#fun side missions

[pawssumbugs]

I actually really liked the game, idk why EVERYONE was shitting on it so hard

why is everyone pretending like cyberpunk edgerunners is good. the writing is so bad i hate it

[velvetjune]

Jesse | esseJ

[feroluce]

For reasons to be expanded upon at a later date (because I love the little bits about Boothill and possible paranoia/betrayal canon gives us so very dearly HNGH) I think Boothill like... He won't let himself fall into disrepair or anything of course, but he reeeeeeeeeeally does not like letting other people poke around at his body. It's a necessary evil to him. He does whatever maintenance and repairs he can himself. He started out with a massive knowledge deficit, simply because he didn't really have any exposure to that kind of technology until he left Aeragan-Epharshal, but he's taught himself a lot since then, he worked really hard at it!

Anyway, the point being, Boothill generally isn't super trusting of people.

But I think he would come to make an exception for Himeko, since he trusts Dan Heng a lot, and Himeko is one of Dan Heng's once-in-a-lifetime dearly beloved companions.

Himeko is so unflappable, I don't think she would even bat an eye about anything he throws at her, either. Like she enters the Parlor Car one morning (she's always the first one up) and Boothill is already there, waiting for her.

"Mornin', Madam Navigator."

"Good morning, Mr. Boothill."

And despite the fact that he blatantly broke into the Express (Pom-Pom is NOT happy about this JDKSAJDSKL), Boothill tips his hat, greets her politely, and is nothing but respectful when he says he has a favor to ask of her. Except it won't stay a favor long, of course- he has every intention of paying it back.

Himeko never agrees to things blindly, but she does bring up that all the knowledge Boothill contributed during the Charmony Festival was essential to preventing the universe from being pulled into Ena's Dream. And they were able to hold onto the Jade Abacus because Boothill used Tiernan's burial relic to summon the Galaxy Rangers instead. The Astral Express owes him a debt of gratitude, and besides, he's a friend of Dan Heng's. Of course she'll try to help him.

Boothill fidgets a bit, quickly brushes off the thanks, and tells Himeko he's having a problem with error codes. He keeps getting the same one, seemingly at random times, but the darn thing has no obvious cause. Dan Heng mentioned Himeko had been the one to rebuild the Astral Express. He knows it ain't the same, but it's not like he's askin' for any major repairs or nothin'. He was wonderin' if she could just take a look, maybe offer him some insight, since she seems to be somethin' of a mechanical wonder.

So Himeko walks him back to a another car, where she goes to tinker with machines without them crowding her bedroom. It's all neatly laid out and organized, and it only takes a second for Himeko to locate some specific device with a long cord. Instead of plugging it in herself, she holds the end of it out to him, like an offer rather than a demand, and Boothill visibly relaxes a bit. He still eyes it just a little warily for a second, but he accepts and plugs it into the port on his side.

Himeko pulls up the list of all recent errors, and they really are all the same. Boothill has had multiple temperature alarms over the past couple of weeks since the Charmony Festival, and they know it's not the environment, because Penacony is mostly dreamscape and kept mild year-round. The long-forgotten natural deserts are too far away.

Boothill is staring from the corner of his one good eye, so Himeko turns the hologram to let him see what she's doing easier. They don't appear to be false alarms. His internal temperature spikes and then slowly lowers again, high enough that if it lasted it would eventually cause damage.

One option is for her to start rooting through personal data, figuring out what he was doing at the time of each code, and tracing cause and correlation.

Instead, Himeko reads out the timestamps, and asks Boothill if he minds sharing what was happening around him when it occured.

Two weeks ago: He and Dan Heng went to explore Dreamflux Reef and found a bar- nice place, good atmosphere. Woman runnin’ it was a doll. Boothill left fer not even two minutes to get them drinks (Dan Heng knows like nothin’ about liquor, Madam Navigator, can you believe this guy) and when he came back, someone had already stolen his seat and was hittin’ on Dan Heng! Dan Heng didn't even care, just shooed ‘em off. Boothill laughed and said not to let him get in his way if he wanted to meet someone. Dan Heng looked at him like he'd grown a second head. Why would he want to leave with someone else, when he came here to be with Boothill?

Twelve days ago: While laying low- er, just rustlin’ up some grub- in the Moment of Blue, Boothill passed Dan Heng with March and Caelus playin’ on the beach, buildin’ sandcastles and the like. When he passed by again almost two hours later, they were still out there, with Dan Heng pullin’ March through the water on her inner tube and Caelus hangin’ off the back of it. He swam so fast! You'd think he was part water snake or somethin’. He looked happier ‘n a cat in a sunbeam… He has a nice smile, doesn't he?

Eleven days ago: Boothill was killin’ time in Dreamflux Reef when he turned the corner down a shady alley and saw Dan Heng, surrounded by three men demandin’ “protection money.” None of ‘em stood a chance, they were all on the ground before Boothill even blinked! So cool! Boothill wants to see that spear of his closeup- Anyway, Dan Heng stepped on one of ‘em on his way out, hahaha! Boothill stepped on the same guy a second time as he hurried to catch up.

Eight days ago: Here on the Express, actually. Boothill had mentioned bein’ curious about the archives, and Dan Heng personally invited him.

(“I remember that day, I saw you in the hall.” “Was there any problem with the heating that day?” “No, none. I don't think the temperature has anything to do with these error codes. I have a different theory, keep going.” “If ya say so.”)

Boothill was fascinated by an entry on aeons, and from a single question he asked about Lan, the two of ‘em ended up talkin’ fer hours. About aeons and Paths and Emanators, Acheron and Self-Annihilators, the Sea of Nihility, Tiernan, the Nameless and the Galaxy Rangers, their burial relics and their customs. Dan Heng finally just started writin’ and editin’ the entries in real time, with Boothill pointin’ things out and tellin’ him what to add in. They were at it so late that Boothill ended up sleepin' on a couch in one of the cars.

He'd figured there had to be something to make Dan Heng chatty- he'd caught just a glimpse of it that first night they met, sittin’ at the bar in the Reverie together. He'll have to ask about the archives more often, if it gets him all revved up like that.

One week ago: After that night of energetic discussion, Dan Heng was apparently hyped up, because after he'd downed some of Himeko's coffee (“You had some too, right? What did you think of it?” “It was great, even better'n chewin’ bullets!” "Thank you! That was my newest brew, I can't wait for everyone else to try it.") he actually asked Boothill to go hunting with him. Boothill asked who their target was, and was surprised when Dan Heng pulled out photos that looked like they were from March's camera, of all things, instead of a bounty or wanted poster.

And as he sat there, studying these pictures, Dan Heng explained that he wanted to hunt down these specific memory zone memes to record them into the archives. Planets with so much memoria are a rarity, especially with the Stellaron's activity thrown into the mix, which has surely affected the local “wildlife.” He might not get another opportunity like this for a long time. And Boothill had talked last night about his extensive expertise in tracking and hunting, so he should have plenty to offer here, Dan Heng would like to learn from his experience and see how he does things!

And oh, Madam Navigator, by the time Dan Heng was done speakin', his eyes were practically sparklin'! Just lit up like the sun! Boothill could scarcely believe it! The two of them couldn't even wait another day, they set out that very morning. It had been a long, long while since Boothill had tracked someone- er, somethin’- without the intent to capture or kill. It was…actually really nice. Nostalgic, but in a good way. It might even have been his favorite day on Penacony…so…far…

Boothill trails off as a couple of realizations crash into him. All the temperature alarms he's spoken about thus far- they've all happened in the company of Dan Heng. And now that he's thinking about it, he's pretty sure even the ones he hasn't yet talked about were with him, too. Dan Heng has been responsible for all of his error codes, every. single. one.

The screen in front of Himeko suddenly refreshes to the top of the list, displaying a new notification for the current time. Alert! Core temperature above normal range.

Himeko's knowing smile is sly as a snake.

Wwwwwelp, would ya look at the time, Boothill has some errands to meet, people to run, y’know how it is, he should really get goin'-

“Oh, Mr. Boothill? About that favor.” And Boothill jolts to a stop in the doorway because fudge, he can't just leave without hearing her out. He'd given his word. He has no problem running out on someone he thinks deserves it, but Himeko really had been kind to him to try and help him out. Her voice is just as knowing as her smile, Boothill can't turn around to look at her, or else he knows he won't be able to disguise the sound of his cooling fans kicking on.

“Don't make Dan Heng wait too long, ok~?”

“Y-Yes, ma'am.”

[daylighteclipsed]

ive been replaying kh1 (going thru the whole series on steam since i never got the chance to play all the games) and i was struck by something a bit odd. i have been dyinggg to talk about it

it's about kairi and her past.

i don't think she's a replica or construct necessarily

but in kh2 there's a parallel drawn between her and sally in halloween town; and the same i think could be true in kh1.

sally is a Frankenstein monster/doll made by the doctor. the entire plot of Halloween town centers around the need for the dr to make a "heart" which requires memories from Sally (the scene of her picking the forget me nots looks a lot like kairi holding a flower for aqua too)

sora takes interest in the project to restore a heart to the heartless too because of his desire to restore Kairi's heart.

i havent really come up with a coherent thought about what this means.

but given that we know kairi was experimented on in a way that involved her heart, it just seems suspicious that this parallel was made twice to her and a doll that was stitched together and animated by a mad scientist.

shes also compared to chirithy in kh3, which from my understanding were created by MoM for keyblade weilders; and to Pooh, who is a toy/story book character that came to life

given too that Kairi already has a weird thing going on with her heart, it just seems possible that theres something..more to it that i have yet to piece together. and its driving me crazy

NO, WAIT… ANON YOU’RE COOKING. Idk what it all means either, but those parallels are so good and so true. Cause there definitely is something artificial about Kairi’s heart, even if just partially. It was experimented on, like you said, and it looks completely different than the organic hearts we see, and I suspect that’s why we’ve never seen Kairi’s heart station. Because it’s (at least partially) artificial. It would look totally different than all the other heart stations and would probably give away what’s going on.

[bagea]

incredibly captivated by this mental image that someone proposed while i was playing gundam roblox tonight

[true-blue-sonic]

Alternate Sonic Rivals 2 wherein the teams are as follows:

Sonic and Silver

Espio and Rouge

Tails and Shadow

Knuckles and Metal Sonic

for maximum hijinks, silliness, and incompatibility on all sides.

[blissfulalchemist]

Soooooo because I wanted to save the lore of the side missions for this game for my own purposes, because I feel it adds to it, I figured I might as well share if I'm putting in the work and maybe it'll help someone else out there! So have (eventually) all the side missions for FFXVI. It is a personal pet project of mine and I hope to keep up with my own schedule of uploading a few videos on the weekend. So please enjoy and let me know if anything crops up or you can't see any of the videos.

[sorcerous-caress]

oh wow they actually give you the choice to explicitly identify as transgender freely with zero requirements and it unlocks new dialogue choices

[atanxdoesstuff]

nejisasu doodle! a universe where the hyuuga's slavery bs doesn't get ignored and Neji and Sasuke are better off for it (and also they're married)

[frameconfessions]

The Atomicycle being accessible outside of just open worlds honestly helps make 1999 feel less like an isolated content island while we wait for infested liches.

.

[poop-flying]

0. Decision

Kind of part of @ringleaderising's Tooth application! But this was mostly a fun way to establish the dynamic between the leaders of the Realmwalker Corps. You can have competent leaders who care about you or you can have leaders who all get along! Anyway. From left to right, according to the pictures above: Udyr, Agramant, Verbena, Morien and Voltimand.

There were many things in his life that Agramant considered a waste of time, chief among them the biweekly meetings the heads of the Realmwalker Corps held. He’d attended enough of those meetings that he knew how every one went:

Verbena would go down the agenda with his usual steadfastness, then Morien, impatient as ever, would make a snide remark on the speed or the tone or the content of his delivery. Verbena would bring the whole meeting to a halt to address that. Morien would retort with her usual derisiveness, and on and on it would go until Voltimand put a stop to the quarrel.

They’d just finished fighting over a word that Verbena had stuttered slightly in pronouncing. Fortunately, there were only two more items left on the agenda. Agramant pinched the bridge of his nose with one claw and massaged his bad leg with the other, turning his exhale of pain into a sigh. Only a few more minutes now.

Pain momentarily forgotten, Agramant straightened.

“One more thing,” Udyr said. She shifted a few documents idly pushing four copies to each of the heads. “The Sentinels.”

Morien, who’d been crotchety and fidgety for the past thirty minutes, groaned and slammed her claw on the table. “Again? Stormcatcher take them all, I thought we were done with those pretentious fucks. That business with the obelisk who turns into dirt — ”

“Sand,” Verbena interjected, shooting Morien a withering stare. “Sacrosanct shifts into sand.”

“Sand,” Verbena interjected, shooting Morien a withering stare. “Sacrosanct shifts into sand.”

“They can shift into shit for all I care — ”

Voltimand’s voice rang out, silencing them both: “Udyr. Continue.”

Udyr slid four copies across the table. Agramant inclined his head in thanks; he rarely spoke in meetings and most of the heads usually forgot he was there.

It was a case file. Not one of theirs, Agramant observed as he flipped it open.

“Where did you get this?” Voltimand asked. Her voice was light but there was an accusation in those words. “This is Sentinel material.”

Udyr shrugged, unfazed. “You have your spies, I have mine. Have you read it?”

Agramant turned his attention back to the file. Grinning grotesquely up at him was a guardian clad in tattered rags, a wicked-looking cleaver at her side. Young, Agramant decided, but judging by the bones she clad herself in, she knew how to use that weapon. Her teeth were unusual too: she had swapped a few with gaudy prosthetics. Gems, mismatched bone, precious metals. Her eyes were a red so bright they almost glowed.

She had a dagger sheathed at her side that looked familiar. Agramant squinted, connecting the dots. Efficient.

“Fuck,” Morien breathed. “Agramant, you’d love this girl — she doesn’t even waste her own teeth. How many of those do you think she’s made?”

He ignored that. His eyes skimmed over the next few sections. Last known location, favoured weapons, known magic, familial ties, casualties…

And stopped. Status: In Pursuit, written in a hasty hand. Instructions: Detain. Eliminate as last resort.

Udyr waited till they were all finished. Verbena was the first to speak, “What does this have to do with us?”

“Target?” Morien bared her teeth, her eyes alight with excitement. “I can set Hemera on her. Give me five days.”

Udyr said causally, “Not a target. A recruit.”

Verbena shot to his feet and gave an outraged shout at the same moment Voltimand said, “Absolutely not.”

In that same level voice, Udyr replied, “She’s a necromancer. She’ll be an asset.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Verbena growled, “but she hardly seems sane. The Sentinels only demand detention when the target has harmed one of theirs. We stay out of their business, they stay out of ours. This isn’t an ‘enemy of my enemy situation’.”

“I didn’t say it was. I’ll take it your vote is a no.”

“It is. And it’s hers too.” Verbena jerked his head at Voltimand, who shook her head gravely at Udyr.

Voltimand pushed the file back. “Verbena’s right. I can’t see her as one of our own.”

“Morien?”

The fathom had been unsually quiet during this exchange. She looked up now, her claw tracing patterns into the table, and asked, “Why her?”

Verbena swore aloud as Voltimand sighed defeatedly, reclining in her chair.

For the first time tonight, Udyr grinned. Agramant averted his eyes. That expression on Udyr’s face was as unnatural as rain falling upwards. She said, “Reports of strange and impossible quantities of magic appearing out of nowhere, groups of dragons gathering before it happens to siphon it up. Strange groups, too, affected in their own way by that magic. It doesn’t happen often — or at least we don’t hear about it often. Rumour has it that she — ” Udyr tapped the case file “ — comes from one of those clans.”

“What would you do with that information, hm? That strange magic? ” Verbena barked.

Udyr glanced at him coolly. “What would we do, you mean. The same as our predecessors: we assess and we decide. The Corps is sworn to face the unknown head-on; don’t tell me you’re afraid now.”

Morien lifted her chin and said, “Then I vote yes.”

“Good. Agramant?”

Agramant gave a start. His leg twinged in protest, and he had to force himself to relax, exhaling through his nose till the pain went away on its own. The group was silent now, everyone’s attention turned to him.

“Recruiting’s not my department,” he managed, trying to keep his voice as steady as he could.

“Still.” Udyr’s voice was quiet. Insistent. There was no weaseling his way out of this one.

“You can abstain,” Voltimand said reassuringly. “Besides, Udyr, we can’t interfere in Sentinel busine — ”

Morien snapped, “You just don’t want him to vote!”

“No, you insolent child, internal affairs has no sway over — ” That was Verbena, rising to his usual fury.

“Fuck you, old man!”

Agramant took a deep breath. He considered the file again as though it would yield further secrets upon a second round of scrutiny. Sure, she was young. Inexperienced in the ways of the world. Why Udyr wanted her to join the Realmwalkers Agramant could probably guess. Any way he looked at it, she’d probably bring trouble crashing down upon all their heads.

Sworn to face the unknown head-on.

Ah, hell. Why not? There was no guarantee they’d be able to snatch her out from under the Sentinels’ noses anyway.

“I vote yes.”

[daz4i]

every time hoyo releases a canon silly groupchat interaction i gain 50hp. they mean so much to me

[velvetjune]

playing through Prey and not understanding how all these video playthroughs online are so short when i already have 16 hours in the game

[d1scwars]

im not even a dedicated Fitmc watcher but so so genuinely, ANYTHING could happen on this godforsaken island, the ONLY thing i need to happen is for Fit and Ramon to make it out of the island together.

[shaykai]

you make one bad choice in Hell/Bhaal's Realm and you're stuck with an evil alignment after. Just saying. Also if you finish that, then there's what comes After Irenicus. Heh.

ANSHSJJSHS THAT’S GOOD TO KNOW

I’m still a hero h a (accidentally saved over the save I had to maybe take up Sarevok’s offer to beat his face in, so I’m a good guy)

Side note- I’m a few hours into the Throne of Bhaal DLC and it’s willlllld

[bagea]

now that 2024 is over i completely forgot to post what i had been working to achieve throughout the last year! from jan 2024 to dec 2024 its documentation of every singe one of my discord pfps