#it was an absolute delight to play and if you ever get a chance I'd say go for it anon if this game is something you'd think you'd enjoy!

[canyousonicme]

Q&A with Alex Kingston, who plays Sheila Bellowes on Steven Moffat's upcoming ITV black comedy, "Douglas Is Cancelled"

(Air date: 27 June, 2024)

What appealed to you about Douglas Is Cancelled?

I'd say what appealed first of all was that the piece was written by Steven Moffat. I would do anything that Steven wrote because he's just such a brilliant writer.

The characters he creates are such a delight to play. I've had that experience of working with him on Doctor Who. It was just a joy to read the script. I laughed out loud. I even cried with laughter in some places. It's so superbly written.

Were you also taken by the idea of playing opposite Hugh?

Absolutely. Oh my gosh, Hugh and I have worked together many times over the years. We go way back to literally when we were teenagers. And so, I was definitely attracted by the opportunity of working with Hugh again. We already have that shorthand between us. That relationship doesn't need even to be acted because we know each other so well and are so comfortable in each other's presence. It's not a new person who I've got to get to know, so that married relationship was already a given. I was thrilled to have the chance to do that.

How would you describe Sheila?

She is amoral, she is ruthless. But I'm assuming that's what the paper wants. I'm also guessing that in the world these sorts of people inhabit, in order to get a good story, they have to be prepared to throw even their best friends under the bus. To be in that position as the editor of a national newspaper, you've got to be not only incredibly ambitious, but also, I would imagine, highly-strung because you are carrying a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. It's just a joy to play somebody who's so on the front foot. Sheila is also really inappropriate. That's what's so great about the script because all the characters behave inappropriately in a world where we're supposed not to anymore. I don't feel like I'm that sort of person at all, which is why it was great fun to play!

How would you summarise the relationship between Sheila and Douglas?

I would definitely say that she wears the trousers in the household. What's so interesting is that they are this high-powered celebrity couple at the start of the story. He is the nation's favourite news broadcaster, and she's this very, very successful editor of a hugely popular newspaper. But I rather like the scene that Steven wrote for them where they are on holiday because that shows a little bit more of who they are as a family before all the stuff hits the fan. They are a unit, and they love each other. But it is an unusual marriage. She is very strong, and he just allows her to be like that. If Douglas was a similar personality to Sheila, the marriage wouldn't ever have lasted. But he just lets her sail on forward, and he's in her slipstream being dragged along.

How does Sheila get on with her daughter?

The relationship she has with her daughter Claudia is much more volatile because her daughter is actually a bit more like Sheila. She's got a bit more fight in her. In a way, Sheila is terrorised by her daughter as she can't hold her daughter down. Also, Sheila doesn't understand young people and all these words like "boomer" that drop out of their mouths. For Sheila, it's just so frustrating. She thinks, "Who is this person we brought into the world who seems like a creature from another planet?"

The drama has lots of very topical things to say about cancel culture.

Yes. It's really interesting because Steven originally conceived this as a stage play several years ago. That's what I found so brilliant and so prescient about it. Steven was working on this way before all the recent scandals involving popular broadcasters. Obviously, cancel culture was already swirling around then, but I feel like Steven has the courage to put the conversation on the table in a way that is super important. But he does it in a darkly comic way, which allows people watching to laugh, but hopefully also to be able to have conversations and ask questions such as, "Where are we going with this? And how dangerous is this becoming?"

What do you hope audiences might take away from Douglas Is Cancelled?

I hope people will be a little bit more thoughtful and a little bit more careful about how they treat people or what they say about people. We need to be more conscious and kinder and aware of other people's feelings and how they wish to be perceived in life. But I think some men of my generation struggle with having to make those changes. I certainly remember sitting in the pub as a young person and hearing jokes about women that were awful. Men would safely say horrendous stuff. But that's just how it was, and you just had to suck it up. But men cannot behave like that anymore. I think there are still elements of our generation that struggle to remember to be a little bit more thoughtful before they say something. That's not out of malice. It's because they're still trying to learn the new rules of the world.

After many years working together on Doctor Who, how did you find it being reunited with Karen?

It was a real joy. It was great just spending time with her. It was very funny because she played my mother in Doctor Who. So it was really lovely to do something different with Karen, and for us both to explore this new relationship together. In Douglas Is Cancelled, there is one big scene that we have together in the toilet. They're these two alpha females who are prowling around each other, and they both absolutely know each other's game.

Did all the cast get to hang out together on set as well?

Yes. When everybody came together for the grand finale, we ended up sitting in the studio control room between scenes, all just chatting, reminiscing, sharing, messing around. Working on Douglas Is Cancelled was just a lovely, lovely, lovely experience.

[yandere-wishes]

Opinion on the absolute ANCIENT history of Star Wars legends? Meaning Tulak Hord, Marka Ragnos and such

Anon I am SO SO SO SORRY this took me forever to answer. I loved the ask so much that I wanted to have the perfect mood and ambiance for when I answered it. Suffice it to say that that hasn't happened for a good while now. But I sincerely hope that you are still lurking around this blog and get a chance to see my response. I cannot express how excited this ask has made me!! I harbor an extremely unhealthy obsession with ancient Sith lords and their lore

I'm going to start off by saying that, if we were in the Star Wars universe I would have already become a Sith lord. Due SOLELY to how much Darkside lore I read~🖤❤️

I swear whenever I see a new Sith lord my brain goes: "Omg he's so ugly." Then he proceeds to live in my head rent-free for three days and on the third night, I find myself dreaming of making out with him... this has happened one too many times...It might be a little bit concerning. XD

Tulak Hord gives off major samurai vibes so I feel like he does follow some sorta Sith honor code. That being said he most likely acquires his darling as either a war trophy from some rival or conquered planet. Or she's a wide-eyed Acolyte who he can twist into his perfect darling. 

He's also so pretty and I want to kiss him so badly!!

 I'd love to be his little darling, a war trophy won in battle. Kept locked away within his fortress. A prize none but him are worthy to see. 

After each bloody campaign, he returns to you, his starlight. A dividend that keeps him fighting, keeps him tethered to the dark side of the force. He fights to provide you with an empire, to win your praises at his many accomplishments. 

 Little does he know of the aversion you harbor for him.

Tulak Hord the monster who took everything from you.  

No, but to be fair, I'd still be MADLY in love with him. Just imagine Lord Hord coming home from the battlefield, bloodied and still high off his bloodlust. 

Imagine straddling him as you lovingly peel off his bloodied armor. Kissing his flesh every time it appears from under his armor. He'd run his clawed gauntlets over your back tracing your spine. Making you shiver from the frigid steel. Your warmth feels welcoming, innocent, he longs to corrupt it. 

Then obviously kissing when you get to his helmet. Deep and passionate. Filled with hate and love. Out of fear, you've learned to play your role as a doubtful lover, a devoted wife, to a fault. 

"The universe is more complicated than you could ever imagine, starlight. Be thankful that I've shielded you away from all its inconsistencies."

It's getting harder and harder to remember why you resist him so much. Why push him away when his presence is so overwhelming? Consuming you wholly. 

"Thank you, my lord." 

NOW...

If you were his Acolyte things would play out a bit differently. He'd have trained you for so many years. Building you up to be the ultimate weapon and simultaneously his ideal darling. You're too far gone, mistaking toxins for affection. You've learned to cherish every bruise and broken bone that comes from him.

You were such a naive little girl when he first took an interest in you. Now he's morphed you into the scourge of the battlefield. The mere mention of your name sends generals running away in fear. 

He finds you after every campaign. Permits you the honor of washing his armor and tending to his wounds. Basking in the way your nimble fingers apply bacta to what little scars he may have received. 

Tulak is such a tremendous master. Personally seeing to your wellbeing and recovery. 

He pulls you onto his lap, kissing your open wounds as he stitches them for you. Sometimes he pulls his helmet up and plunges his tongue into the trauma lapping at the blood and broken muscles as he ravishes in your delightful moans. He'll whisper sweet praises into your ears, telling you how proud he is of all you've accomplished, what a stupendous sith lord you shall make someday, ruling by his side. All while his iron-clad fingers work bruises into your soft flesh. 

You are his perfect little doll.

Tulak Hord's perfect little acolyte.

Would it be wrong to say that I kinda want to be Marka Ragnos' concubine? Or just his pretty little princess who's always at his beck and call!! Look he's literally a giant hulking red alien with golden horns... what's not to love!! 

Plus I'd give anything to just sit on his lap as he holds court. Tracing patterns across his chest and relishing in the feeling of his claws scraping across your flesh, leaving his mark even when he's focused on galactic domination. 

Prior to that Marka would totally dress you in the most ethereal dresses!! All lavish golds and blood reds. Somedays they'd be full-blown multilayered dresses and other days (when he wants to show a bit more dominance) he'll have you wearing danity silk dresses that show more skin than you are comfortable with. 

He'd also shower you with praises throughout the day. Calling you his "sweet little princess" and "pretty girl". look getting called "pretty girl" by a sith lord is free therapy and I am HERE for it😤😍😤😍. 

I also have this random headcanon that Marka Ragnose is (in some ways) a father figure to Vitita/Valkorion/Tenebrae. That being said it's only logical for Marka Ragnos' darling to be (younger) Vitita's mother figure. In a twisted forceful way, they're kinda like a happy family. Also forced Yandere family is one of my fav tropes, so I had to reference it here lol. 

Okay, guys seriously this ask has made me so happy since the MOMENT I got it!! If anyone wants to send in asks for any Star Wars Sith lords (well-known ones, obscure ones, hated/loved ones) my ask box is wide open. 

In conclusion, I've been collecting Sith Lords to simp over like an 8-year-old collects Pokemon cards. Sith lords are unconventionally HOT and I'd totally be down to be there sweet little darling !! Like please just let me be a Sith Lord's cute little side piece, the eye candy that hangs off his arm. His pretty little bunny girl that'll do anything to please him.

(*Concerningly looks down at the pride and self-respect I just smashed.* "Whoops...that wasn't supposed to happen") 

Anon I think I answered your question with these little stories. I am very much IN LOVE with the ancient Sith lords. And it doesn't just stop at Tulak and Marka. I literally NEED a harm of Sith lords. Look they may not be conventionally handsome, but there's something about "the dark forces warping their appearance" that makes me go absolutely feral!! 🤣🤣😍😍

[indieninja92]

Hello! Sorry to reach out as a tumblr anon (I've just never been brave enough for ao3 comments sadly and I'm mostly a lurker in the GO fandom) but, I saw your post about the goobers fic and I just felt a strong urge to put something positive in your inbox and thank you so much for writing it :) It is, genuinely no exaggeration, one of my favourite fics I've ever read- I love all your fics tbh but this one's my favourite! Your take on them is so incredible and unique, and I think you capture their banter and their bond like no one else. There's such a sense of warmth and safety throughout as well that keeps me returning to it again and again. I adore every single chapter. I totally understand your decision to stop writing it too (I think readers can forget sometimes that such a decision often isn't easy for the authors! I'm sorry if you've heard self centred reactions) and while ofc I'd obviously jump at the chance to hear anything you're comfortable sharing about your plans for the rest of it, I also respect your right to keep that info to yourself if you want to far more! We as readers are not entitled to a single thing; we are gifted and so lucky for the chapters you wrote and chose to share with us. Thank you so much for the nine chapters you put out there- I know I absolutely will be returning to them for rereads <3

Thank you so much, this is so sweet!! I'm enormously proud of it, genuinely think it's some of the best writing I've ever done. Every chapter was an absolute joy to write, I loved the research process and getting into their heads for each new time period - and planning their little outfits! Fortunately I haven't had any negativity for abandoning it, the post yesterday was more a response to the anon message in the original post rather than reflecting my own experience. People have been very kind about it overall!

As for my plans for the rest, there wasn't a huge amount to go - we left off in the 1980s, and then we were going to jump to them raising a little 4 year old Warlock. I had a very cute scene planned of Warlock's dad being delighted the boy had asked for one of those toy cars they can drive around in because he wanted a big black one which his father assumed was because he wanted to look like a secret service guy, but is actually just because he loves being driven around in Nanny's Bentley. They were going to play some fun little kid games, probably bring back knucklebones, and then have a game of Scrabble (Crowley was going to cheat) before some Feelings Talk.

After that, I was going to do the bus ride home from Tadfield with them playing a game that I know as Cowboy Karaoke (one person picks a word and the other has to sing a bit of a song with that word in), more Feelings Talk while Crowley has a bath, and then a round of Gin Rummy after the body swap when they're feeling a bit too anxious to get to the looming franoodling. And then, of course, the franoodling!

Finally, I was going to do a little epilogue in the South Downs cottage which is mostly kissing, including Aziraphale dutifully keeping to the schedule that Crowley calculated in 1983 to pay his kiss debt. Also, Crowley finally finds out what the moon is.

[phonkscribes]

Hi! Would you be interested in writing dating headcanons about the L4D2 survivors? Thanks in advance<3 (P.S. I love your work)

Left 4 Dead 2 Survivor dating head-canons!

Hello anon, and I'd be delighted to and thank you for enjoying the work I put out! I don't have a clever quip to throw in this time so without further a-do, here are your head canons.

Nick

He's an asshole to everyone, but he's soft when it comes to you. Especially if you don't pick up on sarcasm like everyone else.

He'd never try to yell or raise his voice at you like he would with others too. Nick is patient and holds up on you when you start to lag behind

It's a surprising display of intimacy that has the others making eyes at him and looking smug. 'Didn't think you had it in ya, Nick'.

He smiles a little more, and tries to be romantic in spite of the setting.

It's the little things that make the world go 'round, and he's got a knack for doing them for you, intentionally or not.

Needed pills for something? He's got you covered, even if he thought he needed them more.

Instead of giving you your share of compliments and nick names, he'd point out your habits and say that they're cute and call you other names: 'I think it's really cute how you play with your hair when thinking about something' / 'Alright let's get out of here stinky'

Ellis

He is the sweetest guy.

He loves telling stories to you, and he always plays them up to try and make you laugh.

Ellis will take you sight seeing around Savannah, or try and take you out to a fancy date he's prepared(beer on the roof top)

He likes to show you off or brag that he has you as his S/O.

"Damn I'm so lucky to have you, y'know"

He will get sad if he's separated from you for too long, and hope that you're okay whenever you two get separated from each other for whatever reason.

He's a hugger, and will often reach his arms around to hug you from behind whenever he has the chance.

Says "I love you" a lot. Do not fight him on this because he'll just keep saying he loves you more or hit you with a "nuh-uh"

Nick gets tired of this whenever it happens.

Rochelle

She's the boss when it comes down to it, stubborn as a mule but if you're really against something she'll hear you out on it.

If Nick says some shit to you, she'll whip something witty right back at him that makes him either scoff or shuts him right up.

Rochelle beams at you whenever you save her from one of the special infected, hyping you up with that gorgeous smile of hers.

"Yep, that's mine right there", as you help her up.

She likes to bring you little gifts here and there, especially when you need them without ever asking for them out loud.

"Here, I thought you might need this", and she presses it into your hands with a small smile as she looks up into your eyes

She is likes to hold your hand as you two travel, or have your pinkies intertwined when you need to break away for a fight

She likes to press her back against yours, feeling safe that you've got hers when it comes down to it.

Rochelle thinks you're a lot cooler than you may let yourself believe

Coach

He's right behind you every step of the way, and will lift you up anyway he can. Except for literally, he might hurt his back if he tries to do that.

The two of you eat good, even for the apocalypse, he won't let you eat nothing trashy but also nothing that will put either one of you in a theoretical ER.

Will pull you off to the side if he sees that you're feeling down or are bummed out about something.

He's real good at talking with you about things

Absolutely loves giving you little kisses on the top of your head or your hands, anywhere he can really

His love language is words of affirmation(I am so sure on this)

Likes to praise you, congratulating you on good shots and a bit more lenient with you when you make bad ones.

Coach is endearing though, never the "ooh now personally I wouldn't have done that" kinda comments.

He likes to guide your hands when he steps behind you, "try it like this"

He likes to hold you close in his arms, and letting you listen to his heart as you two rest up.

"Everything's gon' be alright baby, I've got ya"

[doodle17]

Psychonauts 3 minor antagonist >:)

D'Artagnan Astubelief! The "mystery" person who's been framing Raz! Or at least one of the people behind it...

Im still trying to figure out was his motivation could be... I was thinking maybe his Aunt who I might make (at least One of) the main antagonist could be influencing him, but I still need a motivation. I'd love to hear any ideas!

I also updated his lore! Like- a lot! I'll put it under a read more >:)

*None of this official, btw. all of this based purely off my headcanons*

D'Art used to be born Psychic, but I changed it to where he was actually born NON-psychic, but becomes psychic due to some.... Stuff

SO D'Arts mom, Natasha, got super sick while she was pregnant with D'arts little sister, Ania. Unfortunately, after Ania was born, Natasha was so weak she couldn't fight her illness and she passed a few days later.

D'Art's dad, Ronan, was so overcome with grief over his wife, that it had a huge impact on D'art and his family.

Fast forward about 5-ish years, right as Ronan is finally starting to recover from the loss if his wife, D'art gets the same sickness. And similarly to his mother, he dies. Ronan is once again absolutely crushed by the death of his youngest son. At this point, he can't take the loss of another loved one anymore, and on one rainy night goes to see his aunt.

Dr. Vladlena Astubelief is studies in the paranormal. Including necromancy and re-animation. But don't let the "Dr." In her name fool you, a lot of her experiments are very cruel and botched. Unfortunately, Ronan is also very desperate.

He begs for her to help bring D'art back. She's only ever experienced on dead animals, so she was very delighted to be given the chance to experiment on an actual person. She took D'Art's body and sent Ronan back to the rest of his family, saying if all goes well she'll return D'art herself.

Fast forward 2 botched surgeries/dissections, and replacing bits of his non-psychic brain with psychic bits, which were totally not stolen, and Ronan gets a call, saying D'Artagnan will be dropped off, alive and well.

D'Art is returned back to his family, so things are all fun and good now! Right?... Well...

Yes, D'Art is back, but his personality and behavior is very different. He used to be very energetic and bright. Playing with his siblings and helping out with chores best he can, always willing to lend a hand. After he came back, he became distant and cynical. Appearance wise, he also looked a lot more pale, his hair even started to turn white, when it was originally jet black like his dad's

It turned white thanks to his Aunts experiments, and also the fact that he's basically half alive

[anonzentimes]

do you have any song from the dr osts that you really like? personally the ones that immediately jump to my mind are living in a lazy parallel world from v3 and the dr2 fakeout intro song

ok so. here's where I fully admit how bad my love for this franchise is. because back when you could check your ALL TIME stats for spotify I checked, and I kid you not, my most played song ever is trapped by the ocean scent. It has been on my spotify wrapped 2 separate times and is my most played song PERIOD. And now that they've updated how far back you can check I will never know if that will ever change!

Aside from that, I have a Danganronpa playlist that I use with most of my favorite tracks that is 100 songs long and is specifically organized with thought behind the placement of each song. It also has some fan songs too! I listen to it when I'm struggling to be productive a lot.

On the top of my head though, I'd like to talk about how amazing the ending themes for the Danganronpa games are! They make me so emotional and they're all this bittersweet or calm feeling and it's genuinely so nice. The Day Before the Future never fails to calm me down or get me emotional, same with Goodbye Despair High School and Trial END. Similarly to them Closing Argument v3 is also such an interesting and calmingly beautiful track that I adore and has some bittersweetness to it.

One thing I really love about the music in the franchise is the reuse of motifs and updating the songs themself. There's multiple versions of New World Order and they're all empowering and emotional in their own ways. The two versions of trapped by the ocean scent are always so wonderful, again, unironically my most played song of ALL time 😅.

The investigation songs are also great, I love the "jazz" elements the songs have especially Homicide (Or Kill Now), Box 15, And Despair Searching.

I also really love the motif Monokuma has, like, only a few days ago did I realize after years that Let's Start the Killing Game ACTUALLY has the motif of Mr Monokuma After Class IN IT!!!!

I genuinely could say how much I love so much of this franchise's soundtrack all day, but I want to focus on what I think people should absolutely listen to if they haven't since I've been asked.

I know there are some of you out there who haven't actually seen Danganronpa 3, and I won't judge you since that's your choice, but if you're someone who hasn't watched it please oh please listen to this song it is soooooo good: https://youtu.be/EF8lbBkfW8A?si=fe2YLQx080lAKcWe

In the English version of Danganronpa v3 the ending song was cut, I'm not really certain of the reason why, but it was cut. Because of this it's possible some may have not actually heard it before, Which is a CRIME Because it's delightful!!! Please listen to it!: https://youtu.be/1BnZLuW92Hw?si=VQsSJOBCDRO6dsn4

I really don't see people talking about the Danganronpa Pachinko, or P Danganronpa, Soundtrack and it really is a shame because I think all of the remixes and songs are great! My favorite song from the album is this one: https://open.spotify.com/track/2dYwE1ete8yshENgPBpOKn?si=1at3xvEmQoWjDwjRUv4CUw&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A7K9BG8Br4xp4n7caXN0IM9

And this one!: https://open.spotify.com/track/1lWI7y6gbc1rTy8nbhe7Ck?si=yfBKeuGoR2SuhoaFC-81xQ&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A7K9BG8Br4xp4n7caXN0IM9

And last but certainly not least, I can't go on a ramble about Danganronpa's songs without mentioning Nagito Komaeda's songs. I won't talk too much about them since, as some may know, I am making an essay video of brief summarizes of my interpretations about the songs. They're all so amazing and beautiful, all three songs are written with his character in mind and sung by Megumi Ogata herself in his voice. I'd genuinely say they're masterpieces and I adore all three with all of my heart. Please listen to them if you get the chance! <3 https://youtu.be/IAMKvTOBHhI?si=ehM_Jl2X0OaTQwL5

Thank you for your Ask <3!!!!!!!!!!!

[arvensimp]

Whisper* horny, horny arven request?

Hello! I hope you like a pt 2?

Midnight Messquerade pt. 2

Arven x reader, no gendered pronouns used for reader, nsfw, ft. some underwear theft and wet dreams?

part 1 - part 3

--

Arven knows he's in deep. What started as a way to just get a restful night's sleep has quickly become a shameful habit on his part.

Every night after Arven is certain you've fallen asleep, he sneaks away from your shared camping site to...well, jack off. He makes absolutely certain he's alone, and the whole process doesn't take more than a few minutes. It's about convenience more than anything, or so he tells himself. He can't keep waking up with stupid hard-ons that don't go away, and he would rather die than ever risk exposing himself in such an inappropriate way to you. He owes you so much and cares so deeply for you that he absolutely will not risk the chance of scaring you off because of his stupid raging hormones.

You just....you make him stupid. He likes you so much he doesn't know what to do with himself. Quiet moments between the two of you are often spent with him trying not to ogle. He thinks about how cool you are, even when you're silly and sweet, how successful you seem to be at everything you try, how much love you show to the world around you. He spends time trying not to imagine what you would taste like in his mouth. How you would feel writhing beneath him, bouncing on his co--

He has to stop.

He puts more time into crafting tastier foods for you and his pokemon, then tells himself that it's only a secondary reward that you moan in delight when he makes something particularly tasty.

God, he wants to stuff so much more in your mou--

Stop.

So his only reprieve is the few minutes he gets to himself, where he wantonly tugs and squeezes his cock. It isn't hard to cum quickly when thoughts of you are at the forefront of his mind.

...That leads to today's present issue.

You two had been out and about adventuring when a massive rainstorm struck, and you ended up stuck in a cave for the remainder of the day.

You suggest that you both just camp out together in the cramped space, which...Don't get him wrong, Arven would love that. At the same time though, a more rational part of his brain is aware of his dire need for "personal time" before bed. The storm and the tiny space in the cave absolutely couldn't allow for it.

"I dunno... This cave is awfully small..." He attempts to argue.

"Even better that way," you reply. "Way less likely to have wild pokemon coming and bothering us in the middle of the night."

"True... But still... We could get a taxi out of here?"

You look out at the storm and then back to Arven with concern clear on your face. "I mean...we could, but I'd hate to make anyone drive or fly in this weather... But if you want to, we can."

Arven sighs and drags a hand through his hair, briefly exposing his usually hidden eye before his bangs fall back into place. "No...you're right. It'd be shitty to ask someone to drive in this."

So the two of you stick it out the rest of the night in the cave, cracking jokes at one another and playing games on your phones until you decide to wriggle into some pj's and turn in for the night.

He can go one night without cumming all over some poor undeserving weeds or a stump. He doesn't need it that badly. He doesn't.

He doesn't.

When all is said and done, the two of you are snuggled up in your respective sleeping bags, nearly pressed together, back to back, while the rain pounds endlessly outside. From time to time lightning flashes and thunder crashes loudly, nearly always at exactly the same time. The storm seems to be sitting over top of you.

The noise lulls you to sleep easily enough, but Arven waits up, antsy, anxious, bordering on angry at himself as he wills himself to fall asleep as simply as you do.

He thinks of all he can. Counting mareep, counting back from 100, counting his breaths, but all he can focus on is the fact that you're so close, practically pressed beside him. Instead of counting his own breaths, he finds himself syncing his with yours and counting as you breathe slowly, softly...

Until you aren't. You shuffle a bit, humming, and Arven stills. He has nothing to be guilty about. He wasn't doing anything wrong (this time).

Another hum gets caught on a glottal in your throat, and he feels you shift a bit again. The next sound you make opens your mouth into a soft, sighing groan. It's tantalizing to him.

It isn't inherently erotic in nature (is it?), but Arven goes stiff as a board behind you in more ways than one, anyway. He doesn't dare to say a thing. He won't breathe for the fear it might make a sound.

Eventually he's rewarded with more from you. You keep shifting slightly in your sleeping bag, making the tiniest little needy noises. Arven dares a moment during a particularly loud thunderclap that rocks the earth around you both and shifts, so he's facing you. Your back is still to him, but at least this way he can see the slight movements you make in the near pitch darkness, maybe hear you a bit better.

You squirm in your sleep, hunched forward a bit, pressing your hips back some. You're so...so close to where Arven is now... He could shift. He could be right there. Against you. Sure it'd be between two sleeping bags, but--

It's wrong no matter what.

Arven agonizes internally. He just... He wants to rub his dick against something so bad. He wants you so bad. And you're right there, writhing and making those little wanton noises like you're having some kind of naughty dream, and...

"A-Arven..."

It's soft as a prayer, but unmistakable even against the thrum of the rain. He hears it, and it's like a thunderbolt runs through his body.

He doesn't know when his hand had wrapped around his cock, but it's suddenly pulsing as ribbons of cum spurt from the tip into his pajama pants. He lurches forward without realizing, a sudden groan tearing from his throat as the last of his orgasm washes over him like filthy rain water. As he comes down from the high and his faculties return, he keeps careful watch over you.

Had... Had that really happened? Had you said his name in what sounded like...the throes of...an inappropriate dream? Had he destroyed the inside of his pajama pants? Most importantly, had you woken up?

From the sight and sound of your continued movements and gasps, the answers were yes, yes, yes, and (thank fuck) no.

Arven keeps a steady watch over you for the next several minutes, as your dream seems to ebb and flow, until the sticky mess in his pants finally forces him to squirm out of them and bundle them up in a ball at the bottom of his sleeping bag. He'll need to figure out a more...suitable solution in the morning.

By the time he's able to bring his full concentration back to you, it seems you've more or less found some semblance of peace. If you came in your sleep, you never showed it, because Arven watched you like a Pidgeot, even during his momentary distraction.

Not long after, Arven is able to drift off as well, dreaming of your softness, your warmth... It's comforting more than erotic this time.

When he wakes in the morning, you're already up and dressed, stretching outside the cave with your back turned to him, though not completely packed up, judging by the fact that your sleeping bag is still in a heap next to his.

Arven looks at your sleeping bag and notices...a bit of fabric there. In his sleep addled mind, he doesn't think, he just...grabs it.

There's a wet spot on his palm now from where he's grabbed your underwear, and when he realizes what he's done he recoils a bit, hating himself. He...he should really put these back, but they're already balled in his fist, and when he moves his hand to toss them back, you're turning around.

"Look who's awake!" You greet cheerfully, 'Raidon cozying up behind you with a satisfied chirr. He watches Arven with eyes that Arven doesn't particularly want looking at him right now.

"U-uh...yeah. Morning." Arven greets. The moment you turn back around, he'll toss these back. This is horrible of him. He absolutely shouldn't have these.

"Sorry I left my side a mess! I needed to get up and stretch as soon as I woke up and got dressed. Here, lemme get this, and then I'll give you your privacy." You say as you quickly approach the cave and pack your things back up with haste, not even realizing Arven's filthy theft.

"O-oh. You don't have to--" You're already turning away to give him the privacy he needs to get dressed. "Oh. Sure. No problem. I'll be ready in just a minute. Uh...While I'm getting ready, think about what you want for breakfast, kay? Whatever you want." As Arven gets dressed, he stuffs your underwear into his back pocket. He'll get them back to you. He just...needs to figure out when and how.

[iniziare]

DAV Spoilers. Or at least, my "general game opinions". I'll be vague in terms of the game's conclusion, so you don't have to worry about spoilers. Though unless you've finished most of the game (roughly halfway act 2, or just around part 10 in terms of Steam achievements), not all of this will make sense to you. But in short: I like it, I like it a lot.

First off, I need to be honest and say that I went into Veilguard as an absolute critic with the expectation that as a fan of the older games and their lore, I was going to rip into it. After all the news of the team crumbling, I simply lost all faith. But worst of all, I was going to do so while potentially not even playing the game. But in all of my rationality, I always say that one only ever has a right to judge something, after having given it enough of a fair chance. So that's what I did (and admittedly, I had some hype simmering in my heart to see the ending of a story that had become very dear to me), and I don't regret it. Dragon Age: Veilguard, in my opinion, is deserving of praise, and is unworthy of the bad reviews it's gotten. Alright, this is only part of my opinion— but it got a little ramble-y, so forgive me.

Rook. I thought that it was going to be impossible to get me hooked on another protagonist, especially in today's society where people seem to prefer a 'make your own' approach, as opposed to my personal preference of a pre-written character. For instance, I always had a clear preference for Hawke vs. the Warden and/or Inquisitor, but that's just me— I don't like 'creating' my character when I play, I simply want to be told an established story (AC Valhalla is an example of a massive dislike for me). But again, I'm aware that this comes down to preference. Now, I was afraid that Rook would be an even blanker canvas, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn differently. Rook is incredibly reminiscent to me of Hawke, without being a copy in whatsoever way. I'm delighted to have the sarcastic option back (and as many, I loved that it was reacted to by Solas), as it really adds some wonderful personality into the mix. To add to that, I love that it's Rook who is the 'comical relief' without being actually outright comical to a point where it's too much, which would then risk taking away from the weight of the story. Bioware chose a perfect balance here. Outside of that, I very much appreciate the backstory options. My first playthrough had me picking the Crows out of curiosity and as an ode to an old favorite's origins (hi, Zevran), and it was very fun. I enjoyed the consistent mentions and references of the tales of her past after I'd chosen them, and I find enjoyment knowing that even the small details change a bit, such as the verbal reactions to the ziplines. I also was very happy to see her interact well with Solas, because that was another big concern of mine, as I was very worried that there might have been a decision made to add in any sort of flirtations (despite knowing Weekes likely wouldn't go there, based on Solas' foundation). Rook and Solas' dynamic is one I very thoroughly enjoy in exactly the form it was presented in. Up until the very end of the story, she stayed consistent with my choices, and had me seated here with blurry emotional vision on occasion. And while those who know me know that I can get very emotional over details in games, it isn't actually that easy to get me there initially. But good job, Bioware, Rook is a worthy, and wonderful addition to your lineup of protagonists. Good job.

Solas. God, the consistency of his character in this and DAI has driven me wild to the extent of a rabid dog. It is so good, I'm wildly impressed. If there was ever a character that I could give up all of my other characters for, I genuinely think it would be Solas. He is incredible. I was thrilled to see the connection to Mythal more properly addressed, and while I know that there's many firm opinions out there on this dynamic (my own write-up will be incoming), it was made clear that their dynamic was always one of utmost fundamental importance, at least to Solas and his motivations. That's my big thing, Mythal's perspective aside, I think that it was imperative that we learned just why Mythal was such a 'final transgression' and catalyst for all of his actions (though don't worry, this isn't me taking away his accountability). And from a personal point of view, while Solas' origins were hinted at already in DAI, it was nice to see it confirmed that he, and the others, indeed originated as spirits. And in that, it is good to have learned how he became 'twisted' from his nature as a spirit of wisdom, to one of pride. I think that's fundamental to his character, and I also greatly enjoy the elaboration on some of Cole's lines in DAI about Solas, and who we now know for sure was Mythal: 'He did not want a body. But she asked him to come. He left a scar when he burned her off his face.' A lot of things hit vastly differently now, when you look back and you realize you have confirmed answers finally in the palm of your hand. I thoroughly questioned Mythal when I went for her essence, reloading multiple times as to ensure that I got as much lore as I could. And I hurt, especially since the end of the game. As I said, I won't spoil, but the ending has left me emotionally scarred in more ways than I could ever explain. That interaction, that emotional release was everything to me, and it was good to see it, even if I could barely see my screen anymore at one point. Weekes did Solas justice in so many ways, and while I initially had a little bit of a peeve at a decision in the game towards the end, my rationality had kicked in, and it was a logical decision. I'm happy, I think, if that's the right word that I can use for this. Also, seeing the scene from the trailer was so good, I screamed at my screen. I just, I'm in total and utter love with this man.

Dragon Keep/choices. Let me actually get to my point of criticism, but know I'm approaching this rationally, and not emotionally. I need Bioware to confirm their canon within these games, and if they officially want to let go of the 'decisions that we once made', then just say it and state it somewhere. Tell us what the decisions are. But that aside, I do want to play light devil's advocate, because I think that it's important. Since the revelation about Morrigan in specific, I've been caught in the push and pull of 'does this make sense for her character', and I think that it's so easy to say 'no, it doesn't' when thinking of DAO, but we're not coming from DAO. We're coming from DAI (after numerous years of development for multiple characters), where Morrigan had already shown a pressing interest in something that held a high risk of her getting possessed by Mythal just like her mother. Despite this, and despite her arc in DAO, she wants to drink from the Well of Sorrows. 'But there was no choice, for Corypheus was going to destroy Thedas', the Inquisitor was an option the entire time. No, what I actually am personally of the opinion of (although I'm waiting on my Morrigan expert to finish playing, for I am not an excessively thorough one yet), is that Morrigan was, and remained hell-bent on obtaining knowledge/power, it has been part of her arc for a long time, and even the threat of possession didn't dissuade her from the possibility of obtaining an unusual amount of it in an unparalleled rare form. That isn't, in my opinion, bad or lazy writing, that is consistent and shows a character flaw that I don't think is often addressed with 'protagonists' enough most of the time: greed. I want flaws that make it much more difficult for me to feel inclined to agree with those that call her the Indiana Jones of Thedas, for she is a brilliant character— but a character with flaws. Now do I think, since having watched the ending, that her presence was also a plot device for Mythal in one way or another? Possibly, but that's merely a side addition in my opinion. I just find it too easy to simply go 'it's bad writing', because while I could agree, it also means you then have to condemn Morrigan for the exact same reason back in DAI, which I don't think is something that's fair to do. An argument could be made that Veilguard has lost most of its original team of writers (including David Gaider himself) and so they took liberties, but that same argument can't be made for DAI. Gaider created this franchise, he had intentions for characters, and arcs, and he ultimately is the one who decided when something was good to go. And on top of that, he wrote and created an amazing franchise, and he earned my trust because he did that. And so I trust that the presence of Morrigan in DAI was logical, which I did think it was— it showed flaws that I craved to see outside of her arc in DAO. And I think having seen DAI, that Veilguard isn't unrealistic for her. And as to why this isn't a 'full possession' as it was with Flemeth, I think the key for that is realizing that she obtained it alongside that headpiece where Mythal was killed by Solas. Because what we also know, in that little scene— and it took me a rewatch of it, but Flemeth/Mythal left part of herself in that Eluvian at the beginning of the scene. I would bet that's what Morrigan possesses now, since Solas himself is the one who 'absorbed' the part of Mythal that had fully possessed Flemeth. Does this match with what Morrigan says? Not exactly, but I don't think that she's a reliable narrator.

[thecynicalcinephile]

So, About Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,

A solid well-written visual feast and overall entertaining romp through the world of the Forgotten Realms. I'd almost forgotten what it feels like to actually watch a good movie.

First of all, I'd like to note that this movie makes surprising use of practical effects. I was concerned that this would be some overly-CGed marvel-level schlock, but right off the bat we're presented with a completely practical dragonborn and aarakocra (bird person), and this continues throughout the whole movie, with everything from zombies to tabaxi (cat people). I loved every second of it.

Then there's the acting. It honestly just feels like everyone was having so much fun with their roles. It's almost like the writers and all the actors really were just a bunch of friends playing DnD together. Chris Pine particularly seems to embody his role, for the duration of the runtime he honestly becomes a bard.

The film also remains surprisingly faithful to the source material, frequently citing specific spells & abilities, in addition to locations, that would seem like deep cuts to anyone who doesn't play the game.

However, that does lead to my one immediate problem with the movie: they're so accurate in some places that it causes the areas where they take some liberties to stick out like a sore thumb. As a DnD player myself, let me say that druids cannot wildshape anywhere near that many times a day. Additionally, the Hither-Thither staff was somewhat frustrating, as that is an original invention of the film from what I can tell. With how many spells & magic items have been released over the years, I guarantee you they could've found something pre-existing that would work. More importantly though, the staff is ridiculously overpowered. I don't think it can be safely ported over into the game without running the risk of breaking absolutely everything for a variety of reasons. Overall though this is a minor complaint, especially since no one who doesn't play the game would ever notice.

And the end of the day, all I can say is definitely give this film a watch when you get the chance. It's exciting, delightful, and fun for the whole family, while still taking itself seriously and treating the audience with respect.

[bi-bats]

5, 6, 10, and 18 <3

Hiya bestie!! Thank you for the ask 💖

5. What’s a fic idea you’ve had that you will never write?

Probably The Birth of a God, which is a very complicated greek mythology au where Jason is Icarus and he falls in love with Apollo (Tim) and builds the wax wings because he's trying to reach him. After his death he gets revived as Ares (I've assigned out greek gods to over half of the characters in this fic including Dick as Aphrodite, Bruce as Hades, Damian as Thanatos, Barbara as Hephaestus, Cass as Athena, Alfred as Hestia, Duke as Helios) and doesn't tell anyone, but Tim goes to Bruce to get Jason back, which Bruce refuses because he can't. He doesn't tell Tim that he can't because Jason isn't actually there, so of course Tim wages war on him, which drags Jason into it because he's the god of war even though Tim doesn't know that and adkljfdlkfjdlkfdlfjlkdj

Look I love this idea and I'd love to read it but. I'd have to WRITE it and the amount of research I would have to do to twist the plot around the way I want would be insane so it's probably going to die in my brain 😭😭😭

6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?

Oh yeah absolutely. Lemme link a few (that aren't just smut lol):

sweet dreams (are made of thee) by @yasmindifference (jaytim dreamsharing 😭😭😭)

and a hand to bite by Sister (the jaytim exes to lovers of all time and also the fic that inspired Rooftops and Bookshops)

chaos is a color I wear well (and it looks mighty good on you) by @glaciya (jaytim angsty feels fic I love this one so much)

Like a Bat out of Hell by @allacesandeights (this fic. This fucking FIC. It's literally one of my go-to recs for when I'm trying to get people into JayTim and it deserves so so so much more recognition than it has holy shit this fic is so fucking good like. I very rarely read fics where I think the plot is perfect but this one is just so well done all around and akjdfajdfsdf read it)

I Didn't Say I Liked You by Generatorcat (I reread this one a LOT it's just delightful I love when they play chicken and you do it SO well, thank you for this one 💖)

Show Me the Meaning (Of Being Lonely) by @timmyjaybird (like. holy shit this whole series. I owe my life as an author to this series. This is the series that got me to consider shipping jaytim and also the first damitim fic that ever made my brain go brrrrrrr I've literally read this series like. 20 times at least and I never would have fallen deep enough into this fandom to start writing without it so thank you thank you thank you and everyone go read it)

10. Is there a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

Definitely, and it's Now Kiss. I did not expect the response on that and if you know me, you've heard me talk about that. It just felt so rushed when I was writing it and I didn't get a chance to really edit it the way I wanted to and I've worked way harder on fics before and even if it was one of the ones that I was the most excited to share for JTW, there's just a part of me that's like: that's the one everyone loves so much?

That said, one thing about the response that has been lovely is that I've taken it as permission to trust myself a little more. There were a lot of things with that fic that I was uncertain about, but I liked them and decided to leave them alone even if I wasn't 100% sure because I was on a deadline and wanted it posted. They were probably the kinds of things that I would've fretted about incessantly and edited to death if I'd had more time, but people liked them, so it's been really nice to be able to let go of some of my self-doubt!

18. What’s one of your favorite lines you’ve written in a fic?

Damian has always hated that Tim can carve the meat from an action, pull the bone of it out clean.

grughauhgaruharhgau just. I love this line so much. It says so much about both of them. It was also a tight race between that and this:

Everyone believes Goldie, all of the time. He just flashes that gorgeous smile like a fucking master key, and Jason’s always been a tiny bit jealous that everyone else turned out so goddamn endearing. 

also this one 😭😭😭 I really like the way that it reads like Jason's voice and also this is one of those things that he would never ever say because he can barely admit that it's true, even though it is

[norcumii]

Are you by any chance familiar with the Silmarillion? I read the tag "spirit of fire" at the bottom of the post about Killmonger and Zuko without reading the rest first, and couldn't help but think of Feanor (in case you don't know of him but are somewhat familiar with LotR, Galadriel's extremely spicy half-uncle who, among other things, invented divorce for Tolkien-Elves)

Short and probably most useful answer: Only in passing due to the fact that several Star Wars mutuals are also LotR fans. I watched a movie and gave some books a try, but it was never my bag, really. I wholeheartedly applaud anyone who gets into it and enjoys that level of Lore and worldbuilding; it just doesn't play well with my brain.

I recognize Feanor's name! :D That is a wildly delightful description, thank you!

long answer:

Look, back in high school, one summer The Hobbit was on the reading list. I hated everything else that was an option, and went for this.

The fact that I had to fake a book report was the only reason I got through it. The writing style was...not a good fit, and I had the damnedest time retaining information about names (which I'm admittedly not good at anyways). Some of that might have been for medical reasons, but regardless, I Did Not Get It.

Then one day the three guys I played D&D with were VERY EXCITED that there was now a MOVIE did I want to come with them to a midnight showing of The Fellowship of the Ring??? :D :D :D

I was genuinely just delighted to be included, so sure! I had a fun time in a full theater, still couldn't keep track of anyone's name, and the number of Dark Brooding Heroes + difficulties with facial recognition meant I still had difficulty with who was who.

But it WAS wildly pretty and my buds were excited, so I figured hey, if I tried reading the book I at least had something visual to compare to and maybe that would help!

For the record, Tumblr has been WILDLY helpful in explaining something I had no context for, that being WHY Tolkien was so fixated upon describing the green green trees, in the greenest forests to ever green, which at the time drove me halfway to despair. WITH said context, I think I'd have appreciated it more, but at the time I was just a cloud of questionmarks instead of going 'wow this is a fascinating trauma response to the Trenches.'

And I could not at ALL get my head around all the songs in the book. Like, my brain was dead-set 110% CERTAIN that if you are giving me song lyrics, it WILL be relevant by the end of the book but thanks to the movie I knew it WASN'T and I had three obsessed people who ABSOLUTELY WOULD have been frothing at the mouth if that plot line had been cut so WHY WAS THIS HAPPENING.

I asked one of them after I deathmarched my way through the book how on earth he dealt with all the songs and I'm pretty sure I hallucinated the 'someone sings a song about someone singing a song in which Some Historical Figure sang a song and here's the elvish lyrics' since that wasn't his kind of thing, and he had the temerity to give me a baffled look and go "oh, you just skip those. Skim until it gets back to plot again."

I didn't engage in bodily harm, but I don't think that's how it's supposed to go. Also, I would've liked to know that BEFORE reading the damn thing!!!!!

ANYway! So please, I cannot overstate how very, VERY much awe I have for folks who are willing and able to read and enjoy that times ten, which is what I understand the Silmarillion to be. That to me is a true Feat, which I shall admire from a long distance.

[useless-bi-otch]

Cookies'n Cream - Chapter 21

Last chapter / MasterList / art by @aneenasevla

Chapter 21 - Masterstroke

“I swear, you have no idea who you've messed with, schmuck!"

"You've been saying the same thing for three matches in a row, Okubo."

"This time it's for real! I let you win the previous ones, I wanted to study your movements, understand how your head worked. Now you don't stand a chance!"

"Yeah, sure thing. Just pay attention to the screen, I've already given you two combos and it hasn't even been two minutes since the match started."

"All part of the strategy! Now you'll see that Okubo Naoya isn't called the “King of Combat” only inside the octagons! Take this, and that e- aaaaaargh! Noooo...!," Okubo grabs his head with both hands and throws it back, wailing dramatically and making other players around them jump. "I got the combination wrong!"

"I said to talk less and play more," Kaneda smiles satisfied, raising two fingers of his right hand in a V for Victory while the screen of the arcade machine displayed his character's victory stand. "With that, that's four consecutive victories. Are you sure you want to continue betting? At this rate, there won't be any money left in your wallet, hahaha!"

"Shut up! I don't accept that I can't beat you in absolutely any of these games!," He points to him while yelling. "I'll find a game where I can beat you, even if we have to turn this arcade upside down, do you hear me?!"

"Seriously, Okubo, why do you still insist on challenging Kaneda on these things?," Himuro asks, bored, with his eyes glued to another arcade machine. "It doesn't matter what you play with him, he always wins and cleans your wallet dry. It doesn't qualify as a robbery only because you're the most willing victim I've ever seen."

"You shut up too, Himuro! You want me to give you hell on The King of Fighters too?!”

"As if you could. And watch your language, we have ladies in attendance. Okay, see? It isn't that difficult,"  Himuro smiles at the two girls who surrounded him, watching his demonstration attentively. "It's all a matter of motor coordination, knowing how to switch between the buttons and the lever, setting the timing..."

"Ooh, Himuro makes it look so easy!," The chubby one whimpered, pouting as she clung to his arm. The other, thinner than her friend, nods and squeezes his shoulders affectionately.

"I know, right! Nanao and I are going to need a few more demonstrations, maybe more direct help..."

"I'd be a terrible teacher if I said no, wouldn't I?," He laughs, opening space for them to approach. "Here. Who wants to be the first one?"

The two girls got into an argument over which one of them would be the first to receive arcade lessons, while Himuro grinned in the middle of them, delighted to be up for grabs. Kaneda sighs.

"Not even when we are killing time in the least conducive environment possible to get dates you guys abandon the hunter mentality..."

"Hey, don't put me in the middle of this! I'm here, minding my own business, just waiting for you to put another token in the machine," Okubo declares, frowning, his arms crossed. "I still haven't given up on my rematch."

“Heh… you'd probably have better luck hunting down for dates, to be honest."

"No chance. For the moment I'd rather crush your spirit until there's not even dust left to tell the story."

“Wow, that came straight from your heart!," Kaneda laughs, looking over his shoulder. "Are you listening to that, Rihito? Okubo found a motivation unrelated to women! You should follow suit-"

"I swear to you, there is nobody in this arcade capable of beating my record in OutRun! Stick with me and I'll teach you everything you need to know!," Rihito was saying, a little too loudly, to two other girls occupying an arcade machine, both staring at him with a mixture of confusion and discomfort. "Tell me, do you want some help? I can show you the best way to pull the lever, hehe... and then, later, we can go out for something to eat, how about that? Come on, don't be shy, I promise I won't do anything you don't want! Here, lady, your posture is kinda wrong, if you want I can help you correct it and- hey, where are you going? Hey!," He exclaims when the two girls walk away quickly, half shrunken. "Wait, I...! Uugh, how does Himuro manage to do that?! Fucking hell, I can't do anything right..."

Kaneda sighs again. "Eh, never mind. He's a goner. I'm just surprised you don't want to join him like you always do..."

Okubo looks to the side, his expression a little uncertain, before shrugging and returning his focus to the arcade machine.

"I already told you, I'm more worried about my rematch. Come on, Kaneda, I know you have more tokens there! Don't run away from me!"

Kaneda decides he isn't going to try to argue anymore. But Okubo better not think he didn't notice all that hesitation. He took great pride in his observation skills, and they were rarely wrong. He inserts another token into the machine, smiling to himself.

He wondered if Rihito and Himuro had also noticed how Okubo seemed so uninterested in the female clientele around them. Women made up a significant portion of arcade goers, contrary to what many thought, and when they decided to go and spend their free day in one, Kaneda had already been preparing for the inevitability of finding himself alone while his friends were going to hit on any creature wearing skirts nearby.

Not that he had much to worry about, as Himuro was the only one there who got lucky in those endeavors. Rihito and Okubo were too pushy and desperate, they always had been, and it didn't take more than half an hour for them to give up and come to him while licking their wounds. It had become routine by now.

Or at least it used to be routine. Now, Rihito was chasing women away by himself. Okubo, on the other hand, hasn't shown interest in absolutely any of them so far.

Kaneda knew very well why. He knew, but he wanted to hear it from the accused party himself before making assumptions. He takes a couple of steps away from the machine to let Okubo choose his character.

“Are you sure you want to keep challenging me? It's silly to throw money away like that because of a game..."

"It's not money thrown away if I know that one hour or another I'll end up winning," He declares with conviction. "And anyway, I want to gather more tokens. There are some cool prizes here..."

"Yeah, there really is," Kaneda looks at the area where the arcade prizes were displayed. "But you can try to win tokens by playing alone, instead of betting them with me..."

"I know, but now it's become a matter of honor, man!"

"Honor or masochism? I wish I had that much cash in the bank so that losing a few yen wouldn't be a worry...," Himuro grumbles, holding the hand of one of his newest friends while helping her with the lever. "But relax, girls, I still have enough for a few more matches with you, maybe even for dinner afterwards, haha..."

The girls laugh, and if Okubo had rolled his eyes more, he would have been able to see the insides of his own skull. Apparently, a pretty face was an essential factor for those stupid pick-up lines to succeed. He was glad he didn't need it anymore...

"If you're broke to the point of needing to warn your friends, Himuro, don't worry. Let's play and bet while we're at it, and if I win-"

"I'm not going to give you the number of one of my friends, forget about it."

"I wasn't going to say that! I was going to say that if I win, I want half your tokens."

"Oh…," Himuro blinks, exchanging a brief look with Kaneda before nodding. "That's all? Alright then. If I win, you'll pay my bill on our next night out."

"Deal!"

"And he still complains when I say he throws money away…," Himuro rolls his eyes. "Just don't complain after you make a fool of yourself in front of the ladies here."

"You're the one who's gonna make a fool of yourself! Just let me slay this lil' fucker here first," He declares as he also chooses his character. Kaneda doesn't even try to argue, shrugging.

"Okay. Let's just bet the tokens this time, Okubo, otherwise you won't have any money left over to pay the bet with Himuro..."

"Are you already assuming that I’m going to lose?! I won't say out loud what you are only because we have ladies present in the room!," Okubo snorts, and suddenly focuses his attention on the girls surrounding Himuro. "I want to ask you ladies a question, if you don't mind."

“Uh… sure, go ahead,” The chubby one exchanges a bewildered look with her friend before they nod, a bit hesitant, while Himuro shoots Okubo a warning look. If he even tried to rain on his parade...

"If you were to choose one of those prizes, what would it be?"

It was hard to say who had the more astonished expression there: if those two girls or Himuro himself. The three stared at Okubo as he pointed to the prize counter beyond, waiting for an answer. The girls look at each other again.

"Uh… well, I don't know," The thinner one looks sideways at her friend. "One of the electronics, maybe? I've been needing a new headset, but they cost a shitload of tokens..."

"Yep. But there are some more affordable prizes that are cute, like those keychains in the shape of arcade machines.

"Yes! And the teddy bears..."

"And the neon signs! They are a nice decoration for the bedroom, or for the kitchen area..."

"A neon sign!," Okubo exclaims, smiling excitedly. "Damn, how come I didn't think of that before? Now I know exactly what to spend the tokens I'm going to win on!," He turns to the arcade machine, even more determined. "Thanks for the female opinion, ladies!"

"Uuh…you're welcome!," They nod, still stunned, but also looking relieved. "Anyway… will you continue teaching us the mechanics of the game, Himuro?"

“Uh… oh yes! Yes, of course, excuse me...," Himuro nods quickly, returning his attention to the arcade machine, but not before exchanging a somewhat astonished look with Kaneda. The later just can't resist, wanting more details while he and Okubo go back to playing.

"Hey, don't you already have one of those neon signs in your apartment?"

"Yeah, in my reading room. There, take this sequence, sucker!"

"Oh, there will be payback! But seriously, why would you want a female opinion to get another sign?"

"Oh, the sign isn't for me," Okubo shrugs, almost pressing his eyes to the screen in his concentration. "It's for Tomori. Something cool for her to put in her kitchen..."

Kaneda had suspected that since Okubo started asking Himuro's friends questions, but it was good to hear confirmation. He smiles to himself, hoping that Himuro had heard that too.

"If that’s the case, I might let you win a couple of matches, just to increase your chances…"

"Don't you dare! How am I going to give her a gift that I got only 'cause my opponent pitied me?," He asks indignantly. "I couldn't consider myself a worthy man! Forget it, I'll get those tokens on my own merit!"

“Then you'd better step up your game, because at this rate you won't even be able to pick up pins from the prize counter. Aaand I won again!"

"Argh, no! Holy shit, you...! You distracted me on purpose!," Okubo points accusingly at him, furious, to which Kaneda shakes his head, smiling cheekily.

"Baseless accusations are the weapon of losers. Your tokens, please."

"Uugh… I'll get them all back, just you wait! But on another game, 'cause I already gave up on this one..."

Kaneda was still laughing when Rihito approached them, hands shoved in his pants pockets, face twisted in a spectacular frown.

"No luck on the hunt, I suppose," Kaneda deduces, to which Rihito snorts.

"What do you think? Even the nerds don't care about big, bulky guys! All they want is the pretty boys, with their lustrous hair and their sissy colognes..."

"If that's not an incentive for you to take more baths, I don't know what else would be."

"Shut up, Himuro! Look, he's just being an asshole, okay? I take lots of baths!," Rihito exclaims to Himuro's companions, in a rush that makes them take a step back. "Even when I don't have to!"

"Yeah, right. And relax, he looks like a gorilla in heat, but he's harmless," Himuro assures the girls. "And he won't participate in the lessons either, I'm a feminist teacher who values ​​female education above any other, haha."

They laugh, leaning closer to him again, whereupon Rihito glares at him with a rage that would've set him on fire, if looks could kill.

"Ugh, I'm so fucking pissed!," He snarls, almost knocking over a nearby machine by abruptly inserting a token into it. "Are you guys seeing this? And he has the gall to complain when we get together to beat his ass, right, Okubo?"

"Yeah, he’s a narcissistic asshole," Okubo nods, then points "Anyway, let’s play OutRun, Rihito! I'm tired of fighting games for now..."

"Kaneda made you his punching bag again, didn't he?"

"Fuck off! Do you wanna play or not? I know I can beat you."

“Ohoho, you shouldn't have said that. I'll turn you into roadkill! C'mon," He makes room for Okubo to join him. “This way I can distract myself by destroying you so I don't have listen to that man-whore's cheap pick-up lines!"

"Yeah. It's a win-win situation," Okubo nods, and Kaneda watches as he concentrates completely on the game, while Rihito continues to throw irritated glances at Himuro and his friends from time to time.

"That fuckin' playboy… I'm sure he does that on purpose."

"Yeah...," Okubo just nodded, absorbed in the game.

"Rubbing his conquests in our faces… what would it cost him to lend a hand to his pals? It's not like he lacks female attention!"

"Yep..."

"He's picking up two chicks at the same time. Two! Y'know those documentaries about compulsive hoarders? That's what Himuro is! A hoarder, and he needs an intervention in the form of a beating!"

"For sure."

"Doesn't that make your blood fucking boil? I know Kaneda doesn't care but we're basically starving for pussy and he doesn't even take pity on us!"

"I know, right."

"... I mean, it's not your case anymore, right? You have Miss Uta now, you haven't banged her only 'cause you're a sucker..."

"Yeah..."

"I knew it!," He slams his hands on the panel, indignant. "You're not even listening to me, you asshole!"

"I was paying attention to the game! The game you just lost, by the way," Okubo points to the screen, smiling devilishly. "Who's the sucker now, huh? Finally I got something out of this shit, man!"

"What- did you do it on purpose? Have you became this lil' fucker's apprentice or something?!," Rihito points indignantly at him, and even Kaneda laughs at that, putting a hand on his chest and pretending to wipe away a tear.

"They grow up so fast!"

"Let's pray that he doesn't grow even more, otherwise he won't be able to go through any more doors..."

"Shut up, Himuro! Anyway...," Okubo huffs while Himuro's friends giggle. "I was really concentrating on the game, but I heard you muttering incessantly and concluded that I could use that to my advantage, hehe!"

"Son of a bitch."

"Hahaha! No, seriously, what were you talking about, man? It was something about Himuro..."

Rihito stares at him as if questioning his intelligence. Or his sanity. Probably both.

"Dude, are you serious? You always get as mad about it as I do!"

"Mad about what?"

"What do you mean 'about what'? About how easily Himuro picks up chicks, while the two of us are always left with crumbs!," He exclaims in frustration, opening his arms, and Himuro, further on, flinches when his two friends stare at him with wide eyes.

"Ahaha, he's exaggerating, that idiot... stop raining on my parade, you jerk!"

"Shut up, that's what you get for not being more humble! And you," He turns to Okubo again. "Since when have you been so indifferent to his conquests? Just because you already scored with one girl? Or..."

Rihito falls silent as Okubo widens his eyes a little, his face starting to flush, unmistakably red under the neon lights inside the arcade. Kaneda takes a step closer to them, curiosity getting the better of him. Even Himuro stopped paying attention to his new friends to listen to their conversation intently.

"Okubo...?," Rihito calls, starting to widen his eyes too. "You…?"

"H-Hey, what's this? Are you going to keep changing the subject instead of demanding a rematch like you always do?," Okubo interrupts him quickly, putting his hand in his pocket to pick up a token, which he almost drops in his desperate rush. "Let’s play more, c'mon! Unless you're scared of losing to me again..."

"What the- as if!," And with that, Rihito's attention is masterfully diverted,his fists clenching with determination. "Just you wait, I'll get my tokens back and rub your ugly mug all over that panel!"

They focus their attention on the game, while Himuro and Kaneda once again exchange a look that was worth many words. Rihito might have the attention span of a hyperactive child, but they weren't like him. They weren't going to drop that matter.

After some time of gameplay, name-calling and threats from one of the arcade employees that Rihito would be thrown out if he punched another machine, the four of them had won a lot of tokens between themselves, Okubo in particular. He happily counted them, ignoring Rihito's resentful glares.

"There's going to be payback, do you hear me? I’ll come back for more!"

"Of course, man, my ass beatings are quite addictive!"

"Shut up, you lost a match against Himuro and two against Kaneda!"

"And thanks to you I recovered all the tokens I had lost in them. Thanks a bunch!," Okubo pats Rihito on the shoulder, and walks away laughing when he threatens him with his fist. "Come on, Rihito, you also won enough tokens to get a prize at the counter!"

"Yeah, but not as much as you guys! Speaking of which, you got enough tokens for what?," Rihito asks Himuro and Kaneda, who were also counting their tokens.

"Enough for a mini-game, I think. But I also got two phone numbers, so I have nothing to complain about," Himuro comments, ignoring when Rihito flips him the bird. Kaneda, on the other hand, smiles excitedly.

"I think I have enough for that headset! It's what I wanted, so I'm satisfied."

"Lucky for you… if I manage to get a t-shirt with the arcade's logo, and one that fits me, it'll already be a lot," Rihito snorts, turning to Okubo next. "And you? What prize will you take?"

"One of those neon signs! There are some cute ones that I think will look cool in Tomori's kitchen... what?," He blinks when he sees his friend's disbelieving expression.

"Are you going to get a prize for Miss Uta? Aren't you going to spend that pile of tokens on yourself?"

"Of course I will, man! With what's left over, I can get that cool Ultraman keychain-"

"What keychain, man! There's so many cool things to choose from that counter, and you choose to spend your tokens on a gift for a girl who isn't even here playing with us?," Rihito insists on his questions, gesticulating agitatedly. Kaneda looks from one to the other, very interested, while Himuro rolls his eyes.

"If you followed that example, you'd get some phone numbers too..."

"Shut up! I know you wouldn't spend your tokens on any chick!"

"Yeah, I wouldn't spend it on chicks with whom I'm just fuck-buddies with,  anyway. But in Okubo's case..."

"Ugh, leave me alone!," Okubo turns his back on them, the tips of his ears red. "What I do with my tokens is my problem, okay? If I want to spend them on someone else, it's my fuckin' right!"

"Yeah, but I don't see how you're going to be able to bang someone with a stupid neon sign..."

"Ugh, forget it," Okubo rolls his eyes. "Lets just go to the counter already, I don't want anyone passing in front of me and taking that Ultraman keychain..."

The other three don't argue, following behind. But Rihito continued to stare at his back suspiciously. Himuro and Kaneda just hoped it didn't take too long for him to get what was going on too.

The prize counter was currently full, the attendants having to split up to tend to the queue of players who wanted to claim their prizes. Fortunately, no one there seemed to have won as many tokens as they did. It was one of the perks of being fighters with superhuman reflexes.

"We need to come back here more often. This is the perfect place to get useless, cool trinkets," Himuro comments, and Kaneda nods.

"I know, right! How about we take a day to choose the most expensive prize and join forces to gather enough tokens?"

“The problem is, we'd have to share whatever the prize is in that case. But I'm up for it, if y'all don't try to be smart asses about it."

"We were the ones who should be telling you that! You're the one who most needs to learn the concept of sharing..."

"Is this about those girls' phone numbers? I won't give you one, stop insisting!"

"Come on, what would it cost you? You have five hundred others in your contacts!"

"I swear, Rihito, you're worse than those elementary school kids who want everything the others have in their hands..."

"You could at least arrange something with one of them for me! The thin one had a prettier face, but the chubby one had a nice ass..."

"Man, I swear I want to help you, but I can't do shit when you don't help yourself!"

"Aren't you going to ask for the phone number of one of those girls too, Okubo?," Kaneda asks, while the other two argue. Okubo looks to the side before shaking his head.

"Nah, I'm good. It's not like Himuro would give one to me, anyway..."

Kaneda nods slowly, his fox-like eyes fixed on him as he leans toward the prize counter, inspecting it with interest.

"Man, it's kinda hard to choose. There aren't many with a culinary theme," He comments, frowning a little. Most are gamer-themed..."

"Huh. I wonder why? The fact that we're in an arcade shouldn't have anything to do with it."

"Shut up, Himuro."

"Why not choose one with a broader theme?," Kaneda suggests, leaning over to inspect the signs, which were exposed on the wall just behind the prize counter. "The one where you read 'Smile and Smash' is funny, because the word can refer to both food and fights. .."

"You're right!," Okubo smiles, excited, taking the tokens from his pocket and depositing them on the counter as he called, raising his arm, "Hey, lady, excuse me! I want to exchange these tokens here for that sign-"

"Hey, no! I want that sign there!"

Okubo immediately looks over his shoulder in surprise upon hearing the voice that exclaimed in agitation. He assumes a defensive posture, placing himself in front of the counter, straightening his back so his height and width are clearly evident. He didn't enjoy intimidating civilians, but if he had to...

"Oh, come on, don't make that face! I swear I'm willing to negotiate for it, haha."

Okubo's determination to fight for the prize wanes a little when he realizes who his challenger is. A woman was approaching quickly while smiling sympathetically at him, carrying a bag full of cute pins and charms. She nods in a friendly way, and if it weren't for the words she used, he would never have guessed that she was talking to him.

“Uhhhh…” He scratches the back of his head, exchanging a brief look with his friends, to which they just shrug. He turns to the girl again. "Sorry, lady, but… do you want that sign? That one specifically?," He points to said sign on the wall, to which the woman nods.

"Yes! Sorry, but I've had my eye on it since I walked into the arcade earlier."

"Well, so did I," He frowns a little, looking to the side. "Look, can't you pick another one? There are some really cool models too, and some even cute, girlier-"

“Hey, that's stereotyping, you know?," She puffs out her cheeks a little, and the expression reminds him a lot of Tomori. "I want this one, it's the one that best matches the aesthetics of my apartment. Why don't you choose another one? There are much more masculine ones there-"

“Hey, now you're the one stereotyping!,” He complains, raising his index finger in warning. And to his surprise, instead of taking his cue and raising her voice, she laughed. And it was a very delicate, bashful laugh, a hand with well-painted nails over her mouth.

"Ahaha, fair enough! Sorry about that. It's just that when you see a man as big and strong as you, a cute neon sign isn't the first thing you associate with him."

Okubo blinks, taking a few seconds to understand her words, as well as the slightly ingratiating smile that accompanied them. He distinctly hears Rihito mutter a “you gotta be kidding me…” from behind him, and he couldn't help but share the sentiment.

Holy shit… he would've looked around for the cameras recording a possible prank if he wouldn't look ridiculous doing it. He clears his throat in an attempt to find his voice.

"Uh... yeah, I'm a little box full of surprises, haha ," He laughs a little too loudly. "But the truth is that the sign isn't for me…"

"Is it for a sister? A niece? Anyway, it's very sweet of you," She deduces, her smile widening, "I'm even embarrassed to keep insisting on taking the sign, in this case."

"Uh- no, actually it's for-"

"How about we make a trade then?," She suddenly suggests. And at his confused expression, she laughed again. "Oh, am I being too forward? Sorry, I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Hirata Chise, but you can call me just Chise. And you?

"Huh... Okubo. Okubo Naoya," He answers, without thinking too much. And his surprise only grows when her eyes widen in sudden recognition.

"Okubo… wait, isn't that the name of that famous fighter? The MMA one?"

... Seriously, was that some kind of delusion? Was he dreaming and he didn't realize it? Or was he suddenly transported to a universe where women recognized him and were interested in him as if he had switched places with Himuro?

He again looked over his shoulder, wanting to see if Rihito, Himuro and Kaneda were listening to make sure he wasn't freaking out, but the three had walked a good few steps away, seeming interested in what the prize counter was displaying. Or at least they pretended to be. He'd known those fuckers long enough to know they had their ears pricked.

"Ahaha… yeah. That's me,” He nods, scratching the back of his head again, and the girl lets out an excited gasp.

"Damn, I can't believe I'm talking so casually with a guy like that!l" She exclaims, clapping her hands excitedly. "One of my friends back there commented that she thought you looked familiar!"

"Wow... I'm flattered, being recognized like this by a group of pretty girls. It doesn't happen every day, haha!," He comments without thinking much; if he hadn't been able to control his silver tongue all those weeks, he wouldn't be able to now. "But in that case... do you think an autograph and a selfie are enough to pay for the sign?"

She laughs again, shaking her head. "Nice try. But I was actually going to propose a more specific exchange."

"Oh... I'll cover part of the price for the sign, if that's the case, no fuss-"

"No, that's not it," She turns her head a little. "I'm not interested in money. I'm more interested in knowing a little more about the guy offering it to me."

... Holy fuck. That was the only reaction his mind was able to conjure up at the moment. Just... holy fuck.

He now wondered if the girl's initial intention was really to convince him to give up the sign, or if it was all just a pretext to get closer. And he wondered, too, if he wasn't being too arrogant to consider that possibility. But after all those years, he couldn't conceive a reality where women spontaneously flirted with him. None had done so before.

None, except for...

“Uh…look, lady-”

"Chise."

"Chise," He corrects himself. "I… damn, I don't even know what to say, haha…"

"You don't have to say anything, just answer if you accept my proposal. What do you think?," She plays with a lock of hair, tucking it behind her ear, and again, Tomori's smiling face appears in his head. "Want to go grab food after we exit the arcade? Your friends can come too! One of my friends even wants the number of that tanned guy..."

Okubo distinctly heard one of the guys further back having a coughing fit. Rihito, probably. He, however, concentrated on taking a closer look at the woman before him.

She must've been a little shorter than Kaneda. She was dressed casually and a little heavy, considering it was summer, but with the arcade's AC running, it shouldn't have been a nuisance to her. A delicate white wool cardigan over a baby blue boatneck top, a pink slant skirt, tights and ballet flats. It all complemented her proportionate figure. Her hair was black and straight, framing a face with skin so fair it was almost freckled. Her eyes were large and expressive, and her pink painted mouth looked very kissable.

Verdict: she was a pretty girl. Beautiful, even. Hell, two months ago he would've accepted the invitation without even thinking twice! But now...

Well, now all he could do was look at her clothes and think that cute pastel style would look just as good on Tomori.

Holy shit, if he'd had any doubts before that he was really fucked, it was gone for good.

"... I appreciate the invitation, Chise, seriously," He assures, smiling with a certain guilt. "But I can't accept it. What I was trying to say is that this sign is a gift for a woman, but not a sister or niece. It's a friend. But she's still someone important to me.

“…Oh,” Chise blinks, and her disappointed expression manages to make him feel a little guilty. “Wow, I- I didn't know you had a girlfriend…”

"I don't. But..."

“But she is a candidate for the post. Got it," She nods, looking to the side while making a face. "Damn, that's kinda embarrassing..."

"Don't feel bad, you're pretty as hell! It's just that I-"

"I understood. You don't have to try to make me feel better," She interrupts him, waving a hand. "I'm late, that's okay. Life goes on."

"Uh… my tanned friend can still give you his number, he's available," Holy shit, when would he have thought that one day he would offer Himuro's contact information to random women without seething with rage and envy?

"Oh… well…," She looks from behind him, suddenly interested. "Yeah, he's really hot, wow!"

He didn't know whether to be relieved or offended that she had recovered from his rejection so quickly, and all because of that man-whore's presence.

"Yeah, that's what they all say. I can call him right now if you want-"

"Hey, lady, is that a number you want? Well, you can stop looking for it now!"

Rihito's loud voice, right next to his right ear, made Okubo jump, but not as much as Chise did. She takes a step back as Rihito claps his friend's shoulder in a friendly way, smiling a bit too enthusiastically at her.

"So, what do you say? My pal here is not interested, but I sure am! You're a knockout, y'know?"

“Uh…thanks, but I-”

"And you still came with a bunch of equally hot friends! Wonderful, so none of my pals will be alone. Let’s exchange numbers! Then we can schedule a mixer!," He offers. "In the meantime, do you want help choosing another prize, since my friend here wants that dumb sign?"

"No, no need to-"

"Come on, don't be shy! I just want to lend you a hand, be a gentleman. You like gentlemen, right? I can be that and much more with the right encouragement, hehe- hey, hey, where are you going? We haven't even exchanged numbers yet! Hey!," he calls, a little too loudly, as the girl hurries away with a grimace. He sighs. "Man, it's always the same. But hey, this time it was for a good cause."

Okubo imitates poor Chise's grimace.

"Wait, is this serious? Like, it's nice of you and all, bro, but there's no need to scare the poor girl away just so I wouldn't get in a tight spot-"

"What? I didn't do this for you, what the hell! I did it because Himuro already got two numbers, and I'd be even more pissed if he got a third."

"... Son of a bitch. A genius, but still a son of a bitch. And stupid, because you ruined a chance to go out with that girl, I could have introduced you, to her, dumbass."

"Wow," Rihito raises an eyebrow. "Were you really going to introduce me to her? You, the guy who's as pussy starved as I am? So does that mean you weren't interested in her?"

Okubo's eyes widen at his friend's question, but he takes a deep breath, both to avoid punching him in the face and dying of embarrassment. "​​I can't do two different things at the same time outside the octagon, I'm focused on getting my freakin' prize!," he points to the sign. "And really, if you're that desperate, go to Miss Rino's club and leave me alone!"

"Without you? Man, the problem with your dick is worse than I thought..."

"You're going to have a problem with yours if you don't quit your bullshit…," Okubo threatens, getting tense, the tokens in his hand crumpling. "Either you stop bothering me or I'll make you a punching bag and we'll never come back here again!," he looks Rihito in the eyes, showing his full height, the shadow passing over the other. Himuro and Kaneda knew that pose very well, but he had never threatened Rihito with such anger.

Rihito blinks, momentarily perplexed. But considering how his expression darkened as well, he recovered pretty quickly.

"Huh? Are you trying to intimidate me,you jerk? You're thinking I'm afraid of your fucked-up face or something?," He yells, advancing and pointing to the other. "You're big but so am I, fucker! Fuckin' come at me!"

"Not as big as I am, asshole!"

Both raise their fists.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!," Himuro's voice interrupts them, while he puts himself between the two with Kaneda. "Let's stop right there because things are getting very serious! Seriously, Rihito, dude's hung up on only one girl, so let him be. And you, Okubo... you can stop hiding it, we already know that you got it bad for Miss Uta. So calm the fuck down, grab that stupid sign and lets get the hell outta here, okay?"

If there was a more effective way to quell a heated argument, Okubo didn't know it. He stares at Himuro, dumbfounded, mouth gaping in mute shock. He turns to the other two, wanting to say something, but his voice just won't come out. Rihito crosses his arms, frowning and still breathing heavily, while Kaneda just sighs heavily, running his right hand through his hair.

"Look, Himuro is right. Let's just get our prizes and leave before the arcade staff come shooing us out for good. We can talk better once we're out."

Rihito lets out a disinterested grunt, shrugging, while Okubo can't think of anything to reply. The expression 'deer in the headlights' seemed to have been made for him.

They exchange the tokens for the prizes and leave the arcade very quickly, being followed by several pairs of eyes. Yeah, apparently their faces wouldn't be forgotten so soon. Once on the street of the shopping area, Okubo seriously considered running away, but decided against it after concluding that those three would easily catch up with him, considering the movement around them. He didn't want to look like a coward, either.

He winces as he feels the three pairs of eyes glued to his back, practically burning the back of his neck. He wanted to tell them to fuck off, Rihito in particular. What the hell did they want him to say?! That he was sorry for not saying anything sooner? As if they had an obligation to share every single detail of their lives with each other...

"So," Himuro sighs. "We already know, big guy. Spit it out."

He lets out a huge grunt, throwing his head back in an exaggerated motion. Kaneda sighs too.

"Don't be dramatic, Okubo, c'mon..."

"I'm not! Why do I have to spit out something?," He asks, a little too aggressively, as he glares at them over his shoulder. "Haven't you already figured it all out on your own? Aren't you hard-boiled detectives, the fucking japanese Sherlock Holmeses? So there's that!"

"Yeah, but we still want to hear it from your mouth..."

"Well, it ain't gonna happen! And you won't make me, not even if you threaten to beat the shit outta me, the three of you at the same time," He warns, pointing to them. Rihito, Himuro and Kaneda looked at each other, communicating non-verbally in a way that got on his nerves. And then Rihito snorts, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone.

"Oh, we won't? I didn't want to do this, but you gave me no choice."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"If you don't say what we want to hear right now, I'm going to call Miss Uta and spill the beans to her."

"What- No!," Okubo almost screams, turning around immediately, his eyes bugging out. "It doesn't- I mean- you're bluffing, you asshole! You don't even have her number!"

"And how do you know?," Rihito narrows his eyes menacingly. "I entered her house even before you did, remember? What guarantee do you have that I haven't had her number for a while too?"

"Rihito...!," Okubo growls, getting redder by the second, and Himuro and Kaneda move away to avoid the collision, in case he charges at the other. "I swear I'll rearrange your whole fucking face! Drop that phone!"

"Eh, I don’t feel like it," He slides his thumb up and down the screen in defiance. "My thumb is itching to press the call button..."

"I'm serious! Give me that shit!," Okubo reaches out, furious, but Rihito is faster, throwing the phone aside. The device is deftly picked up by Himuro, and Okubo just wants to scream in frustration. "Damn you...! What do you want from me?"

“We want the truth, man. That's all," Himuro shakes the phone from side to side as Okubo scratches his scalp hard.

"Ugh, why? Didn't you already figure it out on your own?!"

"Yes, but it's still serious enough to demand confirmation from the accused party himself," Kaneda declares, and when Okubo tries to steal the cell phone from Himuro's hands, he more than quickly throws it to him, and Kaneda puts it inside his garments. "Come on, just say yes or no. Are you in love with Miss Uta?"

"I..."

"Don't give me that 'I' crap, it's yes or no, dipshit!," Rihito rolls her eyes. "Go ahead, spit it out, or Kaneda will have a lot to talk about with Miss Uta on the phone.”

"Fucking hell, I hate you guys...!"

"We love you too. Now answer us, goddamn it, before-"

"YES!," Okubo finally shouts, throwing his arms up in absolute frustration and making some people passing nearby jump. "I've got it bad for her, damn it! So much so that it even scares me a little! I keep thinking about having the sappiest moments possible with her and I can't even be embarrassed about of it, for fuck's sake! I know this all started because I wanted to get laid, but now that's not all I want, okay? She's cute, funny, firm in her convictions and fiercer than half the guys I've faced in my matches! I want that woman all to myself, and if I have to give up the playboy lifestyle, then so be it! She's worth ten thousand others!," He faces his friends, furiously red, breathing hard. "There, I said it! Are you jerks happy now?!"

Rihito, Himuro, and Kaneda just stare at him, eyes wide and jaws slack. The uncomfortable silence lasts for almost half a minute, where they are sizing each other up, waiting for someone to make the first move. Some people on the street were watching them, curious, worried about the shouting, some even laughing as they sneered at Okubo. Did he have time to run to the light and throw himself in front of the first car that passed?

It is then that Himuro lets out a farting sound, turning his face to the side. Kaneda hides a chuckle by covering his mouth with the sleeve of his robes, and Rihito opens a huge devilish smile.

"Yeah, man, now we are. But you wanna hear something funny?"

"What?!"

"I was really bluffing. Miss Uta never gave me her number. Sorry about that, hehehe."

“Wha- oooooh, you fucking bitches!," Okubo almost squeals, barely making himself heard amidst the laughter of his friends. "You tricked me! You deceived me! You stabbed me in the back! You fucking traitors! You deserve to burn in Hell!

"Hell? After everything we've been doing to help our soap opera protagonist? Our little allotment in Heaven is already reserved!," Himuro declares, imitating his dramatic tone, and Rihito laughs mischievously.

"Reserved with all honors, because only a saint can endure all this sissy shit without wanting to pull his hair out, hehehahaha!"

"But our mission will only be complete when the main couple is made official, which I hope will happen without half of this fussiness, for the sake of Okubo's dignity," Kaneda comments, still laughing, and the three disperse between laughs while Okubo tried to kick them, mortified.

"I'm going to make your death certificates official, you assholes!"

"Don't do that, Okubo! You can't tell Miss Uta everything you told us from inside a prison cell!"

"No, he can! This will only make the soap opera even more dramatic and interesting to watch!"

"A statement straight from the penitentiary, guys, it's pure originality! It's just a shame that Okubo won't be able to remain faithful in that case, if the stories about what goes on in the showers there are true!"

"Seriously, can you guys remind me why we're still friends? At the moment I can't think of any reason! You shitheads...," Okubo gives up on his rage, putting his right hand on his furiously red face and groaning, trying to ignore how the other three laughed in his ear.

"Want a reminder, you jerk? Don't forget that we've been willing to accompany you all these weeks to that sugar shack, all the times you wanted to see this girl, without asking for anything in return," Rihito points at him, to which Okubo rolls his eyes.

"Anything? I've already lost count of how many cookies, donuts, croissants and nightcaps I had to pay you."

"And that, for your bank account, is the same as nothing!"

"You really think that I shit money, don't you?"

"Doesn't matter! The point is," Kaneda starts, raising a finger. "We've always been here, supporting you, haven't we? We helped you with every doubt you had about the best ways to approach Miss Uta."

"We even agreed to learn how to cook rice balls and research about flowers when you insisted on that complete bouquet shit," Himuro crosses his arms. "Is that being a traitor? You ungrateful asshole."

Okubo blushes again, remorse overcoming his anger and embarrassment. He presses the neon sign box to his chest.

“I… I'm sorry, guys. It's just that...," He then sighs, running a hand over his face. "I've wanted to be open with you for a while, but I couldn't..."

"Why not?"

"Because I knew you were going to make fun of me, damn it!"

"Of course we would! It's one of life's inevitabilities!," Rihito shrugs. "Even more so with that statement of yours now. We really didn't expect you to give in with such enthusiasm..."

"Give in? What does that... oooh, you...!," His eyes widened when he realized. "Was all that antics, from the arcade until here, on purpose? Even your teasing, you bleached fag?!"

"That's not what your mom called me last night! But yeah, it was on purpose," Rihito admits, not seeming at all ashamed of it. "After seeing you rejecting a babe like that, we had no more doubts. It was all about getting you to spit it all out.

"Yep! And there's no 'we', Himuro and I had realized it a long time ago," Kaneda says. "I just wanted to make sure that you yourself had realized it too."

“Yeah, I… I already had. It's been a few days, actually," Okubo admits, a little grudgingly. Now that he'd given himself away like an idiot, there was no point in trying to hide it. The four of them resume walking, still talking. "Since that day I entered her house for the first time."

"Jeez, since that day? But…," Himuro then blinks. "Wait, wasn't it the same day you found out about the posters in her room?"

"Holy shit, it is! So that's why you didn't bang her?," Rihito asks, a bit indignant. "Because you realized that you've got it bad for her? Was the poster thing a lie?"

"Hell no, it was true!," He reassures quickly. "I didn't send pictures to prove it only because I was too shocked at the time!"

"And because it would be a tremendous disrespect for her privacy, right?"

“… Y-Yeah, that too."

"Good lord..."

"Anyway!," Okubo shakes his head, his face red. "I did intend to finally get to third base with her that night, and the fucking posters got in the way. But then when I realized how I felt... I concluded that this was no longer my priority. I'm not saying I don't want it anymore!," He warns when Rihito opens his mouth to say something. "Because I really want to! It's just that this is no longer my main goal, but a consequence of it."

"So your main goal is for Miss Uta to be your girlfriend, is that it?," Himuro asks, and Okubo nods shyly.

"Yeah. My official girlfriend, the kind I won't hide even from paparazzi."

"You wouldn't have to, it's not like you need to worry about paparazzi on the same rate as Sekibayashi or Gaolang…”

"Fuck off, Himuro."

"Anyway, it's like Kaneda said, isn't it?," Rihito says suddenly. "The soap opera doesn't end while the main couple isn't made official. As long as Miss Uta is not officially your girl, this hullabaloo will never end. So in that case..."

"What? Are you- Are you still going to help me?," Okubo asks, surprised and a little emotional, "Even with the change of plans?"

"Of course! I mean, it's not like I can make a pass at her right after you any longer. I would be the biggest backstabber this side of Tokyo," Rihito shrugs, "And if you become a fallen soldier, there's less competition during our 'hunts'."

“And one less desperate idiot to bother me when I'm gathering phone numbers,” Himuro nods, and Okubo stares at them, unimpressed.

“I should've figured it was because you were going to get something out of it…"

"Yeah, we all got something out of it. You included. Come on, we still want to see you happy, and we've proved that to you from the start, haven't we?," Kaneda smiles, giving him a friendly pat on the back. "We're just going to keep doing what we've always done. Not even our strategies need to change. You've seen how good we are with them."

"Yeah! Thanks to our masterstroke, you spilled the beans," Rihito raises a thumb, smiling sharply. "We just need to maintain the quality of the service and Miss Uta will be yours in no time. And it's not like she doesn't want the same anyway."

Okubo swallows a little, trying to clear a sudden lump in his throat. Those fuckers managed to prove themselves the best of friends even when they were acting like self-serving assholes, holy shit...

"Yeah... thanks, guys... but do you really think she feels the same?"

"Bro, only an idiot wouldn't think so! She's been crazy about you from the start!," Rihito gestures, to which the bald man shakes his head.

"She was crazy about me from the beginning like a fan is crazy about her idol. But now things have changed between us. And even with the dates, kisses and fun times spent together, I don't know if her feelings are growing alongside mine, at least not at the same speed..."

"Dude, give us a fucking break!," Rihito rolls his whole head along with his eyes. "Worrying about this now will only get in the way of your plans. If she doesn't happen to feel that way now, just make sure she feels that way from now on!"

"Man, it's not that simple..."

“Actually, it is that simple. Yes, Rihito is right, as absurd as it may seem," Kaneda nods, ignoring when Rihito gives him the middle finger. "Even if by some chance she hasn't reached the same level as you in terms of how she feels, nothing prevents her from reaching that point eventually. Just keep doing what you're doing, it's been working so far."

"But I personally don't think that's the case," Himuro comments. "The way she was looking at you when Murobuchi showed up at the bakery that day... if that wasn't the look of a girl who was completely smitten, I don't know what else would be."

"Really?!"

"Trust me, I'm somewhat of an expert in that department."

"Stop using our pal's amorous afflictions as a pretext to boast, you man-whore!"

"Ahahaha!," Okubo laughs loudly, his free hand on his stomach. The other three stare at him in disbelief.

"He didn't give a shit about Himuro's exhibitionism… yeah, he's really fucked."

"Yeah, but he seems to be happy about it too. That's what matters, I guess."

"No, that's- that's not it! It's just that I…," Okubo coughs a little to try to control his laughter. "It's just that I'm feeling lighter, after finally telling you guys the truth. It's too good to know that I no longer need to hide, pretend, make excuses..."

“Yeah, well, now you're free to be the hopeless romantic you've always been inside. We're not going to judge you… too much," Rihito adds after thinking, and then he laughs at Okubo's frown. "Come on, man, isn't it enough that we're on your side? That we want this to happen almost as much as you? I said that day, making this girl yours is now a matter of honor!"

"Yes! Seriously, thanks, Rihito-"

"And if you want to thank me when you two are officially together, her friend's number is enough payment!"

"Holy shit, this obsession of yours reached pathological levels! You fucking nutcase!"

The four of them continued walking, laughing and teasing each other, normality returning with an ease that Okubo was very grateful for. In love or not, he hoped he never changed how he saw his best friends, and he hoped they wanted the same...

It is then that Rihito's phone, still inside Kaneda's robes, vibrates. Kaneda stops walking, taking it out of there and giving him back to it's owner.

"Here, man. I forgot about it during the conversation..."

"Well, it served its purpose and that's enough, hehe. Okay, let's see who's bothering me this time...," He comments without much interest, dragging his thumb up on the screen. "A message from Kazuo about the thing with the licenses, and... wow!," He suddenly stops short, widening his eyes, as the other three almost run into him.

"Damn, don't block the way like that, dumbass!," Himuro exclaims. "What is it?"

"It's a message from Koga!," Rihito clicks on the contact, opening a huge, excited smile. "They did it, guys! Miss Kanami and the whole gang from the bakery found an available location!"

"Wait, really?!," Okubo exclaims, a little too loudly, while Himuro, Kaneda and he run to crowd around Rihito, wanting to see the messages too. "They really did?"

"Yeah! Apparently Gaoh found an empty lot not far from the SJPW headquarters that is the perfect size for the new facility. They went to check with Kazzy to see if there was a way to get in touch with the lot's original owner, and then Yoshitake helped too," Rihito explains while sliding the screen upwards with his thumb. "Now it's official, the lot is now Auntie's property!"

"Oh, this is great!," Kaneda exclaims while the other three punch the air excitedly. "​​After all these weeks, their efforts finally paid off! They honestly deserve it..."

"For sure! And we were part of it!," Himuro exchanges a high-five with Rihito. "Miss Kanami must be throwing punches of joy around, hahaha!"

"As long as it's not at us, I support it!," Okubo laughs loudly. ​​"Man, that calls for a celebration!"

"Koga and you thought the same thing, bro!," Rihito laughs out loud too, bringing the phone closer to Okubo’s face. "He’s already inviting everyone to a party at the sugar shack, that’s why he sent these messages!"

"What, today? Now?"

"Yeah! What do you say, gentlemen?," Rihito smiles invitingly. "Is there still room left in those bellies of yours for a feast?"

"Hell yeah!," Okubo, Himuro and Kaneda exclaim in unison, throwing their arms up. Hell, there would always be room in their stomachs for the wonderful food at the Heavy Bakery, especially when it had the sweet taste of victory going with it!

And for Okubo, that was another excellent excuse, because he could celebrate alongside Tomori! He could congratulate her on that achievement, eat and have fun with her in a happy and festive atmosphere and who knows, maybe even ask her to dance if they decided to play music...

It's then that an idea pops into his head, making him pause, arms still outstretched. He turns to his friends, his excitement building.

"Wait, guys, time out! I just had the best idea, but it's going to require us to go back to my apartment. We're going to need my car."

The other three stop celebrating and stare at him, curious.

"Oh yeah? Why?"

Okubo smiles in a hopeful way.

"Well, you won't want to carry our musical instruments on foot, on your backs, will you?"

NEXT CHAPTER

[maggiecheungs]

hello ! Sorry to bother But I was wondering if u had any 90's Hong Kong movies that you could recommend me ? I'm researching them for school and I usually get the most interesting and gutwrenching sinophone movie recs from your blog so I thought I should ask if u had any ! Thank u ❣️

Hey you 🥰 this is probably waaaaaay to late to be of any help with your research (sorry!) but I'll answer anyway just in case <3 (also, it got. a bit long 😳 so sorry about that lmao)

I'll start off by addressing the elephant in the room, a.k.a. Wong Kar-wai: the director you really can't avoid mentioning when talking about 90s and 00s Hong Kong cinema, and for good reason. I won't mention all his films here, but his best known are probably In the Mood for Love (which is regularly hailed as one of the greatest films ever made, which. yes); Happy Together (a staple of queer cinema starring Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung caught up in a fever-like, destructive love affair in Buenos Aires); Chungking Express (another classic beloved by many, many people); Fallen Angels (a stylish and chaotically seductive about eccentric figures inhabiting Hong Kong's nightlife).

Another director from this period who I think is worth highlighting is Stanley Kwan. He's probably best known for Rouge, which is from 1987 but which I’m including because it’s a classic; it stars the wonderful Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui as the principals in a doomed, decades-spanning love affair, featuring sumptuous visuals, ghosts, and time-slippages between the 1930s and 1980s. His other most notable work is probably Center Stage (1991); it's a very meta biopic of the 1930s actress Ruan Lingyu, who is portrayed by Maggie Cheung, and Kwan uses the film to draw parallels between the two actresses living decades apart. And I'll also mention his Lan Yu (2001), a gay love story set against the backdrop of Tiananmen Square and its aftermath (it's probably weird to admit that this is one of my comfort films but shrugs).

Comrades: Almost a Love Story (1996) is an absolute favourite of mine, about immigrant identity, missed chances and lives you could have led, human connection under capitalism, and the love story between two people whose paths keep crossing despite everything--all of which is topped off with fantastic performances from Maggie Cheung and Leon Lai.

Farewell My Concubine (1993) was a Hong Kong-mainland co-production and is probably one of the best known films on this list, starring the fantastic Leslie Cheung in one of the defining performances of his career (tbh it would be worth watching for his performance alone). Coming in at just under 3 hours, it's a cinematic epic in pretty much every sense of the word.

Speaking of Leslie Cheung: Viva Erotica (1996), in which he plays an arthouse director whose Serious Films keep flopping, so he has to turn his next film into an erotic movie financed by a triad boss. It’s funny and big-hearted and has some unexpectedly interesting things to say about filmmaking and cinema as both an industry and as an artform.

Ann Hui is one of the few female big-name Hong Kong directors of the 90s; I'd recommend her 1990 film Song of the Exile--a film about generational conflict, immigration, cultural alienation and family ties, which takes place across the UK, Hong Kong, and Japan, and stars Maggie Cheung in the lead role. (Another prominent woman director from the period whom I've been meaning to watch since forever Mabel Cheung--really looking forward to finally seeing something of hers soon.)

Takeshi Kaneshiro and Kelly Chen had quite a few collaborations which are rather nice. Their Anna Magdalena (1998) is a quirky but poignant love-triangle story that inexplicably turns into a delightful steampunk romp. Lost and Found (1996) is another quirky-but-poignant love story, albeit a little more sedate.

For action films, there's the legendary John Woo, whose films are pretty quintessential action flicks--Hard Boiled is a pretty good example of his filmography. There's also The Heroic Trio and Executioners (both 1993): an action duology starring Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung and Anita Mui as a trio of ass-kicking vigilante superheroes. It's sooooo much fun, peak cinema, marvel could never, etc. etc. I'm also going to mention Infernal Affairs (2002), starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Andy Lau, because it's one of my favourite action thriller films of all time.

Wuxia: a lot of the most well-known titles of the genre are from the first decades of the 2000s, and because of their scope they tend to be international productions, but often had veteran Hong Kong actors in main roles (for example, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Hero (2002), House of Flying Daggers (2004)--all of which I would recommend, btw). But there were also quite a few wuxia films that came out of Hong Kong in the 90s, including New Dragon Gate Inn (a fun 1992 remake of the 1960s wuxia classic, starring Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Maggie Cheung); The Green Snake (1993), a retelling of the traditional Legend of the White Snake that doubles as an interesting deconstruction of lots of the main tropes of the wuxia genre; Wong Kar-wai's 1994 Ashes of Time, which has an insanely star-studded cast and is pretty much what you'd expect a wkw wuxia film to be like.

.......aaaaaaand i'm going to stop there, because this is already a Lot😅 but hopefully there's something of use in here--if not for your research, then at least recommending a new film to watch <3

[captainderyn]

Ryn & pets? Ryn & Garrus & pets? Do they have any/would they ever want any (circumstances permitting)? Did Ryn have a pet she might have begged for when she was a kid, or was there something else more up her alley she dreamed for?

Thank you for the ask!!

Neither Ryn or Garrus had the chance to grow up with pets given their lifestyles. Both of them grew up in predominantly military-type settings, with Ryn (spacer origin) growing up across a variety of Alliance ships. (an aside, this fact throws people off, especially non-humans who think the unintentional face of humanity is well...from Earth and Ryn's like "hah nope, used to visit family in Vancouver every couple years though").

That didn't stop Ryn from begging for some kind of pet as a child though, especially when she saw all the children's vids of young characters with their animal sidekicks. When she was a little girl she wanted a dog, but not just any dog, a talking dog like the sidekick in one of her favorite vids. She was naturally told no, as Alliance cruisers are no place for pets. After their next trip to Earth, where she saw lots of kids her age with real dogs running around, stubborn Baby Ryn buckled down on wanting a dog even more. At wits end, her parents got her a toy dog, a little stuffed animal. Did it work? no. But Ryn finally stopped asking.

Ryn still absolutely loves animals and will absolutely take the chance to play with and see them every chance she gets. Whenever she got/gets shore leave she tries to go find an animal shelter that allows you to come pat the animals and play with them. She always told herself when she was grown she'd get her own pet, but then she enlisted and well...back to life on Alliance ships she went.

She DOES have her fish (which she was tragically horrible at caring for at first and she cried every time something went wrong, but after lots of articles and vids she's finally figured it out) and her little space hamster in her quarters on the Normandy. While fish and hamsters aren't really what she wanted for pets, she was happy just to have finally fulfilled a little corner of her dream.

Post-ME3, when Ryn and Garrus settle down somewhere permanently , finally (idk where yet) and Ryn's still walking her long road to recovery, Garrus brings up the idea of finally getting a pet of some kind. When Ryn was recovering in the wake of defeating the Reapers, he spent a lot of time with Hannah (Ryn's mom), who told him all sorts of stories about Ryn growing up. A dog was a big part of that lol.

I'd like to think they get a big standard collie (ya know, like the Lassie dogs? Am I projecting? Maybe) and Ryn adores this dog. Garrus will come home to find this dog sprawled out next to Ryn as she's all snuggled up. This dog brings more smiles to Ryn's face more often than Garrus had seen since before the events of ME3 began.

(And hey, even if he doesn't have any idea what he's doing and they spent lots of time doing research, he loves the dog too. It's a delightful part of life he'd never been able to partake in).

[historicallyaccuratecheese]

Very Important Blog Update, Please Read if you Have the Time!

For a while, this blog that I've been running has kind of had a...primary goal, so to speak. That goal has been to write massive, long-form essay posts about my time listening to The Magnus Archives. Going forward, I'd...like to change my approach to how I utilize this blog, and explain what I mean under the cut. (Also, sorry if this is a bit short and scattered and all over the place and if the stuff I'm insinuating kind of flip-flops as the post progresses, I'm writing this in a bit of a hurry, but hopefully it'll make sense by the end.)

So…I’m gonna be honest with everyone. As much as I hate to say it…my tma hyperfixation has kind of slipped recently. Is this for any particular reason? No, I still think the show is absolutely brilliant. Does this mean I don’t plan to ever finish it or talk about it on this blog ever again? Fuck no! But…this does kind of mean that when I come back to posting about the podcast is…indeterminate until I find both the time and energy to rekindle my fixation on it…and given where I’m at in life at the moment it’s kind of hard to tell when that will be, although I hope it won’t be too long from now.

I’m really really sorry to break this news to anyone who’s been following my posts, especially after such a long time of absolutely nothing, but…this is just kind of the way my head works I guess. I sustain a massive interest in something, then it fizzles out for like…two to six months and then comes back in full force. I still love tma and want to see it through to the end, and for all I know I could start posting about it again as soon as like…two weeks from now. But…I unfortunately can’t make any promises when considering how my academic life is in a really stressful period at the moment, and how there’s just other stuff that’s taken over my brain for the time being.

And on that note, I just wanted to make sure…are people who have been following me for tma like…happy to read stuff about other things I’m into? Because like, this blog has primarily been focused on tma for most of its life and I understand that’s what a lot of people have come here for, but like…I don’t know, I initially made this blog as a way to talk about all of my interests (and to escape the constantly sinking ship that is twitter.com but that’s another story), and then tma just…conveniently became the thing I ended up talking about the most, but…I’d like to talk about other stuff if people are up for it!

Some things I might want to talk about are Hollow Knight, Undertale/Deltarune, and then…whatever else happens to come up or resurface in my brain at the moment! I’m actually hoping to get into Ace Attorney in the coming weeks when things settle down slightly for me, I’ve never really delved into the series before (other than playing through most of the first game but that was a good few years ago and I don’t remember much other than really liking it), but after catching glimpses of a…certain person known for creating some very good fan dubs live-blogging their experience with the games, I thought…”sure, why not?” And besides, I’d like it if I could appeal to a wider audience and meet some more people who are into the same things as me, especially since it’s been such a delight hearing from other people who are into tma, plus it would be nice to start…you know, actually speaking my mind here again instead of just Reblogging most of the time like I have these past few months.

Basically, the crux of the post is that…I don’t really want to treat this blog like some sort of big, exclusively tma-focused project anymore. I already have enough big projects, especially of the essay variety, to do for class. I will still definitely listen to and talk about tma when I next get a good chance and the motivation to, and try to inform people about my thoughts and my experience, and hope to do so very soon, but…I don’t really want that to just be it anymore, and…yeah, I think I might just need to put this series I’ve been doing to rest.

Like, I’ve tried to rework my format into something a bit more easy to manage, but…if I’m being real, treating a leisurely activity as a task to complete just isn’t it, and if I’m to get back into it at all I think that I might just need to enjoy it on my own terms. In fact, unless I get a sudden spark of motivation to do so, or...until they stop being a thing I have to do against my will for a while, I don't think I'll be planning any long-form essay posts for the time being, because like I said, I'm already doing quite a bit of that for school. I want both listening to tma and running this blog to be something I do for my own pleasure first and foremost, because...I could really use that right now. I don't want to get too into personal details here, but I've honestly been lacking motivation to touch any of my hobbies recently, so...I feel like I should just do something that's more easy on myself and relaxing during my free time, and hopefully that'll get me in high and passionate spirits once again. And hey, I'm sure I'll eventually come up with some new idea for a project one day, and something tma-related is absolutely on the table, although...I might make dedicated blogs for those projects just in case.

But with all of that being said...I do still value the opinions of everyone who's been following my tma posts. I've had a great time reading the comments that everyone's made and it's extremely cathartic to make people happy with my own creations, but...I just want to make sure that people would be open to other stuff. Obviously, I don't want to pressure anyone, like, don't feel obligated to comment about posts on a fandom you're not a part of just to make me feel better, but as long as people are willing to hear me out with whatever I make next, and don't expect this to be a blog that is primarily focused on one thing (other than...my brain, I guess?), then I will be extremely happy and never ask anyone for anything ever again.

Well uh...that's about it I guess. Like I said, I'm sorry if this is a little bit jumbled and all over the place, but hopefully I got my point across. Going forward...well, I don't really have much of a plan for the most part, other than to post about whatever the fuck I feel like, I guess. I'll keep this post pinned for the time being, but I think that after I start building up a wider repetoire of topics to talk about, I'll make a pinned post that acts as both an introduction to my blog, and links all of the tags for my various fandoms. I also plan to eventually upload my magnus posts to Ao3 (I am so sorry to the anon who asked me about that I know it has been a while), and...might make a dedicated blog to act as an archive (pun very much intended) for them? I don't know, that's a pretty big maybe at the moment. And uh...once again, all the thanks in the world to everyone who followed my tma posts as they came out, it was a wonderful experience, and I hope you're open to whatever I make next. And...while I can't promise that I'll post about every thought I have on every tma episode going forward...you bet your ass I will have some things to say after MAG 200 (and probably TmagP 90...whenever that comes out.) Well uh...bye, I'm going to do some studying and then continue my replay of Deltarune Chapter 2 (where I will be reacquianted with Queen who is the best character ever made and no I will not be taking criticism.)

[sdyuteiaok]

Well, with the ban announcement of Sorin (and Amalia) I decided to just spend today's wins playing my old Da Mindseeka EX deck, which I'd crafted one or two Sorins for way back--they aren't super crucial to the deck, but I had included them as a sorta "Oops, I win" condition. But the deck uses Westgate Regent as its big vampire, not Vein Ripper. The deck is mainly a Mindlink Mech deck, with a bunch of cool sabateur and abilities that either get better stacked or benefit from being hasted in via crew. The Splinter-Twin effect of the deck is having Indulging Patrician crew a Mindlink and then just from that attack alone, you get 10 damage: the four from the Mindlink attack, and then since it has lifelink from the clone, it and its source both drain for 3. And that's not even considering if you have another one laying around. But there are also smaller guys that benefit from the crew clone, like the 1/1 Vampire that grows if a player lost 4 life (which you can shock in a land and Thoughtseize to achieve) and so this puts a counter on both the source and the mech, and then I also have a few Suspicious Stowaway for card filtering and quick hits if I clone those. The deck certainly struggles, and I'm sure there are better cards I could slot in, but it's delightful when it works. It can almost certainly survive the ban, as, again, Sorin is not crucial to the deck, but as it is, this'll be the last chance to play it, so I took the opportunity to do so. Amalia, on the other hand, doesn't have any spot in any of my decks, unfortunately, so I won't be able to use her in a send off (funnily, two Vampire-themed bans for us, though unrelated, as I'm pretty sure no deck uses both of these). Amalia holds a special place to me cuz she was one of my most well-received Inktober pieces in some 8 years of doing it. I got tons of people around the world appreciating it, it was quite something. I even got an unhinged "virtue signal" comment just completely misconstruing the piece, which is kind of a sign you've made it, when the weirdos have to try to Make a Statement about whatever unrelated thing absolutely only ever microscopically, tangentially related to whatever. So I don't take that stuff seriously, and I'm just eager to make more entertaining stuff coming up. Woulda been nice to have the Amalia alt-art on Arena, too, but for whatever reason, they completely pooped the bed on Ixalan alt-arts and lands. Just unbelievable. Well, believable, but you get the idea.