#i liked the dark mode and light mode versions so here's them both

[hools]

I WAS HOLDING BACK CAUSE

[wonallofme]

let it out, loser!

tw and tags: boxer!jungwon x fem!reader, smut, no condom, penetration, creampie, squirt, heavy dubcon, no plot just porn, the sex is nasty af, a little of blood (biting lips and fight wounds), allusion to past noncon, insanity from both of them. word count: 1.7k note: hi! i haven't written anything in a long time and just wanted to do something short. this is my first (official) enhypen piece, hope someone here likes it. if you know me from my other blog, you just know the sex i write is not the most sane one. again, this is pure fiction! Please be careful about the tags you wish to block.

credits for the divider: @bernardsbendystraws (link)

The sound of his keys being thrown to the table in your kitchen shouldn’t be that hot. The sound of his bag hitting your floor with fury shouldn’t make your panties get wet. Even more, the sound of his heart beating inside his chest so fast shouldn’t make you excited for what was about to come.

Knowing too well how he, his breath, his steps, his things, sounded when he was angry after a loss, shouldn’t turn you on.

One, two, three, four. You counted the steps he took.

Usually, if he walked around the room, he would be searching for condoms. He didn’t walk that much, so you immediately knew, he would be harder that night.

After all, he needed to let everything out to be himself the next day.

‘’I know you’re awake,’’ he said, making you open your eyes to not pretend anymore.

He didn’t try to be gentle.

His face was a mess, even in the darkness of the night, with the little to almost no light that trespassed your curtains, you could see a faint purple color on his cheek, and a bright fresh red on his lip. Both meant he would leave you hurting too.

You didn’t have to ask what he wanted from you.

You ruffled in your sheets.

You moved them so he could accommodate himself between your legs, and rubbing your eyes from the recent nap you had, you simply let him take your pajama shorts off.

It was better when you didn’t interrupt him.

You don’t hate this version of him. You know that, when the morning comes, he’ll be your nice boyfriend again. He’ll make breakfast and won’t talk at all about the night or his fight. He’ll let you clean his wounds, he’ll give you a silent soft kiss after walking you to class, and then he’ll go to the gym to keep training.

He made it hurt those nights, but he never made it hurt in your daily life.

Jungwon is the kind of boyfriend that makes sure you’re always comfortable while having sex. He leaves soft pecks on your cheek while fingering you, and he asks if you’re okay when he puts it in. He’s so tender, sometimes, you’re the one afraid of hurting him.

So, these times, when he doesn’t ask how you feel, and he just takes, you try to understand him.

A whimper came out of your mouth, totally involuntarily, when you felt his spit touching your entrance.

He was over you, between your legs, forcing them open with his own amplitude, staring at your entrance and how his saliva mixed with your wetness.

For these occasions, that little help was more than enough for you. He almost laughed. A smirk appeared on his mouth, and he let a curse out. Were you happy he was a mess? Was he really that pathetic? Why were you always so excited when he arrived from losing a match?

‘’You’re lucky I’m this kind, crazy bitch.’’

Pressing his tip on your wet clit, he exhaled loudly, looking defeated, before moving it down between your lips, smearing his spit along. He didn’t look at your eyes in this mode. He didn’t dare to look at your face. He concentrated on what he wanted from you, and you tried to find what parts of him were wounded so you could make a list of things you might need.

Ointment, bandages, cold pads, maybe you would have to cook him something nice too. Did you have apples left?

You couldn’t continue thinking when he slid in.

The burning made you leave a hurt sound out. You whimpered again, because of the pain, and hissed when he pulled out.

He didn’t ask you anything. He didn’t kiss your lips to ease it up or apologise in your ear before stopping altogether. You could see his mind thinking of something, and you wanted to suggest him, maybe he could give you more of it? As if reading your mind, he spat on his hand, a long line of drool finding his cock, and some of it spilling on your pussy on the way.

Your legs trembled with the sensation, somehow feeling a rush in your entire body. You wanted it so bad, this side of him, that when he wrapped the back of your thighs to oblige it all the way to your breast, you cried.

Not because of the sudden movement, or because of how challenging the position was, but because you knew he wanted you to feel it all.

And, when he wanted that, you would really feel it all.

‘’Fu-fuck,’’ you moaned when he bullied his way inside again.

Immediately after talking, you bit your lips.

He didn’t like it when you talked. Whether it was to complain or praise him, he didn’t care. He needed you to not talk or make him think or look at your face. He needed you to be, if possible, dead silent to only concentrate on his own thoughts.

Of course, that was almost impossible, so he would press a hand on your mouth if you didn’t behave, and in the worst cases, to mute you, he would press your face down.

Whimpers were acceptable. Broken moans, bearable. But words? No, never.

You wanted to apologize but it wasn’t the right answer, you knew it too well. You know him too well. Or so, you wanted to believe.

He pushed your legs further, slamming inside, pushing the air out of your lungs.

It continued hurting, but you couldn’t care less.

The awareness of him being there, the sound of his breathing, his hisses, the groans, you wanted it all.

A wet echo filled the room with the force he used to fuck you and your wet pussy taking him. Your walls moved to accommodate him, to welcome him with much enthusiasm, just like your hands pulling your legs closer to make it more comfortable for him.

He wasn’t wearing a condom, and just the memory of his cum all inside you made you tighten around him.

Inside your mind, you repeated give it to me, please, because your mouth wasn’t allowed to do it. It felt way too good. The first time, it made you deeply uncomfortable to feel it inside. You felt dirty, disgusting, and you couldn’t believe it had happened. Now, you couldn’t find the words to ask for it again.

You could only hope he lost.

‘’Fuck, why can’t I…? Fuck!’’

His torso raised, his hips aligned at a better angle, and he thrusted harder.

Your teeth were sinking on your lower lip, brows furrowing and eyes closing to not show him how much you were enjoying it. Probably, it was useless to even try to hide it.

Your shirt was sticking to your torso because of the sweat. Yours, his. Fuck, you heard him curse. The lower front wet spot, in no way, was from just sweat.

The spasms were arriving. You felt your abdomen get tighter, and you tried to calculate how much time had passed. It hasn’t been long enough, you concluded. You couldn’t cum, you had to hold it in, for him, because it couldn’t end so fast. For him, that short time was not enough. It couldn’t be enough.

He needed you to hold it. He needed it. He.

You cried. This time, a few tears escaped. You turned your face to the side, and a salty flavor on your tongue distracted you.

You only noticed you bit yourself so hard your lips were bleeding when you felt more of the metallic taste invading you.

Out of the ordinary, he leaned to inspect your face. His hand tactlessly gripped your chin and forced you to face him, and when he saw the drops of blood flooding your delicate lip, under your teeth, he gulped.

‘’You’re such a mess too.’’

His mouth found yours in a second, obliging you to leave your poor lip free. He, first, just grazed them, doubting to do such a soft act with you, before crashing your wound with his.

The kiss, just like the sex, was not delicate at all.

The sting in your lips was not a sensation you were familiar with. His lips were always soft with you, at least until that moment. At much, they would be lustful, making out with you for long periods of time, but never brute.

His fingers stabbed your jaw, and his tongue prodded out.

You couldn’t breathe properly, overwhelmed with his strength, so you opened your lips to inhale some air, an act he took advantage of by barging his tongue into your mouth.

You had no way of using your brain at that moment. His tongue inside your mouth stealing your little air, his entire weight sinking you to the bed, his shoulders maintaining your legs up and against your chest, his cock balls deep inside you. It was all too much. Your head was too dizzy to remember exactly at what point you had your orgasm.

You remember your legs shaking, and an embarrassing loud cry muffled with his mouth against yours.

Also, you remember the broken moan he left out, and his hips reassuming a brutal pace that makes you roll your eyes with the mere memory. His long cock had hit a spot that made you lose yourself, and your pussy, so sensitive with how he had continued using you, had the most intense orgasm you ever had.

The clean gush finished wetting the front of your shirt, splashing his abdomen and making a pod slide down onto the bedsheets. Sadly, he didn’t care that you were trembling and bawling because of it. He plunged back inside, biting your cries and mixing both bloods while trying to find his own orgasm.

He left it out all inside you.

When you felt his warm cum invading you, you passed out.

After that, all is black. You try to move your body, finding it uncomfortable and painful. Still, you turn your head, finding your boyfriend’s naked back beside you. From the way his breath is calm now that he’s sleeping, you deduce he’s back to normal after finding his release.

Your shirt is different, clean, and the bed sheets are blue instead of white, so you know it’s not the same set from the night before.

At the sensation of his cum leaking out of you, you wonder if changing your clothes and sheets was the only thing he did to you while you were unconscious.

[simspaghetti]

I was so so so excited about the release of Blackout UI by @simstate recently! I've been wanting a dark-mode modern UI in my game for the longest time and they finally came thru with their mod tysm angel <3<3

With this exciting new release, I needed to rework a few of my Gameplay PSDs to fit in better with this mod - and I've made them available for download here if anyone else would like to switch!

What's In The Folder:

💫 Wish Template: → 3 frame colour options: Black, Green & Grey

🥶 Moodlet Template: → 4 frame / mood effect colour options: Neutral, Positive, Negative & Plain Grey

💼 Career Template: → 3 frame colour options: Black, Blue, Green & Grey → Career icons from BG to All EPs included → Extra mood icons for the 'Performance' section included

Extra: Transparent background alternative included for all templates!

Terms of Use: Please don’t claim as your own or reupload without my permission, I’d love to see you use them in your game if you do choose to tag me - but that’s totally optional I'm just nosey haha :P Feel free to alter and customize the templates literally however you want, but pls link back to my blog if you’re gonna reupload a downloadable variation :)

Download Here (Simfileshare, .psd files)

The font used in all templates is DM Sans, it can be found in all variations here - I only used ‘bold’ & 'bold italic’

Instructions:

These are supposed to be opened in a photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop, I personally recommend Photopea / Gimp as free alternatives - you can probs use any other editing software as long as it can handle .psd files - lmk if you have any problems in other programs, I have only tested these in Photopea!

I also intended for these to be used alongside game icon collections, here are some suggestions for those: TS2 Icons / TS3 Icons + Extras / TS4 Icons

Just edit the text, hide & unhide the layers / folders and place the icons to get your desired outcome, then save as a .png and plop the final image over your gameplay screenshots :)

For any PSDs I create in the future I hope to create both light-mode & dark-mode versions so you can take your pick - I’m also open to requests so if you have anything you’d like to see as a psd lmk ��💞

Finally, thanks again to SimState for their wonderful mod - the UI is absolutely gorgeous and I will be exclusively using it from now on! Pls go show them some love if you haven't already 🫶

[katuschka]

Olalla Chapter Ten

Josh Kiszka x f!OC x Jake Kiszka 5.330 words This chapter is mostly Jake's POV. I neglected it so far and he deserves it.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, intended for adult readers. Any resemblance to real persons is purely coincidental. Also, if you're under 18, go find some other entertainment elsewhere.

Warnings (are spoilers): mentions of sex (nothing expressive), alcohol consumtion, allusions to infidelity, internal turmoil, emotional infidelity, betrayal&trust issues, violence, secrets and a healthy dose of emotional shit again

If you like the story and want to get notifications, you can join the Taglist

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Dreaming about my love You bring me joy and happiness More or less I dream my life away I don't care if I get nowhere I can just dream, and you'll be there What else is there to do?

December 22nd (and reminiscing the past); Jake

In December, evenings in Krakow start early; more than two hours before the people in Madrid can see the last sun rays. The time is the same in both cities; it is the experience that differs. Just like the souls who experience it. This was the land of beautiful churches and dreadful past terrors; the land of sorrows drowned in vodka and joys found in the sounds of violins and flutes. Even here at the airport, surrounded with steel and glass and fluorescent lights, Jake could feel it too. He found a brand new, strange kind of comfort in this. 

Just a few months ago, he had spent many evenings getting drunk alone while listening to local musicians. That’s how he tried to escape the sounds of the two of them fucking…

Tonight, he would see her again. And then he would wash the aftertaste down with spirit and fuck the one he’s with.

This whole Christmas trip was a comical arrangement. A road straight to misery. Four people playing their selfish card games with one another, and Jake felt like he was the worst of them all. If not for anything else, then for thinking that Veela was selfish too. Deep down he knew too well that it was far from the truth. It just seemed way easier to perceive her as a fellow villain, just like when you know that booze is bad for you, even though you keep drinking. 

Fucking hell, she even insisted on cooking dinner for them at first! Thankfully, Josh eventually persuaded her not to do that. She had a lot on her plate already, so just let their empty stomachs be other people’s problem this evening. 

As soon as they landed, he sent her a brief message to confirm the time of their expected arrival with wicked satisfaction. This was supposed to be Josh’s fucking job, but Jake wasn’t really complaining. It had been like that for a while now, and it made the little gargoyle on his shoulder clap his hands with malicious glee. 

It was already pitch dark when they left the airport in their rental car and, without any further ado, turned left towards the south on the first intersection. All three of them awfully tired, and all of them craving a hot shower. He and Josh were quite used to long and exhausting travels, but Lisa had never left the States before, and as time went by, she gradually morphed from the initial (and rather cute) ‘Alice in Wonderland mode’ to the nervous wreck that she was now. 

Half an hour later, and halfway through the ride, Lisa was still clutching at the half empty cup of her now lukewarm coffee in both hands while looking resigned, Josh – curled up in the backseat – kept peering out of the window into the dark nothingness outside, and Jake was getting more and more drowsy with every passing minute, lulled by the monotonous sound of the engine. They tried to turn on the radio, but quickly abandoned the idea when a very peculiar disco version of White Christmas made them all groan in unison. 

Jake hated driving in the dark. Low visibility and blurring lights always made his mind wander, eventually getting lost in dangerous daydreaming. Melodies appeared in his mind out of nowhere and sometimes they threatened to narcotize him. He was beginning to think that he would have to pull over at the nearest gas station to get another generous dosage of caffeine, when the sudden appearance of fat and wet snowflakes on the windowsill allerted him in a way no artificial energy booster possibly could. Finally something to focus on…

They just drove into a snowstorm, which gave Jake a much needed adrenaline rush, although the circumstances could have been different. What a nice, fitting parallel to all the other shit that’s been happening to him lately. 

He could already feel the tires slipping on the snowy road, forcing him to slow down. Soon the whole long string of cars ahead of, as well as behind their own vehicle, was moving at snail's pace. 

“Meeerry Christmas,” Josh mumbled, watching the falling snow as if hypnotized. If that was supposed to sound cheerful, he failed miserably. It only encouraged Lisa to let out another anguished sigh. Jake tried to keep his calm, but the two of them were really testing his limits ever since they left Nashville the previous day. 

“What now, baby?” he asked in a falsely soothing tone. 

“I’m just still wondering… is this really safe?”

“And what the fuck does that mean?’ It was Josh this time, still being moody in the back seat. 

“I mean…shouldn’t they clear the snow from the road or something? This is definitely not safe. Anyway, I'm still not convinced that…”

“Lisa, how could they possibly clear the snow now? We’re on a highway in the middle of a heavy snowfall,” Jake interrupted her, while patiently ignoring Josh’s scoff. She kept on voicing her concerns ever since they landed in Heathrow, and even before that, making it REALLY hard for him to justify their presence here by claiming that she wanted to go. Although, to be honest, that ship had already sailed. 

At least Josh seemingly bought his reasoning that he was here to keep an eye on his idiot of a brother, while also having been invited to do so (an important detail that shouldn’t get overlooked). That made Lisa essentially his hostage, but at least he didn’t have to feel like a third wheel. “And for the millionth time, it’s completely safe. And you’ll love it there, believe me. I’m sure it’s even more beautiful with snow.” 

“I’m just reading the news Jake.” 

“Yeah Jake, you should have just taken her to Aspen. This place is absolutely not safe. You should have sent a bodyguard to babysit me instead of putting your girl in danger.” The scorn in Josh’s voice made the temperature in the car drop significantly in spite of the heating. Jake checked the rear view mirror only to see Josh staring back at him daringly. Next to him, Lisa was doing the same, waiting for him to say something. He felt like having been trapped in his own lies and pretenses once again. Tread lightly, you prick! Choose your words carefully now. 

His own death stare now mirrored Josh’s. Quite literally. “You know, I think we should skip that dinner tonight. You look like you desperately need to get laid, brother. Which is something you haven’t done in a while… right?” The idea made him sick, but at least it effectively silenced Josh and Lisa seemed satisfied with the retort. For now. 

Lisa had her flaws, but she wasn’t stupid. It took her exactly three minutes before she disrupted the fragile peace once again. “You still didn’t tell me what happened between the two of you…”

“And we won’t, because it’s between the two of us.”

“Josh!” Jake tried to sound resolute, while keeping his voice calm. His jaw muscles clenched involuntarily and his literal clone knew all too well what that meant, so it only added fuel to the fire. 

“I’m sorry dad! By all means go on and explain to your girlfriend why you almost broke my jaw and then insisted on making her feel so… unsafe,” Josh mocked her whiny voice before he added in a much lower tone: “I’m just as curious.” 

“Fuck off, sheephead!” The remark belonged to Josh, but her piercing look was fixed on Jake’s profile, as he could very well see in his peripheral vision. The inside of the car cabin was aflame, metaphorically speaking. Their constant bickering – annoying but otherwise quite harmless most of the time – now reached a new, dangerous level. 

It wasn’t that Josh didn’t like Lisa, or vice versa. He just knew very well that she was yet another casual hookup, good enough to keep Jake’s bed warm, but essentially not someone who would be enough. And that was ok; it was mutual. Jake knew Lisa didn’t love him, she was simply infatuated with the idea of him. Quite convenient for multiple reasons.

The problem was that Josh knew all this too, and he wasn��t entirely happy with it… for multiple reasons. 

Not really his business…

Yeah, sure, you hypocrite… Jake was really in no position to criticize…  

All he could do was to try to repel Josh’s totally justified suspicions and to soothe Lisa’s multiple growing concerns. He sighed, feigning exasperation. “It’s settled then. No dinner tonight. I’m going to make my girlfriend feel better and you do whatever you need to satisfy your own dick so that you could stop being one.” That earned him a middle finger from one, a satisfied smile from the other… and a hollow feeling in his stomach. So he wouldn’t see her tonight, after all. Yet another pyrrhic victory. Yay!

Returning back to the safety of the inside of his own head, he took his time to ponder over the words that were said. Why indeed… Jake couldn’t really tell. He didn’t really know. What did he expect would happen? What outcome could he possibly hope for? Well, other than spending the holidays being hungover, both literally and figuratively. 

Unsafe… he scoffed internally. There was no other place where he felt more safe since they left home almost ten years ago. When the two of them spent half of the summer lamenting over losing a part of themselves on the road, this was what they both craved. Leaving their childhood home and seeking new opportunities, they thought love was just a different kind of adventure. And then, as the years went by, this outlook punched them in the face. Once they got what they wanted, they went on losing what they needed, only to realize how much they really longed for it. 

The sense of home, but with fragrant skin, silky hair and lips coated with honey. 

She was a true master caretaker, selflessly taking them in like two stray gypsies in need of a shelter, even after all the things Jake had said and done to her. And after…well… Josh just being Josh. 

A wild soul, passionately loving and cherishing her own freedom, while always willing to be there for others when needed. 

… and beautiful. So naturally beautiful… She was very well aware, but at the same time quite humble about it, driving men insane with her nonchalant appeal. When he first saw her, he labeled her as “dangerous”; and he wasn’t entirely wrong, in a way. He couldn’t believe all the crazy things Josh was telling him about her after just a mere week he had spent with her. He had a chance to start anew with Taffy, and he threw it out of the window. 

And then Jake understood. She had him wrapped around her finger in no time, without even consciously trying. Strong, tireless and fragile at the same time. A true Veela, fighting like a lioness, and just when you start to think she’ll bite your head off the next second, she crumbles under the weight of her own burden, making you want to cradle her in your palms. If anyone ever rode through the night on a silver storm, it was her. It seemed only logical that she chose to be with Josh, considering she turned out to be everything Jake ever wanted…

Ungrateful bastard! Playing games with the hearts of the people who were willing to climb mountains for him, or to fly across the world for him! Yeah, Jake had every right to be here…

“Hey Jake, you’re supposed to take the right exit!” Lisa’s voice brought him out of his thoughts momentarily. He completely missed the sign and exited the highway at the very last moment, making the car drift dangerously. Someone behind them honked aggressively, Lisa squeaked and Josh let out an alarmed “whoa”. 

“Well, at least it’s not far.” Jake breathed a sigh of relief when he once again regained full control over the car. “Sorry.” 

His heart continued to pound like crazy, but it had no longer anything to do with what just happened. He had driven down this road a few times already, feeling upset or agitated every single time, for one reason or another. No wonder it triggered something within. The last time was the hardest, and now he relived the emotions almost involuntarily. It was all coming back to him now. The unease. 

What a strange kind of feeling… a resigned sadness or something like that; when you know there’s nothing to be done other than just to live through it. He felt that was exactly twice in his life, and he just accepted it both times. But just accepting it couldn’t make the weight on his chest go away. 

Late September onwards, Jake’s reminiscences

He had spent the last days of their stay at Eulalia trying to dissolve his feelings at the bottom of a glass or to ignore them by playing until his fingers bled, but no matter how he tried, there seemed to be no going back. He was simply and thoroughly fucked. 

There was no escaping those feelings behind the steering wheel, with his brain painfully sober and his newest guitar lying on the back seat. Maybe that’s why leaving the town was the hardest part, with that constant urge to look back, or to turn back… He had thought that saying goodbye would hurt the most, but it was seeing her disappear out of sight in the side view mirror that caused the most painful pang. That’s probably why people in movies try so hard to not look back. It’s just the worst. 

So he focused fully on the road ahead, hoping it would help, while Josh kept looking dreamily out of the side window at the lines of yellow trees, lost in his own thoughts. 

Finally, they got through the winding streets and left the town behind. Jake drove in silence through Poronin and then another village, and then another one. The scenery gradually changed from fairytale to mundane, making him feel more and more empty.  It became unbearable after a while. The silence was unbearable too. “Are you ok?” he asked Josh eventually. 

“No…” Josh turned around and Jake could see for the first time that his eyes were red and teary. 

Jake wanted to say something to comfort his brother, but he suddenly couldn’t. And that was the moment when he realized that they could no longer share their feelings and deepest secrets to make each other feel better. He hated to see Josh like that, but at the same time it made him feel terribly and nauseatingly bitter. At least Josh had the luxury to let it out. 

So they both watched the road, each one falling down his own personal, customized pit. It was Josh who broke the silence after a while. “I feel cursed, you know. It’s just happening again. Nothing’s changed. I’ve made an ugly mess, and now I’m leaving again… it’s making me feel like a piece of shit, but it’s probably nothing compared to how the one I leave behind feels.” 

Yeah, don’t forget to add that it’s because of me. Jake hated all those thoughts as soon as they formed inside his head, but he couldn’t prevent it. And he couldn’t stop it. He would never say them aloud, so they started poisoning him from the inside. The one thing that was really hard to stomach was that Josh was coming back eventually, because he chose to do that. His greatest life dilemmas were always about making the right (or the wrong) choices. Meanwhile, Jake felt like he no longer had a say in what had been happening to him. 

Emilia gave him no choice. She didn’t even tell him there was something to choose from until it was too late, only to blame him afterwards for the decisions she had made without him. She accused him of not having been around, and it took him a while to understand that she didn’t really want him to. But that didn’t make the pain go away. It actually made it worse. Laying blame on him was supposed to make her feel a bit better, and his own feelings be damned. She didn’t care. She probably never had. 

And now this. It wasn’t his choice. It was hers. 

Choosing versus losing. No, these two things were not comparable. 

But the thing that hurt the most was that there was no one to comfort him. Hell, he couldn’t even take his time to mourn the loss of Lulubean in peace, because it was soon overshadowed by Josh’s moronic choices! And now? He just couldn’t tell anyone. And least of all, Josh. Fuck! He felt so fucking lonely all of the sudden. Maybe mom would understand… and then she’d tell him to keep doing the right thing…

If only Josh would shut up, but that was like hoping there would be floods in the Sahara. He kept on talking, making Jake regret asking the question. No, the silence had been better. 

Eventually, Josh stopped, but it was short lived. He cleared his throat, just like he always did when he decided to say some line from Captain Obvious’s catch phrase textbook. “She’s a wonderful woman...” 

“Yeah.” Yeah, no shit. How many times had he heard that during this past month… but admitting it won’t hurt anyone, despite the risk that the conversation might continue. And of course it did. 

“Jake…?”

“Yeah?!” It came out sounding much more aggressive than he wanted to. 

“Are you ok?” 

“Totally fine.” He could feel rather than see Josh’s fixed gaze. “Why?” 

“Just makin’s sure…”

Jake was certain that it would get better once he got home. He decided that it was just a foolish infatuation. Something he was momentarily susceptible to. Back home, he would just resume living his life and all would be well. Or at least bearable. 

But it was the same empty house as it was that one early morning a month ago when he picked up the phone and heard her lovely lisp for the first time.  

Empty… empty, empty, empty…

Involuntarily, his thoughts kept circling back to her. He consciously tried to fight it. He cooked, he mowed the lawn, he went to the movies, he revisited his favorite books. However, when he pushed her out of his mind during the day, she just started visiting him in his dreams. She was like a fucking boomerang. And she was also downright cruel in those dreams, sounding like a titmouse, just as that motherfucker described it and just like Jake once inadvertently heard. In his dreams, it was him causing it. In his dreams, she never stopped him, never chose the other door. 

He tried to chase those dreams away with booze, because he hardly ever dreamed after he fell asleep drunk. But she never went away; the visions of her only got more twisted. She stopped moaning and started screaming. He always woke up drenched in sweat, thinking he was slowly going crazy. 

Thankfully, they dived headfirst into work as soon as they got back home and Josh doctor confirmed it was fine to do so. They had to, as it was more than necessary to start rehearsing as soon as possible, but Jake also desperately wanted to. It kept his mind occupied. 

It didn’t prevent him from showing up with dark circles under his eyes, hungover and tired. Josh’s worried glances soon turned to watchful gaze. He cornered him eventually, demanding that Jake tell him what the fuck was going on. Jake brushed it off and told him to mind his own fucking business. 

Then the photo appeared. Jake didn’t care what people were saying. There had been a few moments in the past when he let them get under his skin, but not anymore. Over the years, he learned how to ignore it, because they were almost always wrong. 

The photo resonates deep within him though. And not only because he saw her for the first time since they left. 

Despite their fans’ wild theories, he saw it too. The picture showed basically just their backs, but the dynamics were undeniable. Yeah, no wonder it sparked people’s imagination. 

Josh’s head was bent down, his shoulders stooping. With one hand in his pocket, the fingers of his right hand brushed against Agnieszka’s shoulder lightly in one of his hesitant and feeble attempts to get back to her. And yes, there was no denying he looked somewhat crestfallen, even from the back. 

The picture showed just a fraction of her profile, but it was enough to make Jake’s stomach sink. She was looking at him, clearly amused by something he just said; her smile – half hidden behind dishevelled locks flying in the wind – radiant and lovely. And Jake returned that smile. Even with his sunglasses on, his expression was definitely compromising. He didn’t realize it had been that obvious. Jake had tried to deny and ignore those growing feelings even within himself back then. Had Josh noticed? He always did…

The fact that one could also see the outlines of the mountains in the distance was probably the worst part. People identified it immediately. 

Jake felt a sudden urge to protect her. Some of the stans immediately tried to sniff out her identity, but her Instagram account had been inactive for years so - not knowing her name - they failed. 

He didn’t.  

He found it, and his curiosity got the best of him. 

She was an adventurous kind, this girl he somehow knew. The whole profile was dedicated to the mountains and her climbing them, with a more candid selfie here and there. Her younger version used to have much shorter hair, barely shoulder length, often bound in a messy ponytail. 

The greatest difference was her smile though. Carefree and radiant, her eyes sparkling and full of life. A lot of the pictures featured a fair haired, slender guy with kind eyes and a cheeky grin. The last entry was from February 2019, with the two of them on top of some hill, with crampons attached to their boots and ice axes in their hands. After that, she went silent. 

He had already known what happened, but this contrast between the cheerful girl in those pictures and the pensive woman he knew made him realize the full extent of it: She was really hurting, and the two of them only kept dragging her down, whether it was intentional or not. He couldn’t just sit back and let it happen.

Against his better judgement, he texted her that night and apologizes for having been such a jerk after that unfortunate kiss and… well… just in general. She responded almost immediately, grateful he finally reached out and hopeful things would be ok between the two of them again.

So they started texting. Just like two friends. Just like they used to be. Almost.

Things got a bit easier after that, honestly. Once she lived inside his phone, she finally let him get some sleep again. Actually, it was her who told him that he needed to get out of that house after he confided in her how things were lately. Not the whole truth, just how he felt when he was home alone. 

He met Lisa through a mutual friend that he started spending more time with. Although completely different, they clicked immediately. Especially behind closed doors. He was already so pussy-starved that he almost embarrassed himself the first time. 

Lisa could give him exactly what he needed (well, almost) and all she really wanted from him in return was to reciprocate it. Working as a freelance e-commerce manager, she was independent, quite outspoken and able to meet him halfway in his otherwise busy schedule. And when the tour started, she packed her bags to keep him company. 

December came, the first leg of the tour ended and once they came back home, things started to change gradually. They no longer ate in restaurants; Jake started cooking for her instead. Consequently, and simply because they got used to waking up next to each other, Lisa sometimes spent the whole night. Not often, just enough to have an emergency toothbrush at Jake’s place. 

It would have been nice, but just a week before Christmas, Jake was starting to get restless again. 

It was a date night like many before. They fucked first, then they watched a horror movie during which they fucked again and then they ended up in bed, ready to call it a night just like a regular couple. Lisa loved cuddling, it helped her fall asleep. She hoped that her presence could have the same effect on him, but just like many times before, he ended up staring at the ceiling with his mind racing because of some innocent shit she wrote earlier. And with the knowledge that he would see her again in a couple days, things only got worse. 

He sneaked out of bed and went to his music room instead, hopeful that a few hours of strumming would calm his mind enough to be able to go back to bed. But instead, he ended up on a couch there with a full bottle in his hand... 

He woke up early in the morning, painfully hungover and confused, with Lisa’s face hovering above him, hurt and concern clearly visible in her eyes. She tried to keep it cool, but he could hear it in her voice too when she asked if he wanted her to leave. 

No, he didn’t want that. He couldn’t live like that, always asking what the fuck am I doing, and not having an answer. 

So, he made up his mind. Ater he assured her that he indeed wanted her to stay and this was just about his having trouble sleeping, he drove to Josh’s place to tell him that they weren’t coming with him, ready to finally explain why if necessary. 

He just parked the car and lit up a smoke he so desperately needed since the moment he woke up, when the front door opened. They didn’t notice him. Christopher stepped out first, fully clothed, followed by Josh just in his bathroom gown. The former turned around to say something that Jake couldn’t hear, before he gently cupped Josh’s cheeks with both hands and planted a light kiss on his lips. That was when they finally spotted him glaring back. 

Jake put out the cigarette and stepped forward towards them. Josh’s eyes widened with shock, while Christopher remained completely calm. “Jake,” he greeted him with a level voice. 

“Taffy… What a surprise.” Christopher just nodded, simply acknowledging the fact that the encounter was perhaps somewhat unexpected. Josh remained frozen in the spot, eyeing them both warily, which made Jake’s blood boil. “I need to speak with my brother, if you don’t mind.”

“No, I’m already on my way.” He squeezed Josh’s shoulder lightly and motioned towards an Uber that just arrived at the front gate. Once he was gone, Josh stepped back inside the house without a single word, closely followed by Jake. Once in the main lobby – and hearing Jake close the main door – he finally turned back towards him. “What are you do…”

The blow came before he could even finish the sentence, sending him stumbling backwards until he collided with the opposite wall. Stunned, he slid down on his ass with a thud, casting a startled gaze upon his brother, while examining his throbbing lip with his trembling fingers. 

“You piece of shit,” Jake hissed through his teeth. 

“Jake…” It was barely a whisper, contrasting greatly with the roar that followed. 

“YOU PRICK! You asshole! You… you fucking piece of shit!”

“NOTHING HAPPENED!” Josh yelled back, and yelped immediately as the raw cut in his lip deepened. He tried to get back to his feet, his whole body shaking. 

“Oh yeah?!? Do you think I’m an idiot?” Still livid, Jake grabbed the collar of Josh’s bathrobe and threatened to hurl him against the wall again, but Josh regained enough strength to push him away. “Nothing… happened,” he breathed out again, while Jake started pacing the room like a wolf about to strike again. 

“Yeah? Explain then.”

Before he did, Josh rushed to the kitchen to get some ice and towels as he could feel blood trickle down his chin; with Jake still dogging him around the house. 

They were now separated by the kitchen counter and Josh felt safe and self-composed enough to continue, while holding a bag of ice pressed against his chin and lip. “We went for a drink yesterday,” he mumbled. “I just owed him an explanation, Jake!” Jake was just glaring back at him silently, so Josh continued. “We had a bit too many, and so we took an Uber here. That’s just it. We just kept on talking until we both fell asleep on the couch. This was his home, too. It just felt… normal.” 

Jake just scoffed. 

“You don’t believe me…”

“No. And I’m sick of taking care of your mess.”

“Nobody ever asked you,” Josh screeched, which slowly faded into a whimper as sharp pain shot through his split lip again. It wasn’t fair, and he knew it. He would be fucked without Jake. But sometimes, Jake took it too far, and it was all coming back to him now. And judging by Jake’s expression, he wasn’t going to stop. 

“You keep hurting people… and I won’t let you. Neszka doesn’t deserve this.”

This time, Josh glared back at him, the fire in his eyes mirroring Jake’s anger. “Oh, it’s Neszka now?!? If I remember correctly, it was you hurting her the last time, while ‘taking care of my mess’. Why are you here, anyway?”

“I was about to tell you that I’m not going, but you just made me change my mind. You still do need adult supervision.” 

December 22nd, 5:26 pm

So, that’s how things were now. They eventually sorted it out just enough to be civil with each other, but the underlying tension was still there, as well as things that were left untold. Josh was too afraid to ask, and Jake was too much of a coward to tell. And now, watching Josh taking his suitcase from the trunk, Jake found himself on the verge of panicking, wondering where things would go from here. He stepped out of the car briefly just to ask if they’d really skip the dinner tonight. 

“You’re asking me?” Josh replied wearily. “That was your choice and your suggestion. But it’s for the best. I’m fucking tired. See you tomorrow, Jake.”

As Josh disappeared inside Eulalia, Jake got back in the car and drove away. It was just the two of them now, on their way to their own private chalet in the neighboring village up the hill. Christmas lights and snow turned the whole town into a gingerbread house village. It was quite enchanting. Maybe they could have a nice evening after all. Just the two of them. 

“So tell me,” Lisa spoke all of the sudden. “There’s some truth to those fan theories, am I right?” 

“What do you mean?” he countered sharply. 

“I’m a big girl, Jake. Stop insulting my intelligence, don’t be an asshole and just speak openly for a change. You love her too, don’t you.”

Jake didn’t say anything. He felt a sudden rush of adrenaline run through his veins and did his best to stay outwardly calm. He knew it only made his face turn to marble and he also knew she knew what it meant. 

“You were right, this place is beautiful. Like a Hallmark movie. We’re going to have so much fun,” she spoke again, the tone of her voice a mix of artificial honey and undiluted scorn.

@thewritingbeforesunrise @fleet-of-fiction @writingcold @lvnterninthenight @its-interesting-van-kleep   @takenbythemadness   @edgingthedarkness @myownparadise96   @gvfstuddedmajesty @josh-iamyour-mama @jazzyfigz @tripthelightfantastix @sanguinebats @wetkleenex-gvf @peaceloveunitygvf @kiszkas-canvas @fleetingjake @lizzys-sunflower @hollyco @emojakekiszka @gvfmarge @dayumclarizzel @lipstickitty @clownstarr @musicislove3389 @i-love-gvf @blankvz @psychedelectable

[sonicexelle-junkary]

PERDITION

@moderator-monnie made a fic and I wanted to make one too. So have the fanfic version of how everything began.

—————————————————

The day was calm, warm, peaceful. A perfect day for taking it easy. And for Sonic, Amy and Tail, they were. They had a blast telling each other stories, having drinks and food from the Mirage Saloon, a place that they haven’t been in in ages.

“Oh man, I forgot how good the drinks are here!” Sonic trilled with his usual strange mix of a drink in his hand.

Tails nodded in response. “Yeah. I can’t believe it’s been so long since we’ve been here. Makes me sad we don’t visit often.”

“I’ll say!” Amy entered. “Their deals for happy hour are to die for!” She received a smile and a second nod from the fox. But for Sonic, he was rather silent.

“Uh, speaking of happy hour… are we sure it’s still going on? Cause it seems rather dark to be 7.” He pointed out the window to a dark crimson sky, the entire world seemingly turned to shades of red and purple.

“That is… concerning.” Tails replied.

“Must be from Eggman. C’mon, let’s check it out!” And after he placed a bill onto the table, he ran out the door with Amy and Tails in co.

And boy, what a sight did they witness stepping out into the street. The look of terrified people screaming and running down the streets to any place that they could use for shelter, unsure of what to make of the situation, but nonetheless still terrified. But what were they running from? Well, as the group looked up to the sky, they found their answer.

A ginormous being, almost as big as the titans Sonic had faced before, standing there amongst the town. It’s figure so normal but uncanny, peaceful but unnerving. At the moment it didn’t do anything, it just stood there as it looked around, observing the creatures who seemed terrified of its sudden presence.

“What is that?!” Amy gasped.

“Whatever it is, it’s freaking everyone out!” He turned to his friends. “You two help anyone who needs it. I’ll let Super Sonic handle the big guy!”

They both nodded, but Tails paused. “Do you think that’s a good idea?” He said.

“If this guy is here to cause trouble, then I’m gonna be that trouble!” He gave the fox a grin before he zoomed away at the speed of sound, past crowds of people, up the sides of buildings. He made it as high as he could before the emeralds circled him, and in a flash he began to glow that bright golden colour of hope.

His presence now had caught the beings attention, as it watched him fly up like a comet in the sky, powerful and bright. Sonic could sense that it felt rather amused by all this.

“Alright buddy!” He shoved a finger out. “I don’t know what your deal is, but I’m already sick of seeing your ugly mug around here! So you better start explaining yourself, or I’m gonna— huh?”

Before he knew it, light shone from his chest, and in an instant, the emeralds flew out of him. He looked around and he and the emeralds were still suspended high above the ground. “Wha- what the heck?! What’s going on?!” He stammered as an anxiety fell over him.

He froze, as when he looked back ahead of him, the figures eye was only a few feet from his face. And as Sonic stared back, he could faintly hear a voice enter his mind.

“You’ll do nicely.”

And everything went black.

—————————————————

On the ground below, Amy and Tails helped direct people to any place safe. To buildings or modes of transportation that lead them out of town. Anywhere else seemed better than witnessing what was going on out here.

“Is that everyone?” Amy said.

“It seems like it.” Tails answered. “Hopefully Sonic can—“

A bright light caught their eyes, and looking up they saw a horrific sight that made their stomachs turn. A bright light emanated from Sonic, and soon engulfed him, like a beam of light shot out from the heavens above. It lasted for only a moment before the light disappeared. The being gone, and Sonic plummeting to the ground below.

“SONIC!” Tails yelped in horror seeing his brother’s body lifelessly fall. He lifted up Amy to a platform, closest to where he assumed Sonic would be.

“Oh Sonic, please be okay.” Amy wavered.

“SONIC! Are you there?” Tails called out. “Please! Say something! SONIC!”

Silence accompanied them. Only the gentle sound of wind broke it. It was an uneasy silence, one that would make anyone’s hair stand on end. Luckily that lasted only for a few but long seconds, as something arose from the seeming abyss that Sonic had fallen into.

It was him, or well part of him, it looked like him. It had his signature blue quills, but it didn’t have his face. Instead, all that was there was a hole, an endless void that was only accompanied by a single eye. A tattered cape laid neatly on its shoulders, and a floating halo rested just above its head. But that wasn’t the worst of it, no. As tied to the cape, and embedded neatly into its halo, we’re the chaos emeralds that Sonic had in him once before.

Amy and Tails could only watch in horror as the being stood itself up and gave a deep sigh. It didn’t even notice them at first, but once it did, it didn’t move. All it did was glance down at them, waiting a moment before it finally spoke.

“Oh.” It said. It’s lower lid curling up to mimic an invisible smile. “Hello there.”

[waaow]

Warning for a lot of ranting about a specific Deltarune theory topic that will likely have next to no impact on the actual plot of the game at all.

A lot of the time in Deltarune fan content, the creators will have Kris meet a Deltarune version of Frisk, usually as one of Asriel's college buddies or something. I very much hate it (this is an exaggeration its just a thing that commonly happens that I personally dislike and I needed a good way to start the post).

Kris IS the Deltarune version of Frisk. It's been pretty much told to us since Undertale launched (specifically Version 1.001) via Clamgirl.

"My neighbor's daughter looks about your age. Her name is "Suzy." I feel like you two should be friends. Not knowing where I live is no issue. Fate finds a way. In life's grand scheme, she might be why you came here in the first place..."

What does Clamgirl keep talking about? What is the purpose of her dialogue? Foreshadowing Deltarune. Talking to her is what spawns the "Don't Forget" note in Sans' basement. She's the one who went goner mode to break the 4th wall a month before Deltarune launched. Everything she says about Frisk and Suzy foreshadows the relationship between Kris and Susie while also placing a heavy emphasis on the concept of fate, which is a big theme in Deltarune.

Suzy and Frisk are fated to meet each other. In life's grand scheme, Frisk's fall needed to happen for them to meet Suzy, just like how Kris and Susie were fated to meet and become heroes due to the prophecy.

Clamgirl says Frisk and Suzy "should be friends." Just like how Kris and Susie end up as friends extremely quickly. Frisk "looks about" the same age as Suzy, Kris and Susie are in the same class and thus around the same age.

Frisk is just an anagram of Kris plus a single letter Kris -> Risk -> (F)risk. Suzy is phonetically identical to Susie, just with one less letter. They are the only notable characters to have changed names between universes so far. Their UT versions also do not have the anagrams to "Risk" and "Issue," which may actually be important. We also know that "Suzy" isn't an early version of Susie's name, as Susie's name dates back to at least 2013. We can make a solid guess that Frisk's name is derivative of Kris's name due to this.

This isn't even talking about all of Kris and Frisk's numerous other similarities.

They have the EXACT same skin color and hair color.

They also most likely have the same eye color. While red eyes are commonly associated with Chara by the fandom, they only actually have red eyes when possessing Frisk's body in the post-genocide "I want to stay with you" variant of the True Pacifist ending. If we look at the hex codes of the sprites used for the scene, we can see that the sprite used in uses Frisk's color palette. Despite it looking like Chara, it's still Frisk's body, their hair and skin color are the same, so their eye color is also likely the same. Although it could also be that the red eyes are unnatural and caused by possession.

They have similar light world equipment. Both of them wear different types of bandages. Frisk has a stick, while Kris has a pencil, which is a wooden stick-like object.

Their light world item throw-away narration has them performing the same actions to items.

Kris has blue and reddish-magenta themed colors in the dark world, which is just a more vibrant version of Frisk's clothing color scheme in Undertale. Their entire dark world room that Ralsei built for them is in that color scheme. Ralsei knows about Kris and Susie's interests and desires, as their rooms have those design choices things in mind.

They're both flirtatious. Frisk is incredibly apparent with this. You can also flirt with certain enemies as Kris, and Toby has stated that Kris would get accidentally disbarred due to flirting with a witness in an ace attorney setting.

They're both mischievous as well. Kris' pranks are well described by Toriel, Rudy, and Noelle. They can prank Noelle in an incredible amount of ways during chapter 2 and seem to enjoy doing it. Frisk has a general implied goofy demeanor and showcases mischief in a lot of small little moments, especially during ACTs or the hangouts with Papyrus, Undyne, and Alphys. You can also see an example of this when passing items they flatten a cinnabun and pour sea tea under the hotel doors.

They share the "mainchara" designation. Frisk uses it in their sprites and code, while Kris uses it in the code.

They share a role as the main protagonist of the game. Even how we start the game with them is similar. You name the first fallen human ("TrueChara") or the Vessel and than get shoved into jaundice gremlins. Kris is just the natural progression of Frisk. The entire time, you were supposed to believe that you named Frisk, that they were your self insert into the world. That gets mirrored by Flowey, who believes Frisk to be the first fallen human (who you named). The game ends with Asriel and new/unspoiled players realizing that Frisk isn't Chara. In the next game, Kris gets that revealed immediately when they wake up, and they further that development by having their personality a lot more discernible without in-depth analysis.

No other theories talking about Kris' Undertale variant make sense. The Clamgirl lines are too strong. The only one that even comes close is Chara, and the similarities Kris and Chara share aren't as deep as they seem.

The things that Kris and Chara share exhibit far more differently than the things Kris and Frisk share.

Chara has one comment about chocolate that is vague and seems to imply they like it, but they alao ignore the chocolate in Toriel's fridge despite their narration/dialogue already appearing at that point in the genocide route. Kris is extremely fond of chocolate and it is a much bigger part of their character than it ever was for Chara. We never get Frisk's opinion on chocolate.

The weapon that represents Chara is a knife and they seek them out during the genocide route for murder reasons. Kris doesn't use the knife they have as a weapon and seems to enjoy them as a hobby outside of murder. We never get Frisk's opinion on knives, but they are also associated with a slashing weapon.

The big one people like to point to Chara being the adopted child of the Dreemurrs. There are a lot of problems with this.

The first one is that, arguably, so is Frisk. Frisk shows interest in being adopted by Asgore when talking to Gerson in the TP epilogue and CAN be adopted by Toriel/call her mom.

The second is that Chara is distinctly and purposefully separated from the rest of the family every single time any of the Dreemurrs mention them. Asriel always calls them his best friend. In the winter alarm clock dialogue, Toriel talks about them starting with the phrase "a long time ago I knew someone " and, in the same conversation, talks about Asriel and calls him "my son." Asgore only mentions having a single child, a son, at the end of his battle. "I remember the day after my son died. [...] I just want to see my wife, I just want to see my child." He could have easily used the word "children" in either of these two instances, but did not. In the extended spare cutscene where Flowey does not kill Asgore, he again distinguishes Asriel as his child and Chara as someone else. "Young one, when I look at you... I'm reminded of the human that fell here long ago... [...] But I believe your freedom...... is what my son...... what ASRIEL would have wanted." It is only Gerson who calls Chara part of the family. The new home monsters said they were 'like' family specifically.

Kris meanwhile is universally treated as part of the Dreemurr family. Narration, Toriel, and other characters refer to Asriel as their brother. Narration, Asgore, and other characters refer to Toriel as their mother. Narration, Toriel, and other characters call Asgore their father.

Third is that even if Chara is part of the family, they had an entirely different dynamic with UT-Asriel than Kris does with DR-Asriel. UT-Asriel looks up to Chara, while Kris looks up to DR-Asriel. Chara and UT-Asriel are around the same age, with Chara taking the more stereotypically older sibling role. Kris is notably younger than DR-Asriel, and Asriel takes the more stereotypically older sibling role. Kris.

We can reasonably guess that Frisk is also younger than Flowey from a age standpoint. Even if Chara & Asriel were the same age as Frisk when they died, Flowey spent an unknown but long amount of time doing runs before Frisk fell and he directly positions himself as someone who's "grown up" in the winter alarm clock dialogue. Chara and Asriel are around the same age. Frisk and Kris are younger than their respective universe's Asriel.

My final point is that the relative timeline just works better if Kris is Frisk. All the monsters in DR are monsters we know exist/existed in Frisk's time. Even the Holiday family, with the daughters still notably being kids according to WAC-Asgore and DogCasino-Sans, the youngest one (Noelle) likely being Frisk's age like Suzy & MK are.

Kris can be Frisk with a bit of Chara sprinkled on, but even if they are, Clamgirl's dialogue alone confirms that the two of them are alternate universe versions of eachother.

Here's a short follow-up to this covering some goofy arguments I don't consider very convincing.

[princess-of-anons]

Ayo it’s 1 AM who’s ready for WORM? Feat. Gordon Feetman

So yeah as promised here is The Worm in my Metamorphosis AU. I haven’t drawn Benrey with the marking much because most of them are silly sketches, but he DOES have glowing markings (and eyelids) that he can turn off at will to be almost completely invisible in dark places. Also Benrey can choose whether or not to have arms in Worm Mode, or go half-worm if he so desired, but it’s easier to have arms in Worm Mode so he can be extra Bothersome.

As mentioned in an earlier post, The Worm is not Benrey’s true form! This is what Gordon’s mind envisions his true form would look like if it could be “properly rendered” into the game, and Benrey gains access to this form after Gordon and him end up Bonding through dream-related plot stuff. Benrey likes worm mode because it costs less energy than being a massive humanoid and it’s more fun to pester Gordon with it, especially when he doesn’t want Gordon to leave for work. It’s also fun because his new tail has no nerve endings so he can chew on it like a stem toy.

As for the pattern itself, it is based partially on both Benrey’s guard uniform and the spine of a human skeleton. Gordon’s worm form is still being drawn, so all I will say right now is that his markings are orange and are meant to resemble HEV suit.

-

Transparent + no-outline/body lights version under the cut

[weirdbeancurd]

The Hunter Becomes the Hunted- ASTV Tickle Fic

I ground this whole thing out in like one day, i was bored ok

Michelle is just my OC who's a more laid-back version of Miguel from another universe. They have a sibling relationship and love bothering each other. :)

Summary: Miguel's working himself to death again and Michelle and Peter team up to make him take a break, even if it does mean taking desperate measures.

“Take a breeaaaaak.”

“No.”

“What he said.”

“No.”

Peter and Michelle had been trying to get Miguel to stop working for what seemed like days. In fact, he’s probably been in his office for 3 days straight, and if the bags below his eyes told them anything, he was awake for all 3 of them.

“Hey, this stuff can wait, you got some sleep to catch up on. A lot of it.” Michelle says.

“Yeah, you’ve been working on that stupid project for days. And now you’re stalking the kids? They can handle themselves, you know.” Peter remarks.

“I am not stalking anyone. I’m making sure those brats don’t get hurt.” Miguel pauses. “And I don’t need a break.”

“Sure you don’t Migs. And you also don’t got a multiversal stick up your ass.”

Miguel just rolls his eyes. Those two could be a nightmare to deal with, but there was no way in hell either of them would pull him away from his monitors now, not when the kids needed him. Not that he was worried about them, or anything. He was just being a good boss.

“Fine,” Michelle snarks, clapping her hands together. “We didn’t want it to come to this, but you leave us no choice.” 

Peter nodded solemnly, turning to speak to Michelle. “I’ll stay here. You just do your thing.”

“What are you even-”

“Lyla, night mode.”

The room went dark, the hum of the lights cutting out along with his sight. Now, Miguel had better night vision than most, but pitch black was still difficult to navigate. He squinted through the darkness, only to get about 10 feet of visibility. The room was so silent he could practically hear the rise and fall of his chest, feeling like a prey animal lost in the night. Fitting, as there was a predator lurking in the shadows. Miguel whipped around when he felt something disturb the air behind him. There was nothing there. At least not anymore. What are those idiots planning, he thinks.

“I don’t know what you two are getting at, but I have work to do. Lyla, turn the lights back on.” No response. “...Lyla?” Well, that’s not good.

An eerie skittering noise graced his ears, prompting another turn of the head. Again, he saw nothing. It was oddly reminiscent of the way he first met Michelle; his arrival in her universe was met with instant suspicion and aggression, causing her to circle him like a shark. The way she cloaked herself in shadows made her a great asset for stealth missions, but he certainly didn’t like being the subject of her pursuit. Despite this, Miguel knew she’d never hurt him, so he could only imagine how her enemies felt. How ironic. The hunter becomes the hunted. Sighing in exasperation, he slowly makes his way forward, hoping to find his monitor in the dark.

“You’re wasting your and my time. Now if you’ll stop fooling around, I-”

Thwip. The familiar noise of a web shooter going off made him flinch. He was stopped in his tracks by a web tacked on his foot to the floor. Before he could begrudgingly tug at his leg, Miguel was tackled to the ground by a conviving spiderwoman, tearing the web in the process. Aided by the element of surprise, Michelle wrestles him onto his back, restraining both his arms by hooking her own under his shoulders. Now of no use to him, the lights flicker back on.

“Gotcha,” Michelle grins.

“You sure did. Now let me up.”

Their conversation is interrupted by a low whistle, Peter coming back into view. He wears an amused smile with a hint of mischief that makes Miguel’s stomach drop. The man takes a seat on his thighs, fully pinning him to the ground. Whatever it is that they’ve got in stock for him, it isn’t good.

“Well, Migs. You’ve forced our hands,” Peter shakes his head. “This isn’t healthy and you know it, so you, Mister, are going to take a break, whether you like it or not.”

“Yeah, sure,” He deadpans. “And how exactly do you plan on convincing me?”

“Oh Migs. That’s the best part. Remember this little weakness of yours?” Peter pokes him in the stomach, eliciting a yelp. Oh. Oh. Oh no. Now that got him squirming.

“And who knows your best spots better than, well, you? But, of course, you’d never tell us where you’re ticklish. That’s what she’s here for.” Peter gestures to Michelle, who waves back smugly.

“One of the perks of being the same person.” She wiggles her fingers in front of his face. A shudder goes down his spine. “Let’s get started, shall we? Peter, get his sides.”

Miguel chokes back a giggle when his fingers skitter across his waist. Laughter bubbles up in his throat, but is held back by him biting his lip. Despite his efforts, a couple noises still escape.

“Ngh! S-stop that- Peheter!”

“Wow, you weren’t kidding. The big man is ticklish.”

“Yup, and this isn’t even that bad of a spot. Try his ribs next.”

“Dohon’t talk about me like I-I’m not heRE! Hehehey!”

That sure got his attention. The wiggling fingers attack between his sensitive ribs, making him chuckle. Miguel feels his face heat up, hiding it in the crook of his shoulder. His captors catch a glimpse of his fangs before they're gone once more. Michelle sniggers. 

“Trying to hide your fangs again? C’mon, let us see!” She adjusts her hold so that a single arm restrains both of his, using her free hand to tickle the side of his neck.

Miguel lets out a high pitched yelp that tugs at their heartstrings. He snaps his head against her hand, which does little to lessen the sensation. Just like she planned, Miguel’s fangs are on full display, peeking out of his wide smile. Peter coos at the adorable sight.

“Stahahap thahat!” He tries nipping at her fingers in desperation.

“Hey, no biting. Peter, get his stomach.”

“Aye, aye, maam.”

His hand forms a claw and vibrates into his belly, causing Miguel to screech and lurch forward, nearly headbutting Peter. 

“SHIT! PeheheHETER! STAHAHA-” He cuts himself off with a wheeze.

“Bad spot, huh?”

“Yep. Wanna see an even worse one?”

“Boy, do I!”

“MichehehELLE I SWEHEHEAR!”

“One word: thighs.”

“On it.”

He scoots back to settle on his knees before digging his fingers into Miguel's thighs with one hand, and skittering gently along them with the other. 

"MIERDAHAHAHA! PUHUHUTA MAHADRE!" He was slowly slipping into spanish.

"Language, Migs. What if the kids hear you?" Peter teases, grinning maniacally.

"Aww, pobrecito." Michelle coos. His thrashing was near frantic, nearly bucking the two off.

However, determined to help their friend take some time off work, Michelle and Peter hold strong, much to his annoyance. The contrasting sensations of rough squeezing and light scribbling were absolutely driving him up the wall, but he would not give in. Sure, it was a silly hill to die on, but it was the principle of the matter, dammit! 

"Ready to give in yet?"

"PIHIHISS OFF!"

Michelle and Peter shared a look before they drew back, still keeping their victim pinned. Miguel took the opportunity to gasp for air, a goofy smile stuck on his face.

"Stubborn, isn't he? You got anymore tricks up your sleeve, Mich?"

"Hmm. Just one. Watch."

"Wahaht are you-" Miguel watches in horror as her hand hovers above the crease between his thigh and hip. Shit.

"Wait, nonono. Not there-"

"Well, are you gonna go take a nap?"

"..."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Hold tight, Peter. He's about to lose his freaking mind."

"Wait, Michelle, don't-"

Her fingers touched down and Miguel screamed. Her claws dragging against his skin felt unbearable, but his twisting and turning did nothing to deter her. 

"GAH! DOHOHOHO'NT! STAHAHAHA-" 

He could barely form words anymore. 

"Woah, you weren't kidding."

"Yeah, this spot's killer. You ready to take a break now, Migs? We can do this aaaaall day."

While normally he would've bared his fangs at them, the fight had been drained out of him. Miguel just whined through his cackling. His captors grinned at his wild reactions. It took a couple moments of uselessly babbling before he could even find his words.

"OKAHAHAYOKAYOKAY! NOHOW STAHAHAP!"

Michelle slows her scratching to let him speak.

"Alright. But you gotta say it."

"Mhmhmhm…nohoho…"

She swiped a claw over the spot.

"AH! Ohokayokay, fine! I'll take a break!"

Peter and Michelle loosen their grip on him and high five, finally satisfied. She keeps Miguel's head in her lap, ruffling his hair as he tries to wipe the grin off his reddened face. She takes her thumb to swipe away a couple unshed tears of mirth. He slings an arm over his eyes in embarrassment. 

"...Ihi hate you both."

"We love you too, Miguel," Peter says, patting him on the shoulder.

"So…who am I getting back first?" His smile suddenly turns vicious. 

Before Peter can get up to run, a web tacks him to the ground, halting his movement. When he looks up, Michelle is already gone. That little shit, he thinks, before he is tackled by Miguel and subsequently wrecked to the high heavens. 

2 hours later:

Michelle reenters the lab to find the two men nodding off on the couch. Peter looks relaxed as always, but Miguel appears to finally be at peace. The lines under his eyes aren't nearly as prevalent, and a single fang peeks out of his mouth cutely as he sleeps. Shaking her head fondly, Michelle turns away to let them get some well deserved rest. Or she would've, but a red web sticks her foot to the floor. Shit, she thinks. After the stunt she pulled earlier, Peter and Miguel show no mercy. After all, they know just where to tickle.

Reblogs and comments welcome :D

[adhdapp]

YOOO I’m excited! I wanna respect your time and whatnot, but I’m curious about the app called forrest basically you grow trees by focusing for set amounts of time. never tried it but the app store keeps recommending it to me. from a cursory look at the reviews, some people said it helps with phone overuse (hooray??) it is four dollars, not sure that you want to start with that. anyways thanks for your consideration, hope this blog goes super well :DD

This is actually an app I paid for the premium version of years ago, by chance! So I can give it a pretty complete shake. Here's the review.

Forest: Phone usage control

Overall rating: Certified, with stipulations. Here's the tl;dr

App includes a disincentive for failure (tree death), so if you're sensitive to even mildly feeling like you've fucked up, this might not be your bag

Low on novelty, so if you need a variety of goals to pursue quickly, this might not be your bag (other plant unlocks take a lot of time, forest grows one 25 minute increment at a time)

Achievements and events are a big plus, with several relatively easy achievements to keep you going.

No Dark Mode

supports a charity so that's pretty cool

Diamonds shop even after a 1 time purchase: go no further if you are susceptible to impulse purchases, I respect them keeping the lights on with optional bonus content, but it can be easy to chase the Purchase Dopamine and we need to say No Thank You

Red Flags: None, this app has been going steady for a few years and for seemingly pretty good reason. I didn't find any red flags with the charity it supports either. It's not on a subscription model, and nothing in it seems to be ridiculously priced.

Dopamine hits: Okay so the main drive for using this app is growing the big old garden of trees, collecting different trees, and seeing the physical space of that garden grow. With this said I have One Major Concern I'd like to get out of the way.

Are you the kind of person that's going to feel like shit if you let a plant die? Will you accidentally tab out, kill a tree, and be miserable out it? Do not use this app.

It DOES let you clear the dead trees out of your garden (see above) but personally I don't find disincentives like that as compelling as positive reinforcement. The app is encouraging about it (as you can see) but personally I'm wary of things where I can receive what feels like a punishment because I was only productive for five minutes and not the allotted ten I needed in order to keep the tree alive. the stopwatch mode reduces this, somewhat, but again, you need over 10 minutes. Make sure you allow texts or calls in allowed apps in settings so if something comes up you don't have to feel bad about killing a tree.

Features: Forest provides you one or two different tree types you can grow as you focus, and a nice little plot of land. I'll be honest, I don't think the free version gives you very much to work with, but the premium version gives you different kinds of trees you can grow, events, social connections, tracking, custom tagging system so you can track what you're spending your time off your phone doing, and best of all, achievements. Forest also comes with both a count-down and a stopwatch mode so that if you'd like to just study or work as long as you can you don't have to just do it in increments, which is nifty, and a change from some other pomodoro counters/timers. If using the app to just do poms/increments, there's a switch to keep the app on while you work.

Price: This app is a freemium (on android), but honestly, if phone restriction usage apps are useful for you, just buy the thing right out of the gate. It's 3.99 (also the price of the entire app on the apple store) and what you get for that price is like 99% of the functionality of the app imo. 3.99$ for a one-time unlock is ridiculously cheap for what you're getting. However. The other trees do take a hot minute to unlock. So if you need that cheap and easy serotonin and you have an intense need for novelty this might not be the move.

I will add a stipulation here: Make sure that phone restriction apps are actually what you Need if this is what you're using. if you're the kind of person who can respond to messages and still be productive, this may not be your bag. If you're on a computer and you're going to end up scrolling through tumblr on your laptop instead of your phone, this may not be your bag. Phone restriction apps are useful mainly if what you need to do is get off tech and go do something physical, like read a book or do chores. I do Not recommend this if what you're trying to do is write an essay on your laptop. It is just as easy to procrastinate on pc as it is on your phone. However, For What It Is, this app is extremely functional.

This app DOES have a diamond store and in app purchases to make extra cash but frankly I don't actually begrudge them this. With a one-time purchase that cheap and regular events that seem to allow you to unlock other plants, they seem to have a good content balance and hey, whatever they have to do to keep the app running. I just launched it again and it reminded me I have the pro version even through I bought that like eight years ago.

Polish + Customization: I'm grouping these together because I really have the same quibble for both, there isn't a darkmode on the settings screen, which is an annoyingly bright white compared to the rest of the app. News is Also bright white, so is the store, generally a lot of the things off the main page are bright white with no option to change them. I do not love that. But everything is easy to find and adjust, and though the load times can be a little slow (which is annoying) I generally can't complain too much.

Roadmap: News tab indicates that the app is still being updated and having new plants added, despite the developers seemingly have a couple other projects going- they've got a to-do list app I'm going to have to check out and one to prevent you using your phone while sleeping.

So there u go: Proceed with caution and respect for your specific needs, but it's top of the line in its category, imo. You just need to make sure that category is what you're looking for.

[refractstudios]

Distance Launches on PS4 & PS5 July 19th!

Today I have a very exciting announcement for everyone...

Distance: Console Edition has a release date for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5! You can get it July 19th on the PlayStation Store. Wishlist to get notified when it goes live!

Watch the exciting trailer with brand new music here:

Here's a quick overview of what you can expect in Distance: Console Edition:

Melding the intensity of arcade racing with the agility of parkour, Distance catapults you into a neon-soaked world shrouded in mystery. Adapt quickly using your car’s abilities to jump, flip, and fly to overcome deadly hazards and survive.

Campaigns: Dive into the Adventure campaign, an immersive single-player story that takes you into the heart of darkness. Afterward, return to Nitronic City in Lost to Echoes and take on a brutal challenge. Finally, visit the mysterious flying islands of Nexus (a short companion to the Adventure campaign).

Arcade Modes: Earn medals to unlock over 150 diverse tracks in modes like Sprint, Challenge, and Stunt.

Leaderboards: Race ghost replays to take on the leaderboards' best (both online and local).

Endless Tracks: With Trackmogrify, enjoy never-ending challenges with randomly generated tracks using advanced seed modifiers.

Couch Multiplayer: Challenge up to 4 opponents in high-stakes split-screen races, or try unique arena-based modes like Reverse Tag and Stunt.

Unlockable Cheats: Earning PlayStation trophies unlocks cheats like motorcycle mode, bubble car, and many more.

And a bunch of other cool features including…

Customizable controls

Level playlists

Multiple unlockable cars

Car paint job customization

Main menu level selection

And more!

What's new on PlayStation?

There are a handful of exciting new additions exclusive to PlayStation:

Haptic Feedback: The PS5 version features a completely new haptics integration. It allows you to feel the details of each impact, scrape, skid, and the abilities themselves in a whole new way. Since the haptics are largely audio driven I had a ton of fun working on this and it’s easily one of my favorite aspects of playing on PS5.

Activity Features: Easily track campaign progress from the control center, jump into a mode directly from the home screen, and see in-game help on campaign levels if needed.

Controller Lighting: On both PS4 and PS5 the controller lights with the glow color of your car. This helps to see overheat status as well as identify controllers during split-screen.

Regarding performance, Distance targets 60 fps across all single player content. On PS4 the game utilizes 1080p, and on PS5 it runs at 4K resolution. The PS4 Pro and PS5 version have both been enhanced with higher graphics quality and smoother performance. While there are dips here and there on the PS4, overall I think it runs pretty well, and it's even better on PS5 despite running at 4K.

Differences between PC and consoles

For those of you who’ve been enjoying Distance on PC, you’ll find that the core gameplay experience and overall features are extremely similar on PlayStation. There are of course some differences so I’d like to discuss them here.

I’ve talked previously about the technical limitations regarding Steam Workshop and the level editor, so at this time those aren’t available in Distance: Console Edition. Instead, we decided to officially include our favorite community-created levels directly into the base game for everyone to play. For example, our recent Kinetic Update (v1.5) on PC included 15 incredible new levels from the community and these will also be available on PlayStation!

Regarding online multiplayer, I completely understand that for some it might come as a shock to see it not included on consoles. While we have collectively spent a ton of time working on online multiplayer for PlayStation consoles, a series of unfortunate technical hurdles have led to it not being feasible for release at this time. Split-screen multiplayer is included however and allows for couch multiplayer in Arcade modes. For those curious about the behind-the-scenes technical info, please see below for a more detailed breakdown explanation.

With all that in mind, Distance: Console Edition is at a reduced price of $19.99 / €19.99. While it is possible that future updates will enable more content and features, please purchase with the assumption that the base game will not massively change in the future.

Getting into the technical details

If you’ve been following Distance for a while you’re probably aware that the PlayStation version has had a fairly long and tumultuous development. It was our first time developing anything for a console, and it’s been an incredible learning experience throughout.

Many years ago around the v1.0 launch we had a version of Distance using Unity 5 working somewhat reasonably on PS4 with several multiplayer features functional (though certainly not finished). After launching v1.1 I spent a lot of time implementing all of the various technical certification requirements for online play on PS4. This included things like parental chat restrictions, online ID consistency, etc.

As I was preparing to send a new build to Sony, I came to realize that to pass certification Distance needed to update to a much newer PS4 SDK version required by Sony. Unfortunately, this version of Unity 5.5 we used to develop Distance for years was locked to a very old PS4 SDK version, and the only option was to port Distance (yet again) to a much newer version of Unity. To comply with Sony's requirements, we needed to upgrade Unity from version 5.5 to Unity 2020. This unfortunately wasn’t negotiable and, as you might imagine, it took months to repair the various graphics and physics issues that came along with it.

The biggest hurdle was that our multiplayer system was completely dependent on the old Unity 5.5 version. The newer versions of Unity had fully abandoned their old multiplayer integration, meaning I basically had to start from scratch. One possibility was to attempt to replicate the custom RakNet backend we had relied on, but Unity’s version made several changes under the hood and without source code access it was challenging to emulate it. The other possibility was to simply rewrite everything from scratch and utilize an entirely new multiplayer system.

In short, I attempted both routes. After spending quite some time attempting to essentially rewrite all of Jason’s multiplayer tech, I realized doing this on my own will take an incredibly long time to get fully functional and properly tested. Between this issue, complications due to COVID, and my own personal issues with recovering from burnout, this was honestly a really frustrating time and one of the big reasons I decided to take a break from Distance development. As I mentioned in my September 2023 blog post I decided to go on a short hiatus to work on Project 2, and of course I enjoyed working on Project 2 so much that my short break soon became much longer.

Upon returning to Distance last year with a fresh perspective I made the incredibly tough call to disable online multiplayer for now. I would then focus on wrapping up all of the other features and content we have and get it into players’ hands as soon as possible. Of course it still took significantly longer than I expected to wrap up that last 1%, but at long long last we’re finally here.

Looking ahead

I really can’t say enough how much I’ve appreciated everyone’s patience and support during these challenging times. I’ve truly been blown away by the enthusiastic response to the Kinetic Update, and I’m so excited to keep creating and sharing stuff with you all.

To all of our new PlayStation players, welcome to the Distance community! I can’t wait to see which players take the top times on the new leaderboards. Please note that the best way to connect with other players is on the Distance Discord server.

You also might have noticed that there is a new remix of Isolation in the PlayStation release trailer. I’ve been developing a lot of new music for Project 2 and intend to release some songs officially soon, so please be on the lookout for more information about that. I’ll also be posting here and on social media when updates are released for PC and PlayStation.

Thank you all again!

Jordan

[istherewifiinhell]

were back to our (ir)regularly scheduled bullshit!

[ID: Splash page with the issue title and creative credits. Megatron is bound up in cables, some plugged into him, effecting repairs. He speaks: Remind me to thank you when i get down from here, Shockwave. Meanwhile, resumption of my command must begin now. Shockwave: You don't seem to understand. These autobots you see lying dead on the ground are there because I put them there. The Decepticons you see barely clinging to life are in that operating mode because of you. Until I intervened, Autobot victory over us was assured.* The evidence says your leadership was faulty, Megatron. Logic says I must assume command of the Decepticons. Editor's Note: *as seen in issue 8 END]

back to the USmarvel, The New Order, issue no. 5! (22-23 UK reckoning) from feb 1985!

Script: Bob Budiansky Art: Alan Kupperberg Letters: Rick Parker Colour: Nel Yomtov Editor: Jim Owsley EiC: James Shooter Digital Re-master by Digikore Studios Limited. Collection Edits by Justin Eisinger and Alonzo Simon. Editorial notes and assistance by Mark. W. Bellomo

now... welcome back digital re-master. just in time for me to rip you a new on... bare with my folks...

so this issue opens with new king bitch in town, shockwave, conducting research into humans via television. so uh.., they put honeymooners in my transformers comic?

[ID: Both images of a Full page B&W illustration, two men stand behind a table, one asking "Whatsa matter Ralphie-boy?" Ralph, staring wide eyed, dead ahead, grips a chair saying "Homina-Homina-Homina!" A woman looks in through a window, with a scowl. 1. The illustration uses blocked inks, and half-tones for the characters, but the background and objects have mid and dark halftones added in an almost painterly fashion. 2. The art now with most of the tones and shading removed, everything left either black, midtone, or stark white. END]

surely. one of these images is higher definition. but which one looks BETTER? now its possible this is actually about which master copies they were working from. perhaps a rights issues? (the uk printing replaces this page with a different image) but i note here ALSO. they removed the artist, Kupperberg's, signature form the bottom left corner. a hateful affair all told.

though, this doesnt just piss me off to see an artist works edited, and made to SUCK! (tho boy does it...) my friends... comrades, fellow bloggers. lend me your eyes. DO they see this the way mine do? cause ill eat my fucking hat if that's not DUOSHADE paper. the infamous medium of many a B&W indie. not familiar? check out my previous blogging on the friendly neighbourhood martial reptiles. but i digress.

if this. this INSULT to my very being wasnt enough. they also recoloured shockwave from a perhaps accidentally stunning shade of magenta to a cool lavender... which i personally just found quite boring. well. most of the time

[ID: 1. UK printing, Shockwave seated on throne like seat, coloured very warm toned purple. He listen to a sports broadcast and says "These humans are even more primitive than I thought." 2. Digital remaster, Shockwave's profile visible, coloured red, as he watches a news reporter. END]

the very first image of this post has another, red shockwave, btw. I suppose, they could be printing or colouring errors, but they could also be lighting/compositional choices by Yomtov (its not uncommon for his foreground characters to be done in monotone, particularly, purple) either way they corrected for it. and to me, this instance just comes of that whatever work flow being used, doesnt even flag the second figure AS shockwave, so a redwave remains...

i stress. i never blame any individual who does this work. its to them, just a job, and why should it not be? my ire is with IDW, and why they enact these "restorations" anyway, and why the fuck people ought to pay new money for old art that has been given so little respect...

anyway reading the print version meant a lot of tabbing between the us and uk printings. which is why i noticed this

[ID: The crediting for the colourist, Nel Yomtov. In the US printing the say "Colors" and in the UK "Colour", the S removed, and a U added. END]

im just amused by the effort taken... surely the kids dont care that much? and yes apparently they do this every time.

JEEZE CREESY WHO CARES. LETS SEE SOME ROBOTS

[ID: Shockwave watching the news, off panel dialogue Reporter: Ms. Beller, you have been called a computer genius even though you're only a few years out of high school. What is your role in this? Beller: It's true I designed the secondary and tertiary oil recovery systems Reveal of Beller, a very young looking woman in a jacket and a hard hat. She continues: --the semi-automated defense system, the refinery's non-polluting digitized micro-scrubbers. But I consider it all just a part of my job. END]

shockwave learns the alarming news that a new female character is being introduced!

[ID: 2 page spread, the bodies of almost every single introduced Autobot are hanging from the ceiling, damaged and "bloodied". Shockwave scrolls under them, saying "Indeed" END]

also. check this shit out

anyway WHATS going on between shockwave and megs?

[ID: Shockwave pointing to the still bound Megatron: You will explain now how you permitted our position to deteriorate so drastically, Megatron. Megatron, mostly off panel: As… Commander… it is your right to demand anything of me. It is my privilege to oblige. END]

OH. its like that huh?

[ID: Shockwave offpanel "--Should logic so dictate." A close on Megatron, he thinks "Talk, Shockwave..." A close on his repairing hand twitching "...talk while you still can!" END]

well maybe not for long...

anyway... turns out the WAS a reason we saw ratchet helping those EMT's

[ID: Ratchet driving into the hospital parking lot. Buster calls out "Ratchet!!" who responds "Greetings, Buster Witwicky how nice to see your carbon-based face again!" Buster asks "Ratchet, where've you been?" END]

I hope your all ready to become extremely endeared by ratchet, or else just put up with it. cause...

[ID: Buster and Ratchet, still in alt mode, continue to speak, while EMTs are searching for the source of this mysterious voice. Buster: If they attacked the Autobots they should all be broken-down junk-heaps by now! Ratchet: Wonderful! I knew your father was a human we could trust EMT 1: I'll look behind the grill, Mel! EMT 2: I'll check under the seat cushion, Gus! Four people react in shock as Ratchet shouts: Do you organic creatures mind? I don't go poking around your mouths to see how you talk, do I? END

my beloved....

[ID: Ratchet on the road, stopped at a red light, as Buster rides inside. Ratchet: Listen, friend traffic signal, we're in a hurry, so if you could please turn green… Buster: It doesn't hear you, Ratchet, it's only a machine. Ratchet: I'm a machine, and I hear you, Buster! Buster: Yes, but you're different, you're-- Inside view as the light turns green. Ratchet: Ahh, he changed! Thank you, friend traffic signal. May the rest of the day find you in proper working order. You see, Buster, you have to learn how to talk to people. Buster: I… I'll try to keep that in mind, Ratchet. END]

this is so charming can we get corey burton and uh. well rest in peace don messick.., so just corey burton twice will do, to record his.

oh and anyone interest in timeline of when tf lore gets introduced (me... thats... mainly just me)

[ID: Shockwave points to Megatron: As always, you underestimate Optimus Prime, Megatron. No, he will not be cut up into wires and microchips. His value is far greater to us if we keep him functional, for it is logical to assume that an Autobot of his stature contains within him--The Creation Matrix! Megatron thinking: By the divine weld! The Creation Matrix is the computer program that allows its possessor to construct new transformer life! Its power is the stuff of legends! Shockwave continues: It is said once every ten millenia a new Autobot leader is chosen and encoded with The Matrix. END]

MATRIX MENTION? everyone have their lore bibles out? someone WRITE THAT DOWN.

[ID: Buster stumbling through the Ark in shock, "N-no… it can't be true! There must be some explanation! There must be! Wait a second… I didn't see Optimus in there…there's still optimus… there has to be--" He walks into a room with Optimus Prime's severed head, plugged into grand machinery. Buster yells "--Optimus!" Prime, weakly: Buster Witwicky… You must help me… you are… the Autobots… last hope…" End card-- Next: Oil Rig Assault! END]

OH MY GOD!

[thesinglesjukebox]

KEHLANI -"AFTER HOURS"

We're staying out late tonight...

[6.89]

Katherine St. Asaph: An immaculate vibe, a great hang, a simmering build; the feeling of realizing you'd love to linger indefinitely, transmuted into sound. [8]

Alfred Soto: At ease in ruminative mode, Kehlani hasn't recorded many club bangers these days. The Nina Sky interpolation gets them to shake the mopes, or, rather, coaxes them to put their fluttery wishcasting into a kinetic mode that occasionally suits them. [7]

Taylor Alatorre: "In a room full of strangers... it feels like we're alone." Okay, pretty standard club dichotomy there. So then why would you foreground the former over the latter by turning the chorus into this communal come-hither chant? Makes me feel like I'm being courted by a hive mind or polycule or both. Maybe that's part of the weirdness that comes with adapting the "Coolie Dance" riddim to a song about one-on-one intimacy; it didn't have to be, though. [5]

Jackie Powell: It’s difficult to know Kehlani’s true intent with “After Hours." Are they trying for a dark horse R&B hit with hints of afrobeats? Is this a reggae track? Or are they paying homage to Destiny’s Child? (They released a remix of the song that plops their vocals on top of the instrumental to Destiny’s Child’s “Cater 2 U.”)  Kehlani tries to accomplish all of the above, but it’s hard to say whether they execute. The song features a sample within a sample. The first sound is the percussive rhythm that rose to popularity via Nina Sky’s "Move Ya Body," but that sound is a sample in itself, a beat originally made by Jamaican artist Cordell 'Scatta' Burrell in his song "Coolie Dance Rhythm." "After Hours" could have easily begun after that eight-second sample, which prompts the question as to why they needed it. Were they trying to bring in more mainstream listeners who would recognize the first seconds immediately? It isn’t clear. The track becomes most compelling when Kehlani gets to their refrain and then the subsequent pre-chorus. Kehlani has an overdubbed call and response that builds and builds and is quite sexy, but disappoints by the time the chorus hits. The payoff is weak, and the supposed hook sounds like an extended version of Tyla’s “Water,” especially with the echoing backing vocals that aren’t Kehlani’s. In the original “After Hours,” there is a trace of Destiny’s Child's signature sauce: the harmony on the call-and-response sections. But the “Cater 2 U” remix slows the song’s tempo and completely changes the vibe of the song. Is this a song for the club or for the hotel room they take their lover to the night of the ensuing hookup?  [6]

Ian Mathers: Just a fun, light party track, and I mean that as a compliment. I'm actually kind of glad this only uses the same riddim as "Move Ya Body" instead of interpolating it like the intro made me think might happen. But while I'll be happy to hear this come up on the radio etc., I suspect every time I hear that intro I'm going to be a just a little disappointed it's not Nina Sky. [7]

Jonathan Bradley: There are no shortage of songs in 2024 sampling the hits of the '00s, but Kehlani's Nina Sky flip sounds more like yet another take on the Coolie Dance riddim than nostalgia bait; this is how dancehall is supposed to work. "After Hours" is light and pleasant, with an ingratiating synth line that finds new use for old trop house parts. Kehlani is the least essential part, but they don't need to break a sweat to make this replayable. If it were summer here, I might bump my score up by a point. [6]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: I've long been in favor of Kehlani using as many 2000s R&B samples as possible. This is further vindication — over a vague outline of Nina Sky, they sound like they're having more fun than they have in years; the searing, melodramatic quality of their voice works much better as an invitation to debauchery than, say, a duet partner to Ty Dolla $ign.  [7]

Will Adams: The use of the Coolie Dance riddim is smart; the club is still pumping, but the soft synths and half-stepping bass suggest that closing time is approaching, and there's someone who wants to take you home. That transient moment creates heat for "After Hours," even though I'd rather have that interaction while "Move Ya Body" is playing instead. [6]

Nortey Dowuona: After Cordell and Everton Burrell released the Coolie Dance riddim in 2003, they probably had no idea that 25 artists(!!???) would flood to use it almost immediately, but they did expect it to be successful and used. When he and his brother were their most successful, most of the riddims that were produced were given directly to artists in both reggae and dancehall, who, in exchange for the song, would have "gentleman's agreements" with the producers, who would plow through their equipment to create the riddims yet depended on those agreements to work. Each song was meant for a dub plate, to be performed so the artist could eat. The producer, however, got left in the dust. Khristopher Riddick-Tynes of the Rascals, as well as Alex Goldblatt, who is the co-producer of this sweet little gem, didn't even count Cordell or Everton as producers but merely as songwriters, since they took the riddim from this little gem produced by Lionel Bermingham and Elijah Wells. Cordell does get a songwriting credit and a cameo in the video, as well as Diovanna Frasier, choreographer, and Daniel Church, who can rock a pretty solid Jeremih impression. Now, Kehlani does deliver quite handily in the vocals department (with assistance from Jaycen Joshua and his trusty sidekick, Mike Seaberg), but the creation, completion and delivery of one of the best songs of the year depends on at least seven other people who you don't know and couldn't pick out of a lineup unless you're a Mixed by the Masters fanboy. They're the ones who create the spellbinding songs we're listening to while we miss last call to keep on talking, and I think they deserve just as much lucre and recognition as the Bay's worst-kept secret. [10]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[pherryt]

For the fic ask: carry, joy or glow?

Okay, i have SO many WIPS but i first narrowed it down to about 8 - ones I'm currently making progress on or are almost out. A good number of those didn't have ANY of the words. A lot had extended versions of Joy (enjoy/enjoyment) but I went hard mode and went looking for only exact words. Since I couldn't do all 3 words, without having one fic have more rep than the other, I did 2 from each :D

Wound up with one Witcher Fic and one One Piece fic - read behind the cut:

WITCHER FIC:

Incubus!Jaskier (Jaskier/nearly everyone. Finished and waiting Beta - title still pending vote from beta but I think I'm leaning towards "Matter of Convenience")

Joy:

Vesemir shrugged, tapping at his medallion. “I’m a Witcher, lad. I can smell it on you, and feel your magic. Most incubi live among humans quite peacefully. I followed you out here simply to make sure you weren’t a danger. And you aren’t, at least not to anyone other than yourself.” The other man sighed. “Blessed Melitele, if I were, then you could have put me out of my misery.” Vesemir felt his eyebrows climb. “Are you that ready to give up?” He hadn’t gotten that impression from the way the man had comported himself inside the tavern. Even as unwell - hungry - as he’d been, he’d brought a little something special to that room, brightness and joy. “Only in my worst moments,” the bard admitted. “Some days weigh heavier than others.” Now that was a sentiment Vesemir knew all too well.

Glow:

Vesemir - feeling more off balance than he had in decades - cast widely around for a change of subject and his eyes settled on the two Cat Witchers who had not yet spoken. They were both of a height, and dark haired, like Aiden. The one on the left was leaner and his hair was the darkest - a true black that went past his shoulders. The other had a deep brown that was lighter than Aiden’s, and looked like it wanted to glow when the light hit. Aiden almost looked like he could be their son. Vesemir pointed at the trio. “What about them? Why should I let them in?” The leaner one snorted, making a sound of disgust. “You think we’d be welcome after we stood up for our Aiden?” he snapped out. Huh. Maybe Vesemir’s thought of ‘son’ wasn’t too far off the mark.

ONE PIECE FIC

I Don't Care (Sanji/Zoro - full title is that Fall Out Boy Song "I Don't Care what you think as long as it's about me"

carry:

Which Sanji really liked, actually. It was… fun. A challenge. Only Zeff could challenge him at the Baratie and Sanji's own guilt used to make him back off, and so he never was sure if he could best the old man or not. It had been a little stagnating, if truth were told. But here, he didn't have to carry that guilt anymore. And he could admit, that without their near daily fights, Sanji might have neglected his training, caught too much in the day to day of being a Strawhat cook. Zoro was a little right. Sanji never really took a break, but at the same time, he was doing what he loved so, how could he really complain?

joy:

It turned out to be another quiet day – no weird weather, no marines or other pirates anyway. The Sunny was never truly quiet with this bunch on board, but honestly, Sanji wouldn't have it any other way. Each day was a reminder of how different the crew was from his family. Their joys and dreams that had room for others, for kindness, for fun. Even Zoro, green haired and obsessed as he was with getting stronger, was nothing like Sanji's brothers. It may have initially thrown Sanji for a loop, but he'd realized pretty quickly that there was more to Zoro than first appeared.

[stardust-in-my-mind-blog]

a new day in a new world

today a woman that I met once and snarled at

who I didn't even hire

lugged in an electric indigo hearth

just to make me feel comfortable in her office

as I signed all the paperwork for my divorce

I completely broke down last time I saw her

I was like a wet abandoned alleycat

and she told me I reminded her of her autistic son

and this was his fireplace that made him happy

let me tell the world about humility

because I was scripting a whole other kind of conversation

as I was driving into what I thought was a battleground

but as the inked dried on the death of my marriage

this woman took my hand and kept me

in her warm heart and reflected that in my reality

please know there is nothing wrong with humanity

I think a lot of us were just taught

the wrong definitions of words

and shown the wrong actions

and tried to call it care and love

but they were likely shown the same

and once upon a time

always has to have a dark part

and salvation isn't something to be ashamed about

today that woman showed me in a way

how a mother treats a person like me

and when it comes to motherhood right now

I really needed someone to save me

from the shame and doubt I was feeling

and don't you know it

she told me a story of her own worst moment

and lead me right out of that place too

the world is full of such kind people

and I know the darkness was voted in

but don't lose faith in the wasteland

when you least expect it

even when you're legally dying

you're going to smile when that

winged charger comes rolling in

and know without a shadow of a doubt

you were always worth saving

maybe you just had to wait awhile

and get really deep so when it came

the light would blind you to everything

you thought you knew you knew

and good fucking riddance

I gently asked if maybe she was autistic too

when I connected with her heart it felt

so much like mine and her mind

was even quicker than mine when it came to

future consequences and possible solutions

she wrote me a letter for an appointment

and she told me to call if I didn't understand something

she told me her son's name was michael david

and I could ear the angels laughing in my mind

and I told her my new last name was crafted

from my love for joan of arc and tolkien

she mentioned the hyperspace mode

and I laughed and said our rings of fire

halos get spinning too quickly

the world just can't keep up with us

and I was able to hold her gaze

and feel her warmth and love

my god I couldn't have imagined

such an experience on the day of my divorce

but here I am with wings of liberty

and when I walked out of that office

I could have risen somewhere towards the sky

it was the brightest of blues

somehow my soul feels a little less dusty

the world makes sense again

though sometimes my mind has a spin or two

when I imagine romance I no longer

want to run off somewhere and hide

I suppose my psyche was feeling

a little sweet and sour about the whole thing

and I can' say I blame her

but both my heart and I are very happy

about my mind and body's change of tune

this was the third time I've been

taken to court by a man who promised

a whole lot of things he seemed to forget about

and it really was the fucking charm

this was by far my most positive experience

with the united states legal system

I'll never forget it and she just kept saying

people always come in here in their worst times

and I'm want to be here to help them

and if that's not an angel in human skin

I couldn't tell you a better example

looks like joan was watching out for me again

she even had her bring the fire

my universe may have a wicked sense of humor

but when it delivers blessings it doesn't mess around

today was the first day as myself

I'd say this is my highest version yet

and let me tell you I have plans

but first I'm going to sing about it

[miloscat]

[Review] The Golden Compass (PSP)

His Dark Tie-in Game.

Wayyy back in 2016 I played the DS licenced game for the Northern Lights movie. I still haven’t seen the film but the PSP game is a decent way to follow up the Arctic animal companion game Never Alone, thematically. The DS game was unique among all the released versions; every other port was made by Shiny Entertainment. Remarkably, they put out the same game on PC, Wii, PSP, PS2, PS3, and 360.

The PSP might actually be the format it’s best suited to, with its cramped level design and disjointed gameplay. Or to put it another way, every other port was hampered by game design decisions built around the limitations of the weakest platform. My experience did suffer from mid-level loading and frequent audio hitches, not to mention the less-than-ideal PSP thumbstick. But there’s some kind of charm to the relatively low-res textures that are trying to capture this detailed fantasy world.

This version of the game certainly does a better job adapting the film than the DS game did (although apparently the structure of the game is based on a version of the film prior to a last-minute edit that rearranged the third act), with a richer 3D world and a mix of in-engine cutscenes and FMV movie clips. There’s spoken dialogue throughout with Lyra and Pan’s actors reprising their roles and everyone else with decent soundalikes, while the gameplay has a try at representing different tones and scenes with its various states and modes.

The problem is that none of these modes is well executed, at all. When it’s Lyra 3D platforming it’s clumsy, with a bad camera and no drop shadow. When Iorek is brawling it’s shallow and repetitive. Lyra and Pan are sometimes called upon to do “evasion” sequences of boring QTEs, while Lyra’s silver-tongued conversations are presented as gauntlets of tedious (and difficult!) minigames. These latter two also have a set of consumable items to make them easier, although you get totally loaded up with more than you’d ever need.

I do like how Pan has different forms that let him buddy-up with Lyra for different abilities: the ermine takes on precision actions and can scan your surrounds for interactables and lore, with the cat you can dash and climb, the hawk lets you glide Pathless-style, and the sloth(!) can grab and swing on poles. They’ve also added bits to the story which I always love to see in a tie-in game, although it’s mostly in the form of new boss characters for Iorek to fight, like an electro-tank, a magic shaman, a super-hunter with a wolverine dæmon, the witch-queen, and a heavily armoured flamethrower guy. But the strongest sections of the game are when it slows down and Lyra can explore an area, take in the detail they’ve packed in to make it feel real. These “adventure game” feeling parts also spotlight the alethiometer feature.

The eponymous device has a complex series of symbols, which Lyra gradually learns more about. This is often represented by picking up a big glowing collectible in the world, but there’s cleverer occasions where an object in the world will grant you the understanding of one of the three meanings of an icon, representing how Lyra’s life experiences are giving her deeper wisdom which leads to more accomplished use of the oracular object. You can then ask it prebaked questions, whether for plot or fleshing out the lore, using the meanings you’ve discovered and filling in gaps as a player by induction or intuition. Sadly this does then lead to another boring minigame, but there’s the core of a really interesting dynamic here.

Due to the nature of the story the back half is very action-heavy when Iorek becomes playable, although they move a section of this to the start of the game, I guess for a more exciting cold open. But it’s rarely engaging enough to not become frustrating or dull, even with how varied the gameplay styles are. Every individual part is stilted and ends up dragging, so ultimately the game feels like it both skips around and plods along. The sprinkling of good ideas, occasional cheesiness, and the strength of the source material can sometimes shine through, but on the whole... what a mess.

[evilkitten3]

ok so i'm going to preface this by reminding everyone that i'm white and therefore can only come at this from a white person's perspective; on top of that i am in no way qualified to talk about race, racial prejudices, or colorism as it affects any country, least of all a country i have never been to on a continent that i have also never been to. anything i have to say on the subject should be treated exclusively as my best guesses unless i'm including a link to something by someone who knows more than me. ok? ok.

so i'll start with this:

hashirama's skin tone in the anime is somewhat different from his skin tone in the manga (rather, his skin tone on the cover of volume 64, which is the one that i own and am the most familiar with). there are, as far as i am aware, not really any signs i'm aware of in the manga that hashirama is intended to be darker than madara, but since most of his appearances there aren't in color, it likely wouldn't show up much.

if i had to guess why he's noticeably darker in the anime, my first guess would probably be to contrast with tobirama's color scheme (dark hair vs light hair, red clothes vs blue clothes, dark skin vs light skin), as both of them showed up way back when orochimaru first invaded during the chuunin exams which i think was before madara was a properly thought of character, and which i'm fairly certain was before he'd been mentioned at all.

interestingly, this isn't hashirama's only color change - in the manga, his sage mode markings are red, while the anime has them as green.

now typically i'd say something like "well perhaps people are just going with the source material rather than the adaptation" bc i tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. but most fanart of kidoumaru from the sound four/five/six/five-and-a-head seems to lean pretty strongly towards the anime's version

here's kidoumaru and sakon/ukon in the anime:

and here they are on the cover of volume 24 of the manga:

on the other other hand, iruka is in the same boat as hashirama (lighter in the manga, darker in the anime), and yet fanart pretty much only contains the anime's version

so as much as i'd love to come up with an answer for you, all i can really do here is give you a very bewildered shrug

something I notice when seeing Hashirama's fanarts are how they whitewash him, like it's so strange and weird why can't ppl just draw him dark skinned like in canon?

@narutobrainrotstuff @evilkitten3 @anubisthe1