drama.

I got so much inspiration from this version... I highly recommend reading the book series. It's such a great read.

I also got Inspo from "The Legends of King Arthur."

Fun facts:

The vision that Celestine sees for Arthur is that he's supposed to be the match to spark the end of the dark era of the galaxy and bring forth the era of light. (Arthur is the match - Meta Knight is the spark- and Kirby is the light).

The reasons why the G.S.A called Merlyn an out law:

The Ancients regulated all magic users, and the very existence of Merlyn promoted wild magic. People would start to question their authority over it.

Sir Uther saw Merlyn as a threat; the public started to put their faith in this unregistered mage. It was the G.S.A.'s job to defend (monitor) the people. If they see Merlyn as their defender... he'd start to lose control over the public.

For Icarus, Merlyn was protecting civilians for free, which took away potential money. (Yep Icarus is the captilist)

This took so long to make because of Young Arthur's armor design (dang it, Arthur!)

About Celarthur:

Celestine's personality is very much a combination of the Disney Merlin & the TV series Merlin. She has a lot of silly quirks and bumbles and tends to lose herself when deep in thought about an idea(especially concerning her visions). She's a bit of a scatterbrain at times... But at her core, she's very wise and has a kind heart to guide her... and she had sass for days.

The name Merlin actually means Sea Fortress; which is why I gave her water powers (and bubble as well). Celestine would bubble Arthur when she was being particularly arrogant or annoying to her. To keep him in check... or to troll him (mostly that one).

Her foresight doesn't allow her to see everything (only seeing from point A to B)... and she doesn't see what happens in the middle. Which results in many of her spontaneous misadventures dragging Arthur in. "It'll all going to work out in the end, so let's just wing it... come on, prat!." Much to Arthur's annoyance... but of course, he eventually comes to love that about her.

Celestine's nicknames for Arthur: Wart, Prat, Golden Boy, and Art ( future nickname My King <3)

Arthur's nicknames for Celestine (& as Merlyn): Old codger, Wizard, Vicious Viper, Cel, Celty (future nickname My Queen <3)

Through all the telling and retelling of the Arthurian mythos, Merlin was always the one person to always believe in Arthur. He always pushed him to be better... to be the king he knew he could be.

I think that was the core reason why I chose to create a love story for Celestine & Arthur... Their dynamic: straight lace cop working for a corrupted system and is changed by a free-spirited vigilante...

Actually, I never planned to have a love story for Sir Arthur, but it was the best decision I ever made. NOW IT'S A CORE PART OF THE STORY AND I AM ONCE AGAIN MAKING MYSELF WEEP...

CELARTHUR EVERYBODY! ~

[jesuisstay]

Lurch

Chan x bestfriend!Reader

Angst but then so cute and fluff I once again just wanted to hurt my own feelings Enjoy babes!

His figure was outlined in shadows on the couch, which normally would be terrifying but you had sensed it come. How could you not? You had barely spoken all week, something completely unheard of. When you went to dinner as a group, you chose to sit at the table with the younger boys as opposed to the one with Chan. It had thrown a myriad of looks across the table, you did your best just to bat them off like you couldn’t see them.

You weren’t waiting for him in the hallway when your classes let out. No foot tapping or hip jutting as you wait for him to wrap up conversation with his professor.

A stranger now filled the space he did on the subway, pressing you uncomfortably against other as you attempted to make yourself as small as possible. Your security blanket of him was gone.

But he knew the code to your apartment and the door man knew him. It was only matter of time until he took this into his own hands. Well more than then just calling and texting constantly.

You stop in your tracks, taking your time to put your items away before going to meet him in the living room.

“I think that you should have at least given me a heads up if you were gonna take it this far.”

“Oh would you actually answer that one, Y/N?” He stood up to see you, but the tense windup in his shoulders beat all the spite in his words before he had even turned to face you.

“No. You’re not throwing this back at me Christopher! You're not the one who gets upset right now.”

“Well when my best friend in the world cuts all communication from me and acts like I don’t exist, I think it calls for a more extreme approach.” Best friend, the words slapped you in the face harder than they had for the past months.

“I LET YOU KNOW EVERYTHING! I POURED MY HEART OUT TO YOU! I TOLD YOU EVERYTHING. Every happy thing, everything that hurt me, anything that scared me. I'll tell you what I get in return.” Your finger jabbed at him, poking his chest as you strode towards him in your anger.

“I heard that sample Changbin was playing, saying that you all were going to use it to make something huge. MY LYRICS CHRISTOPHER. YOU TOOK MY LYRICS WITHOUT EVEN TELLING! JUST TO TRY AND PITCH IT TO SOME MAJOR COMPANY TO MAKE A BIG BUCK.”

The anger from his face dropped immediately. Smack him, smug bastard. Your stomach revolted a bit with your mind thinking that. But you won’t lie that your heart was okay with the idea.

“Y/N, please just let me explain-“ He reached forward, attempting to hold your arm before you yank back, placing the coffee table between the two of you.

“I don’t think that there is anything you can say to make this better, Chris. What I want is for you to just leave me alone right now.”

“Y/N please,” You couldn’t even look him in the eye. You knew that would be your downfall. If you looked in those big brown eyes of his, it would all be over. 

You’d run back to his arms and forgive him. You’d go on living the rest of your life with guilt digging at the wound.

You turn away, not really wanting to leave your own apartment, but you just need to be away.

“IT’S A SONG FOR YOU! THE BOYS WERE HELPING ME PUT IT TOGETHER AS GIFT.” You could hear the desperation in his voice as you slipped a shoe on.

“I was gonna use it to confess to you.” You stopped dead, shoes slipping out of your hands. The crash of it hitting the floor was deafening in the apartment.

You could hear his footsteps coming closer to you, your heartbeat picking up with each step. Thoughts start catching pace with your heartbeat, only silenced by his hand on your shoulder.

“What do you mean to confess? You went on like three dates with Sana last month?!”

“I helped Sana with some tracks while we ate dinner. It’s actually very stressful and also very inefficient which is why it took three separate nights.”

“You canceled one of our movie nights for that,” You turned to him slowly, keeping your eyes level with his chest to avoid what puppy eyes he was probably giving you.

“And then we spent the entire next day together down by the river, we sat and watched everyone else. Then when you fell asleep on my lap, I knew I didn’t have the option but to confess.”

“You had these petals in your hair, they kept floating down and landing on you. I let them stay there for a second or two until I moved them. I didn’t want your allergies to start acting up. But with you just laying there, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to keep this to myself anymore.”

“Anymore?” His fingers touch your chin. You breathe in deeply, prepping to look at him as he tips your head upwards.

“Y/N, my darling, my dear. My best friend in the whole world. I’m completely in love with you. And I think I’ve been in love with you since I first met you.”

You chuckle a little bit. “I wouldn’t think that me lurching into someone on the subway is the most romantic thing in the world. Surely not something that invokes love at first sight.”

“Maybe not, but I’m happy that our souls meet that way. That we met and they decided to never untie from each other.”

“I’m happy that our souls decided that too

[queenofcats17]

The Ink Demonth 27

Today's theme is Revenge.

And I decided to do some stuff for the Ink Demon Henry AU.

=============================================

All his life, Henry Stein had been told to take the high road and be the bigger man. He'd done his best to follow that advice, to try and talk through disputes, to be patient and understanding, and to try not to raise his voice in anger.

And Joey had taken advantage of that.

He might not have been the real Henry Stein, but he had enough of his memories to remember that much. Joey had placed so many responsibilities and expectations on Henry's shoulders that it had crushed Henry. Henry had left the studio for his own health and happiness and Joey had had the gall to take that as a betrayal. After everything he'd done to Henry, he had the nerve to take Henry putting himself first as a betrayal.

And if that wasn't enough, Joey had gone on to create his petty little revenge pocket dimension after nearly 30 years of stewing on his grudge, sending his copy of Henry through loop after loop of torment to exact his vengeance.

In the beginning, Henry had been angry. He'd done everything he could to rebel against Joey's story, to try and find a way out. But no matter what he'd done... He hadn't been able to change anything. No matter how hard he fought, no matter how many times he tried to derail the story, it always ended the same way. After a certain point, he'd just become numb. He'd stopped talking unless the script prompted him to, just going through the motions like a windup toy.

That was his life for... he didn't even know how long. Going through the cycle over and over and over again, dancing on Joey's puppet strings.

Until, one day, it stopped.

Henry found himself back at the beginning of the loop but something felt... different. It didn't feel like the script was there anymore, pushing him along. Tentatively, to test his hypothesis, Henry remained by the door, waiting to see if he was forced forward. And, miraculously, nothing happened. No one forced him back on script, nothing took control of his body to force him back on track. There was... nothing. Henry almost couldn't believe it. Were they finally free? Had Joey finally let them go?

Of course, this wasn't the case, as he would later find out, but for a time it had truly seemed like they were free from the cycle. Even the Ink Demon seemed baffled by this sudden change, reducing his usual attacks as he took in his newfound freedom.

Then Wilson had arrived, and their torment began anew.

Henry had no idea who Wilson was or what he wanted, but he sure seemed to hate Joey Drew. While that was something Henry thought the two of them might be able to agree on, it seemed Wilson also hated every inky creature that resided in the studio as well. He rounded up Lost Ones and experimented upon them. He sent his strange Keepers to wipe out all who showed loyalty to the Ink Demon.

And Henry had found himself right back where he started, a prisoner of a man who needed some serious therapy. At least when he'd been Joey's prisoner, he'd been to move around and do things. Now he was stuck in a cell with nothing to do but draw and write. And day by day, Henry's anger began to build. The longer he spent in that barren cube, the angrier he became. He was sick of being treated like a thing, sick of being kept as a prisoner, sick of just laying down and taking the abuse because he couldn't fight back. But once again, he couldn't do anything about his captivity.

Until a strange little Bendy came stumbling into the holding cell area, terrified and clearly injured. For a moment, Henry had been confused by the appearance of such a perfect Bendy. Not even Joey had been able to create such a thing. How had Wilson done it? Then his eyes had met the little Bendy's, and he'd realized just who this was.

The Ink Demon stared back at him, small and scared and desperate and hurt.

Despite all the times the Ink Demon had killed and hurt him, Henry had never viewed the Demon as his enemy. From his perspective, the Demon had been just as much of a victim as he was, forced into a role that he didn't want by a man who had never treated him with anything other than cruelty. The Ink Demon had deserved better, at least in Henry's opinion.

And now someone else had hurt the Ink Demon even more.

Henry's rage, already at a record high, hit its boiling point. He slammed his hand against the glass of the cell, a spiderweb of cracks flaring out from the impact site. The Ink Demon flinched back.

Henry winced, forcing himself to soften his expression and voice. "Don't worry," he said gently. "I'm not mad at you, bud."

The Ink Demon stared at him, clearly still a bit wary.

"I'm mad at Wilson," Henry continued, trying very hard not to let too much of his anger leak out. "You're mad at him too, right?"

Fear flared in the Ink Demon's eyes and he glanced back the way he'd come, his whole body beginning to shake.

"I'm not going to let him hurt you," Henry said. "Not again. I'm going to keep you safe."

The Ink Demon looked back at him, gesturing to the glass of the cell as if to ask, "How?"

Henry smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. "Just give me a second."

Then he let that smile drop and punched the glass again, channeling every bit of his rage and frustration into the blow. The spiderweb cracks spread out more and he could hear the glass creaking. It seemed weakened. So, he picked up his stool and threw it at the window.

The glass shattered outward, causing the Ink Demon to jump back as glass littered the floor. The impact had left a hole that seemed just large enough for Henry to crawl through, although judging from the jagged shards that lined it, it wasn't going to be fun.

Henry let out a long sigh. "Alright, here we go."

The Ink Demon, seemingly realizing they were really doing this, picked up the stool and smashed out a few more shards, widening the hole enough that Henry could get through without getting stabbed too much. Once he was satisfied, he put the stool back down and looked at Henry, holding a hand out to him.

Henry took it without a second thought, allowing the Ink Demon to help pull him through the hole and into the cell block.

"Alright." Henry stood up, dusting himself off. "Let's get out of here."

The Ink Demon nodded. To Henry's surprise, the Ink Demon took his hand, clinging to him like a child.

Henry softened. "Mind if I pick you up, bud?" He asked. "It might be faster if I carry you."

The Ink Demon hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Thanks." Henry scooped him up into his arms, carefully cradling the Ink Demon against his chest as he proceeded out of the holding area.

Once they'd managed to make it out of Wilson's strange factory, and gotten clear of those strange Tesla coils, the Ink Demon had returned to his usual form, and the two of them had hashed out a deal.

The Ink Demon was weaker now, his power diminished by whatever Wilson and the Keepers had done to him. As near as he could tell, to function as well as he had before, he would need some sort of partner. Which was where Henry came in. Henry might not have had the same sort of power others in the cycle possessed, but his ink held certain properties that could prove beneficial in keeping the Ink Demon stable.

The Ink Demon had seemed unsure as to whether or not Henry would accept his proposition, especially after everything he'd done to him, but Henry had accepted the deal.

"I'm tired of being nice," he'd said. "I want to make that bastard pay."

"Then pay he shall," the Ink Demon had replied with a satisfied purr. "We shall balance the scales by our hands."

And for the first time in a long time, Henry felt... excited. Finally, he was taking back some power.

Finally... Finally, he was going to get even.

[intheticklecloset]

That's a Wrap (Big Windup!)

Summary: Mihashi struggles with wrapping gifts, but thankfully Tajima is there to keep him from getting too down about it.

A/N: Christmas fic #2 of 4! I was surprised in proofreading this that I didn't have to edit anything. One of those exceedingly rare "got it the first time" fics! I miss my Big Windup boys. 💖 Enjoy!

Word Count: 941

~~~

Mihashi was awful at wrapping gifts.

He knew this, of course; he hadn’t lived sixteen years on this planet without figuring that much out about himself. But he didn’t know why he was so bad at it. Something about rationing out the right amount of paper and then actually wrapping the gift in a way that made sense eluded him. Oh, and if said gift wasn’t a perfect shape and had all kinds of weird angles to work with? Forget it.

Still, he was trying his best, sitting in Tajima’s living room with his friend, candy canes sticking out of their mouths as they worked. The team had decided to do a White Elephant exchange of sorts, and somehow the two of them had been tasked with wrapping each of the gifts that had been brought over. Mihashi didn’t know why everyone didn’t just wrap their own things, but he certainly wasn’t going to argue about it. It was an excuse to hang out with Tajima, and he’d missed the comfortable feeling that came with being around his polar opposite.

After his fourth attempt to wrap a perfectly square box without any excess paper or tape, however, even Tajima was beginning to realize he’d made a mistake having Mihashi be the one to help him with this project.

“Dude, seriously, how are you so bad at wrapping presents?” the cleanup hitter exclaimed, examining the pitcher’s latest failure. One half of the box had barely enough paper while the other half had far, far too much. It looked awful. They’d have to do it again…again.

Mihashi pulled his candy cane out of his mouth to reply. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why – I’ve always had trouble with this. Maybe it’s the geometry? I’m no good at math.”

“I suck at math, too, but you don’t see my presents looking like this.” Tajima reached for the last one he’d done – a perfectly executed wrapping job, and it was even a gift that had a bajillion angles. “See? A perfect present.”

The pitcher fidgeted, setting his roll of wrapping paper aside. “Maybe I should just…let you do this?”

Tajima nodded his agreement, making grabby hands for the discarded roll. “Yeah, I think it’s for the best.” He took the extra paper, then frowned when he saw how sad his friend looked. “Hey, cheer up. This just isn’t your thing. Are you good at making cocoa and handing out candy canes?”

Mihashi nodded. “I t-think so.”

“Then that’s what we’ll have you do. Problem solved.” Tajima gently prodded the ace in the ribs with the tip of his scissors. “Don’t turn into a Grinch on me, now. That’s Abe’s thing. He’d be mad if you took it from him.”

Despite himself, Mihashi did smile a little. Abe was unofficially the team’s resident “Grinch,” but it wasn’t like he’d fought tooth and nail for the title. He also probably wouldn’t be upset to have it taken from him, but the pitcher definitely didn’t want it. Abe could keep it.

“Smile, Mihashi,” Tajima urged, poking him again.

The pitcher bit his lip to keep from giggling but did in fact smile openly at the ticklish feeling shooting through his body. He squirmed in place, darting a fleeting glance at the energetic boy beside him, and that was all it took.

Soon Mihashi was a fit of squealing giggles and weak attempts to push Tajima’s hands away as they found purchase on his sides. Thank goodness he’d taken his candy cane out of his mouth or he would have been choking on it by now. Then again, it probably had carpet strands all over it at this point, which meant he’d have to get a new one.

He didn’t care.

Tajima beamed at him. “There you go, doesn’t that feel better? Just let it out. Come on, I want to hear you.”

“Ehehehehehehe! Tahahahahajima!”

“Good deal. No moping when we’re wrapping Christmas presents, got it?”

“Okahahahahahahay!”

“Speaking of cocoa, though, I think I could use a mug. We have the mix in the pantry – think you could make us some?”

Mihashi had no idea how Tajima held up an entire conversation just on his own while tickling him to pieces, but he didn’t mind it at all. If anything it helped him relax even more. “Yehehehehehes!”

“Cool. I like mine with tons of marshmallows. Ooh, and whipped cream! Though I’m not sure if we have any…”

“Tahahahahahahajima!”

“Hmm? Oh, sorry – am I getting close to a good spot?” the cleanup hitter teased easily, knowing the answer just as well as his poor friend did. He smirked, gradually worming his way up into Mihashi’s underarm with one hand while still squeezing along his sides and ribs with the other. “Let’s hear it, Mihashi. I like my cocoa with…?”

“M-Mahahahahaharshmallows!” Mihashi squealed, growing more frantic by the second. He spasmed when Tajima finally dug into his armpit, tossing his head back and laughing freely. “AHAHAHAHAHA PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE!!”

“Marshmallows aaaaaaand…?” Tajima insisted playfully.

“WH-WHIHIHIHIHIPPED CREHEHEHEHEHEAM!! I – I CAN MAHAHAHAHAKE IT!! PLEHEHEHEHEHEASE, TAJIMA!!”

Deciding his friend had had enough for now, Tajima let up and ruffled his hair, helping him back up into a sitting position. “Help yourself to whatever toppings you like. We’ve got plenty, thanks to my giant family.”

The pitcher giggled and nodded his acknowledgement, shakily getting to his feet and moving toward the kitchen.

Tajima called, “You can help me with the tape when you get back! Can’t screw up rationing out tape, right?”

Mihashi wasn’t sure, but he was eager to continue helping in any way he could. But first, cocoa. With lots of marshmallows and whipped cream.

[angeldrawsstuffs]

I’m bored so TIME TO IMPART JAY ANGST UPON YE

So- we all know Jay isn’t exactly having the best time in the Nutcracker AU already, right? Well, I’m here to tell you that it gets worse.

You know how Jay’s role in the story is the Nutcracker Prince’s (Kai’s) general? Well, this means that he’s a person of interest to the rat army… especially if one would want to say… hold someone the prince is close to hostage in order to get the prince to surrender?

This is going exactly the way you think it is.

Jay is kidnapped by the rat army, but they aren’t just content with having him there, oh no. They want to make him talk. They think he knows of battle plans (that don’t actually exist because Kai has other priorities right now) and they’re going to make him spill them by any means necessary.

Cue poor, poor Jay being subjected to having his key wound up and then violently ripped out of his back while being mocked by the rat generals. Afterwards he’s thrown in a cage, left to try to calm himself down and keep still, lest he use up more wind than he needs to, all the while the sound of the gears inside of him tick and turn, a slow, agonizing countdown to the inevitable. All the while the generals continue to throw insults, play around with his key in front of him, or even physically attacking him in his vulnerable state. Sometimes they him false hope of the key being returned, other they let him know how he’s likely dragging his team down with his constantly needing to be wound up and limited mobility, so why would they come for him, a useless, annoying windup toy?

The pain and humiliation also reminds him far too much of Misfortune’s Keep.

Eventually, Jay does wind down, a mercy, almost. Thankfully, he soon wakes up to his friends, who, even though they had almost completed the story and broken the spell, came back for him.

If Jay were capable of crying in his current form, he would.

[mimble-sparklepudding]

A very Happy Starlight Celebration to all the various OC couples and shipped couples and OCs shipped with canon characters!

It's not something I tend to focus on personally, but I really enjoy learning more about other people's characters and their relationships, whether tragic, romantic, spicy or wholesome.

Oh and I say "couples", but obviously this also applies to all the lovely group marriages, polycules and other variations in terms of number, gender and species (and height in some cases).

(Special mention to @furys-mercy for taking the time to explain to me what a polycule actually was!)

If love, sex and the various permutations to be found therein are something you like to read about I can recommend some FFXIV blogs...

@kissstealkai - Aymeric and OC

@hywl - Estinien and OC (and impressive chest hair)

@minilborel Aymeric and OC

@spotofmummery Amon and Scylla (but clones, it's complicated)

@scholarlostintime /@loldragoon-ffxiv OC and OC (and carbuncles and small children)

@nights-at-crystarium G'raha and OC

@amarestellas Pipin and OC

@pinxli OC and OC (plus supporting cast)

@miqomischief / @kskellington Four OC polycule marriage by two amazing writers.

@blucifer08 Elidibus and OC (more angst than you can shake a tragic narrative at)

@windup-dragoon Hien and OC

@talion-graves OC and sometimes other OC, but so so pretty...

@furys-mercy Multiple OC polycule

@avettabendrot Haurchefant and OC (and many baked goods)

@meepsthemiqo OC with different ships - Asahi, Emmanellain and others!

@superiorthaumaturge OC and OC (with current pirate AU shenanigans)

@firelightmuse G'raha and OC & Aymeric and other OC (two for the price of one)

@lunaria-de-borel Aymeric and OC (and angst, also potato-based dishes)

@windupsanson Sanson and Guydelot

@draculas-husband Count Edmont and OC (it's dadtastic)

@healersadjust G'raha and OC (with nice gposing)

@lizzy-of-the-dotharl-tribe OC and Sadu

@yloiseconeillants sometimes OC and Artoirel (and his critiques of her decorating choices)

@umbralaether G'raha and OC (with much beautiful Gpose and art)

Apologies to anyone I left out, this is just a quick list I dashed off.

This is one of my favourite Christmas Adverts and it reminds me a bit, in the best possible way, of the happiness people find in shipping and the happiness that brings me in turn.

Have a very Shippy Starlight Celebration!

[woltourney]

ROUND 1 / SIDE A / POLL 10

K'rona Bahmu (@hikaruhoshina) v. Heliox Kha (@windup-estinien)

K'rona Bahmu:

q. What is your WoL name and pronouns? a. K’rona Bahmu and she/her

q. What is your WoL's species? a. Miqo’te

q. What is your WoL's class? Or classes? a. Paladin

q. What data centre/server are you on, if you want people to find you? a. Chaos, Louisoix

q. Tell us a bit about your WoL! a. K’rona’s 25 (26 in Endwalker) years old, bi and autistic. She loves pink stuff, cute stuff, food, fantasy books and fashion. She’s a hopeless romantic, energetic, peppy but can be a bit of a klutz, silly and she’s a huge crybaby. K’rona was separated from her family in the Calamity and lost her memory, only remembering her name, age and namesday. She originally got a job at a Tavern in hopes her memory would return eventually or she’d run into someone who knew her. 5 years past and neither of those things happened and K’rona was incredibly lonely and depressed. Seeing the adventures that had come to the Tavern from time to time, she aimed to become one in the hopes of making friends and finding out about her past. Travelling to Ul’dah, she met Thancred and fell in love with him (though she wouldn’t admit this to him till Endwalker) and by meeting the scions, she finally found she had friends and felt happy for the first time in years.

q. Why should YOU win? (Answer IC!) a. To think I’d be in a competition to determine if I’m the best WOL…! sniffle Ack! I can’t start crying just yet! I wouldn’t of honestly made it this far without my friends helping me along the way but I hope you’ll vote for me!!! Or at the least, vote for me because I’m the cutest ehehe~ >w<

Heliox Kha:

q. What is your WoL name and pronouns? a. Heliox Kha (he/him)

q. What is your WoL's species? a. xaela au ra

q. What is your WoL's class? Or classes? a. Bard/Dark Knight

q. What data centre/server are you on, if you want people to find you? a. Phoenix; Light!

q. Tell us a bit about your WoL! a. Heliox is a sheep-herder turned adventurer when the gift of the echo and the longing to travel took him from the expanse of the Steppe into the bustling city of Kugane and then into the colorful variances of Eorzea. He never sought out the adventurer life - he simply always wants to lend a helping hand, and his deeds oft end up uplifting spirits as well - but he finds it agrees with him, and he wouldn't give it up for all the stars in the sky. In his free time, he writes and performs music. Also he is bi and transgender :3

q. Why should YOU win? (Answer IC!) a. "I should only win if we all can win. Wait, how does this work?"

q. Anything else you wanna add? a. I like him :) AND YOU LIKE HIM TOO, FELLOW CITIZEN

[less-than-three-3]

Lies of P might be the best souls game I've played

this is only half a joke tbh

There's so much talk about how yeah it might be one of the best soulslikes out there but it still can't reach the quality of the Fromsoft games and I'm just like... no, Neowiz has really got the baton and delivered a really great evolution of the linear Souls "genre".

There are definitely some rough spots (but so do the Souls games) but what they've presented and improved on is truly magnificent. It's not Bloodborne x Sekiro (PLEASE STOP SAYING THIS OML), but it is very much its own thing and does what it sets out to do very well, in a lot of aspects. Full ramblings below, some spoilers likely.

I want to preface everything I am going to say by reiterating that, though this delivers a lot of Souls elements excellently (and some not), this is very much its own game, and not only stands on its own two feet but runs a mile with them. I feel like a lot of folks play Soulslike games (even by Fromsoft themselves lol) and expect all their skills and knowledge to transfer over, or expect mechanics to work and present themselves just like in Souls games, and it's because those are the golden standard for many people. I get it, but it's still kind of meaningless - not because "the games can't compete/compare with them" but because they do different things and excel at providing different experiences; they may be "souls-like" in nature but there are so many different directions one could take with the genre.

And so I was elated to really get to know the mechanics of Lies of P (I'll refer to it as LoP). I won't lie, when I played the demo, I didn't really get it yet, so I definitely felt a little frustrated, but once you get the hang of it, the controls are so satisfying the whole way through (like the Souls games! wow!). I think maybe a lot of people forget that this learning curve is a huge part of what makes the Souls games tick, because they've put in so many hours into "getting good", and so when they have to go back up the curve, they feel frustrated again.

The main thing is, obviously, the parry system, which is pretty much the mechanic LoP really uses to separate itself from the From catalogue. Is it like Sekiro? Yeah sure yes both games use perfect parries to build stagger, but I contend that it is even still very distinct from Sekiro's parry system. In Sekiro, the game is the parry system, it's more or less how you actually kill most bosses, with Vitality only acting as a way to make progress to help you build up stagger.

In LoP, there's two big things that make it very different. The first is obvious as soon as you fight that first big dude with the parry tooltip - attack patterns are not nearly as rhythmic and fast paced as in Sekiro, mostly. Long windups and big tells make some aspects of getting used to parrying easy, but at the same time the timings can be very tricky and can demand a lot of attention. This alone really contributes to a very different game feel, even though they are both, nominally "perfect parry" systems.

Another thing is that the parry timing window is quite tight. Some would say it's too tight, but I honestly think a lot would be lost if the parrying were too easy. In Sekiro, the parry window is actually quite wide, but locks you out and heavily punishes you for fishing for parries, forcing you to be methodical and patient even if fights get hectic. In LoP, it's quite the opposite - there's a lot of time between attacks often, and it forces decision making and risk/reward between attempting to parry, blocking (and taking the rally-able damage), dodging, or hitting them (and maybe having time to parry or dodge still).

The delicate balance between these options is very important; if parrying were always the right option, then yeah it would just be Sekiro - that's not interesting. But perfect parrying is not the only way to build stagger which makes all options at least somewhat useful, and you can even build your p-organ (lol) and whetstone to help you build stagger with just attacks, more like Elden Ring's charged R2 stagger fishing. Sometimes if you aren't comfortable with a parry timing, then the right play is to dodge or block. Insisting there is only one right answer for approaching any given boss is inherently antithetical to this game's design - and I'd argue to Souls games in general.

And this brings me to another common complaint - the dodge isn't that good, and upgrade should not have been locked behind p-organ. I also really disagree with this, in part because I didn't actually really think the p-organ upgrades were that game changing. But it is also in part that if the dodge is too strong, like a DS3 roll, then again that balance is thrown out of wack and dodging becomes the right answer too often. This is still a "parry game", and if dodge becomes preferable to parrying, that's an issue. Parrying shouldn't be the only answer, but it also shouldn't be much weaker than other options. Additionally, having an especially weaker dodge at the beginning forces those stubborn Souls players to stop mashing the dodge button and force them to actually learn and engage with the parry mechanics - nudging you to learn without blatantly telling you to.

I did really enjoy the p-organ as a way to express and expand a player's build choices, though I felt like some nodes and slots were just completely useless, and the choice for which 2 nodes to go for was too obvious. If it were, for example, +1 heal, improved dodge, increased stagger damage, and damage mitigation, or something, that's a very compelling choice to do. But I don't use the cube and I don't think the stagger window is too short, etc., so I felt like some slots were just not that interesting. Phase 4 is a great example of a very compelling node choice, and I wished all of them were like that.

Though speaking of build choices, holy fucking shit this game's build options are SO COOL! I absolutely loved the modular weapon system, and I respecced a good few times to play with various different weapon combinations. The boss weapons were a little disappointing to me but that's ok because goddamn the weapon customization system carried the hell out of the game. I do wish the slash vs. stab proficiency wasn't as prominent but even with that, I was able to make so many silly weapons. Big sawblade baton/cleaver (which carried a lot of my playthrough), rocket wrench, crit dagger spear, etc.

Being able to use a blade I liked, keeping its upgrades, with a new handle that has a new moveset is just such an incredible idea that I can't believe From never thought of something like it. Each part also has their own weapon arts, and while they were a little homogenous at times, this kind of system has huge potential, especially if you can make it Ash of War-like and become a third layer of modularity. For a build diversity fanatic this was a goldmine, and I can see myself replaying it to get the other endings with a bunch of other weapon combinations and builds. For me, this was easily the best part of the game.

Something else I really liked that I think maybe would go under the wayside in discussions is how they present the story and quests. Souls fans might not like it if it feels too "handholdy" but I really appreciated the game telling me "yeah this NPC has shit to say to you right now". And the story itself was honestly pretty impressive, with some Souls-like "world discovery" moments but also mainly straightforwardly presenting moments and arcs, however intertwined. I did not expect what outwardly just looks like an edgy Pinocchio adaptation to have so much interesting lore, history, and plot moments. Probably one of the biggest surprise hits of the game for me.

But for as much as they really took the Souls formula and ran with it and elevated it, there are definitely some things I wished were improved on. The map design, both visually and in layout, was pretty disappointing. It's aesthetically good for sure, but nowhere near what From delivers. And in terms of layout, the maps are really quite linear, sure with twists and turns but hardly any exploration or branches to check out - map design elements I have come to know and love from playing the Soulsborne games.

Boss design I also felt was just a bit too inspired from Souls. Don't get me wrong, I think the boss quality is actually quite high and fits very well generally with the game's mechanics. But there are some bosses where I'm just like, ok I get why you wanted to include this because Souls has a habit of doing these, but you really didn't have to. There are a couple of bosses with extra appendages that swing after attacks (one especially takes after Gael, which I know people love, but..), and that's just really annoying to try to parry and I feel like I either end up bsing the parry, or I just eat the block chip damage. There are couple gank bosses... woo... I guess... But I did really enjoy most of the bosses (though nothing is breaking my top 10, probably). Just, I could really tell that this sure is a love letter to the Souls games from the boss design lol.

The music is actually quite good - boss themes and especially the records you collect are beautiful. But I am once again pretty disappointed by most of the game just being silent, which is a carry over from the Souls trilogy that I really wish did not carry over. Especially because there are segments that do have music that I really loved - notably the final area and the church with the organ music playing that fades out as you get further away from the main chapel. I dunno, it's not really worse than in the Souls games, but it just stings that much more that there is some really great music that they kind of just confine to the record player, which shows to me that they can make great ambient music but just didn't want to make any for the actual areas.

But despite that, overall, I truly loved playing this game. I think I honestly enjoyed it more than the Souls trilogy for sure, and maybe even more than Bloodborne (Sekiro and Elden Ring are still solidly near-perfect experiences and hard to beat). It plays nothing like Bloodborne, and is very distinct from Sekiro and the Souls games; it very boldly and excellently carves its own space within the genre. And with that post-credits scene (for which the big reveal was fucking hilarious), I surely cannot wait for what they make next, either a sequel or DLC, and the improvements they'll bring, as they expand this fairy-tale-verse (lol).