#for many of you i know at least 3-4 games that you'd put in there but i'm curious about what you'd fill the rest of the slots with

[hamletisintown]

Favourite games chart!

I saw everyone doing this fun little thing on bsky and I wanted to join!! (Here's where you can make one if you want: https://topsters.org/ )

It was actually so hard to pick so many "favourite" games without feeling like I was watering down the concept of favourite. I overcame this feeling by sorting these into different little categories.

First row is my current top 5 (in no particular order).

Second row is the artsy kids, the ones that really have beautiful music and/or artistic direction, that I could recommend to basically anyone and they'd at least agree that they're really pretty games even if they didn't like them.

Third row is the nostalgia corner, the ones I played when I was a kid and that really stuck with me.

Fourth row is the fun ones, I don't necessarily have a strong emotional connection to them but I had so much fun playing them I want more.

The last row is the joker row, where I put games that either are unfinished (Ultrakill, Deltarune), I haven't finished yet (Ultrakill, Library of Ruina), or… are just as bad as they're good (Genshin Impact). Seriously don't get me started on Genshin Impact. I love it I truly do but man.

Special mention for Othercide for the 1st boss experience that absolutely blew my mind. I would have put it on the list for this alone, but it gave me anxiety and that made me never finish the game. I'll get back to it one day. Listen to the soundtrack, folks, it's got some bangers.

(I tried not to put 2 games from the same series/franchise, like for ex I only TOTK even though I also played BOTW and I like it about as much, I put 1 Ace Attorney -well it's a duology but whatever- eve though there's many others that i also really love. I did put 2 zeldas but they're different enough imo that's it's fine. I also put 3/4 Supergiant Games ones but is it truly my fault if all their games are so good. And yeah there's 2 FF games too. What do you want me to do. There's so many FFs out there and they're probably all good I've only played these 2 from the main series and they're both in my favs I can't do anything about that.)(Anyways I think that's all.)

[jsmifty]

ONE MORE NIGHT FNAF AU CHARACTERS - THE SUIT - Part 1

Above is the SpringBonnie suit from my FNAF AU/rewrite called "ONE MORE NIGHT".

More info under the cut!

This is the first of many posts showing off some of the characters designs. I will talk more about the AU itself in other posts, however since this is the first I might as well give a basic rundown, it will be at the bottom of this post. William Afton himself will get his own post but this is just about his suit.

Anyway. This is the SpringBonnie suit from my FNAF rewrite!

I never really liked the completely butt naked suits, it always looked really weird to me. Generally when i draw the other animatronics I stick to the basic canon design (without the clothes), but with Springbonnie I realllyyyy prefer the design with some clothing over the top. idk why, it just makes him look siller.

Also if those things are being worn, I can imagine they're stinking hot during the summer, and I know the three piece suit is probably no better for keeping cool but at least he looks cool while dying of heatstroke. :)

There is also an animatronic version version of the suit of course!

Axe > Knife

The suit (SpringBonnie) was made as a suprise gift for William for the opening (By Henry Emily).

The suit has two varients. The summer varient, and the other one. Specifically in the hotter seasons, the suit is only worn with the head, paws and feet + usually a purple suit.

The other version, is the full suit, which covers the full body (is featured in the small doodle to the left). The full suit sometimes features a bowtie, or an undercoat (just to decorate it a little). And you'd be suprised by how quickly it can be put on. William got springlocked in this version specifically.

When specifically William wears the suit, his hair being too long, pokes out from underneath the head of the suit. It sometimes gets tangled in the springlocks! This makes it difficult to take off, ESPECIALLY if the springlocks are released.

Some more art of him (all a bit old):

---------------------------------------------------

The rewrite, which will be uploaded to Ao3, is split into 4 to 5 parts (it will be put into an folder on Ao3 to make it more organized). The timeline follows off canon for the most part, however most of the events have been organized into a specific timeline. The order of the games specifically that I am following is below.

(if the text is unreadable: FNAF 4 → FNAF 2 + Sister Location → FNAF 1 → FNAF 3 → FNAF 6)

PART ONE is centred before the main six games, and overlaps FNAF 4. It is centred around Henry Emily and William Afton (and their families) during the early stages of their animatronic making endeavours.

The other 3-4 parts have been planned out but I won't talk about them that much right now.

The AU leans a lot more on the characters, their motivations, and their relationships with other characters. It focuses more on telling the story in full than in hints, like the games do.

It is likely not going to be completely accurate to canon, so if the timeline changes with new FNAF releases then big whomp I've already made a timeline and I'm not touching that thing again.

If anyone wants like, a clearer rundown of what the fic is about if you are interested please feel free to comment or go on my asks i really appreciate any interest shown in this project, its annoyingly important to me LMAO

IF YOU READ THIS FAR, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! like I yap so much, and this is me holding back and ive already written wayyyy to much for a singular tumblr post :( but yeah

If you'd like to see a specific character from FNAF in my AU/Rewrite, feel free to ask!!!!!!!

[megu-meow]

take my breath - sukuna

Part 4 of my Hockey Player Sukuna Series - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

Lmk if you want to be added to the tag list! :D

This part is shit, I'm sorry. After TTPD I found myself unable to write fluff, but I've kept people waiting, so I had to force myself to write this.

When Sukuna says soon, he means the next Thursday. He calls you on Wednesday after practice to ask you formally whether you could keep your schedule open for the next evening and you agree, because you have been waiting for your date for a few days now. However, you find yourself frustratedly trying on every piece of clothing you own, being indecisive about what to wear. You want to look good for him, because as you shyly admitted to your brother, you really like Sukuna. He's rough around the edges, but he seems like a good guy, unlike all the other people you've dated before. You contemplate calling one of the girls, but Senna and Akane love to gossip, and for the time being, you'd like to keep this little date with Sukuna a secret. So you call the only person you can trust in this situation.

Sophia arrives ten minutes after calling her saying you need help getting dressed for a date. She's the only one of the girls who knows that you have something going on with Sukuna, it makes total sense to reach out to her in your current circumstance. You already made her swear on your brother's life that she's not going to say anything about it to the girls, so you're safe in that regard. Plus, she has a keen sense of style, which comes in handy considering you want to impress the pink-haired centerman with your looks. You noticed already how many pretty girls were wearing his jersey to games, you know that he could have any of them at his disposal in a second. It still seems sketchy that he became so fond of you in such a short period of time, but you're not complaining.

"He was so nervous when I left, Kento thought he was going to explode." Sophia says as you try to put socks on, balancing on one foot.

"Who was?" you look at her and you nearly kiss the ground, regaining your balance at the last second.

"Sukuna, of course. He's been pacing around the apartment like a maniac all day."

"Really?" you ask timidly.

"Yeah. Kento said he had never seen him so stressed." for some reason hearing this makes you smile and your heart warm. Sukuna doesn't strike you as someone who would be nervous about dates, but you already learned not to assume anything about him, because he always surprises you with the way he acts.

"I'm kinda nervous too. I want this to go well." you explain and you try to put your earrings in. As you look at yourself in the mirror, wearing the outfit your sister-in-law put together, you're content with your reflection. You look amazing and you feel confident in the pieces you're wearing. Your makeup and hair are done in your usual way, you don't want to look like a completely different person. Apparently, Sukuna agrees that you look good. Because the moment you open your door for him, he freezes in place, with his eyes wide and glimmering. For a second you think something is wrong, but those thoughts are quickly dismissed as he speaks.

"You look beautiful, y/n." he states, his voice softer than you've ever heard. He is wearing a burgundy suit, one that complements his skin tone. His hair is sleeked back, but it still looks effortless in a way. You can smell his usual cologne, the musky scent that lingers. It suits him.

"Says you, handsome." you compliment him back and you swear a blush appears on his cheek. Suddenly, he remembers something, and he gives you the flowers he was hiding behind his back all this time. "Thank you! What happened to all flowers are stupid?" you ask as you smell the peonies in your hand.

"Well I got you some sunflowers, but your brother told me I was insane, so he dragged me to a florist to get 'ones that girls actually like'." he explains.

"He's right, you know? You made me wait four days for this date, the least you can do is give me some girly flowers." you joke and he rolls his eyes. Nonetheless, he reaches out for your hand. You slip it in his palm, which is calloused from holding a hockey stick most hours of a day, but very warm.

"Listen, woman, I made you wait because I wanted to take you to a 3 Michelin Star restaurant that specializes in your favorite food." he explains as he opens the door of his car for you to hop in.

"What?" you ask in shock before he closes the door after you. He leans down, looking into your eyes with a smirk across his face.

"You heard me, y/n. Now, don't be so shocked, I told you I would go all out for our date."

"You didn't have to though. You could have taken me to a hole-in-the-wall ramen place and I would have liked it." you say, slightly feeling bad "How did you manage to get a table anyway? These places are booked months ahead."

"The owner is a huge Wizards fan and apparently I'm his kid's favorite player. I had the team sign a jersey and got them season tickets, so they were glad to do me a small favor in return." he explains like it is nothing, but it means the world to you. No one has ever done something so grand for a date with you. It makes your heartbeat go nuts and you can't help but stare at him as he drives. You observe his tattooed hand that is on the armrest, shaking slightly. You smile and instinctively take it in yours, laying your intertwined hands in your lap. He turns his head towards you in shock, but he quickly looks back to the road. The blush from before returns, even his neck turns pink, and you smile, adoring his reactions.

The dinner goes by fast, despite lasting for hours. The food is exquisite, as expected. Most importantly, there's not one dull moment. You and Sukuna talk like you've known each other your whole lives. He asks about your interests, what you like to do in your free time, where you went to school, and about your friends. He seems interested in everything you talk about, he listens with an intensity you find rare. He drinks up every single word that leaves your mouth, he asks questions, and he's genuinely curious about how you perceive the world. You ask him plenty of questions yourself and he answers them gladly. He seems very fond of his brothers, he shows you pictures of them and you observe how Yuji has the same color hair as him and Choso has a very similar line tattooed on his nose as Sukuna's.

"They're coming to town soon, by the way." he comments and your eyes light up.

"How come?"

"It's Yuji's draft year and it's held here in Tokyo. Choso just tags along because he clings to that brat like a leech."

"That's so rude!" you exclaim, but you're smiling. You're aware that Sukuna probably shows his love towards his brothers a little bit peculiarly.

"Well, it's true."

"Do you see a chance of Yuji being drafted by the wizards?" you ask.

"Not really. He is prospected to be in the top three of the draft and we are clinching the playoffs this next game as number one in the league. We probably won't have a pick in the top ten."

"I'm sorry to hear that. It would have been cool for him to have you on the team he's drafted to."

"I don't think so. If I'm being honest, I'm glad there is little to no chance for that to happen as of now."

"Why is that?"

"He won't have a target on his back. Otherwise, people would be mean to him and would rough him up with the sole purpose of pissing me off. This way he can become a professional player without being concussed every game."

"You're very protective of your brothers, huh?" you ask and he smiles.

"You could say that." he smirks "I'm protective of everything I own, you know." he adds looking into your eyes deeply. You know there is a deeper meaning behind his words. He's implying that he would be just as safeguarding about you if you were his girlfriend. You find it hard to believe that a guy like him exists. He is so charming but respectful. He is attentive, you mentioned one time what your favorite food was and he remembered, moreover, he went out of his way to get you the best version available of it.

"Where were you my whole life?" you ask, not realizing that you blurted out your thoughts just like that. You feel embarrassed as your hands fly to your runny mouth, covering it. However, Sukuna just laughs. He rarely laughs like this. It comes deep from within, the type that shakes your whole body and you're sure you're red like a lobster as you observe him.

"Sweetheart, I've been asking that question about you since December." he answers, his charming smile never fading.

"December?" you question.

"Oh, I thought your brother told you about that too." he seems shocked, but he continues "I've spotted you in the crowd at the Family Game in Kyoto. I was mesmerized, I even ran into one of my teammates on accident, I was too preoccupied with looking at the angel in the Wizards jersey."

"Oh, I remember that. I was laughing about that with Akane." you recall and Sukuna frowns "So you've had your eyes sat on me since then?"

"Well, I didn't know I was going to meet you on my first day in Tokyo while I was shirtless, but destiny has its way, I guess."

"You believe we were destined to meet?"

"I told you before, sweetheart, I am superstitious. Take that as you want, but I do think we are here having dinner for a reason." he explains.

Your date ends when the restaurant staff asks you nicely to leave because they've been closed for two hours already. You didn't even realize that all the other customers had left and the staff was ready to close. Sukuna pays for the bill and he sends you a death glare when you offer to pay for your part. "Woman, you won't have to pay for anything while you are out with me." he states, irritation evident in his tone. He also drives you home and walks you to your door. You're wearing his suit jacket, because you were a bit cold, although he turned the heater on in the car.

"Thank you for tonight! I had a lot of fun." you smile up at him, as you're trying to say goodbye on your doorstep.

"There is nothing to be thankful for, you got what you deserve, princess." he says and he seems a little bit disappointed, but you're not able to determine why. Maybe the date didn't go as well in his perspective as you thought.

"Is something wrong? Did I say something to offend you?" you ask in panic and he quickly shakes his head, dismissing it. Suddenly the redness returns to hiss tattooed cheeks and he suddenly seems nervous.

"I just thought I deserved a kiss after that." he whispers shyly, his face down, gaze locked on the tip of his shoes.

It's your turn to laugh at his awkwardness, but you still cup his cheeks in your hands and pull him in for a kiss. You don't quite understand where all this fearlessness came into you from, but you're glad it did because the kiss is magical. It's soft but eager and you can feel him smiling into it as his large hands find their destined spot in your hips. You're the one to break the kiss, but Sukuna pulls you in closer, resting his forehead on yours, and looking deeply into your eyes. His smile reaches his ears and he whispers to you softly:

"I hate to break it to you princess, but I don't think I can go on with my life without doing that every day."

You smile, and respond with a smile just as wide as his "Good, because I don't think I can either."

The next day is game day and you arrive at your brother's apartment beforehand. You usually drive with them to the arena. Sukuna emerges from his room in his game-day suit, his eyes glowing up the moment he sees you there.

"We're gonna be down at the car, Bambi." Sophia says as she and Kento leave in a hurry.

Sukuna steps closer to you, embracing you, his muscular arms around your shoulders.

"Hello, princess! How are you?"

"I'm great, Sukuna. Thank you for asking! How are you?"

"Better now that I know you're coming to the game to cheer me on." you smile, stepping away from the embrace, and you look into his eyes. "Are you gonna give me a good luck kiss or what?"

You're surprised by his boldness, but you leave a peck on his lips nonetheless.

"If I do good today, you're gonna have to do that before every game." he states.

"Alright. You've got yourself a deal." you smile and you urge him out the door, before your brother and his wife could start thinking that you're doing something inappropriate in their home.

Good does not describe the way Sukuna plays that night. He has one of the best games of his life and after the first goal, as his celebration, he looks towards where you're standing and points at you with a wide smile on his face. This is your sign that from now on, you're gonna have to keep your promise of giving him a good luck kiss before every game.

🩵 Tag list: @ichorstainedskin @ureuphoriasworld @new-weather47 @deepchromatose @cvr2mya @janrcrosssing @bakuhoes-bxtch @deluluforcarlos55 @stainednailpolishremover @thejujvtsupost @bleachisfood @dorck26 @chilichopsticks @when-worlds-end 🩵

[vermutandherring]

I've always felt that there was something missing from the romance in The Sims 4, though I can't quite put my finger on what. The depth of the relationship? Passion? Variety of interactions? Now, 10 years later, when our characters have learned how to raise children and organize weddings, we can finally teach them the art of love. At least that's what you'd expect from a Lovestruck.

Meet Julianne - together with her we will discover a never-before-seen world of romance, the journey to which starts from the phone (let's ignore the fact that I chose to play in my historical save file). Game doesn't give us a separate option to create an account on the dating app. As with Social Bunny, it works by default. From the first minutes of playing for another household, several sims called my character: some claimed that they got this number from friends, others that they were impressed by the profile in Cupid's Corner (which I did not create) and wanted to get to know each other. Arguably, your large social circle and popularity will attract more potential love interests. Or it's just my imagination and your acquaintances will have no effect on the appearance of calls with offers to get to know each other.

You can take your own profile photo, but without corresponding skill it will take some time. Actually, I love how cute it looks.

However, the best way to succeed in anything is to take matters into your own hands. The game offers us 6 candidates every 12 hours, which you can immediately add to your contacts and go on a date. These are both homeless NPCs and sims you create. I did not check whether it is possible to meet profiles of characters with romantic relationships, but all the households I came across were single, which is obviously the main condition for Cupid's Corner.

I also can't tell if the game selects profiles according to a certain principle. Only 1-2 sims had the same traits as Julianne. The rest were matched by age and gender. All this gives the impression that the application for dating is made somewhat lazily. There is very little information about the characters - only 2 traits, age and living place. And this despite the fact that in CAS we can choose an incredible number of hobbies and traits that can attract our sims.

It was funny to see profiles of the sims' I made before. You can say Wesker is always in my saves ✨

Perhaps there is logic in this, if we take into account that sims themselves have to learn more about each other during dates. So, having chosen 3 candidates, I send Julianne on the first date. Here you have to be careful and send your sims exactly on a date from the EP. Now, in addition to the huge and chaotic menu of communication, you will have another type of dating, which does not overwrite the basic one, but exists separately (which, in my opinion, does not make any sense, since they are identical in essence). After looking through the buy catalog beforehand, I purchased a picnic tablecloth and a board game, hoping to try out some new interactions.

Oh, this iconic arrival on the lot where sims stand around, waving their fingers until they want to drink water or to do the push-ups. I don't think that you are obliged to gift something on the first date. However, here we are talking about a game with a somewhat hyperbolic reality. It would be very nice if your partner greeted you with flowers, candy or a funny gift. But… no. Do you remember the phrase about taking matters into your own hands?

Dating in Lovestruck is no different from basic dating, except that it is now organized as an event, for which you will receive a reward. To finish it successfully, you need to complete as many tasks as possible: talk, flirt, and do activities that you have previously chosen. Like always, everything on the date depends only on you. This is the first and not the last time when I want to remember previous Sims games. Unlike the fourth part, in Sims 2 you can't spend the perfect date relying only on your whims. You should pay attention to your partner's wishes by asking what they want or checking their wishes on the date panel. This way, you make sure that both characters have a good time interacting with each other. In the Sims 4, those moments when your love interest takes the initiative are rather annoying, because their actions may not count towards the dating success scale, wasting your time.

Let's return to Julianne. A bit of grilled cheese, light conversation and a board game were a good start to getting to know each other. The picnic tablecloth is officially my absolute favorite part of the DLC. You can do relatively many things together, and it looks a lot better than sitting in different corners of the room with plates in hand. For me personally, this is exactly what I was missing - to watch how sims adequately communicate with each other, without getting up from their seats to play on the computer. This date ended with gold, for which Julianne received a sweet photo with Vittorio.

Without wasting time, Julianne goes on a second date. It was a bit more boring as I sent sims to a bar to explore the new town. Ciudad Enamorada is a new world, which represents the countries of the Iberian basin and Latin America. It is difficult for me to clearly state my opinion about the city. On the one hand, it is very reminiscent of San Myshuno, but feels more empty and sham like in the case of Tomarang. I suspect that EA have been planning for a long time to move to more modern versions of DirectX and started making bigger worlds full of large, carefully decorated areas to create an open world feel. In the already mentioned Tomarang, you can view the whole neighborhood, while being on the same lot.

But this attempt to deceive the player does not save the situation. The streets look empty due to too little traffic of cars and characters. 10 characters in the cozy Willow Creek neighborhood add life to the town, while the same number of characters in the huge Ciudad Enamorada give the impression of a ghost city.

There's not a lot you can do in these areas, and it turns this beautiful city into another one empty box.

Although there are also pleasant moments. For example, in parks you can meet characters spending time together. Just don't look at them for too long, otherwise you will notice that they sit on the benches for whole days, poking their fingers at the clouds and at the starry sky.

Now your sims can stargaze on the benches and this animation is really sweet. I'd wish it were just a bit more diverse, maybe with kissing interaction (my man deff doesn't understand hints).

Julianne's date with Hosea went well. It was the usual conversations about interests and jokes over a glass of root beer and a little flirting. Since this is the first meeting, Julianne did not insist on extremely frank details, stopping at superficial facts about herself, because now you can not only ask your beloved ones about their likes, but also share your own. The developers tried to deepen the relationship by adding more psychological moments. It would seem that the preferences of sims should be based on this, which would influence their choice of a partner. But to be honest, I couldn't feel it. The information you learn about the characters constantly bombards you with an endless number of messages, reading which is very tiring. Even after reaching the maximum relationship, my sims never developed any specific preferences and could not tell each other anything new (or maybe I create too boring sims).

The second date quickly tired me out, as it was not much different from the first. I managed to finish it for silver, after which Julianne had a little rest. As a reward, she received a teddy bear. I expected that partners after successful dates would quickly want to see each other again. But the rare times they did call, they were asking for advice on relationships with other sims. This is another gap that the devs didn't try to fix or simply ignored its existence - the game does not take into account your current relationship and romantic level with other characters. I think this is an interesting option if you are playing for a polyamorous relationship. But for Julianne, I set the goal to find a partner and chose the exact settings for her in CAS, which the game ignored. Frustrated by this, I sent her on a third date.

It was awful. Julianne couldn't find approach to Omari, and each of their lines turned the date into a complete mess. Neither jokes nor attempts to find a common language helped. It ended up with bronze and little flower as a reward for wasted time. You can also end the date early, or ask to extend it if you don't have time to collect the reward (the additional time decreases with each attempt). Maybe things would have turned out better if Julianne had practiced her romance skill. This is another controversial point for me, with which I cannot decide.

Of course, we must learn to find an approach to each other, train patience, be able to accept our partners and talk about our problems and complaints to each other in order to solve them. But in Lovestruck, romance skill is geared towards unlocking additional interactions, such as kissing or sharing candy box. Do I really have to go on multiple dates and get into relationships with different partners to finally learn how to present sweets? I understand that this was done mostly in order to make the gameplay a little more difficult and exciting, to add some time before you get completely bored.

After all, this skill exists because there must be new skill in Expansion Pack. It's very reminiscent of a similar parenting skill in Parenthood, but some things look absurd. Skills from WW has more sense, but for obvious reason devs can't put something that spicy into the game. Eventually, I got tired of developing a talent for romancing other sims and had to use a cheat code.

Julianne ended up with Hosea. Not because he called after a date or wanted to see her. But because I accidentally bumped into him while was hanging around in the park doing quest (this is really tiny quest you can find in the park and finish it within 10 minutes, 5 of which is loading screens). As we know, nothing makes you closer and helps to grow connection like fishing. But this I would do without paying 40$ (or 999 UAH, for God's sake).

I got tired of Julianne's love story. I tried pushing their progression with Hosea to see what else the game can propose. Not that much. So I switched on other married couple.

I adore new furniture. It embody well the atmosphere of romance and erotic mood, which can be supplemented with wallpaper with interesting animal patterns (I missed zebra and leopard prints since Sims 2). It looks like something you expect to meet in the 'certain places for adults' and I like that devs went a bit further than just a bunch of cute stuff. The only thing that does not go well with the 'strip-clubs-velvet style' is art deco. Why don't make more club/bar furniture with booth seats, puffs and huge mirrors in soft cloth is beyond me. But now, if you want full art deco collection, you should get Hight School Years and Lovestruck altogether. I find it quite funny, not sure either in bad or good context.

As I already mentioned, picnic tablecloth is my absolute favorite from the whole EP. It also has the bear rug variation, which fits just perfect for your romantic evenings by the fireplace. I'm sure Victor and Lily will agree with this.

Same interactions are available for both the rug and the cloth because these are literally the same object.

But what if I tell you that it already was in The Sims, 20 years ago?

Gif made from this video. All credits to the original creator.

I don't like to think about it as an "easter egg". Almost every DLC for The Sims 4 is repeating of the same content and functions from the previous games, but with less functionality. And EA charges extra money for it over and over again. Now let's just wait till they figure out how to implement the biggest easter egg of The Sims series ever - cars.

You can make your sims sitting with drinks like in The Sims 1, but of course it has different vibe.

Time to talk about the "hottest" part of this add-on - the seductive dance. To do this, you will have to develop a little not only relationships, but also romantic skill. Dressing up in erotic outfits is optional and not a requirement. That's where all the fun ends. Your partner will begin to move to the rhythm of the dance, which lasts several minutes and during which nothing happens but monotonous movements. Again, this can be described with the words "cute" and "funny", which fits perfectly with the whole family friendly concept of the game. To be honest, I am not categorically against this, because the step towards real erotic and sexuality makes The Sims 4 hover over the abyss of what is appropriate for its age limit.

This review is already too long, but I would like to add a little more about the interactions. I counted a dozen new romantic interactions with animations. For some of them, you will have to increase your romantic skills. Other parts (such as questions or flirting) use the same animations as in the base game. The menu of relationships has become even more chaotic, the description of preferences is even more complicated and unclear. If you want to make the gameplay more varied, you will have to spend a lot of time reading the explanations and noting these details in your head. And even then, I'm not sure if it will make your game more diverse.

As It's been told many times before, Lovestruck EP makes the romance too complicated. Obviously, the developers tried to add depth to the relationship that was so lacking, but in the end they went in wrong direction. Maybe I should play more to understand new features better. But I just don't have the desire for it. The gameplay became so full of text that I started to turn a blind eye to it. I have no doubt that the new features will give someone more variation to play and build their stories. But for me this DLC doesn't cost neither full nor discount price at all.

I love suits and Lily in butler's uniform wins my heart 🖤 Pose is CC.

There are also some features I didn't mention (like therapy for couples which broke my relationship) so there's a bit more to discover. You are free to argue with me of course. Sometimes I think I'm too biased about the game.

[livelaughlovesubs]

how are you doing today, sweetheart? any random thought you'd like to share?

Yea I do actually.

1. I don’t know what to think of the seraphim’s relationship now, cuz they all call luci brother, but (at least with Michael) he seems to be… Yk, pretty into his dear hyung.

Like- isn’t this incest? Ofc they are all children of god but they even CALL him brother so, yea. I mean I don’t really mind it, cuz I know this game has dark themes, so if it turns out they ‘love him alot’ then I wouldn’t hate on it. It’s fiction, I don’t need to get mad over a work of fiction. Just, should one be allowed to ship it then? Idk man, the ship lucifer x Michael is now a little… ehhh, questionable. I’d want them to get along though, their family issues pains me so much.

2. Honestly, god is kind of an ass in the whb universe. It’s one thing that he disappeared from those immature children, but he also couldn’t take responsibility for their actions? If you are a parent and your kids does some bs you have to take responsibility as their guardian. God, ffs, teach your kids, get them under control like there are so many ways. You can literally create anything, make them wear a bracelet that informs you whenever they have murderous intentions and resurrect the dead or smt, put your dogs on a shorter leash.

3. I kind of have a feeling lucifer, since he hallucinates, would sometimes mistake people as his brothers. I wonder how he’d react to my MC? Cuz she looks like Michael, since I based her of me. Anyhow, it’d be kinda funny, just imagine it:

“I’m the descendant of Solomon.”

“No, you are Michael.”

“The fuck, you don’t see those tits? I don’t even have a wing!”

“You ripped your wings off too?”

4. I posted a fic I worked on yesterday, and that was a batshit decision. Because now everyone is concentrated on the new update, and the post got buried behind all the spoilers. I should have posted it like in a week, when things calm down. I think I’ll actually, I spend a lot of time on it.

That’s my rant for now :]

[blackberrysummerblog]

An ask game for writers to procrastinate working on your WIP(s)

Hey all! Thanks so much for tagging me @wellbelesbian, @aristocratic-otter, @valeffelees, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @ivelovedhimthroughworse and @iamamythologicalcreature! You’ve all correctly determined that I am procrastinating writing.

1. 🐬Tell us the name of your/ one of your WIP(s)

I actually don’t have any that are named at this point. Titles and tags are really difficult for me and I put both off to the last minute and second-guess myself into hell

2. 🍄Decriscribe your wip/one of your wips in the format of “___ + ___=___”

Popular movie retelling + flying goats = Baz and Dev have A Spot of Bother

3. 🌍What tags or warnings will your / one of your wip(s) need if you intend to share it?

Wraaaugugh, see #1 :P. I don’t know, in seriousness, I think the WIP mentioned above will end up getting a tag for sexual harassment or something like that given the nature of one necessary scene in the movie it’s based on. It’s not going to be worse than the source material, which is PG-13

4. 🧭An alternative title to your/ one of your WIP(s)?

Oh, to have so many ideas for titles that there’s ever an alternative lying around to spare :(

5. ⚠️Which wip your most likely to finish or update next?

I’m pretty likely to finish a sequel to Field Trip of Dreams (SEE WHAT I MEAN about titles?) this week. The eighth years are off on another field trip—this time it’s a weekend training excursion with the Mage. Baz and Simon have been dating for the short time that’s passed since FToD, but they manage to get in a fight on the bus trip to Scafell Pike, and when it turns into a sort-of-tussle the Mage mistakes it for actual animosity and sends them off to a secluded cabin to bang (I mean work🙄) it out. Absolutely everybody but Davy—including the other teachers—knows exactly how much of a “punishment” this is

6. 💾 What is your document of your wip/ a wip called? (not the stories actual title but what you've saved it as)

Practical magic au

7. 🖍️Post Any sentence from your wip

“Shut up, Gareth!” we shout as one, Snow adding a few brutish threats as Gareth pales and turns back around in his seat.

8. ♻️A scrapped idea for your current WIP

I actually can’t remember. I don’t plot my writing out very extensively so in a sense there’s hundreds of little scrapped thoughts rather than anything huge. I’m eliminating a lot of things with my crucible marriage fic, but it’s hard to say right now what’s actually gone or just being moved around. I know a major one I’ve been battling with is that prior to getting dragged off to Pitch Manor by his new husband Baz, I want Simon to have been living with Penny in a flat of their own, but for another aspect of the story I want him to have been living with the Mage in Watford (which is an au mage’s settlement in the fic) as well. There’s ways to work around it for the results I want, I just haven’t written it out yet.

9. 🤔What's a story you'd love to write but haven't even started yet?

I’m pretty sure I have at least a few lines written down for everything I want to write

10. 🤡How many Wips are you actively working on?

Oh, man…actively, probably the field trip one and my COBB. Somewhat less actively: a reverse COBB fic, a sequel to Monsters Under the Bed, a sequel to After Hours where Simon makes good on his promise to despoil Baz on his office desk, and my unending crucible marriage fic. Less active than that: a fic response to a prompt for Simon being the one kidnapped and Baz has to rescue him. There’s probably (cough*definitely*cough) some pretty messed-up OOC smut stuff lying around in my docs as well, that I add to when I’m in the mood and have zero plans to ever post

11. 🛠️Is there a scene or anything in the WIP you are struggling with right now?

I keep telling myself to just write and stop worrying about this for the moment, but I’m kind of bumming myself out worrying about whether I want to use first or third person, as well as past or present tense, for my COBB. I think the issue is that some scenes are bound to play out better one way while others would be better served differently. This is not usually a thing I struggle with.

12. ❤️Not a question, just a second kudos to send.

🥰

This was fun! (Once I stopped putting it off, lol). No pressure tagging (and sorry if I get anyone who’s already done it): @cutestkilla, @mooncello, @artsyunderstudy, @prettygoododds, @drowninginships, @hushed-chorus, @bookish-bogwitch, @thewholelemon, @brilla-brilla-estrellita, @youarenevertooold, @ileadacharmedlife, @facewithoutheart, @imagineacoolusername, @ic3-que3n

[pocketramblr]

hey here's a more positive au suggestion for the five ask game: what if erasure auto killed nomus? Because their only kept going because of their quirk factors (and erasure sort of turns that off whoops)

I'm so mad I got 4/5 hc written and Tumblr deleted it. Ok let's do this one more time.

1- note: important for this to work, Aizawa does not initially erase Kurogiri at the start of USJ, but we'll get to that. After taking out all the other villains on the plaza, Aizawa erases the nomu. Shigaraki laughs because it won't work, and orders nomu to kill. The nomu doesn't move. Doesn't breathe. No brain activity, it couldn't hear the orders. Aizawa knocks it over, and it stays still. Dead.

2- both Shigaraki and Aizawa are baffled - the later more so when he blinks, and the nomu shudders back to life, reset. In the process of making it, it died many times. Shigaraki, relieved, orders it to attack again... It doesn't. Shigaraki isn't in the most basic set of orders, it would need to be reprogrammed to listen to him. Aizawa erases it again just to be safe. Shigaraki gets mad and goes to attack the students in the lake, so Aizawa blinks and erases him again instead. He grabs onto Tsuyu and can't decay. Izuku attacks- and OFA is in the base code. The nomu moves, and grabs him. Shigaraki takes this as a sign the nomu reset and tries new orders. It doesn't work. Tsuyu and Mineta back away carefully at Izuku's nod. Shigaraki tries to shake the nomu, or get Izuku from it's grip. Nothing works. The whole time he complains about how hard it was to have nomu made.

3- Aizawa blinks and reactivates erasure, tugging Izuku away with the scarf as soon as the nomu's grip loosens. Both of them put together the pieces from Shigaraki's ranting - or at least, figure out this was a science experiment made from at least one corpse.

"Aizawa-sensei, I think... You'd need to stop it all the way while erasure's down, so it can't... Come back to life." Izuku whispers.

"I know, shh. Run as soon as you can and don't break anything."

4- Aizawa only has a pocket knife with him, he doesn't bring the patrol blade with him to UA- a mistake he won't make again. He isn't sure if he could take the nomu down with it anyway. Shigaraki has had enough, and yells for Kurogiri, ordering him to drop Eraser and the brat from somewhere too high to survive. Aizawa erases him- and Kurogiri collapses.

"You're a nomu too??" Shigaraki had no clue. But he also realizes that his exit is gone- for a few more seconds, until Aizawa blinks again. When he does, Shigaraki doesn't waste time on anything else - he jumps down to him and gives the oldest emergency order he knows, from the first time he was given Kurogiri. "The demon lord orders bring all for one!"

They vanish into a warpgate.

5- Izuku is stunned. Aizawa is also stunned, but moves first- grabbing the nomu and moving it, then restraining. He orders Izuku to rejoin his classmates upstairs, as the door should be free now to go through. Izuku finds Thirteen fallen and moves to help, and that's where All Might finds them. Izuku gets up first to warm him about nomu- the absorption, handling OfA, being made of corpses, and the weird thing Shigaraki said before they vanished. All Might frowns more, and moves everyone outside - everyone, he grabs all the other students from the different sections quickly, then goes to meet Aizawa, who erased nomu and cut it's finger, finding no flow or blood pressure before he blinked and it healed. All Might nods, and takes the knife while Aizawa begins restraining the other villains, refusing to wait a bit for the rest of backup.

In the bar, Shigaraki is complaining loudly about how they sent him somewhere a single hero could oneshot his two most important party members and it wasn't even All Might (it was pretty cool though). Ujiko is complaining loudly about how long it's going to take to reprogram Kurogiri, compared to the lower cost of making standard nomu. AfO is complaining loudly about how Kurogiri's quirk is too useful to be compared to boring standard nomu and how someone needs to kill Eraser yesterday. (They tried. It didn't work then and won't now. Instead they'll just have to be very careful about not bringing any nomu around where he could be.)

[lauramkaye]

Mando'a is for Lovers, Part 1

So, you want to write a Mando romance? (Sure, we all do!) And you think conlangs are Neat and want to include Mando'a for some flavor? I cannot blame you, friend! They ARE neat! But you're getting kind of stuck because Mando'a seems to be like 80% made up of military or weapon terms and/or insults?

I AM HERE TO HELP.

But I'm gonna have to do it in multiple posts because um. I might have a lot to say and am really kind of a language nerd as it turns out.

SO this one will JUST be some helpful hints for specific words and phrases that could be useful in trying to write Mandos being lovers not fighters (at least at the time.)

Please let me know if you'd like me to write more of these (grammar basics, handy hints, translation help etc.) or to expand on any points, me and my ADHD hyperfocus would LOVE TO HELP.

(Note: I use mainly Mando'a from mandocreator.com because I like their online tools the best. A "dialect" of Mando'a is basically "one particular conlang hobby group that has made up some words that don't exist in the official sources." Other Mando'a dialects are available.)

Anyway, so, first thing:

You can't just write an English sentence, look up each word in a Mando'a dictionary, and then string those words together. Translation doesn't work like that. What you get will almost always make no sense - like those things you see when someone runs a sentence through Google Translate a couple times and then puts it back to English. This is doubly true because Mando'a was created to give flavor to books and video games and doesn't have anywhere near a complete dictionary, so a lot of the time you won't even be able to FIND the word you want.

This is how you get characters calling someone "my to hold in the heart forever."

There are many conlang nerds (myself included) who would happily help you figure out ways to say what you want to say, but for a shortcut:

Look below the cut for help with terms for: love and marriage, beauty/hotness, pet names, and compliments. Bonus: some vocabulary for getting frisky.

Love and Marriage

If you want someone to say "I love you" (the VERB form of "love"), use kar'taylir darasuum which means "to hold in the heart forever." You will need to CONJUGATE this like so:

I love you: ni kar'tayli gar darasuum You love me: gar kar'tayli ni darasuum I love him/her/them: ni kar'tayli kaysh darasuum

If you want to call someone "love" or "my love" ("love" as a pet name/endearment), the word to use is cyare (loved one/beloved) or possibly cyar'ika (darling/sweetheart). Your spouse/committed partner is your riduur. To get married, you say/swear/vow the riduurok. (NOTE that the riduurok is not 100% equivalent to a modern US marriage but this is the vocabulary post not the Mando Culture Meta post. Hit me up if you want me to make the Mando Culture Meta post.)

If you have read more than 2 or 3 Mando fanfics you likely already know about the riduurok but here are the vows, for completeness:

Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar'tome, mhi me'dinui an, mhi bajuri verde. (We are one when together, we are one when apart, we share all, we will raise warriors.)

If you want to talk about love as a CONCEPT (the noun form of "love") you're going to have to reword it somehow, because Mando'a doesn't have a canon word for that. A few suggestions: 1) reword the sentence to use the verb form 2) use another word, like guuror (to be fond of/to like/to hold affection for). Mando'a also has the very handy intensifier prefix ori-, so you could also say ori'guuror to mean "to like a lot/to be very fond of/to hold great affection for." 3) Think of another way entirely to say the thing you want to say, one that there ARE words for. (You have to do this a lot in Mando'a honestly.) 4) Use a metaphor. Mando'a is a very poetic and metaphorical language where the same words take on different meanings based on context. 5) use words relating to knowledge and remembrance. In Mando'a the concepts of love and remembering/knowing someone or something are VERY closely related.

Attractiveness

A couple related concepts here. Also note that if you are writing Mandalorian characters, they will have Mandalorian standards of attractiveness, of which physical appearance tends to be a lot lower-ranked than in modern Western culture. When you are part of a historically nomadic warrior culture in which most people wear armor all the time, you're gonna care a lot less about what they look like than what they act like and how they ARE, as a person.

Beautiful: mesh'la Very beautiful: ori'mesh'la More beautiful: mesh'lashya The most beautiful: mesh'lane

Note: for all these adjectives, you can add ori' to the front to make it "very [thing]", shya to the end for "more [thing]", and ne to the end for "most [thing]". Attractive (not relating to physical beauty but attractive as a person for other reasons): copyc

Don't mix copyc up with copik'la, which means "cute" but should only be used about animals and small children, not adults. (unless it's a pre-negotiated kink thing but let's save that for the advanced lesson.)

See also the section on compliments for other qualities Mandos find appealing and might use to sweet-talk someone.

Pet Names

cyare (love/beloved) and cyar'ika (darling, sweetheart) are the classic go-tos here. If you are married you can call them riduur (spouse/life partner). You could also use ner kar'ta (my heart), which I would argue works well in Mando'a since the way you tell someone you love them is literally to tell them that you hold them in your heart forever. The heart is actually very significant in Mandalorian culture generally; the elongated hexagon you see used in their designs and in the chestplate of their armor is called the kar'ta beskar (beskar heart) and is a culturally significant symbol.

A note on "-ika": using the suffix "-ika" forms a Mando'a diminutive meaning something like "little [thing]" with an affectionate connotation. Hence cyare (beloved) becomes cyar'ika (sweetheart, darling.) You can do this with names: you add -ika to the first syllable, so Jango would be Jan'ika, Din would be Din'ika, Boba would be Bob'ika. (Note- you can fudge the "first syllable" thing to make it sound better and be easier to say. "Bob'ika" flows better than "Bo'ika" but I think it's easier to say "Gro'ika" for Grogu than "Grog'ika.") Note that -ika is a lot like the Japanese -chan in that it generally connotes something young and cute more than something adult. So don't just deploy it at random. An adult calling their adult lover "-ika" is kind of like, say, calling Steve Rogers "Stevie" or possibly even "Stevie-poo" - it definitely can happen but there's a certain vibe to it that you might not always want. But you could still use it in conjunction with any of these other terms - like you could call someone your kar'tika (little heart) and get the point across.

If the person is being formal/poetic/archaic you might see them use ner runi (my soul), though this would not be commonly used by modern Mandalorians; think of it as like.... using terms from Shakespeare to compliment someone. It can work in the right context but it could also sound really pretentious.

There isn't a canon Mando'a noun that means "treasure" or anything similar, but there are adjectives for "valuable" (waadasla) and "important" (jaonyc) so you can work from there if you're flexible with your phrasing. (You can actually transform words in Mando'a into other parts of speech quite easily--there are simple and standard rules for doing it--but that's another post.)

You'll also see mesh'la (beautiful) used, though I tend to think that Mandos wouldn't emphasize physical beauty so much as other qualities they like, such as:

Other Things A Mando Would Compliment You On (could be platonic or romantic)

Being mandokarla (adjective) or having mandokar (noun) means basically "having all the qualities that make an ideal Mandalorian." The dictionary definition calls this "a blend of aggression, tenacity, loyalty, and a lust for life."

Having shereshoy (noun) - this is the "lust for life" referred to above, but that's a shorthand translation. Shereshoy is a Mandalorian cultural concept that means "the enjoyment of each day and the determination to seek and grab every possible experience, as well as surviving to see the next day - hanging onto life and relishing it." (a nice parallel for those who ship Mandos with Jedi is to the Jedi concept of being in the present moment!)

Loyal - verburyc (adj)

Stubborn/tenacious/enduring - atin (adj)

Aggressive (not necessarily negative) - verd'yc (adj) (note that "verd" is "warrior" - this is aggressive in a culturally valued way for Mandalorians and might also be used the way you'd use passionate, ambitious, etc in English. OVERLY aggressive/rude/intrusive would be something like "akaa'naryc" which has a connotation more like starting fights/instigating war.

Clever/intelligent - mirdala (adj)

Brave - kotep (adj)

Good - jate, very good - ori'jate, best - jatne.

Ramikadyc - this is one of those words that needs cultural context to really define. Verd is "warrior," Ramikad is "commando," and ori'ramikad is "supercommando" which is the term for elite special forces. Ramikadyc -literally "commando-like" - is defined as "an attitude that he/she can do anything, endure anything, and achieve the objective. A blend of complete confidence and extreme tenacity instilled in special forces during training. Can also be used informally to describe a determined, focused person." (Side note: ram'or means "to attack" and "kad" is "sword" so ramikad likely originally just meant "swordfighter." Possibly because you need more training to be effective with swords and blasters than blasters alone, this came to refer to a more elite class of soldier.)

Kandosii can mean both indomitable and ruthless, while kandosii'la means stunning or amazing.

Strength - a couple different words here. Kot (strength) and kotyc (strong). Dral, which means strong or powerful but can also mean bright or glowing. This leads to the question- how do you know which word to pick when there are multiple ones with the same or similar dictionary definitions?

My go-to is to look for other words that have similar roots, or canon phrases that contain one of the words, and use that to figure out the connotation/flavor/nuance that distinguishes the words from each other.

So for strength - do you use dral or kotyc?

You see the "dral" root in a few places: Dral'Han (the Annihilation - a more literal translation would be "bright annihilation" or "bright oblivion" and it is a reference to the glare of the orbital bombardment of Mandalore), draluram ("bright-mouth", a term for spicy food), and the phrase "nar dral'shya." (try harder/put your back into it.) The "kot" root appears in kote (glory), kotep (brave), kotir (to defeat, to overpower), and alli'kote (a clan's reputation.) From this, it seems like you might use "kotyc" to talk about physical/martial strength or strength that leads to victory or reputation, and "dral" to talk about more innate or existential kinds of strength/power.

Okay, so you can give the sweet-talk. What about the SPICY talk? (because Mandalorians love spicy food? get it?)

Some Potentially Useful Words For Sexy Stuff

naritir (v) - to insert, to put, to place. Note that if you wanted to do an imperative you would add "ke" to the beginning.

narir (v) - to act, do, put

Nar dral'shya! (phrase) - try harder, put your back into it. (We talked about this phrase above when discussing dral. "shya" at the end means "more [thing]" - it's the equivalent of adding "-er" to an English verb - so "dral'shya" here means something like "more powerfully". The "nar" is likely from narir (act/do/put) but could potentially also be from naritir (insert/put/place), so I think that it's quite possible for this phrase to have a double-entendre connotation something like "shove it in harder.")

Words for body parts - (note, in Mando'a you make a word plural by adding -e to the end if it ends in a consonant and -se if it ends in a vowel)

Hand/hands - gaan/gaane Finger/fingers - cer/cere Buttocks/ass/rear - shebs (note that this is referring to one entire butt; there isn't a word for a single buttock. "shebse" would be "asses" aka the butts of more than one person.) Arm/arms - irud/irude Chest - haalas (there is no word for breasts) Thigh/thighs - motuun/motuune Face - troan (this word also means "mask") Eye/eyes - sur'haai/sur'haaise

Words for THOSE body parts - okay look the Officially Licensed Star Wars Expanded Universe material isn't big on telling you how the GFFA says "cock" so you're going to have to use some creativity here.

Mando'a in general uses gender VERY rarely (in Mando'a, everyone's pronouns are they/them) and when it does, it's mostly in reference to like, animal husbandry. It's generally not going to be very well received to call someone jagyc (male) or dalyc (female) in a sexy context. It's more a medical/scientific thing because in Mandalorian culture biological sex is only relevant for medical/scientific/agricultural reasons and gender only matters in so far as it personally matters to you but is culturally largely irrelevant. Probably Mando OB/GYN vocabulary exists but it was apparently not deemed relevant to the Republic Commando tie-in game and novels that most Mando'a was developed for.

That said, there are definitely crude, Shakespearean-esque jokes including swords and sheaths and such - but these would be considered kind of raunchy and not something that everyone would appreciate. Anyway the words here are:

Kad (n)- sword, saber Dalab (n)- sheath, scabbard

And if you want some verbs, Mando'a has THREE words for stabbing: chekar, kalikir, and bikadinir. Chekar means to stab with a small blade - think "to shiv." Probably not the most complimentary metaphor but some people might be into that. Kalikir is to stab with a narrow blade - "to skewer". Bikadinir is to stab with a broad blade - "to run through." The way that these metaphorical uses might be interpreted are left as an exercise for the reader, ahem.

Big (and little) - Big is "ori" and small is "kih". In addition to using them on their own, you can also use them as modifying prefixes, where they CAN mean physically big or small but can also mean the equivalent of "very [thing]" or "slightly [thing.]" Note that "kih" (at the front) is small/little with no context about how you feel about the thing being described, while -ika (at the back) is a way to say "little" with an affectionate, cutesy vibe. So your ori'vod is your older/big sibling, your kih'vod is your younger/little sibling, and your vod'ika is your little sibling (affectionate.)

Hard (and soft)- you probably want muun (hard as in a surface or material) rather than urakto (hard as in difficult.) Soft or yielding is pel; do not use laandur (fragile) as that is considered an insult.

Tight (and loose)- sadly don't exist, but you can probably use novla (closed/shut) and tenn (open) to get the job done here.

Hole - palon is "hole." surdol means "an opening" or "a window," you could likely use this in a sexy context. I've seen people use "shebs'palon" to mean "asshole" but YMMV.

Hot (and cold)- hot is nadala, but this refers to temperature only. Hot as in attractive you want copyc, hot as in physically appealing you probably want mesh'la. Cold is ciryc.

Wet (and dry)- wet is piryc, dry is haast.

Show - tenganaar is "to show" or "to display" with a root from "open hand" (like you're showing something in the palm of your hand.)

Want - copaanir is the verb "to want." Me'copaani? is "What do you want?" or "what would you like?" vercopaanir (literally future-want) is "to wish" or "to hope" and vercopa is a wish or dream. If you say "Vercopa" followed by a statement, it means "I wish that/may it happen that." So like - "Vercopa mhi me'dinui an" would be "I want us to share all." Vercopa can also have a connotation sort of like the one when someone says "I'm manifesting this" - like, you are urging the universe to make it happen for you. The related word copad (noun) is an ambition or desire.

Okay that got really long but I hope it is helpful to someone! Because I've spent way too much time thinking about this. :)

[suzy-queued]

New Year's Ask Game for Fic Writers

To close out 2023…

1) What fic did you have the most fun writing this year and why? Or, if you can’t decide, what was most fun about writing this year for you?

It was a lot of fun writing the Masquerade story, because there was a lot to consider. Should I use my own voice or try to mimic someone else's? Should I write a story that I normally wouldn't take a chance on? Game-ifying fic writing makes it really exciting. And now it's fun to guess on everyone else's stories!

2) What’s a scene/story that you finished and felt “wow, I really accomplished that, that actually went so well”?

Chapter 13 of Out of Nowhere. I knew from the beginning that I'd have to write that angsty sex scene, and I felt like I was training for a marathon leading up to it. It had to balance anger and love, had to involve force but not be rapey. There were so many complex and competing forces in the scene, and I wasn't sure I could pull it off.

3) What helped provide the most inspiration for stories, if anything? Was it poetry? A song on repeat? A gorgeous gifset? A walk outside? A book you read that made you want to change everything? Whatever it was! Tell all.

Songs! Always songs. Murder ballads. Heavy metal opuses. Raw 2000s emo. Give me all of it.

4) What is something you want to share about what you’ve written this year? A particular line, a comment that made you feel really good, a scene that was difficult to write — you get to choose! What do you wish someone would ask you about when it comes to what you’ve written?

I tried to write novels back between 2012-2018. I wrote 2 YA fantasy novels and pieces of four others. But none of them ever felt complete. None of them gelled in my mind. I don't know why. I shelved them all. Then, I discovered the Gallavich fandom. I read the fics and a fire got lit inside me. And now I've written five novel-length stories. FIVE. And they all feel right! I can't thank this fandom enough for being supportive, inspiring, and transformative. I may not have a ton of fics, but completing a fifth multi-chap makes me feel like a superhero.

And to start off 2024…

1) Do you have any writing/creation goals for the year? What are they?

Finish Out of Nowhere, which will happen ... any day now!

2) Is there a fic or idea that you’re really excited to be able to continue to work on in the new year (shout out to my fellow fic writing folks who take forever to finish wips, sometimes it’s nice to be able to continue working on something even if you wish you’d gotten it done! Now you get even MORE time with it!)

I am exited to continue the @galladrabbles series No Sleep 'Til Nashville. It makes me giggle to put all the fandom tropes in there. It might go on for the entire year, who knows? There's a lot of story left to tell, and I have a lot of shenanigans planned.

3) What’s something new in your writing you want to try/are going to try? A different writing style? Different fandom? Darker works? Fluffier? Longer or shorter?

I might write more short stories this year. I might write a non-Gallavich original novel (if the idea strikes). All I know is that I'll always be writing something.

4) What’s something you love about your own writing that you will continue to appreciate in the new year?

I love creating suspense — in a scene, in a chapter, in an entire fic. I enjoy the challenge of making every scene sing, or at least having narrative tension. I don't see that going away. Here's hoping I can succeed!

Tagging, if you'd like to participate: @sweetperversiongirl @sweetbee78 @depressedstressedlemonzest @juliakayyy @notherenewjersey @metalheadmickey @creepkinginc @whatthebodygraspsnot @arrowflier @crossmydna

[superthatguy62]

top 5 ffs?

Oh, hello.

Just as a warning, I have yet to go through the post 5 FF games to a significant degree, so I'll be including some spinoffs:

5: Final Fantasy Explorers

I haven't played... well, any Monster Hunter-type games, so FFE was my first taste of it, and you know what? I enjoyed it. I played it on single-player, so it was essentially "Beastmaster: The Game" and the bosses were still fun enough. Also it probably has one of my top 5 favorite Big Bridge remixes and some of the music (particularly the general boss theme and Odin's theme) are highlights for me.

4: Final Fantasy Tactics

It clears the 'higher-than-you'd-expect' hurdle of me being able to actually play a decent amount of a strategy game and is generally fun to boot. I got up to Chapter 3 before the random encounters started kicking my ass enough to discourage me from continuing (though the fights towards the end of chapter 2 really tested my patience), though said encounters didn't help by me playing the PSP version with its magic/animation slowdown. By all accounts, I should probably go for the GBA/DS games since those lack permadeath (albeit with a very different tone plotwise), but I still intend to try out the PS1 version of the first game and hopefully not grind myself into a corner.

3: Final Fantasy 2

Yes, this. FF2's 'quirky' and 'complicated', but I dig the story, the gameplay once your characters actually get built up and just general setting. It's also to read the supplementry material and other notes on what could have been: It really shows that the devs were putting some thought into the story and its a shame how some elements didn't translate properly. It's the type of game where it gets better the more you know of how it works. That said the dungeon design alone holds this back fiercely, especially in the PSP's Arcane Labyrinth (Darkness floor, my beloathed). Speaking of which, the bonus content for this game is probably some of the better such content of these re-releases.

2: Final Fantasy 3

Wow, what a surprise.

FF3 is basically the video game equivalent of "it could be that deep" in my eyes. Because you don't have any of those fancy "Materias", "GFs", Magicites" or even abilities to carry over like in FFV and FFT, you need to team build your way through whatever the game throws at you. Again, FF3 is one of those games that gets better when you have more an idea of what to expect: Getting thrown into a mini-dungeon early on is annoying, but its less so when you have mages prepared ahead of time to either magic their way through or play "pass the Fire Rod that the devs conveniently added". The world isn't fully developed, but the nuggets you can find are interesting, especially the whole duality concept and the existence of the World of Darkness.

But this is also the same guy who has spent however many years obsessing over this game, so you know. Feel free to add some salt to this opinion.

As for why this isn't higher, it's because my image of this game has been ruined by my obsession, and there I feel there is no "definitive" version. All three versions are playable (yes, even the remake) and enjoyable (yes, even the remake), but all have enough pros and cons that I can't fully say one is better than the others. It's the kind of game that feels like it has yet to reach its full potential and I unfortunately don't think there are many people, at least in the west, who would care even if it did. 3's always been the overshadowed game. After all, FF5 is right there. And, oh hey, speaking of...

1: Final Fantasy 5:

Not quite a basic answer, but still a not-uncommon one, I feel. I was very late to the FF5 party, only playing it when the PR came out and not even experiencing it through osmosis like I did with FF6, and while my obsession with 3 means that it will never overcome that bias, I can easily see why people consider it to be the gameplay peak of the Nintendo-era, if not 6. It builds on what 1 and 3 started and the job combos can be fun to play with. That said, I'll admit that part of my ranking it so high is a particularly impressive mod known as "Custom Classes", which allows you to swap out basically all of the commands, meaning that you can carry over more than one skill between jobs. I haven't finished a full playthrough of CC yet, but between that and the reasons I gave for FF3, I'll be willing to give the edge to 5 over it.

Also, 5 gave us Gilgamesh and ExDeath (and indirectly eScape, and therefore The Twinning).

Honorable Mentions:

Dissidia (012): I don't know how to feel about this game. Settingwise: I love the ways it expands the FF1 mythos, but I hate how WoL is a manikin and what that implies for the rest of the FF1 party. It gave me my favorite portrayal of Garland, but it also gave me Onion Knight, whom I resent for sidelining Luneth's party in later crossovers. Even gameplaywise, I like the general gameplay, at least on paper, but I think I get far frustrated with it more than I would with a normal fighting game. Yet, I keep playing or get the urge to keep playing. Maybe it deserves to be on the list? Maybe it doesn't?

Final Fantasy VIII: I haven't gotten far in FFVIII (I finished the Dollet mission) but what I've played so far feels promising as far as my first PS1-era FF goes (some perfectionism on my part aside). Junctioning is an 'interesting' mechanic, but I think I like it. I need to get the hang of Triple Triad, but I can understand how people get hooked on it.

Final Fantasy Dimensions: Albeit with the mother of all asterisks: This is here mostly for the 'idea' than the execution right now. Like the other FFT games, I do have it ready for play, I just haven't gotten around to it, because when I play games on my phone, it's usually the gatchas that I'm stockholm syndrome'd to playing right now and it's rare for me to not be playing at least 2 at a time. At some point I do want to get around to actually playing it, but until it gets like a steam release or something, it'll be one of those "get to it eventually" type games.

Final Fantasy: Admittedly, it has been ages since I played through FF1 (relatively speaking) compared to every other game on this list aside from FFE, so I don't know how much mention it merits. But I'll put it here anyway.

[zestysthoughts]

Tep Tons: Albums

10. The Break of Dawn (Blue In Green) Smooth all the way through, this is full of music to just kinda vibe to, similarly to what you'd find hosted by Lofi Girl. Along with much of Gramatik's early work, it's the album that helped fuel my initial interest in the hip-hop style, especially with jazz elements. Here's a taste!

9. This Time (Los Lobos) I don't often listen to rock, but it's actually what I grew up with. At the center was AC/DC, Smash Mouth, and Linkin Park. In the periphery and having at most a single album I'd listen to, were Crossfade, 3 Doors Down, Finger Eleven, and Los Lobos. This Time sticks out as being not emo edgy and full of cringe-worthy self-pity. It's got energy, variety, and good vibes all around. Here's a taste!

8. Small Plates (J3PO) Short and sweet, this is one of those sketch albums, filled with some of the many snippets thought up and created by the artist. I love the existence of albums like this, as some of the real banger ideas that never get a full produced song can see the light of day while the artist is still alive, Small Plates (and Sweet Treats) having some of my favorites by J3PO. Here's a taste!

7. Fantastic (Slum Village) I couldn't pick one of the volumes, so I'm going with all of them lol. I love the wonky Dilla-time, as anyone who's seen my music recommendations would know. I love the unfinished feel of Vol. 1 with a bunch of really bumpin' beats that unfortunately never made it past this point, and I love that they revisited and polished a bunch of them and for Vol. 2, then there's the further edited version of 2, complete with hilarious and heartfelt testimonials at the end of some of the tracks. Here's a Taste!

6. Funk Blaster EP (KOAN Sound) While there's no one album that incapsulates my dubstep phase, this one was definitely the most prominent. It's funky, wubby, and well-composed. I'll admit I am "that guy" when it comes to KOAN Sound, I liked them better during their early experimental days, until Polychrome when they made a habit of putting 2 different songs in 1 track. Honorable mention to Risky Endeavors Here's a taste!

6.5. Planet Neutral (Getter)

5. Things Fall Apart (The Roots) One of the newest additions, The Roots has become one of my favorite bands ever. Through and through, this is but one of the masterpieces created in the Soulquarians sessions at Electric Lady Studio, filled with banger after banger. Honorable mention to the Deluxe Edition, featuring some of my favorite Roots songs ever. Here's a taste!

4. Astro Lounge (Smash Mouth) Yes I know, it's the one with All Star. Like I said, Smash Mouth was one of my favorite bands growing up, and Astro Lounge just has a special place in my heart. The title I think sums it up best, feels like you're in a cozy futuristic lounge, or at least the idea of futuristic people had in the late 90's. Here's a taste!

3. Random Album Title (Deadmau5) Another one I'm nostalgic for, this is the ultimate vibe album for me. The somewhat droning and repetitive nature of it, plus the seamless mix between songs, gives it a video game soundtrack quality in that it's great for just putting on in the background while you're doing stuff. Unfortunately Spotify is being weird and there's like 3 slightly different versions of it with the same name. Here's a taste!

2. Plastic Beach (Gorillaz) Aright it's another nostalgic one, this I think is the first physical CD I ever bought. I love the metaphorically nautical/maritime theme, and as per usual with the Gorillaz, there's a great variety in musical styles. Plus there's a kickass music video for Stylo. Here's a taste!

1. Djesse (Jacob Collier) I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, Jacob Collier is the greatest musical mind of our time. This album has such a profound effect on me I can't fully describe. Whenever I sit to listen to any part of it, it feels like a hug that gives you the warm shivers, it tickles my ears, and almost always I well up. Djesse is the work of a man who thoroughly explores the depths of music and sound, travels the world to learn, combines it all in unique ways, and all the while exuding this infectious energy and curiosity. Here's a taste!

[madaboutmunson]

Again - Part 3

Part 1 | Part  2 | Part 4 | Full list of Again series links inc AO3 Link

Steddie fic where Steve and Eddie are in their mid 30's and everyone has sort of drifted apart

This chapter is a bit exposition heavy.

Taglist: @adaed5 @grtwdsmwhr @swimmingbirdrunningrock

Thank you to @callme-keys for all their help with this 💚💚💚

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

On the drive home, it's quiet as usual Corey is absorbed in his game, Mackenzie her music, so Steve only has his thoughts for a while. He thinks about two things. First, he thinks about how nice a surprise it had been to see Eddie. Maybe he was due a meet-up with some other friends soon, perhaps something more organised. Secondly, that Morgan kid, well, not the kid himself, Mackenzie's interaction with him.

Steve waves his hand to get her attention and then looks in his rearview mirror at Mac, "So, what did you think? Wanna go back, or shall we try elsewhere? I'm sure there might be others D&D clubs around, right? It's a super popular game! We might just need to drive further out, which is not a problem at all." Steve raises his eyebrows, hopefully.

"Do you want me to find a game somewhere else?" Mackenzie says with a suspicious smile narrowing her eyes at him playfully.

"No! No. Not at all." Steve knows he's given himself away by how high-pitched his voice has gone and the raised eyebrow from Mackenzie and her nodding, turning to look out her window again.

He felt pulled in two different directions, he did not want to put Mackenzie off trying new things, but he also didn't want one of those new things to be that little, probably stoner punk squatting at his house. So he tries a different tactic. "Hey, you know what, it's fine. Eddie's there, and I know he's cool. He'll make sure you're ok there. We go way back" Steve nods to self-affirm and taps the steering wheel to self-soothe.

"Oh, is that why you were whispering to one another behind a book? There was me thinking maybe you'd found something there for yourself, Dad," Mackenzie smirks.

Steve could be mad, but when she smirks, it's his smirk on her face. It just floods him with fondness. He pretends it goes over his head, she's already certain she's smarter than him, and maybe she's right in many ways, to be fair.

"I have no interest in playing any nerdy games unless, of course, you were running one, and needed a player, then I'd happily help out."

She gives an eyebrow raise and upwards nods, laughing to herself. At least he'd succeeded in convincing her he didn't get it. He looks thoughtfully back out onto the road. Truth be told, for a good while, just before he'd met the kid's mom, in fact, he'd been purposefully trying to forget about Eddie. After everything, when everyone was still recovering, Steve felt something. He'd often tried to convince himself it was just a friendly fondness, but sometimes his thoughts would wander a little too far. Steve understood it a little more now, but it was just a big no-no at the time. Society generally was not that accepting, especially with the epidemic that the gay community had been scapegoated with, and then by the time he'd made his peace with the fact that maybe there was something more than friendship. Eddie left. He just packed all his stuff and left. Eddie kept in touch with a few people, but not Steve, at least not directly. For a little while, Steve thought Eddie hated him for something, but then he got an invite to his engagement party. He didn't go. He made up some bullshit excuse and drowned his disappointment in a bar. As luck would have it, the very same night, a beautiful woman, inside and out, happened to be doing the same over someone else, not four seats away from him.

Steve remembers her waving down the bar to get his attention, pointing at him and making a charade for heartbreak. He had raised his tequila shot at her in a cheers motion, and she raised hers back. She waved him over and patted the seat next to her, "Better to be miserable in company than alone, right? Do you wanna go first, or shall I?" She said with a tipsy smile and waved the barman over again for another round. She'd gone first, and then he had told his gender-changed version of events, and she just sat there and listened. In hindsight, it was probably not the smartest move, but they spent that night together, intending never to see one another again. Sometime later, Steve found himself at another bar, this time reeling from the engagement party pictures that had just come back from the developers. Eddie looked so happy. His fiancé was supermodel-level beautiful, and everyone said she was so lovely. All Steve wanted to do was go and be jealous somewhere, so he did, a bit further out of town near a motel so he could stumble back later. 

Then he saw someone waving, laughing so hard she nearly fell off her chair. It was the same woman. This time Steve doesn't wait to be invited to sit next to her. The universe had done that for him. Two broken-hearted lost souls had found one another in the night, not once but twice. Both were happy but hungover in the nearest diner nursing coffees the following day. Finally, Steve bit the bullet and asked, "Look, would you maybe wanna go on an actual date with me sometime? You know, rather than just getting wasted and fooling around?" He wished he'd said it looking into her eyes, but he'd said it into his coffee because he was anticipating the worst.

"I mean, sure, I'd love to. Maybe we could get wasted and fool around every other weekend?" She laughed, and as he looked up, her face was painted with the most radiant smile. From then on, they were barely apart. They initially found their feet and humble beginnings, but things accelerated to warp speed. On a whim, they got randomly married in Vegas, and she, Jenny, found out she was pregnant a few weeks later. Steve promised her a better home and a proper wedding after the baby was born, and when his trust fund finally landed, he could do all of that.

Baby Mackenzie entered Steve's world, and it changed him forever. He had always had these nurturing protective instincts, but not like this. This was their baby, his baby, and he'd do everything he could to ensure she would be safe no matter what happened to him. Enter the financial experts and boy, did they pay off. Steve and Jenny didn't have to work if they didn't want to. They moved to a community Steve was more used to, like where he grew up. He knew how it all worked. The problem was Jenny didn't. She tried her best to fit in, but it wasn't her scene. Steve tried to tell her it didn't matter. They had each other. He would happily go to all the traditional mother's meeting events. He didn't care; he loved it, but Jenny started to feel less than. So she went back to work, which made her happy for a while, but strains started coming back a few years into it. So they tried for another baby, and Corey was born, and again, everything was fine for a while. Mackenzie was in a great school, Steve loved being the stay-at-home parent, and Jenny went back to work. Then It started to crumble again, almost like they were on some weird five-year cycle.

So they sat down one night and talked it over. It wasn't an easy conversation, but it was easy for both of them to want the best for someone who had been their best friend, champion and confidant for the last 11 years. There were no arguments or bad feelings, but there was a loss. A sense of failure, an upheaval for the kids, and a new terrible thing for both of them but Steve especially, having to spend a whole week without his two little nuggets. It was a personal hell of his. When people asked, he pretended he was happy with the break and rest, and sure, who doesn't appreciate a bit more sleep, right? But what do you need all that energy for if you aren't going to do anything with it? So he got a dog, a rescue, a huge dark shaggy furred beast of a mixture of who knows what. Steve was going to give her a more dignified name, but Corey had insisted she be called Beans, so it stuck. Every other week Steve invested his time and patience into training Beans, and soon she was fetching his paper, accompanying him on runs, her recall impeccable, her trick portfolio extensive. Steve wondered if he had a knack for this or if Beans was just a genius dog, but then the neighbours got a dog, and during the day, when they were out at work, Steve would take care of it and train it.  Soon word spread, and it became Steve's bi-weekly business venture. 

All of that was enough for Steve. He didn't need more. A partner would be lovely, but it wasn't a necessity. Jenny had moved on pretty quickly after their divorce, and to his surprise, more than anyone else's, he wasn't jealous, but he was curious. He never believed Jenny would cheat on him, but the rapid uptake of someone new made Steve think she had been missing something from Steve for all those years. Maybe he'd done something wrong? He'd been on the verge of asking many times, but he didn't want Jenny back, so what was the point in asking? The next person could want very different things.

As they pull up on the driveway, Steve runs through the comforting predictability of arriving home. He knows every beat of it. Beans is already barking, then a patch of silence, her face at the window, almost like she’s double checking, it's him. One big loud bark before she runs to the door to open it and runs outside to them. Steve first, then Mac, then Corey. Then she’ll circle them, herding them inside, and once the door is closed, she sits next to her cupboard and waits for her treat, which Steve provides. Mackenzie heads upstairs, swapping music through her headphones for music out of the speakers. Corey puts away his game and calls Beans over for snuggles in front of the TV. Steve seeks out sustenance for his mini tribe, and then finally, he can sit down with the paper.

It used to bother him that the kids went off and did their own things. In some ways, he felt a little lonely but also guilty. Shouldn't he be doing more? More family activities for them all to do together? But the harder he tried with these things, the more resistance he got because, ultimately, Steve was trying to provide his kids with a family life and home that he never had. Still, he soon realised how outdated that was, and his pursuit of it was causing tension in the house, so much so that Jenny had to call and speak to him one night when the kids were with her. Steve had tried to defend his actions for a minute, almost resenting the kids for being ungrateful.

“You don’t mean that, Steve. Come on, be fair to them. They do them sometimes. They just don't want to do that stuff all the time anymore. They are older now. I know you know all of this. It just sounds like you don't want to accept it.” She had told him kindly and with compassion for all parties involved.

“I just want them to have what I didn't, Jen, that's all. When they’re older, they’ll understand.” He’d fired back a little more sharply than he’d wanted to.

“Steve. You can’t undo your past, and you are already doing the best thing you can so they don't feel that abandonment you did. You are there. Whenever they need you. You’re there. They won’t feel alone or lost without you. They might find their own friend families, but they won't ever need that because they’ve got us. They’ve got you, ok?” Her words just made Steve fall apart, even over the phone. He knew he was trying too hard but couldn't help himself. That is just who he was. But he had gotten better. He had taken on board that even though they were all separate, they were all home. Safe at home, and that slowly, over time, had become enough for Steve. Well, at least on most days. Days when he hadn't spent the entire night before with his nightmares. Those days he might slip into his old habits, but he was trying his best.

[kindheartedgummybears]

Small(?) update on the Du'met!Erin au.

ok, so it's been what? a month since TDiM community chose the Du'met and Erin role/character swap AU and the bad news is: No, I haven't started writing it yet(disappointing I know and I am so sorry I have never written anything before so I will be slow with it :') BUUUT I do have some information about it! the brain has been storming the past month!

Ok, so first of all I would like to clear up some things before people start to question it.

1(and probably the most important at least imo): With Erin and Hector being swapped I would like to clear up that Jamie and Hector are NOT LOVE INTERESTS!!!! They are BFFs instead and Jamie's room scene will be slightly different and not at all romantic(at least between Jamie and Hector). And now that I'm writing that I feel like that was probably obvious since I did put it in a JERIN fic poll but JUST IN CASE.

2: The whole Manny Sherman and Hector being in the FBI thing will be sliiiightly different. Without giving too much away, Hector was still in the FBI and worked on the Sherman case but was able to catch himself before Sherman brainwashed him basically and resigned shortly after. However~ This time he had a partner investigating the Sherman case with him and let's just say maybe taking the tapes home with you (illegally btw) and stuffing them in your attic for someone to possibly find later on wasn't a good idea...

3: Erin still has asthma. That doesn't change and it actually has plot relevance.

So yeah! that's the "clear ups" if you can call them that?

now, time for plot stuff

ok so basically, for plot reasons I am swapping Charlie and Jamie's placements in the story, and by that I mean, Jamie falls down the trap door instead of Charlie in the freezer and she goes through most of the stuff he goes through in the actual game and vice versa with Charlie and what Jamie goes through, and I am debating if I should do the same with Mark and Kate. There's no reason to do that really, but I think it would be fun!

I am also now realizing(not really now I have thought about it for like 2 weeks) that with position swaps also means death swaps👀👀👀👀

also just some fun facts about this au ig?:

Hector and Kate PTSD twins😍✌️

Erin and Hector do maintain their canon personality to an extent with some parts of their personality obviously swapped.

Yes, Erin having asthma does take a blow on the crew's egos.

---- Oh! and if I may give you a littlleeee sneak peek of what is to come, without any context:

OMFG ERIN HOW ARE YOU NOT DEAD HALF OF YOUR FACE IS LITERALLY MANGLED AND BARELY HANGING ON TO YOUR SKULL-

:)

Also side note: I have been debating if I should do little one-shots for all of my Jerin AUs to give people a basic kind of plot or story for all of them. Obviously, I'm going to make and finish the Du'met!Erin au first before going into any of my other AUs for them. Some of them (HoA AU and Ultimatum) won't be getting one-shots since they are one-shots in and of themselves, but my other AUs(Like the 1980s murder wives, Deadpool x Spiderman, and my many(by many I mean 4 XD) werewolf AUs. Oh! And by the way, I forgot to mention that the Vampire x Werewolf AU is also an 1800s AU I know I should have included that in the poll but I completely forgot :')) That have actual storylines and plots to them that would be more than a simple one-shot. Like for the murder wives, I have an idea for a one-shot that is kind of like a prequel to the actual fic.

Please let me know if you'd like for me to make little one-shots for them first! Also sorry if this is a hard read grammar is not a very good skill of mine and I'm from the South so my English is kind of broken to begin with XD

[silvertsundere]

Silver Talks AniManga (23/06/24)

no BA finale this week cause there won't be (good) subs for at least a day or 2 so may as well just put it on next week's post gonna be a p chill week since most shows are over now but the week after we start the summer season so that'll be nice

green - new series/new to me blue - finale/completed

Anime

The Idolmaster Shiny Colours Ep12 (Finale)

I love imas, like a lot, so this was very disappointing for me. The Million Live anime being CG was already bad enough but when we learned this was gonna be too it was even worse cause it showed bamco is going all in on shitty cg anime instead of traditional animation. ML wasn't terrible, to be fair, so it gave me some hope for this but it was way worse than ML. It's also very unfortunate that it aired on the same season as Girls Band Cry which singlehandedly made me respect CG anime so it looks extra extra bad in comparison

Other than the fact that it was CG how was the rest of it? It was alright, even in this it was weaker than other seasons. It had the usual structure of having an episode dedicated to each of the units so you get to know them and the such and big group episodes. That was my favourite part of the anime, seeing the different units interact with each other which doesn't happen much in the game. There weren't like any emotional payoff scenes like we usually get tho Also is it just me or did L'Antica get a lot less screentime than the rest? They got their own episode like the others but after that it felt like they got relegated to just showing up every now and then so the other girls could be like "wow they're so cool", which they are but cmon now. The music was good ofc, it's imas after all. Last 2 episodes were pretty disappointing tho. Despite how good the songs are, having your finale be mostly playing 2 full 4+ minute songs, and the penultimate episode being playing each unit's song (short ver) with reused coreography just isn't great. It did a good enough job simulating the concert feeling but it also made it feel like the anime ended episodes ago and this was just an extra treat

Anyway that's enough yapping from me. TL;DR is that I'm very disappointed and it coulda been a lot better if bamco wasn't cheaping out so hard but what can you do Before S1 even aired they had already announced S2, and last week (? recently) they announced it'll come fall this year so that's nice. It'll be the same quality so not getting my hopes up but looking forward to seeing the girls from noctchill and straylight in action too

Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night Ep12 (Finale)

I talked about it in the post for ep 1 but it's funny how I almost didn't watch the show despite being hype for it when it was announced. It turned out very good tho, thank you dogakobo The synopsis for it not being very clear and it being on hidive lead to not that many people watching but it's well worth. It's a story about a group of creative girls (in different areas) coming together and making music while helping each other with their insecurities and hang ups

My only complaints with the show are the yuri baiting they did like 3 times, I'm used to it by now but cmon, and how two charas didn't get the comeuppance for their actions but that's just how life is sometimes. Other than that it was all good, the story and message overall were nice, all the main 4 got to have their own little arcs and growth, the music was great, as you'd hope from a show about music and the visuals had that dogakobo polish I've come to expect from them. Oh also, I think this was the first time takahashi rie and itou miku did a show together and it was great, I already love them individually but they had really good chemistry in this

Manga

Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi Ch1

well that was something huh Before release, with the promotional material they put out, they never mentioned once that this was gonna be a comedy series so imagine my surprise when I saw that it was. They really made it look like it was gonna be another edgy exorcist series especially with a mc that looks like that but nope. It's basically OPM but he's an exorcist instead Also, it's super weird for them to start 2 exorcist comedy series back to back like this right? I mean they're different types, youkais and demons, but it's still very weird I think Anyway, I don't think this series will live long tho. While the art is good, having yet another exorcist and yet another comedy series isn't gonna cut it. Plus the other one is a shorter page count so it's easier to have around. Hopefully they get another shot cause, again, the art is pretty good

Akane-banashi Ch115

we still don't know the results but that was an INCREDIBLE performance, like I even got goosebumps. akane usually does this but I really liked how they connected the story that was being told with the storyteller's own story, it felt even more effective than usual in this case. I'm sure he'll pass the test, there's no way he won't (right...?) but we'll see for sure next week

[queenlua]

I would love rap recs if you have any. I remember enjoying Sage Francis many many years ago, and I tried to get into aesop rock around the same time but his voice is so gravelly I couldn't understand most of the lyrics (bums me out cause I really appreciate smart clever songwriting! But alas I do not have the best audio processing).

My tastes are pretty underdeveloped (I like the Hamilton soundtrack a lot lol, and also Bottoms Up by Trey Songz always made my ears weirdly happy tho I guess that's more R&B) but I think a big part is I like there to be a lot of instruments involved in the music, or at least like a strong focus on melody layered over the rapping? And also of course being able to parse the words without a lot of struggling is pretty crucial.

If you are not interested in making bespoke recommendations that's totally reasonable, just figured I'd ask in case that sounds fun to you :P I've tried to find rap I enjoyed over the years, but it's been hard to even figure out what traits matter to me, let alone find music that has those traits.

oh man this is a fascinating ask lemme think a bit

1) keying off of e.g. the Hamilton thing: there’s no shame in enjoying more mainstream-ish rap.  eminem was popular for a variety of reasons, but one of them, imo, is that most his songs had a strong hook and a pretty “singable” chorus, which makes it more accessible if you are Not Super Familiar With Rap.  similarly, like, i find a lot of 90s/00s era Jay-Z to be really accessible for the same reason.  pretty much every track on The Black Album rules, for instance.  in particular i’ll point out “Lucifer” from that album—it has a *very* cool backing track, which is catchy/interesting, but also very *instrumentally sparse*—which makes it much easier to hear the lyrics, if "muddy" production is the thing that causes the audio issues.  (if you end up digging that one, i’d probably try dropping it into a Pandora radio station or something to try and find more like it, because while i can’t think of a rapper that *exclusively* does that kind of sparse-ish style of production, there’s definitely a lot of *individual* rap songs that are done in that style (kanye’s done a ton of them), and you could probably get a good mixtape of 'em.)

2) i really liked team teamwork’s video game music / rap mashup albums and alex kresovich's "gold n' fly" Goldeneye 64 soundtrack / rap mashup album!  like they played a pretty big role in me getting as into the genre as i am.  but seriously they’re quite good.  if you happen to know the particular game soundtrack then you already know you like the music; even if you don't know the music these are high-quality enough they still work well with the vocal samples; and if you REALLY like how a particular rapper sounds, you can just go look up the original dude and have a blast. (e.g. i first heard Busta Rhymes on this mashup of his "Don't Touch Me" with the Gerudo Valley theme, and was like "this dude rules", so then i looked him up and discovered i liked "Put Your Eyes Where My Hands Can See" even more, became obsessed, etc)

(relatedly, if you're a linkin park enjoyer: you know there's a whole official album where they mashed up with jay-z? it rules)

3) so deltron 3030 was like a meme / indie darling on /r/hiphopheads for a while, and for good reason.  del generally has a slower flow than a lot of comparable rappers, plus pretty clean production, plus he is just rapping about being a cool mech soldier in the year 3030. fun as heck.  so like if you’re trying to get a slightly “deeper” cut than what you'd hear on top 40, this is a pretty good starting point

4) this is very much a ymmv thing / i VERY possibly listen to the whole genre very wrong, but there’s classes of rappers where i’m less concerned about hearing the each of the lyrics clearly and i'm more, like... thinking of the voice as an instrument with sonic properties that may-or-may-not involve hearing the words clearly?  like, twista’s flow is just very aggressive and percussive and absolutely *thrilling* to listen to ("helicopter" style), but did i catch every word in there?  absolutely not lmao. and i think that's part of the point! like yeah if you listen a million times you'll eventually pick the words up, but there's plenty of rappers where i only enjoy their wordplay after i enjoyed the sound/vibes on the first listen or whatever

5) i think it helps if the song and/or music video is funny lol. "just a friend" is so fun. "damn it feels good to be a gangster" is so fun. damn weren't the late 80s / early 90s fun as hell. maybe we should all exclusively just listening to hip-hop from that era

anyway yeah HOPE THAT HELPS. if anyone else has ideas sound off

[gummybugg]

37 Question Character Ask

Hi, I made a list of interesting character questions for anyone to use! I tried to make it super interactive, meaning that you can call over your character to help with some of the prompts. Some questions prompt you to write a little scene (how exciting)!

Feel free to ask or reblog!

If you can, I would love to be tagged in any asks because I really enjoy learning more about other's characters!

1. Gah! There’s a bug on the floor! How does your character react? Bonus question for characters in a relationship: who is the bug-handler in the relationship?

2. Which one of your characters is the least likely to be trusted with money? Why? Who would you trust with your credit card?

3. Pick one (1) song to represent your character! The song can be symbolic or something they would listen to.

4. Describe your character’s handwriting! Is it neat or messy? How do they dot their i’s? Do they doodle in the margins of papers?

5. Time for a toast! What would your character prefer to put on their toast? There are so many options!

6. What weapon would your character choose in combat? It can be a real weapon or something fictional! If it’s fictional, tell us more!

7. Who is the most and least likely to cheat in a game? How good are they at lying?

8. Does your character have any defining features such as scars, acne, facial/limb difference(s), etc? Optional: Is there a story surrounding the feature(s) or were they born this way?

9. What quote (from a famous person, movie, book, etc.) can you hear your character saying?

10. What does your character’s home look like? Are they on the messier side? Do they collect things? Does it feel like a home?

11. What color pallette would you assign your character?

12. How did your character come to be? Were they inspired by someone or something? Did it just suddenly hit you one day? Bonus: What is their purpose in the story?

13. What are the origins of your character's name? What vibes were you hoping their name gave off? What do they think of their name? Bonus: is there any significance to their name in-story?

14. If your character had a blog, what would one find on it? Bonus: call your character over to explain their blog for us!

15. What are the last 3 photos in your character's phone? If they do not have one, you're going to have to play pretend for us. Bonus: call your character over to explain these photos!

16. Surprise, one of your characters (A) has character B's phone! Would A look through it without character B knowing? (This is an integrity question, tweak it however you'd like.)

17. What is your character's favorite smell? What scent brings back a certain memory? Bonus: Is there a scent that brings back bad memories?

18. Surprise: your character has been convicted of a crime! What did they do and why? Bonus: call your character over to tell us their side of the story!

19. What shoes does your character typically like to wear? They say that you can tell a lot about someone based off the type of shoe they wear. (Get your mind out of the gutter, shoo!)

20. What Element of Harmony (Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, or Magic) would you assign your character? Bonus: what is your character’s favorite My Little Pony? Can be from any generation.

21. Your character is stuck on a deserted island! What 3 things must they bring? Bonus: describe the first 3 weeks your character is stuck on the island (if they are still alive by then).

22. A genie has appeared! What 3 wishes would your character ask it? No asking for more wishes; that's cheating!

23. Murder mystery AU! Who would be the killer, the killed, the detective, and the one who has no idea what’s going on? Bonus: write us a little scene. A little sneak-peek, if you will. :')

24. What trope(s) or cliché(s) does your character fall in?

25. If your character could interact with a fictional character outside of their story, who would it be and why? How would they interact? Would they get along? Bonus: Add dialogue! Make this a scene!

26. If you met your character in real life, how would you interact? What would they think of you and vice-versa? Bonus: Add dialogue! Make this a scene!

27. If your character got to meet a clone of themself, how would they get along? Bonus: Add dialogue! Make this a scene!

28. What is your character's love language? This can be platonic or romantic. Bonus: add a scene in which your character displays their form of affection! (you better tag me in this one, or I'm suing!)

29. Does your character have any hobbies or special interests? Tell us more about them! Bonus: call your character over here to info dump it themself! (I am begging you to tag me)

30. Does your character have a job? What is it like? Do they enjoy it? Do they have any interesting coworkers? Bonus: call your character over here to rant!

31. Time to go for a spin! Who is the last character you would choose to drive you someplace?

32. You open [the browser of your choice]. What was the last thing(s) your character looked up? Bonus: call your character over to explain themself!

33. Time to go grocery shopping! Which character would be most likely to follow the shopping list exactly as written? Who is the one riding the cart down the aisles? Who is the one on the intercom asking for their lost child to come to the front of the store? Who is the “lost child” in question? (Wow, that one was fun to write!)

34. Has your character ever stolen something? Why? Did they ever get caught? Bonus: How did they steal it/get away with it?

35. What is the most petty thing your character has ever done? I want all the details! Bonus: call your character over to justify their pettiness!

36. How stubborn is your character? What would it take for them to finally give in? Bonus: do they hold any grudges against anyone?

37. What is your character's deepest, darkest secret? Why is it so important? What lengths would they go to prevent others from finding out about it? Bonus: What would happen if the secret got out?