#heres to the zeros and heres to another wild year of adventures

[everythingseasoning]

How the AOT men love you (SFW & slight NSFW).. PT 1

MINORS: Please DNI. Further reading means you consent to reading everything here, though it's pretty vanilla tbh.

EREN - A bit rough around the edges regarding emotional intimacy. Don't get me wrong, he definitely will straight up tell you "I love you so much, y/n," -- he's not afraid of saying what he feels. However, because he isn't as reflective and insightful and calm as Armin is (Eren's a little more simple-minded), he isn't a guy who does fluffy stuff all the time. He's more about action and adventure -- always pulling you into the next great thing.

*NEEDS* you to be safe, and happy. He will only feel satisfied if you're doing okay. Man cares about you, more than anything else.

Oh .. oh, Eren is definitely very blunt, and stubborn. He sees things in his own way, and it's hard to convince him to back down on anything he's got his mind set to. However, the flip side of this, is that he is fiercely caring, and righteous. Will protect you at all costs, even for little things: Some as*hole at the grocery store cut you off in line and you almost fell to the ground? Eren has a hand on your back and waist, steadying you, before he storms up to the man with the DARKEST look of determined hatred. This man has ZERO chill. (and we love him for it).

You are the most important thing in the world to him. He loves you so intensely and passionately that you won't have a chance to ever doubt it.

Fluff 1) You and Eren like to go on walks/runs together. Sometimes you two have races. Eren always wins (the little b*tch--) or ends up slinging you across his shoulder while running, the biggest smile on both of your faces as you two enjoy the rush of being with each other, and life. Life with Eren is just so right, exciting, and full of good times.

Fluff 2) Just how many beautiful waterfalls have you seen with Eren? You've even hiked a purple-flower covered mountain with him! And you've both tried many wild fruits, from the strange oblong shaped ones to pretty yellow star shaped ones-- Usually you were the one to notice the fruit while Eren glanced giddily all around the forest canopy and ground. It was tradition that whenever you two discovered another fruit plant/tree, Eren opens up the Wild Fruits and Plants You Can Eat book, gifted to you by Armin ("So that Eren doesn't accidentally eat something poisonous.") Sometimes Eren is not as bouncy with energy when you two explore the world, and instead he will hold your hand as you two stroll casually, cuddling up on each other's warmth.

NSFW 1) Eren isn't afraid to just.. straight up ask you.. when he wants it. He will look you up and down, eyes full of hunger. "I want you. How 'bout you?" Whewwww. 😮‍💨

LEVI - ohh boy i have so much to say about this little dude...

Would go absolutely crazy and turn into a battle demon, if he saw the love of his life in danger. ...

If Levi somehow found the right somebody, and actually spent enough time with them to be in a relationship, he would NEED his partner to be safe. He will not risk losing you-- he won't. Not after Isabel and Farlan..not again. So if you're ever in danger, you will see an overpowered beast emerge from that man's body and soul.

Levi isn't the best at emotional intimacy, is very stiff when it comes to words of affirmation. He hadn't ever really thought about love. He never even thought he'd have the option to be safe physically, let alone be safe emotionally. --But when he does meet that person, they light up his life in ways that just stun him. They feel like a summer's glow. He will look 10 years younger with you by his side, will feel unprecedented relief whenever he goes back to you. Will scare all the cadets because he will have this stupid smile on his face whenever he sees you.

--But Levi is not used to being loved deeply. He wouldn't know what to DO with your love, and he'd definitely have trouble opening up and being vulnerable. Nonetheless, I do think he'd try; he has initiative to do well to you, and to give you everything he can give to you (starts off with him being your literal guardian demon, progresses into him becoming soft to you). It'd take time and effort for him to learn how to love you properly.

Fluff 1) In the beginning stages of your relationship, Levi would enjoy cleaning with you. He would find himself giving you commands to do more chores (with him).. because he -- wants to -- be with you -- so often??? (won't ever never admit this).

NSFW 1) Levi is a v*rgin. Yes. Yes he (most likely) is. He never met the right person before you, so he never had a chance/time to indulge in s*x. The first time you and Levi have s*x, Levi will have his mouth CLAMPED shut-- trying not to make a noise, trying to control his expressions of pleasure. You'll have to teach him/encourage him to just let go lol.

NSFW 2) Levi wanted to have s*x with you for so damn long cause he's soooo attracted to you, but he will not initiate it LOLLLL. He just doesn't know HOW to ask for that. You had to feel up on him and really let him know you wanted it (breathy whispers and requests), before he FINALLY took the reigns and pinned you against the wall, kissing you hard before taking you to the bedroom~~!!

Also, he's a fast learner. (Imagine with that what you will 🥵).

Fluff 3) & After you two finish, he will clean you up immediately. But after that he won't let you go. Will hold you in a hug for an eternity. Is addicted to your warmth and the love/care you two give to each other.

ARMIN - OH MY GOD NO BECAUSE - i'm so in love with this man - oKAYYY: Armin is a very thoughtful, perceptive, and practical lover. You would feel *so safe* around him, at ease, and like you can be your full self. He's very accepting.

Armin is also going to *look out for you.* He is insanely analytically accurate. He has a clear, reassuring, and gentle energy about him. You know that with Armin, you'll be protected from any new obstacle or harm's way.

You and Armin would see the world for fun. Armin is somebody who feels fascinated with exploring the world, and with learning. He'd probably want a partner who is brave. He'd probably want somebody whose actions or way of doing life, amaze him. He would be so f*cking blushy around you, stuttering and all, whenever you smile so brightly at him -- you're like the sun to him.

Armin *would die for you.* He practically died already, for Eren & the mission. Armin wouldn't hesitate to give himself up, because that's how deep and true his love is for you. (And you genuinely get mad at him for this... but neither of you will budge-- you'd both die for each other).

Fluff 1) You and Armin like to read together :'). Armin will have red blush dusted across his cheeks, and his eyes will be shining as he talks excitedly, imagining all the things the book talks about. You adore it.

Fluff 2) You tell Armin you had a rough day, and he will set up a bath for you. While you bathe in the dark with candles, Armin will be in the kitchen with stew or soup simmering on the stove, before he quietly leaves the house: He will personally scour the bookstore in order to find a book that he thinks will make you smile-- or a book you two will both enjoy reading together/discussing together. Literally this man is like light okay. When you come out from the shower he will be there with a fresh, steaming bowl of stew and a dessert he picked up from the store. You two will eat together and then read a book, cozily cuddling on the couch.. before things get s*xy.

NSFW 1) This man is a *PLEASURER* -- Everything will be gentle, but imbued with such strong love for YOU. Will worship your body. Armin will feel like the luckiest man alive. He sees all your goodness, admires you, and is huge on praising you. Also he moans a lot, even if it's just a soft one that escapes him. Not sorry.

NSFW 2) For my switches/d0ms: You care deeply for Armin, and you also want to see his face when he's a writhing mess-- Sometimes you'll tie him up, and he will... oh he will be so helpless and flustered. You will be giving him all the sensation and he will *love it so much.*

REINER - Somebody come get yo man TT!! Reiner is a f*cking sweet, really good guy. Would protect you and your children (if you have them)-- with EVERYTHING he has -- from difficult, unfair situations (like what he was put through). But, Reiner also probably would want somebody who is strong, because strength means you can protect yourself, and change the world -- Strength is a necessary trait for survival, and he is attracted towards people who are able to stay efficient and alive.

Reiner wants a morally beautiful/morally pure hearted partner. Definitely wants a good person (I mean... Him and Historia in Season, what was is, 2? --speaks for itself). AND I MEANNN Reiner has such a soft heart-- he literally cracked psychologically because he couldn't handle the trauma of being a double agent in a cruel world-- so his pure heart seeks out another pure heart <3

Reiner would ADORE relaxation time with you! He wants the soft fluff, and the soulful moments, like laying together under the stars-- being safe, peaceful, *free.* Reiner has had the burden of war and the Armored Titan like a boulder on his shoulders for ... as long as he can remember. When you're both cozied up together, hands interlaced under the big night sky, Reiner's heart will have bursted and melted all throughout his body. He hasn't ever felt freedom before-- until you. (don't mind me f*cking sobbing right now. he deserves the world!!)

Fluff 1) You and Reiner sometimes do typical, fluffy couple stuff, like go to parks and have picnics, or going to the aquarium, or baking together. Reiner loves the domestic life with you, and you will always catch him gazing dreamily at you, as if he's not sure you're really his. Are you actually right there in front of him? How did he get this lucky? ..Man short circuits a lot around you.

Will definitely be so caught up in his smittenness for you that when you drop the bread dough on the ground and start getting upset/sad, he will just be staring at you like o// //o, not even realizing what happened.

NSFW: I honestly haven't thought about this but I will update this post when I do have some accurate guess on what Reiner in the bedroom is like-- (you can comment if you wanna be tagged for when I do finish this post/ make part two)

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Don't forget to leave a like, or to comment/follow if you want!! Comment to be tagged in part 2! (Jean, Eld, Marco, Bertholt, Connie, Porco, Zeke, etc etc) Feel free to comment! I'd LOVE to hear y'all's thoughts on this post <3! Hope ur all okay.

[shakespeareanwannabe]

As You Wish, Chapter 1

Summary: When arriving at Camp Silver Star, Abby Floyd was anticipating a summer of adventure with an ocean separating her from the three people she loved most: her mom, her Uncle Bob and her Aunt Natasha. But after a run in with Charlie Seresin, an extremely familiar looking and irritating camper in a different cabin, her summer plans take a turn that neither girl ever could have expected.

Trigger Warnings: reader's children are described as being blond with green eyes because genetics are wild and Jake's genes are strong, reader is canonically Bob's sister, reader is described as having a tattoo and goes by Buttercup, verbal arguing, almost physical fighting, alcohol use, references to death and loss and mourning

Jake’s House, a few months after the Uranium Mission

When she had been invited to Miramar to visit her older brother, Robert Floyd, she had been given two ground rules. Follow all of Robby’s instructions so as to not get into trouble with the locals or the top brass. And do not fall for Hangman’s charms.

The first rule was easy. She was a rule follower by nature, allowing herself to be ruled by her brain and her built in sense of logic, so following Robby’s lead was easy. And she’d assumed that the second rule would be easy as well. Anyone named Hangman was not someone she was interested in getting to know, especially since her brother had told her almost a year ago that the man earned the nickname by always leaving his wingmen hanging as he chased the glory for himself. Though Robby had seemed to relax his personal views of Hangman after their latest top secret mission, he remained firm that he wasn’t going to allow his baby sister to become one of his co-worker’s (dare he say friend’s) conquests.

And yet, here she was, three months after she was supposed to leave to go back to New York, cuddled up on Hangman’s couch as they settled in for another movie night. So much for letting her brain rule and following her innate logic.

Her brain was mush and her logic had gone out the window the second he’d asked her to stay, and she knew it wouldn’t be coming back so long as he was tracing his long fingers up and down the length of her spine as she laid on his chest, her head slowly rising and falling as they watched her all time favourite movie.

She sighed happily as she felt his plush lips press into her hairline.

“What’re you thinkin’ about?” he whispered as two characters sword fought on screen.

“How happy I am,” she murmured into his chest. “And how lucky. I’m lucky I found you, lucky my job is letting me work remote, lucky to feel so happy.”

Jake pulled her closer, tangling their legs together beneath the light throw blanket that had been tossed over them. “I’m happy too,” he whispered, watching as the main character on screen was now struggling to fight a giant. “Even though I have zero idea what is happening in this movie,” he added with a chuckle.

“That’s because you’ve been too busy trying to cop a feel to pay attention to a seminal classic of our generation.”

“Can you blame me? You’re literally on top of me. No guy in his right mind is going to pass up that kind of opportunity.”

She giggled. “Well, try to focus because my favourite part is coming up.”

Jake pouted but agreed, watching as the man in black outwitted the smaller man, grabbed the princess, and took off running.

“This is your favourite part?” he chuckled as the man in black mocked the princess’s pain.

“Would you hush?” she clapped a hand over his mouth, then shrieked as he licked her palm. “You’re disgusting!” she giggled, wiping her hand down his shirt. “Ooh! This is it!” She turned her attention completely to the screen as the princess shoved her captor down a large hill.

“As…you…wish!” the man called as he tumbled head over heels, the princess following straight after him.

“There had to be an easier way to follow him down the hill,” Jake joked.

“Jake!” she whined, craning her head to look at him from her position against his chest. “She doesn’t care! Buttercup doesn’t feel any pain. Her Westley is alive, so she’s so happy she could fly! Now stop ruining it!”

“Alright, I’m sorry. Hey…” he pressed his lips to her forehead. “I’m sorry. Thank you for sharing this with me, Buttercup.”

She blinked, her head cocking to the side in an inquisitive display that made him melt. “Buttercup?”

“Yeah. You’re brave and clever and loyal, definitely stubborn, and I have no doubt that you’d push someone down a hill for insulting you if you knew you could get away with it. Plus…” he pressed a sweet kiss to her lips this time, grinning as she gasped lightly. “I’d definitely fight a determined Hispanic swordfighter, a giant, and a conniving Wallace Shawn to keep you safe.”

She giggled, resting her head back on his chest. “Buttercup…I kinda like that.”

Camp Silver Star, Now

Abby quickly settled into her cabin, a cozy wooden building with four sets of bunk beds and large windows that opened onto the woods that surrounded them. Her cabinmates were nice enough, not judging her for her slight British accent, though there were some questions as to why a child with family in the American military had a British accent. However, by the end of the first day as the eight girls shared stories and jokes about their lives. They had all been impressed when they found out that her mum was a famous author, most of the girls recognizing her mother’s penname from their own bookshelves back home, and even more impressed when they found out her uncle and aunt had flown with the near infamous Dagger Squad. Most of the girls in her cabin had family in the Navy, so they were at least semi familiar with stories of the defunct but elite squad of fighter pilots. Her mum had been right, in a way. Being around other children who had family in the military (whether they were currently serving or retired, like her aunt and uncle) was a bonding experience. Plus, it helped that she genuinely liked the other girls. They were friendly and two of them, her bunkmate Isabelle and her friend Max, even wanted to be fighter pilots, just like her.

Abby could feel the sting of homesickness fade with every day that passed. She filed things away in her brain, stories that she wanted to share with her mum when she was able to call her on Phone Home Fridays, activities she wanted to continue once she was back home, jokes she wanted to tell her aunt to see if she could earn a rare smile. She even planned on begging Penny, the owner of the camp, for some of her recipes to take home, because the food was absolutely delicious.

Abby sniffed as the scent of maple and salt hit her nose as the door to the dining cabin was thrown open and her troop strolled inside for breakfast on the first Friday of her visit to camp. Pancakes were apparently a Friday morning tradition at Camp Silver Star, and Abby could feel herself salivating at the very thought. She was about to make a beeline for the breakfast counter when she heard a voice calling her name.

“Abby!” Max pouted. “My braid came undone. Can you help?”

Abby rolled her eyes fondly. Max had extremely curly hair and always complained about it getting in her eyes when they were doing activities, so Abby had started braiding it for her.

“Yes,” she called back, eyeing the long line of campers jealously as she turned her back on the table laden with all her breakfast favourites, just missing a young camper rushing behind her to bypass the line and go straight to the woman manning the tongs.

“Hey Amelia, does the fruit salad have cantaloupe in it? Because I’m allergic,” Charlie stated, holding out her bowl of fruit salad. She’d been so distracted by the delicious smells and the juicy gossip she was sharing with her friends that she had totally missed that very crucial detail.

“Oh shoot! Yeah, it does. Sorry, Charlie. I’ll talk to the cooks about leaving cantaloupe out of the fruit salad. You and another camper are allergic, so that really can’t be happening.”

“Thanks, Amelia. I appreciate it.”

“Yeah, and I’ll appreciate not getting yelled at by your dad for letting you go into anaphylactic shock,” Amelia winked and Charlie grinned. She’d known Amelia just as long as she’d known Penny, given that Amelia was Penny’s daughter and she’d been present for all visits and memorials for her stepdad.

“Don’t worry. Your mom still scares him, so he wouldn’t yell. Too much.”

Amelia rolled her eyes playfully. “Thank god for small miracles.”

Charlie waved and walked over to her cabin’s table, not paying any attention to the camper who had just sidled up to the breakfast table.

“Good morning,” Abby chirped happily as Amelia turned away from her to grab a plate. “I have a quick question about your fruit salad, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure, kiddo. What’s up?”

“Would there happen to be cantaloupe in your fruit salad? I’m unfortunately allergic.”

Amelia’s brow furrowed as she turned back to face the camper. “I already to — oh!” She blinked as though she was trying to erase a sudden case of double vision. “Oh. A-Abigail, right?” When the camper nodded at her, she giggled nervously. “Yeah. Abigail. Hi. Hi. I’m—I’m Amelia. W-we know about your allergy. You a-and another student—I mean—camper have the same allergy. I…I’m gonna go talk to the cooks right now and make sure they know not to put any more cantaloupe in the fruit salad. Okay?” Amelia rambled, backing up and almost bumping into a cook bringing out a hot tray of bacon. “Oops! Sorry, Ralph! Can you take over for me for a quick second? Thank you!”

Abby was left scratching her head, wondering why the breakfast lady was so jumpy, and particularly curious as to why she could be heard running towards the main office screaming, “MOM!”

Abby and her cabin had spent the morning in the flight simulator, which had only served to cement her desire to be a Navy aviator like her aunt and uncle. She couldn’t wait until later that afternoon, when she could use the computers to video chat with her family back home and tell them all about how she had almost made it to the end of the program without crashing once. Until then, her cabin, Cabin 4, was scheduled with Cabin 7 for horseback riding. And while Abby was an accomplished English rider, she would much rather be joining the queue at the computer building. But, since she couldn’t skip the activity, she lined up with the rest of her cabinmates along the wooden fence that sectioned off the riding ring.

A girl inside the ring was just finishing up her turn on a small course of jumps that had been set up at the opposite end of the ring.

“Way to go, Charlie!” the riding instructor called as the girl, riding a large palomino, trotted back to the entrance of the ring.

“No sweat,” the girl, Charlie, shrugged as she dismounted with ease and patted the horse’s neck. “Champ’s a sweetheart, and that course is nothing compared to the one back home.”

The instructor, Karen, rolled her eyes playfully. “Yes, we shouldn’t expect anything less from the ranch girl from Texas. Would anyone like to try to top Charlie’s time?” she called, looking down the line at the rest of the campers.

“I’ll give it a go,” Abby volunteered, adjusting her helmet and leading her horse, Rosita, towards the gate. “I’m a pretty decent rider.”

“I’m not sure ‘pretty decent’ is going to cut it, but suit yourself,” Charlie retorted as she passed.

“Charlie, be nice!” Karen barked, her eyes scanning over Rosita’s tack to make sure it was properly fitted.

“Sorry, Karen,” Charlie replied in a tone that suggested to Abby that the apology was less than sincere.

Abby rolled her eyes and mounted up, patting Rosita’s chestnut hide as she settled into the saddle.

“Don’t let Charlie get to you, okay?” Karen murmured, tightening the girth of Rosita’s saddle. “She’s a nice kid, just a little…”

“Ostentatious?” 

Karen stifled a smile. “You all set?”

Abby nodded, gathering her reins and clicking her tongue. “I’ve got this.”

Charlie smirked as the other camper started off at a trot, but that smirk slowly faded as she and the horse started going through the course with ease, clearing the jumps and obstacles with greater ease than she and Champ had. She was left to scoff as the pair cleared the last jump with ease and cantered back to the starting line, the kids from Cabin 4 cheering her on as Karen announced that she had beat her time by one and a half seconds.

“It’s alright, Charlie. You’ll get her next time,” assured Ryann, her bunkmate, as they led their horses back to the stables to groom them and bed them down for the night.

“It’s probably because she was riding English style,” Charlie grumped. “Everyone knows its easier to jump in English style.”

“That’s not true and you know it,” a posh voice sounded behind them, and Charlie rolled her eyes.

“How would you know? Have you ever tried to ride Western?” Charlie challenged, stepping closer. The girl didn’t back down, clipping her horse onto the tether outside the stall and stepping up to her.

“No. Have you ever tried riding English?”

“No, but—”

“Then you can’t claim that one is easier than the other, can you?”

The other girls from Cabin 4 laughed, and Charlie felt her blood boil. She hated being laughed at. It happened enough at her school back home and she absolutely despised it.

“Yeah, well English riders are usually stuck up rich kids anyway. How much did your mommy and daddy spend to teach you how to ride like that?” she snapped, feeling her face flush with anger and envy.

Abby felt tears pool in her eyes. “I…I mean…”

“Why are the horses just standing around, not being groomed?” Karen questioned as she strolled in from the office, taking in the stiffness between the two girls and the heaviness in the air.

“I…it’s nothing, Karen,” Abby murmured, taking her helmet off and pulling her hair out of its low bun.

“Yeah. We’re fine,” Charlie added on, removing her helmet and allowing her blond hair to cascade over her shoulders, ignoring the gasp of surprise from those around her.

Charlie turned to put her helmet on the shelf at the same time as Abby, their eyes locking with hurt and anger glimmering beneath the matching green seas.

Abby’s eyes blinked in shock and Charlie schooled her features.

“What are you looking at?” she muttered.

“I…I mean, we…”

“You two are practically identical!” Ryann screeched, the horses nickering in surprise.

“You’re dreaming, Ry,” Charlie stepped around her and started brushing down Champ.

“I agree with her,” Abby stated, stepping up to Champ’s other side and meeting her eyes. “If you take away a few cosmetic differences, we look the exact same.”

Charlie shook her head. “You’re imagining things. Or you need to get your eyes checked.”

Abby scoffed and crossed her arms. “I have perfect vision, I’ll have you know. And I’m not imagining things.”

“Well, I think you are!” Charlie dug her heels in. “There’s no way I look like someone as snooty as you!”

Abby crossed her arms. “Well, I don’t particularly want to look like a cornfed hick either, but at least I’m not delusional and denying the situation.”

“What did you just call me?”

“Girls, girls!” Karen appeared at Champ’s head, soothing the now nervous horse. “Take a walk. Both of you. Cool off before you call home. And I don’t want to hear any more negative talk like that. Not in my stables.”

An echo of “yes Karen” bounced off the walls as the girls glared at each other and stalked off with their cabinmates, each set of girls trying to calm down the green eyed blond in their midst.

“Ugh, dad! But you promised!”

Charlie glared at the pixelated likeness of her father’s face. Normally, she would’ve been thrilled to see her dad. He had a kind face that let Charlie know that, even when he was mad or tired or frustrated, he loved her, the crow’s feet at his eyes and the dimples in his cheeks appearing every time he smiled at her. They appeared now as he grinned at her through the computer screen.

“I know I did. But I’m still saying no. And that’s because the only complaint I’ve heard is about this girl,” Jake Seresin chuckled. “Otherwise, you seem to be having a great time. And I know Penny is taking good care of you.”

“Well, yeah…” Charlie muttered. “But she called me a cornfed hick!” She purposefully left out the argument they had about possibly looking alike, because Charlie knew it was not the truth.

“Only after you called her snooty, punk,” Jake shook his head. “I know I’ve taught you not to dish it out if you can’t take it.”

“I know, but…but she’s so infuriating!” Charlie moaned as she sat back in her seat.

“You want me to come down there and handle it, Charlie?” a voice called as a moustachioed man in a Hawaiian shirt crowded into the screen.

“You are not going out there to handle an 11-year-old, dude,” another man appeared on the call.

“It’s fine, Uncle Roo,” Charlie giggled. “Listen to Uncle Javy.”

“Yeah, Uncle Roo, listen to Uncle Javy and get out of here,” Jake parroted, glaring at his best friend.

“Hey, don’t put words in my mouth,” Javy ‘Coyote’ Machado countered, leaning further into view. “You’ve just got to find something you’re better at than her and beat her at it. That’ll teach her.”

“Yeah!” Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw crowed, leaning in on the other side, completely blocking Jake from view. “I’m sure you could hustle her in darts! You and your dad have been beating us since you were big enough to handle sharp objects!”

“Alright, alright, enough!” Jake shoved his way through the two other men and glared at them. “Would you mind giving me a moment alone with my daughter?”

Charlie giggled as her uncles blinked at her, then at her dad, before muttering about rudeness and walking away, waving at her as they clicked the door shut in the distance.

“Sorry about those animals,” Jake joked but Charlie shook her head.

“No, it’s okay. I missed them too.”

“Ah. I see how it is,” he pouted.

“Oh, c’mon, dad. You know I miss you most.”

Jake smiled softly, gazing softly at his little girl. “Yeah, I miss you most too.” He sighed. “Listen, kiddo, I…I wanted to tell you something. I—”

“Alright, girls!” Penny called. “Time to switch and let the next batch of girls have their turn.

“Maybe you can tell me next week?” Charlie suggested as she prepared to log off, her heart panging at the thought of not seeing her dad for another week, but the lack of communication was supposed to simulate not always being able to talk to your family while you’re overseas. Plus, it made things equitable for those who had parents in the military, because they wouldn’t have to hear their cabinmates talking about frequent talks with their folks.

Jake nodded with a sigh. “Yeah, I guess so. Hey, punk?”

“Yeah, dad?”

He grinned. “I love you lots.”

“I love you lots too,” she murmured, feeling herself choke up at the pang of homesickness she felt. “I’ll see you next week, okay?”

“Okay, kiddo. Bye.”

Charlie blinked at the black screen before slowly standing up and walking away, only pausing to glare at Abby as she strolled by and sat in the same cubicle she had just been using.

Her uncles were right. When the time came, she would whoop that prissy girl’s butt in darts, just like her daddy had taught her.

“But mum!” Her Aunt Natasha smothered a chuckle at Abby’s affronted tone. “You and Uncle Bob promised!”

Her mother sighed, pressing her fingers into her eyelids. “I know, love. I’m sorry. But having a small spat with another camper doesn’t mean your uncle can drop everything and come to get you. I’m sorry.”

“But…but…”

“What’s this about, kiddo?” Natasha ‘Phoenix’ Trace asked from her position next to Abby’s mother. “I know you, you don’t quit on something just because some little bit-ter girl gave you grief.”

Abby giggled weakly at her aunt’s poor attempt at covering the near curse.

“What is it, darling?” her mum leaned closer, close enough for Abby to make out the small buttercup flower tattoo on her clavicle where it peeked out from her neckline. She had seen that tattoo her entire life and it always brought her comfort. She knew from experience that it was the reason her aunt and uncle always called her mum Buttercup.

“She said that I was prissy and snooty and that my mommy and daddy must’ve paid a lot of money for me to be able to ride like I do,” she almost whispered, but she knew from the pain in her mother’s eyes that she had heard her.

“Oh, baby, I…”

“Yeah, no, I was right the first time. What a little bit—”

“Nat!” Buttercup cried, whipping her head around to stare at her best friend. “Not helping!”

“What? You want me to just sit here while someone insults our girl?”

“Yes, I want you to sit there and let me handle it!”

Nat rolled her eyes and stood, half disappearing from frame. “Well, in that case, I’m just gonna go. Bye, kiddo.”

“Bye Auntie Nat,” Abby called at her aunt’s retreating back.

Buttercup sighed again, rubbing her eyes. “Sorry, baby. I know that talking about your father is a sensitive subject—”

“Yes, because I don’t know anything about him!”

“I…I know,” Buttercup murmured, leaning in closer to the screen. “And I know we should’ve had a conversation about him a long time ago, but…”

Abby’s shoulders heaved and she leaned in close too. “I know. I’m sorry, mum.”

Buttercup smiled softly. “My sweet girl…you have nothing to be sorry about. I…I’ll tell you what. We’ll have a girl’s day when you get back and we’ll have that conversation.”

“You promise?”

“I swear.”

“Thank you, mum.”

Buttercup smiled at her through the screen. “You shouldn’t have to thank me for having a much-needed conversation with my growing daughter. And in the meantime, please just ignore this girl. I’m afraid that engaging in more competition with this girl will escalate the situation beyond either of your control.”

“But mum!”

“Just ignore her. She’s probably taking something wrong in her life out on you.”

“So, you want me to be the bigger person?”

“I know it’s not fair, but yes. I know you have the same competitive spirit as your uncle and Nat, and that you need that competitive spirit to make it at the Naval Academy and at Top Gun, but right now you’re just a kid. So, please, just let it go.”

“Mum, I—”

“Alright, girls! Say goodbye and let the next group have a chance!” Penny called.

“Abby, promise me.”

“Bye mum! Love you!”

Buttercup sighed before smiling. “I love you too, sweetheart. Take care.”

Abby smiled, feeling a small pang of loneliness as she looked at her mother’s kind face. “I’ll see you soon, mum,” she murmured before closing the tab and sighing. She had been feeling so much better about being away from home, but seeing her mother’s face made the longing for home rush back. Home was her mom, her uncle, and her Aunt Nat, where everyone understood her and nobody questioned her small, odd family. Home was not Camp Silver Star, where a girl who looked just like her gave her attitude and made her think about a huge part of her life that was missing.

“Sorry, mum,” she whispered to herself. She loved her mom and often took her advice, but not this time. She could not in good conscience just ignore this girl. That’s not how she operated. So she would find a way to put this Charlie girl in her place, whether her mother liked it or not.

While the other campers were making their phone calls home, the kids who had already made their calls or were waiting to call got to hang out in the games cabin. It was full of a mix of old and new arcade games, an air hockey table, board games, a couple of pool tables, and a dart board.

When Abby arrived at the games cabin, she immediately spotted Charlie and her friends standing at the dart board and an idea sparked in Abby’s brain. She was decent at darts, her aunt and uncle had made sure of it, and she was good at bluffing. Perhaps this was something that she could beat Charlie at.

Rolling her shoulders back, she strode over to the small group of girls and cleared her throat.

“I’ll play winner,�� she declared, staring Charlie down.

The other blond smirked and nodded. “Done deal,” she chuckled and threw a dart, not daring to break eye contact.

Abby turned at the sound of cheers and gasps, and saw the dart sticking directly in the bullseye, her heart sinking at the sight. She was, in fact, decent at darts, but clearly Charlie was more than decent. This would be more difficult than she thought.

“And that—” Charlie let the dart fly and smirked in triumph. “Is game.”

Abby sighed but something occurred to her as Charlie’s friends surrounded her for a congratulatory hug.

“I guess that makes us tied!” she called over the din, causing it to silence immediately as Charlie turned to her.

“What are you talking about? I beat you.”

“Yeah,” Abby agreed. “At darts. But I beat you in the riding ring. So that makes us tied.”

Charlie rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t count. I beat you fair and square.”

“If you insist…I suppose that means you’re too scared to face me at billiards.”

Charlie froze, a scowl marring her eerily familiar features. “I’m not scared.”

“Prove it,” Abby stepped up to her, gesturing to one of the empty pool tables. “Winner can even break.”

“Fine,” Charlie muttered through gritted teeth. At least she knew she was a champ at pool too. She had been playing with her dad and uncles since she was tall enough to reach the tabletop. However, she gulped as she watched Abby expertly rack the balls and chalk her cue, maybe it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Eight ball, corner pocket!” Abby crowed as the ball sunk neatly into the net.

Charlie groaned, leaning on her pool cue. They had been pretty evenly matched up until one of Charlie’s stripes had ricocheted wrong and sunk one of Abby’s solids. After that, Abby had proceeded to sink every one of her balls neatly, ending with the solid black eight ball. Charlie had never seen anything like it, not even when her dad was playing against Javy and Rooster.

Abby approached her, her hand outstretched with a small, taunting grin gracing her face. “Good match. I believe that makes us 2-1.”

Charlie smacked her hand away as a bolt of frustration tore through her. “I told you! Your little stunt while riding didn’t count! Besides, even if it did count, Rosita did all the hard work anyway!”

“Then I suppose it was Champ who did all the hard work while you were riding the course!”

“That’s not true and you know it! I’ve spent my entire life on the back of a horse! You’re only a half decent rider because your mommy and daddy paid for you to be.”

Abby fought back the tears that almost always automatically pooled in her eyes at the mention of her parents. “Stop. Saying. That. You don’t know the first thing about me!”

“Or. What? You gonna sic your mommy and daddy on me?”

The two girls were nose to nose, their friends and fellow campers huddled around them in a circle, anxious to see exactly what was going to happen.

“Ahh!” Abby’s cry was sharp and painfilled as she pushed Charlie away from her, but Charlie had been working on her father’s ranch since before she could walk and she wasn’t so easily swayed.

“That’s it!” She grabbed for Abby, but before she could make contact, she felt a firm hand grip her arm and looked up to see Penny standing above them, holding the two of them apart as her nostrils flared.

“I will not tolerate any fighting in this camp,” she stated stonily, glaring between Charlie and Abby. “And from what I’ve heard, the two of you have been at each other’s throats all day.”

“W-what are you going to do with us?” Abby murmured, her eyes heavy with fear.

“Send us home?” Charlie tacked on hopefully.

Penny sighed heavily. “No. The two of you will be assisting with extra chores around the camp instead of participating in group activities for two weeks. And…you will be removed from your cabins and placed into a smaller cabin. Together.”

Charlie gasped. “You can’t—”

“And you will be there for the rest of your stay. Together. Amelia will come get you for your meals and escort you to the dining hall, where you will be allowed to sit with your friends. Other than that, you will be living together, cleaning together, and working together until you two can figure out how to get along.”

“Mrs. Mitchell—”

“Aunt Penny—”

“My decision is final. You have ten minutes to grab all your belongings and to meet me by the trail head. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Mrs. Mitchell.”

“Yes, Aunt Penny.”

“Good. You are dismissed.”

Penny sighed as she sat at her desk, her small office only lit by her desk lamp and the faint hint of moonlight trickling in from the window. It had been a long day. Between Amelia hunting her down and explaining that there were a pair of doppelgängers at camp, Karen’s report about a verbal altercation during riding practice, and one of her younger campers running to tell her about two girls getting into an argument in the games cabin, she knew she deserved the small glass of whiskey she was currently sipping on. The campers were safe, the security systems were set, and Amelia had opted to sleep close to the smaller cabin where her two problem campers were now housed, claiming that she’d be able to step in before any blood was shed if the two girls went at it again.

Penny sighed again, rolling her neck before looking at the photo frame she had on her desk.  

“I don’t know, Mav,” she whispered to the portrait of her late husband, dressed in his military whites as he waited for her to come down the aisle. “Maybe inviting Charlie and Abby here at the same time was a mistake.” She laughed quietly before taking another sip of her drink. “I know, I know. You would’ve wanted me to invite them the second I opened this place, but I wanted to have a year or two experience before I tried to do…this.” She shook her head. “They’re just so angry at each other. And at themselves. God, they remind me so much of Amelia after I split from her dad. But at least she was old enough to understand. And I wasn’t hiding a whole sibling from her either.” Penny drained her glass and leaned in close to the picture. “I know. You’re right. It’s my duty to try to fix this…the way you wanted to before you died.” Penny sighed shakily and wiped her eyes. “I miss you, Mav. I know you would’ve known how to bring Charlie and Abby together if you were here. I’ll do my best. I love you.”

With that, Penny pressed a light kiss to the glass of the frame, thousands of lip prints providing proof of her nightly ritual, and stood to stretch before heading off to bed, her head swimming with different ideas on how to bring the two girls together.  

—————————-

Tags List: @mamachasesmayhem, @jessicab1991 @waltermis @buckysteveloki-me @allepaula @yuckosworld @seresinsbrat @ahopelessromanticwritersworld @kim-stark @cierra715 @high-speed-r @helpmepleasethanks @starsrfun @tomanyfandomstrash @averyhotchner @the-blueatlas @princessliz86 @dashes-dizzydisaster @a-girl-who-loves-disney @boiolay @djs8891 @torimcc @tgmreader @kmc1989 @landpiranha-blog @sydthekid1518 @lynnevanss @hello7442 @mackenzieblair @minejungwoo @starset21 @ssa-sadboi @tgmavericklover @dempy @rockbottomphilosophies-blog @lovemarvelousfics, @starkleila, @magical-spit, @whatislovevavy, @simplyreading96, @vivalas-vega

[scarletsky153]

that one crack fic

thinking about writing a jjk crack fic in which nobara, yuuji (and sukuna) and megumi are satoru-suguru-shoko's senpai and the trio (plus sukuna!) are the reason why yaga-sensei shaved his hair (from stress!!)

(a bit backstory)

nobara's backstory was mostly the same, and also because she has sukuna as her reluctant mentor she was even more unhinge and crazy and definitely can keep up with yuuji and megumi during their shenaningas.

yuuji ate sukuna's finger(s) when he's way smaller, like probably six or seven, so sukuna has YEARS of dealing with humanity (thank god for uraume). during those years, itadori jin was also still alive and well (even tho kaori/kenjaku already gone their way outta their lives) so sukuna, recognizing jin's soul as his twin brother, reluctantly becoming yuuji's babysitter. when the sorcerers found out that sukuna was finally reincarnated around yuuji's 14th birthday, they met with deadpanned but deadly 'fuck around and find out' stare from sukuna bcs "i was here for years already, i have zero patience to deal with you fools because i have to deal with them (yuuji, jin, and wasuke)' shenanigans" which yeah, fine, no one can challenge sukuna anyway so they pressure yuuji into attending jujutsu high while also consuming sukuna's fingers as long as he didn't go on rampage and killing everyone.

megumi on the other hand,,, mamagumi was still alive and well, she's actually from a minor jujutsu clan and so when megumi show his ten shadows technique toji decided the safest way is to strongarmed himself into becoming zen'in clan's head (or at least kill the current clan elders) and pressure them into making megumi the clan heir. toji already got the reputation of being the Sorcerer Killer even tho most of his kills are curse user. megumi's strenght definitely came from toji but mamagumi is where he got his steel of spine. so for nearly a decade, the zen'in family closed their family home and had some 'modernization' and that's why megumi barely knew satoru (despite the latter being gojo's clan heir).

during nobara-yuuji-megumi's first year (with yuta-maki-toge-panda as their second year senpais and hakari-kirara as their third year senpais!) they definitely gave yaga headache bcs the three got the nastiest luck and their missions mostly got derailed in the weirdest way. but the higher ups never really messed them bcs sukuna, after finding all of his fingers and thus got his own body at the end of the trio's first year, are very (reluctantly) protective of them.

when they got to second year, they never met satoru-shoko-suguru at the beginning bcs just a few days before the year started they somehow got derailed into another universe (and went universes-hopping and getting into crazy shenanigans!). the only reason why yaga (and kusakabe as their second year sensei) didn't fret is because uraume and tengen reassure them that the trio and sukuna are fine, but probably causing chaos in another universes.

shoko, as someone from a minor clan, has heard all of the gossip about their absent senpais but she didn't really pay attention to them because she thought they're too wild to be true (but mostly true). suguru, as someone from a mundane family, didn't know what to think about their absent senpais because he can accept the existence of curses and curse energy but surely universe-hopping are too crazy and science-fiction? satoru on the other hand, very much envy his senpais because he want to go on an adventure to a different universe too! also he's curious about their strength because from what he heard from the rumor mill, the three senpais are strong, tho definitely not the strongest like him.

(the sashisu trio already met their third year senpais, and for satoru it was a bewildering experience bcs what do you mean the timid okkotsu yuta is a special grade?? wait he's my distant relative?! maki zen'in didn't have curse energy and can't see curses?! but she's strong as fuck, yeah definitely trained by the Sorcerer Killer himself. a very good influence for shoko tho, and suguru def hit it off with yuta and they have some tea every once in a while like old men)

the trio plus sukuna finally come back just before the kyoto-tokyo goodwill events, which also how sashisu met the first year arata nitta, the second year kokichi muta, kasumi miwa, and noritoshi kamo, the third year mai zenin, momo nishimiya, and aoi todo aka yuuji's so called brother. the fourth years student, utahime and mei mei, even tho they can't participate they still come and meet the other students and hanging out with hikari and kirara as the other fourth years.

on day one of the event, a portal opened up on the school's ground when the others are already gathered around. shocked, they stand guard and got ready to attack but a few seconds later a familiar shout was heard and those who were familiar with the voice relaxed. nue flew in, nobara on her back, while they can see yuuji ran closer to the portal with megumi on his shoulder.

nobara : "faster guys, the portal brought us home!"

sukuna from a distance : "fucking finally!"

megumi : "sukuna, stop fighting them and come here quickly before the portal get closed!"

the other people stand still in shock, yuuji and megumi finally come through the portal, with sukuna suddenly appear behind them and push them quickly, making them tumble down with nobara too.

nobara : "thank god for tengen-sama because we're finally home!"

sukuna : "i'm fucking done with you brats, don't bother me for the next three years or there will be blood!"

yuuji, oblivious to how others see them : "no way! you told us you're gonna teach us the healing thing after we got home!"

yaga, done with everything : "so you finally back, huh?!"

yaga then scolded them in front of the others, while sashisu who just met them and still feel very shocked about everything can only just watch as their senpais, who looked very different and more mature than from the pictures, being scolded by their teacher while the being with huge pressure that can only be sukuna crossed all of his four arms and growled at everyone.

because of this very shocking event, the opening of the goodwill event got pushed for a day so the second year trio can rest a bit. they chatted instead, bringing sukuna into the fold too.

todo : "brother, what happened to your face?!"

maki : "kugisaki, what happened to your eyes?!"

satoru : "heyyy heard you're really sukuna the king of curses, how about we fight for a bit to see who's stronger?!"

sukuna, laughing meanly : "ah, you six eyes users are all the same even after a thousand years. yeah no, brat, ask me again when your power get more mature."

so satoru very much determined to fight sukuna, tried and failed to flirt with megumi bcs he's very much taken by yuuji and nobara, tried to flirt with sukuna instead but got flat out no because "you're still underage, what the fuck?!" while suguru laugh meanly at him at every rejection but also sadly weep himself while satoru and shoko laugh bcs he got rejected by mai zen'in. shoko instead mooned over her very much amazing and beautiful and strong senpais aka maki and nobara, and the girls taught shoko everything they knew.

when nanami and yuu start at jujutsu high, sashisu are more stable mentally bcs their senpais influence, and also crazier bcs they're not afraid of a lot of shits especially after sukuna got attach to them and reluctantly help them with a lot of shits.

in the end, yuu didn't die, suguru didn't defected, and satoru wasn't burdened by the title of the strongest alone but instead got a lot of comrades around him that also share his vision of a better jujutsu society. there's more chaos and even more universe-traveling shenanigans but this timeline is probs ended up better than other universe they visited.

--

(there's still a lot of shits i wanna write about them but maybe someday.......)

[mintytealfox]

If the Da Capo cast were a dnd adventuring party?

👀👀

AWWWW HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECK YEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

MKAY MKAY HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Norton: (closet)Sorcerer/Rogue //Half-Elf (the elf half being Drow)

Was born with an affinity for magic but was constantly told to suppress it and hide it. Being taught that magic is BAD, EVIL even, and was treated like this cursed child (His parents tried to protect him but his parents were killed cause of people trying to remove 'the devil child' from their village) ((There was already some stigma against them with Norton's father and family friend Benny being escaped Drow from the Under-Dark)) Benny was able to escape the village with a young Norton ((around 8 years old by this point, (he had magic that reacted to danger as an explosion to protect Norton but this of course sending the village into a riot)). He ends up hiding away his magic deep within himself and took to the shadows for survival as an apprentice to Benny.

Benny puts together a thieves guild, that Norton grows up in and preferring to work alone and do his own thing, much to Benny's frustration.

He ends up jumping at the opportunity when he gets a letter to join an adventuring party. Finally able to escape his current life and wanting to travel.

Norton never uses magic, even when lives are on the line, UNTIL he allows himself to bond with the members of this Da Capo Adventuring Group and ends up caring so much that he cannot hold his magic back from protecting them.

I went the Half-Elf//Drow route cause that further shows how Norton doesn't particularly belong to one place or another, he just exists as this rarity alone. ;; Doesn't belong underground, doesn't belong above ground, doesn't really have a place to call home with his parents gone, the one tether he had.

--------

Frederick: Bard/Fighter //Elf (High Elf to be specific)

So Frederick is a bard in name, but in practice? He has zero magic, absolutely ZERO ability to use magic, which peeves him off. So he is literally just a musician and composer and has to rely on physical weapons to protect himself. Like using his mandolin as a literal club in melee situations PFFF He can usually be found with his guns though. Like every pocket and bag that he has, there is a gun of some sort in there PFF

He came from a family of magic users so his complete and utter lack of magic ability was like a stain on the family name and he had to be hidden away from sight all his life. So he turned to music in hopes that he could become a bard and have access to magic through music but even that didn't work. He ended up keeping up with the music as it provided peace and comfort and extra cash when he would sneak out into town.

Along with learning music he also spent all those left over hours constantly working on his aim and and enjoying the loud BANGs that his gun provided. So he is significantly skilled marksman. So he could technically be a ranger, but I thought a fighter fit best cause its just him and whatever he can turn in to a weapon.

Always Wanting to find a way to access magic, so he won't have to be hidden away by his family anymore, he accepts the invitation to join this party.

High-Elf because of his family's vibe. Well to do, cream of society. All that jazz.

---------

Melly: Druid //Drow

I feel like this one is a given lol But she escaped the Under-Dark after being banished for her 'crimes' she was simply protecting herself. It was hell down there anyway so it was a win-win for her.

The first people who are kind to her end up being particular druids from a special grove that was more open to teach and share their beliefs and practices unconditionally. She ends up appreciated the wild life and insects of the surface world, like she did in the under dark. The creatures of the under dark were her only true allies when she lived down there, so she was glad to find she could have that companionship up here as well. Then with the training she received, she could now become these creatures.

She isn't particularly fond of spiders due to the connection to Lolth, but she will gladly turn into one if that means she can freak out Norton LOL

When she gets the letter to join an Adventuring party she is extremely confused lol cause who even knows her?? But when she reads the fine print her eyes widen, because by this point she is being hunted by those who had banished her, after hearing she is thriving they decide that banishment wasn't a punishment for her and now seek to kill her (she finds this out after finding the grove that took her in destroyed). So, agreeing to go with this party, she was promised that the hunt for her will end and she can finally live in peace.

I am not sure why I went with Drow but I felt like it fit her for some reason, and why she would always be wearing a veil due to the sun being so darn bright and seeking to hide that she is in fact a Drow.

--------

Orpheus: Cleric/Warlock //Human

I think its interesting my brain went this direction, but the idea that he is OBSESSED with his deity 'the Nightingale' (that no one has ever heard of 👀) It isn't until much later that he will realize that he isn't serving his goddess (which is what he believes happened to Alice, that she didn't die after the raid, but actually became divine! and he has vowed to always serve her), but he is actually serving a Great Old One pretending to be 'His Nightingale'. Playing with Orpheus's fantasies and stories, making them 'real' for him.

Orpheus constantly following the whisperings of his believed deity, puts together this group of individuals that the Old One prompts him to reach out to, that these are the people needed to go about this 'great' task so they all can achieve their greatest wishes.

Human? just because, honestly lol He is just some dude that causes way too many problems for being 'just some dude' PFF

--------

Alice: Ranger //Human Werewolf

When Alice narrowly escaped the raids that destroyed her home city and family. she was taken by a wizard that knew no one would miss her since they are all gone. He did experiments on her for years. She ended up being his favorite subject due to her high vitality levels. So he was cautious to keep her alive for as long as possible. Leaving the potentially deadly experiments on others.

One day the wizard brings a werewolf to the lab and Alice finds a fast friend in him. They begin quietly plotting how to get him out which led to a plan to 'accidently' leave the chains loose on a full moon night. He breaks out and in his rabid craze he takes out the wizard and every other living thing in the place except for Alice. He just stares at her, for an uncomfortable amount of time as Alice is pressed up into a corner unsure of what is about to happen. He sniffs at her, then meticulously gives her a wound, across her chest just under her collarbones, just big enough for her to contract lycanthropy. Then he runs off to find his freedom, leaving Alice stun locked and mortified what he just did to her. Was this his idea of a gift??

Alice ends up living in the wilderness and exploring the world, leading her to be a Ranger. Able to live off the land, hunt, track, and comradery with animals that assist her. And of course, to stay out of the way of most humanoids as to not put them in harms way when the full moon comes. ;;

Alice ends up joining the Adventure Party because of her curiosity, and the promise of having her 'Curse' lifted (the Old One didn't specify to Orpheus what the curse was pff) But Alice would do just about anything to get this lycanthropy lifted so she can explore civilization and live in towns and cities without worry.

Human because of where her and Orpheus were from.

[hallwords]

okay here's my wips lesgo

this is extremely half assed got home from work hours ago but still psychotically deceased. am laying on grass as i type. note that i am allergic to grass (<- smart way to get me to write faster)

anyway

...

Sister, Sister. Brother, Brother. An exploration of grief and delusion featuring the lesser half of twin siblings.

F*cking Time. Man acquires creepy magic child seconds after said creepy magic child murdered him in cold blood, is extremely unimpressed. Owned by @canadjester, am co-writing.

End With One (Never Zero). Terminal insomniac gets kidnapped by an aggressively delusional twelve-year-old and bullied into saving the world. Co-writer: @canadjester.

To Rise a Fallen Angel. Child tragically left unsacrificed, has to go on a wild goose chase instead with other unsacrificed child (dying may have been better). Owned by @canadjester, am co-writing with another off-site writer.

A Good Story. The Isekai protagonist of the most unnecessarily complicated and stereotypical novel can hear his narrator—and dear God is she a little bitch. Owned by @canadjester, am co-writing.

Working Title #361. Lucy Reyes thought her best friend wouldn't've been the type to publish an Isekai high fantasy gay erotica novel. Well, she's right. The notebook he left behind detailing the adventures of one very horny man aren't a part of his three hundred thirty-something novels-in-progress. It's a journal.

Did Fate Say So? Guy is told he is to be nothing but the bane of evil once he is of age. To this, he says, "Lmao, no," and promptly dedicates the rest of his life to being so good that he even refuses to step on ants.

Stop a Beating Heart. Chosen one sees the world on fire. Gets gasoline.

Things to Blow Up Before You Die. Criminally insane scientist's soul is reaped too early, guilt-trips God into letting her do evil research in evil underworld.

At Least It Isn't Red. Unfortunately, the world must be saved by idiots.

You Beat Me To It. What do war children do when there is no more war?

...

lemme know if any of yall wanna be added to the taglists yeeeee

[nintendowife]

I finished Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective on Nintendo 3DS a week ago. I had a great time with Capcom's classic creation which is a combination of a mystery, logic puzzles and a supernatural thriller adventure. 

Sissel appears to have lost his memory and if that weren't enough he rather appears to have been murdered too. He has no memory of who he is (or to be more exact, was) and zero clue why he was done away with. Only a few hours remains until dawn breaks and his soul will vanish forever. Sissel must solve his own murder and discover his identity. 

Ghost Trick's gameplay and concept is very unique, I can't remember seeing any other game like this. Gameplay consists of solving tricky logic puzzles in order to avert mortal fates of other people who serve as vital clues of Sissel’s past. As Sissel, a spirit caught between the worlds of the dead and living, you're expected to cause chain reactions of sorts by possessing and manipulating objects in the environments and evoking reactions from living people. Conveniently Sissel also has the power to travel back in time to 4 minutes prior to a person's death to see what happened and to change the course of their fate. You reach out to nearby objects with stylus on touch screen or by using the control stick and perform “ghost tricks” to get closer to the truth. 

Even though the theme revolves around death, the game has a light and humorous take on the subject - you won't have to worry about getting depressed over the game's events. The story is rather interesting and the characters are just brilliantly designed. Inspector Cabanela was an especially memorable character with his extravagant flair, and another favorite of mine was the brave little doggo called Missile. Dialogue is funny and a lot of surprising events happen during the course of the game. You start from a junkyard and end up going to pretty wild places! Even though my hunch about Sissel's identity was right, the ending is quite a brain twister and I'm not exactly sure if I understood everything. It was a satisfying ending to the mystery nevertheless.  The game’s length is good and there’s no unnecessary filler content to bore you. It takes about 12 hours to finish the story according to HowLongToBeat. 

The game’s audiovisual presentation is distinct and stylish. The pixel graphics are detailed and character portraits use sharp, chunky outlines. The real eyecatcher here are the animations though. It's rare to see such impressive, fluid, detailed and entertaining animation even in today's big budget games created with high tech motion capture. Yet this game from 13 years ago (2010), crafted for the small screen of Nintendo DS (that many people consider antique hardware), exceeds all my expectations that I place on motion in games. Ghost Trick's music is very good and fits the events like a glove. Many characters have their own catchy theme when they appear on the screen. 

There's a remaster of Ghost Trick coming soon to modern platforms such as Nintendo Switch and PC. If the remaster manages to retain the original's spirit (heh) you can expect an entertaining package. I recommend checking the game out on the platform of your choice if you're into mysteries and/or puzzles.

[bi-badass-geek]

Summer Games Fest 2024

Holy fuck if that shit wasn't putting me to sleep and it wasn't even because it started at 11pm over here. No offence to those devs and all but most of the stuff was Boring with capital b. Audience either didn't care bout most things showcased or was just asleep too cause that was just sad. My 5 cents that no one asked about since i fell asleep right after + gonna link trailers from IGN.

📣 First they pulled presentation of top 10 Steam sales january-may Palworld, Helldivers 2, Manor Lords, Enshrouded, Hades 2, Dragon's Dogma 2, Balotro, Deep Rock Galactic Survivor, Supermarket Simulator, Buckshot Roulette. I can see most but some i didn't even heard.

📣 Lego Horizon Adventures : Coming holiday 2024, nothing else to say another day another lego game soon we will see any universe with those.

📣 No one Room in Hell 2, Early Access Halloween 2024

📣 Harry Potter Quidditch Champions another game September 3rd.

📣 Star Wars Outlaws coming out August 30. Saying everyone waiting out for it this year is mad!

📣 Battle Aces that's RTS but 99.99% trailer had Tracer like is outta pocket!

📣 Cairn climbing simulator, face texture horrible, studio name 'the game bakers' tho cooks.

📣 Killer Bean EA summer 2024.

📣 Valorant coming to console.

📣 Palworld Sakurajima Update : New Island, New Raid, Arena, Xbox dedicated Servers, 27 June, Stronghold Oil-Rig, New Faction and boss, New Pals, New Buildings and Level Cap, New Subspecies.

📣 Skate console playtesting coming this fall great trailer especially 'STILL' working on it!

📣 Deer & Boy crazy name.

📣 Dune Awakening well it's MMO yikes.

📣 Wandershop fans of gardening, farming will enjoy for sure with a twist. Coming in 2024!

📣 Phantom Blade 0 i can't look at it the same way after i read Japanese Geralt or its Sekiro 2/Nioh 3 lol ,to experience on hand : 8-10 June Summer Game Fest, 26-29 July ChinaJoy, 21-25 August, September 28-29 Tokyo Game Show.

📣 Hyper Light Breaker comes out Late Summer typical Hyper's stuff!

📣 Monster Hunter Wilds

📣 Honkai Star Rail i seriously have no idea what it's about since i don't play but something new i guess?

📣 Alan Wake 2 Night Springs out now, 3 playable characters : Control, Quantum Break. Gotta say wild that they showed it in less than 24h hours before it was out love that and cool that they added other games! 3 episodes!

📣 Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 looks like more good ol' shenanigans that people are stocked for! Kiss Our Asses what's more to say! Coming 2024!

📣 The First Descendant out July 2nd, heard it's good, looks typical stuff. Melee character lookin dope!

📣 Enotria The Last Song : Spanish Souls what can i say! Demo out now! September 19th!

📣Dark and Darker back on Steam and Epic Store for free now!

📣Blumhouse Games : Project C, The Simulation, Fear The Spotlight, Sleep Awake, Crisol Theater Of Idols. Nothing got me more confused in entire livestream than this segment that was just dumped bucket of trash no offence.

📣Sid Meier's Civilization VII : coming 2025 not my vibe but didn't saw fans complaining!

📣Neva comes out 2024 from creators of GRIS.

📣Back Myth Wukong coming out August 20th. That's quick been a while since we last heard.

📣Once Human : Comes out July 9th. Around the corner not going to lie i forgot about this game till i saw it!

📣Asgard's Wrath Available Now

📣Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine 2 September 9th. Another Warhammer.

📣 Metaphor ReFantazio October 11th lovers of Persona got somethin to consume!

📣 Batman Shadow VR game Fall 2024. It's VR game that's all you need to know.

📣 Tears of Metal

📣 DragonBall Sparking! Zero October 11th. KAMEHAMEHAAA!

📣 Delta Force Hawk OPS Global PC Alpha Test in July.

📣 Battle Crush June 27th Moba Mobile nothin else needs to be said.

📣 Mecha Break Closed Beta Test in August such Gundam vibes when i saw trailer but funny how people called it Anthem 2 lol.

📣Slitterhead combat looks chunky November 8th it's out.

📣Unknown 9 : Awakening. Coming Fall 2024 got actress that plays Yennefer in Witcher show. People called it Forspoken 2 lmao.

📣Monster Hunter Stories &2 : Coming June 14th.

Sales : Monster Hunter Rise Up 75% OFF, Monster Hunter World 67%, Resident Evil 4 25%, Street Fighter 50%.

Among Us folks made OutterSloth that supports devs + fuckin tv show is supposed to come out think years too late but oh well.

📣 Sonic x Shadow Generations October 25th nostalgia hittin hard for some individuals.

📣 The Finals new Arena, New Ranked Mode, New Weapons and Gadgets, Weekly Tournaments.

📣 New World Aeternum October 15th consoles. Last i saw game was dead on dead.

📣 Kunitsu-Gami Path of the Goddess half of the graphics to gameplay confused my brain.

📣 Party Animal didn't catch what was that about.

Inside Out 2 Yong Yea voicing is cool!

📣 Squad Busters : Mobile that fuckin trailer killed it omfg! Way too OP for mobile!

[tsukiyadori]

Reading (+Watching+Listening) Log 2024.06 - June

Previous: Reading Log 2024.05 - May

Pouty pout. (A tier.)

——————————————————————————

Reading languages: German, English, French, Japanese, not listing which was what. (There’s also been some feeble attempts at Chinese, but that was more on music.)

Titles are as I’ve read them either first or most and thus remember it for that title mostly

Not going to bother putting in the original titles of translated reads unless there is something worthy of note to it

Cursive titles have been completed

If it says a volume number, it may mean it has been finished or is still in progress

Some notes’ content may be subject to repetition here and there, as I also copied some older notes from casual conversations over and didn’t go through any rounds of cutting things down.

——————————————————————————

JUNE

I kinda feel out from reading stuff on the apps daily

and keeping up online serialized chapter releases has been a mess, too...

Maybe I need to do statistics on the JNC slices of the monthly readings, I definitely keep busy chasing deadlines and then not manage to read it all anyway.

No An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride has been read this month, but due to cascading little incidents at a certain place Chastille has kind of become my alter ego and… I have not much to argue against it…

In terms of single franchise, this month's probably mostly dominated by Spice and Wolf/Wolf and Parchment.

Also decided to add a bit of a music section, considering how much time I was busy chasing lyrics and trying to read those (This will get some overlap with the months prior.)

There's been one single anime entry this time, and it's just a KyoAni ad...

I also kind of fell of from the Comikey and Manga Up readings....

Something else of a major time sucker activity started this month, which is the ominous ((classified)), but that'll probably take until the end of the year to unclassify.

Anime:

ショート版【京都���ニメーション ×「紫式部ゆかりのまち宇治」PR動画】「うじには物語がある」

Light Novels/Web Novels/Novels:

Brunhild v3p2 Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers v1p1-5(ch2 finished) Fushi no Kami v1 Goodbye, Overtime! This Reincarnated Villainess Is Living for Her New Big Brother (Light Novel) v1 How to Survive as a Villain Novel ch236 Spice & Wolf v23-24 The Apothecary Witch Turned Divorce Agent v1p1-v2p8 The Disowned Queen’s Consulting Detective Agency v1 Wolf and Parchment v6-v8 ((classified))

Manga:

8th Loop for the Win! With Seven Lives’ Worth of XP and the Third Princess’s Appraisal Skill, My Behemoth and I Are Unstoppable! (Manga) ch11 A Livid Lady's Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires (Manga) v2ch7-12 All you want, whenever you want Ano Natsu ga Houwa suru. ch18 Anti Alpha Buta no Liver wa Kanetsushiro v2ch6-11, ch36.3-4 Cooking With Wild Game (Manga) v9ch44-48 Dahlia lässt den Kopf nicht hängen v1 Daijuukou to Unicornis no Otome ch16.1 Dead Mount Death Play v7 Domestic na Kanojo v12-13 Duchess in the Attic (Manga) ch1, v2ch7-12, ch13-14 Goodbye, Overtime! This Reincarnated Villainess Is Living for Her New Big Brother (Manga) v1 Harebare Biyori ch24 I'm a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic (Manga) v1ch6 Isekai de Ane ni Namae wo Ubawaremashita ch19.1, ch20.1 Kakan no Oukoku no Hanagirai Hime ch13.4-14(finale) Knitter's High ch28.1-3 Küsse & Schüsse v1-2 Mr. Mallow Blue ch30 My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer (Manga) ch1, ch6, ch11, v4ch16-20 Only I Know that This World Is a Game ch1, ch6, ch11, v4ch16-19 Rebuild World (Manga) ch1, ch5, v8ch35-39 Sakura, Saku v4 Shuumatsu Touring ch38.4 The 6th Loop: I'm Finally Free of Auto Mode in this Otome Game ch11.1-2 The Eternal Fool's Words of Wisdom: A Pawsitively Fantastic Adventure (Manga) v1ch1-6 The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects (Manga) ch1, v4ch16-20 The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind! (Manga) v1-v10ch50 The Unwanted Undead Adventurer (Manga) v11ch49-53 Unnamed Memory ch37.2 Watashi wo Tabetai, Hitodenashi Watatabe3

Webtoons:

The Silent Concubine ch33-122 Silent Lover (Silent Concubine alt. Counting) ch142-192(S2ch1-50) Taberare Usa ch106-109 To be or not be ch102

Music:

Just a selection of those that left the most impression, had me check out its lyrics and/or popped up high in the replay count.

雨霖铃 (Bells Ringing in the Rain) by 喵☆酱 (Miao Jiang)

笼中雀 (Caged Bird) by 喵☆酱 (Miao Jiang)

鴻音 (Resonant Sounds) by Sa Dingding

浮光 (Floating Lights) by Zhou Shen (周深), Jannik and some endless amounts of cover versions

The Blue Whisper OST - 鮫人之歌 (電視劇《與君初相識》片尾曲) by Zhou Shen

The Blue Whisper OST -魚躍而上 (電視劇《與君初相識》自由主題曲) by Sa Dingding/Mao Buyi

Solo Leveling OST - aikari

Notes:

How to Survive as a Villain Novel ch236 - After dragging it for weeks on end I finally finished reading the last chapter… that I had read before though gap jumping anyway. It's been a while where I simultaneously had an urge to read on asap while also not wanting to finish it at all. Anyway, some when next month or after that official Singapore English edition is coming, very curious how that translation will look like without any so many annotations.

Wolf and Parchment v6-v8: Volume 6 seems them with their newfound 'official relationship' that bubbles in and out and is perfectly tailored to them, especially Myuri. Hyland's being a complete fangirl of it is a nice touch, otherwise the whole case was interesting mystery and likely that cat is the same as from S&W is it? Some more real life history modelled things also got added, but the twist with the bears is interesting. The author speaks of three pillars he has to juggle, that of the overarching world lore, the characters and the plot of the current volume, while S&W he had pulled the former into a backseat. That also very much explains, why I had so many starting troubles with this one. The World Lore takes a good 4 vols to build up to have their first payoffs to feed back into the plot, and frankly the two characters only got more interesting from v5 onwards. Too bad I paused this for years after v4, which I remember to be more of a slog than not. Interestingly, that was also the volume the author had struggled a lot with, apparently. Volume 7: This volume starts with a really really cool passage from the conversation between Col and Clark:

Now, doesn't that kinda sound familiar. Espcially that last line nails it rather well.

This is kind of awesome. Not your usual bog-standard love bla bla is what changes the world, but this something that can't be named, this siblings like family, but that doesn't hit it, it's also not lovers, and whatever it is called, in the end one can only default to it as the umbrella term, but it is NOT what you'd usually think about it. The series definitely places a lot of importance to this something and this volume is so far the epitome with realizations sinking in just how important it is to them and then it culminates in the epilogue with Col being like, he's not planning to marry her, but he wants her by her side regardless. And he wants to make sure of it. In a form of equal side by sides, so if he's the Twilight Cardinal now, there he goes and makes it so, that she's going to be celebrated as a saint by his side. And it's all so cleverly weaved into the plot at hand about the wanting to be heroes, the inability to do so, but still wanting to dream about it in stories, and also the pieces fall into place for S&W's timeline as well. And it's not like it's denying your usual idea of relationship and under that world – after all, Holo and Lawrence are right there in their own series holding a spotlight and Col got his faith out of their love rather than anything else. Volume 8 however… seems a bit on the nose starting with the red string on the cover and the plot line in this volume unfortunately is a bit… well, the world is interesting, Canaan is a bundle of charm to bustle everything up and the wrap up to have the new continent plot line in is neatly resolved, but the sheer amount of folly in there…. Myuri, what are you doing? After everything last volume, you go and be all worried? Why the hell are you? Col at least even points out at just how OOC it all is for her.

Spice & Wolf v23-24: Speaking of those two's series, their antics… actually do start to get a little bit old. I dunno, maybe it's because it was getting slightly repetitive? like v24 is definitely a good plot, but the plotline twist is essentially the same as that previous short story about the regional lord that doesn't want to fell the forest, but is stuck between and rock and a hard place. Otherwise… Now that W&P has given a glimpse of how cool the overarching world lore can be S&W is starting to feel just a little pale in comparison. But as a companion it's really nice, how it picks up the pebbled behind Col and Myuri. It's just you really notice that by now Spring Log has a clear side story character to it. Also, I've had these weird impressions for a while now, but Eve and that Umbrella girl kinda smell a bit GL-ish and I do wonder if there's gonna be some plot around the desert after all. (Even if W&P v8 tries hard to deny it.)

The Apothecary Witch Turned Divorce Agent v1p1-v2p8: This has been pretty funny, and her groaning about failures in basically Anti-Cheese-Work, but also, she can't begrudge the happy ends for the couples where a thing I could feel so much, there is one obvious question to, how come people haven't come to her yet in hopes of the opposite, like they all seem to seriously want the break-up rather than her shaking things up to actually fix it.

((classified)) v1 first third: Well, not much that I can say as of yet, beyond: This MC gives me quite a few aroace vibes going by some thoughts and comments here and there, and I am going to be very curious how this is gonna play out. I expect it's going to be more of a late bloomer thing and the whole series is to be very very slow burn in that regard, with many other things on the forefront. But let's see.

Domestic na Kanojo v12-13: The whatever it is continues, and it seems to have reaches some lulls, which are mostly bolstered up by pouts from Miss little sister. Otherwise, Mr. Wannabe English guy remains punch worthy. What do you mean you'd not make her cry, as opposed to Natsuo? You merely tried to rape her, sure, you'd never make her cry. =V Miss twin tails also is like… sad to see. Where did your self dignity go?

Duchess in the Attic (Manga) ch1, v2ch7-12, ch13-14: We have another badass strong female MC, my ears are all perked! I mean, just look at this glare of dignity!

Now the LN just has to come. (Spoiler: it got licensed right the month after early July by the time I am writing this up.)

Sakura, Saku v4: It feels a bit like it tried to do a Kieta Hatsukoi and I will say it did it well enough. It also has a wholesome message and all, but somehow, I dunno. It's not bad, it plays the surprise out well, too, and it's in character of the cast, but it just seems a bit. Not having a charm of its own about it. I dunno. The whole series is down to earth 'normal' sorts of, but compared to the aforementioned KieHatsu, it had more individualistic 'character' or so about it. Not sure how to phrase it.

The Silent Concubine ch33-122: Erm. Ok. What. Was. That. I maintain the beginning as written up last month is still so, and it's rather nice to have this uke fate doomed Shen Yu have his own agency and even using the help of the emperor who got smitten with him, while he is now quite the rationalist to know first come gains. Ok. He was described as bewitchingly beautiful, so people arguing over him isn't maybe that out of place. The whole background story about his lineage and the extra finger knuckle was either lacking in exposition to begin with or the translation has missed out something? It kinda came half out of nowhere. That Shen Yu seems fed up enough to go for suicide knowing how anyone else is just this more powerful than him, him still being poisoned, and his mother is gone anyway, also makes sense. But like, you make him the descendant of a line of former royals that doomed themselves for inbreeding and incest which would even give a reason for his disability also seems plausible. But then, oh, it's psychological and oh, not only does he survive his suicide attempt, but his chronic poisoning is gone, and suddenly he's also not mute anymore. And it kind of completely topples the power dynamic over. And then goes that Chu clan and, uh, Mister new Emperor just goes to be his bodyguard somewhere hidden who knows where. Man's got some priorities, despite knowing the instable the state of things are. And then, right, he's gonna be the only one he marries. How to solve this? Oh, hey look, that ancient clever Chu clan has developed a concoction of a birthing potion (that only works on the clan). And then it still works when it's not both of them of the clan, well, way to how he has to remain the uke. And then there's his blood relative of a from around a few corners who wants to woo him, too. (Tho more for form's sake.) Erm. Okay. I guess. Something Omega in Ancient China. And then suddenly there is a side dish romance that seems to have completely bubbled in the background only to come and be all like oh well, they knew themselves from childhood and. Whatever. It just feels rather contrived a lot of times in the second half.

Silent Lover (Silent Concubine) S2 alt. Counting ch142-192(S2ch1-50): So, morbid curiosity brought me to season 2, and it's a sequel with the next generation, the son of the Main couple of S1 and the adopted son of the side dish couple. I have to say, I am almost amazed at how completely brazenly it goes and rehashes S1's plot line. With not much sense at places. So there's another arranged marriage, but like his adopted father is the right hand of the emperor and they are on good terms, his other father (who kind of never showed up, is he dead?) used to be a good friend of that emperor's spouse that is the other MC's birthing parent. That and that he is a brilliant scholar of his own with status and family pedigree should give him the means to stand his ground. Doesn't seem to matter. Well, maybe he is just timid. But somehow despite the series even having the galls to joke about how the MC's parent's tale is a cautionary tale and them knowing that their son is a bundle of a folly, nobody ever shows him the ropes properly. So he's just being all abusive again. There is another rival for the MC who is all super mean and anything, but just winds up dead along the way. Instead of poisoning, MC winds up suddenly having an oh so very dangerous blood illness on top of his weak disposition. Oh hey, turns out he's actually of the lineage of the previous emperor. Oh, also, he's been super in love with his abusive arranged marriage partner until there was too much abuse for him to call it quits. Also gets tortured and his hand crushed and disabled. Gets wooed by the prince of a foreign land. Oh, and there's a murder attempt to the emperor, how come S1's MC suddenly has vanished completely after showing up just a bit to be all pouty and everything? And isn't the prince the Chu clan bloodline descendant and crown prince, like probably that birthing potion would work on him, too, but of course as a clone of his emperor father he's gotta be the seme character yet again. - ????

Well, as I got so little read this month some music babbling 雨霖铃 (Bells Ringing in the Rain) by 喵☆酱 (Miao Jiang): It started with that little chapter title from How to Survive as a Villain that is quoting a line of a poem by Liu Yong (984-1053 AD). 今宵酒醒何处？ "Where will I be, when I wake from my drunken stupor at dawn?" That poem has by now grown on me. Technically, apparently the inspiration was the author having to have to leave his lover, but the text itself is on a more abstract level of simply a separation to foreign lands. Googling that led me to the first result that is a youtube song with a dance and a cover of it, that is from the soundtrack of a game named 逆水寒 (nisuihan, "cold against the current"), which for whatever reason is called "Justice Online" in English. (How'd you get from one name to the other??) Not that I noticed that at first, both song videos are incredibly traditional styled and the dance by Tang Shiyi is definitely quite pretty. (And I mean, the video is from the CHINA NATIONAL OPERA AND DANCE THEATER??) It took me a deal of digging until I even found the singer's name, which had me go ????, because, it basically means Meow ☆ Sauce. That so far was still in April, but the song rather stuck and then there was also this other song from the artist and yet another song to that same game I came to kinda like.

鴻音 (Resonant Sounds) by Sa Dingding - that popped out in the playlist of the channel, and there's another dance by Tang Shiyi also to a song of the Nishuihan game. No poem, but it kinda sounds the epic tune style. And the dance video is also something. (The match cuts in particular left an impression.)

笼中雀 (Caged Bird) by 喵☆酱 (Miao Jiang) - No poem again, but the mood reminds me of Bells ringing in the rain. The lyrics of this and Resonant Sounds do sound a bit cheese, while Bells could arguably be about any sort of seperation. By here this had reached May and I was getting into that whole soundtrack of that game, which by all means has a good few of nice tracks. And while I was at that, I found this.

浮光 (Floating Lights) by Zhou Shen (周深), Jannik the original intrumental version and some endless amounts of cover versions both vocal and intrumental and dance videos - Apparantely the nishuihan game has some sorta feature where you get to replay some tunes or something? And this song was one of it? Or I don't know. In any case in some playlist the instrumental song by Jannik sat on top as the first track and it immediately struck a chord. The name is suspiciously Western tho (going by the discography they're probably even German??), but googling that you get a Chinese Baidu Baike Wiki page, which then talks about the vocal version by Zhou Shen, which struck even a bigger chord. That had me look up the lyrics and since Zhou Shen is a rather famous artist, it has some lyrics translation videos. Except.

So nostalgia and doubts are kinda the same thing, aha.

Or how about we just leave the word out completely?

This is what the dictionary has to say about the word btw.:

This sounds like a sort of saudade x nostalgia x hiraeth x natsukashii with touches and yet it's own thing, as baike explains it as "the unwillingness/reluctance to leave something or to let it go" as its first meaning and the second being "cherished memories (怀念) directed towards passed days" (which kinda sounds more natsukashii than nostalgia). And that is incredily interesting, but I am bewildered how this turned into 'doubts' of all things? By now it was end of May and now plans to study Chinese are plainly up on the table again. I just don't yet now how to best go about it.

For the time being… The Blue Whisper OST - 鮫人之歌 (電視劇《與君初相識》片尾曲) by Zhou Shen The Blue Whisper OST -魚躍而上 (電視劇《與君初相識》自由主題曲) by Sa Dingding/Mao Buyi June was loop the above and starting to go through a whole bunch of Chinese music (well mostly nishuihan and Zhou Shen) and this one's lyrics caught me again. Like 魚躍而上 starts with something like "Every pair of eyes is fish". Me: ????? Maybe I need to watch that The Blue Whisper drama to get it, but then it also looks incredibly cheese everything and… Also, do you know the agony of you kinda liked a song just by its song and then it just turns out to be all cheese lyrics once you look them up?? It kinda felt like a curse. =V

一梦惊鸿 by 黄诗扶 (Huang Shifu): There was also this one, which popped through the recommendations box and picked my eyes through a really nice dance video.

Solo Leveling OST - aikari: I'm not exactly sure why peculiarly this one picked my ears, haven't even watched the anime, but it was strangely loop-able.

[neverchecking]

Champ and Aaliyah looking at all the baby clothes and occasionally coming home with some can only lead to chaos.

(Sage staring at Aaliyah, completely broke, "Are you pregnant?!" "What? No!" Sage's expression drops as somewhere Twilight feels a shiver of fear go down his spine. "Is Tia pregnant?" "No. If she was she'd have told us.")

You said brunch and all I thought of suddenly was Champ and Aaliyah somehow invent bottomless mimosas while browsing through the baby stalls or filling out the wedding binders or crying over baby booties.

Good for Sage. He's getting some introspection and self-reflection and Tia is so proud of him, of both of them, for how far he's come. And you know what, he's proud of himself too. Besides, if he can deal with other kids AND Fungus, raising his own kid shouldn't be too much of a challenge, especially with the Best Mom in Hyrule by his side.

(Fungus asks when Sage got a crush on Yona and the only reason he's still uninjured is because Sage has a baby zora in his arms.)

Getting Aaliyah and Sage to babysit was kinda a thing before the merge because a few people they'd met over their journey trusted them with their kids and if you want to know that your kid is safe, who better than the most dangerous people in Hyrule. Champ was absolutely babysitting random kids all the time. But after the merge, Tia's Hyrule had basically no hesitation in just handing either Link a baby if needs be. Aaliyah is extremely startled when a mom just shoves a baby into her arms, like 'Here. Hold my kid while I wrangle my 6-year-old away from doing something dumb.'

Aaliyah and the baby are just staring at each other for a good minute before the baby giggles and Aaliyah melts.

Cal and Wild have cracked the code people. They're in and they are not leaving. They cannot be pried out now. They have zero thoughts for the rest of the day after being kissed. Wild burns dinner and Champ has to rescue it. Everyone else is like 'Didn't you hate them?' and it's like 'I have no idea what you're talking about.' as Aaliyah is draped across all three of their laps.

I feel like Aaliyah and First aren't physically duking it out but just getting increasingly snippy and catty with each other, staying verbal with the occasional rock/napkin/knife thrown only for Tia's sake.

Tia's fox form is pretty much a last resort but one that comes easier after her adventure through time and turning into a dragon. Like she couldn't do it after being freed from the Calamity, but spending eras as a dragon let her better access more of her power and get creative with said power. So Fox Form is very much a last-ditch effort when she has no other choice.

That being said, the simple aplomb in which her trio treated her afterwards made her drop walls even she didn't know where there. To the point, she gets confident enough to start kissing them on the cheeks for whatever.

Though imagine Sage, Aaliyah, Champ and the rest of the chain all notice those scoundrels arriving with lipstick marks a little too close to their lips and Tia walks in afterwards with the same lipstick colour (She had a meeting that required her to be a little more dressy than usual).

When confronted about this, she takes a page out of Sage's book and escapes out of a window without answering questions.

Sage never ever knows and it drives him up the wall. They don't have kids why do they have enough clothing for SEVEN AALIYAH?!

She's just ':) One day yk?' Fungus in the background like "YEAH FOR THE FUTURE SAGE >:D"

OKAY BUT THAT WOULD BE SUCH A CUTE WAY TO BREAK THE NEWS. Like imagine Aaliyah coming home, a newly knitted baby blanket in hand and Sage just picks it up, looks at it and goes, "Another one? You do know we have no kids right?" and Aaliyah just rolls her eyes. "Well not yet, little bugger has seven months before they're here but it's good to be prepared." And Sage just bluescreens. He's dropping the blanket and freezing for a second before wrapping her up in his arms and all but cheering, spinning her around their living room because this was what he had worked so hard to have. And now he has it.

BGIFB Twilight sensing the disturbance in the universe with every murder plot Sage hatches fonfnfo Bc should Tia fall pregnant before a proper courting he is going for throats.

I did say brunch bc that's exactly what I thought too lmonfo I LOVE them acting like middle-aged white woman.

Sage really getting that character development. Because this has been nothing but good for them and they are not only living, they are thriving. And you bet they are just has proud of themselves as Tia is of them.

(Fungus really has no self preservation AT ALL and it's a miracle he lived to tell that tale LMAO)

I LOVE THAT FOR THEM. Who better to protect your kids than the biggest threat to Hyrule? At any given point in time, any one of them could have like, three random kids under their care nofbnf. Champ especially. (The other two teach the kids how to bite). IMAGINE A FRESHLY MERGED AALIYAH AND SAGE, WHO ARE SO VOLATILE RN, JUST BEING HANDED A KID LMAO . Especially when the mom is just 'hold this brb real quick-'

That's probably how Tia figures out about the baby fever in the first place and that's just kicking her off into using child exposure therapy to calm these two feral rats down.

Aaliyah and the baby just O^O the whole time before the baby laughs and then Aaliyah is all soft eyes and big smiles, cooing and tickling the poor kid.

(THIOBSF THEY PROBABLY HAVE SO MANY GOD CHILDREN BC THE PARENTS ARE JUST ' yeah my kid needs a good protector')

CAL AND WILD ARE IN, I REPEAT, CAL AND WILD ARE I N. And they have settled their roots in DEEP. Not even Hylia herself could pry her out. they are head empty, I will now die for this woman, blank faced. Champ having to rescue dinner bc he's the only one of them who looks at Aaliyah and is like "...ew.". She then pushes him off a mountain :)

AALIYAH JUST GASLIGHTING EVERYONE IS SO FUNNY TO ME

"I thought you called them mindless parasites that would be crushed beneath your foot?"

"Fungus, that was two days ago, things change- Cal, stop moving I'm sitting in Wild's lap."

"So you don't hate them like you said?"

"I never said that, your hearing things. Should I tell Yona and Sidon about this level of delusions your having?"

Aaliyah and First are those mean girls in high school. The Regina and Cady if you will. Until one of them starts driving a bus, yk? (If you don't know mean girls, I'm sure that reference makes zero sense but go watch that movie its SO GOOD-)

Tia the only thing keeping half these people alive tbh.

Tia and her fox form mean so much to me you have no idea, because when its seen, Champ just immediately knows shits fucked. And when he knows, he lets the other two know.

Tia making the moves is so girlboss of her I love it. Especially bc if she's the one doing it, the trio can't do anything about it. Who are they to tell Tia what she can and cannot do.

Aaliyah for sure has to do a spit take that has Wild patting her on the back while Sage is the embodiment of >:O. Champ has to be held back man, bc THATS HIS MOM/BEST FRIEND/SISTER/ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT POEPLE OF HIS LIFE YOU FUCKING HEATHENS?! Sage is tackling him since he's the only one who knows how truly dirty champ can fight lmao-

HAVE YOU SEEN THAT SCENE FROM CINDERELLA 2 WHERE PRINCE CHARMING JUST JUMPS OUT THE WINDOW?!!? LMAOOO THAT'S TIA-

When confronted about this, she takes a page out of Sage's book and escapes out of a window without answering questions.

[innovacancy]

[hopeymchope]

Loooong final thoughts and lingering questions regarding A.I.: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative

Even moreso than the first game, this game is really hard to discuss without digging into spoilers. Yikes. But I’ll try for a little while, I guess.

1) One the one hand? I loved this game, and I really hope the series gets a third entry so it can be another great Uchikoshi trilogy alongside the “Zero Escape” games. On the other hand? These characters are insanely overdue to get their happy endings, and I’m saddened to see them get delayed for YEARS on that. :P

2) I know I’ve already mentioned this, as did an ask I received before even playing the game. But it bears repeating that the lengths this game goes to in order to avoid spoiling the first game REGARDLESS of whether you already played that game are truly absurd. If they ever DO make a third game, I hope they can find some way around this mess (which would only get even MORE complicated after the events of this sequel). Might I suggest doing a prequel adventure, perhaps... ?

2) Looking back, it’s HILARIOUS how incredibly, deeply wrong my initial speculations were :) 

3) ....okay, but it seriously drove me FUCKING NUTS that nobody in-game even commented on the shape of Komeji’s head. Or why he has a big dot on his forehead where his “third eye” would be, for that matter. That’s all just... normal to the people of the AITSFverse, huh? Really?

4) I’m so very grateful for being able to adjust the difficulty of the somniums. I sucked so bad at somniums in the first one. 

Okay, SPOILER COMMENTARY BEGINS NOW.

1) The first game built an effective mystery out of information our lead doesn’t know, but the sequel builds a mystery out of information that only the player doesn’t know. The characters themselves really had plenty of information that should’ve made them capable of solving the case before SIX YEEEEAAARS had passed, IMO.

2) Can’t say I’m a very big fan of “Tama” and her personality/design. She’s HYPER-sexualized in a way that Aiba wasn’t and isn’t, really. It’s.... kind of uncomfortable sometimes. I have to wonder how an A.I. eyeball decides to generate such a holographic body type or gets so into sexual references anyway? What experiences developed her in this fashion? Hrrrrrm.

3) AS SOON as we started talking about “genetic editing/engineering,” in the game’s second chapter, I said, “Oh man, I really hope they use this plot point to retroactively explain Mizuki’s crazy strength and Date’s wild porn-induced powers.” And hey, one out of two isn’t that bad! I *love* that they went to this trouble to go back and logically justify something that was just a goofy gag in the first title. And after Date provides everyone with a detailed explanation for how his “porn mag = enhanced strength and speed” thing actually works, I was convinced that part of it was still yet to come! Sadly? Not to be. Hey, maybe they can still retroactively introduce an origin for that in part 3! Suffice it to say that I LOVE the idea of going back and retroactively explaining the silliest parts of the series using actual logic and lore. LOVE.

4) Lien’s huge “DANGER ZONE” tattoo is something that amused me from start to finish. I’m simple sometimes. Give a Japanese thug a tattoo referencing a Kenny Loggins classic, and I’m happy. And yes, I absolutely do believe it’s a reference to that seminal Top Gun anthem.

4) More than the first game, this game has the cops just... not even try to negotiate or coerce or otherwise even ATTEMPT to get reticent suspects to tell their secrets. Instead? Everything always comes down to “sync with them,” and if that doesn’t give you the answer you desired? You give up and let them go and never ask about it again. Admittedly, this because game mechanics gotta happen, and the first game isn’t completely innocent of this problem either, but the “drop the issue like a hot rock” element is definitely unique here. .............................. God DAMN do you guys suck at this ‘policing’ business. And that’s not even getting into information that you keep to yourselves when you ABSOLUTELY should be sharing it with your colleagues and superiors.

Y’know, like when a suspicious figure it somehow obscured in your vision while you chase them, and you don’t know why your cybereye is blocking out what they look like, but you just don’t tell anyone it even happened AT ALL........... fuuuuuuuuuuuck

5) Ryuki getting chewed out and threatened with losing his job unless he could hit some arbitrary deadline just because a suspect appeared and escaped within the underground cathedral? Really pissed me off because it made no sense. This has never happened to any cop, ever. I guess we can kinda excuse it because it fits with some old-school movie tropes about cops, maybe? But once the timeline is “corrected” and we see that that didn’t even HAPPEN in the past? IT MAKES EVEN. LESS. SENSE. He is literally never seen or known to do ANYTHING wrong that would warrant such a reaction from Boss!!!! Furthermore: Since he DIDN’T catch the HB Killer back then, does that mean he’s not a cop with ABIS by the later timeline? Because that certainly does not appear to be true! He seems to still be operating as one, just a fucking crazy one due to circumstances beyond his own control that nobody seems to have discovere/addressed in the interim.

6) I absolutely adore that the terrifying visage of Gen’s mask is ultimately hiding... the sweetest, most noble person you can possibly imagine. I am *always* here for someone to subvert the expectations of your first visual impression. ALWAYS down for that shit. Wonderful, thank you, no notes.

7) Although I eventually expected what was under the mask of the mysterious woman in the cool cloak, it also feels like one of the most overt examples of making the story jump through hoops just to suit the twist they wanted. I feel like Uchikoshi definitely thought up the “We told you the story in the wrong order!” twist before he ever came up with the existence of a second Mizuki to explain it all. The fact that they dress exactly the same and act the same and both have that name and both use Aiba but AIba forgets about the first Mizuki by coincidence and... YEAH, it’s pretty forced. 

8) I was both horrified and delighted by the reveal that Amame is one of our culprits. I never once thought that a character we met in the first game - someone who was portrayed as just a quiet, good-hearted, sweet kid - would actually go off and murder someone in our sequel, and I LOVE that twist. In truth, I kind of wish she’d killed Tokiko too as Aiba originally theorized. Just let her go all the way off the deep end! But uhh... that would really make our relatively happy ending a lot less happy, because then Amame wouldn’t be getting that light jail time, huh? So maybe not... lol.

9) Because these games tend to ultimately be so hopeful by the end, I thought Kizuna might even get some futuristic cure to her paralysis by the conclusion and be up to dance by the big finale. But it’s probably better that she didn’t. There have to be SOME consequences to these events, after all. 

10) I wish Mizuki would actually show some concern/affection for her long-missing adoptive father after he finally resurfaces. Like, instead of just insulting him and treating him like shit?? The brief moments when she ISN’T insulting him and belittling him are heartwarming, but they’re SO few and far between. And there’s no denying how much he’s done for her and how much he loves her. Mizuki even took his family name eventually. But from her actual words, you’d be hard-pressed to know that she even likes him at all. Girl needs serious psychological help to learn how to communicate properly, because kee-RY-st.

11) Given how utterly fucking psycho Kizuna’s dad goes in at least one route — particularly with how he sends a massive army of thugs that have no compunction about even KILLING Lien — I was really hoping we’d see Mr. Chieda taken down and arrested for his connections by the end. Alas, there is no ending where he pays for his cruelty and associations. He always just walks the hell away. Meh. :P

12) What... on EARTH.... was the point of Boss pretending like Ryuki died in the final battle?! Only to reveal to EVERYONE that he was alive/fine the whole time... ?!?! So clearly there wasn’t even a need to hide that he lived at all?!? I guess she really just likes fucking with everyone by devastating them for no reason. Jesus Christ, Boss. What the actual FUCK is wrong with you. I guess now I can finally appreciate why someone as whip-smart and hot and utterly girlboss as her is single... it’s because she’s secretly a goddamned SOCIOPATH.

13) The introduction of the “The Frayer” and the unlockable Secret Ending is in keeping with Uchikoshi’s other works, sure, but it also raises a lot of problems that I think I’d rather not contemplate in regards to the universe of the game series. I’ll have to try to compartmentalize that as “stuff that cutely refers to the fact that you’re playing a video game” and not consider that information strictly, y’know, canon. 

Ultimately, I obviously have far more plot/writing concerns than I did with the first. I would still say the first is better. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t having a DAMN good time throughout. I’m still very happy this exists. And here’s hoping for some more adventures down the line...

[generationlosscorkboard]

CHRONICLE ZERO, 30/7 - 6/8

(if any of the IRL dates are wrong by a day, blame it on my timezone being very different)

Okay! So! I'm just going to keep somewhat up to date by doing these in chunks! Yeah! Most of these are just initial thoughts and commentary, but that's to be expected. Anyways-

(long post, you know the deal) (isn't Tumblr supposed to shrink long posts anyways?) (I've seen it on other posts but not mine)(weird)

Dated July 30th 19XX

I've previously covered this, so here's a link to that.

Although as an add-on to it, I should mention that I am leaning away from the tape idea now (as cool as it was,) as some of the posts were a bit- too visual? Such as using arrows, the misspellings, and crossing out words. I've heard from people that it could be a journal, a typewriter, a pink pricess digital diary-

All of which would make 100% sense, absolutely.

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

The Poll (same day)

The poll! This will be another interactive, it seems. The options were just saying Hello in various ways. Didn't seem to affect or interact with the next batch of writing so likely it's one of those "keep trying, at some point it will work and get through!" features. (Ask blog Chronos go!!)

"Hello?" won, if anyone's interested-

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

August 4th (irl date, assuming it matches)

So, it's een eight months since some kind of event. (It was December 4th if so). It's hard to forget aforementioned event, although they wish "they could stop keeping time as much as they do." It's interesting phrasing for sure.

"been through hell and back since then" (awww Chronos....)

'yoXX you'd think I would get used to the looks, the glaXX (glances?), The phrXX (uh.. phrases?) the REMARKS, the notes. But they don't understand. "

Show them? Make them understand? Make them think about how their actions affecting Chronos and family? Who is them? By itself I was thinking that "they" are the GIC's, hense the inability to communicate. But with the stuff from before it could also just be the general populace being all "ooh something happened to those guys let's all STARE AT THEM AND WHISPER." Which isn't great either, or easily stoppable. Small town vibes too.

Then the list of good things, like "my family" and "my dog", including an individual named Jay (likely the "she' mentioned before) and another entry that is crossed out. (Also I'm worried that uh, everyone on this list isnt going to get out this well-)

Bad things: Unforgettable. But not a lot of information given to us just yet-

Chronos is also coming around to how useful/helpful the Chronicles are

And if anyone's curious, this is what was notable on December 4th last year:

(Photo sourced from @generationlossupdates with the following Id: [Id- a tweet from Generation Loss, it says "2" with a image attached to the tweet, the image is the logo, looks hand painted and bloody. - end id] )

I'm currently under the assumption it's just coincidence, but I'll give it to you all anyway.

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

Second Poll, Same Day:

Another poll, also with a just question mark for the text. The options are "Who?" And "What?". I think it's asking what we want to know more about in the Chronicles, the characters? Or the world? (Well idk for What, what can mean a lot of things)

These polls feel eerily similar to the early gamey interactions in TSE, with the first one being a little bit of a dud and not wholly consequential, whilst the second leads to more more information about the area, and kinda controls what the character says and does. (In this case, what they write about next for our information)

Choose your own adventure book style, ya know

"Who?" won, so let's see if this is backed up in the next lot.

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

August 5th

J (presumably, Jay) suggested Chronos log their "Wild dreams" the past few days. there's another X cross out in the word "another" (anohtX) but this time, only one. The first one is misspelt so could be simply just crossing out (quite literally) the misspelling.

(Damn Chronos just like me fr fr)

So... Kinda info about the characters??? In terms of the Who/What from before? It's not as strong of a link as I would like it to be but it's all good-

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

D1: (Same Day)

(a dream discription, one of a number to come)

Standing in field of an unidentified plant, under a red sky. Weird terrain, felt like the ssky was curving upward. The sun was gone. (gnX)

Walking, trying to find something, not presently remembered. Then they started to sink, and they fell into a Chasm, a created, almost geometric yet unstable cave. Smooth white rock or concrete walls. Shifted and changed as they went deeper, until they saw "it". (Whatever it is, they didn't want to see it.) Dream be forcing them to see it though.

Then they're back in the field.

Stay tuned for Zero looks up Dream Interpretation and pretends to know what they're doing! (Cause I'm 100% sure it will be a long one, so different post)

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

August 6th

(aka the funny post that made GLRanboo jokingly ask if I was Chronos/Chronicle, bc of the screaming about work thing-)

Damn guys I think they don't like their work or their manager. One could interpret the million years old thing as just another word for "old geezer" but wouldn't it be funny if he actually was a million years old-

Anyways, I'm going to hazard a guess that what they sell is something technology related. Anyways, we don't like the manager here, how dare they not give any respect to Chronos.

XX update: another two XX's on the word making (he's maXX), and then another four at the end of a lot of exclamation marks.

Moving on, Chronos showed their dream to Jay, who suggested that's to do with a cycle and being forced to relive stuff (RELIVE THINGS YOU SAY-)

As for the snacking comment- I have no idea if that actually has anyy correlation to what you dream. More J lore about liking the crazy and supernatural, but what I find interesting is the three different ratios Chronos gives. Like, yeah okay man we get it you wanna be right, I'm sure you are I'm sure-

50/50, 60/40, 70/30. Just constantly increasing your chances at winning, I see u-

So, we have got a little bit of lore building! Real cool real cool.

(I feel it in my bones that MatPat would mention all over the rewriting and changing and the three different ratios, but in that case he'd be absolutely horrified if he saw my old school books-)

[ghostighostly]

Goofy a thing i just wrote cause im feeling silly :33

The Riptide pirates had been around for years now, sailing the four seas and asserting their wrath over the navy. Of course, not everyone stayed the same, Fin left to "show those damn elders what for", and drey, he left to look after his sister in law after his brother Jayson died in the war. And of course, they got arlin out of that horrifying sea, only lightly traumatized.

Members left and joined like the waves on the sand, but the trio still stood tall and proud, collecting memories like shiny coins and shiny coins like.. well, memories. But there was one thing they had always regretted doing, the one thing that ate at their souls every single night. Letting that small boy on the ship become a slightly less small boy, landlocked, for 6 years.

They had lost all communication with canella, their shells had been smashed in a 'gillion accident', and they never visited out of fear that their friend wouldn't want to see them anymore. After all, they did traumatize the boy.

After six long years of adventuring on the seas, the guilt had peirced Chip harder than any sword could ever dream of. He made the decision for them, and they set out route for zero. No arguments were made, and they solemnly sailed on, thoughts rolling around their minds like the riptide.

After days of sailing onwards, the small speck in the distance became a more defined looking island, colourful buildings littered across, and a clear reck of a statue sat in the middle of town square. Chip had given jay a look at that one, but after all, they had deserved it... They sailed into the docks, and with presise accuracy, they came to a halt. gillion tied the rope, and they were back in town. Back on their island, although it probably wasn't theirs anymore.

As they strut through the streets, all they got was looks, some of fear of the new faces they wore, scars and experience were covering them like an omen, but mostly all they got was anger. They had left these people, and if it wasn't for the war, this town wouldn't be nearly as colourful. Yet they continued on, guilt was a common emotion for them, and it had started hurting less and less after years of it. But as they approached that house up the hill, They felt it. that sharp pang in their hearts. No one was sure if it was guilt or just hurt, but Chip saw it in both of their faces.

Chip was expected to knock, of course he was. He took a deep shallow breath and rapped his knuckles against the rotting wood. From inside came a loud crashing sound that made all three of them jump, "I GOT IT I GOT IT!!!" Yelled a hyper voice, unrecognisable to the pirates. After another loud bang and a distant shout the door was flung open, revealing a crazed teenage girl.

Her hair was wild and in her face, and she was panting like she had run a marathon. She looked up at them all, moving her hair away from her eyes with a wide smile, turning to shock when she saw their faces. "OH.MY.GOD." she paused to stare before spinning around and yelling, "MUM GET UR LAZY ASS OVER HERE," which was followed by distant protesting. "- Good for Nothing Teens i swear to the m-" Ella had appeared behind the kid, her hair was cut short and gray strands were more visible, She was now also staring at the pirates at their doorstep.

For a few seconds nothing happened, but then Ellas face contorted to anger and she came forward and thumped Chips chest, "ow, hey!-" but he was cut off instantly, "you good for nothing pirate scum! You left my poor son- DAUGHTER, here without even calling?! I should kill you right here i swear on the moon -" Now she was getting cut off, "MOM. Please chill out, ok? You're gonna get even greyer." A cheeky smirk filled the childs face, Chip now noticed their outfit, nothing of note other than that damn belt, still way too big on him. Or her now, he guessed. Gillion was looking insanely confused and was about to say something, but Jay pulled him away, whispering in his ear. "Humans can do what??" But he was promptly shushed.

"O-ollie? That you kid?" Chip asked, nervously looking back and forth from Ollie to Ella. "Ooh yea, u weren't there for that, umm.." She winced, scratching the back of her head. "Yea, im trans dude."

Chip didn't know what he had expected to hear, but those words shocked him into silence. He guessed it was plausible, she had always been quirky. Maybe he just didn't expect to hear her say it, though. Everyone had gone dead silent. Even Ellas eyes had softened, and for a while, they just stood there awkwardly. Eventually Jay walked forward and olly looked up as she embraced her tightly. "I always knew there was something going on, u really should have told me i know all about this stuff." She smiled, Ollie was tearing up. "Im sorry Jay, what was that?" Chip said before joining the hug. "Hmm? Oh, nothing." He could hear the smile. Gillion chimed in from behind, "I have no idea why we're hugging," before joining in. "Gil, your armour is digging into my lungs." Chip wheezed, "Deal with it"

They hugged tightly for a while, and Ella had reluctantly joined in. Nothing mattered anymore. They were back with this crazy kid, and they weren't gonna abandon her again.

They spend a week or so staying on the island, met up with Ensa, got punched in the face by Ensa, and gave a formal apology to the entire town in speech form (yes chip got tomatoes thrown at him). But eventually, they had to leave, ollie said goodbye to her mother, and they set sail on a new adventure, and who knows, maybe they wouldn't all die.

Fin.

This was not suppost to be this long fuck me. Sorry guys!!! Teehee!!

[game-boy-pocket]

No Tears of the Kingdom for me until USPS delivers the damn thing, but I beat my run of Breath of the Wild tonight.

I kind of rushed through it, especially toward the end when I started looking up all the remaining shrines I had left to complete. It's not an ideal way to play unless you're a speed runner, but BOTW for me is a long con that takes well over a month to beat. I probably could have taken my time just a bit more since I knew my copy of TOTK would not be here today. But I also maybe should have started sooner...but Mario brain would not let me. I was too high off of the movie. Anyway... despite all that, I still had an amazing time.

It's not perfection but this is exactly what I needed the next Zelda game to be after I was severely disappointed with Skyward Sword. And it's what I hope Zelda continues to be, but more refined, and slowly re-integrating what worked from the old formula...

Frankly, I don't want to ever fully go back to the old formula. I don't see any reason to. I think they nailed it the very first time and have not improved on it in any meaningful way. All the 3D games that came after OOT, followed that blueprint, but they all essentially took a swing at the king and they all missed... the old formula can live on in the form of 2D Zelda, which I don't think is going anywhere. Besides Ocarina, my favorite Zelda game is the original game on the NES. And playing this game felt a lot like playing both of them for the fist time again. And being able to go where I want with an obvious intended path very much reminds me of Zelda 1.

When I first played this game, I had a gut feeling... that this would be my new favorite Zelda game for several years, but the instant they released another one that expands on the foundation of BOTW, it's going to plummet down my ranking, dethroned by it's successor. And I do hope that ends up being true... but I also hope there will still be a reason to come back to this one. If not... well I'm just glad I got to take one more adventure before Hyrule changed. Ah... on this play through, I did the main quest as soon as I could, and then the Champions Ballad as soon as I could, because my god the Master Cycle Zero is the best thing that has ever been in a Zelda. I don't use horses, but you can't get me off of Master Cycle zero for anything... it's still wild that this concept was born in Mario Kart 8 on Wii U and made it's way to canon Zelda games... did not do trial of the sword though. Fuck that. Once was enough. Got all 120 shrines because I did want to get that Wild Armor set... I don't dislike Link's new look, but to me, Link's color will always be green... and if the Tunic of the Wild is not in TOTK, I will be doing most of my adventuring in the Hylian Tunic dyed green, assuming the dye shop is still in business... if the wild set is in the game, I sure hope it's not an end game reward. I want to have stuff to do besides looking for Korok seeds in the iconic green outfit. Now what to do with myself while i'm still waiting for TOTK to arrive...

[otakween]

Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 - Volume 1

I'm doing things slightly out of order here, but I'd like to get to all the side stuff that came out prior to Tamers before I move on from Adventure. This is the first Digimon manga that came out (aside from C'mon Digimon which is contained within this release) so it'll be interesting to see those humble beginnings.

Ch.1

-So I guess this is some alternate universe version of season 1? (Or maybe like a beta version?) The plot feels a little similar to Digimon World where digimon are a battling v-pet IRL and the main character gets sucked into the digital world solo.

-In this version of the story, Taichi has a V-dramon. Unclear so far what level digivolution a V-dramon is or if it's related to Veemon. Zeromaru is a dumb name...

-Goggles AND a cape? That's a bit much Taichi...

-I like how doofy Gabumon looks in this. The digimon are way more cartoony and expressive so far.

-Full color and actual, red blood!? This manga looks fabulous on my tablet <3

Ch. 2

-More Digimon World vibes. The Holy Angel Castle looks a lot like the ice castle that you can only enter if you have a vaccine digimon in the PSX game...

-There's a "should digimon have human partners?" element here that we haven't really seen in the show yet. I feel like this question is inevitable for most mon series.

Ch. 3

-Okay, I'll admit, I didn't see the pun in "Zeromaru" (maru is another way to say zero) until this chapter. I hate the name slightly less now.

-A Tonosama Gekomon and a HolyAngemon are a pretty bizarre combo lol

-I really love the art style in this actually. Chibi-mode Taichi was adorable in this chapter and the colors are really nice as well. I wish we got more full-color manga releases like this one!

-So Demon is gonna be the big bad in this? That's kinda nice actually cuz he got majorly short shrifted in 02. Seems like his design is completely different here. Kinda looks like Ogremon...

Ch. 4

-I kinda like how the wild digimon get names in this. Since every digimon from the same species seems to be pretty much identical, giving them names allows me to become more attached to them.

-Only just realized that I don't really know why Etemon is called Etemon. I tried googling it and the Digimon wiki's explanation didn't really help...

-Pretty wild that Gabo said "God is gone" lol. Also, Digi-world creation myth confirmed.

-The manga's McGuffin was introduced: V-tags. I'm guessing the "V" is for "Virtual," but if you're going to call everything "digi" that seems to go against the branding a bit...

Ch. 5

-Okay Gabo's incessant "You guys need to act more concerned!!" gag is getting really annoying. He says it like every 3 pages!

-I had no memory of Deltamon so I thought he was new, but I guess he appeared in an 02 episode? He's really ugly. Also, how many samey dino digimon designs do we need!?

Ch. 6

-These chapters are super short and since a lot of them are battles, they take like 2 minutes to read. Perfect for young kids I guess!

-That triceratops with pecs was pretty cursed.

Ch. 7

-When the digimon are hurt their skin cracks like they're made of plastic or something. Kind of a weird choice...

-Another thing that differs between the manga and anime is that we see Taichi perform first-aid care after fights. The anime doesn't really show a lot of wounds in the first place and usually the digimon just rest to heal.

Ch. 8

-I was surprised to see MarineDevimon who doesn't appear in the anime until 02. I wish I knew more about which chapters of this came out when because it apparently came out over the course of 5 years (1998-2003) -- Edit: this info is thankfully on the wiki

-In this chapter Gomamon says that Triceramon being a data-type means he's a "good" digimon. In the anime they said that even virus-types can be good. So maybe that's more of a prejudice than a fact? (Or it's just different in the manga).

-Gomamon is so baby in this!

Ch. 9

-This manga reminds me of Yu-Gi-Oh! season 0 where everything is just slightly off.

-The digimon are more blatantly programs and apparently if you go inside them it's just a neon void? Also, I guess the 01 in the manga's title is a reference to binary.

-Let's see how much random stuff the digivice can do in the manga. So far it allows you to scan digimon for their HP and to communicate telepathically.

Ch. 10

-Already 2 out of 5 tags collected which means that this tag collecting thing is probably just one out of many arcs.

-For some reason the official release goes up to chapter 10 for volume 1 but the fan scans go beyond that? I'm going to stick to the official release because 10 is a nice clean end point.

This manga seems pretty typical for a game/anime-tie in for young boys. The chapters are very easily digestible and nothing too deep happens. The magazine it was serialized in, V-Jump was also home to things like Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest, so the demographic is pretty clear. I'm really enjoying the artwork mostly. I wish there were more character moments but the reoccurring cast is pretty dinky at the moment. Let's see where this goes!

[goldenxnefertiti]

Top Family-Friendly Activities for Single Moms in Elk Grove Village

Elk Grove Village is a community that truly embraces families, offering a variety of activities that single moms can enjoy with their children. Whether you're looking for outdoor adventures, educational experiences, or simple ways to spend quality time together, Elk Grove Village has something for everyone. Here are some of the top family-friendly activities that you and your kids can enjoy.

1. Pirates’ Cove Children’s Theme Park

Pirates’ Cove is a beloved destination for families in Elk Grove Village. Designed for children ages 2-9, this theme park offers a variety of rides, playgrounds, and attractions that are perfect for a day of fun. From the pirate ship ride to the paddle boats, your children will have plenty of opportunities to play, explore, and let their imaginations run wild. As a single mom, you’ll appreciate the safe, family-friendly environment where you can relax and enjoy watching your kids have a blast.

2. Elk Grove Park District’s Pavilion Aquatics Center

The Pavilion Aquatics Center is a great place to take your kids for some indoor water fun. The center features a zero-depth entry pool, a lazy river, water slides, and a lap pool. It's an ideal spot for children of all ages to splash around and burn off some energy, especially during the colder months when outdoor swimming isn’t an option. The facility also offers swim lessons, which can be a great way to build your child’s confidence in the water.

3. Busse Woods

If your family loves the outdoors, Busse Woods is a must-visit. This expansive forest preserve offers miles of walking and biking trails, perfect for a leisurely stroll or a more active adventure. The park also has picnic areas, fishing spots, and even an elk pasture where you can see the animals up close. Spending time in nature is a wonderful way to bond with your children, and Busse Woods provides a peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life.

4. Rainbow Falls Waterpark

Rainbow Falls Waterpark is another fantastic destination for a day of fun in the sun. This outdoor waterpark features multiple slides, a lazy river, a splash pad, and a zero-depth entry pool. It’s a great place for children to cool off on a hot summer day while enjoying the excitement of water play. The park also offers cabana rentals, making it easy for single moms to relax in the shade while keeping an eye on their kids.

5. Elk Grove Historical Museum

For a more educational outing, the Elk Grove Historical Museum offers programs and exhibits that are both fun and informative. The museum provides a glimpse into the history of Elk Grove Village and the surrounding area, with interactive displays that engage children and adults alike. Special events and workshops throughout the year offer additional opportunities for hands-on learning and family-friendly entertainment.

6. Ned Brown Forest Preserve (Busse Woods)

In addition to its trails and fishing spots, Ned Brown Forest Preserve, commonly known as Busse Woods, also offers boat rentals on Busse Lake. Taking a paddleboat or rowboat out on the lake is a unique and memorable way to spend time with your children. The preserve’s serene environment and scenic beauty make it a perfect spot for a family picnic or a relaxing day on the water.

7. Elk Grove Village Public Library

The Elk Grove Village Public Library is more than just a place to check out books. The library hosts a variety of programs for children, including storytimes, craft sessions, and educational workshops. These activities are not only fun but also help to foster a love of reading and learning in your children. The library’s welcoming environment makes it an excellent place for single moms to spend an afternoon with their kids, exploring new books and participating in interactive programs.

8. Rotary Green Park

Rotary Green Park is a charming neighborhood park that offers playgrounds, open fields, and a pavilion. It’s a great spot for a casual playdate, a picnic, or just to let your kids run around and enjoy the fresh air. The park’s relaxed atmosphere makes it a favorite among local families, and it’s an easy, low-cost option for single moms looking to spend quality time with their children.

Elk Grove Village is a wonderful place for single moms to raise their children, with a wide range of activities that cater to different interests and age groups. Whether you’re exploring the great outdoors, enjoying a day at the pool, or learning something new at the library, there’s always something to do that will bring joy to you and your kids.