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ruvviks · 15 days

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HIIIIIIII BONES what faction(s) does tiberius join? and which companions is he closest with? :]

HIII EZRA THANK YOU SO MUCH :] this got insanely long because i have. so much to say about this game it's unreal i'm very sorry in advance. but hope you enjoy ^_^

so in my canon of fallout 4, there's a couple of things different from the game because i personally don't think of tiberius as a leader in any sort of way, mainly because he's like. 23 years old. that's a literal baby. he was only born yesterday fresh out of the freezer

so!! that means that the minutemen are already very much established in the commonwealth again when he emerges from the vault, and there's a lot of sprawling settlements to be found in places where you'd otherwise have to build them yourself in game; so sanctuary isn't abandoned at all, and tiberius returns to his sister's home with a special surprise waiting for him (every other house in the neighborhood is now home to a bunch of strangers centuries into the future! welcome home boy!)

that said, tiberius DOES end up sort of joining the minutemen?? but not officially. he meets preston in sanctuary who helps him get settled in in this new and strange world and in return to show his gratitude tiberius helps out wherever and whenever he can, but considering the path of revenge he's about to go on he doesn't really consider himself good enough of a person to like. fully be part of it if that makes sense?? especially since the minutemen aim for as much peaceful resolution of things as possible, and he is not like that :(

tiberius massively dislikes diamond city, and feels a lot more at home in goodneighbor. he does some mercenary work there for a while and that's also how he ends up with the railroad, which he Does officially join :] a bunch of my other fallout ocs are also railroad agents; max, who's also general of the minutemen (don't ask how she finds the time to juggle all these different jobs she doesn't know it herself either); magnus, who's a goodneighbor guard; and nikolai, an ex-raider who now does a bunch of stealth operations for the railroad. tiberius takes his job as agent very seriously and through his new connections becomes more involved with the minutemen as well, now that he knows the two work together to give escaped synths a new and safe home and such :]

he does NOT join the brotherhood of steel. he hates them so fucking much it's unreal. to him they're literally just invading the commonwealth with the way they're terrorizing settlements and forcibly establishing their own outposts and whatnot and it causes a lot of chaos everywhere which is NOT ideal at all. max is handling most of the situation but she's clearly under a lot of pressure and it makes tiberius want to blow some shit up. which he eventually does when everything has escalated so far that there's not really another way to deal with it anymore

he only joins the institute to infiltrate them for the railroad, and he is NOT having a good time during it. he dislikes shaun (his nephew, not his son!) so fucking much but there's nothing he can do about it. i'm trying to make the institute a bit more interesting but it's still a work in progress because well the game leaves a lot to be desired on that front to me personally but either way, the whole place makes him super paranoid and he quickly realizes that it's a LOT bigger than what it's making itself out to be. the area he's allowed to be in seems just a little bit too well-organized and streamlined as if it's all pre-programmed and he constantly feels like he's being watched. which he is! because he ends up finding proof of a lot more levels that go much deeper into the ground and while a lot of them seem to be abandoned, he does end up finding evidence that there's more people holed up Somewhere. and they're watching everything that's happening in the area of the institute he's allowed to be in. it's all part of something bigger and he does NOT like that shit

lastly, tiberius ends up with the children of atom :] kind of against his will?? but also he's not really being forced to stay so it's kind of a gray area really. basically what happened is that he went to the glowing sea, ended up passing out because he went by himself like the stubborn mf he is and the children of atom take them to their crater to nurse him back to health but also give him like. some sort of special radiation cocktail of some sort which ends up making him a bit of a freak. much more resilient, much more absent as well, a bit faster than he used to be. he's basically their chosen one because i feel like out of all factions it'd make most sense for the children of atom to be weirdly obsessed with him like he's a perfectly preserved human from before the war. that IS kinda fascinating

either way tiberius doesn't really mind being part of them all that much because it puts him in like a negotiator position if that makes sense?? the other factions all have their other touching points where he isn't all that needed to create connections and stuff but having this extra connection with the children of atom who are mostly feared by the rest of the commonwealth helps a LOT with keeping peace and all that, so it's beneficial for all parties involved because it also means that tiberius can just freely enter any of their outposts and he can rely on them if he needs them for anything :] the children of atom are a lot more willing to assist him with something that may be a bit shady than the minutemen or railroad would basically so it's a good backup to have LMAO

as for companions, tiberius is closest with preston 100% :] when he emerged from the vault, preston was the first person who talked to him and didn't treat him as a possible threat, and he helped him get settled in which tiberius will always be grateful for because he was so so scared. and preston made everything a little bit easier. he's very caring and patient and matches tiberius' funnyman energy surprisingly well when they're joking around, which would all remind tiberius a lot of his sister stella. preston Would in fact be like a brother to him :]

he enjoys hanging out with piper and nick, but only sparingly so since those two just love to investigate stuff and a lot of their time hanging out ends up turning into business of some sort and tiberius does NOT have the detective's spirit! he likes being clueless. he does not always need to know everything. he does like tagging along but sometimes he just wants to SIT and have a beer or something

which, naturally so, makes hancock better company for him. tiberius did a couple of gigs for him personally (and got to know him much more intimately during a wild night with both him and magnus but we don't talk about that) and he likes to stop by goodneighbor regularly for a drink and to talk about shit that's been going on lately. since magnus and hancock are together, magnus is there a lot as well but tiberius sees him a lot more regularly at the railroad too :]

that being said, the railroad is definitely tiberius' main hub for hanging out with people he loves the gang SO much. his best friends there would be nikolai, glory (she's alive yes obviously), deacon, and tinker tom :] and also max but tiberius sees her a LOT more at the castle since that's by the end of the in-game events also a place he can be found at a lot. he doesn't take a lot of minutemen jobs but he does help out on location with whatever they need, plus the castle is a huge and busy marketplace which would be super fun to visit (especially at night) so he just likes hanging out there in general! that's also where he hangs out with cait and roxy (max' wife) whenever he gets the opportunity

tiberius' relationship with x6-88 is. strained. on a surface level he likes the guy, but his loyalty to the institute definitely gets in the way of their friendship a lot at first. i haven't entirely figured out yet how to like, get x6-88 on tiberius' side in a satisfying way that doesn't feel out of character for him?? but that's basically what i'm aiming for, because the two DO spend a lot of time together away from the institute itself which would give tiberius a lot of opportunities to show x6 what the commonwealth is really like. and what the institute's reputation is and all that. and with x6 getting attached to tiberius during all of that he WILL be forced to pick a side at the end of it all. and i personally don't think he would side against tiberius after spending all that time building up an actual friendship for the first time in his life

surprisingly enough, tiberius and maccready did NOT!!! get along well at first AT ALL. when tiberius was taking gigs in goodneighbor he was unbeknownst to him stealing away a lot of mac's clientele so naturally mac has very one-sided beef with him. especially because both of them are like. babies. i can't remember maccready's exact age but that's a baby. and tiberius is one too. and they're both competitive and kinda stupid so when they first "officially" meet there's this insane tension between the two of them and every conversation they have is just a pissing contest. they've been kicked out of goodneighbor together on at least one occasion because of their near screaming competitions

(at some point after the battle of bunker hill and tiberius has temporarily broken ties with the institute because shaun's attitude pissed him the fuck off he goes to goodneighbor with his friends and after a drink or two too many he agrees to a bet maccready makes with him about killing elder maxson. tiberius succeeds by knocking out a brotherhood pilot and pretending to be the pilot instead, sort of successfully flying a vertibird up to the prydwen, somehow knocking out a guy in full power armor to then steal said guy's power armor, killing elder maxson (who by then has committed enough war crimes including but not limited to laughing max in the face when she tried to talk to him about a possible collaboration in hopes to keep the peace in the commonwealth) with a pipe pistol, and then jumping down(!!!!!!!!!) in the power armor to make his escape by walking over the bottom of the ocean on the shoreline in the power armor. he brought the guy's coat and dogtags with him as proof. maccready was turned on and angry about it)

but after traveling together for a while, tiberius and maccready learn they have a lot more in common than they initially thought and they grow closer over time :] i adjusted mac's story as well by making lucy his older sister rather than his wife (HE'S A BABY. HE DOESN'T NEED A WIFE AND A CHILD IN THIS ECONOMY) and duncan his nephew, so it's still a direct parallel to tiberius' story except lucy is still alive but missing, whereas stella is in fact very much dead. at first it makes tiberius feel frustrated and upset in a very selfish way, but it helps him with like, allowing himself to grieve for the first time since he exited the vault which by then is a LONG time ago, and then it also helps him with moving on from it rather than staying stuck in the past. helping mac with curing duncan and finding lucy helps the both of them and after all that they end up getting together :]

SO YEAH. very bumpy road for tiberius all in all and he makes connections in a bunch of different places, but he's always just a gear in the machine rather than the one operating the machine if that makes sense :] he feels a lot more at ease when he can actually make a difference at his own pace rather than having everyone look up to him constantly, the closest he got to that was when he was the one to infiltrate the institute and he has NEVER been that stressed before in his life. he makes it out alive and relatively unharmed but good lord. he's never doing that shit ever again

#asks #elgaravel #ask:tiberius #oc asks #this got so long i'm so sorry but i can never just stay on topic i always have more things to say #i loveeee thinking about fallout 4 though. i love adjusting things to suit my story better #things for the institute are still cooking in my brain but i do like to keep things a bit mysterious and vague on purpose #because the whole thing is that tiberius does NOT know what's actually going on!! and it makes everything so much more tense #and to keep it a mystery even after he's blown up the institute. or at least what he thinks is the institute. i think that adds something #to the story that revealing all secrets at the end would kinda take away. because this keeps that paranoia in there if that makes sense #even after being destroyed the institute continues to make people feel on edge and i LIKE that shit. haunting the narrative and all #like yes it's been destroyed but if it was bigger than what it seemed to be then IS it really all destroyed #are there more locations. was this all just an experiment. does vault-tec have more to do with it. who knows! not tiberius!#he's just a guy!!! and that is Very important to me. like in a way yes he IS special he's pre-war and not a ghoul or anything #but also he is not suited for leadership positions. he will step up when he has to when there's no alternative but he would rather not #and just. the children of atom being obsessed with him felt right to me i can't explain that. like that just Makes Sense

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lavellenchanted · 2 years

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Since I know you have Opinions™ on this: ☕️ for Bridgerton Netflix?

Ooooh, now you're asking.

In general, I enjoy it as some light entertainment - it's a fun, frothy soap opera with lots of pretty people and dresses. I appreciate that they're more interested in the Regency Aesthetic than historical accuracy, so a lot of things that would annoy me in a more serious period drama I can just ignore to enjoy Bridgerton for what it is.

I'm not particularly bothered in principle by their decision to stay from the book plots, because as much as I like the books there is a lot about them that has not aged well in the 20+ years since they were published and just would not work in a modern TV show.

In reality, however, I think they've made some pretty terrible decisions in how they've strayed from the books and chosen to adapt things that has been more about adding drama for drama's sake rather than because the conflicts they're inventing actually serve the storytelling. Personally, I think most of the added conflict has actually made several of the characters less likeable.

The issues with Daphne and Simon have been gone over at length since S1 came out but Whistledown, for example - they wanted her to have more teeth and be a bigger threat than she is in the books, where she's really only a framing device, but the long term effect is to make Penelope much less sympathetic and even dislikeable as she's seen to betray those around her.

The Marina storyline was an absolute catastrophe from start to finish that does nothing for anyone involved. Colin looks like a fool, Penelope looks catty and vindictive, Marina's cruel if understandable and getting viewers invested in her a character is going to have terrible repercussions when it comes time to adapt To Sir Phillip with Love (assuming they intend to stick with the book endgames, although I don't really see the point of even introducing Sir Phillip if that's not the plan).

Anthony was already thrown under the bus in S1 by making him the reason why Daphne is getting any suitors instead of it being about Daphne being determined to hold out for a love match like her parents, and the storyline they chose to go with for S2 caused me to end up really disliking both Anthony and Kate, despite the fact that Anthony was my favourite Bridgerton in the books. And they dragged the drama out so long that instead of resolving the conflicts properly they had to shorehorn in some quick resolutions that weren’t earned so they could wrap everything up in a bow by the end.

I could list a whole lot more but that would be so long so let me to saying that what’s particularly frustrating is that I feel so many of these issues could be solved so easily. I could write a much longer post on how I would rewrite both seasons but just for example:

have Simon getting too caught up in the moment to remember to pull out and then freaking out about it, leaving Daphne confused and feeling betrayed

keep Daphne at the same age she is in the books, and feeling the pressure of new debs coming on the scene

if you really want Marina as a foil to Daphne, keep her as a Bridgerton cousin that Violet’s trying to help, with Penelope suspicious about her secret and then discovering it but ultimately choosing not to out her in Whistledown because that’s not what she wants to be

also don’t have her throw Eloise under the bus and destroy the only significant female friendship on the show

don’t go all the way to an Anthony/Edwina wedding! Have Edwina find out about Kate and Anthony in episode 3/4 at Aubrey Hall, and then spend the rest of the season actually building up the relationship between Anthony and Kate without the issue of Edwina between them so you can allow for softer, lighter moments between them that actually show them liking each other as people without the underlying feeling of it being emotional cheating, as well as actually giving time for Edwina and Kate’s relationship to be repaired and their reconciliation to feel earned

I’d also have Edwina knowing about the dowry situation and being torn between duty to her family and and needing to figure out what she really wants for herself rather than being humiliated in front of everyone in society

(also don’t give Eloise’s trauma over Edmund’s death to Anthony but let him keep his own)

(also also give Mary and Violet more to do, and have Violet’s breakdown be explicity pre Hyacinth’s birth with the ‘Hyacinth smiled and it saved me’ scene included so the fandom doesn’t come out of S2 vilifying her and calling her and Mary bad mothers)

Essentially I feel that in a lot of ways they flattened out the characters and defined them by one or two exaggerated traits (Eloise is the Feminist, Benedict is the Bohemian, Francesca is . . . not there) that leads to manufactured rather than organic conflict, which is a shame because for all their faults there’s a lot of rich characterisation in the books that could translate really well to the screen.

But at the same time it’s still my comfort crappy period soap opera and I will watch however many series Netflix want to give us.

#this is a lot and this is me SELF CENSORING #lmao I don't know if you wanted an essay of this length but you're getting it anyway #also just gonna tag #bridgerton critical #in case

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pjsim2001 · 2 years

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Bejeweled 2 Review - Match 3 Finds Its Footing

Summary ★★★★ Essential

Bejeweled 2 makes improvements on the addictive match 3 formula its predecessor popularized, while ramping things up with a gorgeous presentation and a hypnotizing soundtrack that's debatably one of the greatest in video game history. Its new modes will delight casual players whether they're looking for relaxation or action, while still providing some ridiculous secrets for hardcore players to rage over and grind to achieve.

For more game reviews, check out https://pjsim2001.tumblr.com/reviews.

Background

Bejeweled 2 was my first Bejeweled game - I actually downloaded the WiiWare version initially since I was trying to get as much as I could out of my Wii at the time, but to make a long story short, don't play that version, it SUCKS. Just get the PC one.

I already got into my thoughts on Bejeweled in general back in my review of the first game, so I want to get things started right away. This sequel came out three years after the first game, so what had PopCap been able to do in that time?

Presentation

...well to start, they made the game a whole lot sexier. Now the game runs in a higher resolution of 1024x768. Gone is the flash game sidebar and crusty lookin' gem and menu graphics, now we have a cool 3D look, with crystal-like purple balls for menu buttons and awesome planetary backgrounds.

The game takes on the theme of traveling across different planets in the galaxy. When you beat a level, you travel through a wormhole which sucks in the UI elements and camera, then spits them back out at the end with a different background and new gem layout. There's a lot more effects and effort put into the graphics this time around, probably because this game was actually made for PC unlike the first one.

Something you'll notice is the lighting. While the first game lit up the gem you had your mouse over, that's nothing compared to how it's handled in this game. All the gems shimmer on their own, but on mouseover, they'll shine even brighter, and the light will seemingly bounce off the neighboring gems. When you've created one of the new special gems this game has to offer, the entire area will be noticeably brighter from the glow. Everything feels so much more lively.

There's even a bunch of secret visual changes you can activate by typing in certain things. For instance, you can get rid of the UI elements by typing "noframe", change the background to an animated Matrix-lookin' one by typing "network", change the background to a classic animated starfield by typing "starfield", or even change all the graphics of the gems to the ones from Diamond Mine (a precursor to Bejeweled 1) by typing in "oldskool".

Gameplay

If you've somehow forgotten, match 3 works by matching three or more gems of the same type together to get rid of them from the board. But Bejeweled 2 expands upon this by having certain combinations not only get rid of the gems, but create special ones as well! Woah!

Two special gems have been added to all modes of the game:

A Power Gem is created by either matching four gems in a row, or matching gems in an L shape. The gem will be the same type as the ones you just matched. Match it with the same type, and it'll explode, destroying anything surrounding it.

A Hyper Cube is created by matching five gems in a row. Once created, you can switch it with any other gem, which will cause every single gem of that type on the board to be destroyed. It's extremely useful for when you run out of moves, but be careful though, since if it gets blown up by a Power Gem, it'll be destroyed without doing anything! This would later be changed down the road, but there's some merit to the challenge of having to be more careful when trying to save Hyper Cubes for later.

These gems feel like a natural evolution, and they work great. They give you a goal to achieve, forcing you to play better so you can get the opportunity to make larger matches, creating the cool items with their crisp explosion effects and cool electric shocks. They can also help shuffle the board a bit, making them potential lifesavers.

Game Modes

B2 has the two modes from the first game, Classic and Action (renamed from Time Trial). There's nothing really new to say about these modes aside from the new gems I described above - Classic still has you matching gems with no time limit until you run out of moves, while Action has you matching gems to fill the score meter before it depletes over time. But there's also two new modes to try out:

Puzzle mode gives you a bunch of different boards to clear. The idea is that you travel from planet to planet - each with a set of puzzles that employ some sort of theme or difficulty level - and try to clear all the gems from the board. There's actually another two new gems for this mode - Bomb Gems, which explode like Power Gems after a set amount of moves, and Rock Gems, which can't be matched and must be destroyed with either a Power Gem or a Hyper Cube. It can get pretty difficult, and you'll find yourself hitting the hint button after every move, since it'll tell you whether the puzzle is still solvable or not, and if you want, what the next move to make is. So you can easily cheese your way through everything, if you'd like - there's only one puzzle near the end that doesn't allow hints, but it's not too difficult. I'm glad the game gives you the unlimited hints, but I just wish there was an option to have it tell you if the puzzle becomes unsolvable without having to move your mouse to hit the hint button all the time. All-in-all, I'd recommend this mode as one to pay attention to if you want to get better at the game, since it gets you used to moving the jewels around and making plays.

Endless mode, on the other hand, is completely chill. All you do is match the gems - you can't run out of moves. This is a simple but honestly genius mode, and when I think about it, there doesn't really exist anything like it nowadays. It might sound boring, but it's really not. It's fun to see how far you can get, and you even get to build up a little jewelry collection with each level you clear. There was also a study talking about how playing games like Bejeweled can decrease stress and increase mood, so that's pretty cool - it's nice to just chill and match some gems, looking at all the pretty colors and listening to the good soundtrack.

Soundtrack

Oh yeah, the soundtrack! There is absolutely no way I can talk about Bejeweled 2 without mentioning it's incredible soundtrack. Remember in my first review, when I mentioned how we'd be seeing more of Peter Hajba/Skaven? Well this, in my opinion, is his magnum opus. The game is worth playing for the music alone. I actually think the mixing sounds a bit better in the game version than the album linked above; the album makes some of the instruments too loud over the others. Either way, still some great compositions.

I don't even know where to start. Basically, aside from the loading screen, title screen, and credits, the game's soundtrack is one continuous song (although in the remastered OST link above, it's separated into parts), and oh man, it takes you on a journey, complete with its own highs and lows. Some of the synths just have the sound of jewels, twinkling as you travel across the galaxy. You've got tracks that are videogamey and catchy, you've got your slower pieces, you've got your optimistic beats, your introspective moments, mysterious secrets... basically everything.

My favorite tracks are... I'm not telling you. Play the game and experience it yourself.

The ONLY song in the soundtrack I think is a little weak is the loading screen, Autonomous V2... at least, the very first half of it. It's a remix of the loading screen from the first game, but I think the first part doesn't sound as good. There's this annoying, offbeat beeping sound that plays throughout it - and while this sound did exist in the first game, the song was more bleep-bloopy there, so you didn't really notice it, and even if you did, it added to the whole internety vibe. The song in general is also more intense and emotional in the first one, although the second half of this song definitely gets the goosebumps going with the twinkly synths, so again, it's not outright bad.

Also, while we're on the topic of sounds - they're good in this game. Mostly the same, but with higher resolution and a few newcomers, so nothing to report. The low-resolution announcer guy from the first game has been replaced by deep voice dude, who's really pleasing to listen to.

THE NEGATIVES OF THIS GAME

"Wait a minute, there's NEGATIVES of this game? But didn't you give it a 4/4 in the summary?"

Yes, but that's only because I think the soundtrack and presentation combined with the generally addicting gameplay and varied modes are so insanely good on the surface that everyone should at least TRY the game out. But that doesn't mean that aside from that, there aren't some things that piss me off. Besides, if you love something and spend more time with it, you'll start to notice the things wrong with it.

Now, full disclosure - most of this stuff won't affect casual players. They probably won't care. They'll just play the game for fun and whatever. But as someone who's somewhat of a Bejeweled pro, playing and reviewing every single game and nitpicking the details, there's two things I need to mention:

Action Mode's Music and Gem Shuffling (or Lack Thereof)

So, just to remind you, in Action mode, you need to keep your eyes darting around the board to find matches to make as quickly as possible.

Humor me for a bit - listen to a some of the song that plays in Time Trial in Bejeweled 1 (also check out the part at 2:31, lol, love that part). As I mentioned in that review, it's a perfect choice - high energy, action packed, gets you groovin'. And here's a fun fact - PopCap didn't actually make any of the music in B1 FOR the game, they just asked to use songs that already existed.

So now that B2 is out, and has a soundtrack tailor made for it by the same guy, which has references to the music in the first game, you'd bet that the song for Action mode is gonna be even better! I mean the rest of the soundtrack is great, right? Well guess what. Action mode no longer has its own music. Instead, they just skip to a specific point in the main music suite. Want to hear it? Scroll up to the music player, and go to track 11 (or 10 if you want the intro). That's where the music starts in Action mode.

The music suite in B2 is one of the major things I like about this game, and I wouldn't have it any other way - it's relaxing and beautiful. But that comes at the cost of a lethargic Action mode. It gets even worse when you realize that the song IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS is "Schein", one of the SLOW JAMS!!!!! It might seem like a nitpick, but music is important and sets the tone. When Schein is sending me into a lullaby, I can't focus as well on quickly finding matches.

Another issue related to Action mode is that, unlike in the first game, the board won't shuffle once you run out of moves - instead, it uses whatever algorithm Endless is using so you can't run out of moves. This might seem like a positive and an improvement on paper, but in practice, it actually ends up making the game way harder.

If you were about to run out of moves in B1, you would make the last move (or find it with the hint button), then the board would reshuffle to give you a BUNCH of matches, keeping the pace going. But in B2, if the board gets bricked, the game will just drop in gems to make matches in one little corner, which is BORING and not usually enough to recover whatever time you've lost.

Even worse is once you get the gems in that little spot shuffled enough, the game will just say "alright bye bye" and make you go search for whatever little spot your shuffling made, which can either cause the cycle to repeat, or have you waste time by second guessing yourself, looking around the board, trying to figure out if you just missed some oblique match in a corner somewhere.

It doesn't ruin the mode by any means, it can still be fun, but these bits certainly cause a bit of frustration.

Bats**t Insane Unlockables

Here's the big daddy of the problems with B2 - in fact, this part is so crazy, it literally delayed this review by a week as I judged whether or not it'd warrant a drop to a 3/4.

Basically, when I went over the new game modes, I actually lied - there's more than just Puzzle and Endless! I think these modes are what makes the game Bejeweled 2 Deluxe, since the Wii version of the game - which doesn't have these unlockable modes - drops the Deluxe moniker. So, if you're buying the deluxe version of the game, and the deluxe version gives you these game modes, then, wouldn't you agree with me that it's pretty important to be able to, ya know...

ACTUALLY UNLOCK THE GAME MODES?!?!!?!?!?!?

The requirements to unlock these modes are so incredibly ridiculous, especially one in particular, that I legitimately believe that the amount of people in the entire world who've spent the time to unlock them is probably under 1,000. I'll go over them, from least ridiculous to most ridiculous.

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

Original

Original is more-so a secret than an unlockable. Just move your mouse clockwise 8 times around the four main game modes on the main menu, and you'll be sent straight into a game. It's just B2 but without the new gems, making it the same as B1. Next.

Cognito

Cognito is pretty standard to get - all you have to do is finish every single puzzle in Puzzle mode (including the optional ones). The mode uses the same layouts as Puzzle mode, except you automatically travel through each planet in order, completing the first four boards of each. But what makes this interesting is that it runs off of score like the other modes - if you use a hint, you won't get any points for that board, so you're incentivized to complete the boards without using any. I actually really love this idea, and from what I played, it was super satisfying to use the skills I've gained to reapproach these puzzles without offloading brain power to the hints - it gives you a reason to not just cheat your way through them, and take the time to get a satisfying victory.

Twilight

To unlock Twilight, you need to reach level 18 in Classic. If you've been reading these reviews without having played the game, you don't understand how difficult this is. As I explained in the B1 review, the game is a lot like Tetris in terms of luck - yes there are things you can do to increase your chances, but in general, the game can easily screw you over by not giving you what you need. You can get blindsided and run out of moves in level 4, so to make it all the way to level 18 (with the level clear requirements increasing each time, by the way) without getting screwed over even ONCE is a herculean task that could easily burn hours.

But honestly, it's kinda worth it. Twilight mode is simple, but cool - basically, the game runs in slowmo with a darker background and lower pitch sound effects. But the real change is that every single time you make a match, the gravity flips. So the first match you make will have the gems fall down as usual, but then the next match will have the gems fall up, with new gems coming from the bottom. It's a simple change, but one that makes the game both harder and easier. Easier since you can unbrick the board and make special gems easier (I got two Hyper Cubes on one board my first time playing it), but harder since thinking ahead is REALLY difficult, and before you know it, you might end up without any more moves. It's the right mix of challenging and fun.

Hyper

To unlock Hyper mode, you need to reach level 9 in Action. Yes, it's only half of what you need in Classic - but even if you haven't played the game, you can tell that this gonna be more difficult. At least Classic allows you to spend as much time as you want planning out your moves, but Action straight up requires you to get good. For a while, I could barely reach level 5 much less 9. The timer drops like a damn cinder block in the later levels if you aren't making matches, to the point where waiting around for 2 seconds feels like losing the points gained by 10 matches. Even with my friends helping me on a screenshare, I just consistently got screwed over by level 6. It takes the perfect storm of luck and raw skill to get far enough (or if you need some extra help, I'll explain an option later on ;))

Hyper mode is a bit lamer than Twilight, but still fun. It's the same as Action mode, expect now it runs at like 2 or maybe 3 times speed. Gems drop super quickly, so there's no time to waste. I was surprised by how well I was able to survive though - it makes you realize a lot of time spent in Action mode is waiting around for gems to drop and reveal the moves, so having it happen in an instant and just flying through the levels was pretty satisfying.

Finity

OK, what the hell were the developers over at PopCap smoking when making this game? Can I have some? To unlock this mode, you have to reach level 280 in Endless mode.

TWO. HUNDRED. AND EIGHTY.

Every time you beat a level in Endless mode, the point requirement increases, just like in Classic or Action. I have video - it took me about 10 minutes to complete level 41. 280 levels - 41 levels = 239 levels * 10mins = 2930 mins = 48.33 hours. And guess what? THIS CALCULATION DOESN'T FACTOR IN THE REQUIREMENT INCREASING OR THE TIME I SPENT BEFORE THIS! 48 hours straight at a minimum. Dude. And one guy in the comments of a video showing gameplay of this mode said it took him 3 months, another person an entire year.

The mode seems interesting though. I say "seems" because I haven't been able to unlock it in the... like... month I've been playing. It's Action mode, except you don't get points by matching gems - instead, you need to get them by detonating Power Gems and Hyper Cubes. To spice things up even more, the bombs and rocks from Puzzle mode drop in too. Sounds cool - I could imagine the bombs help you move things around, while the rocks provide an obstacle. But is it worth the amount of time you'd have to spend to unlock it? I don't think so. At that point, you'd probably be sick and tired of the game.

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

You know what the funny part of all this is? The console versions of the game actually CHANGED these requirements to be MUCH easier - Twilight & Hyper now only need lv 6, and Finity is lv 11 (LOL) - so obviously, SOMEBODY down the pipeline looked at this and went "nah bro", so why was it like this in the first place? It just seems kinda random.

Here's the thing though - should you get pissed over not being able to unlock these modes? Maybe. But I don't think it ruins the game. I consider these modes as little extras for people who are REALLY into the game - I think most regular people are perfectly fine with the standard four modes that are in the game, and it's not like there were two separate releases of the game on PC, one having the modes and one not, and one being cheaper than the other. And hey, maybe somebody could even stumble upon these modes without knowing they exist. Maybe they like to have Endless on in the background while they watch videos, or maybe they're just having a really good day on Action. Trying to strive for the modes can be frustrating, but when you do unlock them, it feels super good. I have my save data with Classic on level 18 and Action on level 9, and I'm very proud of it.

Here's a neat little trick I used to help me get the modes - if you go to "C:\ProgramData\PopCap Games\Bejeweled2" on your PC, you can find the save data under the "users" folder. Every time you reach a new level in Classic or Action, back out of the mode, then copy and paste the folder (or maybe one of the files inside that saves the data for the mode, idk). That way you have a little save to restore and fall back on in case you lose. But the funny thing is, I actually only needed to use it once in Classic mode - I still made the backups on Action, but I got super lucky and didn't die a single time. Also, I unlocked both Twilight and Hyper on the same day (just yesterday actually, with a draft of this review in progress). That was hilarious.

Verdict

Bejeweled 2 is a damn good game. Yeah, it has those little hiccups in design with the unlockables, and the Action mode could be a bit better, but literally everything else about the game is a 10/10. It's an upgrade in every way possible, for a game that was already incredibly addicting. If you're gonna play this: choose a time without distractions, get some headphones on, turn the volume up, and get ready to embark on a journey across the galaxy.

★★★★ Essential

Get the game from here: https://archive.org/details/bejeweled-2_202202, just download the ISO and install it.

(Yeah, I know I didn't link the web archive download for B1 as an attempt to be fair, but that was before I saw how poorly EA treated the series, so by all means, please download it from the web archive for free. You could buy the Steam version, but don't do that, since they basically just dumped it on there a long time ago with no effort. Don't support these fuckers. This game is basically if not literally abandonware.)

I think Bejeweled 2 can hold it's own against the sequels. While it might not have as much content as later entries (that's easily accessible at least), I think this version is the best experience of the series just because of its (inter)stellar music and presentation - once you get going, it really is magical.

I can barely remember the time before I had played any Bejeweled, back when I just knew it as "that casual game with the jewels". This game should be legendary. And it was - until it got buried underneath the sands of time. It just frustrates me that PopCap is owned by EA now, and that Bejeweled is totally dead. This series had so much personality and a truckload of awards and accolades behind it - this game (and its sequels) should be ported on every console like Tetris is, but it just isn't, and it'll never be, because Candy Crush totally demolished it. I was actually playing a little bit of web browser Bejeweled in a class once, and someone I was working with actually said "oh, is that Candy Crush? Or like, Gem Crush?".

But there's no reason to be down - there's still two more games left, and spoiler alert - they're both masterpieces as well. What a twist!

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radellama · 24 days

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38, 39, 40

games 🖕

38. An unpopular gaming opinion you have.

We don't need anymore new generations of gaming consoles. Tbh I don't think the newest stuff of ps5/xboxS is even necessary, they haven't got much that's actually impressive enough to entice a purchase from me. We've done it, there's no more exponential growth to be had, let it plateau and focus on actually designing games that are fun to play. I think the focus on console specs has led to a lot of bloat and publishers prioritising stuff that only matters in the moment it comes out, and doesn't really matter much once the next game comes out. I don't care about half the stuff that are selling points to these consoles, esp not when the ps5 still doesn't really have a strong library of exclusives that I can't also get on ps4 y'know. It might be better faster stronger, but photorealistic graphics age instantly, the current game dev climate and the priorities they're often forced to have mean that you can feel the crunch when there's games that feel kinda empty and flat, or you can see the seams of the engine and be taken out of it cause it doesn't feel like a fluid and flawless experience cause the focus feels so much more on the specs than the gameplay. If these consoles are so powerful and cutting edge, why are we a few years into the current gen and there's only a handful of games made for this gen that are actual showcases for what the consoles can offer, y'know? I miss when consoles had a bit more identity I guess, and not just a capitalist push for 'it's the newest, so it's the best!' if they weren't trying to market things as the best specs, i wouldn't be primed to keep a keen eye out for any glitches and bugs and visible seams. It's hard to program things that are this massive and have it play well, but it really feels like there's less gameplay in order to have more spectacle, and if there aren't many games that are actually utilising the consoles to their full extent and pushing the limits... Maybe we should stop making consoles and just make games. Like, what's the ps6 going to innovate on? Is there anything tangibly different that's going to be added, or is it just going to be refinements to the ps5 to fix the inevitable things that need fixing, and spec enhancements that can't really be noticed? It's the same issue as the resolutions for screens getting so big, but the human eyes are barely going to see a difference between 8K and 12K, and for those resolutions to be truly seen you'd have to shoot in 8K or 12K, which is such a huge amount of video that most editing programs can barely handle the load, and for what? Most stuff will still be shot at 2-4K, why would you need a TV with higher if there's barely anything native to that resolution y'know. Why do I need game consoles that have so many extra specs and features that aren't being used in the games I'm playing, or are barely noticeable and just adding weight to the game that make it strenuous for the console to run... I know the exact same argument could be made for PS3 -> PS4, but you get what I'm saying. Whenever the next gen of consoles arrives, I want it to have a distinct identity and reason for existing, with developers who are keen to make something to put on it. The PS5 has felt so botched and just like a bigger PS4 to me, and things like the enhancements in the controller aren't that impressive to me LMAO. I am a bit of a tech enthusiast, but certainly not enough to care about the current gen when my PS4 still works fine and has been getting the same games at just slightly downgraded performance. I played re8 just fine, there were a few slowdowns and hiccups here and there, but nothing that was game breaking? Why would I need a ps5 to play it?

39. What’s something you want to see in the future of gaming?

I want to see game dev be safer and more supportive for everyone, and for there to be more of a AA, A and indie scene so we can see more from all kinds of devs. I want to see experimental games that push boundaries and inspire people, I want to see people given the time to really craft something they're proud to release, and I want AAA studios to start taking risks again if they want to stay on top. It'd be reaaaally fucking nice to break away from the endless remake sequel remaster loop we seem to be stuck in, and have some new IPs and ideas to work with. I think it'd be good for AAA studios to get a bit of a kick up the bum and have them innovate based on friendly competition, instead of not caring cause there's a monopoly held by the same handful of studios. That's all a little vague and idealistic, but if I can only say one thing, I want the structure of the game dev process to be restructured to avoid crunch and abusive/hostile working environments. If it feels safer, happier and more secure to work in, I can't wait to see what gets created by passionate people who want to share their talents.

40. Best game cover art.

Send some gaming questions >:)

#rads asks #woogly boogly

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firstumcschenectady · 3 years

Text

"God's Peace – In the Midst of the Storm” based on Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32 and Mark 4:35-41

Two years ago at the Upper New York Annual Conference, Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball guest preached for the ordination and commissioning service. She preached on this text, and what she said was memorable enough that I can no longer hear this passage without her interpretation of it.

You may remember that two years ago the United Methodist world was in turmoil over the passage of “The Traditional Plan” at the 2019 Special Session of General Conference. That is, our denomination has been explicitly homophobic since 1972. Thanks to the decades of work by organizers, activists, and people of conscience there was sufficient pressure to create change. A special session of our denomination's global legislative was called to respond to the church's continued exclusion of God's LGBTQIA+ people. There were several proposals on the table that brought positive change, and one that multiplied the harm already being done.

I still remember standing in shock after the final vote was taken, and watching my phone explode with the global news outlet alerts that – as the NYTimes put it “United Methodists Tighten Ban on Same-Sex Marriage and Gay Clergy.” The homophobia of this denomination had already been an abomination, yet people stayed knowing that the best way to bring change was from the inside. It was long, hard work, but we had felt confidence that God's Spirit of Love would win in the long run. The decision to pass the Traditional Plan changed all that, and made it clear that over the long run people of conscience CANNOT stay in a homophobic denomination.

That was February. We were still reeling, grieving, and furious when Annual Conference came. Thanks be to God, we'd also organized, and Upper New York will be sending a very different delegation to the next General Conference (whenever the pandemic allows that to happen). Nevertheless, the conviction remained for progressives and even many moderates: one way or another, we will NOT STAY in a homophobic denomination. One way or another, we will be part of a church that welcomes all of God's people, and soon.

It was into that reality that Bishop Steiner Ball preached. And she did so as a guest preacher in an Annual Conference whose Bishop had been a leader in writing and passing The Traditional plan. She took this passage and asked us to stay in the boat with Jesus. She acknowledged the storm raging around us, she named the reasons we would have to simply bail on the entire endeavor, she made space for hurt, anger, and fear. At the same time, she claimed that Jesus was in the boat with us, in the midst of the storm, and powerful enough to respond to the storm. She believed that Jesus could bring resolution, IF we just stayed in the boat. She offered that while the storm was raging so strongly it could be tempting to just jump into the sea, that the sea itself was not without its own issues. She urged us to stay long enough for Jesus to act, to bring resolution, to find a way forward for the people called Methodists.12

Here we are, two years later, still in that storm, and still with Jesus. The biggest change is that with the global pandemic, we are dealing with multiple storms at once. The storm that is the pandemic keeps United Methodists from gathering to split into different denominations that will be able to live their own faith with integrity. The storm that is the church's homophobia prevents the denomination from being able to speak with moral authority, even of issues of death and dying brought on by the pandemic.

So here we are, in a boat, in the midst of raging storms. But, Bishop Steiner Ball says that Jesus is in the boat with us. Further, she reminds us that Jesus is able to calm the storms.

I am aware that the global pandemic storms, and the global church storms are themselves far from the only storms attacking our boats.

In truth, I suspect that for many of us the storms raging most strongly are inside us. Narratives and traumas from our childhoods continue to attack within. Existential anxiety has its way with us, often in ways we don't even see. Assumptions about others, fear of the the unknown, and a tendency to see enemies were there are only people who are different also keep us on the defensive. The whole world turning upside down on us, not yet being righted, and likely to find a balance somewhere other than where it used to be obviously doesn't help either. People are comforted by the familiar, which means that the past 15 months have been particularly discomforting at exactly the time we've most needed comfort.

Which is all to say that I think there are storms raging within us, probably all of us to a greater or lesser extent.

To support this theory, mental health professionals have never been so busy. Now, I'd say that in an ideal world, we'd all get regular mental health care as a means of simply being healthy. But most of the time, most people don't seek mental health care until they're well into a crisis/storm and can't find their way out alone. So very busy mental health care professionals is a signal that many people are really struggling.

There isn't anything wrong with struggling. It is a human reality. The “Disciple Bible Study” curriculums call such things “the human condition.” There isn't actually anything wrong with being in a storm. It is also a human condition, and quite often it is well out of our control.

That said, being in the midst of a storm, particularly one like our scriptures talk about today are NOT comfortable. These are the sorts of storms that make it seem more likely that death is on the horizon than life.

And Jesus sleeps through it.

Either he was beyond exhaustion, or he was living non-anxious presence or both. Impressive, Jesus.

The story says Jesus awoke, rebuked the storm, and rebuked the disciples. I feel like it forgets to tell us that he then curled back up and went back to sleep. The storm was silenced. The disciples were awed.

I wonder if any of the storms that rage within us are ones that God would be happy to silence and bring to peace, if we were willing to let God do it. I suspect so. Some storms we are aren't ready to let go of. Some storms just aren't done yet. But some of them are only causing us harm, and are ready to be silenced.

Can you tell? Can you feel any of them that have run their course and would be response to “peace, be still!”? Can you even imagine what life would be like without that storm?

To go back to the storm we started with, I learned about the church's homophobia when I was 13, and started working against it then. I have worked for and dreamed of being a part of a big-C Church that welcomes, affirms, and loves all of God's people. You have too. This church has been explicitly committed to changing the UMC's life-denying policies for 25 years now, and was already committed to it before then too!

Yet, it boggles my mind to try to imagine life without this fight – or at least changing this fight from one fighting explicit policy to fighting implicit bias. My identity will need a reboot.

And I think that's often true of our internal storms too. We're used to them. They're familiar. They're a part of who we are, and we aren't entirely sure who we'd be without them.

But, friends, that's exactly what God is there for. God doesn't want to leave us in the pain of the past, or even the anxiety of the present. God is a source of healing, and energy of revival, a vision for wholeness, a hope for the future. Some of the things we're afraid to give up, God is ready to take away.

God's peace is stronger than the storms. God's peace can hold its own EVEN in the midst of the BIGGEST storms. It has a different kind of strength. It has a deeper kind of being.

So I invite you, to hear the words of Jesus resound in your soul. “Peace, be still.” And I invite you to listen to see what storms God has silenced. Because God is up to good in you, in us, in the world, and when we make space for it, God can transform even the most hurting parts of us. Thanks be to God!

Amen

1Please note that these are my memories of a sermon I heard 2 years ago. As memories are faulty, and tend to have holes filled in with one's own assumptions, this is likely a high bred of what she said and what I wanted to hear and remember.

2 I take no authority to tell anyone they need to stay in the UMC boat. There are good reasons to leave, all the more for people who are LGBTQIA+. I'm sharing that it was meaningful to me, knowing that I'm not the center.

#Thinking Church #Progressive Christianity #Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball #Upper New York Annual Confernece #FUMC Schenectady #schenectady #umc #Sorry about the UMC #Rev Sara E Baron #Stay in the boat with Jesus

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punkscowardschampions · 5 years

Text

Rio & Buster

Rio: Sorry about that Rio: her mans hasn't text her Buster: And that's closer to Drew's fault than it is mine Buster: But whatever Rio: I know Rio: she's really hurting this AM Buster: Yeah and he's got drugs Buster: What have I got? Buster: It's fine Rio: You know, father of the year coming through to save the day again Rio: Well, I appreciate all your help last night, even if she don't remember Buster: Good thing I didn't do it for her then Buster: I still reckon you should have left them to it and come with me Rio: Best I'm around in case it kicks off again Rio: Drew'll tire of it long before it's close to being sorted so Buster: I know Buster: I'm just bringing my selfishness into the new year Rio: I don't blame you Rio: Any other morning, like Buster: Let me know when he's gone and I'll circle back Buster: So long as Indie don't try and fight me about it, like Rio: 'Course Rio: Nah, sure her lad'll hit her up and she'll be outta here like a shot Buster: No offense to the kid but I hope so Buster: You got up so early 😒 Rio: Awh baby Rio: Knew she'd be laying there stewing otherwise Buster: Mothering duty calls I get it Rio: You know I'd rather be with you Rio: lowkey using the barricading skills you showed me rn so they leave me alone, like Rio: it ain't a party Buster: I'm getting breakfast and checking Edie's socials so lowkey feel like a dad Buster: Not a party either Rio: Hot 😏 Buster: Shut up Buster: You have no business looking that good in the AM without teasing me as well Rio: Now who's teasing Rio: I dread to think Buster: I mean it Buster: You're beautiful Rio: You're nice Rio: I feel like shit Buster: What can I do? Rio: Nah, nothing Rio: 'less you got an IV drip and a way to knock some sense into Indie and Edie without getting out the gloves, like Buster: I know places where that shit is trendy Buster: Among other things Rio: I don't doubt it, babe Buster: I can send someone round if you like Buster: It works Rio: With those two dossing in the front room? That wouldn't be shaming 🙄 Rio: I'll drink my water, don't worry Buster: Good girl Rio: Really Rio: I already miss you, don't be hitting me with that Buster: I can't help it Buster: I miss you too Buster: And Nance ain't bringing her A game to this outing Rio: Tell her she's gotta revel in the fact she weren't the holy show last night Buster: Already did Buster: Probably why she's pouting into her scrambled egg Buster: 😂 Rio: Aww Rio: There's still time, babe, make it your resolution and you've got all year Buster: I'm already trying to make her see that the barista is flirting with her not me Buster: My work is cut out Buster: She's gotta put hers in by firing back Rio: Fr, need a success story this morning Buster: She's as red as her hair, this ain't gonna happen Buster: I really did get all the game, like Rio: Leave her alone 😂 Rio: Poor girl Buster: Excuse me, you wanted me to play nice with the fam Buster: This barista is hot and Nance is welcome Rio: 😏 Appreciate the effort Rio: She clearly got your dose of shame too Buster: Unlucky Rio: Either that or she don't share your type Buster: That's a given Buster: I'm not trying to fuck no MILFS tempting as it'd be to piss James off by doing his mum Rio: Eww Rio: Too early for that, thank you Buster: She's not that bad Buster: a solid 7 Rio: Take your word for it Rio: Fortunately didn't meet her Buster: So that's a no to the threesome then? Buster: Shame Rio: 😂 Rio: Never say never, babe Buster: Picture the happy couple walking in on that, the only incentive you need Buster: Chlo thinks she knows freaky, nah babe Rio: She 'bouta find out Rio: he's weird as hell Buster: And she's vanilla as hell Buster: What a match Rio: Well out of it Rio: You reckon they even together still Rio: if they were Buster: I know they are Buster: Even both blocked I'm still seeing them somehow Rio: Lovely Buster: Do you want me to bring you some coffee or anything? Rio: That's okay baby Rio: Come back though, even if you have to bring work to do Buster: 'Course Buster: Soon as the coast is clear Rio: I don't care Rio: I live here too Buster: I just don't wanna make things worse for you, babe Buster: You know he winds me up Rio: We can ignore him Rio: I'm not sitting with them Buster: Alright Rio: You don't have to Rio: but I want you here Buster: I want to be there Buster: With you Rio: Good Rio: I fucking hate him, he's barely acknowledge what happened last night Buster: Yeah, I bet Buster: Such a cunt Rio: But I'm the one that's killing the vibe 'cos I don't wanna get high rn Rio: Okay Buster: It's literally morning Buster: I'm no pussy but come on Rio: Seriously, we ain't getting last night back, lads Rio: give it up now Buster: Should I bring food for Indie? Buster: She's gonna be fucked Rio: Yeah, get her back on side for sure Buster: She basically eats anything, yeah? Rio: Literally Rio: It's a madness where she puts it Buster: I'll grab some stuff for you too, if you don't want it I'm sure Indie'll eat it for you Rio: You're cute Buster: Getting my heroics in early, that's all Rio: Can't help yourself, right Buster: 'Course not Rio: Why I can't help but like you Buster: As long as it's not the only reason Rio: I know you want the list Buster: Yeah Rio: I'll work on it whilst you do your essays Buster: We'll see who finishes first Buster: Word count is key Rio: Damn, I was gonna hit it with the bullet points Rio: no slacking, I guess Buster: You're getting graded, babe Buster: Think on Rio: 🤤 Rio: Not got any 🍎s so I'll give it my all Buster: I'll take 🍑s you know Rio: 😂 we're alright then Rio: got that in abundance Buster: 😂 Buster: When did Nance get so chatty? Let me go Rio: You love it Rio: and I get a headstart, win win Buster: I love you Buster: And I miss you Rio: I miss you more Buster: Prove it Rio: How do you want me to do that today baby? Buster: Surprise me Buster: No offense to my sister but I'm bored Rio: I'll make it extra good then Rio: Hmm, gimme 5 Buster: Take 10 Rio: Generous as always Buster: You'll see how generous I can be when I get back Rio: You'll be feeling it Rio: Looking for that A, you know Buster: Yeah? Buster: Good Rio: [Snap] Buster: Well now you've got me thinking all kinds of things Rio: Yeah? Rio: Positively inspiring Buster: Babe Buster: Tell me I can't walk out and leave my sister sitting here 'cause that's all I want Rio: Be good now and I'll be as bad as you want Buster: That's why I love you Buster: Not that I'm writing you a list on a napkin right now, like Rio: Pretend it's for the waitress if you get caught, babe Buster: Obviously Buster: Doing my best as is to teach Nance how to flirt Buster: She's useless and it's weird Buster: People are gonna think we're a couple if she don't catch on to any of it soon Rio: 😬 She'd shut that down faster than you at least Rio: I hope you aren't matching today Buster: You know she'd make me change if we had been Rio: 😂 Rio: Bless Buster: Shame Chlo's blocked I could've sent her some twin time Buster: Really convince her of my incest kink Rio: 😒 Buster: Don't make that face Rio: [Sends actual grumpy face] Buster: You're so cute Rio: Then be nice Rio: I'm trying to think about you here, not that bitch Buster: I'm sorry baby Buster: I'll kiss you until I feel you smile again, okay Rio: It's a start 😋 Buster: And then I'll let you decide where you want me to go next Buster: Wherever cheers you up the most Rio: Want me to show you where I need it most? Buster: You know I do Rio: Tilt your phone, this ain't for anyone else, especially not your sister Rio: Sorry to disappoint, Chloe Rio: [Snap] Buster: I went into the bathroom, reckoning that would be the best idea Buster: I'm having so many flashbacks to last night Buster: Jesus Rio: You weren't wrong Rio: I keep touching, I can feel each individual hit, it's turning me on so much Buster: Fuck Buster: I need to touch you or myself right now Rio: Do it Rio: I can make you cum so fast if I want, we both know it Buster: Especially when you talk like that Rio: I want you to be as needy as me Buster: I'm there, trust me Rio: You're not Rio: Not until you've silently cum in that bathroom stall thinking about me riding you Rio: They're still here so I had to bite down on my pillow Buster: Rio Rio: Buster Buster: I can't be silent Buster: I can't Rio: I know Rio: It's one of the things that makes you so fucking hot Rio: I don't care, I want people to hear, know how I've got you Buster: If I bite my lip any harder it's gonna bleed, that's how you've got me Rio: You can handle it, baby Rio: Give me something to kiss better Buster: You can have anything Buster: Everything Rio: I want it all, all of you Rio: because you own me Buster: I'm all yours, babe Buster: This is for you too 'cause I want you so bad Rio: Fuck yourself like you'd fuck me if I was there with you Rio: I want you to cum so hard Buster: Baby I'm so close already Rio: Yeah you are Rio: I bet your dick is covered in precum now, I wish I was there to taste it Buster: Christ, Rio Buster: I fucking love you Rio: I love you Rio: You're everything, babe Buster: Tell me again Buster: Make me cum Rio: You're my everything, Buster and I fucking love you Rio: All I wanna do is make you happy and make you cum Buster: Oh my god, baby Buster: You're perfect Buster: I can't Rio: You can though Rio: it's why we work so well, you're just as bad as me Buster: Fuck Rio: You're cumming for me right now, aren't you, baby? Rio: Fuck Buster: I just came so hard saying your name Buster: Nobody better have heard that Rio: Jesus, you're so good Rio: too fucking good Rio: I wanted to hear it but I'll make you say it even louder when you get here Buster: Somehow I have to get my shit together so I can go and pay the bill Buster: It's fucking ridiculous what you can do to me without even being here Rio: Sorry, Daddy Rio: I bet you look so fucking good now, they gonna be too flustered to care Rio: It's the same for me, I never think about anyone else now, you're all my fantasies Buster: [sends pics because you know he would, shameless bastard] Buster: Keep thinking about me Buster: I'll be there soon Rio: 😻 Rio: Okay how are you real Buster: Says you Buster: On another level of beautiful, like Rio: You make me feel so good Buster: Good 'cause that's all I wanna do Rio: but I have one question Buster: Go on Rio: Can I touch myself or do I need to wait for Daddy? Rio: I wanna be good for you but it aches Buster: I want you to do it Buster: You need to feel as good as I do Rio: Your hands are so big and rough it feels so good on the most sensitive parts of me Buster: I know, babe Buster: It's why I never wanna stop touching you Rio: I wish we could just fuck forever sometimes Rio: Any time I'm not with you feels wasted Buster: Me too Buster: But you look so good wanting me too so it's not ever wasted Rio: You can watch me want you 'til you're hard again Rio: I'll do all the work, you've earnt it Buster: You've the hottest girl I've ever seen never mind met Rio: And I'm all for you Rio: Don't get mad 'cos this is a little fucked up to say but I hope he hears you fucking me, 'cos he could never and will never Rio: Me moaning your name over and over like a prayer Buster: I'm not mad Buster: You're mine and I want him to know it Rio: Good Rio: Me too Buster: I hope he gets mad Rio: Yeah? Buster: He needs to realise that you're never gonna want anyone as much as you want me Buster: And he's never gonna need you as badly as I do Rio: He really does Rio: and now I really want you to show him Buster: I will Buster: All day if that's what it takes Buster: I'll fuck you so hard and loud your whole street will know it Rio: Even if he gets the message before then like Rio: Please Buster: I know what you need, babe Buster: It's not about him, that's just a bonus Rio: Just when I think I can't love you any more Buster: You're gonna have to marry me, sorry about it Rio: Well, you have ruined me for anyone else Rio: No other boys are like you Buster: Don't forget it Rio: Promise Buster: I promise I won't let you either Buster: I'm always gonna make you feel this good Rio: You really mean that, don't you? Buster: Yeah Buster: I don't know how to do anything else, not with you Buster: It's how you make me feel Rio: Good, it really is all I want Rio: for you to be happy and for me to be happy with you Buster: Wish granted, like Buster: I'm finally leaving Rio: 🙌 Buster: I don't even have to give Nance a lift either 'cause she's shopping or some shit Buster: So actually won't be long Rio: Clearly doing something right, like Rio: God or 🍀 whatever you want working in our favour for once Buster: Yeah, as much as I'm the only god you really need, the other bloke ain't doing bad right now Rio: He's the OG wingman when you got him on side, I'm telling you Buster: I hope he ain't the jealous type then 'cause you know you're gonna be praying to me before him Rio: 'Course not Rio: Practically encouraged Rio: if we pretend the birth control ain't there but shh, he turns a blind eye to when I go down the clinic and I turn one to all the suffering, like Buster: Let's never pretend that though Rio: Doesn't do it for me either, I promise you that Buster: That's why you're the one I'm with and not the one we ain't talking about anymore ever Buster: Well, one of the countless reasons, like Rio: I'll take that, happily Buster: I love you, Rio. So much Rio: I love you too Rio: You make me forget that right now isn't perfect 'cos I feel it when you're around Buster: Me too Buster: You're so perfect I'll take that and deal with whatever shit I have to Rio: Together Rio: You don't need to do it all alone anymore Buster: You either Rio: Thank you Buster: You never have to say that to me Rio: I do though 'cos I don't think anyone has ever acknowledged I have shit to deal with Rio: not to be all woe is me about it but Buster: I know they haven't, but like I said before, I know what you need, babe Buster: I'm here for you whatever Rio: How do you know what I need Rio: It's crazy Buster: I don't know Buster: I just do Buster: Maybe I always have Rio: Yeah Rio: I think so Rio: That's how it feels Buster: It's like how you know who I actually am Buster: Not to be that cunt about it Rio: Exactly though Rio: I would've never admitted it, even a year or so back but Rio: I don't know Rio: I knew you were different Buster: Yeah Buster: Why do you think I couldn't come near you, like Rio: Yeah Rio: I know we had to get our shit together and heads sorted- ish Rio: but I wish I'd had you sooner still Buster: You did Buster: That kiss still happened Rio: True Buster: I wanted to be around you all the time back then Rio: When you had the misfortune of being in Dublin, like 😉 Buster: It used to make me so mad when I had to go home Rio: Yeah? Buster: Yeah, I loved it, being here Buster: I don't know when that changed Buster: How I chose London and all those cunts instead Rio: I get it Rio: It was more permanent, more stable Rio: you could only be here properly in the holidays, who wants to come somewhere and feel like they've missed out on so much Rio: Especially when Nance moved too Buster: When she chose here it was like I couldn't have it Buster: Even if I wanted to Buster: It's stupid but Rio: Nah, I see it Rio: I mean, it wasn't you why she left but, it hit too close for comfort for both of you Buster: Enough of it was me Rio: You both had some shit to sort Rio: who doesn't Rio: but I'd say you're both getting there now, yeah? Buster: I'm trying 'cause I didn't before, not hard enough Buster: I didn't want her to stay 'cause she knows me too, even if she didn't reckon I was still that same person, like Buster: It was too hard having her around so I didn't make it easy for her to be Rio: Yeah Rio: Shit is hard enough without giving yourself a hard time, you were doing what you had to for an easy time Rio: Doesn't excuse it or make it right but you can make it right now, like Buster: Yeah Buster: I'm gonna go to Uni here, I've decided Buster: Wherever Nance goes, this is still home for her Buster: And you're here, most importantly Rio: That'll be so good Rio: I'm really excited now Buster: We won't have to do this back and forth bullshit any more Buster: I'll just be here Rio: Have to go more places together to get that platinum membership now, like Rio: but still, what could be better Buster: Exactly Buster: That said, I am nearly there, so I have a few ideas of what could come close Rio: Oh yeah? I'm all ears, baby Buster: I'm gonna make you cum so many times that it won't only be Drew wanting me to stop Buster: You'll be so sensitive to me I'll have you begging Rio: 😩😩😩 Rio: This is me giving full permission to ignore me though because I want that so bad Rio: don't stop 'til you're fully satisfied daddy Buster: I won't be satisfied until you've said my name enough to lose your voice Rio: Oh my God, Buster Buster: Yeah, just like that, babe Rio: Just practicing 😂😋 Buster: Good Buster: Be ready for me Rio: We're beyond ready Rio: You shouldn't have let me play with myself Rio: I'm messy Buster: I'll clean you up, babe, it's okay Rio: If you don't stop, I'm gonna be saying your name before you even get here Buster: Say it Buster: Let him know how bad you want me already Rio: Okay Rio: I'm not even embarrassed, this is just how good you are Buster: Fuck yourself like I'm there watching Buster: I want you weak for me when I am Rio: Yes, sir Buster: Hurry up though 'cause I'm nearly at your door Buster: You have to cum before I get back, yeah? Rio: Fuck Rio: I'm so close, I can feel it Buster: Don't stop Rio: I won't baby Rio: Tell me to cum for you, oh God please Buster: Go harder now Buster: It's time to cum for me baby Rio: I'm fucking myself so hard he can probably hear exactly how wet my pussy is for you Buster: Yeah he can Rio: This is all for you Buster: Tell me you love me so he knows it too Rio: Buster I love you I love you Buster: I love you Rio: I don't know if I've ever cum like that just with my hand Rio: Jesus Buster: You've been such a good girl for me I'll let myself in Buster: Don't move Rio: I don't think I can, and that's without factoring in how much it makes me melt when you call me your good girl so Buster: If I need you in a different position, I'll move you, don't worry Rio: Come in here and show me how big and strong you are Buster: Just delivering Indie's food and checking out how mad Drew already is Buster: I almost wish you could move so you'd know Rio: Serious? Rio: You're gonna have to fill me in more ways than one then Buster: I will, I promise

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