#it gave me that same feeling like in ready player one where all the different characters were interacting and I got really excited

[alotofpockets]

In safe hands | Leah Williamson x Teen!Reader & Arsenal WFC x Teen!Reader

Where you get to train with the senior team and end up making your senior debut earlier than expected

Warnings: Reader has adhd and struggles with sensory issues. If there are any inaccuracies, please let me know!

Woso masterlist | Words: 2.1k

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Each season, Arsenal gave a handful of the academy players the opportunity to train with the senior team. You knew you had played a good season, but you never would have thought that you would have been among those players. 

The first few days after getting the call, getting to play with the senior team was all that you could talk about. You were filled with excitement for this opportunity. It was only when the day of your first training with the team was coming closer, that you started feeling nervous. 

While you knew the other academy players that were going, you didn’t know the rest of the team. To your friends you were known as talkative, hyper, and a friend to all. But you had known them all for years. You knew that around these new people, you might not be the same. The confidence you had built up over time, you would have to start building up again here.

What if they didn’t take you seriously? What if you messed up? What if you couldn’t keep up? All those thoughts were messing with your brain as you packed your bag to head to your first training with the team.

Everyone seemed nice and very welcoming to the group of youngsters, which eased your nerves a bit. After the official introductions, you all headed to the locker rooms, to get changed for training. 

With all your down putting thoughts, you hadn’t given yourself the time to properly check out the gear. While your kits were the same as the ones from the academy, you got all new ones, because training with the senior team meant you got a new number. 

Only when you went to put on the kit with your new number, you realised it wasn’t a size bigger like you usually got. You put it on anyways, you had to. In theory it was the right size, but the tightness of the fit was something that often caused you sensory overload.

You tried to ignore the way you felt the jersey cling to your skin, pushing it to the back of your mind while you tied up your boots, but with every passing second, it seemed to become tighter somehow. 

Most of the team had made their way to the pitch already, just leaving you and Freya. She noticed you fidgeting with your shirt, but figured it was just a way to ground yourself. While you were open about your adhd to your academy teammates, many of them didn’t know all the ins and outs.

“Are you coming?” She asked as she was all ready to go. You looked up at her, faking a smile. “You go ahead, I’ll be right behind you.” Freya nodded and made her way to the pitch.

The moment she left, you took off the jersey and tossed it to the ground. Feeling like you could finally breathe again. Tears welled in your eyes from the overwhelming feelings that came with the sensory overload, still trying to shake it.

“Where is y/n?” Manu asked Kim when she realised the young goalie hadn’t joined them yet. “I don’t know. Girls, do you know where y/n is?” She asked the youngsters. “She said she would be right behind me.” Freya answered. 

“I’ll go check on her.” Leah offered. Having moved up from the academy herself, made her feel closer to these young players. She had been exactly where they were now. While everyone’s experience was different, she thought that at the very least, she could offer you some advice.

When Leah entered the locker room, she noticed you quickly wiping your tears away. “Hey kid, what’s wrong?” She closed the door behind her and sat down beside you, giving you plenty of space, just to be sure. You had only met each other that morning, so she didn’t know what way of comfort you preferred. 

“It’s fine. I’m fine.” You told her, but she wasn’t convinced. “Alright.” She looked around the room when her eyes landed on your jersey balled up on the floor. “Wanna tell me what happened with your jersey then?” She pushed lightly.

There was no point in lying, so you opted to tell the team's vice captain. “Well, it felt really tight.” She nodded for you to continue. “I have adhd, and sometimes the way clothes fit can be really overwhelming.” While Leah had never experienced that herself, she wanted to make sure that you felt comfortable. 

“Okay, and did the academy kits make you feel overwhelmed too?” You shook your head in response. “Was there anything different about those?” It must all sound silly to her, but nonetheless, you tell her. “Yeah, they always give me a bigger size and the regular fit.” 

Leah got up, “Well, that seems like an easy enough fix. Come with me.” You put on your own sweater, and followed the blonde. “Where are we going?” You ask timidly. “We are going to the kit room. Get you all the stuff you need in the sizes that help you feel less overwhelmed.”

She got everything set for you. They quickly printed you a training jersey with your number on it, and told you that when you were done with training they would have the rest ready for you to pick up. 

With the new jersey, and the new found comfort in Leah, you headed to the pitch for your first training with the team. 

The weeks following your first training session went by fast. You learned a lot by training with the senior team already, and it was nice to get to know some of the girls off the pitch too. You had gotten your complete set of kits and clothes in the new size, and they had changed your size in the system, so that it would be your standard. You felt closest to Leah from the senior team. The way she didn’t just listen to your struggles, but also took action in taking those struggles away, really meant a lot to you. 

The way the training was set up, meant you would be able to play some post-season friendlies, and you were getting ready for that. But when Manu got injured in training, a small tweak in her ankle that would last at least a couple of weeks, you got an early step up to the Arsenal senior bench for the next match at Meadow Park. 

In the locker room, Leah sat down next to you. “How are you doing, kid?” You were clad in your yellow goalie kit, with a specially ordered sensory friendly long sleeve shirt in a matching colour. The staff had really shown they cared for the way you felt, even just as an academy player. 

“Excited to watch the match from the perspective of the bench.” You had been in the stands for the matches, but the bench was a different way of watching football. All you felt was excitement, the chance you’d get to play minutes were close to zero, or so you thought.

In the 80th minute Sabs made a diving save and stayed down. Everyone looked concerned as she stayed on the ground shaking her head in the direction of the bench. She was clutching her elbow as Jonas walked up to you. “You’re going on kid, go get ready.”

Kim walked you to the warm-up section with some words of encouragement before handing you off to the trainer helping you do some quick exercises while Sabs was getting treatment.

You stood to the sidelines with the official, mentally preparing yourself for this moment. The crowd you had been able to filter out on the bench, now seemed louder than anything in the world. Leah noticed the way that you looked to be frozen in place, and made her way towards you.

When Sabs was walked off, you were ushered on. Leah put her arm around your shoulder. “Just focus on me.” She said when she saw your eyes dart around the stands. She helped you get grounded as you made your way to the goal together. “What if I fail?” Leah shook her head, “You’ve got this, kid. We’ve got your back out there, you’re not alone.” 

When you got between the goalposts, you felt right at home. You put your focus forwards and to your luck, no shots at goal were taken for the last 10 minutes of the match. Leah joined you afterwards, “Look at you, your first senior minutes!” She was immensely proud of you for stepping up to the challenge, as was the rest of the team. They all came by you to say some words of encouragement or preach.

The next couple days in training were crucial. Both Manu and Sabs would be out for at least a couple more matches, so it was up to you now. And let’s just say that the last 10 minutes at Meadow Park was vastly different from starting at the Emirates in front of a sold out crowd.

Walking up to the field was the worst part, but you had your team backing you up. All of them had been great in supporting you, and trying to find ways to help you in the best ways possible. Leah and Beth were on either side of you, as you walked onto the field for warm-ups.

The roar of the sold out crowd was deafening, and you tried your hardest to block it out. Beth bumped her shoulder playfully against yours. “You’re going to do great.” Her voice was calm and confident. “Just remember, it’s the same game you’ve always played. The only difference is the number of people watching. I know they can be loud, but I’ve always tried to turn it into a motivator for me to play better. Keep your focus on the pitch like you did last week, and try to block them out as much as you can.”

“Trust your instincts, kid. You’ve been training for years. We all believe in you.” Leah joined in. You nod and thank them before joining the goalkeeper trainer. 

While you were still very nervous, the words of both Beth and Leah kept playing in your mind. You did know what you were doing, and you had to focus on that. After warm-up you had gotten used to the noise level of the crowd. Just in time for the match to start. 

Leah and Lotte walked with you to the box. The three of you were silent, but it was exactly what you needed. Just people around you to not have to walk the way on your own. The comfort of the quietness helping you calm down.

Your opponents started coming in strong right away. The weight of responsibility on your shoulders felt heavier with each time the ball came near. But the moment they broke through the defence, your instincts took over. You dived and made your first save for the senior team. 

“Nice one, kid!” Leah pats your back before rushing forwards again, so you can throw her the ball. The save gave you the confidence you needed. Each time the ball came in, you stopped it. 

0-0 at half time and you were overjoyed with the way you were performing. The nerves were still there, but you were getting more comfortable between the goalposts. Manu and Sabs were looking at you proudly when you walked towards them to head into the locker room. “You’re doing great!” and “Keep up the good work!” Were shouted your way by the pair.

You got back on the pitch with more confidence and determination. Which showed in the way you were playing. The opponents kept pushing, but you knew your role well, and performed it perfectly.

When Beth scored the first goal in the 75th minute you celebrated all the way on the other side of the field. 

And when the final whistle blew and you had played not only your first full 90 minutes for the senior team, but had also kept a clean sheet, you sat down on the field, overwhelmed with your accomplishments. 

Leah sat with you, letting you have your moment, but not wanting you to be alone. “I did it.” You finally say. “Yeah you did, I am so proud of you. You should be so proud of yourself.” You smiled, “I am.”

You proved yourself in that match and the one after. So, the only logical thing for the team to do was give you a senior contract. You knew you would be the third goalie again, after Manu and Sabs were back from injury, and that's the way you preferred it for now. Training with them, to keep bettering yourself. 

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[lonigiri]

oneshot about my king atsumu miya 🙏🙏🙏

(hope you’re having a wonderful day)

meeting the parents

pairing: atsumu x f!reader

warnings: atsumu meets readers parents, if ur parents arent like this... well sucks ig?, parent issues, established relationship, fluff and if you squint angst,

notes: this went in a completely different direction then what i thought it was gonna go, i also started this request like three months ago and i never finished it so here mb anon love ya

you were always a little bit scared when you thought about atsumu meeting your parents, aswell as your family. its not that you were scared that they wouldnt like him. its just that atsumu is a little, well, a lot when you first meet him. and your lovely parents told you to bring him to the familys big thanksgiving because "they wanted to meet their favorite daughters boyfriend." (you're their only daughter) and there you were in the car with atsumu trying to coach him on what to say and what not to say. "babe i got this dont even worry! im so good with parents!" "tsumu, im the first girlfriend you've had that your meeting their parents." "i was always good with kita, suna, and aran's parents!" you just sighed and rolled your eyes. you opened the car door and got out, walking to the front door of the house first. atsumu came shortly after, you put your hand on the door handle and pushed the door open.

you went into the house first, kicking the snow off your boots and then taking them off at the door. you removed your jacket placing it on one of the hangers as atsumu did the same movements as you. "oh my god is that my favorite daughter!" "mom im your only daughter." your mother just laughed and shrugged, calling the house saying that you were here. "and who is this handsome young man?" your mom smiled and took atsumu's hand, shaking it. "i'm miya atsumu! yn, you didnt tell me you had a sister!" atsumu exclaimed, with a small smile on his face, you gave him a look, but that didnt stop him from kissing up to your mom. "oh now now, no need to kiss up to little old me! oh you're so strong i think we can put those muscles to good use!" your mom started feeling atsumu's biceps, "mom, you're being weird." "oh come on yn its just a joke! lighten up a little bit!" you just rolled your eyes walking away as your mom basically flirted with your boyfriend.

you made your way to the back room where everyone was sitting, waiting for dinner to be finished, "your wife is flirting with my boyfriend by the way." you said jokingly to your father. him giving you a quick laugh then a hug. "you know your mother, thats how she is." you just shrugged and went on and greeted everyone else. atsumu and your mother slowly made their way back to the room everyone was in, arms interlocked with eachother. "you have got to be kidding me." your eyes rolling at the sight. "and i'm assuming this is the boyfriend?" your father said, getting up from his seat and going to shake atsumu's hand. "nice to meet you! i'm atsumu, you're daughter is absolutely lovely." "no need to kiss up to me son, i know what shes like." obviously hinting that you're not so lovely. "okay just because i brought my boyfriend doesnt mean you all have to pretend im not here." "of course we know you're here sweetheart, we just want to get to know the boy you brought along." "the boy you begged me to bring along." you grumbled.

okay maybe the reason you didnt want to bring atsumu along wasnt because you were afraid he wouldnt get along with them. you were just afraid that your family would like him more then you, and can you really blame them atsumu is charismatic and attractive and a d1 volleyball player. of course your family would like him more then you. you watched as your family practically fawned over him, asking him about what it was like to play in the big leagues, and if his hair is naturally blonde and are they crazy of course his hair isnt naturally blonde?? "dinners ready!" a voice called out from the kitchen, your grandmother, the only one in this god forsaken family that likes you the most out of anyone here, even your d1 athlete boyfriend.

everyone gathered around, picking their seats at the dinner table, somehow you were able to score a seat next to your boyfriend. as your whole family chatted your boyfriend up you just kinda sat there and ate your food silently. "yeah i have no clue how i ended up with her, she really saw the good in me when others didnt." you heard being spoke from your right side. you looked up and saw atsumu looking at you with the most love anyone could possibly ever give. "awe isnt that so cute, yn you really dont deserve him." there goes your mom, always ruining the cute moments. "what i was saying was that i dont deserve her." atsumu chimed in and squeezed your hand under the table, standing up for you. he obviously realized how uncomfortable you'd been with this whole situation and he was trying to comfort you in anyway possible.

after dinner atsumu had came up with some sort of excuse to leave and he practically dragged you out of the house. you slid your shoes on bidding an irish goodbye to everyone and left. "wow your family-" "hates me? i know." you said cutting him off leaning your body to the opposite direction of him, looking out the window as he drove. "i mean, i was gonna say a lot but, yeah?" "wow thanks that makes me feel so much better." rolling your eyes and taking out your phone you started scrolling on instagram. "you see why i didnt want you to meet them? they use anything they can to bring me down. they think im a disappointment." you let out a sigh, you could feel atsumu's eyes on you, the look of pity. you loved him so much, it just hurt when your family thinks everyone in the world is better then you. he placed his right hand on your thigh, using his thumb to rub circles into the flesh, helping you calm down a bit. "its okay we dont ever have to see them again if you dont want." "really?" "really."

[lucy90712]

babysitting- Gavi

"I know it's last minute but would you mind babysitting today your dad and I have to head out of town tonight we'll be back tomorrow morning I'll give you money for dinner and everything" my mum said on the phone 

"Of course I need to ask Pablo but I'm sure he'd be fine with it I'll let you know as soon as I've got a reply" I said 

It's not often that my parents ask me to babysit. My little brother Milo was a surprise to say the least but despite me being old enough to help out once he was born they very rarely ask and any time they do they always pay me like they would any other babysitter. I would love to just say yes to help them out but now that I live with Pablo in his house I don't think it's right for me to just have my brother with us without him knowing. All it took was a quick text and Pablo answered straight away saying that it was more than ok so I let my mum know she can come over whenever. 

It was then that I realised I wasn't at all ready I'd organised all of this while still in bed so I hopped out of bed and got ready at lightening speed and started on child proofing the house as best as I could. Seeing as Pablo and I are still in our teens and definitely not ready to have kids of our own his house isn't exactly child proof every piece of furniture seems to have sharp corners and there are plenty of uncovered plug sockets. Past me had thought that one day I may need to babysit so I did pre buy some things so all I had to do was find them and put them out. It took me quite a while but just as I finished doing as much as I could the doorbell rang and as soon as it was open I was nearly taken out by Milo who for someone so little has a lot of strength. My parents were in a rush but they gave me everything they have at home that I'd need before heading straight off to where they needed to be. 

In the way little kids do he had a ton of energy so I suggested we play with some of his toys that my mum had given me. It's been so long since I let my inner child take over that I think I had more fun playing with the cars and trucks pretending they were building all sorts of things than my brother did. Mostly it was just nice to see him as I've been so busy that I haven't spent as much time with my family as I should it's crazy how fast kids grow and develop new skills I feel like I'm with a whole new human not the kid I saw just a few months ago. As we were playing with some toy aeroplanes the front door opened and Pablo came in, usually I'm Milo's favourite person but as soon as you get Pablo in the mix I'm always long forgotten. Today was no different either as soon as Pablo had stepped into the living room he got the same greeting I did this morning but he saw it coming and picked up the charging child with ease. 

Despite just getting back from training Pablo suggested we go to the local park so I packed up a bag with some snacks while Pablo put Milo's shoes on which is a battle for anyone other than Pablo. We headed out and I was quickly left behind they went running off towards the park while I walked behind admiring their little bond. Pablo was definitely only running to not let Milo get too far away but as soon as they got to the road across from the park Milo stopped and waited for Pablo as he's been taught not to cross the road without holding someone's hand. They both waited for me so I jogged a bit to catch up but after that they were gone again heading towards the field to play football. As much as Pablo has spent his morning training and playing football he was still so excited to play with Milo who has just started going to practices on a weekend so was looking forward to having his new skills tested by a professional player. 

I let them play football together as my football skills leave a lot to be desired I think I may be worse than Milo who's only just started learning. Eventually I suggested that we go play in the play park which Milo seemed happy about and so did Pablo who needed a bit of a break from trying to match a toddlers energy levels. Milo wanted to go on the slides so I followed him and went up and down so many times I was starting to get dizzy. He then wanted to try the monkey bars but he's too small so I had to hold him as he went across which would be fine if I ever kept up with going to the gym but I don't so my arms got tired quite quickly. A point came where I couldn't hold him anymore so Pablo came to my rescue and suggested the swings. We took turns pushing Milo who was having the time of his life with his high we let him go, the sound of him giggling just melted my heart. 

Eventually we'd tired Milo out and he wanted to go home for dinner and then bed. He tried walking but he was just too tired so Pablo picked him up and carried him the whole way home. If the events of the day so far hadn't already melted my heart enough it definitely exploded with cuteness seeing Milo snuggle his face into Pablo's neck. Whenever the time comes Pablo is going to be the best father he's already so good with Milo and any other child he meets. The image of Pablo holding our baby the way he's holding Milo filled my brain and only made the smile on my face bigger. Of course we aren't ready to have our own children yet but days like these make me so excited for when that time comes being able to share all the amazing moments that having a child brings with the person who means the most to me is something I can't wait for. 

Once we made it home Milo just wanted to cuddle with me so Pablo took charge of cooking dinner but I did my best to help where I could. When the food was ready we all ate dinner together before I did Milo's bed time routine with him as I knew what my parents do with him every night. Pablo came back to join us when it was time for a bedtime story we both sat on the edge of the bed as I read Milo's favourite book while Pablo stroked his head until he was fast asleep. We both exited the room as quietly as possible avoiding all of the squeaky floorboards and pieces of furniture which are hard to see when the lights are off. 

We headed downstairs and both flopped back onto the sofa starting to feel the tiredness of keeping so active all day. This is half the reason we aren't ready to have kids of our own as I know we'd both be so tired at the end of the day and we like our sleep but we wouldn't get nearly enough of it. After gathering our thoughts for a second Pablo moved closer to me and got me to rest my head on his chest while he played with my hair that's falling out of the ponytail I put it in this morning. He pressed a kiss on the top of my head so I looked into his eyes which had that look in them the look they have when he's at his happiest.

"I'm exhausted but todays been amazing I can't wait to have kids of our own one day" Pablo said 

"I'm glad you say that as that's all I've been thinking about all day you are going to make the best dad when the time comes" I said 

"And you will be the best mum I just know it" he said 

"Right now though I think we wait a few years for kids I don't think I could do this every day kids are really draining" I said 

"Agreed how many kids would you actually want?" Pablo asked 

"I think at least 2 but not too many I know it's takes a toll on your body and I don't think I could handle having lots of kids" I said

"2 sounds perfect but we will have as many as you want it's your body so if 1 is enough then we will be a happy family of 3" he said 

"Until then I'm more than ok with just sticking to baby sitting" I said yawning 

"And practicing making babies" Pablo said which earned him a slap on the arm but he wasn't wrong practicing is fun 

[halliescomut]

Burnin' Tires and Truman Concept Photos

Alright, we got our first set of concept photos. I'm gonna basically do some rapid fire thoughts on everything- this will be very ADHD/mindmap/thought process-y. Not overly considered...if that makes sense.

(AN: Link to second part for Escape and Cinema.)

We got a couple different types of concept photos. I would categorize them as vibes/enviromental shots, duo shots, and 'glamour' shots (meaning they are shots of the members for the main purpose of looking good.)

Burnin' Tires

Our vibes/environmental shots are interesting. The unveil for this track gave us quite a bit of the visual/story and next to nothing of the actual track, so it's pretty easy to place a lot of what's happening. Two of the shots look to be from the dance battle, and one is the fancy car, the slightest bit of Changbin's hands in driving gloves visible, so it's clear that technically the members aren't the focus. They're also a framed slightly tilted, which gives this like feeling of being off kilter, or gives the impression of movement. They all also contain that brighter red between the lighting of the first two and the red paint job of the car, and that does seem to be consistent with the color story of the MV from what we've seen so far.

Our two duo shots are the same are same outfits and I'm assuming from like the same setting within the MV. We've got them in the fancy car, both holding up the tiny trophy. This intrigues me because what we saw in the Unveil was basically Binnie vs Innie in a 1v1 situation, but is there a point where it becomes a co-op game??

The second duo pic though is giving me a lot of questions, most obviously why is Binnie in the shopping trolley? But I also kind of feel like this might not be a screencap pulled from the MV, but like taken during a break in filming maybe. I will say it's somehow giving continuation of the Chk Chk Boom vibe...I know that's a a fairly common aesthetic throughout their career, but again this is an ADHD brained discussion.

Alright, our Binnie glamour shots. Most importantly- he's so handsome. I do feel like we're still going a bit hard on the skin filter, but that would be my only complaint about the InnieBinnie photos.

I do enjoy how cool he feels in all of them while still very much giving cutie which kind of is Binnie's whole thing. I would have liked to see more of the white outfit, we got basically none of that, which is a bummer, but I do very much love the jacket, specifically the grommet and zipper details down the sleeves, and the very bright pop of blue from the graphic on the shirt.

Our Innie glamour shots I think are kind of funny because our first two he's just looking so cutie-patootie, doesn't even matter that he's got fists up. I think it's partly because of the softness of the outfit. It's difficult to look threatening wear a fuzzy white sweater. Also, does anyone feel like his hands look teeny in that pic? Maybe it's just me but after all the establishing of this man's big hands compared to some of the other members I feel like they look quite smol here.

Clothing-wise we can't see much but some of the small details are quite interesting and fun. The hook and eye closures on the black shirt under the jacket bring a different type of visual interest over basic or even fairly fancy buttons. Also the stripes down the sleeves are actually small runs of lace trim, which also adds an interesting texture. Our last solo Innie pic has him looking very cool and impressive and much less baby bread (probably because we can't see his whole face.

Truman

Moving on to Truman and Han and Felix our vibe pics are very interesting. This sort of half-collapsed structure feeds into the vaguely dystopian aesthetic you kind of see through all of the unveils. I know Burnin' Tires doesn't initially seem to fit that aesthetic, but feels isekai-esque and specifically reminded me of Ready Player One where the characters are living in a dystopian future where they use use AR technology to exist in these video game scenarios. (It's a book with it's own issues, but actually pretty good.) But back to my point of this aesthetic being a through line between all of the MVs. It's kind of showing different flavors of dystopian in a way, and that is something that we've seen Stray Kids dabble in in MVs pretty regularly.

The duo shots are very interesting to me because they say a lot, but they aren't quite clear enough for me to come to a definitive idea of the MV's story. We've got Han and Felix in this sort of ram shackled space, there's a fair amount of extras all dressed the same. The fact that Felix and Han are also in monochromatic black leads me to believe at least in the beginning that they're on the same level as these extras. With the title Truman and even the short amount of lyrics we've heard so far I think a Truman Show influence is pretty clear, but only in the most basic "I'm entertainment" way.

Something in me is just thinking it's commentary on them as idols, and specifically thinking of them in the group of others all dressed the same it's actually giving survival show. And then we do see some sort of transformation happening because they end up in different outfits that are blue denim.

Moving to the glamour shots, we'll start with Felix. I think he looks absolutely amazing. We do only get him in the black outfit unfortunately, but it is a fantastic outfit. Vaguely unclear what's going on under the big fuzzy hoodie because that is a deeeeep V. The overall look you can see better in the duo pic above but it's a good mix of textures with the fur-ish interior, the outer side of the coat seeming to be a combo of soft leather and a heavy cotton sweatshirt material, and then the leather pants. I specifically love the leather pant s because they have those fun little belt loops and ties by the knee, that's fun.

The make-up and styling is unsurprisingly impeccable. the semi-slicked back hair with the face framing wisps, it's a little bit mussed- absolute perfection. The touches of silver on Felix and Han both is interesting. It's used almost like a highlighter, but of course is too unnatural of a color to blend in with their skin tone. I don't think there's any specific significance, and I suspect it might be a case of "I think this would look cool", but that's totally fine and totally correct. It also works well with them sticking to silver-toned jewelry.

I do also have to say, I whined about some of the photoshopping of the other pics, but one of the fun little side effects of their make-up teams actually embracing and often even emphasizing Felix's freckles is that they can't go full coverage on their make-up because that wouldn't work, so the base make-up is often pretty natural. and they can keep the whole look natural or go more bold with eye make-up, blush, or lip products. Here they go pretty toned down across the board and leave the silver highlights and pretty dramatic contacts to be the focal point. (I do historically hate the light colored contacts, but I have less of an issue with them for things like MVs where they're more playing a character. It's different to me than them being used for magazine shoots or awards show appearances. Maybe it's splitting hairs, but idc.)

This particular look for Han is fanastic, though again we have the pretty noticeable complexion lightening. (no I will not stop complaining about it.) But his face is of course absolutely stunning. The lip piercing...so perfect for his face structure I think. I love the full denim outfits on both of them and particularly the addition of the pearl beads. It's beautiful and offers a pretty subtle reflect. Part of me wonders if it's the same brand as the pearl-cover denim jacket that Hyunjin wore for the ATE concept teasers??

As a final thought, the leaned back side profile shot, specifically with that hairstyle feels very reminiscent of Bang Chan. Like you can tell it's not him because their nose and jawline are different, but like...it's very Chan.

I'll end this here....since I'm kind of out of things to say. I'm excited to see what we get for the other two songs, though I fear discussing them will be the wildest type of whiplash. Here's hoping I can survive.

[iluvchick3nz]

i just saw a tik tok where a hockey player used the bottom of their skate to crack a drink can to shotgun it… i’m envisioning…

(ur work is incredibly and i’m obsessed w everything you write!!!)

I SAW A VIDEO OF THIS, TOO! It was a women's college hockey team- very impressive!

I gotta say, though, this one kind of got away from me. It went in a COMPLETELY different direction than I thought it was going to, although I'm not mad about it. I hope you like it!

I'm also currently sat with a cup of tea and my computer, writing up a storm! I am hoping to have these prompts written and edited within the next day or two, so please send me more if you want!

Credits to @lumosinlove

Logan didn’t even like the taste of beer that much, but the cold liquid did feel good sliding down his throat after a win. It was late April now, just before the playoffs, and the Rangers had finished their undefeated home streak with another win, setting off an electric feeling in the locker room. They had barely finished taking off their jersey when Percy and Alex had supplied them with beers. 

“Fucking beauty of a goal, Tremz!” Percy shouted in his ear over the thumping bass music. “OT win to close it out, let’s fucking go!”

Logan laughed and let Percy tip his head back again and press a can to his lips. It wasn’t the nice beer- that would be ordered later at the bar they would inevitably end up at- so it left a lingering dirty after taste, but Logan soaked up the warm feeling of his teammates around him and the adrenaline of the win and let it fill him right up. He felt Percy slap him on the back as he removed the can from his lips.

“Gentlemen!” he yelled, turning to look at Logan with a sly grin. “I think it’s time for our three scorers of the game to get this party started.”

“What the fuck are you planning?” Will asked with narrowed eyes.

“A Harvard hockey tradition,” Percy said. He reached into the cardboard box and pulled out three beers. “Morgs, Hazard, Tremz, sit.”

Logan took a breath in and shook his head amusedly. “Non, no fucking way.”

“Yes way, man, you gotta! You were the king of this!”

Logan sighed and sat between Will and Alex in front of their stalls. Alex leaned over with confused eyes. “What the hell is going on?” he whispered. 

Logan grinned. “We have to open the cans with our skate blades and shotgun them.”

Alex just blinked at him. “You’re joking.”

“I’m not. We used to do this back at Harvard.”

“Finn too?”

“Ouais.” Logan laughed at the memories. “He was never very good at it.”

“Nah, he doesn’t like chugging alcohol. Prefers to sip, the pretentious bastard.”

Logan just nudged him playfully. “I think it’s cute.”

“Of course you do, you have no chill.” Alex sat up and slapped his thighs. “Alright, Perseus, hit me.”

Percy’s smile was elated and, perhaps, slightly tipsy. “That’s the fucking spirit, bro.” He handed them each their beers. 

“Fuck, haven’t done this in years,” Will said from Logan’s other side. “You remember that time after playing BC? Your rookie season?”

Logan laughed. “Fuck, that was shit beer.”

Will smiled at him. “Yeah, it was. Finn gave up halfway through.” He reached up to ruffle Logan’s waves. “But I remember some rookie leaving us all in the dust.”

“Ouais,” Logan said, rolling his eyes playfully. “I guess I had a reputation.”

“You absolutely fucking did,” Percy interrupted. “Okay, okay, who’s videoing? Who’s got a phone?”

“Ici,” Logan said, reaching behind him into his stall and getting his phone. He held it out to Luke, who’d come over to watch. “Allez, Dev, take it, please.”

Luke sighed. “I forget that you’re a frat boy sometimes.”

“Non, I’m not,” Logan protested, aligning the can underneath his skate blade as Alex and Will did the same. “Not anymore.”

“Habits are hard to break,” Luke teased, laughing at Logan’s scoff. He held up the phone. Saint came to his side to watch, and Logan didn’t miss the way their hips were brushing. “Okay, ready.”

“Gentlemen!” Percy called again. “Are you ready?”

“Jesus, you’re so dramatic,” Will said, poised and ready. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“On your marks, get set, go!”

Logan slashed the can with the heel of his blade and scooped it up to his mouth. He could hear the cheers around him, Will, and Alex as they chugged. Alex made some sort of strangled sound from beside him, but Logan ignored it, forcing his throat to open to let the liquid down. He sucked in, one, two, three, four, and when he felt nothing left, he slammed the can onto the ground with a gasp and a pant. “Allez!”

Will let out a laugh as he took one last chug, and Alex coughed as he finished his own beer. “Fucking hell, that’s shit.”

“You still got it, don’t you?” Will said, squeezing his can between his hands to crush it. “Jesus, that’s harder than it was five years ago.”

“How did you do that?” Alex groaned. “Fuck, the hole was too fucking small, and that is really awful beer. Kase and Nat aren’t gonna believe I did this.”

“Practice, mon ami.” Logan slapped him on the back and stood. “Did you get it?” he asked Luke.

“Yeah,” Luke said, handing over Logan’s phone. “Your boys are gonna love that one.”

Logan punched him softly in the arm. “Shut up.”

Luke just winked and turned to go take off his pads. Logan sighed, looking down at his phone. He watched the video once. It felt like a trip- with him, Will and Alex, who look so much like Finn, sitting and chugging beer, Logan could almost pretend he was back at Harvard, reliving the first time he did this in the BC locker room. He remembered he had felt hot and bothered with Finn’s thigh pressed against his and confused by the swirling emotion in his chest. He sighed, a little wistfully, and opened his group chat with Finn and Leo. They’d already sent him texts after his game, ranging from inappropriate to sweet, but always smitten. He bit his lip as his cheeks heated up and sent them the video. Percy made us do it, he typed. I love you. 

He listened to the swoosh sound of the message going through and propped his leg up to take off his skates.

***

Hours later, Logan was pleasantly buzzed and fumbling with his keys to open his apartment door. Behind him, Alex was laughing. “You okay, Tremz?”

“Ouais.” Logan stuck his tongue through his teeth and focused. When he got the key in the lock and turned, he let out a sigh of relief. “Allez, it’s open.”

“Good.” Alex pulled him in for a hug. “Night, bud, say hi to my brother and Leo.”

Logan laughed disbelievingly. “What? How did you…?”

Alex rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “You have two sips of alcohol and you turn into the biggest softie known to man. Go, go call them, they’re probably waiting.”

“Ah, ouais,” Logan said sheepishly. “Let me know when you get home.”

Alex winked. “Will do. Night, Lo.”

Logan felt himself smile at the nickname. “Night, Al.”

He felt a little fuzzy as he went through the motions of getting ready for bed. No sooner had he stepped through his apartment door than he was ripping his shirt off, body hot from the alcohol and the spring evening, and putting on a clean pair of boxers like Leo would have wanted him to do. He smiled at the thought as he put his clothes in the laundry hamper and pulled out his phone to check the time. It was late, around one in the morning, but he had received a text from Leo not thirty minutes prior. The Lions had a few days off, and he knew Finn and Leo had gone out to dinner with Thomas and Cole, so there was a chance they were still awake. He smiled as he opened the message. It was a video of Finn, sitting on the couch in nice black slacks and a thin light purple shirt. His collar was undone and he had obviously been in the middle of undoing his belt when he got distracted by something on his phone. Logan squinted and realized it was the video of him. Logan laughed as Finn replayed once, then twice more. His ears were red. Leo flipped the camera, shaking his head fondly, then winked. “Love you,” he whispered, then the video stopped.

The sigh Logan let out sounded wanting, even to himself, as he rolled over onto his stomach on the bed. He still felt a little out of it from the beer and the four rum and cokes he’d drunk at the bar, so he didn’t even think before pressing the video camera icon just beside Leo’s name. 

When Leo picked up, Logan got a full view of his smile and fluffy curls peeking out of the hood of his maroon sweatshirt. It looked like one of Finn’s from Harvard. He was sitting on the couch, the overhead lights dimmed in the late night. “Hi, sweetheart. Good game.” When Logan didn’t say anything, just smiled at him, he let out a snort and his eyes lit up further. “Oh my God, how much did you have to drink?”

Logan just made a happy sound and hid his face in the pillows. He and Leo just gazed at each other for a moment before there was a voice from off the screen. “Is that Lo?” 

Leo looked up to where Logan presumed Finn was. “Yeah, honey, come say hi.”

Finn suddenly appeared at Leo’s side, his reading glasses shifting as his nose scrunched with his freckled smile. “Hi, baby. Good night?”

Logan nodded. “Ouais. Went to a bar.”

Finn’s eyes flitted over his face. “I know, I can tell. You’ve got sleepy eyes.” He turned his head to press kisses to Leo’s rosy cheeks. 

Logan hated the distance more than anything, but he did love watching them love one another, even if it was through a screen. He lived for these video calls more than he could ever put into words. “Did you like my video?”

Leo nodded, and Finn made an approving sound against his skin. With a last kiss, he pulled away and turned back to look at Logan again. “Like it? Fucking loved it, what a blast from the past. You’re so hot and sexy, Lo, baby.” 

Logan wiggled his hips unconsciously, pleased. He looked at Leo. “Et toi, soleil?”

Leo’s smile made him feel cozy all over. “Of course I loved it, sweetheart. Very impressive.”

“Mm, good.” He yawned. “I’m sleepy.”

Leo made a tisking sound. “I know, honey. Have you brushed your teeth and washed your face?”

Logan hid his face in the pillows. “Non. Not yet.”

“Take us with you, honey, and we’ll talk before bed. It’s late.”

“Mm.” Logan didn’t get up immediately, just folded his arms on top of a pillow and let his phone lean against the headboard. “I miss you,” he sighed. “Wish you were here to snuggle me.”

Leo was still smiling at him, but Logan saw his eyes turn a little sad. He was always trying to be positive and make things better, and Logan loved him for it, but sometimes even that mask slipped a little. Leo probably wouldn’t sleep tonight. Logan wanted to be there to rub his back and kiss his forehead in the moonlight. 

“Us, too, Lo,” Finn said. He pulled Leo’s head to rest onto his shoulder and wrapped his arms around him. It seemed he’d noticed Leo’s eyes dim a little bit, too. Despite the pain, that comforted Logan a bit, and he watched as Finn watched him. “We’ll see you in a few weeks, baby, I promise. Go get ready for bed, we’ll be right here.”

Logan didn’t think he’d ever get used to going through his night routine without someone there to put their hands on his hips or press kisses to his neck. He had suddenly felt cold, and dug around in his closet for the Saints sweatshirt that still smelled like Leo’s cologne. Now, he had his tooth brush hanging out of his mouth and his phone propped against his soap bottle as Leo told him a story about how Finn scared a girl at the bar today.

“...and he just stood there, silent, waiting for her to move so he could use the bathroom. And she was short, like five feet tall, so obviously she got scared shitless when a big man was behind her trying to squeeze by.” Leo smiled delightedly at Finn’s groan. “She spilled her drink all over her white pants.”

Logan laughed as Finn came out of his hiding place that was Leo’s neck. “Oh, mon rouge.”

“I didn’t know what to do, okay? I thought I had enough space to squeeze past!”

Leo tilted his head to meet Finn’s eyes. “Honey, you’re a six foot professional hockey player, you can’t just squeeze through anywhere.” He kissed Finn’s chest and rested his face against it. It squished his cheek and Logan suppressed the urge to reach through the screen and pinch his other one. “Anyways, he bought her and her friends two rounds of drinks, then they really liked him. I had to go rescue our boyfriend again, honey.”

Logan smiled as he washed his face. “Again?” he teased, standing to reach for a towel.

“I can’t help it!” Finn defeatedly slouched forward to press his face into Leo’s neck. “I don’t know why everyone thinks that I’m flirting, I’m just friendly.”

“Yeah, too friendly,” Leo joked.

Finn made a playful sound and bit at Leo’s jaw. “I’m only too friendly with you two, I’ll have you know.” His big brown eyes blinked out tiredly at Logan. “Hi, Lo, baby.”

“Salut.” Logan picked his phone up and walked back to his bedroom, boxing himself in with pillows and snuggling under the sheets. “D’accord, it’s late. You need to go to bed.”

“No,” Finn whined. Logan saw him squeeze Leo tightly, even through his yawn. “No, no, let’s stay up and talk. An all-nighter.”

Logan shook his head, smiling softly. “Non, rouge, I have practice in the morning, then we fly out to Calgary.”

“No,” Finn protested again. His voice was a little tight, and his brow was furrowed. Logan could see Leo biting the inside of his cheek at Finn’s distress. “No, Lo, stay up. Stay up, baby.”

“Rouge.” Logan’s eyes felt a little hot. “Rouge, you have to sleep.”

Finn sighed heavily. “I miss you.” Leo shifted to sit up fully, bringing Finn to rest on his chest now.

“Je sais,” Logan whispered. “Look at me, mon amour.” When Finn did, Logan watched a tear fall down his cheek. Logan thought about what Leo would do if he were far away from them, and he plastered a smile on his face. It felt almost sad, but it was real. He didn’t force his smiles for Finn anymore. “I love you. I miss you, but I love you, too, d’accord? I love you more than I miss you. And that’s what matters, oui?”

“I know.” Finn sniffed. He clutched at the hands Leo had wrapped around his waist. “I know, I love you, too.” 

Logan smiled a little wider now, then looked at Leo’s face. He was smiling, too, a little sadly. He dipped his chin into Finn’s hair. I’ve got him. Don’t worry, sweetheart.

“Allez.” Logan pursed his lips in a kiss. “I love you, mes amours. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“We love you, honey.” Leo kissed the top of Finn’s head, which was lolling back as he obviously struggled to not close his eyes. The purple under his eyes made him look exhausted, but he was still just as gorgeous as the day Logan had met him. Leo, too, with his crystal blue eyes that were gazing at Logan so lovingly it made his breath catch. “Sweet dreams, Lo, we’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Love you,” Logan said once more before hanging up. The second he shut his phone off, it felt as though warmth had left him. It wasn’t okay, but Logan had learned to sleep in cold sheets. 

He lay awake for a while, a pillow clutched in his arms and curled on his side, when his phone lit up with a text. He reached for it and squinted. Leo again.

When he opened it, it was a photo. Finn and Leo were in bed now, Finn passed out with his cheek against Leo’s chest and his fingers curled around the neckline of Leo’s sweatshirt. Logan could tell he was sleeping heavily in the way he did when he was really exhausted, his mouth open slightly. Logan could almost hear his soft snoring. Leo had slightly dark circles under his eyes, but he was smiling, cheek resting on the top of Finn’s head. He looked so soft and cozy and warm, and Logan wanted nothing more than to be wrapped in his arms. 

We love you, sweetheart, Leo’s text read. Sleep tight.

I love you, I love you, I love you so much, Logan wrote back. Good night.

He went to set his phone back on his nightstand, but paused. He rubbed his thumb over Leo’s smile, over the slope of Finn’s nose, as if he could actually feel them. No, he decided. The nightstand would be too far. So, he clutched his phone to his chest and stared at it, imagining their body heat mixing with his, until he fell asleep. 

And if in the morning, while brushing his teeth, while making breakfast, he spent the whole time staring at his new lock screen- well, he would just say he was a man in love.

[fangmich]

Also the comment about "People who want romance in rpgs are annoying" made me again realise how people who say that just don't get it.

I think I made a post about this years ago about how it's not just romance, it's part of it but the main thing I think people need in rpgs are better relationships between the people in the game. We need different kind of companionships because how else could you include your character into the world.

I felt like this in Original Sin 2. Sure my character was present but she will never be as cool as the written characters Larian created. She was like part of the world but also not important to anyone. Which is I guess ok to use as a narrative method but it feels more like a joke and a bit empty at the end.

Since I finished Pathfinder WotR I guess I also can include it as a good example why relationships are important for the roleplaying part. Not all of them were good but some actual gave me the freedom to establish my characters personality.

I think in that Awoved interview they said the game will be like Outer Worlds or it will have the same scope. Well I for example can't remember if I even had any kind of companionship with my companions in that game besides Parvati who you can create some kind of bond by relating to her or helping her in a very personal quest. I can't remember a single thing about the other companions besides the banter they had between each other. Why can't we be space buddies?? (I have more memories about being buddies with Alistair from Dragon Age and that game is centuries old!)

The other thing from that interview is this part:

The companions in Avowed will be tied more tightly to the story than in previous games, apparently, and the team wants to make sure they hit their story beats without confusing the issue with relationships. "We wanted to make sure that we were paying that off and we didn't feel ready to do romances as well," Patel says. "Especially because it gets kind of awkward if you're trying to save the world together and then you've broken up but this person is still travelling with you."

First thing it sounds like they are doing the Larian thing where they wrote cool OCs and you are their sidekick who leads them to becoming a god or something. Which is ok but do I really want to play a husk of a character?

The other thing is they did relationships in Deadfire before and I get it's a lot of work but again with the acquisition you would think we could expect more but alas. I think it would be more genuine to say no one wanted to make romances so we didn't.

The other other thing is why is it established that we need to romance companions? We spend most time with them but when they are in the way then some cool side characters who are outside of the main story but have their own thing going on are fine too?! Since when did games start to make only companion relationships/romances🤔

Like I said before I trust Obsidian to write a good story and the game will be fun just wish they wouldn't need to paddle back with the expectations which were created.

I also honestly wish people would stop and think a bit more why rpg players want deeper bonds with characters instead of calling them annoying and being happy they aren't part of the fandom. Less people who enjoy your games the less likely you will get games.

[zombeebunnie]

Trembling Essence:💙Ending progress + poll results💙

Hi again and welcome new followers, here's another progress update about the game! >;]

But before I write that out I just want to say a very big thank you to everyone that participated in the poll I did so far, The results and responses have been helping me for the final version. :,] If you still want to give your vote/opinion on the start of the game here's the poll from my tumblr! There's less than 24 hours to vote!

I took a small break to gather my thoughts before continuing from where I left off. I was brainstorming a lot about this because I didn't want the beginning of the game to be too long when it comes to figuring out how to get to Noah, but I do want the explorative side to give some lore.

Suddenly, an idea came to mind that'll help me solve this issue I've been having. :,]

Last week I mentioned the two endings you could get that are from the [Extended Demo]. I don't count this as spoilers but these endings will have their own separate choice to go down instead of it being in the same path. This replaces a section from the [Extended Demo] and lowers the amount of time it takes to figure out how to get to Noah, especially for those that are new to the game. Consider this a healthy quality of life change, only one ending has been put on the shelf that I didn't have a connection with so far! :] This also gave me a chance to go through both endings individually and give a deeper exploration into these areas as they do play a part in the game. I added a few choices to show the differences in the terrain and how the player(Y/N) reacts to it. You can get an alternate situation but it will still end the same. I also fixed up some errors I found through the alternate choices that I almost missed too. For right now I'd say this ending will be finished once my play testers look through them! They've given me pointers on the CG's and dialog but not everything else yet. x] Speaking of quality changes I also went back and adjusted some of the new CG's I've drawn. I had a habit of drawing the landscape too low so you couldn't see anything unless you toggled the text box away. :,,,] Luckily this was a quick and easy fix.

Here's the results:

Before:

After:

I'm very happy with how far I've come when I draw backgrounds now! It's been a interesting journey but overall I enjoy knowing everything is coming together no matter how long it might take. There was another one I wanted to share but this the second CG I tried posting gave me an error. Luckily I had everything saved so I don't have to rewrite anything! :,,]

It took some time but I went back and fixed one of the effects that happen when you lose HP. The old version lights up the edges of your screen but sometimes it can be hard to see if there's another effect happening. I went back and gave a small hue effect every time you lose HP instead.

Lastly in other news, I finally started work on Noah's reference sheets! >:]

There will be a total of three(?) which will have specific details for each one! It's took some time to create since I'm still learning how to do angled faces/poses but I've gotten time to practice so I'm ready. >:] I also want to state that Noah's sprites/side sprites in the [Extended Demo] are accurate to how he's suppose to look too. Since I've improved my style certain specifics of his appearance might be slightly different! :]

Almost there to the cabin section, yay! I just have a few more things to fix up. >:]

If you like what I create, please consider supporting what I do on kofi! All donations and tips help tremendously while I work on the game. Also a very huge thank you to those that have optionally bought the [Extended Demo] and the March 2023 demo on itch.io too, it really means a lot. :,]

Q&A / Ask box is open:

If you have any questions about Trembling Essence/Noah feel free to ask here or on itch.io please. This makes it easier for me to see and answer accordingly! I would really like to hear from you guys!

There were some other things I wanted to discuss but this post is getting too long so I'll save it for next week, thank you guys for all of the support, I appreciate it! :,,]

[ellraiser]

Year In Review

Hey friends, and happy new year <3 I hope you all had a lovely break and are ready for the 2025!

Here's a little recap of what I've been up to this past year:

Personal

2024 was the first year of me doing gamedev full-time, for the whole year! It's certainly different to back when I was making APICO on the side of a full-time job (and later freelance work). I feel a lot more pressure that what I make has to be 'good', and by 'good' I mean good enough to pay the rent.

With a lot of APICO's gameplay, I just did what I personally thought would be fun, and the end result is a weird combination of things but those who get it, love it. With Mudborne I've been trying to do the same thing, but I have a lot more worries about certain mechanics or moments that I wouldn't have if it wasn't tied to keeping the lights on.

I can't say I'd ever go back to my old job all the time I can sustain myself making games (the big red date on my whiteboard tells me I have until October 2026 until I run out of money!), but it definitely has been a noticeable change doing art for money instead of hobby.

With APICO done, all the games I'm making are all in my own engine built on top of the LÖVE framework, and it's made things so much quicker to create. At the time of writing Mudborne is very nearly finished up, and it's taken only 8 months in total working full-time on it. I'd love to get into a place where I can comfortably making a game every year or so, without feeling rushed. I have so many different ideas I'd love to make, and only so much time!

APICO

APICO had it's 3rd and final (sorry) content update, "A Hive Of Industry". This update added a bunch of automation machines, plus a lot of stuff you all asked for, including pets, decoration and a butt-tonne of QoL tweaks.

I've also done a few little bug fix patches here and there which I'm sure gave you all a bit of false hope on new content when the download queued! It was nice to finally 'finish' up APICO - sometimes I wish I never did any of the content updates but I think looking at it now I'm happy with where it ended up, even if it's still a lil janky and bloated and I think all the art looks wack.

I'd love to come back to it one day, in a seperate game. When I drew up the new credit postcards (above) I had fun invisioning a game where you do go to the mainland and help clean up the environment using your bees. I think it'd be nice to take the same APICO gameplay, streamline some of it and make it all fit better (especially the money making side), and then expand the bees to all have functions in restoring nature.

However I think that'll need to wait a while as I have 2 game children screaming at me to finish, and a bunch of other ideas I want to get started on!

===

Synthesis

I don't often join gamejams, mostly because of the time limits they have, or I just don't personally have any time - but in 2024 I joined the LÖVE Jam, for games made with the framework.

I was still learning the framework at the time and tinkering with the engine I'd made to create the Snacktorio demo, so I thought it'd be a good opportunity to have a break from the APICO stuff that was getting me down at the time, and learn a bit more of the framework.

I was really happy with the end result - 'Synthesis'. I wanted to make a puzzle game with different modules like what you get with old patch synthesisers. As you mess with the different modules it changes the patterns drawn until you eventually come across the combination needed to match the required shape.

I also made a point not to ever explain any module's function - you just learn through doing very basic levels and then the rest you just learn overtime by doing. I wanted it to feel very experimenty for the player.

It was really fun to put this together! I had 10 days and pretty much used them all. I also did the music for it because I wanted to start practicing music creation for Mudborne, and was interesting in having the music 'evolve' with the puzzle progress.

I think it'd be cool to revisit one day as a 'full' game, as you could have lots of different module types and interactions, and let players connect modules themselves in different orders which then affects the outcome.

If you want to check out the game you can get it over on itch.io here: https://ellraiser.itch.io/synthesis

===

Mudborne

Ah Mudborne, my beloved. I've spent what feels like an eternity working on this game, when it's only been 8 months. I think I've stared at frogs more than I have the real world, but I've enjoyed pretty much every part of it.

It's been an interesting process, first I did like concept art for the rough game, and worked on all the individual mechanics - then I worked on the actual world development and story and tied it all together.

After the new demo was finished up, I spent a long time just designing the entire world and how everything connects, then piecing together the story. The writing in this one was definitely a killer as I've never written like a proper big story, let alone one with a few twists and turns. 

I wanted something players could piece together themselves, and get clues from all over the place to work out certain things, so there was a lot involved in making sure it all fit together nicely. At the time of writing this I've just finished up all the final dialogue lines, and now it's just a lot of drawing and polish left to go.

I'm planning to do a private playtest this month for the first time, so I can try and streamline any tutorialisation stuff and see if I've made things a bit _too_ difficult. I'm pretty confident it's a fun game but it's weird how hard it gets to judge that the longer you work on making the game.

Once the playtest is over it'll just be some last little bits to tweak and any changes to make and it'll be ready to release! Crazy to think it'll be my second published game.

===

As for 2025, I'm not sure yet what I'll be doing! The only thing I do know is Mudborne will be released this year, which is very exciting, I just can't say when yet. After that, I'm not sure - I'll need a long break that's for certain. I'd like to start working on Snacktorio proper and get that finished, but it depends on my brothers workload  (he still has a 'real' job). He did a lot of the work on the game design of Snacktorio and has a good idea for the levels, so I wouldn't want to really do it without him.

If he is free, then I imagine Snacktorio will get polished off this year, maybe an early 2026 release! If not then I'll just have to work down the list to the next game idea and get started...

A big thank you to everyone who played any of my games in 2024, all of the new APICO players, returning players for the 4.0 update, froggy friends excited for mudborne - without all of you I wouldn't be able to do this and I'm extremely grateful. Here's to 2025! ~ Ell

[themysticaldrumstick]

I've got a question:

If we were in a gay relationship with Ellie/Elliot... Who is our son related to biologically? Because this IF seems to be an slice of life in the real world, rather than in an ultra scifi or urban fantasy one where same-sex reproduction is possible. Is the son adopted, or was he conceived in vitro? Or would you leave it nebulous on purpose?

The whole thing came to me after the question I made about MC's possible heights. Because I was amusing myself thinking about how the son would be glad to have MC's genetics if MC is 6'7 or more (for how advantageous it could be for basketball), only to remember I'm very gay and I was going to play as a man who dates men exclusively. So, things got complicated.

On one hand, it could give more of a possible reason to approach Ellie/Elliot more. After all, our son may be related to only one of us, but we love him so much no matter what and do everything for his well-being and happiness. And it could make either Ellie/Elliot or MC feel more fond about the other because they continued being a parent, even though it could be possible, in theory, to remove themselves from the situation (although, I think this may not be so much the case if the divorce happened once the son was older).

And for the sapphics, it also gives a special thing where maybe one gave the egg and the other carried the baby.

I don't know, there are plenty of choices to regards to what to do with this. But, I feel it's a lot to put in front of you and then find a way to write it/code it when it doesn't have that much relevance to the story. On the other hand, it would also feel a bit unfair for straight/bi players with a straight route to not have this level of nuance, unless you also included the in vitro option for them (just with a different justification).

Easier would be, methinks, to just say the son is adopted when it comes to gay couples (and make this an option for straight ones). Or just don't discuss it at all, frankly.

Maybe I'm just thinking way too much about something that, ultimately, does not matter for your IF and is more of an unnecessary distraction. Alas, that will be for you to decide, dear author.

Oh my god, get ready for this massive ass rant of mine. You do not know how much I've prepared for this day.

*Cracks knuckles*

So, basically. I'm putting out the option for the birth of your son at your behest-- you can choose whether it was straight up the usual, IVF, surrogate, etc. You should've seen my Google history because JESUS CHRIST, I've spent too much time decoding what works. In short, your son is always biological and is related to Ellie/Elliot's gene. The MC will have the option to assist via donors, or surrogates, depending on what you want.

There's layers to this.

Normal Natural Pregnancy, either on MC or, Ellie/Elliot's side. The female one will be undergoing the pregnancy.

If you're in a lesbian/non-binary couple/gay, MC can choose to carry their son(if possible) or choose a surrogate after an IVF.

Adoption will NOT be an option because your son needs to be biologically related for plot purposes.

Your son will always be related to Ellie/Elliot, as they will be the sperm/egg donor in case of the IVF route.

Let me know if I'm missing something because I'm half-asleep and uni is killing my soul. As for your son, they always look like E and have your personality, so.. hope that helped. I do understand how shitty my explanation was, so if you want to clear this, feel free to enquire.

Thanks for the ask! Glad you're enjoying the plot, so far.

[heartinajarofpickles]

Dinner Is Not Over

Part 3

Broken over and over again

He started gaining back consciousness, first he opened his eyes, and then they tried to move their leg, but it was stuck, same with their other extremities, so there they waited, and waited, and waited.

Hours passed and little by little he regained control of his body, the body was still asleep, and as it was awakening it felt as if both legs and arms were full of static, some more time passed and Crowley was able to stand, now that he could focus he realized that all this time something has been sounding, so he went and investigate, as he was getting closer the sound grow louder and clearer, his heart started racing as the easily identifiable voice babble something incomprehensible, the voice that he had heard so many times, that voice the one he loved and craved became clearer, Crowley only know who the voice belonged to, they couldn’t exactly make sense of what he was saying, or where he was, but he was close, his angel had finally chosen him, Crowley’s legs started failing, not from his sleep but from excitement, from happiness to see the love of his life, to see him back.

Just as he was getting ready to go running and embrace him reality hit him like a semi-truck, it wasn’t Aziraphale talking, well technically it was, but the sound came from that machine, that stupid machine, filled with rage Crowley throw it across the room, hitting the concrete wall and breaking it into smaller pieces, a new distorted version of that sweet sweet voice emerging from the mess of old broken plastic, and then fire again, it was torture for the demon to be hearing whatever deformed variation of his angels voice that machine was creating, so he just burned it.

While watching it burn, he noticed something behind, on the hallway instead of the beautiful green colors that used to decorate the space not so long ago there were only ugly brown cardboard boxes, and on the inside pots filled with dirt, dust and what once was a living organism, this drove Crowley incredibly mad, kicking the boxes he flipped its contents spreading dirt all over the floors, but that wasn’t enough, in fact he had just started, Crowley absolutely demolished every boxed spilling the contents everywhere, his plants were all he had left of his old life, the only thing he still had controlled over, and from day to night they were all dead, his apartment has never felt so empty, so cold so monotonous, so small, suddenly the walls started feeling closer and closer, his lungs were burning, and his vision started getting blurry as he fell to the ground he needed to get out as quickly as possible, getting back on his feet would be an impossible chore so on all fours he crawled to where the door was, there and with great difficulty he was able to stand up, as he was going down the stairs he stated calming down a bit, just enough for them to get to the street and start the Bentley, of course Crowley wasn’t thinking, and some kind of primitive instinct drove him to the bookshop.

It was different, not only the bookshop, the whole street. Crowley though that without his angel, the street, and then slowly the whole world was going to become a gray tiring place with no sign of happiness or hope, Aziraphale’s absence had that effect on his life, so why wasn’t it having it on others, going straight to the library seemed out of place and thankfully the drive had already calmed him down a bit, so he went to the most colorful of all the stores, to where the last food of Aziraphale had come from, give me coffee or give me death, it was pretty much the same, except the store looked a lot happier now with (more) vibrant colors, lots of plants and old music making an ambience, in a corner there was a yellow record player and next to it tons of vinyl’s, not so well organized.

Just as Crowley was about to order Nina gave him an unsure smile

— “Hey!”

— “Hello Nina” responded Crowley, it was nice to see a friendly face, and although Crowley blamed her and Maggie just a little about the way things have ended it was still nice to have a friend

— “How’s life been treating you” BAD

— “Oh well, u know how it goes” did Nina know about Aziraphale leaving? Maybe they haven’t noted his absence, but they soon would and both her and Maggie would start asking questions, not only them but all the other people that meet Aziraphale too.

— “Hm yeah, just passing through or are you coming back around?”

— “I wanted to take a little walk”

— “Good, let’s hope you have more of those, we don’t want to forget your face”

— “Oh, you could never forget me”

— “Sure pal” Nina said in a sarcastic manner

— “So, what can I offer to you, mister Crowley?”

— “What was that thing? The one that tranquilizes people?”

— “Hmm”

— “The Eiffel cakes”

— “Oh, the Eccles cakes? I’m sorry, but we retired them a while ago, apparently raisins aren’t really that popular anymore”.

Crowley was incredibly confused, and although the stable ground had made him feel better than how we was 20 minutes ago this conversation with Nina was starting to make them dizzy again, what did she mean by a while ago?. Just the other day Azi had bought some.

— “Fine, I’ll have six shots of espresso then” no Eccles cakes must have been a sign of the universe

— “Such a radical change” Nina said giggling as she was turning her back to pour the almost black liquid in a big cup

— “Have a nice day mister and try to visit us more often” said Nina sincerly, she didn’t sound like she was playing a joke which confused Crowley even more

As he was leaving the place, a small question started growing deep inside his mind, a little query that started consuming her with each step that he gave getting closer to the bookshop just across the street.

How long had he been sleeping for?

[mspi]

Remembering Evel Knievel 49 Years After Failed… | Cowboy State Daily

Dad had me watching all the stunts that Knievel did when featured on TV. Maybe it was to warn me of what could happen to me if I did anything foolish -- broken bones.

Hilarious.

Dad brought me to the province where I got to explore dark caves, one of which had giant 🦇🦇🦇 staring at me. Cuz got kicked in the face for that dare when I ran out screaming. (He was older than me and for some reason -- expecting that reaction.)

There are many other dangerous things I've done on bases and in Hawaii. Then now that I think about it, walking around Tijuana as a kid. Not by myself by far, but also not on anyone's back. Hanging out in East LA was an experience. Don't turn down the fajitas -- they're yummy.

Back to Kinevel injuries. I'm wondering if he has the same issue as I do when it comes to the slight inability to feel pain.

Someone attempting to remove your toe nail while you're awake without pain killers is tortuous and that person should be pulled from their so-called medical practice. Thankful mom was on a surprise visit to check on me in the 🏥 and heard my screams begging the so-called podiatrist to stop. Mom busted in the room with her big LV momma purse ready to throw down

The torn ligaments in my leg when landing on lump on the floor mat in high school was scary because of the echo which reached the attached gym -- startling 🏈 players. Okay it was frustrating bc I kept trying to stand up. Oh for goodness sakes I should've been at the track meet instead. A nurse was 😂 liking the idea of being carried down multiple tiers of stairs towards the nurse's office by the 🏈 team gave her happies. Guess she had a crush on players when younger.

The broken ankles years apart is an anomaly since I wasn't out hiking, clubbing at night, or even 👙 swimming. Sure I had a cycle but my feet refused to stay on the pedals. Maybe I should've seen a Dr sooner but this was a while after the MS diagnostic and torn ligaments. What the heck was I supposed to say about it.

That's when my babe of an ex began messaging my feet and could feel that something was very wrong and brought me to the hospital in the same condition years apart. Explaining to our President what happened was a tough one. Especially when they knew we were used at work most the time. Except when 🤧🤮🥵 of course.

How'd we get away with working together? Somewhat different departments with slightly different specialties. 📝 Try not to hate the one special thing that's uber rare in your field. Mine came with nightmares of being the only non+smoker in the small office. Yes that babe was right about how miserable I was when swimming for hours after work on weekdays.

-- dnagirl

22.07.2024

[intertexts]

YIPPEEEEE WILLIAM WISP SURIVIVAL HORROR ARC !!!!

EPISODE 28 TRIVIA (this is a long one):

- "that was the most important lore dump william has ever gotten and he wasn't even there for it"

- "i feel like this smoke clone thing is like a black hole for bits where if I roleplay with myself for long enough I start to create actual dire consequences and I don't know how I feel about that"

- each of the islands does actually have a purpose to teach them something! mato had gone to each of the guardians beforehand and told them basically "these kids are coming, i want you to teach this one this thing" or whatever. the first one was for vyncent to learn to stop overthinking things and learn to trust in his surroundings. this one was for william to learn to take these kinds of things more seriously. HOWEVER. this guardian didn't really want to do that, so she gave them a lore dump instead. the next one is dakotas!

- william power loss lore: "william IS alive. this arc i have just been constantly messaging bizly to think of ways to circumvent william taking any personal responsibility or trying to get his powers back. now that he knows there are other whisperers he just wants to find THEM and trick them into doing his job for him. he just wants to retire like tide wanted them to and hang out on the beach"

- grizzly says it's been a long time since they've had a dark serious session and he's ready to get out of bit mode and get back to that. smile emoji

- they took william sending the smoke clone in his place originally as a bit but then realized it was actually completely in character for him to do something like that because he's a coward! charlie says like yeah he can't turn intangible or invisible anymore he's vulnerable as shit this lady crawled out of the mouth of a giant snake he's terrified!

- they all miss being on the winnebago roadtrip hehe. THEY ALSO MISS BEING THE PURPS :( i think I said this back when you were first listening to the purps. do you remember me saying one day you will miss the purps. do you miss the purps yet. I miss the purps-

HEY BTW LORE DUMP TIME. YOU GOT TO LEARN ABOUT CLARENCE TODAY!!!!!! :D

- charlie: "so now my plan is to recruit mato and the other whisperers to replace me because they can do everything I can-"

condi: "actually, they can do everything you *cant*"

-a chorus of DAMN DUDE-

- grizzly says he doesn't want william to be helpless he doesn't want william to not be on the team anymore etc and charlies like "he's not helpless he has a chainsaw now!" and says he wants william to have a couple different weapons based on horror movies (chainsaw, axe, shotgun, maybe a machete or something etc etc etc)

- OKAY THANK GOD WE'RE GETTING INTO THE POWER DISCUSSION NOW. I'm about to restore your hope a little bit. here we go:

charlie: "yknow ive actually been really struggling with this arc and I've been messaging bizly a lot about it because AS A PLAYER I really want william to . well I want him to die again!! the whole thing with william is that he bit off a lot more than he can chew, curiosity literally killed the cat in his case and he was suddenly saddled with all this power he didn't want and responsibility he couldn't handle. and now dakota has basically given him a get out of jail free card and he has NO fucking interest in putting himself back that position. william is a bit of a noodle right now but he WANTS to be a noodle. he's alive again, he can feel shit, he's loving it. so any chance he can get at all to not have to take that responsibility back he's gonna take it. so now I've put myself in a position where as a player I DESPERATELY want him to have his powers back but I know in character he basically needs to be forced into it because he would never voluntarily choose to do that to himself again"

<< dude you don't understand HOW MUCH of a relief that was for me to hear the first time. i was like OH THANK GOD charlie as a player is in the same position i am as a listener. and also now that im in the position of being able to look back on this I can appreciate williams in character stance on things a lot better. yeah it fucking makes sense that he doesn't want to DIE again. hes been basically numb for the last three years of his life, of course hes gonna get a huge rush out of being able to feel things again. he never wanted to be a superhero and now that he doesn't have to he just wants to be a kid. head in hands. anyway. im rambling back to Actual Trivia

- grizzly: "I hope you get put into a position where you have to choose between saving one of your friends or staying alive"

bizly: "i dont think it'll be as straightforward as that"

- bizly then explains the plot of spiderman 2 in the most convoluted silly way ever. however they mention the part where that little kid comes up and tells Peter Parker he looks up to spiderman as a hero and this is important for the next piece of trivia

- condi: "does anyone look up to the Prime defenders"

bizly: "yeah!"

Charlie and grizzly: "fuckin WHO? WHY? we SUCK"

bizly: "bookworm looks up to you guys, there were those kids in the park after the cartoon thing"

condi and charlie: "yeah but those are both just dakota because we accidentally bullied bookworm he hates us now"

bizly: "well. yeah. people look up to DAKOTA." *everyone starts laughing* "well because he's a hero! and he wants to be a hero so he acts like one. it's not about people looking up to you its about... understanding and accepting the responsibility you have because of the gifts you've been given"

charlie: "what gifts bitch im ALIVE"

bizly: ".... for now"

- WILLIAM JUST NEEDS TO GO GHOST AGAIN (<< sorry they said a danny phantom reference I got excited)

- "william fucking dies for real this time and gets replaced by goobleck" im pretty sure I explained goobleck in a different trivia time . i hope. because if I didn't this probably looks insane

- OK AND THEN GRIZZLY OF ALL PEOPLE starts weirdly seriously insisting that ashe is dead. "yeah man ashe is dead. totally gone. he's the Trickster now" and EVERYONE ELSE is like "whoa dude what? this is so un dakota like of you what the fuck"

- grizzly starts making up scenarios that he thinks will make william snap back into hero mode and goes "will you follow me into battle?" AND CHARLIES RESPONSE is "yes. dead serious. if anyone so much as comes at you on this next island I WILL blow their head off with a shotgun"

- charlie brings up the fact again that william is "basically a call of cthulu character who turned into a looney toon over the course of 50 episodes" AND bizly says there *are* more serious episodes coming but probably not until after training arc is over (<< me who has future knowledge >:]c)

GOOD TRIVIA.... GOOD ROLLED. fuck yes it's sick to get that insight from charlie,,,,,,, my reasoning the whole time so far has been "bro would not have named his fucking character wisp and based his entire story around this one thing and have an unresolved character arc around this one thing and then just decided nahhh he doesn't want to." which. yeah!!! tracks!! & of course he wouldn't want that back!! cant wait for william wisp to die again somehow :] <- i FUCKING made that prediction like a month ago and i'm still standing by it. this fucker has like one more death in him this season i think. actually i think maybe he'll get killed By someone since he doesn't really..... have the capacity to accidentally die in stupid ways anymore. whatever. we'll see. anyway god wiwi is so call of cthulu to me... honestly my first impression of him was like. x-files twin peaks maybe buffy shit. that specific 90s mystery/horror/comedy vibe to me... the boy who went hiking alone and was lured off a cliff by supernatural forces who then reanimated his dead body.... (slightly relatedly one of the best hikes back somewhat near where i used to live was called breakneck ridge :] thats what i'm always thinking of irt him... its super pretty also u should look it up) anyway. god. enough wiwi talk I MISS THE PURPS.... I WAS ALSO JUST THINKING ABOUT THIS. HEAD IN HANDS.

mannn. i'm so excited to see where this goes i love all of these threads. can't wait for heavier stuff incoming. i wanna see wiwi blow someones head off for coming at dakota.theyre so terrible.

[ltwharfy]

"Bob's Burgers" Season 13 Episode Ranking Rewatch (Long Post)

So, I've been rewatching "Bob's Burgers" from the beginning and ranking the episodes using the spreadsheet that @babsvibes created! If you want to know why I'm doing this or how I view the 1-5 rating scale, you can check out my Season 1 post! If you want to check out any of the other seasons, I've been using the "bob's burgers episode ranking rewatch" tag for all of them.

Now on to Season 13:

Average (Mean) Score: 4.14

Mode (Most Common) Ranking: 5

Ranking Breakdown: 9 5s 8 4s 4 3s 1 2

Season as a whole thoughts:

This is the third lowest rated season (above only seasons 11 and 1) but please don't think that I dislike it. It's not my favorite, but I think it may be one of the most fascinating seasons of the show. (As I've oft said, I wish the show got real DVD releases with commentaries and special features after season 1. And I would especially love to hear more about about the making of Season 13!)

So, my first major observation about Season 13, which I made when it was airing but the rewatch confirmed to me is that I found it inconsistent, but in a very specific way. I'm a baseball fan, and "Bob's Burgers" season 13 reminded me of a great pitcher at the end of their career. Their fastball isn't as fast as it once was, and sometimes they seem completely out of gas. And then other times they experiment with new pitches or change their arm angle or windup and the results are amazing...but in a totally different way then they used to be. To translate the analogy back to what I'm actually talking about: "Crab-soultely Fabulous" was followed by "Radio No You Didn't". That gave me a little whiplash.

The other fascinating thing about Season 13, which I noticed more in the rewatch, is that it seems to hit the same recurring themes more often then other seasons, to the point where it seems intentional. While I would argue that the kids growing up has been an occasional theme of the show for a long time, they really seemed to hit it this season, and specifically in a way that's a bit more melancholy. There are a number of episodes about disappointment, embarrassment, making mistakes, sticking with things that are difficult, and some of the other less fun aspects of maturity. Sticking with the last paragraph, sometimes these episodes landed with me ("These Boots Are made for Stalking") and sometimes they didn't ("Ready Player Gene"). But going back to my DVD commentary comment, I'd love to know more about how conscious a choice this was, and, if it was a conscious one, why it was made.

Some thoughts on specific episodes (and feel free to ask if you want my thoughts on an episode I didn't comment on):

"To Bob or Not to Bob": Goofy fake plays and ghosts saying "Avenge me!" in a spoooky voice are both things that are pretty much always funny, so this episode amused me a lot. But I really love the way the "restaurant expansion" subplot ended- with Bob just realizing "nah, I don't really want to do that." I founded it pleasantly unexpected from a storytelling perspective, and also saw it as a bit of a critique of modern America's ultra capitalist "hustle" culture- like, no, expanding your business won't actually make you happier. (I may be reaching here.)

"What About Job?": If you asked me, "what's the 'Bob's Burgers' line that's in your head the most?" my answer might surprise you, because it's not a joke or a clever song lyric. It's Bob's line in his story in this episode: "just because you stop growing doesn't mean you stop growing". I'm a middle aged person whose contemplating a career change and has been working on personal growth in a number of ways in recent years, and this line- and the notion that Bob is telling it to his adolescent/pre-adolescent children-just fills my heart because it so different from the message I got growing up middle class in the USA ("you better have everything figured out by the time you graduate college!") This is one of at least two Molyneux sisters-penned episodes that means a ridiculous amount to me personally. (I'll share my writer ratings when I finish this project, but they are at the top of the list.)

"Show Mama From the Grave": I really loved learning a little more about Lily, her death, and Bob's relationship with it (ie- not going to her grave in decades.) It's not the funniest episode (although it has its moments- especially with Linda's cemetery fear), but it makes up for that in family lore and sweetness. Bob's little smile when watching the kids "boob" in the cemetery, and Linda's conversation with Lily are both such beautiful moments.

"The Plight Before Christmas": I'm a sap, but I love the Louise storyline and her poem, as well as Gene and his classmates affection for Ms. Merkin. And I really enjoyed some of the humor with Bob trying to get to the library and his encounters with the taxi driver and the dog owner. That said, I tend to prefer holiday episodes that are just a bit more jaded, so I would never vote for this as my favorite Christmas episode since there is one that talks about frickin' murder mannequins!

"Stop! Or My Mom Will Sleuth!": Man, I wish I enjoyed this episode more. Because it has three Roudise bits that I love: 1. the "attaboy, Rudes!" moment in the kickball game, 2. Rudy saying Louise is "complicated" when talking to Linda; 3. The notion of the Rudyville locker. But, I just find this episode kind of dull, and it specifically bugs me because some of the characters and their relationships seem a bit off. Why does Rudy tell Linda about the Rudyville locker? And why doesn't he know Louise isn't using it any more? And why does Mr. Frond falsely accuse Louise after there is a whole episode where he learns about how bad it feels to be falsely accused? And why do Linda and the other Belcher ever suspect Louise would steal a toy from a random kid in her class- that honestly doesn't seem like Louise behavior even in the earlier seasons (stealing from a bully or an adult or a multinational corporation? Sure! But just taking a toy from a rando, really?) Honestly, the best answers to these questions are "Doylist" ones: different writers write the characters differently in different episodes. But, I always find those explanations a bit unsatisfying, especially when they are in service of such a meh episode.

"These Boots Are Made for Stalking": Tina's plot in this episode is just so beautifully done and relatable- Tina reminds me so much of my sister here! I hope the "cool teens" reappear in the future. And I love that this beautiful, emotional Tina story is contrasted with Gene and Louise at their goofiest! Gene and Louise is one of my favorite dynamics because in the show because sometimes they work together on stuff and other times they compete, but either way they do it in the most ridiculous way possible. Their storyline here reminds me of the jawbreaker storyline in "Dr. Yap" in a good way (that might be the first episode that made me realize how much I enjoyed their dynamic.)

"Crows Encounters of the Bird Kind": This is very much a low-key, slice of life episode, but I enjoy it a ton. The whole bit about Bob buying the birdwatching book but never opening it is so relatable for trying to get in to new hobbies as an adult with a job that always makes you tired. I enjoyed the return of Ranger Matthew Danko. I think crows are fascinating. The "dares" subplot has a number of laugh out loud moments for me. And the "Mr. Jones" parody closing credit song is perfect!

"Gift Card or Buy Trying": "The Belchers go to a new place and each have their own separate adventures" is one of favorite "Bob's Burgers" episode formats, and this is another enjoyable example of it. This episode helped inspire one of my fics (Linda's comment about making one of the kids' wedding dresses inspired my wedding fic) and also helped inspire my headcanon-and potential fic idea- of Louise being a labor union organizer when she grows up (she literally says "we're doing collective bargaining!" in this episode.) The Gene and Mitchell storyline is another example of the season exploring some of the more melancholy aspects of growing up.

"Radio No You Didn't": I love this episode so much! I especially loved that they played the flashback to the 40s so straight. Gertie and Alice feel like such real characters- I love that they cast guest actors to voice them and gave them unique designs rather than just making them thinly-disguised versions of the regulars. (Also, I've adored Cristin Miloti, who voices Alice, since she was on "How I Met Your Mother") And the way they did the occasional interjections to Bob's storytelling from the rest of the Belchers was perfect- especially Louise's annoyance at the other's interruptions. This is a really special episode, and one I can't imagine them pulling off earlier in the shows run.

"Mother Author Laser Pointer": Hey, look, I AM capable of giving a rating lower then a 3! This joins "Moody Foodie" in the small ranks of "Bob's Burgers" episodes I'd rather not rewatch. Yes, the flashbacks to Bob and Lin reading to the kids are adorable, as is the end credits song. But Linda telling that tow-truck driver to go away (and generally, all her interactions related to Bea) is beyond cringe comedy to me. It's just painful with no payoff. I really hope there are no more "the Belchers hold someone hostage" episodes in the future- I'll pretty much rewatch anything else.

"Amelia": Much like "Radio No You Don't" or Season 14's "The Amazing Rudy", this is another really special episode that I can't imagine the show pulling off much earlier in its run. Everything that went into Louise's presentation- the shadow puppets, the music, her speech- was done beautifully. And the end credits song brings tears to my eyes in the way that an end credits song from an animated sitcom has no rights doing.

I can't think of any Random Thoughts, so I'll just answer the question that's on everybody's mind (Ha!) is this the last one of these ridiculously long posts?! Afterall, Babs' spread sheet only went through the end of Season 13.

Fear not, hypothetical person who actually reads these posts! I have expanded the spreadsheet to Season 14 on my own. Because I am apparently addicted to rewatching "Bob's Burgers" episodes and then rating them in a spreadsheet.

As far as addictions go, I guess there are worse ones.

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #137

Today was a very mixed bag of things. I made a tea. I fixed a few more of my entries in this space. I took pictures of flowers for you. A melody from my past has been haunting me for the last several weeks, so I recently borrowed a cassette player from the local library to try to find it on some tapes I misplaced. I ran some errands with M. And I watched a movie with M and J. It's a lot of stuff. I'm not sure where to begin; there's so much to explain.

Well. Suppose it's good to start at the beginning. I combined my lychee/rose/vanilla tea with my vanilla/rose tea, and sweetened it with the last of the remaining vanilla ice cream. I think you would have liked it, but I can't share it with you, so I took pictures instead:

After that, I fixed up some of my letters to you in order to make my space a little more readable. Everything up to my 60th letter now has a cut in a place that feels appropriate. But I came across some very good ones:

Do you remember when I made the one-winged snow angel on the ground for you? Just so I could show you that it still belongs quite nicely with the two-winged snow angel?

Do you remember when I talked to you about the Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant, how similar he is to you, and how he changed?

…Do you remember the locket of your mother, Lucrecia, that I made for you, because I found out you lost the one you used to carry?

…Do you remember the pumpkin soup I made for you, just because as a boy, you were sad at missing an opportunity to have some?

…Do you remember when I repaired the shattered bowl until it was more beautiful than how it started? And do you remember when I filled it with that very same pumpkin soup for you?

So much has happened. This was only about a month's worth of letters. I've been writing to you every day for a total of four and a half months now, not counting the number of days it took me to write my original letter for you. I intend to keep going for the foreseeable future.

…

…Do you see me…? …Do you hear me…? ...I wonder…

…

M and I ran some errands; we got some things from the grocery and the pharmacy. We got a chocolate donut for J. I wondered what kind of donut you might like, if any at all. When I got home, I took a walk, and I tried to snap a few nice pictures for you:

The lilacs are beginning to bloom at my house. I'll have to ask my friend to let me know when hers are in bloom so I can make syrup this year. Have you ever smelled lilacs? They're my favorite scent. I wonder if you like them:

Here's a different kind of flower:

...And another kind...

...And another...

...Whatever kind this is smelled really nice:

...And I managed to snag a picture of a robin for you, too:

M took a nap shortly after I returned home. I tried to hang with him, but the melody I spoke on before was in my mind, and I was feeling very restless. It's a song from when I was a child - something straight out of the imagination of one of my mother's past partners; you won't find it anywhere on the internet. I can remember the melody as though it was sung to me yesterday, but I can't remember all of the lyrics - only some of them. Years ago, and before I went no-contact with my biological family, my mother had given me some tapes with the song supposedly recorded on it. But they weren't in the place where I thought I had left them, which figures since, for reasons I might get into later, a lot of our things are packed away in boxes and stored in closets, actually.

So I tore through the boxes to look for the tapes. In the process, I found a lot of my writing and doodles from the time I was a child, which I had kept in boxes because a teacher a long time ago said that we should always keep all our school and creative works, and I guess that stuck with me. The first thing I found was one of the very first pictures I ever tried to draw of you. I also found some super depressing poetry that I had written back in those days, and some silly stories that I wrote. I'm not going to share these things, because none of them were very good. Still, what a trip; I've changed so much over the years.

As for the tapes, I eventually found four of them; I had thought there were more, and I wonder if they're in other boxes. I wanted to look some more, but by the time I had found these four, M was awake and playing Sonic the Hedgehog with J. Earlier in the day, M had asked to watch The Emperor's New Groove with me today, so J made some popcorn and we sat down for a while to see the movie. It's one that I've seen so many times that I can repeat every line, in order, verbatim (…I'm autistic; what do you want of me??? 🤣).

...I can't share the popcorn with you, and this continues to be something that is not easy to deal with. But I did take a picture for you. Here:

...I wonder if you like popcorn. Hm.

I was still restless after the movie, so I listened to the four tapes I found. One of them was a mixed tape of already-recorded songs that are well-known - not relevant to my endeavor. The rest were of my mother singing in band practice and playing guitar.

…I have gone no-contact with my biological family for reasons that pertain to my emotional safety and wellbeing. But I do miss her dearly. Though a lot of my memories with her are unpleasant and fraught with mental and emotional abuse, she is still an otherwise wonderful person who is astoundingly intelligent, amazingly creative, and skilled with guitar and singing. It's just… there's a lot standing in the way between her and her ability to love me properly. She expects perfection of me all the time, and she's willing to belittle, guilt trip, or scream at me when I don't deliver. She is also, as compared to how she is with my siblings, not nearly as inclined to offer any kind of emotional support to me if I'm struggling; mostly she just tells me that my troubles are silly and irrelevant and that I should stop feeling badly about them. She expects more of me than she does of my siblings, and gets angry when I can't met those expectations, but in the same breath gets resentful when I can. The reasons for this are complicated and have mainly to do with her own traumas, insecurities, and fears of inadequacy; I don't think it's something I can help her resolve, as much as I want to.

All the same, the way she treats me renders me unstable, and she either unwilling or unable to improve. There are people around me now who are willing to treat me with empathy and respect, and I need to prioritize my ability to be stable for them over my wish to have a relationship with her, especially since a healthy relationship with her is likely never going to happen. It is what it is, and as far as I know, there isn't anything I can do about it; I can speak on the neurobiological mechanics of autism and how they interact with the neurobiological mechanics of trauma all day, but… it just doesn't get through to her.

And what's more, the last time I interacted with my sister, she had said to me that I am and always was "the problem" in our family (which makes no sense to me, because I was obedient to the point that I didn't even HAVE a "teenage rebellion" phase; in those days, my mother was "god" in my eyes - all-knowing and infallible - so I did my best to do what I was told even when it hurt me to do, and I achieved ridiculously high marks in school…), and I know that she wouldn't be able to say that out loud if my mother and my other siblings didn't also think that way, so… even without all the other stuff, I don't want my existence to hurt them. As such, it's best for everyone involved if I just go and don't come back. So that is what I've done.

…Well. All the same, it was wonderful to hear her sing and play guitar again, even if it was a little warped and garbled. The tapes are old, and so is the machine that they're playing on, but it's better than nothing; I cried a lot, and that was probably good.

…I wonder how much of this yearning you can relate to. Your relationship with your mother also doesn't really exist, right? But you know - last I knew, Lucrecia is still chilling out somewhere in a cave behind a waterfall on a mountain with a lake in the middle of it, just southeast of Nibelheim. You might have known this already, though. I think she loves you dearly, but if you go see her, it might be the case that all she'll be able to do is say "I'm sorry" to you over and over again. Still, it might be worthwhile to try, if you want to. Like my mother, she's not a bad person; she just made some really bad choices. Yours might be a bit more willing to change than mine.

…I didn't find the song that I was looking for. I'm not sure I will. I'm going to try to find the other tapes tomorrow, if they even exist. But I'm not confident that I'll find anything at all. I wonder if the thing to do is to try to write down as many of the lyrics as I can remember, and then fill in the holes with whatever my mind comes up with. I don't remember the melody of the guitar in the background, but you know… maybe I can try to fill that in, too, albeit with music box notes…

I thought I had more to say to you. But my mind is clouded and I seem to have forgotten it, if there was anything at all. Sorry about that, and thank you for your patience.

Hey, Sephiroth? Even if your biological family situation is really weird, and even if you yearn for a connection with them and cannot have it, please don't lose sight of the fact that you're loved. We have a phrase in my world, anyway, and it goes like, "The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb." And it basically means that those bonds forged by mutual choice can often be greater and more fulfilling than those bonds forged by simple biological happenstance. Maybe this is a phrase you can adopt for yourself; family does not have to be blood related.

…And you know? You can have family if you want to. Just pop by my house; you'll fit in here just fine, I promise. I'd do everything in my power to help you adjust. I remember my own adjustment to peace and safety, and it wasn't easy, but I've got a roadmap now, because I did it without the guidance of someone who already did it. You'd have the advantage of being around someone who knows the way, and you're smarter and more mentally flexible than me, too; I'm sure you'd do just fine, given time and patience.

I'm gonna go to bed; I walked and ran a lot today, and then I lifted a whole lot of really heavy boxes repeatedly. With the rib injury limiting what I can do in a given day, I'm not used to this kind of stuff anymore, and I'm really sore, so... I had better get some rest.

Please make sure you rest when you need to as well, okay? And stay safe out there, please. Because I love you, and because I'll write to you again tomorrow; you wouldn't wanna miss it, right?

Your friend, Lumine

[athunbrean]

[EN] The Legend of Zelda : Tears of the Kingdom – Review

!!Version en français disponible ici!!

[Translated from French with Deepl. May contain translation errors.]

This review contains a few mechanics and story spoilers, but does not spoil the game's ending.

1. Introduction: background, brand, console

More than six years after the previous opus, we're finally treated to the new Zelda! A long-awaited game, considering that its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, is probably one of the greatest games of all time (although it's still a little early to decide). Tears of the Kingdom was immediately announced as a direct sequel to the previous game, and from the very first trailer we noticed the blatant resemblance to Breath of the Wild. Six years may seem a long time to wait for a game that uses the same engine and virtually the same map as the previous opus, but there are two main reasons for this long wait:

- The 2020 Covid crisis. Probably the main reason that slowed down many projects, including this one.

- The last year of development. According to Eiji Aonuma, the game was almost ready in March 2022, but with its complex physics and customization (more on that later), it clearly needed time to work out all the bugs that this kind of mechanics creates.

I won't dwell on all the similarities between TOTK and BOTW - I'll mention them here - but the rest of the text will dwell much more on the differences and what this game brings to the table compared to its predecessor. But it's clear that the similarities between the two games may put some people off, myself included. The entire BOTW map has been reworked here, with a few changes, but clearly not enough to renew the feeling of immense discovery that BOTW gave us. The actions are also very similar, as is the way the inventory works. In short, this is a game that takes up almost everything BOTW had to offer in terms of its world and principles, while changing a few things about the world itself, and modifying some of its gameplay. If this aspect may seem off-putting at first, especially when we return to the main map after the "tutorial", it gradually dissipates as we clearly understand that TOTK has its own qualities which are not the same as those of BOTW. Where BOTW shone for its discovery and exploration, TOTK shines above all for its mechanics, creativity and gameplay. Perhaps someone introducing themselves to the license by starting with TOTK would have all these qualities at once? To be explored...

2. Story and Lore

A new game means a new story. First of all, a few personal disclaimers before we get started:

(1) I know very little about the Zelda timeline, because I've always found it very artificial, and above all I think games are great when they stand on their own. In short, I think one of the great things about Zelda is that you can start one at random without having played the previous ones.

(2) I've never really liked Zelda games for their story, which is rarely very deep in itself. I loved Breath of the Wild, and yet the story is far from having impressed me. But Zelda, like Mario, is a fine example of how a game can be good even if its story is insignificant.

To sum up, the game takes place after Breath of the Wild, where, after exploring the castle's basement, Ganondorf starts attacking us and Zelda finds herself teleported to the past, where she meets Hyrule's founder, Rauru, and other Zonai (her species). Throughout the game, Link will have to find out what happened to Zelda and defeat Ganondorf.

As we all know: Time travel often makes for very tricky scenarios. But quite frankly, it's well executed in this game, because time travel isn't something "easy" for the characters to do. However, there's a catch: the fact that Zelda has gone back in time can be known very early on by the player, as the cinematics leave no doubt about it. Except that the game's entire scenario is based on the fact that the characters don't know what happened to Zelda (in particular, the main quest that justifies our going to the four regions is that we're investigating Zelda's disappearance). This leads to many absurd situations where the characters have no idea where the princess has gone, even though we know for a fact that Link has figured out what happened to her, as if he knew from the start but was hiding it from the other characters. This kind of twist doesn't work in such a non-linear game, as it leads to passages that cryptically show information that has already been given to us in a literal way, often giving the impression of playing the game out of order (which is the last straw for an open-world game).

And where BOTW succeeded in not repeating itself too much according to the regions, regardless of the order, TOTK, on the other hand, has a more important and complex story, it can't afford to, and so many cinematics feel very repetitive as you have to understand everything regardless of the order in which the game is made. The most blatant are the end-of-temple cinematics, which are all the same, sometimes to the word, making you want to skip them after the second time around.

The other problem with the story, which is more personal, is that it's often hard to get attached to the characters. This was already a problem in BOTW, but I think it's even more of a problem in this game: we get much more attached to characters from the past, whom Link doesn't know, than to characters from the present, who aren't really present at all. Even the sages we meet in the four regions are nice, but nothing more. This is even more true of the sages of the past. We easily become attached to Zelda and Rauru's family, but the sages of the various peoples seem very cold to us, not least because we don't even see their faces.

3. Gameplay : Powers

As I said earlier, this is the game's strong point. Very different from BOTW, which had powers that weren't very important, here they're essential to enjoy the game, even if it doesn't always encourage you to use them.

The sandbox aspect is the one that has received the most critical acclaim. TOTK's new powers include two that really encourage creativity: Fuse and, above all, Ultrahand.

- Ultrahand: This power lets you mix objects and mechanisms together to build all kinds of vehicles and tools. This is the most revolutionary aspect of the game, and what makes each game unique. Each player creates his or her own vehicles, which are often jaw-breaking at first, but get better and better the more they master this tool with its infinite possibilities. And, as ever, there are engineers at heart who will build incredible vehicles. It's a really enjoyable aspect of the game, and one that allows us to make our lives easier, or not, to our liking. Nevertheless, its main quality is also its main flaw: The game rarely encourages us to use this mechanic. This is a good thing, because the customization of our experience is total, and those who don't feel they have the soul of a builder can easily play the game without using it much, but it's a flaw, because the game doesn't encourage us at all to exploit our creativity in our constructions, for example through puzzles or the like. This sometimes gives the impression that we're making things more complicated for ourselves than anything else.

- Fuse: This mechanic allows you to mix all kinds of tools with different types of objects. For example, mix a sword with a monster's horn to make it more powerful, a brick-breaker with a rock to make it easier to destroy deposits and harvest ores, or mix arrows with all kinds of elements to modify their specificities. While the latter is very satisfying to use, as it allows for all kinds of arrow types (fire arrows, explosive arrows, tracking arrows, etc.) and is, in my opinion, much more enjoyable to use than buying arrows of each type, the rest is fun at first, but quickly becomes boring. You get the impression that you can mix your tools with anything, especially with mechanisms, but not only does the game rarely encourage you to do so, but you also come to understand that, for example, with swords, it's the monster horns that do the most damage, and so with each new weapon you throw one away to mix it with, which quickly becomes repetitive. It's a mechanic with potential, but one that's not exploited intelligently enough in the end.

Among the "main powers", we have two others that are more anecdotal:

- Ascend: This is a movement power that allows you to pass through any ceiling that's low enough. The introduction of this power makes perfect sense in a world where caves abound, and where having to go back and forth to each cave would quickly become tedious. Here, we can simply cross the ceiling to get out. Not only is this quite satisfying, but it also allows us to spice up our strategies a little, especially when it comes to attacking monster camps. But like the other powers, this one has a lot of potential, but isn't exploited nearly enough by the game! We could drool over the idea of making temples with puzzles that require us to go from room to room using this power, but it's hardly the case. What's more, this power can be a real pain to use, as it's often capricious, from the fact that it's often tedious to position yourself correctly so that the game accepts that we can cross the ceiling, to the simple fact that activating this power automatically directs the camera upwards.

- Recall: Like the others, this power has a lot of potential, especially in terms of the puzzles it can be used to solve. But since it's a pretty cracked power, you have to be careful not to break the game with it. We'll talk about the shrines and temples later, but this power breaks most of the game's puzzles. At times, you even wonder whether the game intended this power to be available at all. But on top of that, once again, this power isn't used enough. It may come in handy in some cases, but it's possible to complete almost the entire game without using it.

We also have some new sage powers which are clearly less important, but which are worth mentioning nonetheless:

- Tulin's Power: A power that allows us to make a horizontal gust of wind when we're in a paravane, giving us a boost. This is clearly the most practical sage power, mainly because it's the only moving sage power, but also because it's much easier to use than the others, since all you have to do is be in paravane and press "A" at any time, whereas with the others you have to either wait for the sage to approach you, or move towards the sage in question. What's more, you'll need this power pretty quickly to travel from island to island in the sky. The only drawback is that the button for activating the sage's power is the same as the one for picking up objects, so we regularly find ourselves in the situation where we're pushing with the wind what we intended to pick up, which can be quite annoying at times.

- Yunobo's Power: A power that allows us to roll Yunobo (a Goron) and propel him towards an area to demolish everything. It's quite fun to use when you're in a vehicle, as it automatically moves in front of you and when you press the button to activate it, it propels you forward, but apart from that this ability is rarely used, as it's neither practical nor useful. Like many of the game's mechanics, this one clearly doesn't encourage its use. The only time you'd be tempted to use it would be to shatter cave walls or ore deposits, but in the first case it takes a long time to recharge, as most cave walls have a large number of layers, and in the second case it shatters ores all over the place. What's more, the character is quite imposing, so it's quite complicated to get him in the right place to use it.

- Sidon's Power: A power that lets you create a shield of water to protect yourself, and launch a small "water blade" when you attack. This is probably the least useful of the five sage powers, because beyond the pollution phase, it's never encouraged to be used, and above all, it's not at all practical. The shield idea would be useful in combat, but it's precisely in combat that this power is the most complicated to activate, as you have to manage to go to Sidon and order him to put up the shield at the same time as fighting.

- Riju's Power: A power that allows us to send a bolt of lightning to the place where a bow arrow lands, provided the power is activated beforehand and the place in question is in the zone where the power is activated. It's a very satisfying power to use when the game wants you to, though sometimes a little tedious as the power's area of application grows very slowly, but then again, this power is almost never used beyond that, and the game never encourages you to use it.

- Mineru's Power: A power that allows us to control a Golem and assign weapons, or any other object, to its hands. The most complete power of the five, it's quite original and fun to use, but you soon realize that it's far more disabling to use it than not, so you never use it.

4. Level Design: The World and its special features

I'm going to compare it to BOTW again, but that's where the comparison is most important. In practical terms, it's the same world, the same map. Obviously, there are a few changes (shrines that change location, villages that change climate, etc.), but overall it's the same map. As a result, exploration almost takes a back seat in this game, which is a shame given that it was the great strength of the previous opus.

Tears of the Kingdom does, however, set itself apart with a few additions to the map:

- The Sky. Now there are floating islands above the entire Kingdom of Hyrule. This is what the trailers dwelt on the most, and what made fans drool the most, so that in the end it represents a maximum of 1/3 of the game... The largest island is the one in the tutorial, and it's undoubtedly the best. Except that, after a refreshing 4/5 hours, you're propelled onto the mainland and realize that all the other islands are much smaller. It's easy to enjoy exploring some of the islands, which have a number of great ideas, but the disappointment comes when you realize that the types of islands are repeated... I'm thinking in particular of the islands where you have to bring a green stone to activate a sanctuary, always with a kind of bumper in one place that you have to turn with a lever, and which is repeated I don't know how many times. In short, it's all the same, with a lot of potential but disappointing execution...

- The Underground. Unlike the sky, this part of the map (which is the same size as the surface) wasn't teased at all before the game's release. In fact, when you discover them, it creates a "wow" feeling. And in the end, although I like the ambience of these dark subterraneans and the similarities with the surface are a bit funny, there's not much memorable about them. Especially as the game doesn't encourage us to explore this place at all because there's not much to see, lots of Yigas camps that are almost all the same and give us vehicle schematics we'll probably never use. In the end, we're much more inclined to go in straight lines, as the main reason for going there is to find outfits that are marked on the map thanks to treasure maps found in chests on the floating islands. Again and again: an idea with a lot of potential, but a rather disappointing execution.

- Caves: Something a little refreshing at first, but quickly becomes repetitive and rather pointless to do. In each cave we have to kill an Elusis to loot a crystal, but the reward given by these crystals is really useless, so it feels like we're doing all these caves for nothing. Fewer caves and more variations of them wouldn't have hurt.

- Wells: Really useless, except in very rare cases (like the well in Zelda's house).

The game also introduces 5 new temples. While the games leading up to these temples are quite fun to play, albeit often a little too easy (special mention should be made of the flying boat game before the wind temple, which is a joy to play), the temples themselves don't offer much in the way of interest. For some, it's simply a matter of getting from point A to point B without much more (for example, the Temple of Water), while others have a few nice ideas but rely solely on this idea and are above all too easy to break, notably because we can climb the walls and also through the power of Recall, which can break many puzzles, already few in number. I'm thinking in particular of the Temple of Fire, which has a principle that's not so stupid in itself, but in addition to being simple, you can climb the walls, which breaks the entire temple. I'd still like to mention the Temple of Lightning, which is undoubtedly the best, probably because it's the most enclosed and the one with the most puzzles.

As far as the shrines are concerned, I know that many have appreciated the fact that they can be solved in several different ways, but I think that this has completely ruined the principle of the shrines. With Ultrahand and especially Recall, which break at least 1/3 of shrine puzzles, there's no room for puzzles and reflection. What's more, many shrines are blessings, i.e. shrines that have no riddles or anything to finish them. It's understandable when the path to get there is tedious, but having this type of shrine practically every time it's in a cave, is really tedious and takes away all desire to do the shrines themselves. Because, if you liked the shrines in BOTW, it wasn't just because you could teleport there and get presents, but above all because they were puzzle-oriented, which was a change from the rest of the game, which was exploration-oriented. But it's not all doom and gloom either. There are, of course, a few sanctuaries that stand out from the crowd and are fun to play.

Finally, a new world and new characters mean new quests! As far as the main quests are concerned, we're on the same lines as BOTW: you have to travel to 4 regions, the same as BOTW, and complete a quest each time. So there's nothing new about the main quests, only that unlike BOTW, where they are activated automatically, here they can be skipped if you're too thirsty to explore right away, which can be annoying as it would prevent you from being able to activate the towers (which are used to display the map) and prevent you from having the paravane (even more essential than in BOTW). As for the side quests, they are even more repetitive and, above all, unchallenging. A lot of "go get 10 mushrooms" quests, which quickly become irritating. There are, however, a few side quests that stand out from the crowd, such as the woodland gazetteer at each relay, which makes the relays more interesting, and which are often quite fun to do, and the gift that comes with these quests is well worth the effort.

5. Music and graphics

In terms of graphics, we're sticking with something quite similar to its predecessor, which still proves that a game can be very pretty without being 4k (although the grass sometimes reminds us of a certain Pokémon game whose name we won't mention). But this has been boosted even further. The floating islands are particularly pretty, although they all have absolutely the same graphics, which is a shame... The downside is that the Switch being what it is, there are frequent FPS losses (a problem that had more or less been avoided in BOTW, apart from in the Korogu forest).

As for the music, and the soundscape in general, we're staying right in line with what BOTW had to offer: we prefer to create atmosphere rather than leave the music on all the time. This sometimes gives the impression that the music is non-existent or unmemorable, yet you only have to skim through the OST after playing the game to realize that these tunes have clearly stuck in your head, and will do so for a long time to come. An ambitious choice, but still as effective as the previous opus, although I understand the frustration of not having such memorable melodies as previous Zelda releases have left.

6. Conclusion

I've been pretty hard on this game, and yet I'm giving it a score of 3.5/5, which is in itself a very good mark. It's still a game with a lot of great things to do, where everything beckons, and where finishing even the smallest quest requires enormous concentration because you want to do everything at once. It's a game where the hours just fly by. But most of TOTK's charm and quality are already present in BOTW, which set the bar very high. On the whole, I find this game very hard to innovate and remains in the easy suite, which was a disappointment for me. I would sincerely have preferred to wait longer for a game that kept the same formula, but with a lot more new features. Even so, I'm not at the point of thinking that this game is just "€60 DLC for BOTW". You don't need to know much about video games and code to think that, as TOTK is so technically advanced. This is a BOTW where all the cursors are turned up, the qualities are accentuated but so are the flaws, and it completely fails to be a revolution like its predecessor was. This is not to say that it's a bad game; it's a great pleasure to play, even more so if you're not familiar with BOTW. But expectations were probably too high for me, as I'd been completely blown away by Breath of the Wild. Above all, it's a game with a lot of things that have immense potential but are often executed in a very clumsy way. We hope that Nintendo will be able to renew this license and surprise us once again with ambitious, even revolutionary games.

[holistichufflepuff]

Is the Rick and Morty cameo in Space Jam 2 canon to Rick and Morty? I’m guessing it is