#fk not even one game all together

[xbinksc]

nsfw smut detailed alphabet with nicholas chavez plsssss

Ahhhhhh I’m so happy someone asked for this😵‍💫

LETS GAURRRRRR

Not proofread and very rushed do not come for me

Warning nsfw duhh

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

It takes him a second to get back into his body (if that even makes sense) but that doesn’t last long cause as soon as he regroupes himself he’s making sure you have what u need to be comfortable and of course the pillow talk is his fav! He does what he can to show how much he adores and appreciates you.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

This man has worked hard for his body so naturally he’s proud of every part of himself but if he had to pick one it would probably be his thighs (and how u look riding them Oop-). Nicholas is an ass man at heart but is obsessed with your collarbones and your lips.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

He’s messy af😫 when he’s not finishing inside you (with ur consent duh) he’s finishing on your face,your mouth,your stomach, your thighs or your chest.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

he’s so obsessed with you that he can’t get off unless it’s to a video of you or has something of yours somewhere near him you laugh about it but you secretly love that you have that kinda hold on him😈

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

It’s no secret that before he met you he was getting around so he’s definitely experienced and knows what he’s doing but he’s also learned a lot from you considering he doesn’t see you as another one of his flings so it’s different for him.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Doggy is y’all’s go to for sure he loves the view and grabbing u by the neck while slowly bringing u close to his chest😵‍💫 nac does appreciate a little missionary or cowgirl moment tho.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

There are times he’ll throw in a few jokes mid fk but he’s quite concentrated making sure u feel good for the most part.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Very well groomed but he’s not very hairy in general

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

No matter what mood he’s in sex between you both is very intimate Eye contact, soft whispers, moaning in each others ears and hands linked together.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

he doesn’t jack off as often since you guys started dating but when he does it’s nothing out of the ordinary just a quick spank sesh lmao

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Off the top of my head edging,doing it in public, ice play,slightly masochistic

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

literally everywhere. He just loves the idea that he can pick u up and bend u over anywhere and anytime (with consent😋)

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Doesn’t take much for him ur mere presence turns him on but if he was to describe a scenario it would most probably be seeing you do really “wifey”shit like something as simple as u sweeping the floor lmao

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

do not ask this man for a threesome🥲

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

A GIVER THROUGH AND THROUGH AND HE IS GOOD a little too good the view of you throwing your head back at the feeling of his tongue is equal to a Picasso art piece in his mind.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Usually starts off pretty slow but progressively gets faster and rougher

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Quickies all day everyday🙂 jk but I’d say due to both of your busy schedules quickies are quite often between the two of you.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

He’s willing to experiment but more vanilla leaning typa stuff nothing too hard core

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

2-3 rounds max but it’s rare y’all hit the 3rd round cause he lasts long and as I said takes it slow in the beginning so 1 round can last like a little over an hour

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

He’s willing to an extent but y’all never tried them nor made it a priority. You’re bodies are enough for eachother.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

he absolutely loves to see u squirm under his control😵‍💫🫠he’s the biggest tease

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

He’s not very loud he’s more of a moan n groan in your ear type of guy

W = Wild card (a random headcanon)

One time y’all came home from a red carpet event drunk and h0rny as hell so the second u hit the door step y’all got to it removing your clothes piece by piece while making out making your way up the stairs and unbeknownst to you his tie that he removed fell right under ur foot and you slipped and hit ur head leaving u with an open gash on your forehead so y’all had to make your way to the emergency room but fortunately you were fine just a couple stitches although having to explain to the doctors the situation was verrrry awkward and to this day Nicholas refuses to not carry you up the steps.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

A good 8.5-9 inches and not very thick

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

It depends how many projects,interviews,etc he’s juggling. Naturally he has a high sex drive but he’s able to suppress it for the most part if needed.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

He’s hype immediately after so during that time he’s usually taking care of you and getting glasses of water and the whole schtick but very often once he’s back in bed laying down it’s as if someone tranquilized him he just knocks tf out once the adrenaline is gone

[duplicityvn]

I saw your post regarding TKATB and it got me thinking…I’m not a fan of the yandere archetype (or just dark archetypes in general), but I decided to learn more about it after seeing a few YouTube videos. As someone from "the outside", I find the genre easier to understand as a horror category first and foremost. However, because yandere content seems to overlap with content by romance fans, for whom the interest is in the romantic aspect first, I understand why people are upset with the TKATB update. If someone judge these games by the standards of the romance category alone, they’re bound to be criticized, because horror and romance (as genres) don’t fulfill the same expectations. I guess my point is…there might be a need to find ways for people who want a romance game with dark themes VS people who want a horror game with dating as a mechanic to better identify which games are for them. Because while some games might be for both (maybe? Idk), I think the darker ones are for horror fans first. And maybe that also explain why some of these games feel "diluted" to others…because they were intended as romance first, horror second (or maybe even third). At least that’s my understanding, Idk, not my fandom.

I know your last response said to ignore this anon but i'm going to reply anyway ✍️(◔◡◔)

First off: to understand the want for Yandere vns and stories and characters, you need to understand that there is a not-insignificant group of people that enjoy both HORROR and ROMANCE together.

When we engage in Yandere content, we go into it knowing that it's DARK. That it contains FUCKED UP content. Because that's what YANDERES ARE.

They are, by definition, obsessed with the idea of love. They force that obsession onto a person and build them up to their ideal image of a partner, even if said Darling/Person does not actually meet those standards. That's the whole point. The dark obsession, the twisted thoughts, the fucked up lengths these characters will go to MAKE YOU LOVE THEM.

And that's what we love and enjoy.

When it comes to the watered down part, it's because people have only been interacting with the cutesy-romantic part of yanderes. What they'll do for you in regards to say... doing your laundry, taking care of you if you're sick, all the regular romantic things we tend to like and seek in partners.

It comes from that, and because of it, people are forgetting that these aren't just possessive lovestruck characters. They're forgetting that they're literal murders, stalkers, manipulators, abusers, assaulters.

You're finding it easier to understand as a horror category because you DON'T understand yanderes. And that's okay. I knew making that post might bring more eyes on the situation than needed. That's okay too. I just spoke up and said things that needed to be said, frankly.

People who played TKATB knew going into it that it was a yandere game. They know what the yandere genre is. It's not something that just pops out to you, you have to physically look for this dark romantic horror genre.

They knew on FK's game page what the content warnings were.

They knew when they opened the game what the content warnings were.

They knew WHEN THEY ACTIVELY PLAYED

WHAT THE CONTENT WARNINGS WERE.

And they're still upset that their blorbo Sol isn't as rose-colored as they wanted him to be.

And that's okay, but it's also on them for forgetting what a yandere is.

For forgetting the horror and depravity that yanderes resort to.

It's not on FK.

It's not on me.

It's not on ANY yandere game creator/content creator/enthusiast.

It's on them.

EDIT TO ADD:

We are responsible for the media we consume as adults.

[faint-kitten]

FK infodumping about Tony Stark in Midnight Suns (spoilers)

Tony.

Tony.

TONY.

Tony stark cannot stop being Tony in this fucking game. ||I taught him magic and his first instinct is to patent it and fucking sell it, and nepo hire me in to run the R&D Division.

I love this run of Tony Stark, because it's very much: Yeah he's a billionaire, he's trying, I know you're trying tony, and you don't get it. Everyone tolerates/likes him because they know he's trying and thinks he means well.

But he's a fucking billionaire. He's like when rich people just want's to be a little guy, hey I'm just a little guy like you! And then he just moves in and he's the worst.

Robbie and Peter start Shop because they want a place where they can get creative together without Know it all perfectionists leaning over their shoulders (Strange and Tony) and tony invites himself in, and proceeds to just run the little guys out because HE feels anxious and HE needs to feel like he's doing something. When you call him out, when Robbie calls out how he bought up a steel mill in his home town and just ruined everyone's jobs there because he never broke ground: Tony reveals he was in a pissing match with Oscorp, he bought it to beat oscorp, then found out the company was going under anyway and decided to cut his losses, and turn it into a PR spin. He fucking didn't know because it made his numbers go up, and everyone cheered, then he had a drink, and fucked off and assumed it would all be okay. He then apologizes saying he's trying to make up for it. This is AFTER telling Robbie and Peter that he liked making things as a kid and no one understood him and that's why he wants to be there. After literally being like: "pfft I can do this better, how hard could it be."

He joins the Midnight Suns and IMMEDIATELY takes over operations and muscles out Blade and Nico and Magik and robbie for control of day to day operations.

He's a fucking big rich prick, who just comes in and fucks it up without thinking about the little guys. He's so up his fucking ass.

There's so many little moments where they charactarize him as a rich guy who's just out of touch with normal ass people. It's so perfect. He can't process the world like everyone else, he can't imagine how they feel because he's so fucking rich and out of it, he can't fucking stop himself from just DOING Billionare shit.

We taught him how to do a little mysticism and he's like: "new department! new products! It's gonna be big. We'll sell it and you're gonna run it." Like, that's not why the Hunter taught you Magic. We didn't teach you magic for capitalism, we taught you because it's what we're fighting, we taught you because you're scared in a spooky house and you said you just wanted to understand, we fucking taught you because you had a mind and wanted to expand it, and were too embarressed to ask Doctor Strange. We taught you because for a BRIEF second you were a human being, and we wanted to help you and be your friend.

Like TONY we're trying to save the fucking world here. Magik invited me to limbo and I helped her with her trauma and she called me her friend. Robbie offered to let me crash on his couch, and meet his brother and hang out with him and Peter. Doctor Strange is learning to get over himself, and realize he's still worth something even if he isn't all knowing and all powerful. Blade and I discuss dealing with our darker halves and urges and made a pact to kill each other if we ever go bad, and he's trying to teach me there's more to life than "The hunt" the caretaker has drilled into my head.

Your idea of 'we're friends now' is making me head of a fucking department. Talking about taking what the Hunter taught you, and turning it into a project, a product, one of HUNDREDS of new ventures he can just piss money away on, get all excited about. One of hundreds of ventures he shits out a week in his excitement and like Peter fucking Molynuex you're pitching it and who fucking knows if it will actually go anywhere?

I love this game's approach to Tony even as it makes me hate him. Like what a way to sympathize with a human being, while also illustrating why rich people can't fundamentally be our friends. ||

The approach of: what if a Billionaire was sympathetic? He's just a little guy trying to do his best to undo his father's legacy, and he doesn't MEAN to hurt everyone's feelings step on the little guy and make billions. Can't you see he's trying soooo hard?

And the game's response is: "Great backstory, you're still a Billionaire."

Even if you turn him down and tell him that's not what magic is for he goes "Np I never take no for an answer :) " Like stop. You're the worst. (for the record, I am praising the game's take on tony, I think the writing, and acting, and themes they're working with are perfectly executed.)

[tblsomedoodles]

What would each Donnie class and species play for dnd

Donnieverse dons playing Dnd? I am there for it! : )

So i'm straight up ranting about this now so i'll put everything under a cut b/c it's late and I don't know how to stop typing!

Ok, so since it's a group of Dons, i'm going to say they had a pretty extensive session 0 (planning before playing session) to make sure their characters would work well as a team and all the roles would be covered. So they would start off with characters that fit the roles they were assigned and kind of branch off from there. Role wise, they'd have a healer, a sneaky person, a tank, and a magic dude. the characters change and adjust as they go and the four learn how to break the game "work together" but each character sticks mostly to their roles.

(also for argumenative's sake, their DM is just Alt-Don from Preferable Alternative. B/c I would love to see what campaign that dude would make. AND his reaction to these 4 Donnies consistently breaking it would be amazing. there was a marvel fic I read that involved Loki playing DnD with the avengers, like he, tony, Bruce, and Clint were all players and Natasha and Steve were co-dming. The amount of stupid shenanigans they put their poor dms through was amazing and I imagine Alt-Don would be put through similar shenanigans and would be increasingly frustrated about it lol.)

Seer takes the magic role with a Wild Magic Sorcerer. (mostly b/c Seer being inconvenienced by magic even in a game was too amazing to pass up lol.) Maybe as a tiefling? (wait fk, that's just my baldurs gate character. eh we'll keep it) Yeah, let's give Seer, the dude who forced the Council to rehire ALL new guard staff b/c he terrified the last ones to the point of quitting, some extra creepy spells, as a treat : )

Webs takes the Sneak role. I think he'd start off with Woodelf Assassin Rogue. But he would eventually dual class and add Artificer as a class. He probably ends up having an ingame version of Shelldon b/c of some high rolls and ingame shenanigans.

Donnie has the healer/support role. He's a half-elf Bard. He specifically chose Bard so he could use his high charisma to screw with the campaign. Specifically he's a Creation Bard (only just found out about the Creation college and it sounds like he'd have fun with that.) (it would be neat if he eventually duel classed into a cleric, if only from a character story stand point. Like the character preformed so well even the gods were like 'hey u want a job?')

Dee has the tank. He sticks to that pretty closely, with a Human Champion Fighter (with a protection fighting style from the start.) Does he play this character somewhat based on the way his dad is? yes. Will he ever admit it to anyone? Not a chance lol. He might branch out later on to duel class in like Warlock or something but yeah.

(I had wanted to give Dee something like the Turtle Monk I personally play, but I imagine they would set these characters up for longer term play, and as much as I love my DnD ninja turtle, he wouldn't work as well as a tank in later levels as he does in earlier ones due to shenanigans. Specifically the Turtle race trait of having a flat 17 for AC combined with the Monk trait of getting to add your wisdom modifier to AC if you don't wear armor. fker has a 19 AC at the start, which is amazing for early game. But can never go above a 21 ever, which isn't quite as good late game.)

So yeah! That's probably what they'd play as they drive their DM bonkers : )

Thank you!

[theangryjikooker]

https://www.tumblr.com/theangryjikooker/760173079004692480/im-going-to-assume-youve-never-been-in-a-real?source=share

Let me ask you this anon, you're in rs with your partner for however long u think jikook are and yet your partner needs to tell you what his preferred mattresses are? Given jk had them all over his home that seems like something his partner should be aware of but jm wasn't..... Knwing spices ain't a big thing given jungkook and jimin has known they enjoy spicy food since forever like have y'all not watched their past content? Jk knows jm's taste and vice versa and it would be weird to not know IF u didn't know given these men have shared dorms together for years. These are not the things you should not know about god when u have shared a space with these ppl for long.

Literally in 2022 jm was talking about his depression and how his friend was the one who made understand that and it was news to jk. I don't always expect couples to point out each other's things so it doesn't bother me that someone else pointed it out and not jk but as a supposed "couple" I'd expect jk to already know about this incident. Also wasn't it the same time where jikook told each other their sleep schedule? So would you not expect a couple to already know that? Why does jk not know jm sleeps in the morning and wakes up at noon while jk does the opposite?

Let's go back to July 2023 when jk said he'd pick his shower material and go to jm's room so you think celebrities of jm and jk's calibre won't have eachother's stuff at e/o home given couple usually would stay at others place? Let's go back to April 2023 did jk know any of jm's schedule? Imagine ur own boyfriend not knowing what the fk you're doing at any given moment for MONTHS other than that you're working on ur album? Like even yg knew about it, hsk made sure he knew about it but since jm and jk Hardly called each other jk didn't know about either. He only knew when the SMF2 teaser was dropping which luckily even TH knew when smf2 MV was dropping. what other schedule jk knew of jm? Y'all gonna tell me that u talk with ur boyfriend daily/often yet you don't know he's got 3 music shows to do, he's got a video call event, U haven't heard his songs other than the one you worked on. He literally didn't know anything about jm. I damn well remember how when jm first commented on jk's live jk's first reaction was "How are you?" And things like "Take care of yourself" this that he said it to both jm and hoba compare that with when taehyung commented there and jk was like "what are you doing here?" And it wasn't because he was being rude it was because they were doing something together before this live of jk (could be playing online game or called eachother etc) cause tae said "you said you're going to sleep" like i knew then and there these guys are not as in touch with eachother as they used to. U need to understand the interactions. Y'all mistook tens of their interactions thinking everything is special and romantic when the reality says otherwise. Now this is not me saying tae nd jk knows everything about each other or anything cause i know they might also not be sharing all things with each other but it gives away easily who was more in touch with each other at least for a particular amount of time. And let me tell you one more thing that when jungkook did that jimin centric live he was actually catching up with jimin's content. There's a lot more i can add but imma let u know this much only cause i don't wanna drag it more.

Lmao, I don’t usually try to play into anons addressing each other, but this anon sums up some additional discrepancies. Some are kind of throwaways to me because the contexts are vague, but some are pretty damn important.

Especially JM’s mental health. Miss me with your “I would never tell my partner about how I’m emotionally suffering” bullshit. Even if you or your partner aren’t the talkative type, if JM’s friend can notice it, so can his alleged significant other.

And even if you’re one of those shippers who think that these things don’t matter because in your relationship it’s normal, it is absolutely not normal when those things you don’t know or forget about each other start to add up and the both of you are in your damn 20s. One of you better have early onset dementia, or you just don’t care enough about each other.

Make it make sense.

[alyjojo]

Love Reading 💬 - September 2024 - Pisces

Singles:

Who is Coming In: 9 Wands rev & Knight of Cups

Regarding: 5 Pentacles rev

Long-Term Potential: Death rev

Bruh. When I laid down Death rev I heard “it still isn’t over,” that guy from The Notebook. Is this even real? You two could like that movie. This ex has put you through absolute hell in a hand basket, even you’ll be asking yourself why in the hell is this person your 10 Cups? The answer is because you don’t want anyone else. Spirit is saying every path is open to you, you’re not forced to choose this person or any person that I can tell, you’re free to choose your own adventure 👑

But…you’ll probably choose this person. That’s how it works, to you it’s 7 Cups rev - there are no other options. In a world full of fish in the sea it’s like the sea is toxic to you (a Pisces?) and you’re obsessed with this one particular fish in a little sand hole on the beach. I’m 😆 at this description of them - well, it’s yours. If anything it’s like Spirit is testing you, will you continue to choose this fish? Yes 👍 Probably. You’ve probably given up before, that’s why you’re single, someone left the other one and created anxiety with abandonment - what is the choice here, yes or no. Long term, whoever wanted this the whole time is irritated at how long it’s taken to get on the same page - either of you. Or both. Yes, this is your person. Probably. At this point a song started playing and I heard the bell, it’s for you 💙

Messages:

- I love our walks together.

- I love the way you look at me.

MIRROR 🪞

- Mirroring Each Other

- Self-Reflection

- Introspection

- Inner Wounds

Free to Move 💃

Embrace your liberty to explore new paths. The world is wide open for your journey.

Signs you may be dealing with:

Scorpio, Pisces, Libra & Taurus

Couples:

The relationship: The Hermit rev

The problem: The Emperor rev

What to do about it: 7 Pentacles rev

Y’all are fighting over money or effort, someone giving too much and someone is not giving enough. Or rather, one person is giving too much and it’s like the other person doesn’t take initiative and just do the damn thing, they have to be asked or told and it’s irritating to whoever is doing more - that’s fair. I see a lack of appreciation on both sides, probably because you’re both caught up in your individual worlds and the together world is falling apart a little. No one is planning dinners, no one is taking the car in, or one person is expected to do the things while the other one…idk, I don’t see them not doing things, more like this whole topic is one of manipulation - a way of getting other points across. That’s problematic.

For example, it starts over not cleaning up after Saturday night’s gathering, but now we’re fighting about your sibling and something going on with them - which messages indicate. Or someone told their sister you never fill up the car when you’re done driving it and their sister said “I wish a mfer would” and now you’re fighting with your person - who is listening to the sister - but you have a valid point too and FK the sister, she don’t know about you or your gas tank 😆 One of you feels like one person is all fun and games (negatively) and the other one handles the serious shit (it’s become negatively), because it’s your reading it’s probably you and you’re probably right. Or, switch.

The problem is perception of control, abuse of authority, or no one leading at all. No one taking control of the situation or just cleaning the damn thing, maybe they think it’s your job and not theirs, that could be manipulation too. The advice is to not give in to manipulation, if you know that’s what it is then you’re telling Rudolph to shove their games up their ass, they can come at you correctly - because it’s this dynamic that’s causing the relationship to have issues, it’s hurtful and immature. They can communicate like an adult 🧔🏻 And somehow a sibling may be involved for some of you, how idk but it just adds to the stress.

Messages:

- Sibling Drama

- Over It 💯

PARTYING 🥳

- Time With Friends

- Having Fun

- Happily Single

- Living in the Moment

Duality Dance 🤡

Seek balance amid the chaos, and find harmony within yourself.

Trust Your Path 🧭

Listen to intuition, seek direction, and embrace discovery. Answers reveal the journey within.

Signs you may be dealing with:

Taurus, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Virgo & Pisces

[stormoflina]

I'm that mean anon from last night. I just want to add some infos and perspectives 😁😅

Trent is a generational talent and his passing and crossing and all but he is not a defender or midfielder through and through to be honest. That's where the problem lies. Say whatever they want like the gimmick or one player advantage tactics or fk all non sense modern shit we don't care and it's the fact that he is neither fish nor fowl. And the fact Klopp not wanting to concede his defeat and to transform him completely as a midfielder and not buying a proper defender like normal human is one of my most frustrating parts of this Liverpool club. Everyone in my cycle knows how much I hate Southgate with passion but in Trent case I'm with him all the way and Klopp just doesn't want to admit his chronic mistake. Southgate is a wanker but having a team with plenty of resources for midfielder and RB how and where can he uses and gives him a chance as a starter? There are too many other natural options to not takes risk of then why should he takes risk of. In Salah case me and my buddies might be against the massive brigade of fanatics or running into the wall but we don't care. I don't want to say much more. One example that will sum up this issue is that Cristiano's second coming to United. I believe you know what I mean. For the long term future benefits, if we should sacrifice the short term convenience then we have to do it. Be brave and just get on with it. We have basis requirements enough. Nothing can be worse.

Hi anon!

I'm guessing you mean this? https://www.tumblr.com/stormoflina/737537669393973248/me-and-my-buddies-discussing-the-other-day-about I don't think you were mean at all, very respectful with your opinions. I do have to make some apologies tho, first with the late answer, second, because I just reread and I think I did misunderstood you a bit, especially on the Salah bit. I think I just really wanted to say what I was thinking at the moment, and didn't read properly what you wrote. Sorry about that!

It's a very sad picture you are painting, I hope it never comes to that.

I do agree with you on that the refusal to admit and adapt to how our team looks, the players, and then fixing immediately the problems and shortcomings instead of whatever we are doing (praying that teens will step up instead of singing a DM for example...), it's so frustrating! Especially, because again, you look at the quality we have, how the table is currently, EL, the domestic leagues, and we are so game for all.

With Tsimi now joining the ever growing numbers of our injured list, I swear, if the club doesn't step up this January and start singing players, I might have to rage quit that month all together, lol.

With Szobo, I just wanted to add one thought. I think he is being taken too granted at the moment. Besides Harvey, he is the only midfielder who managed to remain available thoughtout our whole season. No red cards, no injuries, he was always a starter and he just started to get his minutes managed a couple of games ago. I hope, for obvious reasons, that it never comes to that, but the moment he is not going to be an option in that midfield, it will show. Crazy that after the City game, where yes, he didn't not look good, but wasn't horrible by any means, people were crying for a Gravenberch starter instead of him. Saying how immense he has been for us all season, while Dominik has been off for games. I actually hate that I'm developing an agenda, but I was all raised eyebrows ever since. That man had one good dribble against a not on form Ruben Dias and people were acting like he is the next Messi. Now, all of twt is full with hate for him, because he had a poor game yesterday. And people put Dominik and his name together in one sentence, too, saying how both have been shit, meanwhile Domi has clips like this, where Ryan doesn't even TRY to defend.

Offensively, yeah, he has been bad, but if not for him and his defensive efforts, there would have been goals conceded. This is so not the point, but I still think signing Gravenberch is just panicbuying and they still have no idea how to play him into the team. It's crazy how he's also the 5th (!!!) most played in the whole squad. His agent must be good.

[sirwow]

Part 3 to A New Light the first FK story, 2nd part can be found here.

Az n Laz begin their winter break after Laz helped Az barely pass his classes after not doing any work for 2 months. Laz insists on going to the flying park more but Az eventually snaps a bit at Laz saying he can’t or his dad who’s home for winter break would be absolutely pissed. This is news to Laz and asks why. Az explains how his dad had some drama and now he hates all scouts with a burning passion and if he knew Az wanted to be one it would ruin their already strained relationship. Laz tries to convince Az that’s not fair but Az just pushes it off and suggests going to the arcades instead. Az is obviously getting annoyed again so Laz agrees to.

Later in the month after Christmas, Az excitedly tells Laz of the up and coming Blue moon festival and if Laz was planning on coming this year. Laz clams up a bit and admits he’s never actually been much to Azazel’s surprise. Az takes this in stride though and convinces Laz to come with him for his very first time so they could do all the activities together. Lazarus is nervous when he gets inside and is a bit lost in the crowd but gets picked up quickly by Azazel to play carnival games together. While taking a small break together on a nearby perch and eating cotton candy together an announcement from the fair speakers announces in a crackled voice that the Flying Duos Derby was open for sign up and would start in 1 hour.

Once the announcement ends Az excitedly talks about the yearly duos derby to Laz and how even arc angel Michael would be in the first race and watch the rest. But once he remittances on when he was in the race he stops himself from mentioning who he raced with and just sighs mumbling about he guesses he just has to watch this year. Laz meekly speaks up though and suggests maybe he could be Azazel’s partner this year but says it’s okay if he doesn’t want to since he is so new to this whole scout thing. Azazel jumps at the idea though and pulls Laz across the festival to sign up for a duo’s slot. Lazarus and Az while waiting for the races to start practice a bit outside the fair but quickly becomes obvious Lazarus is shaking and nervous. Az stops when he notices and grabs him by the shoulders asking what’s the matter. Laz is shaken now that the crowd around the derby was growing so large and was scared he would screw up infront of everyone, setting in stone that he was weak as everyone tells him. Az shakes him out of it and encourages him he can never know if he never tries.

Both join up into the group around the makeshift flying stadium as Duke comes up to introduce Michael to the first race as the yearly guest. The first race begins with Michael going against The Lamb and Gabriel but wins as he does most years. Az n Laz are called aside as the elementary kids go out and begin to put on their gear. Laz gets the shakes again but elbows him with a smile to go through with it. Once they’re all lining up for the relay Laz gets bumped harshly by an annoyed Angel who starts to talk to Az. This is Cassiel and sneers at Azazel if his new fledgling friend is so much better that he could leave him behind. Az just tells Laz to ignore him and they all ready up to start the race.

Despite his nerves Lazarus pulls through during the race and during the last lap is in the lead. Cassiel behind him realizes this and his anger and jealousy takes him and kicks Lazarus out of the air and into the cold mud below. Whistles are blown and a moment after Cassiel takes pleasure in Lazarus’s flailing he’s quickly taken off by his dad Michael who’s rather embarrassed. Az flies down to Lazarus to help him out of the mud and make sure he’s alright. Laz says he’s ok but it’s clear he’s embarrassed and doing his best not to cry while covered in mud. Az takes him into the lockers to clean him off and save him from any more stares. Laz cleans off but doesn’t speak much outside of yes and no making Az rather anxious he screwed up convincing Laz into this. Luckily both are called out and surprised with the 1st place award as both had actually out lapped the other contestants during said race and were given the award as Cassiel and his brother were disqualified.

Laz’s mood was made much better after this and the two went to enjoy the festival feast. Laz notices someone watching from the shadows but when they made eye contact they ran off so Laz brushed it off. Az brings up Laz to a old building roof top near by to watch the fireworks after eating but once they begin something seems the matter with Lazarus. Too nervous to ask directly Az brings up the idea of seeing the Moonblooms near by and Laz quietly agrees.

Lazarus follows Azazel slowly to a large glowing field of flowers and both sit down and watch the bright blue moon and stars above. Az is still nervous as Laz is quiet as ever but before he can talk he realizes Lazarus is crying. He sits up and asks what’s the matter and Laz just breaks a bit, nervously laughing and saying sorry. Lazarus explains it was all just so much and he’s sorry for not talking before about it. Azazel says it’s alright but Laz also begins to explain what else was on his mind. The whole situation, especially hearing and seeing the fireworks just reminded him of all the times he sat from his house window watching from afar since he never had a parent or even his sister around to take him. His tears were a combination of joy and sadness that he was only now getting to experience this. Az comforts Laz the best he can and eventually promises Laz he’ll always be here to come with him and when Laz asks really Az promises. Laz hugs Az thanking him and both eventually stand up to head home for the night.

Wowza that was long but this is the last part of this story! Next up is Cain and fair warning it’s much much more intense then these two silly goobers. As usual questions about anything are always allowed, cheers!

[maacsatara]

Rigging Techniques for Character Animation

Character animation is a vital aspect of creating lifelike movements and expressions in animated films, video games, and other forms of digital media. One of the most critical steps in this process is rigging, which involves creating a skeletal structure that can control the character's movements. Rigging is an art and a science, requiring both technical proficiency and creative problem-solving. At an esteemed animation institute in Pune, students learn the intricacies of rigging, mastering both foundational and advanced techniques to bring characters to life. Here, we'll explore various rigging techniques for character animation, from basic principles to advanced methods, providing a comprehensive guide for animators at all levels.

#### Understanding Rigging

Rigging involves creating a digital skeleton for a character, known as a rig, which includes bones, joints, and control systems. These components work together to enable the animator to manipulate the character in a realistic and fluid manner. A well-rigged character can perform a wide range of movements, from simple actions like walking and running to complex motions such as dancing or fighting.

#### Basic Rigging Techniques

1. **Creating the Skeleton**:

   - The first step in rigging is creating a basic skeleton that aligns with the character's anatomy. This skeleton consists of a series of bones connected by joints. Each bone corresponds to a specific part of the character, such as the arm, leg, or spine. The placement of these bones must be precise to ensure realistic movement.

2. **Joint Placement**:

   - Proper joint placement is crucial for realistic animation. Joints should be placed at natural pivot points, such as the shoulders, elbows, knees, and hips. Misplaced joints can result in unnatural or awkward movements, so it's essential to study the character's anatomy and plan accordingly.

3. **Forward Kinematics (FK)**:

   - FK is a technique where the animator controls each bone individually, starting from the root and moving outward. This method is intuitive and straightforward, making it suitable for animating simple, linear movements. However, FK can be time-consuming for complex animations as it requires adjusting multiple bones to achieve the desired pose.

4. **Inverse Kinematics (IK)**:

   - IK is an advanced technique that allows the animator to control the end effector (e.g., the hand or foot) while the software calculates the positions of the intermediate bones. This method simplifies the animation process, especially for movements where the end effector needs to stay in a fixed position, such as a foot remaining on the ground while the body moves.

#### Advanced Rigging Techniques

1. **Blend Shapes**:

   - Blend shapes are used to create facial expressions and other deformations that cannot be achieved with bones alone. By morphing between different shapes, animators can produce a wide range of expressions and subtle movements. This technique is particularly useful for lip-syncing and emotional performances.

2. **Driven Keys**:

   - Driven keys allow one attribute to control another, enabling complex interactions between different parts of the rig. For example, a driven key can be used to automatically adjust the position of the fingers when the hand is rotated. This technique helps streamline the animation process and ensures consistency.

3. **Set Driven Keys (SDK)**:

   - SDKs are a variation of driven keys that provide even more control. They allow animators to create custom controls that can drive multiple attributes simultaneously. This method is especially useful for creating advanced facial rigs and other intricate animations.

4. **Constraints**:

   - Constraints are used to link the movements of different objects or bones. For example, a point constraint can be used to attach a prop to a character's hand, ensuring it moves in sync with the hand. Constraints can also be used to create complex mechanical systems, such as gears and pulleys.

5. **Spline IK**:

   - Spline IK is a technique used for animating flexible, snake-like movements, such as tails, tentacles, or spines. It involves using a spline curve to control the positions of the joints along the length of the object. This method provides smooth, flowing movements and is ideal for characters with elongated appendages.

6. **Muscle Systems**:

   - For highly realistic animations, muscle systems can be used to simulate the underlying muscle structure of the character. These systems deform the character's mesh based on the movements of the bones, creating lifelike bulges and contractions. Muscle systems are particularly useful for animating creatures and human characters with realistic anatomy.

#### Best Practices for Rigging

1. **Plan Ahead**:

   - Before starting the rigging process, it's essential to have a clear plan. Understand the character's anatomy, movement requirements, and any specific needs for the animation. Planning ahead can save time and prevent issues later in the process.

2. **Keep It Simple**:

   - While advanced techniques can enhance your rig, it's essential to keep the rig as simple as possible. Overcomplicating the rig can make it difficult to animate and troubleshoot. Focus on creating a functional, efficient rig that meets the needs of the animation.

3. **Test Thoroughly**:

   - Regularly test the rig throughout the creation process to ensure it performs as expected. Test a range of movements and poses to identify any issues early on. This approach helps catch problems before they become more challenging to fix.

4. **Use Reference**:

   - Reference materials, such as anatomy books, videos, and real-life observations, can be invaluable when rigging a character. Study how real bodies move and deform to create more realistic and believable animations.

5. **Continuous Learning**:

   - Rigging is a complex and ever-evolving field. Stay up-to-date with the latest techniques and tools by participating in online communities, attending workshops, and following industry trends.

### Conclusion

Rigging is a foundational skill in character animation, enabling animators to bring their characters to life with realistic and expressive movements. By mastering basic and advanced rigging techniques, animators can create versatile rigs that meet the demands of any animation project. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced professional, understanding and implementing these techniques will enhance your ability to produce high-quality character animations.

[twntyfiveotwo]

i know my fking issue

yes i know. i fking know. i dont care about love. i dont care about who loves me or who i love. all i love is the feeling of being loved. which is why i always become insanely infatuated when i have a dream of me being delicately loved by a face i dont recognise. which is why i lock myself in my memories and reminisce all the good feelings i once had. you see, i know how insane and pathetic it sounds. but it feels good. to know, to remember that i was once loved.

he loved me at a time when i didnt know how to love myself. he loved me at my lowest, when i was so fking depressed and so desperate for love. he was my double edge sword - the cause of my anxiety because i would spend hours with him rather than on things i should do. but also, my safe space. if anything, every night i always always looked forward to our pillow talk with one another. and we would share our vulnerabilities with each other. it feels so raw, yet so real. and the first time he said "i love you" was before we even met each other. i wanted to see him, but i also would rather save myself the look of disgust that would appear on his face because i knew for sure no one would accept my physical appearance. impulsively, we made plans to meet, we booked all our places. and 2 days before meeting, i pushed myself to face my fear and sent him a real time picture of me. he told me, "i'm sorry but i dont think i can continue this". understandable, at least he got the courage to reject me directly.

i travelled as planned. i persuaded him to come down. i said "no strings attached, just come out and we hang as friends if thats ok. i dont have any other company here". he declined. he said he doesnt think it's appropriate. but yet we continued to play games and talked like nothing was wrong. later that night, he told me he was coming down to hang. im like sure, knowing full well how the night would go. we watched a horror movie, and after the movie ended we fucked. as always. allowing my body to be used by a man that doesnt love me. but who the fk cares at this point. the next day i went out with my friends. i left half of my cash with him because he said he was going out and i was concerned that he might not have enough money. we met later at night at a bar, together with my friends. we all drank and played drinking games together. at that point of time tbh fwb was probably the best description for whatever we shared. so we didnt cross each others' boundaries. then as we were going back to where i stayed together, i got tipsy-excited and started doing little skips in front of him. i remember turning back to wait for him, and then walking off side by side with him. as we were about to cross a road, he held my hand. i didnt dare to hold back. i just thought to myself, "what a kind gesture. he is probably worried for me because im drunk and he wouldnt want me running across the road". what caught me off guard was that he didnt let go even after we crossed the road. he continued to hold my hand as we walked all the way back to our accomodation. and when we were back, we fucked again. after the fucking, i asked him, "does this mean that we are back together?" he said, "what do you think?" i said "i dont know" he questioned me, "do you want us to be back together?" and i said, "yea". he nodded his head. i asked him, "what is it that made you want to reconcile?" he said, "im not sure either". i assumed it was cause i happened to be convenient.

or maybe not. because if it was just out of convenience he didn't have to be so sweet to me:

i still remember how we ran under the sudden downpour when we were walking to one of our karaoke sessions. we both ended up being soaking wet. but the first thing he did was to make sure i was alright. he tried to wipe me dry, despite how much of a mess i was. if that wasnt romance, idk what is.

i still remember how excited he looked when i came down from the bus during my second trip. and when we arrived at our hotel, i found it hard to use the toilet because i couldnt stand floor with small tiles. he offered and asked me to stand on his feet despite my size. if that wasnt romance, idk what is.

i still remember how much of a crowd there was during new years eve. and there were all those annoying fuckers that would horn the new year trumpet right in front of our faces. i was overwhelmed. the moment he noticed that, instead of leading me from the front, he walked behind me and cupped my ears as we walked through the crowd. if that wasnt romance, idk what is.

i still remember how there was one time he went out with he friends to drink. he called me when he was drunk and started crying, saying that he missed me. if that wasnt romance, idk what is.

i still remember on my third trip there, he squeezed in a part time job shift just so we can use some extra cash for our date. if that wasnt romance, idk what is.

i still remember how we climaxed together for the last sex that we had, and i guess it felt really good for him. when we were showering together, he looked at me with those googly eyes. i shyed away from it, and asked him why was he looking at me like that. he said he found me cute. if that wasnt romance, idk what is.

i still remember how he came back from his pt shift way past midnight and craved for some cold beer. i offered to go down to buy by myself cause he said he was tired. i went to the convenience store and snapped a pic asking him if that was the correct beer. he called me and asked me where was i. i said the convenience store. he said "stand there, im coming down. when i asked you to go down and buy i meant the front counter of the hotel, not the convenience store! do you know how dangerous it is for you to go out alone this late at night?" and when he reached, the first thing he did was to check up and down that i was alright while holding on to my shoulders. despite being tired. if that wasnt romance, idk what is.

but so what. so fking what. all the moments above didnt change the fact that he ghosted on me. he could have said something if he wanted to break up. maybe my anxious attachment style made it hard for him to breathe. but say something darling, i would have let you go. because truth be told, neither of us were made for long distance r/s. i want to believe that there were some pocket of moments when he loved me. actually, you know what, i do believe there were some moments that he loved me. but i guess, the love was not enough for us to overcome the struggles of a ldr. not that it matter, because this r/s is long over.

but thanks, i guess. he made me feel loved during a time when i didnt think anyone was capable of loving me. and while the rs was short lived, it was one of the sweetest rs i had. in fact, listening to the songs he shared to me & reliving through all these memories made me feel like wow, i actually once had a novel-like romance. so, thanks for that i guess. i still miss you sometimes, why wouldnt i. but boy, the heartbreak you gave me at that time. it drove me insane. but since when does love not drive me crazy. it always does.

[heartmachinez]

Hyper Light Breaker: Animation Process

Our wonderful Lead Animator, Chris Bullock, shares some in-depth info on our animation process and what’s involved in getting our Leaper to this point:

What is Rigging?

Rigging is the process by which we take a 3D model and give it the ability to deform over time.

Most often this is done by giving it a virtual skeleton (or armature in sculpture terminology), and then attaching controls that allow the animators to move the skeleton, almost like strings on a marionette. But now there are also other techniques that have been used in Film, TV, and Commercial work for years that are starting to make their way to games. For example: Blendshape deformations are where the 3D model’s deformation is sculpted manually, then blended between the base model and the Blendshape(s).

The Bone Rig / Skeleton Hierarchy

Here, we can see the character mesh’s points (vertices) in magenta, edges in dark blue, and then the polygons shaded in gray.

As we can see, here, a character’s mesh is made up of a series of points (a.k.a. vertices) as the fundamental building blocks (magenta dots in above image), along with edges that connect the points, which are then filled-in with polygons. By adding a hierarchy of special objects called “bones” (or “joints” as they are, technically, more accurately called in some software packages) that often roughly resembles an actual skeleton for the character or creature, we’re able to get the model to deform and animate without having to move every single point on the model by hand every frame of an animation. It’s easier to move a few dozen to a few hundred bones on the character than it is to animate tens-of-thousands to millions of points on the mesh.

In order to do this, we need to tell each point on the model which bones it should inherit its movement from, and how much influence each bone has on that vertex. There’s a lot of math that goes into how these transformations are actually carried out, but fortunately, we have tools at our disposal that we don’t need to assign all of this data one point at a time, which actually makes this “skinning” process more of an artistic process than a technical one—defining which parts of the model move together, to give it more of a solid feel, and which parts have a “softer”/”fleshier” feel to them.

Here we can see our bone objects in yellow and magenta along with our base mesh.

The Animation Control Rig

To make things even simpler to animate the bones, rigging will often involve adding Animation Controls, which allows animators to manipulate a series or collection of bones together as a single “system”, or to isolate movement of a bone in a non-hierarchical manner, or in a different manner from the way the bone hierarchy was setup (more on this below). The time saved during animation, when multiplied across a team of animators and total number of animations needed, well offsets the extra time it takes to setup this animation control rig.

Currently, this is most often being done in separate software from the game engine: software such as: Blender, Autodesk Maya, Autodesk Motionbuilder, Autodesk 3D Studio Max, SideFX Houdini, etc. Game engines, such as Unreal Engine 5, are starting to allow the Animation Control Rig to be created directly inside their own editors.

Here, we can see the animation controls (in blue, red, cyan, magenta, orange, and yellow) along with the base mesh and skeleton.

FK – Forward Kinematics – We use this term when talking about a collection of objects being manipulated in a direct parent-child hierarchical manner. Let’s say we have two objects: Object A and Object B. Let’s say that Object A is Object B’s “parent”, and Object B is Object A’s “child”. This means that whenever Object A is moved, Object B will move along with it, keeping the same offset from Object A as it did from the start. However, when Object B is moved, it has no affect on Object A’s position in the scene. We can see this demonstrated in the video below with the Red chain of bones. You can see how as each object in the chain is selected and manipulated, it only affects the objects below in the hierarchy. This is the way that the character’s skeleton would animate if we had no Animation Control rig. So, moving the hips would mean that we would have to move the limbs the opposite amount if we wanted them to stay planted while the hips move. This is called counter-animating, and is something we will often go through great lengths to avoid doing.

IK – Inverse Kinematics – With body parts such as the arms and the legs, we often find it easier to deal directly with the positioning of the ends of the chain of bones, and want any bones that are between the ends to automatically bend in order to achieve the positional goals of the end bones. This is done through a computation technique known as IK. This is demonstrated with the blue chain of bones in the video, below. Notice how we have two control objects that we manipulate directly, and they indirectly control the chain of bones.

These are just the two most common of the myriad of ways of controlling the way that something animates. The number of ways that objects can be controlled are near limitless, and new techniques are being discovered/invented all the time.

The Game Engine

Once we have our character modeled, rigged, and animated, we need to get all that data into the game engine, somehow.  This is done through an export/import process.  Typically, the character mesh and skeleton data is exported separately from the animation data.  The character’s mesh data and the skeleton (including the skinning relationship) typically get exported together.  In our animation source asset files, any animation data is stored on the Animation Controls.  However, the only thing that the game engine cares about is the animation that’s applied to the skeleton hierarchy—it does not care about the Animation Control data at all.  So, often what happens is that the animation gets “baked” to the skeleton as a part of the export process—i.e. it just sets a keyframe for every bone in the skeleton hierarchy for every frame in the animation timeline.  In the game engine, the animation data is then re-applied to the skeleton, which, in turn gets applied to the mesh, which makes our character move, finally!

We’re also able to setup relationships between bones inside the game engine, which allow us to drive the motion of certain bones based on the movement of other bones.  In Figure 2, for instance, the bones in magenta are controlled by the bones in yellow.  The reason we do this in the game engine, instead of animating them, and then exporting them, is to allow those bones, specifically, to react to the way the character behaves in-game, rather than adhering to prescriptive movement (a.k.a. “canned animation”)—this helps makes everything feel a lot more alive and reactive.

Wrap Up

This covers some of the basics of the rigging process, and why it’s so important in a modern game production pipeline.  Without this process there is no way we would see the quality of deformation and animation in the games we love.

Let us know…

What do you think of the animation / rigging process as a whole? Is it art? Is it math? Does it seem fascinating or boring?

[snaxpo]

fuck it bugsnax/s4m au notes

alternate title: i’m at that point in liking something where i have to combine it with everything else i’ve liked previously and today i’m making that everyone else’s problem. 

- base premise is a lil different! instead of being a journalist who was invited personally to the island by the expedition leader, you (or FK if you consider them a separate character from the player) are tasked with investigating the habitat, a budding commune on snaktooth island that may or may not be devolving into a cult. there’s just one teeny tiny problem - the commune’s leader and also your main suspect, boris habit, has been missing for weeks by the time you arrive. 

- now it’s a matter of gaining the inhabitants’ trust/getting them to come back to the habitat while hunting and subduing the bugsnax, who seem increasingly eager to launch themselves at inhabitants at quite literally dangerous speeds, in a battle of wits to keep your newfound companions fed while documenting the strange creatures. and of course, the question of just what happened to boris habit still lingers in the air. think like... talentless nana where the protag pretends to be all cute and unassuming (complete with flower motifs!) but really they’re there on Super Secret Spy Business. but of course there’s less murder. 

- oddly the bugsnax seem to have only become more aggressive after his disappearance. i’m sure it’s nothing. 

- yes everyone is still a grumpus

- there isn’t really an interview “mechanic” so much as it is a Lot of cozying up to everybody in pursuit of whatever information you can find on habit/potential group rituals/events that led to his disappearance; you get it by bits and pieces rather than a single structured interview. there is of course a lot more interactions between characters than there is in s4m’s base game bc thats like 60% of the appeal of bugsnax and i would be a fool not to think of it.

- time for ideas for specific characters! kamal is the vice-mayor of the habitat and has been habit’s right-hand grump for as long as any of the inhabitants can remember, despite their relationship becoming increasingly strained ever since their arrival on the island, and especially before habit’s disappearance. i imagine you still find him passed out but instead of collapsing from starvation he’s like "please.... toothpaste... a breath mint.... some pepto bismol. i’ve been able to taste my own breath for weeks." has been trying to divide his time between looking after the habitat and looking for habit himself (and also his best friend wallus) but the dispersal of the habitat has left him a tad Demoralized, to say the least.

- i feel like trencil would play a wambus-adjacent role in the sense that he's the one taking care of the sauce plants and also one of the first townspeople you meet. you convince to come back with you not necessarily bc he'd be able to continue farming in town but bc he would probably have an easier time looking for his daughter if he got some sleep first (but only if you look for her in his stead)

- gillis is like. a wannabe chandlo. makes you capture a bunch of snax that he Says he's gonna use to get stronger but eventually you find out he's been releasing them or keeping them in like lil makeshift pet houses bc he always takes one look at their big googly eyes and turns to mush. but EVERYONE'S eating them so naturally if they find out he's not they're gonna think he's some kinda wuss so he just pretends. 

- dallas keeps asking for sweet n colorful bugsnax to give to mirphy to impress her (sweetieflies, instabugs, etc etc.) but by some streak of bad luck they always end up being her least favorite. he tries to see if Maybe he can use them to make some new bugsnak-exclusive pigments, but like in canon they always end up turning into mush before he can get very far. mirphy meanwhile is far more interested in preserving them for a potential display, but similar to dallas, she never gets very far.

- i imagine the kid habiticians are like. a roving band of semi-feral children bc if anyone's gonna keep them in town it's definitely not kamal.

- i wanna do something with wallus SO BAD like you find him somewhere up in frosted peak but i have no idea what he would even DO its fucking killing me

- those are all the ideas i have For Now; s4m has more characters than bugsnax so there’s a lot to be done w/ them lmao. if i think of any more i’ll probably put it in another post or if anybody wants to spitball with me.......  👀

- and now we get to The Big Guns: habit.

- he was fun to work on w/ this au mostly bc despite being the rough equivalent of lizbert he’s a way different type of flawed leader than her; where liz is responsible to the point of martyring herself without a second thought and not thinking to delegate any tasks to the other snaxburg residents, which is what ultimately causes them to fall apart once she disappears, habit's deal is that he wants the position and appearance of an authority figure because it'll keep him safe, but he kind of sucks at taking responsibility for anything he does wrong because he’s spent most of his life acting according to what other people (namely his family) expect of him and being met with a negative reception no matter what, so he doesn’t really believe he has power over anything, including his own actions, despite being such a control freak for most of his own game. so his arc would need something that’s kind of antithetical to what liz had, wouldn’t it?

- so what i got so far is that au habit was tryin to covertly start a bugsnax cult bc he sees being asborbed by the snax as a sort of ascension and was eventually planning to have everyone be absorbed; it’s important to note however that bc information on bugsnax is so obscure he doesn’t actually 100% know how absorption works so tl;dr: habit became the bugsnax monarch willingly and then 5 seconds later he was like "oh no wait this fucking sucks. what have i done. shit. fuck."

- unable to cope with the realization that he was once again forced to act in accordance to someone (or in this case something) else's desires, he shuts down emotionally, becoming an empty husk of a grumpus while the bugsnax above run rampant thanks to the extra fuel and absolutely no restrictions until the Big Climax when habit is finally moved to take back control of the snax and by proxy Take Some Fucking Responsibility for knowingly luring people to cthulhu island. however this does leave the obvious question of if he was such an empty shell for most of the game why didn’t they just. eat him.

- the answer i eventually landed on was that his self-preservation instincts were still kicking on a subconscious level and during the aforementioned climax he eventually realizes that he does not in fact want to die, he just doesn’t want to keep living the way he is now (as part of an ancient hivemind beyond his understanding) or the way he was before (you know.)

- also fun fact: i was thinking about what his monarch body would be based off of bc the snakdragon, while cool as shit, didn’t feel right for him, and then i remembered that blooming onions exist. i imagine he’s in the middle acting as the flower’s “stigma”

- as for endings i’m thinking like. in the neutral ending kamal joins habit but its left ambiguous whether or not they'll ever be able to leave the island or if this is even a permanent solution (call that the paw in unloveable paw ending). in the good ending you bust habit outta his queen body after fending off enough bugsnax together and it’s super gross bc the undersnax as a whole is super gross but hey at least everyone’s leaving alive. i don’t know what a bad ending entails except most if not all of the cast is dead and habit is left alone on the island surrounded by reminders of his spectacular failure.

- hell i can even think of a sequel hook for the good ending like in canon bugsnax; some time after the ending/credits you ask habit just Where did he get the information on bugsnax that led to him being like “you could make a religion out of this” and the screen fades to black before you hear his answer. there.

- its almost midnight.

[ac-liveblogs]

My Lostbelt 6 Mental Breakdown

you ever know something's gonna be a doozy before you even engage with it, but it turns out to be even doozier than you could've ever anticipated?

yeah, that's this. anyway, lb6 good

The Parts I Didn't Like

I am starting with this because it’s the shortest.

It's very draining to play all at once. LB6 is extremely long, so playing it for extended periods of time can burn you out. However, it was released in 3 parts over 3 months for a reason, so I fully recognise this is a me problem.

I felt Knocknarea's feelings for Ritsuka came about quite suddenly, given how little time they spent together. Most interactions were on either side of Castoria, anyway. I would’ve bought her having feelings for Artoria, but not Ritsuka.

Fairy Knight Lancelot and Artoria Caster have not had a rerun. Percival has not been summoned to my Chaldea. FK Lancelot and Percival are having their re-run right now! I’m in my Galahad/Solomon saving period, can you jackasses come back later?!

Morgan's boss fight was a bitch. Especially part 2. I fought so hard, and the game slapped me with a "well, we didn't expect you to win anyway!" fuck you. Cernunnos was tough, but Morgan was just plain unfair. (Yes, she was unwinnable- SHUT UP I KNOW THAT NOW)

Beryl Gut's inclusion was strange, and I'm a lot less interested in him as a character than I was the other Crypters. I appreciated how Mash's development was shown through her relationship with him and he sure was a fun, love-to-hate hammy bastard I thoroughly enjoyed killing, but he didn't feel super relevant to the Lostbelt as a whole. I'm not really sure how to feel about him, besides glad that Mash got to beat him to death with her shield. 

The Writing

A lot happens in Avalon le Fae. While most Lostbelts do just feel like a chapter of something, Lostbelt 6 could be a standalone game on its own - it has the plot  points, script and lore for it. 

It’s a coming of age for the chosen one and her companions. It’s also really long, and juggles a lot of indepedant groups with conflicting motivations for the entire run. Even setting aside Chaldea, the  Crypters, the Alien God’s Disciples, Morgan, the Round Table Army and the Child of Prophecy, you have 6 other clans with their own goals and motivations. It can get difficult to keep up with everything, but while there are a lot of characters none of them feel wasted. Every single one contributes towards something - the fall of Fairy Britain is a jigsaw puzzle, and everyone is a unique little piece. 

It’s a lot of fun comparing Castoria’s journey to Arthurian myth - if you recognise what’s happening, it’s a really cool game of spot the difference. As much is as different as it is the same, with Vortigern, Morgan and Arthur all playing pass the parcel with their roles at any given time and the goal being to kill Britain, not save it.

Returning Characters

Lostbelt 5 really started fleshing out Ritsuka’s character, but Lostbelt 6 kicks it into overdrive. I guess Nasu got bored of writing a self insert... while Ritsuka isn’t especially complex, character traits are becoming very clear and consistent with him - his sense of humour, his relationships, his personality, his fears and insecurities. It all adds up to a very clear image of Ritsuka - which works out well for me, because I don’t like headcanoning too much if I don’t have to. Ritsuka spends a lot of time without Mash, so watching him develop without her was very interesting. His relationships with Artoria and Oberon are standout - especially Oberon, where it can get quite intense depending on the dialogue choices you make. I quite like Ritsuka nowadays.

Mash also really shone in this Lostbelt. Between her amnesia and being separated from Ritsuka, she was really forced to grow and re-evaluate herself and what kind of person she wants to be, and start striving towards it. She formed a lot of new relationships in this Lostbelt, and really started to grow up - her growth was thrown into sharp contrast with the snippets of her past that we learnt about via Beryl. I‘m very curious to see where her trajectory from here will be on out. Honestly, the longer the game goes on and the more defined Mash and Ritsuka become, the more I really love them.

Goredolf has grown up so damn much. I’m proud of him. Though if they could stop calling him dad, that’d be great. It makes me feel old.

I found myself really enjoying my time with Muramasa - I was genuinely distressed when he died, though given he’s part Shirou I really should’ve expected it. The contrast between Castoria and Muramasa, and Saber and Shirou, was equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming (Chaldea’s Holy Sword will certainly be a katana) and he and Grimm were... really funny. Oh, of course I spent so long waxing poetic about Alter Ego Muramasa when he had to win a boss battle with Cascu of all people against a damn Lancer! One final kick in the teeth, huh!

Crypter presence wasn’t huge in this chapter. Beryl I’m very mixed about - he’s mostly a measuring stick for Mash’s growth, it seems - and Pepe went out like a king, but they definitely weren’t large presences the way they were in previous chapters. I’m super curious about Kadoc and Daybit’s upcoming roles, though....

Koyanskaya made a friend? I didn’t know she could do that.

New Characters

It’s extraordinarily rare that I love almost every single character in... anything, really. Usually, I latch onto a handful at the most, and everyone else is kind of tertiary at best. Anyway, Avalon le Fae’s cast fuckin slaps

I am ambivalent towards Red Rab-bit (I’ll be forgiven, I’m sure) and Beryl Gut (explained above.) Everyone else? Holy shit.

My first Fate property was Fate/Zero, which was a painful slog of an anime that barely endeared itself to me, let alone Saber, who I spent a really long time finding boring and overhyped. I wasn’t interested in reading the Fate route as a result - it’s not like she interested me in UBW. Meeting Castoria... kind of made me realise I’d misinterpreted Saber, and  I should read Fate route. Setting Saber aside, I love Castoria. LB6 is very much her story, and there wasn’t a single part of it that I wasn’t 100% engaged in. She’s quite easily my favourite companion character so far, though Jason is a very close second. 

Oberon Vortigern drove me feral. There’s no other words for what he did to me beyond drive me into a frothing rage and exacerbate my mental breakdown even faster. He hit all my buttons, even ones I didn’t know I had. I downloaded JP for him, and then refused to even let support Oberons enter stage 3 til I beat LB6 so I could save the best for last. Characterisation, design, lore, relationships - he’s tragic and funny, beautiful and pathetic, terrifying and an absolute fucking moron. He raided the fridge before the boss fight. Why did no-one tell me he did that? Also why did no one tell me we could bully him during his own villain monologue? Oberon is wonderful no matter who he’s talking to (ESPECIALLY Artoria), but it’s really interesting that one of his best relationships is with Ritsuka. He’s so stupid. I want to beat him up with a rolled up newspaper. 

Ahhhh,  Morgan. She’s such a cool villain. I was really unsure about  her given her.... confusing lore, but happily Nasu didn’t waste too much time on it. Instead, the segments with Tonelico were haunting - as a foil to Castoria, Oberon, Artoria and the Lion King, she’s really interesting to think about. The finale of part 2 was really intense. Morgan’s death, as a sum of many parts set into motion well before we arrived in Fairy Brtain, was sad, brutal, and exactly what she deserved. But on the other hand, she gave me 100mil QP, so really, we have no choice but to stan. You go girl, genocide those fairies! Even I wanted to do that in the end! 

“What if Lancelot was a dragon... and a lesbian?” ten million fucking dollars, excellent idea, let’s go. Melusine was the Fairy Knight I was most unsure about, but I think I ended up loving her most. She’s the closest FGO comes to having Lancelot as he was in lore - Berserkerlot comes close, but in a very... after the fact kind of way, and Saberlot isn’t even close, but Melusine is Lancelot as I remember him. I adore her.  Also, Morgan naming her Lancelot is fucking hilarious once you’ve read her mental monologues about evil girlboss Guinevere Aurora.

I also really like Barghest (I think it’s impossible not to), and Baobhan Sith (Bavaan Shee, you’re welcome) is both an excellent unit and fun rival for Artoria. Comparing Morgan’s relationships with Baobhan Sith and Mordred is really sad, you should do it.

I’m also just delighted Habetrot is a canon member of Chaldea now. 

Misc.

As someone who doesn’t like Ritsuka x Random Servant, I was surprised by how much I enjoy him and Oberon as a pair. The two have a really complex and involved relationship... well, I barely like Ritsuka having a million Servants, so I headcanon’d him down to three. Since Oberon isn’t dead, I wonder if we’ll see him again later... I can only hope so.

Due to certain piece of dialogue from Morgan, I wonder if that theory about us Rayshifting back to 2004 Fuyuki to prevent the Grand Order altogether really is true. It would make sense, I have no idea how else we’re going to fix this mess.

I really, really doubt Mash will be ditching Galahad girlboss style, no matter much fandom hates him and wishes she would - given the tone of her development in this chapter and certain plot revelations/developments, I believe a formchange like FK Lancelot’s is more likely than her rejecting either Galahad or the Black Barrel now that she has both. We’ll just have to wait and see, though. Anyway, every theory I’ve had about Galahad so far has seemingly turned out in some way correct, right up to and including a Mash/Galahad identity crisis, so while I don’t want  to get too cocky I am feeling pretty high on life right now

it’s really funny how much LB6 has in common with Inazuma, and how much it absolutely dunks on it. If I were  Mihoyo I’d be absolutely fucking humiliated right now

[alyjojo]

The Person On Your Mind in August 🌞 2023 - Virgo

Whole of their energy towards Virgo: 10 Wands

This person feels deeply betrayed by you, there is a lot of pain & victimization shown in their feelings. They see you as someone overly controlling, dominating, authoritative & possibly cruel to them, non committal and or playing games or breadcrumbing the relationship…the level of that, and how serious it actually is, or how deep that goes, only you would know. Or, you could have someone dominant in your life that has those characteristics, a mother or dominant female figure that controls your life and all of your decisions? Could be their situation as well. This dynamic has caused the problems in this relationship. Emperor and Empress are here, but Empress is the only one upright and there is no real commitment here because there is no equal balance between these two people.

Feelings: Strength

They’re terrified of having anything to do with you, and yet you play on their mind like a broken record sometimes. I can see their love is genuine towards you. They want to reunite, they miss you, they enjoy your company and you probably have some of the fun things like hobbies in common. But 10 Swords shows a deep betrayal, painful ending, something has definitely happened to cause this to break apart outside of any lingering feelings. They love you and also, it’s done.

Intentions: 8 Pentacles

Focusing on work probably helps them keep their balance with all of their chaotic brain energy, they’ve given up on the relationship entirely. Their financial situation is all they can control, so they’re doing that and trying to get this off of their mind as often as possible.

Actions: Queen of Cups

Again, they do love you, they’re at war with themselves over whatever has happened between you. They’re still kind and loving to you, obviously you’re in each other’s lives in some way. They still see you as 10 Cups, they just feel like you don’t give a fk about them, that’s what you’ve given off. On some level it feels like this person is breaking their own heart over you, clarity on your end could be needed. Like do you want them or not? Are you sorry? Assuming it’s you, their side is heavily blaming you. Can it change? I can’t imagine you enjoy their mental anguish, maybe you do, if you even know about it. If they’re still around, it’s because they’re hoping you do something. Probably apologize, make it better, etc. They could make an attempt at being loving towards you just to see how you react to it. I can’t see your emotions in this, it’s up to you.

Messages:

Their side:

- Forever Love ❤️

- I miss you

Your side:

- I’ve never forgotten you

- Condescending

Possible signs:

Gemini, Taurus, Cancer & Sagittarius

If you’re dealing with:

The Emperor comes out again (upright) to show where you are in your life right now, it’s not just this person you’re commanding and kinda controlling with, it’s essentially a part of who you are. Which is respectable, you’re a responsible and knowledgeable leader that has your shit together, kudos. But, with this person it got bad. The Emperor rev is not someone anyone wants to be around, some deep inner work may be needed with this one, if you’re interested in continuing a relationship with them.

Aries - doesn’t see this going anywhere positive, so they have to keep moving

Taurus - a very intense & soul level love relationship that’s growing beautifully, one/some of you are literally marrying a Taurus

Gemini - scheming & secretive with money, waiting to see if their most recent scheme bears any fruit, spoiler alert - it’s not

Cancer - trying like hell to do the “right” thing or the “smart” thing, can’t please everyone or everyone has an opinion, it’s all too much 💯

Leo - a lot of defensive back and forth communication, could be legitimately ending it this time, or they’re pissed off that you are

Virgo - could be this person, feels deeply betrayed because they were so happy

Libra - finally making a decision they’ve ignored or put off forever

Scorpio - stalking you, doesn’t know how you’re managing to pull off being independent without them or just in general - on your own

Sagittarius - three Queens here with a lot of shade, they’re either polyamorous, a liar, part of a group of shit talkers, or the voice of reason to calm you down, could be any/all of these things

Capricorn - sleeping with with a friend, or wants to, maybe you

Aquarius - patient, peaceful, happy to cooperate with you on whatever project you two are working on - could work together

Pisces - planning a stable home & future with you, moving very quickly, could just be moving homes & telling you about it

[oonajaeadira]

Hello love. 11, 17, and 26 for the 3 things game, pretty please? ❤️

My Leslie, my love. Okay. For you. <3

3 books that you would recommend everyone to read

Everyone is hard. Nothing is universally loved, so I'm going in with some qualifiers.

*The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle - If you love classic fantasy and you are looking for something that tugs the heart. All the characters want something they can't have (but end up getting something else instead) and know that they're just characters in a story that's greater than themselves. It's beautiful and I don't know how a story can be both heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time.

*Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder - How to explain this. It IS a story. But it's a story about a little girl who is learning about the different schools of philosophy by examining her own life in real time and the twists and turns it takes--now she is living through a Calvinist episode, now Freudian, now Jungian. It's like The Neverending Story and a philosophy 101 textbook went on a date and fell madly in love and got married that night.

*World War Z by Max Brooks - Fk the movie. The only two things that the movie and book have in common are zombies and the title. Like seriously--the zombies in the book are slow. (One of my favorite chapters is about an old Japanese gardener who is blind and when he kills a zombie, he always bows and thanks it for moaning and letting him know it was coming.) This book is separate first-hand accounts of civilians during a zombie outbreak. A pilot who has to evacuate her fighter jet and spend a night in a tree surrounded by zombies. A gamer who finally realizes something's going on and has to escape his apartment building. The strategist who develops a truly hideous way to defeat the surge...but the only way that works. The submarine officers who can see them walking along the ocean floor. And at the end of the novel, I felt as if I'd just read a factual anthology, that we were still living in the recent aftermath of the outbreak (talk of zombies still coming ashore or thawing out of glaciers in the winter). It's terrifying, but also really truthful, character-based writing.

.

3 tv couples you adore the most

*Layla and Marc/Steven (Moon Knight) - Not only do you see a couple who put themselves on the line for each other out of deep connection (Marc), but you also get to see them giddily falling in love (Steven). And they're all competent and smart and THE COUPLE THAT FIGHTS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER.

*Amy and Rory (Doctor Who) - Donna was my favorite companion. But a close second is Amy and Rory as a package deal. I know that Amy starts off by having her doubts. But the way Rory lives and dies and waits a thousand years for her, the way she sees that and grows to love him just as much in return? Glorious.

*Finn and Jake (Adventure Time) - So, not a romantic couple, but adoptive brothers / best friends / soulmates really. They are lost without each other and would--and have--go to the ends of the earth for each other. Don't even talk to me about the Distant Lands episode "Together Again" when Finn goes to coax Jake back from the afterlife. I don't need tears like that in my life right now.

.

3 countries you’d love to visit

Like, new ones? Or just in general? Gonna cheat this one.

Countries I've never been to that I'd like to see:

Morocco, Sweden, Ireland.

Countries that I've been to that I'm itching to return to:

Japan, Italy, Spain.

.

3 Things Asks