#forever and you will never be able to play your favorite games in their true original forms ever again.

[blueskittlesart]

i hope everyone in nintendo’s management department dies and goes to hell no matter what and i’m not kidding

[misc-obeyme]

for the drabble thing kinda 👉👈 (mostly be rambling per usual but could be an idea). I've been listening to music non stop at work and favorite record by fall out boy came on today

and there's a lyric that goes "and I confessed, confessed to you riding shotgun, underneath purple skies" and it screams mammon and mc to me. ALSO the rest of the song makes it sound like past tense/lost love/one that got away...angst potential too. Like reminiscing? Mc moved on but he never did.

I just like thinking about different ways he may confess, and if he'd just blurt it out without thinking? Or maybe he's hyped himself up, he's driving mc up to a hilltop to stargaze, he's got it all planned - and something mc does just makes him blurt it out

if it was something silly like turning on the A/C before he could finish asking them to, because MC just knows him that well, that would be hilarious

Mammon: hey uh, can you-

mc, already turning the dial: i got you

Mammon: i am in love with you.

- ✨ anon

also, partially related but Flu Game by the same band reminds me so much of nightbringer!mc and I could go on forever about it

Yes this feels very Mammon to me... blurting it out before he means to lol! I do like the angst of MC moving on, but he never did, too! That's some good potential right there.

BUT I did a drabble based on the rest of the idea, that he's taking MC to a hilltop to confess but doesn't quite make it lol.

Mammon knows he has to tell you. It's been stewing inside him for a while, brought to his attention every time you meet his eyes, every time you say his name, every time you touch him or hug him or do something before he even asks. He's nervous to say it, but he won't risk losing you because he was too afraid.

He has it all planned out. What better way than to take you for a drive? Up onto the highest hilltop in the Devildom. Thinking about it makes his pulse race. He's on high alert all day, not able to focus on anything except the moment when those words pass his lips.

Mammon rehearses what he'll say. He thought about getting poetic, but in the end he decides it's better to just be straightforward. To be honest, to be true, to tell you exactly what he needs you to know, so there is no possibility of miscommunication. He chants it in his head all day. I'm in love with you, I'm in love with you, I'm in love with you.

You settle into the passenger seat of his Demonio like you belong there, riding shotgun beside him. He wants to say it right then, before he's even started the car.

I'm in love with you.

Mammon holds it in as you click in your seat belt and smile at him before turning on the music. It's a playlist you made together of all the songs you both love most. As you start singing along to the chorus, he wants to say it again.

I'm in love with you.

Mammon's eyes are on the road, but you are all encompassing. Despite this, he doesn't let his attention wander from the task of driving. He cares too much about you to be reckless.

He hasn't said much because he doesn't trust himself to speak. The road gets tricky as he starts up the winding cliff side to get to the highest hilltop. He can't look away from it, but he's sweating. He wipes quickly at his forehead.

"Hey, MC, can ya-"

"I got you," you say, already turning the dial.

His heart skips. And the words he's been repeating in his mind all day come bursting out. "I'm in love with you."

For a moment, the only sound is a soft song that has begun to play. Mammon's mind is buzzing, full of static at the shock of what he's just done, what he's said. He didn't even make it up to the hilltop.

"Er- I mean-" he starts to say, but it's too late.

He sees you reaching toward him in his periphery. He takes your outstretched hand without even thinking about it.

"I love you, too," you say, simply.

Mammon holds your hand like it's the only thing keeping him alive as he finally makes it to his destination. He stops the car and turns to you, taking in the way your eyes are shining brighter than all the stars and city lights streaming in through the windshield. He leans over to kiss you and the current between you is like lightning, brighter and more intense than any other light could hope to be. Wild, unpredictable, full of passion - just like him.

masterlist | Thank you for reading!

[8myass]

.. the waiting game .. pairing. lee seokmin/dk x female reader x hansol vernon chwe genre. angst, smut pov. second person (you, yours, yourself, etc.) synopsis. vernon enjoys teaching dk how to be a true yandere. wc. 1.5k cw. mentoring yandere!vernon, bad boy!vernon, dom!vernon, yandere in training!dk, good boy!dk, dom!dk, good girl!reader tw. cigarettes, mentions addiction, vern x dk are enemies, threesome, cnc, blindfold (f receiving), hands tied w ropes, manhandling, vibrator, clit play, p in v, unprotected sex (wrap your meat fellas), dumbification, fingering, name calling (‘whore’), pet names (‘beautiful’, ‘baby’), praise, dirty talk (js vern), breeding, nipple play a/n. definitely not the BEST thing i’ve written, but happy birthday to our birthday twins!!

“Haven’t done this before, have you?” Vernon asked, glancing over at the older boy who was practically shaking in the chair he was sitting in. Vernon laughed and took another drag from his cigarette, leaning across the table, handing it to Dokyeom. “Here, this’ll ease your nerves a bit.”

“No, I don’t smoke,” he shook his head, shrugging off the younger’s offer. “You shouldn’t either, you know? It’s bad for your health.”

“All addictions are bad for your health, and what the hell do you think this kind of love is?” Vernon chuckled in return, puffing out a burst of smoke into Dokyeom’s face before his back met the chair again.

Rolling his eyes, Dokyeom simply changed the topic, snapping, “What is our plan here? What are we gonna do? Are we gonna kidnap here or something?”

“Shut the hell up. You’re being too loud, you idiot,” he smacked the back of the panicked older’s head, scoffing. He looked around, making sure not a soul heard what he had said before speaking in a low voice, “You just have to play this game like a spider and wait patiently for your prey to trap itself.”

“How is she gonna do that?” 

“You’ll see,” he laughed, turning his head slightly to see you prancing down the sidewalk, skirt flying up a little too high every time you repeated your skipping motion, hair flowing in the wind behind you. You were gorgeous, and way too innocent to be held in the cruel grasp of this world. You were so adorable, Vernon couldn’t help but fall in love with you all over again each and every time he sees you. 

Dokyeom was the same, he loved the way you held yourself up, so mature yet too naive all the same. You were so cute, he wanted to hold you in his arms for the rest of your lives, protect you forever from the nastiness this world held. I mean, Vernon himself was the nastiness the world was made up of according to Dokyeom, but he needed his help on getting you – the only reason he would ever associate with someone so disgusting. He had a very strong dislike toward Vernon, and it’s not like Vernon liked him very much either. He just found this innocent boy amusing with how obsessed he’s being with you and how it’s consuming him.

“Kyeom? You’re hanging with Vern now? That’s so odd, I thought the two of you hated each other,” you giggled, stopping in front of the table the two boys were sat at – the ones that did, indeed, hate each other profusely. You looked between them with a sweet glint in your eyes, “Is this a blossoming friendship?”

“Yep,” Vernon shrugged nonchalantly. Dokyeom sighed deeply and nodded, never wanted to say that he actually was friends with him.

“That’s so cool! My two favorite boys, I love seeing it!” your smile widened, which made Dokyeom’s heart leap out of his chest. He was reacting way too openly, he knew that you had probably picked up on the fact that he had a crush on you, but you never said anything about it. That was good for him, he’s not sure he’d be able to look you in the eyes and tell you he’s so in love with you that it’s driven him to such lengths as to befriend his enemy just to get into your most prized possessions and learn more information on you. “Now that we’re all friends, we should hang out together sometime!”

“I love that idea, beautiful,” Vernon smirked, reaching out to gently stroke your thin waist, his thumb caressing the skin exposed on your hip. Dokyeom was fuming at the sight itself, seeing him touching you nearly sent him into a fit of rage, it was something he’d never felt before; such extreme anger, it felt terrifying inside him. It was like a monster was trapped inside him, ready to explode and destroy anything in it’s path.

Soon enough, though, they had taken you up on your offer, but it wasn’t quite like any of them expected. Neither you nor Dokyeom, at least. Vernon was the one who turned it sour, tiny, naked body thrown on the bed as your hands were tied behind your back, blindfold over your eyes, whimpers pouring from your hung open mouth, a small vibrator that you had just used not much earlier slipped inside your pussy.

“I-I don’t think this is a good idea,” Dokyeom whispered to Vernon as he watched the younger male slide his pants off, then positioning himself in bed with you, propping your body up on top of him. You squirmed his grasp, trying to convince yourself you weren’t loving every moment of this. 

“You are such a whore, huh?” Vernon mumbled against the skin of your neck, completely ignoring Dokyeom’s concern, fingers running down your body to play with your sensitive clit. 

You shook your head violently, crying, “No! No! D-don’t li-like!”

“Come on, man. Come fuck her, she clearly wants it,” Vernon smirked at Dokyeom who continued standing by the doorway of your bedroom, eyes wide as they stared at the way you fidgeted on top of his enemy. You were still so gorgeous like this… He did want to… but he couldn’t, it wasn’t right.

Vernon pulled out the vibrator, causing you to whine a string of pleas, having nearly reached the edge. He threw it to the side of the bed befor elooking back over at Dokyeom, smirking as he shoved a finger inside your cunt, “See? She’s so wet for you, Kyeom.”

Dokyeom quickly snapped out of it, gasping as he realized the name he had just let slip out, “Vernon! Y-you just-”

“Oh, shit, my bad, man,” he shrugged with a laugh, but his laugh was drowned out by your soft whimpers as his finger continued to edge your poor body. “Guess you’re just gonna have to fuck her so stupid that she forgets what either of us said, huh?”

“I-” Dokyeom started, but he cut himself off, slipping his pants down, wordlessly. If there was one thing that was gonna make him do this, it was in fact just that. You couldn’t know it was him and Vernon. You would be absolutely wrecked, destroyed if you had remembered it was him the day after. Vernon was okay, you could remember it was Vernon, maybe hate him a little, but never  him. You could never hate him.

As soon as his pants were off, it was like a switch flicked on inside him. He smacked Vernon’s hand away from you dripping cunt, forcing his cock deep into you in one go, not bothering to allow you to adjust to his size. You cried out, arching your back against Vernon, Dokyeom’s head spinning with ecstasy already, eyes squeezing shut tightly.

“Aw, baby, you take his cock so good,” Vernon hummed, kissing along your neck. You turned your head to the side, giving him better access as you moaned so loud it echoed off the thin walls surrounding you. 

“I-I’m yo-your good gir-girl,” you sobbed, tears rolling down your cheeks every time Dokyeom’s cock pounded into you, balls slapping against your ass. He didn’t even know what happened to his self control whenever you were around, he’s sure you noticed, but had you really? You didn’t seem like you were as observant as what he originally thought you were. Were you just too innocent to see the eyes he’d give your exposed ass? Or too naive to notice the tent appear in his pants every time you bent over in front of him. Hell, he’d get hard with you just saying his name. 

Now, he wanted to hear you moan it. But unfortunetely, you couldn’t know this was him doing this to you. He needed you to know, but you couldn’t.

“I-I’m gon-” you started, but were unable to finish your sentence, letting out a high-pitched squeal as he thrusted into you even deeper than before, moans falling from his hung open mouth, hands massaging your boobs roughly, thumbs circling your nipples. 

“-C-cum for me, please,” he begged, feeling his own release approaching as he twitched inside your cunt that seemed to be getting tighter and tighter around his cock. 

“Don’t pull out,” you cried, squirming in his grip, wrapping your legs around his waist to pull him in closer to you, back arching and head drooping into Vernon’s shoulder. “In-inside me.”

He nodded, knowing full well you couldn’t see him, but he couldn’t even talk right now. His words wouldn’t come out properly, his legs tensing as he let out rough breaths of air, feeling his hot liquid pour out inside your perfect pussy. He let out a train of whimpered praises and pleas, thanking you profusely in the midst for ‘giving him his dream’. You came undone underneath him as well, giving up and leaking your juices out around his cock.

“Th-that was so go-good, Ky-Kyeom,” you breathed out heavily as he pulled out of you, his eyes quickly popping out of his skull at your words.

Vernon pushed you onto the bed next to him, untying your wrists. Dokyeom hid his face from your newly revealed eyes as Vernon also took your blindfold off. You giggled and hopped up onto your feet, moving his hands from his face with a sweet smile, “Vern’s told me about your little crush, just thought we’d help make it come true.”

[wuffgang-ameowdeus-moozart]

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

STEVE LOOKS AT HIS BIG EMPTY HOUSE AND THINKS FUCK IT

(ft. baby Steve and Hopper accidentally teaching El the word 'orgasm')

cw: child neglect, underage drinking, sexism, brief fatphobia, Italian (like 2 words)

plugging my steve playlist

At first, eating fast food every day sounds like a dream come true. His parents don't allow him to eat pizza - we don't want you to become fat, Stephen, what would the people think? - but when he finally breaks the double digits and they deem him old enough to stay home alone, the freezer is filled with frozen pizza. "You know how to get takeout, right?" his mother asks. Steve doesn't mention that he needs to get on his tippy-toes to reach the tall table with the phone and nods. And then he is alone.

Tommy Hagan says that he loves it when his parents aren't home. His brother wants to be left alone, and so he is sent upstairs and can watch as much tv as he wants, even the horror movies he isn't allowed to yet. Sometimes, when his brother invites friends over, he can even sneak a bit of alcohol. He loudly proclaims that alcohol is cool and fun and awesome, but one time, when Steve and Tommy are alone, he whispers that beer actually tastes really bad and makes him sleepy and that sometimes it gives him a tummy ache.

And it is somewhat exciting, at first. Having the entire house for himself. He can watch as much TV as he wants, even the scary movies his mom hates. (But at night, when he dreams of monsters and demons and blood, there is nobody there to reassure him that it isn't real). He can eat whatever he wants whenever he wants. (One night he puts all the pizza in the oven and plays a game against himself: eat as many slices as possible. The next day the teacher sends him home with a bellyache and he barely makes it into the bathroom before he is throwing up. He can't even look at pizza after that without feeling nauseous)

After that disaster he discovers the wonder that is takeout. (The table is so incredibly tall and every time he reaches for the phone there is a split second when his heart stops and he is sure that the phone will fall on the floor and break into a hundred pieces and he won't be able to hear it when his parents finally decide to call (they haven't had time yet, his father is a very busy man) and they will find out and they will hate him forever. But he always manages to catch it, so it's fine.)

Hawkins is a small town, which means that Steve's options are severely limited. His parents left him three pamphlets from different restaurants he can call. The first is Italian. Steve remembers heaving on the toilet and throws that one away. The second is a Diner. His stomach is already growling and reading has never come easy to him, so he calls without even reading the last one.

By the time his parents return, he knows the number of the diner by heart and is already on first-name basis with most of the staff. His favorite is Daisy. She always asks him how he is doing and sometimes she sneaks in sweets he didn't order.

He misses Daisy when his mother starts cooking again, and then he feels bad for missing her because his parents are finally home! He never really appreciated his mother's cooking until he had to go without. He has vague memories of refusing to eat his vegetables when he was small, but the feeling of eating something not greasy is so good he even takes seconds. His parents smile and he feels his heart fluttering in his chest. "See, he is already growing up", his father says, and Steve beams.

He wants to help in the kitchen, but his parents don't allow it. ("Only women belong in the kitchen", his father thunders. "You're just making a mess! For gods sake Stephen, leave me alone! Aren't you too old to keep running after your mummy?!", his mother complains.)

--

Steve isn't sure when exactly he decided that he didn't care. Maybe it was when he went to Carol's house and realized how empty his fridge is in comparison to hers. Maybe it was when he started exchanging his readymade supermarket sweets for other people's lunches, so he could at least have something that isn't prepackaged. Maybe it was when Daisy suddenly stopped going on the phone when he called the diner and the new worker (he doesn't know her name) got really annoyed with him when he wanted to talk about his day. (He is scared that he is the reason she is gone. That all the secret sweets and fries she would add to his order got her fired. But he doesn't know how to contact her, or even her last name, so he can never find out for sure)

All he knows is that one day he looks at the kitchen and knows he can't do frozen or canned meals anymore.

--

Steve goes to the living room and searches the huge bookshelf with narrowed eyes. (He once asked his father why they had so many books if neither he nor his parents like to read. He said that he should stop asking stupid questions.)

He chooses to see it as a good sign when he finds a cook book in the lowest shelf. The bookshelf is even taller than the telephone table, and if all the recipes were too high up he wouldn't be able to reach them even with a chair.

He makes for a noticeable picture, a tiny boy dragging around a huge book and an even bigger bag. (He had never gone to the supermarket before. When his parents go on a business trip they always leave him with enough food to last until their return, and when they are home food always seems to magically appear in the kitchen - or he assumes it is in the kitchen, he isn't allowed in there when mother is home. He thought grown-ups just magically knew what they needed to buy, but he took one look at the ingredients list and knew he would never be able to remember everything. When he sees a woman taking a shopping list out of her bag, his tiny mind is blown.)

Sometimes he can't reach a shelf. Then he stretches and glares until an adult notices and takes pity on him. They offer to help him with the book or with the bag but he refuses. Father says he is already a big boy, and big boys don't need help. It doesn't count when people just do it without asking. He would've been able to reach the flour all by himself if no one had interrupted him. Probably.

His first attempts in the kitchen are disastrous to say the least, and his respect for his mother only grows. One time his neighbors even call the firefighters. He was terrified when he heard the sirens nearing his house - was sure that his parents found out that he was messing in the kitchen even though they explicitly forbade it and that he was going to prison and that he would never walk free again. Luckily that didn't happen. He doesn't mention that part when he recounts it to Tommy and Carol the next day. And if he exaggerates the fire a bit, there is nobody there to dispute him (it's okay if it makes him look cool.)

(The firefighter asked where his parents were. He said they were on a business trip. Another one asked when they would be back. He answered in a week. The first said he should call his parents, and Steve explained that they didn't like to be bothered. The second one frowned, and Steve asked if he was in trouble, but he assured him that he wasn't. The first one said he should call them anyway, that they would want to know this, and so he did.

His father answers the third time he calls. He sounds annoyed - Steve can perfectly picture his angry frown - and so he explains that he didn't want to call him, he promises, but the firefighter said he should.

"What happened?" his father asked, still annoyed.

And Steve hesitates. His teacher says that lying is wrong, but when he was honest and told his mother he wishes they were home more often she said that he should stop being so selfish, that it's not a good look, that it's ugly. So he doesn't say that he accidentally charred another chicken (the book said that if it is even a little bit raw it can make you sick and being sick isn't fun when you don't have anyone to take care of you) and forgot to turn off the oven. He knows his parents don't want him in the kitchen. They will probably feel like they should come home early, and of course they won't because father's work is important, but they will feel bad while they are gone and Steve doesn't want his parents to feel bad. So he starts talking about his day, hoping to be able to come up with something by the time he gets to the part where he has to explain the fire. Luckily his father doesn't have time to listen to his ramblings and hangs up before that.)

The next day Steve goes to the supermarket, the trip already a part of his daily routine (this time with a list, like a real grown-up), and tries again. He learns what fancy words like "bardare" or "irrorare" mean and that you need to preheat the oven before you use it. He still messes up, but it's okay.

After all, he's got a lot of time to learn.

--

Steve is glad that he wasn't the only one.

And he feels horrible when he thinks that. These fucking monsters are terrifying, he was sure he was going to die more than once. (He still can't believe that he didn't).

But if he had to go through all of this alone, he wouldn't be having a We All Survived An Attack By Monsters From Another Dimension/Will Byers Is Back/The Weird Supergirl Needs Friends/Isn't The Sheer Amount Of NDAs We Needed To Sign Literally Insane/Just Like What The Fuck In General-Dinner right now. He feels a bit like an outsider - which is ridiculous considering his literal girlfriend is also a part of it (or at least he hopes she still considers him her significant other). But he has nothing better to do and he doesn't want to worry Nancy, so he compromises with himself and brings food as a sort of apology.

(he isn't sure what he is apologizing for)

He arrives early to help set up the table, and Joyce places his dish right in the center.

The first one to taste it is Hopper. Steve doesn't blink when Hopper guides the fork to his mouth and he doesn't breathe when he starts chewing. For a moment it seems like time stopped flowing (he is eerily reminded of the first time he saw that monster, the demo-monster-whatever. The realization that the world is so much scarier than he originally thought). Then, Hopper's eyes widen. He makes a sound that would not be out of place in a bedroom. The kids (and isn't it awful that they are so fucking young they are like half his age they shouldn't have to deal with this) stare at him in varying degrees of disgust.

"Holy fuck Joyce, I think I just had an orgasm. I would literally sell my fucking kidney for this lasagna."

The kids look as if Hopper had stripped down and started pole dancing on the table. Nancy's little brother makes an unimpressed "ew." Supergirl imitates him, although she doesn't look too sure about why she is doing that. Steve can't help the small smile forcing itself on his face.

"Oh no", Joyce says, "it's Steve who brought the lasagna". The entire rest of the table stares at him (as if he was the one who has fucking mind powers and okay maybe he isn't over everything like he tried to convince himself he is) and he can feel his cheeks reddening.

--

(Later, the kids give him a self-made "I survived a Demogorgon and all I got was this stupid apron"-apron. He wears it every time he goes into the kitchen)

Unexpected talent #1: cooking

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Ortho, Sebek: The Human Condition

OMG ORTHO COPIES IDIA 😭 dtqtwfh5;#?vekcmsksk These vignettes were super wholesome!! Always love hearing about Ortho’s perspective; he’s quite different from the other NRC students.

I think my favorite part was Sebek being shocked that Idia willingly leaves his room for family outings. Then when Sebek offers to pitch ideas for outdoor family activities, my immediate thought was, “this man is about to suggest doing Lilia-sama’s hellish training as a family friendly activity and Idia is actually going to die” 😂

Just Riddle's birthday left before Jamil begins the cycle anew!

A Boy in Bloom, and his Flowering Future.

“What do you do on your days off?”

How mundane the question was for a pair that was anything but. The birthday boy, a humanoid robot, floating by his feet on gravity-repulsion tech to meet the eyes of his tall interviewer, a young man half fae and half human.

Ortho practically bounced as he produced an eager response. A large grin awaited behind his mouth visor. "I enjoy spending time with the students of Night Raven College! Whether it's streaming movies to watch, working on a play production together, sharing a meal, or just observing them... There's just so much I have yet to learn about the people around me. I'm glad that I'm able to experience these things and make friends while at school. I'll forever treasure these moments!"

Sebek's nose crinkled, his forehead creasing. "I doubt the humans at this school are anything to note of. Night Raven College may boast students worthy of its prestige, but none can compare to the grace and dignity of the young master and Lilia-sama's company!"

"That's not true, Sebek Zigvolt-san." Ortho slowly shook his head. "Life forms differ greatly from one another, but they each have something special to offer. As a technomantic humanoid, I have access to the wealth of knowledge on the internet and in my databases--and still, I do not understand the human condition."

“What could there possible be to 'understand'? Humans are known to be inferior in every capacity. They are born small, helpless, and frail, with only a fraction of them capable of producing a modicum of magic. If one were to compare them to the stars in the night sky, they are but mere specks!"

"But in a way, don't you think that ordinariness is actually what makes them so extraordinary?" Ortho gave an excited twirl.

"I fail to see your point. There is nothing extraordinary about being ordinary!!"

A giggle.

"Humans are capable of the illogical, compelled by profound emotions. An exhilarating happiness which blinds them to their actions, sorrow so immense they're driven to isolation, anger which rages out of control and hurts those around them... And not only that, but backgrounds and values--these all shape the soul and lend perspective in ways I could never imagine for myself."

"You speak of emotions as though they're magic spells." Sebek's gaze was questioning. A knight defending his stance--but lacking his usual sharpness, replaced by quiet conflict. "To be human is not so complicated!!"

“Eeeh?” Ortho tilted his head to one side. “Nii-san can talk for hours about his ‘best girls’ and the intricacies of animaga plotlines though.”

“YOUR BROTHER IS AN EXCEPTION TO THE RULE!!” Sebek boomed as he folded his arms. “His inane rants lie beyond the realm of comprehension! How he happily spends his days locked up in his room being an unproductive lout, I’ll never grasp.”

“Nii-san doesn’t spend all of his days inside! He goes outside too,” Ortho pouted. “We go around town and play this creature-collecting game called Pocket M—”

“WHAT?!” Sebek’s thunderous voice interrupted the child. “You must be deceiving me!! Your brother… WILLINGLY leaves his personal chambers?!”

“Yes…? Is it really that strange?”

“He doesn’t the impression of being an outdoorsman,” Sebek said flatly.

“You’d be surprised. Well, even more than you are right now!”

Ortho’s eyes lidded, his smile turning fond. Memories fizzled up from his memory banks—happy days, spent hand-in-hand. “… Mama and Papa, Nii-san and I, we’d go on outings to lots of places. Parks, rivers, stores, mountains. Maybe they’d have taken us to the ends of Twisted Wonderland if we asked them to. It didn’t matter where we went, as long as we had each other.”

Sebek had gone silent as the birthday boy recalled the past. Hazy thoughts given clarity. Ortho’s tale resonated somewhere buried deeply in Sebek.

Time spent earnestly with family…

His gloved hands clenched into fists, his heart softening. “… Myself as well,” Sebek confessed. “When I was a child, I would have similar outings with my parents and siblings.”

“See?” Ortho beamed proudly. “Something as small and as simple as this can connect us, even though we’re so vastly differently. That’s the magic of it. What makes the ordinary extraordinary.”

There was a break in his voice, and a quick correction before he continued. Sadness had seeped into his words, weighing them down. “Many years ago, we lost something important to us. Nii-san started holing up in his room. The family outings stopped, and everyone drifted apart."

Sebek scoffed. "So he was a coward that ran away at the first major tragedy he encountered. What gall!!"

"That's a natural reaction to trauma. It’s only recently that Nii-san has found the courage again to face the world. He had the strength to face his fears and change the course of his life. That's amazing to me!"

Ortho angled his head upwards. Sunshine spilled onto his face, highlighting the lights in his artificial irises. They were bright as a jolt of lightning in the dark, full of life.

"There are people like Nii-san who can be shy, introverted, or withdrawn. But even they're still human, a social creature. They love, and they want to be loved back by their friends, their families, their special ones. Those bonds connect them to others. It grants them the power to behave in unexpected ways."

Sebek looked startled by the declaration. His pupils were thin slits, mouth wrenched into a confounded "o".

"Love makes humans do crazy things. Nii-san was able to go from zero to hero. Mama and Papa regained what they had lost. I was born from those feelings. And I think... the world itself can be changed with that power. That's what it means to 'live', and to be human. There is no other existence like it."

Doing crazy things…

What it means to be human…

Sebek clamped his jaw shut, a rare instance of inability to conjure a defiant rebuttal. A semblance of a thought attempted to squeeze out, but it quivered as it rose up, still only half formed.

He thought of his mother and grandfather. So gallant, so noble. Then there was his father. Plain, unassuming. So ordinary.

Yet a father that loved him all the same.

An unknown pressure had been building in his chest all this time. He didn’t know what it was, only that it was uncomfortable. A truth creeping up on him, bypassing his shields.

Pat.

Sebek glanced up in shock, finding that Ortho had hovered far above him, planting a pat upon his head. The robotic boy ran his hand through Sebek’s slicked back hair. Back and forth, back and forth, in a reassuring manner.

“You too, Sebek Zigvolt-san! As long as we have people who love and support us, we’ll be just fine.” Ortho���s eyes were electric. Sparking with energy.

“… Heh.” Sebek wiped whatever contemplation had remained on his face away, replacing it with a smirk. “Of course!! I wouldn’t be Malleus-sama’s guard were I to be of poor lineage!”

“That’s the spirit! You gotta shoot for glory among the stars and soar like a comet!”

“Hmph!! I must be slacking off on my training if I’m standing here being lectured to by a child.” Sebek pursed his lips (in what Ortho could only assume interpret as a stiff smile). “… For better or for worse, you are far more human than you realize.”

“Affirmative!” Ortho’s expression turned mischievous. “Shall I register your statement as a compliment?”

“Wh-What NERVE!! I was in NOT WAY complimenting you!! Humans are every bit as flawed as they always were! To call you human-like is not a net positive!!”

Ortho laughed—for this, too, was another precious bond, another thread woven on the spindle called Fate.

Ding!

A sound went off. He shuddered as it came in waves across his metal body. Thumping set into Ortho’s head—a reminder of the time.

“Oh! That must be the alarm I set for the birthday party.”

Eager to change the subject, Sebek loudly cleared his throat. “The time has come, then! Your departure awaits!!”

He presented Ortho with his broom. Like every other birthday boy’s before it, a beautiful bouquet was secures where the bristles would normally be. Blues and whites, like the sky, telling of the truths that he sought.

“Ooh, so pretty!” Ortho cried, accepting the broom by the handle. It was firm against his fingers, the roughness of wood picked up by his tactile sensors. “A special piece of equipment was prepared for me.”

“Will you be able to handle it? You mentioned early in our interview that you typically do not use magic to fly.”

“I can adopt to the situation, just watch! I’ll show you the full extent of my flight capabilities.”

Clink, clonk.

Ortho ungracefully plopped himself down on the broom. The movement was a little difficult—no thanks in part due to all the intricate pieces that made up his “cape” and “robes”. But he was a facsimile of a Night Raven College student all the same.

A birthday boy.

Ortho gripped the broom and leaned forward. The air around him formed a warm bubble, a pleasant hum building in volume. When he counted to 3, all the stored energy was released in a single, powerful burst.

The android took off. His kickback—a ring of shimmering blue light—radiated in his wake and swept across the campus. Heat washed over Sebek and passing students, hugged the trees and shrubs.

It was proof of Ortho’s presence, something warm and kind and full of heart.

His humanity.

[silentoathprincess]

i love dmmd but i have seen you reblog about other nitro chiral games, how would you rate them? like which game do you like the most and so on, I've only played dmmd and i love it but seeing your posts makes me want to play those too!! love your blog

thank you anon thats so nice!!! ill try to keep this shortish bc otherwise i WILL infodump forever. and ill try not to spoil anything

dmmd is definitely my favorite! it is kind of an outlier compared to the other n+c games tho. it has a lot more comedic moments and the bright cyberpunk aesthetic is pretty different than the usual nitty gritty nitro chiral vibes. if you havent played reconnect you totally should! it adds so much to the characters (msg me if you cant find a copy online) and im forever trying to get my hands on the mizuki recode route lmao

togainu no chi and slow damage are about even for me. slow damage is the most recent one and might have the best story that n+c has ever written. its the only one without any supernatural elements but i think it makes up for it with compelling plot. its VERY dark but i think that makes getting to the end and figuring out all the mystery of the game v exciting. i DO wish the routes felt more...equal? like theres very clearly a true route and its very clearly the best of the bunch lmao. also give me an ikuina route pls hes sooo unwell <3

tnc is the first n+c game and its showing its age a little (i kinda love the early 2000s emo vibes tho). i think the premise for it is really intriguing! theres some killer world building and really fantastic bad ends (if you're into that sort of thing). the character personalities dont quite hit the same levels of intrigue as dmmd for me but theres not a single one i dislike. theres an extra character in the re-release tnc true blood too but ive never been able to get a copy

i'll be so honest, i did not like sweet pool at ALL when i first played it. theres some fantastic fanart out there thats actually swayed me back around to liking it more but like. i didnt know what i was getting into and i definitely should have read a summary first. i thought the thing about youji shitting meat was a running joke. i was not prepared for it to be like baby meat fetuses and cult omegaverse stuff. i like omegaverse but i wish i had been more prepared. its a low tier game for me tbh

i havent finished lamento yet! it took me years to get it working lmaooo im still in the common route. right now i'd probably put it between tnc/slow damage and sweet pool. its definitely better than sweet pool but its not hitting tnc/slow damage levels for me yet. i like the catboys tho catboys catboys catboys

per usual with n+c games id recommend checking out a warnings guide first just to be safe but let me know if you play any of them or which ones you like! i hope this helped!

[archoneddzs15]

Sonic 30th Anniversary Symphony (2021) - My reaction 3 years later

I am going to admit one thing. I am a Sonic fan, and it has always been this way since 2006 when I got my hands on Sonic Advance 3 for my Game Boy Advance SP. At the time I was one year away from starting elementary school and my family was not well off at the time, so I had to make do with what I could play. Little did I know that my first encounter with the blue hedgehog would change my life forever as I know it today.

Then as I grew older I was able to get some extra games for the systems I did own, such as my childhood 32 bit console, the Sega Saturn. I got Sonic Jam which was my first gateway drug to the classic 16-bit Sonic games, and I even got to roam around in the Sonic World for a bit, doing tasks like collecting rings and such. The Sonic series has its ups and downs, sure, but there is one thing that the Sonic series never fails on, and it became even more apparent when I saw this comment on one particular live-stream where a music teacher was gob-smacked by how fuckin' awesome the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack was!

Anyway, this little long-winded intro out of the way, though it still rings true as the picture says. Let's get right into it. As a 30th anniversary birthday present to Sega's premier franchise Sonic the Hedgehog in 2021, Sega decided "Why not make it bigger and better?" They got some Czech Republic philharmonic orchestra to do the orchestrated medleys for many a Sonic game under the sun, all of which remain one of my favorites. Keep in mind, this Symphony came out before Sonic Frontiers and Superstars. Also, I am not the best in terms of being a music critic unlike the Anthony Fantano types so my reviews of them are going to be relatively brief.

Part 1: Countdown

The music playing during the first 15 minutes of countdown is nothing short of spectacular. The track list is as follows:

A New Journey - Sonic Unleashed

Comfort Zone (Main Menu) - Sonic Mania/Plus

Sonic Goes U.G. Mix - Sonic Gems Collection

Fist Bump (Piano Version - Theater Room) - Sonic Forces

Mission (theme of Sonic 3D Blast) - Sonic Generations

Tropical Resort (Area Theme) - Sonic Colours

Part 2: The Orchestra

The Philarmonic Orchestra masterfully conducted a beautiful rearrangement of almost every Sonic game's soundtrack out there. I say "almost every" because for the Orchestra portion it's missing Sonic CD, the GBA and DS Sonic games and Sonic Boom. But that's minor substitutions in favor of something a lot grander, and I appreciate it. I mean, they even represented games like Sonic Drift 2 and Tails Adventures! Even NiGHTS got a shoutout. How about that for cool?

Part 3: Tomoya Ohtani

Tomoya Ohtani Band. Oh man, what can I say? Well, they played three songs, so let's get right to it.

Reach for the Stars (Re-Colors)

The Re-Colors version of Reach for the Stars as found in Sonic Colours Ultimate, the remaster of the Nintendo Wii game now available on PS4/5, XBOX, Switch and PC. This song absolutely rocked the socks off when I first played the original game on the Wii, and this arrangement is even better still.

Speak with Your Heart (Original + Rainbow Mix)

Things go normal for the first few minutes of this song, which I like, and then Tomoya Ohtani drops a bombshell when it turns into the "Rainbow Mix" which has a trap beat type vibe to it. I love it!

Endless Possibility from Sonic Unleashed (vocals: Nathan Sharp)

Nathan Sharp is the guy who sings covers of Sonic songs under the best name you could ever give, "NateWantsToBattle" under his record label "Give Heart Records". Endless Possibility is a song that people have loved for years and years and years. It's a song which was originally performed by the same people that did the vocal intro for Phineas and Ferb. Nathan Sharp swoops in and delivers the BEST version of the song yet!

Part 4: Crush 40 (Jun Senoue & Johnny Gioeli)

Crush 40 is also a staple among Sonic fans. From hit songs like Open Your Heart, Live and Learn, Sonic Heroes, I Am... All of Me, and so on, their music has touched lives everywhere around the world. Fun fact, they used to be known as Sons of Angels for a short period of time, where some of their Sons of Angels-era songs were used in the Sega arcade game NASCAR Arcade. The songs in NASCAR Arcade would be released in the only music album to bear the Sons of Angels artist name, "Thrill of the Feel". Speaking of which, they sang six songs before adding two more after fans (this was in 2021 and we were still in lockdown so....) "demanded" more from them. Fun fact: Jun Senoue also did some songs for the Game no Kanzume "Sega Games Can" discs for the Sega Mega CD. Johnny Gioeli also provided vocals for another band under his wing called Hardline. The six initial songs are as follows, which all really will rock your sound system off.

Open Your Heart (Sonic Adventure)

Sonic Heroes

Green Light Ride (Team Sonic Racing)

Sonic Boom (Sonic CD) (Crush 40 VS Cash Cash version)

I Am... All of Me (Shadow the Hedgehog)

Knight of the Wind (Sonic and the Black Knight)

Part 5: The Grand Finale Songs

Whooo~!!! Here comes the big ones. Two legendary songs all from one game. All before ending it off with an orchestrated mix of "Friends" by Hyper Potions.

These two songs are all from one of the best Sonic games of all time, Sonic Adventure 2.

Escape from the City (vocals: Nathan Sharp)

No one in their right mind would want to tell you that this song from after Sonic jumps off the helicopter in a bid to escape GUN forces is not legendary.

Yet here is Escape from the City, one of the BEST Sonic songs. And, of course, another spotlight by the King of Sonic song covers, Nathan Sharp. The Philarmonic Orchestra also added to the grand vibe of the song by making it even better still.

Live and Learn

There's nothing I can say. One of the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) Sonic songs just got a whole lot better.

[amuhav]

Get to Know Me - Sims Style

tagged by @dandylion240 (if anyone else did too I’m sorry, I’m not seeming to get notifs for tags rn???)

tagging @keibea​ because we need more TS3 rep in tag games like this tbh.

What’s your favorite Sims death?

Old age. Because it means my sim actually made it that far and I just love seeing their life play out. Some of the more quirky, simsy ones are great though. Death by Jellybean or Cowplant come to mind lol.

Alpha CC or MaxisMatch?

I... really don’t like the TS4 MM aesthetic 😅 I really don’t like the clay hair look for my own sims, though think some people do wonderful things with it, and I do like certain Maxis Mix styles, good skin details with clay hair, certain stylised MM styles etc. but the default TS4 clay look is literally why I never moved over to TS4 in the first place, and it took too long for the Alpha scene to really take off in the beginning, so by the time there was enough CC for me to feel I would ever want to jump in, it felt too overwhelming to even try moving to essentially a new medium.

For TS3... I also am not a huge fan of the straight “MM” look either, though I think the distinction is less prominent as it is in TS4. You can easily make most “MM” stuff fit in an “alpha” game simply because they aren’t usually full-on clay the way TS4 MM is, they’re just not quite as detailed as full “alpha” CC. Whereas the other way around isn’t quite as true, intricately detailed alpha stuff might look out of place if most of your other content is vanilla or MM. So I think as well as preferring the aesthetic, I like the flexibility a more “alpha” leaning style can bring.

Do you cheat your sims weight?

Storywise, characters are obviously whatever size I make them lol. 

Uh. I don’t know about weight, because I don’t think any of my sims have put on a lot of weight during gameplay. I have definitely cheated muscle levels though. Traumatic flashbacks to Loch suddenly getting BULKED whilst I was letting him run free during Riv’s BC. Absolutely not you little twink.

Do you move objects?

For gameplay, I used to try to minimise doing so just cos it breaks so much routing and stuff. Now I don’t play so I go nuts with MOO. Who needs working doors or stairs or beds anyway?

Favourite Mod?

So many mods for TS3 are kinda essential to even be able to run the game lol, like almost the entire NRAAS suite. I think I’ll have to go with the Remove Stencil mod though, cos being able to undo EA’s weird obsession with shiny clothes by removing the specular is honestly so lifechanging LOL. no more shiny wool jumpers or oil slick jeans 🥰

First Expansion/Game Pack/Stuff Pack?

My first TS3 expansion was Ambitions, because I skipped World Adventures, in fact, I think it was one of the last expansions I bought lol. 

Believe it or not, I do actually own one EP, one GP, and one SP for TS4 lmao, back when I thought maybe, just MAYBE. the game might get better, and I was still trying so damn fuckin hard to force myself to enjoy the actual gameplay. So I have Get to Work, but don’t even ask me what the other two are because I haven’t a fuckin’ clueeeee. 

Do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing?

...It just occurred to me maybe it is meant to be “LIV” mode because it’s... like. Living mode. Like, Alive Mode doesn’t make sense. But my brain won’t accept it. doesn’t sound right. Always been “LIVE” mod to me lol.

Who’s your favourite sim that you’ve made?

Oh, jeez. Uhhh, I can’t *really* claim most of my current legacy sims because I didn’t make them, they were born in-game, even if I have tweaked the hell out of them in recent years. So if we’re going for physical appearance, I wanna say actually maybe Sylvie for my TS3 sims? She took so long to get just right, especially because TS3 doesn’t really do curvier sims quite as well as TS4, especially not without a fuck ton of sliders, and I had a really specific look to her face in mind that took forever to get right, had to blend her a custom skin etc. But I am finally super happy with her cute lil sassy round face 🥰 Close runners up are probably Qu or Edge.

God, I’m gonna get so fucking shot for this but here goes. Physically, my fave TS4 sims I’ve made are actually both of Tay’s brothers, Ethryon and Ailos, and also probably father, Qariel. I think because I had a little more experience with using TS4 CAS by the time I got to them, more sliders, more skin details, just generally a fuck ton more CAS CC by then, and more time to tweak them etc. As much as Tay will always be my favourite sim OVERALL... yeah. plznoonekillmebye

Have you made a simself?

Ye. I used to update her like. all the timeee too, whenever I got a new haircut etc. And, ofc, Havoc was my alter ego so she’s like. simself adjacent lol.

Which is your favorite EA hair color?

God I hate EA’s hair colours in TS3. their blondes are so yellow, the highlights don’t blend well etc. always make my own. TS4 hair colours make me want to actually die, but then again, I hate the clay hair and cartoony colours of vanilla TS4 anyway, so.

Favourite EA hair?

Favourite life stage?

Young Adult, with Teens a close second. You can do the most with the YA age, but the chaos of teenage years are real fun too lol.

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

I literally can’t play lmao. I have too much CC in TS3 for it to run well enough to play, and TS4... is it even possible to play TS4? joking joking... mostly. I’m in it for the story.

Are you a CC creator?

No. Never. I do not have a CC page I abandoned whatsoever no idea what you’re talking about goodbye. 💀

Do you have any Simblr friends or a Sim Squad?

RBSB represent. 

No I hate everyone equally.

@lazysunjade and @thesimperiuscurse have no choice but to be talked at by me every day. I’m inescapable. 

Do you have any sims merch?

I actually had the TS3 Collectors edition that came with the Plumbob USB and I was devastated when it got broken. Like legitimately heart broken lol. 

Miss her so much I just want her back

Do you have a YouTube for sims?

Ew.

How has your “Sims style” changed throughout your years of playing?

I used to try so hard to stick to whatever gameplay threw at me, following the actual legacy rules, not editing sims etc, all to the detriment of my actual enjoyment of storytelling. Now I care maybe a little too much about how posts look that I get into a rut of not posting oops bye 💀

What’s your origin id?

Probably the same as my username here lol, but I avoid origin at all costs so couldn’t tell you for sure tbh.

Who’s your favorite CC creator?

Oh, way too many to choose. For sims 3 CAS stuff, the still active converters like @rollo-rolls, @vmsims23, @simtanico etc. for build and clutter stuff @kerriganhouse, and @martassimsbookcc for conversions. Honestly, I’m kinda out of the loop atm, but there’s just way too many good creators.

How long have you had simblr?

uh. since 2015, I think? let’s not dwell on it 💀

How do you edit your pictures?

Dunno how to answer this? Photoshop, I guess lol? 

What expansion/ gamepack is your favorite?

It used to be pets, cos I loved having animals in the game. Now I always forget they exist oop lol. Probably Supernatural. 

[maskedteaser]

hii i just saw the rdr2 matchups you did and i love them AND HOLY SHIT APEX FAN‼️‼️ i love how detailed you are!! love your writing!! so if ur not too overwhelmed with requests id like to make one :3 and honestly if ur doing matchups for apex id love that too there's so little apex ffs, especially x reader </3 no pressure tho!!

anyways as for me. uhh. i don't use labels (aside from being asexual) but am pretty masculine in gender, and my love is for any gender. my pronouns are he/him :3

more about me,, im vegetarian, my favorite animal is the octopus, im chronically ill & disabled, which means i have chronic pain and have pretty bad sleep (literally writing this at 10 am after not being able to sleep all night) but despite that i have a weird paradox where i am kinda strong? like i can pick ppl up. but can't have much activity for a long time lest i cast spell 200 bpm on myself. but for the sake of the ff i could totally bench press arthur morgans 180lb of pure muscle. its true <3

in apex i main wattson and bloodhound! but i also like crypto, octane ofc (who doesn't), loba, and... im sorry.. wraith 😭 i got wattsons heirloom after. a very long time of opening packs AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH no regrets!! french girl with giant nessie plush!!!!! tho i haven't played in forever (and honestly may keep it that way with how much they're nerfing bloodhound.. like.. c'mon man.. not my main.. they've already been nerfed so much 😭)

i recently started playing rdr2 cause im visiting family that has it (theres actually been a lot of funny stories being on an unfamiliar console, like playing 22+ hours and reaching chap 2 without knowing how to save.. and i didnt know how to tell arthurs weight so i kept him underweight for so long my poor starving man </3) after playing rdr1 quite a bit. i also vibed with john hard in 1 but i lowkey thought he was an angsty young adult in rdr2 and not a FATHER. my favs are arthur and javier tho i can barely see the latter cause where tf is he on the map?? same with charles where IS HE??? but anyways i also vibe so hard with kieran.

tho i could talk forever about my interests, other than that for personality: id describe myself as actually kinda confident around strangers, i love to compliment ppl i come across. for friends, much of the same, i like using improv as humor if that makes sense, ive been told im easy to talk to, i consider myself intuitive (also contributed to me being a tarot reader i believe), but i am the type to have a veeerryy hard time expressing negative feelings im having, and never crying in front of people, so no shortage of bottling emotions. im also rather rigid on cleanliness and WILL start tweaking if me/my space goes too long w/o cleaning. i really, really care about people (i would want to be a paramedic!! if my body could allow it..) and i so want to make peoples lives better!! but also can rather easily stop people from walking over me, should they try. i care about kids a lot, and get very peeved when other ppl dont know how kids brains work and mistreat them because of such, and cause they just have no respect for children. honestly with thinking like.. about formulating matchmaking requests i never really seem to think about what id want out of a person. honestly, just when someone cares (wow, such high standards) but should the time come, mmmost times im not afraid to make a selfish ask. most. maybe. sometimes. and im very, very empathetic and it SUCKS i take psychic damage every time someone even remotely, even HYPOTHETICALLY feels bad. this is not a virtue.

for hobbies, i like to play video games as you may have guessed, i also like to read (non fiction, classic lit and danmeis especially), make art of all kinds but mainly physical sketches, and im always looking to add more shows/movies to my watched list.

i love to visit restaurants and cafes and interesting places surrounding food!!! my idea of a good time is eating with people, even if its in a crappy chuck e cheese. i love to try new foods (but it's a bit hard since becoming vegetarian), and i love matcha! i also love visiting just interesting places in general. why go to disney when you can see a beautiful spot in nature, or an art exhibit, or a park, or just the lively downtown? but other than that, i love my dedicated space 💗

i dont like rude people. mean people. people mean to kids and animals. bigots. assholes. any synonym for that. but honestly, not much else. there are other things that sure tick me off but can be pretty easily taken care of or compromised for.

i hope i didnt write a damn essay. half of it was geeking out over interests but. im guessing the brainrot is shared. but thank you so much for even reading my request this far!! (*˘︶˘*)

hii! sure thing! i love doing matchups especially when you guys give me lots of details :) let's get to it :) THIS IS NOT PROOFREAD!!! I'M REALLY SORRY FOR ANY MISTAKES!!!

okay, first things first - let me tell you why I didn't choose other characters :)

❝ im chronically ill & disabled, which means i have chronic pain and have pretty bad sleep ❞

Well, I need to be honest with you, I believe that despite your strenght, REVENANT would just make fun of your disability, he would NOT care at all, he'd probably pick on you and be REALLY rude. I hope it's not offensive (i'm sorry if i'm insensitive, it's not my intention), but I know he'd want to offend you. You could actually have a good hate-ship (if you know what i mean), where the only thing you guys do is fight with each other but I don't think that's what you want.

❝ im also rather rigid on cleanliness and WILL start tweaking if me/my space goes too long w/o cleaning. ❞

I'm sorry, have you seen OCTANE'S room? Let me remind you of that...

Can you see what is happening on his floor? This guy would probably drive you insane with how messy he is and I know he wouldn't care if you tried to ask him to clean it up... It would probably lead to many arguments and fights between you :(

❝and im very, very empathetic and it SUCKS i take psychic damage every time someone even remotely, even HYPOTHETICALLY feels bad. this is not a virtue. ❞

I have this feeling that Loba would see you as an easy target to manipulate, she'd think that she could use you after seeing that you feel really bad when someone feels bad, so she'd probably talk about her past a lot around you - trying to make you feel like you need to help her with everything. I doubt that it could work out :( I hope you see my vision and I'm not weirdly delusional with my ideas.

BUT NOW FOR A RESULT... (NGL I HAD A BIG PROBLEM WITH THIS ONE SINCE YOU SEEM TO BE A GOOD MATCH FOR AT LEAST 2 LEGENDS, BUT I DECIDED TO PICK...)

VANTAGE

I feel like you and Vantage could have a really good relationship! You both seem to aim high with your ideals and I just think that you both are really empathetic, a little bit emotional even... You share the love for animals. She has her Echo and she'd probably die for him. Vantage would never let any animal be mistreated when she's watching.

" why go to disney when you can see a beautiful spot in nature, or an art exhibit, or a park, or just the lively downtown? " - I think she thinks exactly the same! She seems to be a big fan of nature and she is an explorer. Born on a cold planet where everything wanted to kill her, she knows that nature can both be beautiful and deadly. She is also really nice, and I think that when she gets closer to someone, she actually CARES, like...A LOT. You'd probably be treated really well. I think that Vantage would be really patient when it comes to you and expressing your feelings, she'd never let you just walk away if she saw that you were upset, I think that communication and trust is a priority in every relationship.

She'd listen to you when you tell her that you have chronic pain and she'd do exactly the things you ask her to do, always trying her best to help you and she'd make sure you're not pushing yourself too hard.

Thank you for reading 👽👽👽

[basicallyjaywalker]

The timeline and history of Ninjago is weird and fluid: an essay

So recently I reblogged a post asking what people thought the length of the time skip between S2 and S3 was and it got me thinking about the weird chronology of this show.

Disclaimer: i have only seen up to S8 because I'm a hack and a fraud but I do still follow fandom and have seen enough clips I think to gain an understanding of how the ninja are portrayed and characterized in later seasons. I welcome and deeply appreciate those of you who are more caught up on the seasons adding to my points and pointing out where I'm wrong on this post! Who knows maybe in 15 years when I do catch up I'll make a follow up

Basically, the conclusion I have after years of thinking about this timeline way too much is this:

The time twins completely screwed up the timeline

Only slightly joking, but it does feel like the divide between S7 and S8 (coincidentally also when the design change took place) is when the writers had to retcon a lot of old ideas because the show was moving in a new direction spurred by an increase of popularity from the movie and by desires from the people supervising the shows creation.

My main points for this are as follows

The ninjas age

How old the country of Ninjago is

The depiction of the passing of time itself

So let's examine these one by one and let me tell you exactly what I think caused the chronological fluidity of this show

Wait... How old are the ninja?

The answer to this question depends on who you ask. Some people say they're in their late teens, that they're early adults, or that they've got to be hitting the mid 20s by now. Personally, I'm of the latter camp, but depending on which season someone is viewing, any of these can be true.

In the post I talked about at the start, I mentioned that S1-S4 felt like the ninja clearly grew older and matured as time went on. They went from blowing off training to play video games in S1 to dealing with the ramifications of trauma in various, independent, adult ways in S4. Yes, they can still be super immature and goofy, but let's be real adults are like that irl too. Now they seem to stall out on dramatic progression in S5-7, but they generally maintain the same level of maturity as before.

Now again, I have not watched the following seasons, but the general vibe I have gathered is the ninja seem to almost... Regress? They seem to go back to S1 levels of maturity. Teenagers! I mean Lloyd specifically seems to be more of a typical teenage boy archetype whereas beforenhe was portrayed as almost more mature than the ninja. Additionally, there's an interview wherein someone on the team confirms they're supposed to be teens (if anyone can find it I'll be forever in your debt).

This weird regression happens in the later seasons, and while I can't pinpoint where, to me it feels like a result of how they were portrayed in (you guessed it) the movie!

Small aside: I also haven't seen the movie but ik it's non canon and very typical Lego movie silly fun fluff. I like what I've seen and think the whole narrative is super cute. Plus movie aus are adorable. Moving on

Now I have no way of backing this up but I would be unsurprised if the movie brought more people to the Ninjago franchise as a whole and acted as a soft reboot after s8. We get the new redesigns, new garmadon brought back specifically to be able to mirror movie garm, and teenage ninjas including our favorite magical boy with daddy issues--Lloyd.

Basically, the ninjas almost have a parabola of maturation, starting off very young and dumb in s1, maturing into very adult people by S4, but slowly regressing after the rebrand to match the new style.

And funnily enough, none of this goes against an official canon. The ninjas ages are never stated, really, only implied. Really, they could still be in their mid twenties or early teens at any point. Even if you argued that they wouldn't be teachers or able to own stocks in a company or etc etc etc, you can also argue that the laws in Ninjago may not be the same, it may be through Wu or another adult, it could just be that they're the ninja and really no one is gonna question them on that. The canon itself is kinda wobbly which brings me to my next point:

HOW OLD IS NINJAGO?!?!

HOW IS NINJAGO THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD HOW ARE THERE MULTIPLE GENERATIONS OF EMS HOW PLD ARE GARM AND WU HOW OLD ARE THE NINJA HOW OLD ARE THEIR PARENTS HOW OLD IS ANYONE WHAT THE HECK--

--Are all thoughts I've had when trying to piece together the timeline of this world because let's face it: it simultaneously seems to be very new and very old. "Long before time had a name...' HOW LONG WU. HOW LONG.

When I was watching S7 I specifically took note of when it was said that the Serpentine war was 40 years ago. It felt weirdly recent, as before when the serpentine were discussed and depicted they seemed to be an ancient race. So ancient, in fact, that it's mentioned in s1 that they're just "an old wives tale, meant to keep kids from poking their noses where they don't belong'

Now don't get me wrong, temporal perception is weird. Things that were 40 years ago can feel super old, I'm approaching 20 years old and things from when I was born feel like ages ago. Still, 40 years does not feel like enough for something as intense as an entire war to be forgotten. Ray and Maya fought in that war, so presumably Ed, Edna, and Lou all lived through it. Wu was literally present for the banishing of the Anacondrai generals, so how tf did it fade into obscurity?

Then there's the EMs themselves. In S4 Garmadon explains that they were the FSM "guardians" and that their powers are passed down through generations. This does give an answer to the origins of the ninjas powers except. No, wait, I have more questions now. Firstly, how many generations? We know Garmadon is the son of the FSM, so presumably if the first generation of EMs are contemporaries of the FSM, then we're on the third. Okay, that's less confusing. With three generations, we can explain how the EMs separated, the master of earth who was most definitely not Lily in a flashback in S4, and even the odd comment Nya makes in S5 about powers "skipping a generation" with people from the second generation not getting powers from their relatives while others do. We could possibly point to Zane as an example of this, as it could be possible that the master of ice seen inna flashback is his grandfather and Juliens father, with Julien having no shown elemental powers.

So with all of this in mind it makes complete sense that Ninjago is less than a century and a half old, allowing about 50 years for each generation.

So, I ask with great exhaustion, how the FUCK has all of it's RECENT HISTORY become LEGEND????

I would like to reiterate my point about the serpentine, but also see pirates (who had to have also been contemporaries to the FSM which begs the question WHY piracy in a barely established nation), the devourer and ouroborus (devourer specifically was around 60 so years ago to bite Garmadon, also how did the serpentine tribes just FORGET a whole city in 40 years or less between the war and being freed), the ideas of EMs as a whole???? (Specifically how did Kai, Nya, and Cole not know or at least have an idea Abt their powers bc it feels like they each had enough of a connection to an elemental parent for a MENTION to be made), etc etc etc

Now I will go on record and admit this point could just be explained by the fact that for a country that is say, 150-200 years old, things that happened 100 or even 50 years ago FEEL ancient, relatively speaking. Really most of my issues are just gripes of why and how and decisions made and could be picked apart easily. However, that idea, that things just FEEL ancient, despite being recent, brings me to what is going to be my favorite point

Tick Tock.

Throughout this incoherent ramble disguised as a coherent essay, I keep coming back to one excuse for each of my issues: nothing chronological is stated for certain (save for the Serpentine war date), merely implied. The ninjas ages are never stated, just implied over time. The actual age of Ninjago is never stated, just implied. Hell, NO ONE's ages are ever stated, just implied. Wu and Garmadon are simultaneously dad aged and ancient. Garmadon specifically is both an ancient demon lord and also the ex husband to a very private and very human museum curator and also the absent father to a boy who is simultaneously like 16 and 20 something.

Except, I get hung up on one thing the longer I think about it, which is that the show seemed to be a chronological passing of time at first.

I mentioned it again earlier when talking about the ninjas ages (can you tell that a lot of my confusion and frustration comes from that) but they do seem to age and mature over time. They have arcs and maturation that sticks. Lloyd does too. Id argue Nya does as well despite the fact that she's woefully overlooked by the writing a lot (I'll get to it in the love triangle essay) going from the "little sister" doing whatever she can to prove herself to a woman still fighting that omnipresent idea that she's lesser or different from her male teammates because of her gender. Hell, in s7 they specifically talk about how Wu is aging and will die someday soon--hed been time punched, but still.

The time skips add to this. Between s2 and s3 there seems to be a large leap-- new Ninjago city wasn't built in a day. So do S3 and s4 with the ninja splitting up and Jay having enough time to establish a hit tv show like... that had to take a few months at least???Same with s4 and s5 and steep wisdoms founding.

There's a strong sense of the passing of time that feels... Different when looking at the new seasons. I won't say the passage isn't there, just that it feels... Frozen? In the same way that a show like Pokemon is. The protagonists are the same age, despite the fact that their surroundings and lives change. They are constant even if their world is not. And that feels like the product of something completely different.

Ninjago will never end.

In the beginning, I think it was clear there were two seasons planned. Rise of the Serpentine and Legacy of the Green Ninja. S2 had a nice happy ending and a photo finish even!! Then we had S3, but it still felt like it was final. The loss of a friend, but the characters finding a sense of closure still. But then we had S4... Which left with a cliffhanger for S5. Which paved the way for S6. And after that... Well, Crystalized was what, S15? And now we have DR so who Knows when this franchise will truly end? Not to mention the seasons slowly getting longer and longer --

I think the crazy chronology we ended up with was the result of Many Cooks. As the franchise's fan base grew and the demand for more and more content grew with it, more writers came in and left. There was no more telling how long this series would go. We needed new villains to fight, new stories to tell, so came the retconning and, over time, the tighter chronology seen during those initial seasons faded because if we keep aging the ninja, how old would they be? Too old. We need to keep them at a place where the target demographic can look up to and relate to them.

Now don't get me wrong, I love Ninjago, I love how big this fan base is (I remember being on Quotev and Wattpad and Pinterest and YouTube in the S3 era SCOURING for any new fanfics or art or fan content, now I just scroll the Tumblr tags and find new stuff all the time) and I love that the series has lasted this long and continues to feed my autism fun colors and silly jokes and insane storylines to latch onto. These criticisms aren't meant to damn the show, hell they're pretty flimsy considering I'm not even halfway through the series relatively speaking and thus can't really use that as evidence for or against me. They're just a culmination of many thoughts I've had while watching the show and trying to build my own AU with OCs using as much of the canon as possible. I would LOVE to wake up someday and find someone has reblogged this rebutting all of my points.

As it stands though, ninjagos chronology is fucked. Why? Because what was initially a short, fun Lego show grew so massively popular that today we have a new Netflix spinoff? Continuation? Still being made today and so the writers had to change gears and make it so that could happen without the ninja becoming grandparents.

It is one thirty am and I have to wake up in 5 hours. Stay tuned for an even less coherent essay on why I hate the love triangle. Spoiler alert: none of it is nyas fault and my trait of evisceratinf the things I love w criticism is about to be set upon Jay my kin

[unhappytimeleaper]

Hello!!, may i please request yan eichi with an oblivious darling?

Requested by anonymous 

Word Count: 1,250+

Update that most might not care about but might give some context to my absence. I found out I’m moving back to Korea in like,, less than 3 weeks to start a new job. Lots of things to get done in not a lot of time…

I promise I will get to the alphabet; I was thinking about this one at work and wanted to get it out.

Also, I played Repurpose, and it was such a good game,, genuine brain rot over most of the characters; I deeply loved Noel’s route and Ramón was a favorite I didn’t expect. Kalei was still just too cute, Mitts was everything I was hoping for, and DJ was an unexpected one I came to enjoy the route for. Give me poly DJ/MC/Noel or give me death /j. If you have 7$ to spare and want a cute game to kill some time highly recommend and I will be pestering the one friend I have endlessly about it.

Tenshouin Eichi; Unedited. Gender Neutral Reader.

Warnings; yandere content, blackmail, manipulation. Eichi is Eichi, take that as you will. 

This blog is 17+ please have your age in your bio or tagged; any ageless blog and below the age asked for will be blocked at the end of the week.

I think being oblivious to Eichi is hard, and I don’t believe that it would be the right word to use. In a way, I think everyone at the start might have some level of ‘obliviousness’ before there just is no possibility of denying the truth of his plan.

What I mean is that unless you are extremely perceptive, like ungodly perceptive, Eichi is cunning. He is a master at manipulation and the ability to get others to not only trust him but do what he wants as pawn pieces. There is a reason he was able to gain such power over Yumenosaki in the first game, and there is a reason even from the second he was introduced, there was a wave of power that Eichi naturally exudes. Despite everything, he can come off as very non-threatening given his frailness which might make it easy to confide in giving him needed ammo to blackmail you. Something about your family here or there, a secret about a friend that slipped out and he promised he’d never bring it up again [he will], or even a moment of frustration with working in the idol field. He naturally has an air of eloquence that makes it easy to fall into a web of words and let out more than you expect to share [it also helps he naturally talks a lot in a way that is easy for others get lost in]. He has connections nearly everywhere for better or worse, and can use those to gain links to you, either knowing the little things you swore you hadn’t told him or closer to something on your schedule to randomly show up. Questionable, but nothing you can prove as being shady, so it’s best to brush it off regardless. Who would believe you over one of the most well-known idols in the industry? This isn’t to say obliviousness, in general, doesn’t help him if you manage to make loops to justify all of his weird behaviors. Still, even I think some of those who think of themselves as incredibly cognizant would also fall into these types of traps, even if he has to tiptoe a little harder to get them all to work.

However, this game Eichi plays with you manipulated into a false trust won’t last forever. In fact, he doesn’t want it to because there is something much better about being able to move into a true relationship, the one where he can be open to his motivations and desires. All of this was a stepping stone in the bigger picture for him. Getting the basics down, and being able to tangle you deep enough that struggling to escape only digs the knife in more.

Eichi has two ways this facade comes melting down, revealing the reality behind the set pieces of the stage he’s built to lure you in. The first one is external forces; Eichi has a reputation in nearly all eras of the game for his mental strength and ability to use this to get others to do what he wants. It’s not some hushed topic that no one acknowledges, even Eichi is well aware of his status, and while Eichi likely would be able to shift his opinion to his favor if you talk to him at times, there will be many others, even Eichi’s closest friends willing to call out the dangers he imposes. At that point, it’s no longer really just obliviousness to his actions when often proof and multiple people are able to recount the story where he is the villain. Antagonist? Oh well, semantics; regardless, he often is not framed well. Being oblivious to the signs, the warnings and red flags Eichi holds from this are genuinely hard to pass off with a lack of awareness.

But that is not just the end; Eichi is well aware of this. Often times he won’t deny it either because Eichi doesn’t see what he does as necessarily wrong. To an extent, yes, he has some awareness of the damage he causes and the impacts it has on others, but Eichi very rarely shows remorse for those actions deeming them as a necessity. Much like with you. If you have a bleeding heart and want to believe in the best from him, you can always ask if they are lying. What they said isn’t true. Eichi might have done some things wrong, but even then, everyone makes mistakes. Right? Eichi won’t bother lying or covering up what he’s done to others, and even if you are put in vulnerable positions where he is blatantly manipulating you, he is upfront with his actions. Aren’t you at least happy the confessions are coming from him and not some stranger you work with?

I think back to when Eichi tried to get Trickster to disband; the group did know it was manipulation to make them feel as less, that the win was a fluke only provided due to Undead and 2wink. However, it didn’t comfort them in knowing this was all just the result that he wanted, and they still fell apart in the moment. Eichi wasn’t hiding his intentions but knew he held the power to easily get others to crack regardless and succumb to his desires because, in a sense, resistance is as futile as lying to you. Nothing is gained, and nothing is lost if you can stay so far ahead as he can in most scenarios.

It’s Eichi’s greatest strength as a yandere that out of everyone, he would be the most lucid and, as far as he can push it, make you aware of the lucidity that his actions, while immoral, are the path he will continue to take for the sake of his ideals. Even the most oblivious, good-hearted are forced to come to this realization at some point, just like with Tsumugi’s relationship with him. When, not if, but when Eichi gets what he wants through manipulation, he has no problem shattering the rose-tinted glasses people might wear to him. You can deny it all you want, and you can run from what is the monster that is Eichi to believe he isn’t truly this, but you can’t run forever. He will drill it into your head, sear all of his crimes into your mind to the point you can only accept that the mask he had at the start was to use you. Use your kindness, uses your ignorance, use your trust to gain what he wanted to use against you when the time called for it. It’s a crushing burden to know that the one who sealed you to this fate with him was no one more than yourself. This is what makes him such a terrifying yandere, not the fear of what he will do or can do to keep you as his. But that in the end, you are only as powerless a puppet in the world; he wants you a pawn stuck to his side.

Life with Eichi is trapped in the lucidity of both of you. Once knowing this, you can make it the best of what it is and give in to love him with the cage you’ve been trapped in or make it just as miserable. The glasses will have been shattered, and no amount of glue will be able to mend them. The choice is up to you, but there is no way to keep a lack of awareness of his actions in the long term that you once clung to.

[millyditty]

I think perhaps my FAVORITE part of this entire piece

Is how it circles around right back to Gojo’s journey as the Enlightened One and the lessons he learned from losing the person he loved most, and how it lands squarely in showing a perfect glimpse of the different paths we can take in response to the world

In text

In the work

The person he loved most of all

Gojo’s strongest connection to his own humanity

We can choose power for power’s sake, choose to limit our humanity and become truly monstrous, dismiss the connections that may limit our power but allow us to become greater than our earthly limitations, surround ourselves in our displays of power over others

Sukuna did so LITERALLY

Segmented himself to survive a mortal death because he is

In every true way

Alone in his sacred cruelty

He is his own legacy of power

Even the one connection he vaguely shows a response to is merely his inferior and their tie is still rooted in his power, his might, his cruelty and his inhumanity, his ability to sacrifice others for more, more, more

There is a REASON the only one that is presented as a peer and equal to Sukuna is somebody equally as monstrous, someone that violates the bodies of others even after they die, somebody who manipulates and plays with the lives around him like game pieces

Sukuna’s only ~tie is one who will sacrifice themselves for him completely, and that is in reality no great and true tie between two separate beings

It never can be

After all, you learn as you realize how much the world needs to heal from what we’ve all done to ourselves—

There are ALWAYS enablers even for the most monstrous

There’s the path of despair

The loss of our idealism and the anger of our frustration, the utter betrayal of learning that your own adults are the monsters they told you to stand against when they read your bedtime stories, the descent into our own worst instincts because we lose our own hope, and the way that we fail those that depend on us

When tested

When pressure was applied to his sacred code

Geto crumpled

And yes, he absolutely failed his daughters

Not on purpose, not because he didn’t love them

But because he lacked a vision deeper and more balanced between hope and realism and so could never get farther than lashing out at the upper layers of the system despite how much power he ~really had

He gave them no true foundation

Because he had none himself

And Geto wound up being used and discarded just as much by another predator even after his own mortal death as cruelly as the world used him and others like him as a kid

And then

Finally

There is the path of loss and of wisdom

The path of stubborn and realistic hope

The path of patience and of acceptance

Isolated by his power, literally murdered and reborn and forever segmented FROM the world by all that he came from and would never be able to leave behind, Satoru chose the path of understanding of his own limitations

He KNOWS that power isn’t the answer

He sought connections constantly to his own humanity whether it was a comedy movie or a sweet snack or simply holding close and making sacred the memories of the one he loved and lost and accepted he could never bring home, sought those that needed him and took them under his wing despite his own severe issues with the system around him, because he knew he did not have the final answer and could NOT do it alone

Where Sukuna chose power, Satoru really genuinely chose the world and the future and what he believed in

Where Geto fell to despair and the anger of lost idealism, Satoru got back up and knew that the answer would not and could not be so simple

The system must be torn asunder

Not just the pieces on the board you can see

Not just by ignoring the big picture or the small

Satoru didn’t fight his own fall because he ~actively wanted to die, although I do believe he was very ready to die after an incredibly lonely and isolating and exhausting life and losing the person he loved most, but because he knew he couldn’t stand alone

(And yes, there was a reason he chose the date, and a reason he wore the outfit he wore, a reason he shaped and made pageantry in many ways of what he knew could very well be his last showing of power as Gojo Satoru, and my god is his journey beautiful and devastating in ways that just KILL me in the best way.)

And that’s okay

He knew if he didn’t get up

His kids would

He didn’t go to his death because he thought he was the answer, insist that he wouldn’t lose because he thought his body was unbeatable

He went because he knew he’d given all he could to the ones that he KNEW and had faith would find the answer, because he actually believed in Something Bigger than himself or an an easy answer

And he knew Yuuji had the seed of enlightenment within him needed to understand that middle path that lies between the paths of the power and the path of humanity, that Yuuji already recognized the base of what he’d seen but still had to grow up to understand

It’s one of my favorite ~small things about this work since the very first chapter, how we see the makings of true compassion beneath hopeful idealism in Yuuji, how Yuuji brings it immediately out of Megumi even when Megumi does his best to be a hardass cranky grumpy pants as soon as their paths cross

It’s in how Yuuji ~sees him more than anybody else, in how he reacts to and listens to Gojo in ways that nobody else within their world does other than Geto himself so many years before the world tore them apart, in how we see the numerous reflections of Gojo and his mannerisms in Yuuji in addition to the other students since their paths crossed and connected

If Geto is his most tragic loss, Yuuji is his greatest blessing— and is proving that blessings will go farther than any curse anyone could cast

Sukuna created an immortal cursed life, transformed and manipulated the limitations of his body to keep the legacy of his cruelty and power alive

After the catastrophic deaths

After the soul shattering losses

Yuuji brings out the best of those around him in a way that Gojo, for all of the weight carried by his power and family name and his ~destiny, never was able to reach out and bring out the best of the person he loved most

Yall

This shit is fucking HEALING

[seyaryminamoto]

From what I remember in your story, even taking Iroh's initial biases into account I thought part of his intense hostility leading up to his report to Ozai was that he was truly convinced that Azula's true nature was either no better or even significantly worse than Ozai's due to the Iroh's suspicions arc. Azula herself told Sokka she was worried that by throwing him of the trail of their relationship that she may have brought the worst out of him. Honestly this was probably my favorite exploration of their conflict, because if they were truly able to trust each other and talk they could have avoided so much pain and trouble, but both of them over the course of the story had developed genuine and/or biased reasons not to trust one another and viewed themselves as doing the right thing despite their actions ultimately resulting in the worst outcome. Azula was trying to prevent a known adversary from having ammunition to ruin their lives and future plans, and Iroh believed that he was essentially hindering the fire nation by turning what he thought were essentially two Evil Ozais with a good relationship with one another into enemies. I can't lie that I'm not slightly disappointed that in the latest chapter that this aspect of their conflict wasn't brought up more explicitly in the conversation with Zuko when Iroh was talking about his biases. Was I personally thinking that the dynamic was more significant than it actually was or is that dynamic being saved for a future conversation Iroh may have with Sokka and Azula?

Uuuuuh, as for the last question... I don't really know if I'll bring it up some more since I do think I've had Iroh acknowledge why and how he fucked up in that respect in the past + exteriorized that if Azula had acted differently he might just have done it too? Am I crazy for thinking so? Did I write that or didn't I? That's a complicated game to play when you're almost at 5 million words of a story... 🤣

Azula and Iroh miiiight have one more conversation in the future and maybe this will come up there, but I haven't written it yet so I won't make any promises on that front. Admittedly, I don't expect their future encounter to be particularly fruitful. Iroh is 100% genuine in what he has understood and learned, though, that can't be denied and I always have hoped to portray him not as a super wicked villain but as a character who thinks he understands far more than he actually does, with motivations that push him into making mistakes he very much comes to regret.

This being said, the Azula-Iroh and Zuko-Ozai parallels in this story are and always have been 100% intentional. Those two tugs-of-war have been going on forever, and the crux of them was very much the fact that Azula and Iroh distrusted and second-guessed and suspected each other soooo much... because they have similar natures, similar thought processes, and they're both intellectual, suspicious, hiding what's REALLY going on underneath the surface, and immediately wary when they recognize all those traits in each other too. Likewise, Zuko and Ozai have some REALLY ugly parallels and one of those parallels, already given away by the chapter you sent this ask over, is going to be the driving force of the conflict between those two, much as a similar thing was the driving force between Iroh and Azula, in its own way: the more they fight to push the other away, the harder they reject the other, the more they end up embodying the flaws they see in that other person, to an extent where they could do absolutely TERRIBLE things just out of wanting to push the other one as far away as possible.

So yeah, the point was never for Iroh to feel like some sadistic mustache-twirling villain who wanted Azula to suffer just for shits and giggles. He had his reasons to do what he did. Doesn't mean he was right. Doesn't mean he should've done it. What it means is it made sense in his head due to his biases, the information he had at hand at the moment, and the particularly awful relationship he had with Azula. Likewise, Azula's rejection of Iroh back in "Iroh's suspicions" caused her uncertainty and anguish because she KNEW she had taken it too far. She was afraid of the consequences. A part of her KNEW that if she acted differently, there was a chance, however slim, that Iroh might not have made the choice he did. And that's why this is such a messed up situation! :')

Ultimately, I want my characters to have motivations that just... add up. That can be traced. That, upon looking at their actions and choices, anyone can go "oh yeah, this is why they did whatever they did". This is good when it comes to establishing ultimate goals, and it's also good when you want to put characters to the test: how far are they willing to go, what are they ready to do to achieve whatever they're trying to achieve? How much are they willing to sacrifice for it? And the answers to those questions can be VERY extreme and painful. Just so, we can find characters who decide to back down and simply surrender over their goals when they realize that there are other things that matter more. But it's a manner of game a writer plays when it comes to gauging and figuring out what a character wants vs. needs, what a character will fight for and what it will take for them to surrender, and so on. Fundamentally, that's how I built up Iroh and Azula's chaotic dynamic. Whatever comes from that in the future, ultimately, their biggest problem may just be that they were just too smart for their own good, tried to outsmart each other a little too much, and never allowed themselves to just... accept each other properly. They came close to it once, yes! But... they failed. And it's depressing as hell, but complicated characters will always be challenging this way...

[echantedtoon]

A Champion Time For The Heart Ch1 Arrival

You used to love playing Pokemon as a kid! But sadly all things must comes to an end. Hobbies come and go. Or do they? The day before you're supposed to leave for college, you instead wake up in the very game you last played. Well great. But you're in luck! If Gloria or Victor manages to play through the game and win then you might get to go home once the game ends! But what happens when the strongest character in the game ends up taking a liking towards you?

You had always thought you had it good. ...Until the incident that is.

You had it all good in normal. Small town with little to none crime rates. Nice schools. Plenty of friends and a loving pair of parents. You were a bright young gal so your folks didn't have to worry too much about playing your games too much growing up and having you fall behind on your grades. Which you were pretty thankful for because it just meant you got to play your favorite game series with your friends more and have a blast! Your absolute favorite games was ironically the pokemon games. Ever since you were little you would think fondly back on how you'd always binge watch the entire series and movies back from it's first few episodes online, following the famous trainer and his sidekick pokemon in all their adventures and beautiful moments together with new challenges and new rivals. Call you a nerd all you want, but you loved the series as a kid. The only thing rivaling your love for pokemon was your love for baking! Your passion for baking was evident, but you never had any luck with anything you tried to convince you parents. Which is why when you managed to obtain a part time job in high school at your local bakery you felt content. You felt right at home sitting back and blasting the oven while studying for your exams or doing homework. Sometimes you'd even listen to your favorite battle themes or season intros from the pokemon franchise while waiting for the cupcakes to finish. Sadly things don't always stay the same and the job was needed for something much more than just a get away for your food making passion.

It all started when highschool began, your parents took you aside one day and told you about the divorce. You weren't even able to process it at first with how hard the news had hit you for a long while after, no matter how much your parents assured you it wasn't your fault, and things like this happen, and nothing would change the fact they still loved and cared about you. Well that wasn't true, and within a month your father was gone and contact by him was soon lost. Which left you feeling lonely..almost empty. Your mother trying her best to smile through it and trying to keep a positive outlook for you. You dove deeper into your games and music. You remember the last pokemon game you ever played. Pokemon Sword and Shield. By far your favorite with the unique dynamaxing additions and story line. But that joy was also short lived as school demanded more study time and your mother constantly pushing you more to do better in school, and eventually taking a part time job you could enjoy too but it was mostly to help out with the bills that needed to be paid. Eventually over time the games were forgotten along with everything else and you spent your new time filled with studying or working. The games and gaming system eventually moved into the closet. Until one fateful day, everything you would know would change forever. And it all started one year after graduating high school. The day before you were supposed to leave for college at your mother's assistance.

You had no idea what would be awaiting for you-

"Y/N!? ARE YOU STILL UP!?," a woman's voice called up the stairs as the footsteps made their way up.

The sun had set a while ago, but you were still up. Tomorrow you'd be going off to the local community college for the next four years. ...For a business degree and hopefully one day be able to open your own bakery...Not really what you were hoping for your life, but there really wasn't a lot of other options you had thought of that you'd want to do with your life, but a bakery didn't sound too bad. You'd still get to enjoy your passion for cooking wouldn't you? But you still felt...unsure. You had never been away from home or around strangers. Were you even ready for such a big change? You had been absent mindedly just going through your closet and taking out a few clothes or belongings from the depths, most of which you hadn't seen for a long time, and deciding whether to put it into the almost filled giant suitcase. But most things ended up on a giant pile near the closet door as you went through everything. You hadn't even noticed your mother's approaching footsteps until your bedroom door swung open making you jump and drop a dress you had been looking at as the older woman poked her head in.

"Y/n? Why aren't you in bed already? You have to get to the dorms and class orientation tomorrow," she asked looking down and raising a brow as her eyes wondered over the ever steadily growing pile of stuff and the still open suitcase on your bed, before she released a sigh. "You had all week and you're still deciding at last minute?" She turned to you with her famous pose of the hand on the hip all mothers seemed to achieve.

You stared back blankly for a moment before smiling nervously and bending back down to pick up the dress. "W-Well, I thought maybe I should just see what I still had. Never know what I'd want to take with me." Your eyes rescanned the dress again, before narrowing at the old tacky pattern and decided it would belong better in the pile rather than your suitcase or on you.

"Well you should've done this earlier in the week when I asked you, but you said you'd do it sooner." Your mother watched as the dress fluttered down from your hands and into the pile before sighing again. "You already have five boxes in your car outside and that looks good to go already." Her other hand gesturing to the almost full suitcase. "I really think you should get some sleep or else you're going to be late."

Still with your head inside the closet never minding the mess outside with everything already out, you had already lost how much time you had spent clearing almost everything out anyways, you kneeled down to grab the last thing inside that was in there. A medium sized dusty box that looked big enough to store two microwaves inside of it. With a grunt you pulled it up and stood up with it in your arms. It was a decent weight too, before looking back at your mother with a smile.

"I promise I will, Mom!," you promised before holding up the box in your hands, "This is the last thing anyways."

With a sigh and head shake your mother turned her body away from the room. "Fine. But make sure you PLEASE go to sleep. I can already see I have some cleaning up to do in the morning." With that said she walked away.

You sighed and turned back towards the bed with the box, briefly wondering what could possibly be in here that was so heavy. And like in a cliche sitcom comedy show, your foot collided and entangled with one of the discarded clothes you had long since thrown randomly on the floor, and over you went. You gave off a noise that was between a gasp and yelp, the box flying forward from your hands and landing on it's side a little ways from you as your body collided with a floor. The contents of the box spilling all over the floor in front of your face. Everything paused for a moment...before you groaned and pushed yourself off the cold floor with a soft 'ow' of pain. At least it wasn't a really painful fall thank goodness, but now there was even more of a mess to clean up. Blinking your eyes open you looked down to the tangled mess of black wires and small cases with it and for a moment you paused. ...In front of your eyes was at least three game systems, one of it was your old Nintendo switch you hadn't touched since you were fifthteen, and with them was a few controllers and a few games you know realized...It-...Your old game set ups. You..You hadn't seen these in years! It was like eternity as you stared at them before your hand slowly came out to touch one of the games and your jolted lightly from the feeling of cold plastic from the game case, but still proceeded to pick it up and look at it and the strange two dog like creatures on it....and you smiled. Pokemon Sword and Shield. The very last game you fully played through before you became wrapped up in school and work after-....A frown came back to your face. You spent so much time discovering all the secret endings, all the achievements no matter how long it took, looking online for all the secrets and many things you could do doing every single one you could find to pass the time and even somehow managed to buy the dlcs. ...But it was forever ago and you doubted you could remember even if you tried. Among the pile was some other older pokemon titles and a few other games you'd play but long forgotten by now. Too tired to deal with this and all the messes for now, you just gently put the game back down in the pile of new mess and stood up to turn to your suitcase. A zipping noise echoed in the room as you zipped it shut but left it on the floor as you stood up and yawned. Stretching out your back. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. You were already so exhausted you hardly even noticed you going through the routine of taking a shower, brushing your teeth, and getting into your favorite pair of fuzzy pjs before just collapsing into your bed. Eyelids heavy and darkness consuming you as you fell into a fast deep sleep.

The darkness of your dream was interrupted however in the most strangest ways-

Loud cheers and claps interrupted as a flash of bright white appeared and suddenly you were dreaming of being inside a gigantic stadium with HUNDREDS of screaming and cheering people. It was exactly like the time you went to one of those professional baseball games with your family once. Up above fireworks whistled and boomed with bright lights lighting up the night sky as if reminding you you were still asleep. This stadium had everything a typical stadium would. Bright giant lights lighting up a green field with white lines painted on it in a strange way, and a giant TV screen was attatched to one side of the giant stadium as it turned on and a man appeared on it. The whole thing was almost as big as your standard football field. The loud noises around you somehow didn't drown out the man's voice as he spoke into a microphone as then speakers blared his voice around for everyone to hear.

"Welcome one and all!," a man's voice blared out. The man on the giant screen had a dark skin tone with black hair and a grey suit to match his red tie. His green eyes smiled up to everyone in the audience. " Welcome to the wonderful world of Pokemon!" He extended his arms out as he said so.....Wait. Poke- what? The screen changed to show a regional like map next. "Our beloved Galar region is a wonderful place with thriving nature, beautiful cities, and many Pokemon with which we share our lives! As you know our society is able to thrive-" He suddenly shifted his hand and in it was a small ball, the top red, bottom white, and with a black line between them. He suddenly threw it up a little ways as some as you would call an-elephant-looking-thing came out to stand next to him in a bright light and a few trumpet noises from the creature. "-thanks to help from these mysterious creatures that we call Pokemon! Yes. Pokemon are all around us!" He suddenly gestured to some bird looking creatures flying past above him. "In the sea, in the sky, and even with us in our towns!" He held up the ball again while his other hand extended. "And those of us who chose to raise and train Pokemon to do battle and compete we call Pokemon Trainers!" THE. CROWD. ROARED!! You never did like loud crowds but still continued to dream on as if you couldn't move as the man continued talking loud for the crowd to hear him. "Oh! But I'm getting carried away. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rose and it is a pleasure to be here! Now turn your gaze to the Galar region's greatest pokemon trainer, your undefeated champion! It's time for Leon's exhibition match!" He threw a fist in the air as the crowd roared again.

Suddenly from somewhere behind him a series of sparklers and dark grey smoke appeared heading right towards the middle of the field, the 'Rose' guy and his elephant thing quickly making a jogging exit towards the other far side of the field. Presumably to make way for the smoke and sparklers. The sparkling smoke ended in one last explosion as it went everywhere...and suddenly a man appeared from the depths. The crowd roared even louder for this man. Out came a pair of golden-brown eyes, long purple hair, and a fluttering cape. He suddenly struck a pose similar to that of a rock star as a giant dragon like creature followed out from the smoke behind him. The crowd holding up their hands and doing the symbol he was doing with his hand back. Across from him was yet another darker skin toned man next to some giant white creature with bright green eyes.

"Exhibition or not, Leon, your pristine is about to end when I beat you here today!," he shouted to the purple haired man with a determined look.

"You know I don't lose battles, Raihan," he spoke back calmly flipping his cape back. His hand suddenly pointed at the dragon creature beside him. "Charizard! Dynamax!"

A BRIGHT red aura suddenly surrounded the dragon creature as it gave a mighty roared as it's body absorbed the red energy. The crowd awed as it grew to be AS BIG AS A SKY SCRAPER!! Flames enveloped the horns, wings and most of the tail as it's orange body deepened a red as the energy. The sky above the stadium suddenly being surrounded by purple-red storm clouds blocking the once calm night sky. As it gave one last loud roar to the heavens.

You awakened with a gasp, bolting up and panting as you pushed yourself up from the bed you laid upon. The room feeling chilly as your hands came up to your face as you groaned and rubbed it. Man...What a weird dream. That giant dragon looked too real and frightful. Mom was right. You had to stop staying up so late. Judging by how dark it was, it must've only been a few hours into the night. Well at least you could go back to sleep now-...You paused when your weight shifted and the soft bed was suddenly rough and-....stick like?? Like you were laying upon a bunch of branches and twigs. Opening your eyes, you strained to adjust to the dark surrounding you and suddenly realized with a jolt, you were feeling cold because you WERE OUTSIDE!!! You stared as moonlight seeped through from the giant moon above you lighting up what looked like to be a forest, and you were at the very top of a tree on something flat and made of sticks. ...This was NOT your bedroom. As your mind tried to figure out how you could've possibly ended up in a tree in the middle of no where, your luck instantly got WORSE when something BIG blocked the moon as it's shadow loomed over you. You're blood went cold and body froze as whatever it was shifted above you. As if you were in a horror movie, your body acted on it's own as you turned around and looked up the black body of the feathered beat that somehow didn't break the tree top with how BIG it was. And your eyes went small.

A. GIANT. BLACK. BIRD. WAS. STARING. AT. YOU!!!

It didn't seem too happy either as it suddenly snapped it's wings out and delivered what could only be described as a mix between a crow call and a lion roar. You screamed, both voices echoing out throughout the forest and scrambled back-

"AAAHHHH!!"

Your arms flailed out as you suddenly went backwards and down you went over the edge. Your screams of tumbling down from a tree were cut short as it felt like you hit every single branch on your way down. Pain exploded everywhere your body made contact with the branches until finally with a final thud, your body fell hard onto soft grass. Knocking the air out of your lungs and you gasping for air on your side. Your body was in pain from everywhere your body hit the tree and you were sure it would leave bruises and scratches later. You coughed and gasped for air, lungs burning but you nearly stopped breathing again when the same call came from the thing above making your body feel like it was dipped in ice as your heartbeats sore. Adrenaline kicked in know as your body wobbled and felt so light, not to mention hurt, as you forced yourself to stand and start walk-running away, swaying as you still gasped for air but your panicked state didn't care about the pain or anything as you somehow quickly got your balance back and started running through the dark. The sounds and darkness of the forest blocked almost all moonlight as you blindly ran to try and get away from the giant demon bird, to keep from being eaten. You ran...and ran...and ran blindly in the dark with your hands in front of you barefoot. Branches and other plants hitting your legs and face as you did, the sounds of the bird thing behind you disappearing as you kept running. At one point you had the brilliant idea to look behind you to see if anything was following you-

"AH!"

Your foot once again got caught on something. You screamed as your body went tumbling head over heels down a hill in the dark. Your already sore and hurt body becoming even more so as you rolled and rolled and rolled until you finally came to a stop at the bottom of it onto your back, with your body facing the sky. Your vision swam and your head spun as you stared up dizzily at the sky as your vision slowly went black. And you again passed out.

[magmacannon]

9, 14, 17, 20, 29, 34 🫵 Roman

yipee!!!!

9. favorite food? least favorite? are they a picky eater? do they have any dietary restrictions?

Roman grew up Really Far North and his food preferences were shaped as such - though he loves a well-cooked or roasted green veggie, his favorite food is a red meat roast cooked in a stock+beer or ale for tenderness/flavor with alliums and tubers/carrots that are served with the meat and maybe a side of bread+butter (hearty stuff). Least favorite food that he's tried was a spiced tomato-heavy salad thing, least favorite food based on concept alone is the fermented bulette meat that his party member tried to make for them ala fermented shark meat.

Roman doesn't consider himself a picky eater - he'll try most things once or twice! - but he also is cursed with Weak Spice Tolerance that bars him from a good amount of food. Rolling a dice here for this last one but he's not allergic to anything BUT.... despite his love for milk, he's sitting as just above having lactose intolerance apparently.

14. are they any good with numbers?

Roman's solid at guessing distances and geometry through practice - you don't want to be a spellcaster, especially an evocation wizard, to have bad aim - and is pretty decent at keeping track of number patterns and budgeting income vs expenses. Higher level or theoretical math is hard for him to grasp but he tries his best!

17. how did they spend their summers/free time as a child?

As a YOUNG child Roman spent his free time either playing at an uncle's lumberyard/hobby farm outside of the walls of Tzeraz or would spend it traveling with his parents within the Northern Kingdom (mostly) while they performed. He has a few friends he'd invite to his house to play (super dramatic war games) besides that.

As he got older and began going to school for magic, his summers were taken up by classes while winter was the big break time where he'd be able to go home for a few months. When with his family and now less-close friends he'd show off what he was learning to anyone who would listen and watch him cast cantrips at snowmen (this annoyed his brother because he'd do it so often). He spent a lot more time daydreaming in his early teens than continuing running around.

20. if applicable, can they drive? if they have their own, what color is their vehicle? is the inside neat and tidy, or a mess?

IN Dorna, Roman's never seen a 'car' in person but he can decently manage to steer a carriage on a well-paved road if needed. He prefers to ride in the back and read/sleep though!

In a world where cars are common he has a minivan that's a little busted up but runs well. He's considering trying to get a Cool Wizard painted on the side. The inside smells decently clean if a little dusty and while the floor's clean, the dashboard compartment and the back have mild piles of stuff (papers/blankets and bags respectively). He travels with ice removal tools Constantly and maybe a portable air pump just in case.

29. are they associated with any particular element (air, earth, fire, water)?

This is ALWAYS a fun one to think of for Roman bc it's changed over time... he's been associated with light/fire for forever if I think about it, but initially I would have def said he was more of a Water Guy. His oldest 'custom' spell was earth-aligned and he casts spells in a very grounded way - I think he wants to be more 'earth' aligned than he actually is in-setting. I think he's probably most associated with fire through how he acts and the magic he casts out of those four options though he wants to be Anything Else atm.

34. how would your character describe themselves? it doesn’t have to line up with how they really are.

Roman would describe himself as a friendly, optimistic guy with a good bit of determination and practice seeing things through (sort of true, he's stubborn). He'd probably say he's 'pretty good' at his job, which is true in that he has a lot of technical skill BUT he lacks focus historically, meaning that he's just Okay at it in truth. He'd say he has a big heart with a lot of love in it, and that's entirely true <3 (he just also has a lot of opinions and some unforseen pettiness, too)

[crystalelemental]

My wife's on the controller again, and that means it's time for Thoughts Part 2. Much like the first time through, I'll be doing mechanics post first, then the rest. Unfortunately for this game, I stopped playing at a bad time to be in a good mood for this.

Nexomon Extinction, at least mechanically, does not feel super distinct from say, Pokemon. A lot of this feels much more similar than its initial game, due to changes around status, type matchup, etc. It's a very fun experience, but it feels like it lost a bit of its identity when they tossed aside full recovery on level up, super easy levels, no level cap, broken as hell status, etc.

Nothing has significantly changed between the first post and now. I still feel all of that is very relevant and true. Mechanically, the game would not feel out of place alongside the GBA/DS era of Pokemon. Which is my favorite era, so like...I'm having fun.

That said, my initial assertions do seem slightly unfair in retrospect. The crux of it was that the game incentivizes just using your biggest attack regardless of type matchup, and that's the best way to win. This...still kinda holds true. Type matchup feels more extreme as numbers go up, though, and new options are introduced. And this is the crux of what I'll be talking about today.

The single best Nexomon I had this entire run was Zappnic. A common, and a bee, with below average stats. Because it has a buff that stacks three times, boosting Atk, Def, and Spd 30%. Once you've boosted three times, you can use pretty much anything and secure a 2HKO. It learns the best electric move in the game, EMP, which pretty much always goes first despite the low speed penalty because of how buffed your stats are. It even blows through resists because Sonic Scream can inflict sleep, and is a nice neutral. Also the Def boost means it isn't threatened by attacks. But if something does kinda muscle through a bit, it also has a heal. I used this thing to basically clear nearly the entire endgame. It beat every form of Vados. Its only limitation is Stamina, which it cuts through pretty sharply. But recovery items can solve that.

Stall exists, and it fucks severely and often. One of my Nexomon, Floreina, has Green Sphere, which recovers 30% HP and Stamina on the next turn. Provided she isn't weak to the opponent, this becomes a perfect back and forth play, keeping her alive effectively forever. Stamina is no consideration. She just has to be able to actually take the hits being thrown out, which is sometimes questionable. But god what a fun set, that completely lacks the weakness of the bee. She swept most of the Grandmaster trial because she didn't need to worry about heal items, and had a good matchup against everyone but the fire tamer.

As a smaller, in-between scale, Horget wound up being a lot of fun too. Psychic Dragon had access to a move that buffed Atk 25%, and Renovate, which acts like Rest in Pokemon, but instead of two turns it's one. "But it says two?" Yeah but it counts the turn you use it, so it's hilariously strong. Horget's weakness, however, was its moves. It doesn't learn anything above base 90 power, so the tremendous buff move is offset by lower base power and less than impressive stats. Horget wound up being incredibly consistent, but falling off just a little bit due to these issues.

By comparison, other options were adequate to really frustrating depending on their utility. Felclaw should have been a Horget-esque entity with a 25% buff, but only to elemental damage so its neutral never took off, was plagued by similar limitations on base move damage, and did not have healing. Yarnesty was a solid starter, good wind-type damage output, but it lacked anything technical and so was a good counter to stuff weak to it, but little else. Greben was the saddest case, designed for defensive play but its only buff was a 40% boost to crit rate, which isn't super consistent to begin with, in exchange for cutting defense 20%. Her base effects weren't worth it, and status isn't really strong enough to justify being your pull. Even Phantra, who I expected to love, wound up feeling worse off than Folicurse, because Folicurse got access to the strongest Ghost move while Phantra didn't.

All this to say: Nexomon Extinction has a lot more dynamic play than initially expected, but largely relegated to a handful of options. What those options are isn't based on your rarity anymore, but it's also unclear when anything is set for success. The strongest option I had being a common, while multiple Mega Rares didn't hold up, is a bit bizarre. I don't strictly mind this, but lack of variability hurts. Basically, I yearn for some level of control over learnsets. I think it would really expand options.

On the subject of learnsets, types feel a lot more...imbalanced. Maybe it's just the ones I had access to, but postgame, I think seeing what the children of Omnicron can do and have access to points out the flaws. Specifically, they all have access to the best traits. So Luxa has access to the Bee Sweep combo (but with no healing), and Nara has access to the Floreina sustain combo, etc. All of them pack a solid neutral attack, and seem to have some form of buff, with Fone and Arqua having 25% Atk. But then there's Ventra. Who has...speed boosting, I guess? A move that lasts a few turns and gives only a 40% chance to ignore defense with Wind attacks? It's not like there's nothing, but it's a far cry from the consistent and powerful buffs that others seem to receive. The whole type feels like that.

This should logically be for the postgame wrapup, but I'm mentioning it now because it's fresh. I hate roaming legends. I hate them. The first Nexomon game, I didn't like the system much, but only because I had no control over which child was showing up and they respawned. Also that if you didn't find them in two encounters they disappeared from the map. The point is it was annoying, but you could manage, because the game had a radar that told you when something was close. That doesn't happen here. There is no warning or notice, and you will spend over an hour on the worst fucking encounter rate of your life, just trying to find these goddamned things. I spent FOUR HOURS today looking for Tyrants. I found two. Out of nine. That's fucking inexcusable. There is no reason for it to be this bad. To make matters worse, it sounds like the Abyssals aren't static fights. They also get relegated to random encounters in the grass. Which is probably the worst thing I've ever heard! Literally dozens of these low-spawn encounters! I don't think I'm finishing the Database this time. This is way, way too frustrating for no reward.