#i don't even look specifically for hard games i just play games that seem interesting. that got vibes. and i simply either enjoy it or not

[ridl]

why is it so hard for some ppl to understand that you can genuinely enjoy games they deem difficult, frustrating, outdated etc, and you don't have to be a "masochist" to enjoy them. "umm i play games to have fun, not like yall masochists who like to suffer 🤪" well i'm indeed having fun experiencing different games that are difficult/frustrating/outdated, why are you having such a superiority complex over it

[captain-joongz]

here's first of the bigger requests that came through during the hard hours, my dear ✨ anonie, i hope you enjoy your piece! <3

LOSE TO WIN

warnings: bdsm dynamics, mistress kink, spanking, humiliation and praise, strap on usage, strap on deep-throating, coming untouched, anal fingering, pegging, rough handling, rough sex, orgasm denial, face slapping, riding

word count: 3.9k

Minho wasn't the kind of person you'd expect to get into trouble. He was smart. Sly. Always had a comeback, always knew how to get himself out of hot water. But he was also impulsive, hot-blooded and stubborn. He knew that about himself, maybe better than anyone else.

And he was incredibly competitive. So maybe that's why his plan was such a bad idea.

I mean, of course his friends would try to persuade him to not go to a casino, unless they were shitty no one would encourage their friend to go gamble, but Minho wouldn't listen - of course he wouldn't.

He didn't begin to understand why it was such a bad idea for him specifically to go until he was sitting at the poker table with a terrible hand of cards and no way to lie himself out of it.

People tend to do stupid things when they get their first big paycheck - buy a car they don't need, spend it on clothes or stupid investments. Going to a casino might be the stupidest though, not that the man would admit that, even as his beginner's luck shifted and the tide turned.

Winning a nice sum in the first few rounds, he felt confident - he should stay, play more - he could double it, triple it, he could go home with three paychecks instead of one. He'd show his friends, he'd be the one laughing at them.

But then he started to lose. And it was not pretty.

He wasn't sure how it worked in casinos, but when he was discreetly offered more chips to have a chance to win his money back, he didn't think to stop and ask where they came from or what the consequences were - he just needed a chance to win and then he'd leave. That was all, just one lucky hand and then this nightmare would be over.

When the last game ended, Minho was in a daze - it took him several long seconds to realise that he'd lost once more, and this time he was in deep shit. Not only his own money was gone, but now he owed someone.

He didn't notice you at all, eyeing him the whole evening and having a private laugh about how cutely clueless he was. It was so obviously his first time gambling, your trained eye could see it the second he stepped in the room. Oh, you'd just eat him up.

And now, watching the man sit there all miserable, head in hands as he came to terms with his situation, it was your prime opportunity to strike.

"First time?"

Minho looked up as soon as he heard the melodious voice, coming face to face with you dressed in a black expensive dress, hair and face all made up. At first glance he could tell you were someone important. And very, very rich.

"Um, y-yeah, sorry if I'm blocking the table." He moved as in to get up and leave, but you stopped him quickly and instead offered him a cigarette. Minho threw a nervous glance at the security guys, but they didn't seem bothered by anything you were doing, so he accepted. Of course, what he didn't know was that as the owner's daughter you had free range to do pretty much anything, and they knew better than to interfere when you were hunting.

"I can pay it for you," you offered easily, playing with the packet in your hands while Minho choked his sorrows with nicotine. He startled and you had to suppress a satisfied smirk. This would be so much fun, you couldn't wait to ruin him.

"N-no, that's fine. I'm fine." So he was still deep in denial, huh. You leaned closer and plucked the cigarette out of his hands, taking a drag yourself. You saw his eyes glued to your lips, shock and interest mixing in his brown irises.

"Look, boy, I'm going to be honest with you," you started, spinning your soft web, "you're fucked, spectacularly so might I add. If you try to leave now, you'll end up in some really mean people's hands. I can pay your debt and trust me, I'm much nicer when it comes to paying back." Minho looked like he didn't trust your words one bit, but that's what's nice about desperation - it makes you do things even if you know you shouldn't.

It was all reflected right there in his eyes. You knew you had him, he only had to stop running away from it.

"What would you want in return?" he asked hesitantly and you grinned. What a smart boy, knowing you weren't after money.

"One night, you listen to my every word," you said confidently, "be a good little toy for me."

You saw him shudder before he attempted to school his features into a look of carefully constructed disgust, but you knew. You really hit jackpot with this one, no pun intended.

He sat there in silence for a little while and you let him. He had to come to terms with reality and realise you were offering him the only way out, you would not interfere with that - he had to do that all on his own.

Minho knew he was stupid and got himself into trouble. For the first time in a really long time he couldn't come up with a way to get out of this - he desperately wracked his brain for any solutions while you sat next to him and inspected your nails like a shark waiting for the fish to crawl up all the way in his mouth.

But really, how bad could it really be? He'd just fuck you and he'd be okay, it was definitely the better option than getting beaten up by loansharks. It would be easy, right? He was pretty good in bed, so he had the confidence he could pleasure you and then you'd let him go and everything would be okay. Easy peasy.

He nodded. You grinned. Bad premonition filled his stomach.

Minho cried out when another hit landed on his exposed thighs, your hand then gently caressing the reddening sensitive skin there. There were tears brimming in his eyes, the burn of the impact turning him needy and whiney.

You didn't waste any time after you dragged him off into a hotel room, immediately ordering him to pull his trousers down and bend over the edge of the bed. You yourself dragged a chair over and sat down, face level with his perky underwear clad ass. He needed a punishment, that's what you said, and he was maybe starting to agree.

"Will this teach you not to be such a dumb boy? Maybe I can fuck some common sense into that pretty head of yours, huh?" You teased and taunted, delivering sharp words after each spank until Minho's head was swimming and he couldn't see through tears, biting his lips to stop all the pitiful whimpers from spilling out of his mouth.

But even though he didn't know what to think of this, his body has made up its mind already - he could feel his cock hanging between his legs, so hard it hurt, but ignored and useless. He attempted to sneakily touch himself a few minutes ago, only to get another hard hit and the sharp words "hands where I can see them, boy!", so now he didn't try anymore.

Everything was kind of fuzzy and he couldn't even tell up from down, but fuck, he didn't want to stop, and that scared him. Right now he'd probably let you do about anything to him.

"What do you think, have you learnt your lesson?" Your condescending words broke him out of his haze, but he could only pitifully whine, realising just how much his knees were shaking, close to buckling under his weight. You'd stopped your punishment, but he still felt the phantom sting of your previous smacks.

"Well alright then. Take off the rest of your clothes and sit down on the bed." Embarrassingly enough, Minho wanted to scramble to follow your order, but his limbs just wouldn't cooperate, so he sluggishly turned and fought his shirt off while you sat in your chair silently and watched.

You waited until he was done and sitting down before you came to him, standing in front of him and taking in the state of him. And what a vision he made with his red eyes, tear tracks over his cheeks and lips bitten raw, all crimson and swollen. The once proud and cocky expression he wore during the game now changed into neediness and desperation. And that's what you liked to see.

His lips in particular caught your attention, and you found yourself tracing them with your thumb, mesmerised.

"Fuck, I kinda really want to fuck your throat..." You only mused that out loud, muttering it into the charged air between you, but the absolutely wrecked needy sound that escaped Minho's mouth surprised you both, judging by the blush suddenly spreading down his neck.

"Oh? You like that? Well, who am I to ruin your fun.."

You walked over to one of the huge built in closets, pulling a big box out and gingerly going through its contents. Minho saw glimpses of various sex toys and other kink related objects, and he decided he really didn't want to know why you had that here. Some things were better left unquestioned. And he wasn't even sure whether you'd like being questioned. He desperately didn't want to displease you.

When you found what you were looking for, you pulled it out with an exclamation of victory and finally let Minho see what he apparently asked for - a harness and a strap on dildo - huge, veiny and deep purple. He shuddered, and though he'd like to lie to himself and say it was apprehension, the way his dick jumped upon seeing it spoke a different story.

You had to take your dress off to put it on, and the vision of you in only your black lacy underwear, black heels and the strap on harness did something to Minho's brain. You just simply gestured to the ground by your feet, face curled into a beastly grin.

"Kneel."

And as simple as that, he was on the ground in front of you so fast he might have had carpet burns. You laughed at him, like he was pathetic. He felt pathetic, with his mouth already watering and filling with drool, jaw clenched because otherwise he'd already have it wide open, and he squirmed under your domineering eyes.

You grabbed him by his chin, gently, turning his face up and guiding his lips towards the tip of your dildo. "If you need to stop, tap my leg twice like this." You demonstrated and he nodded, hesitantly letting his lips kiss the cold silicone.

Minho had tried it with boys before, and he wasn't against it, but he'd never sucked a cock in his life, and he had no idea what to do, so he started slow. You didn't seem to mind, eyes keenly watching him as he licked the toy and kissed along it softly, familiarising himself with the veins and ridges. Your hand stayed on his face, holding him in place and gently guiding him.

But of course your patience would run out at some point, and soon your hand pulled him onto the dick, sliding it between his lips and teasingly always thrusting a little deeper, until it was kissing his throat and making him gag. This repeated a few times - you'd slide in, he'd gag and you'd pull out to give him a little break, until you took matters into your own hands - quite literally.

Grabbing his head, you took control of his movements, guiding him in a smooth motion.

"Don't panic, relax your throat," your words rang out and Minho fought to follow your instructions, eyes full of overwhelmed tears, "breathe through your nose. Deep breaths. There you go."

You felt his his throat relax, sliding in a little further - and Minho choked. But this time it was a good sound, all nicely wrapped up in a tiny moan, and you groaned in answer, thrusting a little harder the next time.

His face screwed into one of pleasure and you saw his thighs clench, mouth suddenly hungrily chasing after you every time you pulled out. You pumped your hips rhythmically, growing breathless as you watched him moan and choke on it, with every thrust taking a little more until his face was pressed into the leather of harness, gurgly moans slipping out.

It was enough to drive a saint mad.

And Minho loved it - you could see it in the way his red cock jumped and twitched, throbbing in his lap like it was about to burst without a single touch. You felt your own pussy, so wet and empty, squeezing and clenching around nothing while you guided Minho's pretty face to choke on your cock.

"Fuck, wish I could feel your throat, bet it's so fucking good," you groaned out breathlessly, picking up pace and roughly slamming in, Minho's eyes rolling back into his skull as he took it, fingers helplessly digging into the meat of your thighs.

You should have seen the warning signs, but truly you didn't think he'd be capable of something like that - when his moans doubled in frequence, growing higher, more desperate, more whimpery, his hips jumping abortedly as his cock throbbed and twitched with rising intensity, you thought nothing of it, enjoying the view of his face covered in tears and drool, cock slipping in and out of his mouth.

You thought nothing of it until suddenly Minho was cumming with a high-pitched raspy moan, cock spurting out thick streaks of jizz all over his stomach and thighs. You pulled out in shock, eyes appreciatively flying over the scene, over his fucked out ruined face and body covered in white as he panted with laboured breaths.

"Mistress..." he rasped out, voice all gone and scratchy, and your pussy throbbed so hard you were worried you might cum too. Instead you steeled yourself and smirked again.

"What a naughty boy you are, did I say you could do that?" Minho didn't seem to have much brain power to come up with an answer and he only whined, tired body winding down. "Get on the bed."

He still faithfully obeyed your commands, dragging himself to the king sized bed and dropping down like he was dead. Crawling in behind him, you signalled for him to turn over on his stomach and he did.

His ass and thighs were still a little red from earlier, and when you touched the skin, he jolted a little, whimpers falling into a pillow.

"Well, Mistress has to punish you now, again" you tsked at him, hand reaching for a bottle of lube and condoms standing on the nightstand. Pulling one over your fingers and warming some of the smooth liquid, you carefully reached down between his cheeks, running softly over the puckered rim and pushing on it. You would have been worried about his reaction, had it not been for the immediate groan tumbling out of his lips as his hips jerked into your fingers, back arching and begging for more.

"What a naughty boy you are indeed," you whispered, giggling in amazement. You truly found a gem tonight.

His hole had a little resistance to it, but with careful smooth movements you quickly slipped in, stretching him out on two fingers. You chose a slow sensual pace, winding him up again, pouring some fire back into his veins. You heard his breathy little sighs, hips moving in a rhythm with your fingers, rolling in little circles and slowly working them in deeper and deeper.

Once they slipped all in and you started up a faster pace, the sighs turned into pleased little moans, those that spoke of a complete satisfaction of having been filled up and fucked open, and you salivated at the prospect of fucking him soon. And when you managed to curl your fingers just right, hitting his prostate and punching out a loud moan out of him, your head almost spun with lust.

Minho took three of your fingers like a champ, rocking back onto them and trying to subtly grind his already hard again cock into the sheets - and you let him, even though he probably thought you didn't know. Soon he wouldn't have such a luxury anyway, so what's a few cheeky rubs now.

"Such a slut, I really had no idea who I stumbled upon, huh?" you teased some more, fucking your fingers in roughly and massaging his walls in a way you knew drove him crazy. His hips never stilled for a moment, chasing his pleasure mindlessly as he drooled into the white bedding.

"Don't worry baby, Mistress will fuck you good," you murmured, pulling out and ignoring his needy panicked whines at losing the stimulation.

Without losing a second you immediately reached over to get another condom, getting your cock all nice and wet and ready. Giving his ass cheek one last smack, you angled your hips and pushed in mercilessly.

The cock went in easy, his hole all nice stretched and covered in lube, and the reaction from Minho was instantaneous. You felt him tense underneath you, a little pained whimper falling out of his lips just as he pushed back hungrily and pulling you deeper inside.

You understood what he wanted perfectly, and wasted no second giving it to him just right. Pulling back, you thrusted back in forcefully, punching out a pained moan out of the man.

You set a ruthless pace, pounding into him and angling your cock just right to smack right into his prostate on every stroke. Minho cried and screamed underneath you, keeping his hips still and presenting for you like a bitch in heat, hungrily taking all the aching pleasure.

"H-hurts...!" he moaned into the pillow even as his hips shook with how much he strained them to be able to take more.

"Hurts? Does it baby?" you entertained him, smirking behind him.

"So- so goo-" he got choked up on a groan, drool shining on his chin, "it's so good! More!"

"Demanding, aren't you baby?" you mused out loud, slowing down so you could pound into him harder, "but you have to be a good boy and not cum until I tell you to."

You felt how his body immediately tensed under yours with the overflow of pleasure, and he sagged into the bed, only letting out content whimpers as you continued the tempo.

You yourself were growing breathless, the fucking taking a toll on you as well - you were better at controlling yourself, but the way the harness pressed into your clit with every movement, sliding with all the slick you produced, your own arousal was slowly growing to crescendo.

Minho shook under you, his whole body taut and hands helplessly grabbing onto anything he could reach.

"Please! I wanna cum! Please!" his voice was all raspy with desperation, hips jumping back into yours. You tsked at him loudly between quiet moans, one hand going to spank him again.

You knew it wasn't fair, especially not when he jerked underneath you with a debauched groan, desperation growing tenfold in him.

"Please! Mistress!" for a few more thrusts those were the only words that slipped out of him, an endless repeat of cries and pleading.

"Can you be a good boy? Can you listen?" you taunted again, sweat rolling down your body, hands slipping on his skin with the perspiration. You were so close, you needed to cum so bad.

"Yes! Yes!" he chanted, and he really took it well. You fucked forward a few more times, aiming to give more pressure on his prostate - and when Minho flailed under you with tortured groans, but still didn't cum, you decided to take mercy on him.

Movements tinged with your own desperation, you quickly pulled out and tore yourself out of the harness, stepping out of your panties as well in the process.

Minho was desperately whining on the bed, hips still in the air and begging for more, but you grabbed him and manhandled him onto his back, in rush putting a condom on for him before you mounted him and sunk on his cock, a pleased sigh leaving your lips while Minho cried with overstimulation and denied pleasure.

You felt how his entire body trembled, freezing every time you moved your hips, eyes wide and wet with tears.

Your lust catching up to you, you couldn't help yourself and ride him with reckless abandon, just chasing your pleasure and using him like your own fuck toy while he thrashed on the bed, hips chasing after your wet heat and inaudible nonsense spilling out of his red lips.

"Go on baby," you gritted out between breathless sighs and groans, "take what you need." You were so close you could almost taste your orgasm on your tongue.

But instead of cumming immeadiately as you expected him to do, Minho only cried harder underneath you, incomprehensible pleading filling the room.

"Hit- hit me! Please Mistress, hit me!"

To say you were shocked would be an understatement, but you couldn't hide how your cunt clenched on his cock at his demands, and you reached behind to caress the back of his thighs again, only to be stopped once more.

Minho grabbed your hand and without any preamble pulled it to his face, big begging eyes watching you bounce on his cock. The groan that spilled out of your mouth was absolutely beastly and you clenched on his cock so hard you both almost came.

But who were you to deny him?

Caressing his cheek briefly, you pulled back and delivered a sharp slap, watching his face screw up with pleasure, cock throbbing almost violently, so close to bursting.

It only took one more before Minho was arching under you, crying out as his cock twitched and throbbed inside you, spilling into the condom.

Watching his face bleed into ecstasy and feeling his orgasm so viscerally, hearing his blissed out cries, you felt yourself clench and then you were cumming on his cock as well, riding out your orgasm on his cock as the pleasure consumed you from inside.

Your bodies jerked together for a few more moments, lust riddled brains savouring every second of the liquid ecstasy flowing through your veins, before you slid down to the bed to his side, attempting to catch your breath.

The last thing Minho remembered were your soft whispers of praises you pressed into his naked skin with gentle kisses.

You smiled and let him, seeing no reason in waking him up. After all, he didn't have to hear you settle everything with the casino, letting them know that there was no debt to settle cause the money he lost was yours all along. He didn't need to know the truth.

When Minho limped home the next day, covered in bruises, back hurting like crazy but muscles slack in a way that only good sex could facilitate, he couldn't even look into his friends' eyes with shame.

Of course they were worried for him - he looked terrible and they could see the little winces he did with every fast movement. He looked like he'd gotten beaten up after losing all his money.

And Minho would let them believe that, until the end of his life. They didn't need to know the truth.

divider by @cafekitsune

[utilitycaster]

sort of an offshoot of that post about video game characters but I think I've mentioned before the third person v. first person split in D&D, namely, do you say "I attack it with my scimitar" or "Drizzt attacks with his scimitar". This is a well-known thing in TTRPGs, I'm sure you can find more intelligent discussion about it, but it's come up for me specifically in that a lot of old-school D&D players skew hard towards third person and often they are less interested in actual play, because they see D&D as a narrative tool. There's no self-inserts; they are narrating the exploits of a guy they made. And so the parasocial elements (which are not necessarily bad, it just depends, and that's another post) have no appeal, and even things like accents don't really.

I don't think third person vs. first person necessarily means "not a self insert vs. self insert." I switch between the two and often use first person. But I don't feel like any D&D character I've played is a self-insert. They have aspects of me, sure, because of course they do, I need to be able to play them and try to think like them, but I think in a game where death and failure are really possible and where you must collaborate and where your options are rather limited - because even in D&D, they are limited by the type of game it is - it's actually vital to separate yourself out from your character.

It comes down to something I've said a lot about so many things in fiction (but yeah, this does bleed into real life): are you able to accept a character who is not like you? Are you able to accept a character who might make wildly different choices than you would? Is your capacity to empathize or see a character as a person limited by them specifically hitting some demographic or philosophical targets you have constructed? Can you, even in a low risk, fictional environment, let yourself be different from how you are.

this seems very silly but I think I may have alluded to Justin McElroy talking about not being able to play fat characters in most games, and so he often just plays characters who do not look a thing like him. He often plays as a woman of color. (I don't recall where this came up? I think it might have been on an ancient polygon video or maybe commentary on one of the TAZ seasons? I'd love to find it again). And I think that's actually really great that this was his instinct. I don't want to diminish the importance of RPGs and TTRPGs for self-discovery; obviously it's been a place for many people to explore gender and sexuality, especially, and I do not want to take away the ability for someone to play as a woman in a game before you feel like you can live as a woman publicly in real life (and notably my issues with the BG3 and Inquisition player characters are not ones of gender/sex/race, ie, I think it is personality and background that might need to be more pre-determined). But yeah, if you cannot connect with characters who aren't like you that's a problem, and it does feel a little frustrating that we know that centering a self-insert OC type makes for a worse story and people still want that.

I've always been intrigued by pre-made sheets in TTRPGs where you are limited in some way, not in a dumb "oh my god you can't play a druid bc I'm a weird vindictive dude mad that your nature magic beats my weaponry" way but just as an exploration of having to walk a mile in other people's shoes and to be a person other than one that you created to exist within your comfort zone. Because a lot of people aren't Justin, and do play themselves or as close to it as they can, regardless of what is happening around them, and I think that is a mistake.

[khunyuki]

Ok I thought of an idea for kn8 hear me out Pls!!!!! what about soshirou older brother aka soichiro enter the fight between narumi and soshirou but like in a funny scenario like him witnessing the love triangle going on decided to tease the two by making them jealous by using kagami in front of everyone to witness I'm talking hugging kagami , leaning towards her , putting his head on her lap, and whispering to her something that make her blush and giving her gift basically all those cheesy cliche stuff which ends up the two rival working together doing whatever it takes to get souchiro away from kagami in end souchiro revealing he won't steal kagami from them ( kinda think since we know that soichiro obviously care for soshirou that he would atleast have a great relationship to kagami in some extent to see how his brother doing)

Sorry if this to long 😭 also love your stories!!! They're amazing ♥️

Ohhhh!!! That's a very interesting idea anon! I've thought of Soichiro doing this with his brother only but adding Gen to the mix? Definitely chaos HAHAHA

Thank you very much for loving my stories, anon🥹 Also, your idea is fine, great even! The more specific the better hehehe

Anyways, here's your order! I hope you enjoy~

"I've lived my life with blade and you always by my side"

ʀᴇqᴜᴇꜱᴛ: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢 𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚢 𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍

Pairing/s: Hoshina Soshiro x Uzui Kagami x Narumi Gen, feat. Hoshina Soichiro

Masterlist: TOC

The City of Akihabara. Famous for its electronics shops, arcade games, maid cafes, and stores catering to anime and game lovers. It was not a place you would see Uzui Kagami in but here she is, standing in its busy streets, waiting for someone.

"Onee-san~ Are you alone? Wanna hang out with me?"

This was not something she could avoid could she. She was prepared to ignore the person trying to pick her up but as that person stood in front of her, she could recognize the tail of white and purple hair. And as she looked up, she could see the familiar face of her dear brother-in-law.

"Not cool, Soichiro-niisan"

She deadpanned at the person in front of her who was unbothered by her reaction.

"You would totally react if it was Soshiro who did it"

If his narrow eyes could wink, he would totally be doing so. He knew that mentioning little brother's name would make her react and he's proven to be correct as she tries to hide her blush from him.

"So~ Why does my cute little sister want to meet up in Akihabara of all places?"

"I wanted to buy a gift for Soshiro but I don't know what. My captain said there are some games good for couples to play"

Soichiro hummed as he looked around the place. He's been here before with some of his friends but knew it was her first time. He glanced back at his sister who seemed really curious about the place.

"For now, why don't we look around first"

Kagami nodded as they started walking, her eyes darting all over the place. They talked as they walked, catching up on things while stopping to window shop at some stores.

Kagami would sometimes hangout with her future brother-in-law, Hoshina Soichiro, despite the disapproval of her fiance, his brother. The reason she's doing this is simple. She knew just how much Soichiro adores his little brother yet Soshiro doesn't want anything to do with his older brother. She's tried hard to reconcile them again and again but failed everytime.

So here she is, spending her time with her big brother, just to tell him stories about his little brother. Of course that doesn't mean she'll only be talking about him! Kagami is a single child so she's really happy to have a big brother like Soichiro, as he is overjoyed to have a sister like her. Hanging out with Soichiro-niisan just to be spoiled is truly the main purpose of this event!

"Our little Kagamin is really spoiled, isn't she?"

He pinched her nose as she scrunched up with his actions, squatting his hand away. He could only laugh at her as he ruffled her hair. Her arm still link around his as she glared at him for ruining her hair.

To the two, these signs of affection are only part of their usual interactions as siblings-in-law. To a bystander, however, it seems like two lovers are having PDA on the streets.

Lovebirds.

That's what it looked like to Narumi Gen who dropped his newly bought PS6 to the ground in shock. His eyes were bulging out of his sockets and his jaw was technically on the floor as he watched his crush drag away the long haired male to someplace with their arms linked together.

"This can't be! NOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Narumi Gen dramatically reacted as he kneeled on the ground and hit it with both of his fists like a meme, the passersby avoiding him like a plague. He would wipe the crocodile tears but instead, there was fire burning in his eyes.

Who does that guy think he is putting his hands on his crush?!!!

He saw Kagami and that guy he doesn't know by the claw machines. She was pointing at the purple cat with squinted eyes as he tried to get it for her. Gen saw her laughing at him for not being able to get it on his first try as the man flicked her forehead before trying it again. He gripped the machine he was hiding behind at and is definitely gritting his teeth with jealousy.

The Strongest Narumi Gen: oi

The Strongest Narumi Gen: Kagami's with someone

The Strongest Narumi Gen: fuck they're too close

The Weakest Bastard: What do you mean?

Hoshina Soshiro couldn't help raising his eyebrow once he saw the message. His fiancee being too close to someone? That's impossible.

Big Fat Loser sent a photo

Big Fat Loser: i'm gonna kill this bastard

Soshiro looked at the photo and the default smile on his face dropped. Was this why Kagami wasn't hanging out with him on their day off? Cuz she's having a date with his brother?? He could imagine his brother doing this on purpose just to annoy him, and it's proven to be effective.

I Am Winner: that's my brother

I Am Winner: i'm coming over

Those were Soshiro's last words as he exited his apartment, heading straight for Akihabara. Ain't no way he's letting his brother get away with this scheme.

The moment Narumi Gen saw the word brother on the screen, he understood just why he found that man irritating. His hair color was different but those eyes, those narrowed eyes were the same. He had a nagging feeling on the back of his head the whole time he was watching them, about where he had seen this fox-eyed man before. Turns out it was Hoshina Soichiro, captain of the Sixth Division, the older brother of his rival.

Hoshina Soichiro was no idiot. He already saw the captain of the First Division following them as soon as they exited the arcade. There's no way he's not feeling the daggers digging onto his back nor the dark aura he's exuding. He knows what Narumi's relationship was with his little sister for she tells him about it, sometimes complaining.

The captain of the First Division likes his little sister, that part was obvious. His little brother obviously loves his fiancee. He also knows of the rivalry between him and his brother. Hoshina Soichiro grins widely at the devious plan he came up with.

"What do you wanna do next?"

Soichiro placed his arm on her shoulders as they walked the busy streets of Akihabara. She tilted her head but let him be. He could hear growling behind as the aura of seething jealousy could no longer be contained.

"I'm hungry"

She pretended to think before telling him she's hungry, which earned a chuckle from him. They entered a restaurant, sitting on a table for 4, with Gen secretly following behind them. He sat a few tables away, hiding his face with the menu.

As the two placed their orders, the door to the restaurant opened and in come Soshiro, who tried to hide the fact that he rushed there. He was going to interrupt the two before he got dragged back by Gen.

"Why did you drag me back?"

"Are you crazy? Why would you head there without a plan?!"

"I don't need a plan to talk to my fiancee"

"This bastard..."

The two bickering idiots were bound to be noticed as they didn't bother hiding while doing so. Even more as they stand in the middle of the establishment, attracting the attention of other customers, particularly the two they were spying on. The staff wanted to try and stop the dispute but were too scared to do so.

"Now now, it's not good to fight the two of you"

The two who were grabbing each other's collars just now looked at the man that placed his hands on their shoulders. The man who was sitting a few tables away was now stopping their fight. The same man who was the cause of this in the first place.

"Soshiro and Gen-kun? What are you doing here?"

Kagami who also got up from her sit, wanting to help stop the commotion was surprised to see the people she wasn't expecting to be there at all. The two immediately wrapped their arms on each other's shoulder as they looked at her in a merry attitude.

"What a coincidence to see you here, Kagami"

"We were just in the area looking around"

Soshiro and Gen spoke alternatively, maintaining the facade. While they didn't totally answer her question, she didn't mind it.

"I knew it. You two are really close"

She smiled happily as she saw the good relationship between the two rivals. As expected, all of their bickerings and fights were just an expression of their closeness. Soichiro laughed at how oblivious she was to the situation, clearly seeing the two at each other's throats a few moments ago.

"Why don't you two join us for lunch? It would be bad for business if we continue to stand around here wouldn't it?"

Soichiro suggested as he had already dragged Kagami back to their seats, this time sitting besides her than in front. The two looked at each other before trying to take the sit in front of her first. Fortunately for Gen, he got was closer and sat first. Unfortunately for Soshiro, he had to face his brother rather than his fiancee.

"So... What brought you two in Akiba together?"

Gen was the first to ask, having been the one who's following them for a while. Side-eyeing the captain of the Sixth Division.

"It's been a while since we last saw each other so I just wanted to hang out with my little sister"

Acting oblivious, Soichiro side hugged Kagami and leaned his head on hers. This seemed to fluster her but she didn't stop him. Of course this would mean the two males in front of them were technically killing him on their heads now.

"I'm quite upset. Why didn't you tell me you're going to hang out with him of all people, Kagami"

Soshiro pretended to pout as he crossed his arms, looking quite disappointed. Kagami immediately became crestfallen, having been guilty of not telling him about it first.

"I'm sorry. You didn't want to talk about him so I..."

"It's not your fault"

It's this guy, he thought as he frowned at his brother who was clearly enjoying this.

"This brat, why are you making my sister sad?"

Soichiro pat Kagami in the head to comfort her. He pretended to frown as if what his brother did upsets him, when in fact, he was trying hard not a grin so hard.

"If you wanted to look around Akiba, you could just ask me! I know every inch and corner of this place"

Gen not liking how he's being ignored, turned back the question to him. He's incredibly annoyed but he had to hide it in front of his crush.

"I was actually going to but you said you were busy with the new game you just bought"

As if lightning had struck him, Gen couldn't help but react dramatically. It was there! The opportunity was there! Yet he blew it! He hit his head on the table from shame, crying crocodile tears, which startled Kagami who asked if he was okay.

Their orders arrived while Kagami was busily trying to comfort Gen. Soshiro took a sip from his drink as he blatantly ignored his brother. This made his brother show a sad smile, thinking his reaction was inevitable after everything.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine"

"Kagami told me a lot about you"

"I see"

The silence was awkward as Soshiro shut Soichiro down. Soshiro doesn't hate his brother but he couldn't help the feeling of inferiority every time he sees him. It's been so long since the last time they had contact so he just doesn't know what to do.

Gen could care less about their relationship as brothers but seeing how worried Kagami was, he had to at least do something.

"Remember that game I introduced to you last time? That one you liked most"

He tried to distract her but engaging a conversation with her alone.

"Which one? Oh! The visual novel one! What was it called again? Oto- Otome? Otome game!"

Kagami was confused at first as he had made her play plenty of games. Some she couldn't understand how to, the others easy but she doesn't quite like. For someone who likes to read like her, there is only one answer.

"I didn't expect you to be the type to play otome games, sis"

Amused, Soshiro and Soichiro joined the conversation. She tilted her head, not knowing what's wrong with it.

"It's unrealistic but the stories will hook you up. Though I don't know why there were plenty of guys/girls to choose from"

Soshiro squinted his also narrow eyes at the guy beside him in a 'what are you teaching her' kind of way. Gen feigned ignorance as he whistled.

As they finished eating and chatting, it was now time to leave. It was not in their plan to have two extras joining but it wasn't unwelcomed. The only thing was if they should continue their initial plan or not.

"Wanna head to the park, sis?"

Kagami nodded her head at her dear brother's suggestion, oblivious to the reactions of the two men who joined them.

"What about you guys, wanna come?"

Soichiro wanted to snicker bit he couldn't make it too obvious that he's finding their jealousy entertaining. He wanted to see how far he can go with teasing them as he whispered something to his sister's ear.

The two men saw her blush as she immediately hit his arm in embarrassment. Their glares worsened as they watched the smirk on his face growing wider by the second.

"Sure, why not? I'm free"

Gen took her side, squatting the arm trying to wrap itself on her shoulders. Once again taking her attention away to himself.

"Better than leaving you two alone"

Soshiro squeezed himself between Kagami and Soichiro as he tried to link their arms together. By now, Kagami was surrounded from both sides leaving Soichiro on the side. They started walking while ignoring the pouting man following behind them.

As soon as they arrived at Ueno Park, they could see a lot of people coming and going. There really wasn't much greenery as there were more ample pathways and flea market vendors in there. Depending on their choice, they could either go to the zoo, museums, or the lake. As they have a lot of time, they decided to go to all of them.

While Kagami was having a blast, the same couldn't be said to the three. Soshiro and Gen were joining forces to prevent Soichiro from getting closer to her which takes a lot of patience cuz he's so persistent. And when they think they fended him off, they'll be fighting each other for her attention which will give Soichiro an opportunity to take her away. Really, they couldn't get a break. As long as she's happy then they'll endure this.

"I'm gonna go get us some drinks"

They decided to rest on a bench after walking for a long time. It was really tiring but fun. So to show her gratitude, Kagami headed to the nearest vending machine to get them some drinks, leaving the three behind.

"No need to be so on guard, you two"

Once she was gone, the two unleashed a full on hostile attempt on Soichiro, finally being alone with him. He sweatdropped at them, raising his hands to show he means no harm.

"I'm not planning on stealing her"

They squinted at him, not believing his words at all.

"You better not"

They said at the same time as Soichiro just laughed awkwardly.

"I only think of Kagami as a little sister, after all"

He said this to reassure them but, in actuality, he's pointedly saying this to his brother. She'll be his sister in the future so there's nothing wrong in getting close, no?

"Umm... There are people waiting for me. Could you please get out of the way?"

The three of them could say more to each other but as soon as they saw Kagami being surrounded by two strangers who couldn't seem to get a hint. They dropped everything as they went to her. Soichiro and Gen holding on both of them while Soshiro takes her in his arms.

While they may not get along with each other, they will surely move together for her sake.

Note/s: It was fun writing this but I think I kinda half-assed it from the middle to the end😭 I'm sleepy, tired and busy so I just rushed the ending, skipped some parts, and didn't get to edit this properly. Sorry about that🙇‍♀️ But!! I think I showed what needed to be seen so I do hope you guys are satisfied🥹🥹🥹 Anyways, thank you again for reading my stories🫶💕

[bahrtofane]

dialogue 7 trope 8 with tchouameni pls. so happy that ppl are finally writing for him 🥹❤️

- "ooohh you wanna kiss me sooo bad." - Bodyguard au

happy to write for him! he needs more love enjooyyyy

word count - 800+

watch it - flirty tch and weapon mentioned like once enjoyy

You know you're not a very stereotypical bodyguard. Shorter than most, no rippling muscles that tear shirts apart. It does give you the advantage of surprise. No one expects you. Even more so for the man you've been tasked to protect. 

You know they hired you specifically to blend in and so you do. Still keeping close but you look like you could be anything from a part of the crowd to a friend and whatever more. You've seen yourself on a few gossip pages and on news articles here and there. 

They have yet to put the pieces together and you want to keep it that way. You have a job to do and a man to protect. A man that for the life of you you can't understand. 

He's an enigma on a good day. Aurélien keeps a curious eye on you, eager to watch you. But yet so hesitant. 

He doesn't talk to you all that much, but when he does he manages to squeeze playful words in between each sentence. Always catching you off guard. He goes from being honed in and focused to letting his shoulders loose in a laugh. 

Today seems like no exception. You wait in the wings backstage of an event. It's just a rehearsal for the actual thing yet you're here. Its empty save for stage screws running about with wires and microphones tangled on the floor. 

You stand arms crossed a few feet away from where Aurélien is being fitted with different wires and what not. He speaks, arms waving lazily and nodding along to whatever his agent is saying. You haven't talked to him today yet. 

He spots you soon enough, giving you a wave while you respond with a curt nod. He gets shown to where you stand, told to “hang out” here for a second while they adjust the lighting. 

“Didn't know they dragged you here too?” he says, hands resting inside the pockets of his jacket. 

“I have a job to do.” you shrug. 

“Does it even get boring? Being around the same person all the time. I know I get tired.”

Your expression remains neutral, though a spark of amusement flickers in your eyes. "Perhaps," you hum, "But that doesn't change the fact that I'm here to protect you, whether you like it or not."

He grins, gaze lingering on you for a moment longer before turning back to watch the lights cycle through the different settings. "Well, in that case, I suppose I'll just have to make your job as interesting as possible," he says with a lazy shrug. 

You roll your eyes, but cant help the small smile that tugs at your lips. "I have no doubt you will," you reply dryly 

Aurélien gives you a playful smirk before leaning in slightly, his voice dropping to a teasing whisper. "You know," he says, amusement dancing in his eyes, "sometimes I wonder if all this protection is just an excuse to be close to me."

You raise an eyebrow, unimpressed by his attempt at flirting. "Don't flatter yourself," you retort, though you can't stop the smile that seems between your words. He's bold today. 

Leave it to Aurélien to find a way to wiggle into your personal space and under your skin with his words so early in the day. And you have so many more hours left with him. How thrilling. 

He chuckles softly, leaning even closer until his breath brushes against your ear. "Oh, come on," he murmurs, "we both know deep down, you wanna kiss me sooo bad."

You can't help but laugh, shaking your head at his shameless antics. "You wish," you reply, giving him a playful shove before straightening up, feeling the waistband of your pants for your weapon. Old habits die hard you suppose. 

Aurélien grins, the playful glint returning to his eyes as he steps back, resuming his role in the rehearsal.

You don't know what game he really plays. If his words really hold any meaning. If you should listen. So you choose the safe route and brush them off and try to do your job. Even if he insists on making it near impossible. 

He sends you knowing looks from the other side of the backstage area. Ones you know would easily strike up talk. But you can't talk your eyes off him. Partly because of your job and partly due to him being so- what's the word- dazzling. 

You do want to kiss him, but he doesn't need to know that. Not now at least.

For now you watch him do his thing while you try to do your job and push away his voice from ringing in your ears over and over. 

we both know deep down

[reveseke]

Artist reader & characters of Cobra Kai. Nothing but fluff and gen (mentions of (full+partial) nude art, but nothing specific!), no specific genders for the reader.

Threw in the girls & Ant as well, bc i could and I genuinely wanted to. All of them could be perceived as either platonic or romantic.

Reminder that my blog is male, ftm, enby, masc centric and I do not write for fem readers!

Eli, Miguel, Demetri, Robby, Anthony, Moon, Yasmin, Tory & Sam w/ an artist reader!

Just my thoughts nothing more or less. :3 also they get noticeably shorter the further down you go lol.

— Eli; I think he'd find it cool if you were into drawing and sketching (I don't believe he'd have a favorite style, just random sketches of the most random-est of things does it for him to think you're really cool and talented). He'd absolutely loved to get a peak at the sketches, especially if he catches you sketching something. If you dare to show him a sketch of him either post Hawk or before Hawk he'd ask you if he could keep it with the sweetest of smiles. Also graffiti, absolutely would mess around with spray paint with you.

However he would be a bit meaner just for the show during S1-3 specifically with his macho show of I'm a goddamn badass pretender for the girls. He'd just be basically mean for the laughs but swear he'd also be sweet as fuck to you afterwards and making up for his behaviour. (Make him sit for a few hours and be your model, that'll do lol.) [Side note I think Hawk would be the kind of guy to think about partial nude art but never admit it.]

— Miguel; just in general this boy is fucking bashful and amazed for your skill at drawing. He'd love to breeze through your sketchbooks and ask you to draw something for him. Absolutely anything and he'd cherish it, especially if it was something of him or nature-related. I also think he'd love abstract patterns. I also think he appreciates graffiti and murals!

— Demetri; interested for sure, especially if you're into drawing fantasy characters and settings. He's a comic nerd, he'd love to see your take on some of his favored characters from comics. fanart kind of guy imo. Also if you draw him his DnD character he'd love you for eternity. Just saying :3 (I also believe that Dimitri would have artistic talent as well. Thinking about dates where y'all just geek about your interests and draw, create stories etc.) I also think that Dimitri would love to see scenery art.

— Robby; this man cannot take a pen in hand and draw himself at all imo, he seems like he's a bit lost but he'd absolutely adore your drawings. I think he'd be into scenery and a realistic type of art. For some reason I think he'd be the guy who doesn't exactly get art, but gets joy from watching someone else geek out about a specific piece and tell him about it and the history/background around the artwork. (Looking at Mona Lisa rn so hard) [side note on this guy, he'd absolutely at some point ask about nude art in general.]

— Ant; we know this guy plays DnD as well, he'd be interested in your drawings and love silly sketches especially off of characters related to his interests. Somehow thinking Anthony wouldn't get abstractical art if it didn't have fantasy-esque in it. Just video game art, absolutely.

— Moon; Personally love her character sm down to earth (not really, she seems more daydream type) and interested in crystals, chakras and energies! I think she'd be interested in symbolism within art and just be really really interested in spiritual-related artworks. Abstractical patterning that takes inspiration from a culture? Mythology related artworks? She'd absolutely eat them up and I mean gobble it all up, I also see her as someone who'd do art with you.

— Yasmin; she'd love to see what you were sketching especially if it was her, because I think she would let you just draw her up in different outfits even without asking if you could. [Personally also think she'd be interested in nude or revealing art.] She'd be your model without any further questioning, BUT be sure your up for the task to hear her whine about how long it's going to take and just be cheesy with some memes. (Koff Koff the popular french girl line.)

— Tory; now I don't think Tori's much of an art girl either, but she'd love to see your sketchbook like the others and watch you draw. However this doesn't by any means rule out graffiti, she'd be up in a second if spray paints and graffiti was mentioned imo! I also think she'd have an eye for scenery and murals artworks with abstract types of art.

— Sam; she'd love to see your sketches and artworks as well! I think Sam wouldn't inherently be that interested in art, but she'd absolutely let you rattle her ears off talking about art and such. I think she appreciates scenery art a lot and murals.

[inkdemonapologist]

are you excited for the big role sammy's going to play in Cage?? im apprehensive... i love him a feral amount and i was real disappointed with his 2 seconds of screentime in BatDR

also just saying ur sammy drawings give me life he looks wonderful in hats

brought to u by ⭐️ anon

Hehehe aw thank you!! :D

There’s a lot of things in Dark Revival I ended up disappointed about, but despite my love of Sammy Lawrence, Sammy barely appearing was not really one of them. At the time, I’d commented to friends that the complete lack of Sammy mentions in the hype leading up to BatDR meant he was either very important or had only a cameo appearance, and I was actually pretty delighted about the Cyclebreaker cameo – it’s a moment that takes him startlingly seriously, that wasn’t just him quoting one of his four catch phrases; it’s... a kind of moment we haven’t seen from Sammy before. The part where he gets shot was like, where my expectations were, so the cyclebreaker thing was a pleasant surprise.

But like, ever since The Cage was announced… we knew Sammy kind of had to be in it. Like, Henry says “how did WE escape” and it’s set in the SPECIFIC place and time that Sammy also is; literally the only reason for Sammy to not be a significant character is if the creators actually didn’t want anything to do with him. So I have to admit the announcement that WE CAN CONFIRM that SAMMY WILL PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN THE CAGE!!!!!!! RESTORED TO HIS CHAPTER 2 CREEPY GLORY! is just…… ugh, it’s hard to articulate why this tweet frustrates me so much.

Like………………….. "he's in it more" is not the only thing people care about, surely! What is he doing? What is his role in all this? What does he even WANT? In a review, "he's back to his chapter 2 creepy glory" would be a powerful recommendation; in a tweet from the creator right after preorders go up, it feels more like, "Hey, remember the thing you wanted? we DEFINITELY did that thing you wanted and we did it SUPER WELL so preorder our game please!!" Give us an intriguing line of dialogue or a hint about what he's doing (opposing you? helping you? uneasy truce? trying to find bendy?) and you wouldn't even need to promise us that he plays a major role; we'd be curious to learn more.

So this reassurance ends up doing the opposite, for me, because I still don't know if the creators even understand what I like about Sammy. The thing is that the circumstances of BatDR (there's a little Bendy running around, the Ink Demon is claimed dead but actually it's not, Wilson is trying to become the Lost Ones' new Big Brother) could've been INCREDIBLY relevant to Sammy -- that's why people wanted him to show up in BatDR, to see what he thinks of these developments and how he would react to them!! So if you're interested in Sammy, the character, then it would not be hard to hint at like, what his deal is – "Sammy knows the Ink Demon is out there somewhere and Henry is the key to finding him" or "after the disappearance of his Lord he's become a desperate man who's as much an obstacle as an ally" or even "Sammy was defiant when he went into the Pit -- what will Henry find when he encounters him now?" or w/e -- simply insisting HES LIKE HE WAS IN CHAPTER TWO, THE ONE YOU GUYS LIKE instead of being able to think of a single character-based hint that we might find compelling is, tbh, rather un-reassuring!!!

My complaint about Twisted Alice’s role in BatDR was that ultimately, it felt like they were just trying to capture the vibes that Twisted Alice had in BatIM instead of really exploring what that character would be doing HERE, in THIS situation. Nothing she’s doing really makes sense, and what IS there seems to have forgotten what her actual deal is, but she’s doing it with the right flair, so it feels like she’s in-character enough for the scene to be fun. Like an episodic cartoon that just forgets what happened in previous episodes depending on who’s writing this one. So… I think that’s a real risk for Sammy. For the people who just want him to show up and whisper cult-ish things so we can hear his voice more and go HEHEHE ITS HIM, this isn’t really a concern lmao, that will probably happen. I don’t have high hopes that he’ll make sense as a character, but tbf I don’t know that he ever has.

And IDK, its still early, its possible the cage will come out and I'll look up spoilers and be like OMG NM I LOVE WHAT THEY DID WITH HIM. A game that's supposed to be psychological horror could, in theory, be a really fun place for Sammy!! Maybe the people actually writing him will give him more care, haha. It's a little silly for me to be so worked up about the marketing for a game that I am not going to buy b/c I’m still not interested in giving JDS, Inc. my money. AND YET DESPITE IT ALL I STILL… CARE ABOUT SAMMY LAWRENCE LMAO….. I think my main emotion about The Cage is just curiosity, though. I do want to know what they do with him. I’m curious if he’ll play a major part in the story, or if he’s like Henry or Porter in BatDR, with one big scene where he gets a bunch of lines and then runs off. A lot of people really want to see Henry and Sammy team up in this, but I’m not writing off the possibility he’s an antagonist of some kind, so I’m curious which way that’ll go. But I don’t feel like I have any strong expectations, so I guess we’ll see!

[patricia-taxxon]

heya! i just rewatched your sc2020 video…again… and then found out you're on tumblr and, of course, immediately went to look if you've posted anything about sj aswell and found that post from *checks notes* 1.5 months ago - so, i guess what im here to ask is, would you mind elaborating on that?

im unfamiliar with marble blast (im so sorry i do not have the brainpower to watch your essay on that...yet) so the comparison you make is not particularly useful to me :v

also for context, i did contribute to sj, specifically playtesting and programming, so i do have Opinions™ (that im gonna keep to myself due to lack of anon ask (not a bad thing! i understand why you have it off)) and i wonder if those happen to bleed through to the player experience or if your gripes with it are something different entirely.

well, firstly, i have developed such a deep seated hatred of the celeste community that i haven't opened the game in months and i've considered just deleting my spring collab video multiple times, I'm not finishing any more of my maps because I don't want to make anything for these people. so i didn't actually finish SJ, I did everything up to & including the easy half of the grandmaster lobby though, and my take is that even with the few miracles I found within the map list, it would not have inspired a video essay on the level of the spring collab one if I'd played it first. it's just not as interesting, and not as rewarding to study. it represents a horrible misattribution of priorities that permeates the entire community.

in that video, i confidently say that spring collab is ALWAYS interesting, because modding culture is interesting even if it's interesting for being a little bad or revealing something about the author's proclivities. strawberry jam represents a near unanimous drive to remove authorship and make levels that are impartially agreeable, to make Celeste 2. it's only interesting when the mapper does something interesting on purpose, like Paint, Pointless Machines, Undergrowth, Summit Down-Side or Flipside Cliffside. a path of least resistance emerged in the time between SC2020 and Strawberry Jam, and experiencing it in this quantity made me forget what I liked about this game or this modding scene in the first place. the volume of creative gimmicks and varied aesthetics is huge, but each one starts to feel identical after being ground through this particular jank-averse process. I still have strong opinions about every map in SC2020, even the ones that might seem unremarkable, I can only barely begin to quantify the entire fucking C tier of my SJ tierlist. it's diverse on the surface but the substance is homogenous, especially intermediate through expert.

also in my SC2020 video, I talked about a certain tension that arrives once you get to the expert lobby, where the mappers had to create uncommercial levels of difficulty that rubbed against a similar apparent drive to make the player feel like they're actually doing the challenge & not just watching it. strawberry jam arrives at this conflict far earlier, the INTERMEDIATE maps and onwards are the ones that seem to pull between making interesting challenges while also having the player be an agent in those challenges. they want the intermediate levels to feel hard, look cool, and the solution is to just make them ridiculously constrained so the only way is the ~satisfying~ way. that's why I won't make a video about strawberry jam, because many segments in my spring collab video already serve as criticism for strawberry jam. it made the same mistakes again, but worse, and with far less of the things that made me love spring collab in spite of its flaws.

here's my tierlist, if there are any questions i'll try and qualify any of these takes with what i can remember from playing it. however, for reasons stated previously I won't be playing more so this is probably gonna be it.

[zara-renata]

Hello! I just wanted to say I'm absolutely OBSESSED with the sylus series. Every update you make also makes my day ❤️ if it's ok, I wanted to ask a question, and if it's something that's upcoming in the fic please feel free to disregard this part. How do you think your written MC would handle knowing about sylus knowing past versions of MC and the history there? They seem to struggle with self esteem so im wondering if the knowledge that Sylus' interest is due in part not to them as they are now would be something....hard to digest(?) Like the self sabotage would kick in "ohhhh it's not me I'm a placeholder" mentality. Sorry if that doesn't make much sense 😥

Hello to you too! Thank you so much for this kind message! I'm really glad you're enjoying the fic, and it's amazing to hear that it's enough to make your day. I am enjoying writing it so much, but I still feel a lot of anxiety posting when I've finished something new. I haven't really written for fandom with any kind of consistency for a long time, and even back when I started, it was sporadic. I'm trying very hard to not worry about how well it will be received and to just try to enjoy the inspiration I currently have with the LADS universe and Sylus in particular, but messages like this are always so welcome and appreciated. As for your question, I'm going to put it under the cut because it may end up being spoilerish?? If I ever address it in this series. Thank you again so much for this kind ask!

So to preface this, I have a bunch of ideas regarding where i want this fic to go, but actually planning? and outline? i don't know her. it's basically like... i need to see sylus and mc at a fancy banquet. I need to see mc kidnapped because sylus is a crime lord. i need to see hurt/comfort in every single one of them. so I don't have a plan, and I don't know if i'll get to writing specifically about your question. but if I do! this might end up being spoilery, in which case I'm sorry for the future repetition! ok since i can't have two 'under the cuts', here's a palate cleanser if you want to stop reading.

Your question absolutely makes sense! I think it's a natural question to have, no matter your level of self esteem. We all want to know the reasons why people love us! I always feel big disappointment when this question comes up in a love story and the answer is ... "because you're you." Uuh, no buddy, I need details and receipts, please and thank you. And I also think that in a universe where past lives are real, and the person who loves you may have had feelings for a version of you from a past life, a natural question for anyone is "Does this person really love me, who I am on the inside now, or does this person love the shape of me, simply because I look and sound like the person he loved?" And for people who find it hard to accept that anyone could love them, like our mc in this series, it would take more convincing that yes, in fact, it's you, you in particular, in this life that he loves, just as he loved you in past lives, even though past you was not the same. So I can definitely see this mc going into what you describe as self-sabotage mode, and needing a shit-ton of reassurance from Sylus that this mc is enough, if not better, than past iterations of mc. Like, it's clear that Sylus's initial interest is because he knows you from the past, but you're still you. You're still a warrior, and incredibly skillful and strong- even canon mc (who i'll refer to as she since infold won't allow more options) in the game is competent, at least in battle, even if sometimes she is a bit cringe or silly because the writers seem to think that she needs to be nerfed on occasion to let the boys shine. But honestly that doesn't happen as much as I would expect based on other otome games i've played. but i digress! I definitely think a big source of angst after Sylus and the mc from this series become romantically involved would be from learning that not only had he not revealed their shared past earlier, but wrestling with the doubt you mentioned in your ask, of "Does he love me for me as I am now, or because I'm a good enough replacement?"

And Sylus's answer would be a resounding "I love you for who you are now, how could I not love someone who surprises me every day with all the emotions you carry inside you and can't hide, when I myself haven't felt much emotion in so long. how can I not love someone who despite being so hurt, is strong enough to keep trying to defend the weak, to keep fighting even when you're on the ropes. how could I not love someone who is funny and smart, and tries to fill my bedroom with plants because I miss the plants that grow everywhere but inside the n109 zone, a place I have to live in because it protects me from the sun and it's where my empire is even though I hate it."

And even further than that, because this is a comforting fantasy for me and maybe for others because we all want to think we are singularly unique for the person who loves us, even though in real life you can love more than one person in your life and all of those loves are valid, and polyamory does exist and is valid, BUT for me personally i like to think that sylus can even love this mc more than past mcs. Like i allude to in the series based on that evil villain bit he gives you about all the crimes you have committed or will commit, i have this idea that the mc he loved was a lot crueler than this mc. just based on how starved he is for touch and how he lights the fuck up if you're even a tiny bit nice to him, i think that the crumbs of affection that previous mc may have given him were enough to satisfy him because he did love that mc, even though they may have been a lot harsher. but when he meets our mc, who is already prepared to protect and care for him with everything in them despite what a dickhead he is when we first meet him, the returned affection and devotion that this mc provides for him is a feast that he almost does not know how to properly process, and he loves this mc as much, if not more, than the other mcs that he has cared for.

ok and now i'm done, i'm sorry if this is WAY more than you were looking for. In the end it would be angsty but sylus will prevail because he loves you so, so much!

[badlydrawnmanic]

baldur’s gate 3 has once again taken over my life and i low key wanna draw the playable characters as mobians because i have crossover / furry brain disease + edits

to no one’s surprise astarion is a bat because, well. vampires, and his secret isn’t exactly hard to figure out before the reveal cutscene. he himself may not be associated with bats but you get it

gale is kinda tough for me to pin down because he’s both plain but not at all at the same time. his personality doesn’t fit cat despite his light association with them through tara, but hedgehog is seemingly considered a default even to the sonic series itself much like human is in dnd, so that might work. his hair is also kinda makes me think of a lion and that has a bit more character to it

karlach is undoubtedly my favorite. outside of fire one of her bigger unique design bits is her broken horn which i’d wanna keep fairly the same. sheep would fit the curled shape but she doesn’t really have a soft vibe that comes along with sheep. maybe some sort of cow-like animal. big and powerful. friend suggested she be a boar instead of minsc which i could roll with. confused for a hellsboar by wyll

lae’zel is supposed to be markedly different from the other characters, so i’m thinking either some kind of reptile / amphibian or something entirely alien in that it’s a beast from the dnd universe. while they aren’t associated with the githyanki there’s gremishka in the creche and that might be just interesting enough to work. big ears. friend also suggested a skink specifically and people seem to think she's very frog even if i don't see it lol

shadowheart is also relatively normal. was thinking wolf for a time but honestly she had cat vibes + that would sort of play into her and lae’zel being kinda similar despite being from fundamentally different places / backgrounds. friend suggested a squirrel? will consider

wyll feels like he’d be some kind of dog given the general good boy-ness of him, loyalty, etc, plus it kinda plays into how mizora talks about him. naturally his “you didn’t kill karlach” form would be a hellhound. friend mentioned fox but i think dog is more fitting

halsin is a bear and there is nothing difficult about this whatsoever

i haven’t done an evil run yet where i recruit minthara but i know she’s a lolth sworn drow and they’re associated with spiders and that would be kinda cool. friend suggested wolf for her also

minsc would probably also be a dog. even though repeats are a bit lame, he was a protagonist in another group of characters from another baldur’s gate so it’s fine. one of those stupidly huge breeds that look more like lions than dogs. if not a dog than maybe a boar. friend suggested a ferret but i think he needs beef to him. wolverine maybe?

jaheira also being from the other baldur’s gate game could probably be a repeat too. slightly cranky old cat but she loves you in her own way. would also contrast with minsc. if not a cat then i could see her as a deer i think. i somehow forgot that the game's ai defaults her wildshape to a panther when you're battling alongside her in moonrise towers so panther it is

[formula1fanfiction]

Pierre Gasly / Charles Leclerc

Title: Spin the bottle

Pairing: Charles Leclerc / Pierre Gasly

Characters: Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, George Russell, Alex Albon

Prompt: Pierre found out Charles is a virgin, so he decides to give him his first blowjob and fuck!

"Let's play spin the bottle" Of course it's Alex that suggests it, they are all more than a little tipsy now and only few of them remain, Pierre himself, Charles, Alex, George, Carlos and Lando.

"We might find out things about each other, we don't want to know." Lando giggles sitting next to Carlos in the small circle forming on the carpeted floor. "You can always go home if you're too chicken." Alex mocks sitting next to George, those two have already struggled to keep their hands off each other.

Pierre is the last to join the circle, he sits next to George and Charles of course, he's tried it on with Charles all night, only to be pushed away, at least this game might reveal some naughty secrets about his fellow drivers.

"I get to spin first because this was my idea." Alex demands, seeming much more sober than the rest of them. He spins the bottle and it lands on Carlos. "Have you ever kissed Lando?" Pierre thinks that is a very boring question, especially from a guy as mischievous as Alex.

"I think we all know the answer to that is yes." Carlos giggles tipping back the rest of his beer. "I expected more from you Albono." Alex gives a guilty shrug. "I didn't want to start too heavy." Carlos ignores him and spins the bottle, which lands on George. Judging by the evil smile creeping on Carlos' face this question is going to be more entertaining.

"Have you ever been fisted?" George spits out his fruity looking cocktail in shock. "No?" George wipes the liquid off his face with the back of his hand. "Do you want to?" Carlos adds, still smirking. "Yes, I mean-" Alex abruptly cuts him off. "You only get to ask one question." Judging by the blush on Alex's face, he's only just learnt George would like to be fisted. Pierre smirks, this game is getting very interesting indeed.  

George spins the bottle and this time it lands on Pierre himself, what does Mr British boy have in store for him. "Do you bottom for Charles are you always on top?" This is not the kind of question Pierre was expecting, he and Charles have never slept together, the younger man had always turned down his advances.

"Uhmm we've never slept together." George rolls his eyes. "Lying is not allowed, I told everyone I want to get fisted, that is nothing in comparison." Alex quietly chokes on his drink but quickly recovers. "ooh I bet it's because big bad Pierre is a bottom." All the circle laugh, including Charles, the traitor who keeps quiet all through Pierre's ordeal. "I have no issue bottoming, but i've never slept with Charles."

"Mr Tripod is a liar." Carlos snaps. "Just spin the bottle Pierre." Pierre glares at Charles one last time  then spins the bottle, unfortunately it doesn't land on Charles but Lando instead.

"Tell us your deepest, kinkiest fantasy." Pierre is feeling slightly mean after getting humiliated by Charles. Lando doesn't look the slightest bit embarrassed, he licks his lips and locks eyes with Carlos, who has become rather flustered.

"Well Carlos has never been anything but a gentleman with me, so I guess I need a more adventurous man to try this with." Lando's eyes never leave Carlos' "I would like someone, to grab me roughly, manhandle me onto the bed, tie me to it, then fuck me really hard while whispering what a naughty boy I am and when were finished I would like to have car- err his spunk plugged into my arse." Lando giggles again.

"That's oddly specific" Alex laughs, George and Lando lock eyes michvious smiles on their faces. It's obvious what those two are playing it, meanwhile Pierre can't even get laid.

Lando spins the bottle, this time it lands on Alex, he locks eyes with George once again and smiles at Alex. "Do you want to fist George." A blush creeps onto Alex's cheeks but he manages to keep composed. "I mean, if he wanted it i'm not going to say no am I?" Lando shakes his head. "That wasn't my question, we know princess George always gets his own way, I said do you want to fist George?" Alex looks a lot let composed this time, biting his lip and wriggling on his spot. "Fuck, yes it would be the hottest thing I can imagine, I-" Carlos shakes his head. "We get it Alex."

"Don't be so boring with your question this time Alex." Carlos giggles "I don't need to spin the bottle, only Charles left." All eyes turn towards Charles who has been extremely quiet throughout the whole game. Charles' whole face has become ferrari red. He's embarrassed, good. Pierre can't wait to find out an embarrassing secret about the sweet innocent doe eyed Charles Leclerc.

"How many cocks have you had in your hole?" Poor Charles looks even more flustered than he did before. "I errm, I don't know?" George smiles at him. "Too many to count? Yet you've never slept with Pierre?" George glares at Pierre, for lying again.

"No, no not too many to count-" Charles shutters. "Then how man Charles?" Carlos adds. Pierre's somehow managed to remain very quiet, he is very curious about the answer to this question because yes George is right, if it is too many to count then how come he's never slept with Pierre.

"None." Charles takes a deep breath. "I've never had any cocks in my arse and i've never put my cock in someone's arse." Everyone's mouths fall open simultaneously of course they all believe him, who would lie about being a virgin.

"Shit, sorry Charles." George offers him a small smile. "Do you want to though?" All the rules of the game long since forgotten with this revelation. "I, I-" Charles gets up, flustered George and Lando quickly follow him. The three of them stand in a small group, whispering to each other smiles forming on their faces, George's arm wrapped around Charles' shoulder. "Those two sluts will corrupt him." Alex laughs. "Lando and George definitely had a game plan." Carlos adds smirking.

Well lucky them, Pierre thinks bitterly Alex and Carlos are certainly getting their dicks wet tonight.

"I'm ready to go, Pierre." Pierre wraps are protective arm around him and they leave together. As much as it frustrates Pierre they can't sleep together, he loves Charles more than anything.      

*

"I'm ready Pierre." Is the first thing he says once they are in Charles' master bedroom in his apartment. "Ready for what, sleep?" He sighs, he couldn't think about anything other than Charles virginity all the way home, how he would love to take it, make him feel amazing.

"Ready to sleep with you, I was talking to George and Lando and they said it doesn'thurtthatbadandthatyouwouldtakecareofmeortheywouldkillyou." Charles says in a gabbled rush, Pierre shushes him with a finger to his lips.

"I'll make you feel amazing, I promise and if you want to stop, just tell me okay?"

"You're so beautiful Charles, I am so lucky that I get to be your first." Pierre gently lays Charles down on the bed and gently kisses him, they've kissed before but this is something else, it's slow and passionate just a nice kiss between two people that love each other.  "I wish you could have been my first."

"Who was your first? What was it like?" Charles asks humming a little but as Pierre kisses Charles neck, only breaking the kiss to pull the shirt up over his head. He sucks in a breath, he's seen Charles shirtless many times but this time it feels different.

"My first time was awful." Pierre has moved on to kissing his way down Charles' chest now, all the way down to his belly button. he younger man shivers, goose bumps erupting over his skin. "It was with Daniil Kvyat"

Pierre eases Charles' jeans down his body, letting the denim slide off an inch at a time, until the fabric slides down Charles' strong legs, and falls onto the floor with a soft thump, leaving Charles only in his boxer shorts, his cock hard and obvious through the thin fabric. "He said something like, I owed to him because I stole his seat, he was gentle but didn't prepare me properly, it hurt so bad."

"I won't make you feel like that, I want your first to feel amazing." Charles lets out a shaky breath as Pierre gently eases down his boxers shorts, freeing his hard cock. "I don't want you to feel how I did."

"If it gets too much, just tell." Charles nods. Pierre strokes Charles' thigh lovingly as he takes Charles' hard cock into his mouth. Charles' eyes roll into the back of his head. "So good, Pear." Charles moans while Pierre works his mouth up and down Charles' shaft. He only bobs his head up and down a few times before pulling off. "I want you to come when i'm inside of you."

"Will it hurt?" Charles squeezes Pierre's bicep "You and George both said your first time hurt and i'm a little scared."

"Don't be scared." Pierre takes the bottle of lube and pours a generous amount onto his fingers. "Mine hurt because I wasn't prepared and George was in experienced." Pierre bends Charles leg and presses a finger tip against his entrance.

"It might feel uncomfortable, but i'll be really gentle and prepare you as well as I can." Pierre kisses Charles' soft lips. "I want your first time to feel amazing Charl, you deserve it."  

Charles strokes Pierre's bicep as the older man pushes in the first finger, god Charles is tight and is clenching down on him which only made things much harder, "Relax baby, it will hurt more if you're tense." but at the same time it turns Pierre on, he's going to be the first person to be inside of Charles. Charles whines and lets his fingers slip from Pierre's bicep to grip at the bed sheets just as Pierre slides his finger to the knuckle. "How are you feeling my love?"

"Hurts a little bit, but good at the same time." Charles half growls, his knuckles turning white from gripping the bed sheets. Pierre stalls giving Charles plenty of time to adjust, only then does he twist the digit around pulling a moan from Charles lips. The little moan spurs Pierre on and starts to thrust with the single digit, slow and deep trying to limit the pain as much as he possibly can. The pleasured pain on Charles' face soon becomes one of only pleasure and Charles feels much looser around him now. "I'm going to add another one." Pierre adds with a kiss to Charles' sweaty forehead.

"Okay, I feel pretty good now." Pierre smiles down at him, fuck he loves Charles, he would die for Charles. Pierre pushes in the second finger to join the first one, Charles whines mostly from pleasure, it feels good to have Pierre inside of him. Charles can't help the moan fall from his lips as Pierre slowly starts to thrust with the two fingers. Charles throws himself back into the mountain of pillows unable to hold back his moans, this feels so much better than he thought it would.

Eventually Pierre makes his way up to four fingers, it's probably over kill but he's taking no risks when it comes to Charles. He thrusts them in and out of Charles, much quicker now. Pierre thrust a little deeper and curls his fingers into Charles' prostate. Smiling wickedly as he gives out a howl of pleasure. “Wow, what did you just do?” Charles asks, ever so sweetly.

"I hit your prostate." Pierre does it again for good measure, enjoying the pleasured fill whines falling from Charles mouth. "It feels amazing doesn't it? It makes me see stars." Pierre chuckles letting his fingers slip out, Charles pouts from the lack of contact, he's more than ready now.

"Are you sure you want this Charles? It's not too late say no, I won't be mad at you or anything?" Pierre asks, as he quickly gets rid of his own clothes, tearing them off and throwing them in a corner. How is Charles supposed to say no when Pierre's ripped body is waiting in front of him, looking sexier than ever.

"I want this Pierre, more than anything. Please give it to me." Charles wraps his legs around Pierre's tiny waist. "How am I supposed to say no that?" Pierre reaches over to grab a condom, only to have his hand slapped away. "No, George and Lando said it's better without, I want to feel you inside of me." Pierre smiles down at Charles and drinks in the sight of him being a virgin for the last time. "Fuck, Charles."

Pierre kisses Charles as he slowly pushes into him, Charles lets out a pain filled grunt, Pierre is massive and is much thicker than all of his fingers. Pierre takes it slowly, pushing in an inch at a time. "It will feel better, I promise." Charles nods, as Pierre runs his fingers through his sweaty hair, trying to soothe him through the pain.

"You need to relax, Charles." Pierre runs the pad of his thumb over his hip bone. "It will hurt so much more if you don't. We can stop if you like?"

"No." Charles shakes his head vigorously to show how serious he his. "Please don't stop Pierre." Charles sinks his teeth into his lip and breaths though his nose. It sort of feels like he's being split in two but he wants to fight through the pain, he just wants to feel Pierre buried deep inside of him.

"I don't want to hurt you Charles, you mean too much to me." Charles glares at him, he's the one that asked for this and if he wants to stop he will say. "I will relax, just don't stop please." Pierre nods and Charles forces his body to relax, his lip bears the brunt of the pain as Pierre finally slides into the hilt. Charles can't help the moan, yes it does hurt but feels so good to be wrapped around Pierre's cock.  

Charles is lost in his head somewhere, his head is buried in the mountain of pillows, he's covered by Pierre's strong body, the pain as pretty much disappeared, he can only feel how amazing it is, to have Pierre inside of him, just like he wanted. "That was the worst part Charl, now i'm fully inside of you it will start to feel much better." Charles nods, remembering how good it felt to have Pierre touch his sweet spot, it can only feel much better when he hits it with his cock. "I feel so good Pierre, fuck I love you."

Pierre stalls for a little longer, wanting to make sure Charles has all the time he needs to adjust without it hurting him anymore than he needs to. "How are you feeling?" Pierre peppers little kisses over his jaw bone. "It feels amazing, to have you in me."

"I'm going to start moving now, if it starts hurting again please just tell me, we can take a break or we can stop all together." Pierre gives him one last kiss as he starts to move. Pierre moves slowly but deeply not pulling out too much. He gives Charles a little more with every thrust, going harder the more he starts to open up around him. Charles feels amazing now the burn has disappeared completely and turns into a burn of pleasure.  

Pierre changes his angle slightly and searches for Charles' prostate, he knows he's found it when Charles all but screams in pure pleasure. Charles feels like he's on cloud nine, this is everything he wanted and more. Pierre chuckles at the blissed out look on Charles face. "I can make you feel ever better." Pierre reaches down between their bodies and takes Charles' angry red cock into his hand and strokes him to the same pace as his thrusts.

"Holy, shit." Charles bucks up into Pierre's hand getting as much from him as he possibly can. "Fuck Pierre, this is exactly what I wanted you are so fucking amazing." Pierre chuckles at how quickly Charles is losing it and with one quick flick of his wrist, Charles is coming. "Fuck, Pierre-" Charles cuts off and throws his head back, hips arching up off the bed as comes hard, spilling his load over his own stomach and Pierre's hand.  

"Woah Charles, that was so fucking hot." Pierre growls, squeezing Charles hips a little tighter, thrusting into him a little harder, not quite as much as he would like, not wanting to hurt Charles at all during his first time. Pierre can't wait for the future they have together of rough passionate sex or at least Pierre hopes, he doesn't want to lose Charles, especially not after this. Now he has him like this, he never wants to let him go.

Charles is still limp and in his post orgasm high and absent mildly clenches down around Pierre and that's all it takes to send Pierre to the point of no return, he growls as he comes, screaming out Charles' name as he hits the most powerful orgasm of his life, practically exploding inside of Charles and fills him with his load.

Pierre presses a kiss into Charles sweaty forehead as he slowly eases out of him and takes Charles' well fucked out body into his arms. Charles sighs contentedly, and rests his head on Pierre's shoulder, enjoying the way his fingers feel in Charles hair.

"Thank you for being so sweet to me and taking it slowly." Charles sighs happily. "Thank you for letting me be your first, I feel so honoured."

Charles is about to close his eyes and let himself sleep in Pierre's strong arms when the though comes to his mind. "Do you think Lando and George got their wishes as well?"

"Oh, most definitely"  

A/N I think I am going to make this into a mini series with the two ships

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

Autistic Anime Boys Prelims - Propaganda Division - Group 10

Propaganda:

Mycroft -

"We don't know as much about Mycroft canonically, except that he makes a club whose whole premise is parallel play with talking forbidden, and that he is more than willing to let someone he barely knows start MI6 with the promise to deal with the socializing. Also that he is THE organization behind the British Government. As in, he serves as a planner and God knows what else. He tracks more in his head than a spreadsheet. He's adorkable too, he shoots his brother in the head with a paint gun to get his attention and tell him to beware of women, and then starts infodumping about the origins of the gun and all the cool stuff it can do. And he is truly kind, sending letters to Albert in jail and generally being really good at supporting his team, even if he hates to talk."

Londrekia -

"When it comes to things that don't interest him at all, Londrekia acts aloof and uncaring, but if something or someone catches his attention, he will immediately gain an interest, often not taking personal space into consideration. He's very stubborn and will often disobey orders from his organization if they don't match his sense of justice. Also his special ability is cryomancy and he makes a lot of ice puns that counts for something right."

Hikaru -

"Hikaru is one of the main characters in a manga explicitly about autism, and because we get to see him from birth to a young age, we get a good sense of how autism manifests in young children, which is pretty rare in Japanese media. To be honest I kinda felt like I ought to submit him because I read this manga when I was young and quite liked it, even though he's not the type of character who will make it far in this kind of tournament."

Raidou -

"a lot of the comedy from the show comes from him completely misunderstanding the other lead (who is also very autistic coded) and doing absolutely insane wacky things because he thinks that's what she wants to do. there's also an entire episode where him and the other lead get obsessed with fidget spinners."

Takt -

"Has a special interest in music and does reckless things because of it."

Asuka -

"to actually play him (he's a character in a fighting game), you have to play a card game (the most autistic game genre) while avoiding confrontation (he will die). he talks about observing people and collecting data in a way that really just seems autistic too? idk i think he's wonderful."

Yuu -

"He’s like if an emo programmer boy was also completely unhinged and also had a tragic backstory."

Soujuurou -

"My man grew up in the woods, has never seen a telephone in his life. Does not understand a single thing that's going on around him at all times and just thinks "well this must be what the city is like". Doesn't understand how to talk to other people, doesn't understand when other people are trying to make fun of him. He's doing his best to make ends meet but he specifically has a hard time with the unspoken rules of society no one ever taught him."

Emerald -

"Look at him."

[dekarios]

I know people like to scream the anti-woke crowd is responsible for the critique on veilguard. But I think it's really telling how my dash is kind of quiet about the game despite the majority of the people I follow being dragon age fans.

There is very little fanart, I still see more recent fanart of older games. Only preset uploads on nexus etc. I keep trying to play it to get sucked back into the world but it's just not happening.

I don't really want to believe it's that bad but it kind of is isn't it?

things may pick up as more people finish the game, most of my mutuals seem to still be around the half way point, or even earlier cuz they changed rook after experiencing the early game.

i think if you're specifically in the emmrich fandom things are quite Busy?? stuff for emmrich tends to get a lot of notes from what i've noticed, even my silly banter screenshots were getting notes if i included emmrich.

i am also seeing a decent amount of fanart for lucanis and davrin.

i feel like i've reblogged literally everything lace harding already and i'm starving....... but i'm kind of used to my favourites being kinda unpopular. except gale. i was spoilt there.

the nexus is mostly cuz the frosty dude has left the community and doesnt work on frostbite games anymore.. cuz its a fucking awful engine to mod and only people who truly love to suffer suffer through frostbite LOL

there ARE people working on getting tools for datv, the furthest along last i looked was a fifa/general ea sports too ladding experimental veilguard support!

but idk. i don't really know. i am not a big dragon age person. i was when da2 was the most recent game but i've kinda grown out of it/moved on over the years. i'd consider myself a casual fan, and i wasn't really expecting to be brainrotted. so i don't know if i'm the best person to gauge anything? i don't think i follow many dragon age blogs in general... hm. idk.

i do know i have a lot of mutuals who were ultimately burnt by how fucking racist the game is and the poor handling of a nonbinary character and have lost a lot of interest in the game because of it. so maybe that plays into it.

[legally-allowed-to-slime]

i disagree on the "it was a good kill and Gem is bothered by it/pretends she's not" bc it really wasn't,,, and Gem can be right in calling it pathetic and also not expecting it/knowing how to escape and also be not that bothered by it bc she does try to like, let (red life) people kill her the entire session, she's 'not a sweat' as she calls it

Mumbo literally lost a life bc he was going after Gem in the car (he pours lava where she was specifically), then tried to lava her twice, Grain had to tell him to keep going after her with a sword (also Skizz tries to lava her before that too lmao) and she still escaped it to the point Mumbo logs out bc hes embarrassed (in a light hearted way ofc) just to log back in, join in on Martyn helping them (Gem does just accept him digging a hole under her, doesn't move at all, she only tries to escape the lava) just for Ren to steal the kill like the little yellow life shit he is and then Mumbo tries to lava her again lmao. it is pathetic, let's not kid ourselves here, Looney Tunes type crap, especially with the speed. It's a good kill on Ren side ig??? idk

like. idk, people try too hard to make it seem like she's bothered or not, maybe the answer is simply that she accepts dying, but she also wanted the killer to actually try to get her (like Grian does, he clearly hates the cheap kills,,, unless it comes from his teammates lmao)

feel like ppl try too hard to make her look like Scott (and I don't think even Scott is that bothered, he just switches to survival mode for once lol), when both her and Joel are fine with ppl trying to murder them and succeeding, they show it multiple times this session

i don't think this makes her "untouchable" or boring either, bc I don't think any life series member takes death as seriously as fanon makes it seem sometimes (might be the dsmp brain wiring lmao, but to me it does matter how a person reacts to their death and what they do afterwards, and she goes back there and just. Tries to congratulate Mumbo until she realizes Ren did it. She doesn't hide, doesn't get annoyed or anything, so I don't see why would I take it as her lying to herself or the viewers. Taking her at face value is smarter here, bc she doesn't hide her feelings, she's open about being annoyed at Pearl/Imp, she's open about disliking ppl and how she feels about stuff). they know they're in a death game, know what to expect so it's whatever as long as theyre still green and have lives to waste

i know it's all in good fun and role-play, but I just wanted to give my opinion from somebody who's not that into this side of the fandom (this is also messy as fuck and i probably repeated myself a bunch but im too lazy to fix this, whateeverr)

i’d like to preface this with a disclaimer: gem is one of my favourites. i would never speak so derogatorily about a character if i did not obsessively watch all their povs and consume so much fanfic about them that i’m sick. put simply, c!gem is morally grey, and i’m entirely comfortable with it. moving on

i feel like we need to face the fact that every lifer is an unreliable narrator. yes, some to a greater extent than others, like how dl!pearl or sl!lizzie are clearly unreliable. but all of them, bar none, say and go through things that affect their worldview. an unfortunate phenomenon known popularly as “the human experience”. especially in the life series, when the ccs are deliberately roleplaying, it would be naive to take any of them at face value, especially when evidence says otherwise.

so yes, gem is definitely bothered. she talks about how she’s a target, even puts a target on her skin, and keeps on talking about how incompetent everyone is (even when they’re not trying to kill her). i don’t think this is unreasonable of her at all, i’m just pointing out an incongruence in her words and her behaviour. again, there’s nothing wrong with being bothered, but what’s really interesting is that she constantly says things like “oh, finally!” or “that was so bad” or just laughs. to me, i interpret it as her purposely trying to keep up the image that she isn’t bothered, that she is confident or that wow, look, the other players are so bad she’s getting frustrated that she can’t die. a “regular” lifer would probably just exclaim oh no if there was a failed attempt on their lives, but gem is much more deliberate with her words. i’m not calling her calculating, but maybe i am.

(i have noted before that gem is impressively good at faking real emotion, so that definitely plays a factor in my interpretation. it’s very easy to dismiss it as genuine exasperation, but based off her other words you can slightly discern that it’s a facade. obviously gem is gunning for a win this season, and if she’s gunning for a win, why would she try or want to die?)

as for the kill. directly before this, yes, it was a cartoon chase scene, but gem was in full survival mode and was darting around, constantly eating. it would be foolish to pretend that she wasn’t trying to stay alive.

you argue that she allowed martyn to dig the hole under her. i went back to check, and due to the sped up game, it took martyn a little over 2 seconds to dig the 2x2x3 hole. 2 things can be true: gem is good at the game, and the hole caught gem off guard. furthermore, gem was looking at grian and not at martyn when the hole was dug. so she’s in the hole, and she has less than one second to react before the lava is placed. gem pulls out her water bucket very quickly, and places it down the same second. too late. she’s caught by the lava, she yells, she takes out her shovel to dig, she digs one block and then dies. so how long does the kill take?

eight seconds. from the first block being broken to gem dying to the lava, it takes eight seconds. that is the opposite of pathetic. that is a well-executed kill and even with gem’s condescending “good job!” it doesn’t take away from the fact that it was well done. note that gem reacted very quickly, so it wasn’t gem “allowing” herself to be killed. she tried pretty hard to not die, but the lava was just faster. in no way did she accept dying when even in her own video it’s clear that she fought to the end.

gem is definitely not fine with people murdering her. the other attempts, yes they were bad, but gem also tries to dodge them. i feel like she legitimately forgot about tango’s trap and stood on it by accident, but changed her story when tango failed anyway, because she doesn’t even say anything to tango (like a cheeky “tango i’m standing here”) prior to the actual attempt. i wouldn’t go so far as to call her a sweat, but to go to the other extreme that she allowed people to kill her is also straight up inaccurate, even if gem acts like she did.

so, we’ve established that it’s a good kill. how does gem react? she tells the audience “oh it’s pathetic”, goes up to mumbo and tells him “mumbo i’m so proud of you”. that is textbook condescending. she’s trying to act amused, as if mumbo’s a toddler that’s just done a cool trick. (never mind that it was ren, it’s the intention behind her words) if she got outwardly annoyed, that would make it obvious that she was actually threatened by the kill, or that she was actually bothered. this faux nonchalance is what i’m trying to point out here. i don’t think she’s inwardly annoyed either. i just think she’s lying to herself.

as for that last bit, i don’t think i ever said this made gem boring. to me this makes her incredibly interesting and an incredibly complex character to dissect. i’m saying those who just believe whatever she says and believe that whatever she says is what she actually believes are making out her character to be more boring than it is.

[emovulture]

Dear parents.

( this is a rant, but please read it anyways )

If your child is showing or has showed VERY OBVIOUS SIGNS OF A MENTAL ILLNESS, wether that be ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, BPD, whatever - for the love of God, please dont ignore them.

That child is going to grow up, and they're going to realize they're different from everyone else, and it could very well affect them mentally.

I'm not a phycologist, I don't have any degrees, I'm just a teenager going on a rant, I bare with me adults, please. But I've been showing very clear signs of ADHD and also social anxiety my whole life. No, I'm not going to say stuff like "Oh I'm forgetful, I have must ADHD!", or "Ugh, I just hate people, I'm so shy, I must have social anxiety!". I've done research and I've asked people with ADHD what it's like, and I relate very heavily to them (more specifically inattentive ADHD). Plus, my dad said he's gotten diagnosed, and ADHD is hereditary.

Some symptoms I have of ADHD consist of forgetfulness, lack of motivation, daydreaming frequently, easily distracted, appearing withdrawn, I very often blurt out things without thinking beforehand, I'm sensitive, I fidget A LOT, can't seem to stop moving (finger tapping, leg bouncing, etc), my thoughts are an endless stream of words and noises, and there's more. I also struggle socially, and I pick up phrases that I'll say constantly for a few months, I'll get 'obsessions' that last for many months or even years that I can't seem to stop thinking or talking about. It makes my friends annoyed. My interests affect my learning (and life in general), to which gets me in trouble. I get called lazy, or get told I'm "not trying hard enough", or at home I'll often forget to do chores or something and I'll get told that "I'm difficult", or "just need to focus on the right things". I get really frustrated and snappy when people interrupt something I'm doing, such as drawing, playing a video game, or just watching something on my phone. It's a genuine problem, and I know for a fact that I'm not 'normal' like everyone else.

And I'm not sure if I need to be properly diagnosed for me to say I have social anxiety, but I've been "shy" my whole life and I never grew out of it. I'm not shy, I'm scared of people. I need to be by someone's side (my mum or friends) if I'm out in public (either school, or shops), or I'll get upset and really nervous. I don't like talking to strangers, even if it's just my mum's close friends, and I HATE ordering my own food. I hate eating in public, because I feel like everyone is just watching over my shoulder, judging every tiny movement I make. I worry about my looks way to much, and if my hair doesn't look the way I want it to, I'll be insecure the whole day, thinking that everyone also thinks I look terrible, and wonder why I stepped foot out of my house that that. It all makes me want run away and hide from the world.

My fingers look bad because I unintentionally bite off my nails in stressful situations, and rip off my skin until they unfortunately bleed. I excessively pick at my face/pimples until it's red, and my acne gets worse from that. "Just stop it", I can't. I can't help these urges, because once I'm doing it, I can't stop, no matter how much I scold or degrade myself for ruining my face or fingers.

I struggle in many topics in school because they just don't appeal to me, so my mind wanders, and I tend to just stop doing a lot of the work in those classes, all the while telling myself that I'm just lazy or to dumb to understand. I can't raise my hand and ask for help, because otherwise I'll be a bother to the teacher, and since everyone else gets what we're doing, they'll all snicker and make fun of me. At least that's what I tell myself. I've been trying to tell my mum about my worries about mental illnesses I might have, but I can't get the words out of my throat no matter how hard I try, and its like I go mute. (It's also hard to mention my dad having ADHD, because my parents aren't together.)

This has affected my mental health for years now, and I'll be honest, I had to go to a counselor a few years ago because I slipped into depression for a long while. (I'm much better now, thanks to a lot of help from professionals)

So parents/carers, if your child is showing signs of a mental illness, do some research and find ways to help them. It's hard for kids to speak up about this face to face. Even if you for some reason can't get them diagnosed because you don't have enough money (or there's a different problem), please don't call your kid "lazy" or "not enough". None of that jazz. That won't help your kid, and it'll make them feel like they're not good enough, or that they're stupid or something. It's your job as a parent to care about your kids, and make sure they're safe and loved. Mental health is sososo important, especially for kids/teenagers, because if they don't get the help they need if their mental health is declining or they have mental illnesses, it can lead to some really serious stuff down the line.

Please spread awareness about this, reblog and share so it can reach more people. I apologize for rambling, but I need more parents to actually care about and recognize their children's behaviors, because sometimes it can save lives.

Feel free to add onto this, because I don't think I did the best job at listing all of my concerns.

Thank you.

[pink-pkmn-trainer]

looking way too much into episode 2

ok, to start things off, pomni's dream. it was, in fact, a dream about abstraction. and may i just say that pomni's voice actor really did a good job in showing pomni's fear using her voice

what ragatha says here is interesting, simply because it seems....out of character? she's being all sassy and stuff, so either pomni is a TERRIBLE judge of character, or....she thinks ragatha doesn't like her. which it would make sense for her to think that, considering she left her behind when kaufmo attacked.

but immediately after the dream sequence, we see ragatha come to check on pomni, showing actual interest in her and asking how she is. so she does actually like and care about pomni, or is at the very least she's doing a good job at pretending she does.

ragatha reassures pomni that there's no hard feelings, but it still doesn't look like pomni believes her. poor babey :(

aww, he does like bugs! how cute!

now we've got some religious imagery. caine is god, i guess.

oh, and jax likes violence. i'll talk more about why i think that is once we get to the actual violence.

the way he just rests his chin on gummigoo's back, that's so cute

knives. that is all.

what??? what the fuck is the figurine thing???

aww look at him he's so silly when he's trying to be helpful

ragatha has stuffing inside her confirmed

THE BACKROOMS

existential crisis time

hholy shit. no wonder goose said we weren't ready for him.

bucket

her ass is NOT a handyman

i love this whole scene. i wanna go in depth about it but there's not much i know how to say, i just like that she's trying to cheer him up

also funny gummigoo screenshot

seems like a pretty good time to talk about jax's desire for violence. this is still a video game, after all, and the way he's acting is pretty similar to how i sometimes play games; using it as a sort of "rage room" to destroy and vent my frustrations in. it would even be excusable if it weren't for the fact that the AIs are sentient.

now it's time to REALLY get talking

silly man with his head in a bucket. he mentions caine here, specifically that they can ask him for help, and it wouldn't be a stretch to say he may have asked caine for help with things in the past. which, while not very important or significant, does create a cute mental image. goofy little ringmaster being helpful.

what ragatha says here is SO important to her relationship with pomni. she thinks that pomni doesn't like her, while pomni thinks that ragatha doesn't like her. so they're basically stuck in a loop, a platonic "will they, won't they" where they both think the other hates them. this is the type of barrier that prevents a friendship from forming.

kinger is unexpectedly very wise in this scene, and gives her some good advice. this is the reason i think that ragatha will attempt to pursue a friendship with our little jester later on, only for pomni to be skeptical because she thinks ragatha's just being nice. and pomni's fear of ragatha secretly hating her is going to end up being the only thing that stops them from being friends.

it's also really sweet of her to immediately run up to her and check on her. i love these two :)

ok sorry for all the shipping propaganda let's get back to overanalyzing

this is what i wanted to mention the most. even though the NPCs see caine as a god, he's a bit of a cruel one. he has no regard for their well-being and only really cares about the humans. but i don't actually think it's his fault. he's an AI and he's programmed to care for the humans, so that's his priority, not the NPCs.

caine is described as being a "rouge AI", but i don't think that's the case....yet. i think he's actually going to go rouge as the story progresses, and eventually realize how unforgiving he's being.

anyways, i still want to talk about some other theories i have. hopefully there's still room for a couple more pictures in this post.

this line from jax in the pilot is my main base for this. obviously he's referring to the centipede he put in ragatha's room, but it's the fact that he says it right before he opens the door to reveal that kaufmo abstracted. no one in the circus knew he had abstracted until this point, nor did anyone mention seeing any signs that he was going crazy.

i think it's a hint. what's being insinuated here is that no one's going to know who will abstract next. there's no trick for for discovering the order they'll all abstract in, and there's no signs when it's going to happen.

(edit: i just remembered that kinger mentioned him acting weird but sshhhhhh it's still a good theory ok)

as for the void, when caine realizes pomni wandered out there, he mentions that she'll get "totally spoiled". i think this means that looking into the void gives you visions of the future, and that pomni knows how the show is going to end; she knows all the surprises and twists, too. it would explain why she looked so angrily at caine (possibly now knows about how little he cares for the NPCs), and also why she seems so lost in thought right at the end.

but hey, that's just a theory

A CIRCUS THEORY!!!