#it’s actually not that bad but I’m just picturing the main character doin that in my mind

[orallech]

In my dinky ass ship with the ash twin warp core pulling up dark bramble on the map and marking it as I prepare to journey across the solar system to traverse this fuck ass interdimensional root system on a time limit with these angler fish

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers LUNATIC PARADE ;; Subaru Route ー Sub Scenario w/Ruki

–> In between the main route chapters, the player is taken to the area map of the Parade where you can freely roam around. There are four different places to visit, each with different mini games and sub scenarios to enjoy.

AREA: GLIMMER MAIN STREET

CHARACTER: RUKI

ー The scene starts in the inner hall of Onyx tower

Ruki: Hm...? I was wondering who could be here, but it’s you two.

Yui: Ruki-kun!

Ruki: Sakamaki Subaru. Seems like you aren’t spending the day inside your room today.

Subaru: Haah!? Where does that come from!?

Ruki: I’ve heard that you tend to stay cooped up inside your coffin most of the time. I just thought that was rather peculiar. 

Yui: ( I wonder who told him that...? )

Subaru: Those jerks keep on runnin’ their damn mouths...!

...For one, how am I supposed to stop bein’ a shut-in at this point...?

Ruki: Oh? It’s actually been bothering you?

Subaru: Shut up! Is that a sin or somethin’!?

Ruki: No, that’s not what I meant.

Let’s see...If it’s worrying you, feel free to learn from my brothers.

Yui: The Mukami brothers?

Ruki: Yes. For example, Kou visits various places all over the country as part of his job as an idol.

It’s a job which requires you to engage with others, so it’s perfect to get rid of that asocial attitude. 

Yui: ( Subaru-kun as an idol...I can’t picture that as well. )

Subaru: No way in hell I’m doin’ that shit.

Ruki: In that case, how do you feel about starting a vegetable garden at home like Yuma has?

It forces you to be out all day and work on the field, and requires physical strength as well.

However, it can be enjoyed alone without needing to talk to others, so I’d say it wouldn’t be a bad fit for someone like yourself?

Yui: ( Now that he mentions it, that might be a good idea. )

Subaru: Havin’ to work every day’s way too much of a drag. I also could care less ‘bout vegetables.

Ruki: Another ‘no’, huh...? ーー You leave me no other choice then. This is the final resort.

Yui: Do you have a good idea?

Ruki: Yes. It’s name...A shut-in boot camp.

Subaru: Boot camp?

Ruki: Drop by our manor sometime. I will give you personal guidance to get rid of your problem.

Everything starts with a well-regulated life schedule. At the Mukami manor, we start our activities in the morning. You will be participating in this as well.

Subaru: Haah? Vampires are asleep during the day, aren’t they?

Ruki: You won’t be able to stop being a shut-in with that sort of attitude.

Furthermore, I will ask Kou and Yuma for help as well so you can get a feel of what their jobs are like.

Additionally, you can be there for Azusa when he needs someone to talk to. I’m sure he’d be happy to hear that.

Last but not least,  you’ll undergo training to allow you to head outside voluntarily.

Yui: ( He really has everything planned out... )

Ruki: Those are the rough outlines of the program I came up with.

What do you think, Sakamaki Subaru? If you can stick with it for one month, you should be able to graduate from being a shut-in.

Yui: ( A whole month!? I think he might be setting the bar a little too high... )

Subaru: ...

Yui: S-Subaru-kun...?

Subaru: My answer...is no!

ー Subaru grabs hold of her hand

Subaru: Oi, let’s get goin’!

Yui: Ah, hold up...!

Ruki: Good grief...I wouldn’t say my offer was anything out of the ordinary, so what exactly is his problem?

ーー THE END ーー 

[hamanuelton]

my favorite parts of hamilton:

- “I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory.”

- every time Leslie Odom Jr. as aaron burr begins another part with “how did a bastard, orphan-“ or like in that same way ‘cause he doesn’t always start it that way but you know what I mean

- the way Leslie Odom Jr. as My Boi Burr™️ says “well, the world got around, they said, ‘this kid is insane, man!’”

- also when Leslie Odom Jr. as A. Burr says

“WHAT’S YOUR NAME, MAN?!”

- “our man saw his future drip-dripping down the drain, a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain”

- “Alexander Hamilton. My name is Alexander Hamilton. And there’s a million things I haven’t done, but just you wait, just you wait...”

- background “just you wait, just you wait”’s as hammy’s putting on a new jacket and ensemble is praising nyc

- “and me? i’m the damn fool that shot him.”

- “Burr, sir” + the continuation of this all throughout

- “If you talk you’re gonna get shot” / FORESHADOWING WOOOEEEEWOOOOO

- “i’m John Laurens in the place to be”

- Lafayette’s fuckinf accent

- “BRRRAH! BRRAAAH! HERCULES MULLIGAN UP IN IT LOVIN IT”

- “if you stand for nothing, Burr, what’ll you fall for”

- “‘Onarchy?”

- hey, yo, i’m just like my country, i’m young, scrappy, and hungry—

- the way Odom Leslie Jr. as The Hamburrglar™️ says ‘shot’ and they all take a shot

- this ⤵️

- Hammy getting //flustered// about friendship

- WHEN ARE THESE COLONIES GONNA RISE UP

- Angelica’s face when Burr is tryna tell her bout herself and she shows him up and ships him out

- Act 1: 6. Farmer Refuted

- honorable mention: “my dog speaks more eloquently than thee!" "but strangely, your mange is the same." "is he in jersey?”

- King George pouting

- Jonathan Groff’s overarticulation of each syllable as King George is a work of art

- “♪ Da-da-da-dat-da-dat-da-da-da-dai-ah-da! ♪ Da-da-da-da-dai-ah-da! ♪

- “Everybody! —“

- “We keep meeting.”

- “i imagine death so much it feels more like a memory. when’s it gonna get me? in my sleep? seven feet ahead of me?”

- “See, I never thought I’d live past twenty.”

- “this is not a moment, it’s the movement”

- “I’m laughin’ in the face of casualties and sorrow, for the first time, I’m thinkin’ past tomorrow!”

- “dying is easy, young man, living is harder!”

- “i’m being honest. i’m working with a third of what our Congress promised.”

- “you need all the help you can get. i have some friends. Laurens, Mulligan, Marquis de Lafayette, okay, what else?” — “we’ll need some spies on the inside, some king’s men who might let some things slide.”

- “watch this obnoxious, arrogant, loudmouth bother be seated at the right hand of the father.”

- “Martha Washington named her feral tomcat after him” — “That’s true.”

- “Yo, if your marry a sister, you’re rich, son!” — “Is it a question of ‘if’, Burr, or which one?” and then the little ‘hey’ ‘hey’ thing they do gets me every time

- literally the use of yo throughout the production fucking gets me every single fucking time

- “i’m writin’ a letter nightly. now my life gets better, every letter that you write me. — THE PURE UNBRIDLED SENSE OF FORESHADOWING IN “laughin’ at my sister, cuz she wants to form a harem” — ft. “i’m just sayin’, if you really loved me, you would share him!”

- the irony in “Eliza, i don’t have a dollar to my name”, you’ll be on the $10 bill, my man

- top-notch brain

- Angelica TRIED TO TAKE A BITE OF ME

- the way Anthony Ramos as John Laurens says “alright, alright. that’s what i’m talkin’ about!” and also the face that he makes

- hunger-pang frame

- “You strike me as a woman who has never been satisfied.” — “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. You forget yourself.” — “You’re like me. I’m never satisfied.” — “Is that right?” — “I have never been satisfied.” — “My name is Angelica Schuyler.” — “Alexander Hamilton.” — “Where’s your fam’ly from?” — “Unimportant. There’s a million things I haven’t done but just you wait, just you wait...”

- tbh the way ‘Schuyler’ is spelled is oddly satisfying to me

- honestly just the way LMM says Alexander Hamilton+/ my name is Alexander Hamilton, and there’s a million things i haven’t done, ‘just you wait, just you wait...’ throughout the production

- “i’m the oldest and the wittiest and the gossip in new york city is insidious”

- “You are the worst, Burr.”

- Act 1: 12. The Story of Tonight (Reprise)

- “love doesn’t discriminate, between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes”

- “love doesn’t discriminate, between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes and we keep living anyway. we rise and we fall and we break and we make our mistakes. and if there’s a reason i’m still alive when everyone who loves me has died—“

- “Chick-a-plao!”

- the way they say ‘raise a glass’ is both elegant and (appropriately) reverent

- “i go back to new york and my apprenticeship” — i shouted MY BOI HERCULES MULLIGAN UP IN IT LOVIN IT DID NOT JUST SAY THAT, IF HE ACTUALLY LEFT AND ISN’T JUST UNDERCOVER OR SOME SHIT IMMA WRITE LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA A STRONGLY WORDED LETTER

- the minute General Charles Les came into the picture i hated him so hard, even though his literal first word was ‘Whee!!!!’, though i can appreciate the sentiment and what LMM was tryna do there

- “Washington cannot be left to his devices indescisive, from crisis to crisis” — sweet baby jesus that alliteration, and jon rua totally pulled it off (i hate General Charles Lee not the person who played him, i can also appreciate the fact that as an actor it takes a lot of talent to be able to make you hate a character so easily, also shoutout to Jonathan Groff as King Georgey-Boy™️, Sydney James Harcourt as james reynolds, and the general way LMM somehow made me fed up/turn on Alexander with the whole scene with him and Maria Reynolds — and not only that but somehow redeemed himself to me which is easier said than done for characters and people alike.. i’ve been hurt too much to play like that.

- Act 1: 15. Ten Duel Commandments

- honorable mention: “if you don’t reach peace, that’s alright. time to get some pistols and a doctor on site. you pay him in advance, you treat him with civility. you have him turn around so he can have deniability.”

- Act 1: 17. That Would Be Enough

- honorable mention: the melody that LMM went with for that turn of phraseis a truly beautiful thing

- “Immigrants:” — “We get the job done.”

- THE FACT THAT MY MAIN MAN HERCULE MULLIGAN WAS ON THE INSIDE NOT ONLY DID I CALL IT BUT DAMN HE REALLY GOT THAT GOOD HOT TRIBUTE HE DESERVED

- “To my brother’s a revolutionary covenant! I’m runnin’ with the sons of liberty and I am lovin’ it! See, that’s what happens when you up against the ruffians. We’re in the shit now, somebody gotta shovel it! Hercules Mulligan, I need no introduction, when you knock me down I get the fuck back up again!”

- Act 1: 21. What Comes Next

- honorable mention: “i’m so blue” — the little squat that Groffsauce does as the light turns blue really got to me

- Act 1: 22. Dear Theodosia

- Leslie Odom Jr.’s voice is so ding dang delightfully airy

- honorable mention: “You have my eyes. You have your mother’s name. When you came into the world, you cried and it broke my heart.”

- Act 1: 23. Non-Stop

- as someone with siblings i can appreciate that they’re bickering like that’s just what they are

- “I was chosen for the constitutional convention! *squeal*”

- “Burr, we studied and we fought and we killed for the notion of a nation we now get to build. For once in your life, take a stand with pride. I don’t understand how you stand to the side.”

- Act 2: 1. What’d I Miss?

- honorable mention: “But the sun comes up and the world still spins.”

- Act 2: 2. Cabinet Battle #1

- honorable mention: “DOIN’ WHATEVER THE HELL IT IS YOU DO IN MONTICELLO!”

- tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

- “Daddy, daddy, look.... My name is Philip. I am a poet. I wrote this poem just to show it. And I just turned nine. You can write rhymes but you can’t write mine.” - “What!” - “I practice French and play piano with my mother.” — “Uh-huh!” — “I have a sister but I want a little brother.” — “Okay!” — “My daddy’s trying to start America’s bank. Un deux trois quatre cinq!” — “Bravo!” — “Hey, our kid is pretty great.”

- as much as i hate Act 2: 4. Say No To This (because for some reason i though Alexander Hamilton was better than that) Jasmine Cephas Jones sings in it is like a hot knife through butter — namely; “My husband’s doin’ me wrong beatin’ me, cheatin’ me, mistreatin’ me...”... I guess maybe I understand it ‘cause damn Jasmine Cephas Jones is so ding dang pretty and ding dang talented and wow what a remarkable person

- the way that Lin says “And her body’s saying, ‘hell, yes’ is um.. 😓

- “You see, that was my wife you decided to” — “Fuuuu—“

- Act 2: 5. The Room Where It Happens

- honorable mention: “Bros.”

- “Talk less. Smile more.” LMM being a dramatic bastard

- Act 2: 6. Schuyler Defeated

- Act 2: 7. Cabinet Battle #2

- “revolution is messy but now is the time to stand."

- honorable mention: “Ooh!!”

- “We signed a treaty with a King whose head is now in a basket. Would you like to take it out and ask it? ‘Should we honor our treaty, King Louis’ head?’ ‘Uh... do whatever you want, I’m super dead.’”

- Thomas Jefferson all like “but sir do we not fight for freedom” MY BAD SIR YOU ARE A SLAVE-OWNER HOW ABOUT YOU NOT

- mentioning Lafayette because apparently LMM has no problem with breaking the fourth wall

- “Daddy’s calling.”

- “I’m in the cabinet. I am complicit in watching him grabbin’ at power and kiss it. If Washington isn’t gon’ listen to disciplined dissidents, this is the difference. This kid is out!”

- “Southern motherfuckin’ Democratic-Republicans!”

- “The emperor has no clothes.”

- “Sir, I don’t know what you heard but whatever it is Jefferson started it.” — “Thomas Jefferson resigned this morning.” — “You’re kidding.” — “I need a favor.” — “Whatever you say, sir, Jefferson will pay for his behavior.” — “I’ll use the press. I’ll write under a pseudonym, you’ll see what I can do to him—“ — “Yes! He resigned you can finally speak your mind!” — “Ha. Good luck defeating you, sir.” - “I’m sorry, what?”

- Act 2: 10. I Know Him

- “—Vice President.” — “— No more Mr. Nice President.”

- “Sit down, John, you fat motherf—“

- Act 2: 12. We Know

- honorable mention: “You see that was my wife you decided to—“ — “WHAT—“

- Act 2: 13. Hurricane

- Act 2: 14. The Reynolds Pamphlet

- honorable mention: *DEEP VOICE* “DAMN”

- Act 2: 15. Burn

- i’ll be the first to say i wasn’t a huge fan of Eliza at first aside from Phillipa Soo’s killer voice

- this gave me a lot of respect for her

- honorable mention: “You have married an Icarus. He has flown too close to the sun.”

- Act 2: 16. Blow Us All Away

- i would like to point out that tweet where someone @‘s LMM about not mentioning Philip’s hot and he responds “I’M FAIRLY F**CKING SURE I DID”, y’know ⤵️

- “The ladies say my brain’s not where the resemblance stops.”

- “God, you’re a fox.”

- Act 2: 17. Stay Alive (Reprise)

- The ‘I know, I know. Shh.’ and the full circle back to his mom teaching him french on the piano really got to me for the beautiful artistry in it but also damn them feels

- Act 2: 18. It’s Quiet Uptown

- “I spend hours in the garden. I walk alone to the store and it’s quiet uptown. I never liked the quiet before. I take the children to church on Sunday, a sign of the cross at the door, and I pray. That never used to happen before.”

- “Philip, you would like it uptown. It’s quiet uptown.”

- “You knock me out, I fall apart.”

- “Eliza, do you like it uptown? It’s quiet uptown.”

- “There are moments that the words don’t reach. There is suffering too terrible to name. You hold your child as tight as you can and push away the unimaginable. The moments when you’re in so deep it feels easier to just swim down.”

- “There are moments that the words don’t reach. There is a grace too powerful to name. We push away what we can never understand. We push away the unimaginable.”

- “Can you imagine?”

- Act 2: 19. The Election of 1800

- honorable mention: “And they say I’m a Francophile: at least they know I know where France is!”

- “You used to work on the same staff” — “Whaaaat.”

- “Honestly, it’s kind of draining.” — “Burr...” — “Sir!” — “Is there anything you wouldn’t do?” — “No. I’m chasing what I want. And you know what?” — “What?” — “I learned that from you.” / this moment made the blow that he voted for Jefferson like a damn hole in my chest and i actually really felt for Burr. i get Hammy’s reluctance, i think if anything he was hoping voting for Jefferson would give Burr the chance to have experience as VP and then the next election he might vote for him then depending

- Act 2: 20. Your Obedient Servant

- A. Burr

- A. Ham

- “I just need to write something down.” / really resonated as one of the last things they showed him doing before going off to the duel, his life really was writing and that was the perfect way to say that in a very subtle sort of way. i really appreciate it artistically, whether it was intentionally so or not.

- Act 2: 22. The World Was Wide Enough

- okay but first of all i would like to comment on the fact that Ariana DeBose PLAYS THE GODDAMN BULLET, I JUST

- THE FACT THAT THE BULLET HAS A PART

- “This man will not make an orphan of my daughter.” / this made me really sympathize with Burr, as well as when he tries to go towards Hamilton (at least in the play but I sincerely hope that was historically accurate) / but also that fact that Theodosia Burr was lost at sea at 29 makes me sad because Hamilton’s life was taken to give her one and then she just up and disappears in a freak accident

- Act 2: 23. Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

- the orphanage got to me

- i loved that he (LMM) didn’t end it with himself or anything

- he let Phillipa Soo tear my heart out

- it killed me but i died quite happily

- and really what more could you ask for.

[snarkwrites]

FFT: bachlorette party gone wrong or right; ray palmer

Notes

This was sent to the main ask by @vonschweetz​ and I gotta say... I truly enjoyed writing it it turned into something fun and fluffy, for a character there’s just not a lot of fanfic love for on the internets. So duh, it was going on here. Maybe one day I’ll make something with my lance!original female character and ray or cisco, who knows..

Summary

Sara and Alex are getting married. Ray and Alyssa, Sara’s sister, wind up meeting / commiserating during the bachlorette party. A heated dance makeout ensues.

Pairing

Ray Palmer x Lance!OFC, Alyssa.

Warnings

alcohol tw, shenanigans.

“ Why are we doing this again?” Ray fidgeted and Mick smirked as he did so. Scoping out the party, Ray cringed at the varying levels of drunk that all of Sara’s friends seemed to be. Mick nudged him and then leaned in and whispered, “We’re doin it, haircut, because Sara is a friend.. And she specifically said she was not interested in any shenanigans tonight.. But what’s a bachlorette party without ‘em, huh? A tragedy, that’s what. So suck it up, buttercup. We’re goin out in a few minutes.”

“I’m gonna… go find some alcohol.” Ray told Mick over the music. He turned to walk away from the noise and the  dancing and the whole thing in general because he wasn’t exactly in a party frame of mind, and just as he wandered up the stairs of Sara’s childhood home, intending to find a quiet room to kind of.. Gather himself..

He collided with a blonde. A blonde he’d seen in pictures all around Sara’s house. A blonde he’d seen wandering past the comm screen on a video call in a  towel just one too many times. He tugged at his tie and she tilted her head to the side a little, staring up at him intently.

“I bet you came up to escape, didn’t ya? I was goin down to sneak up a bottle of rum. Makes studying infinitely more fun if the words are all blurry and I find myself bursting into spontaneous fits of giggles or singing “Where has the rum gone?”

Ray chuckled and leaned in a little. He could barely hear himself think over the noise in the little two story townhouse right now. Truth be told, he’d never really been that into crowds or parties. Then again, he thought to himself, to be fair, he’d never been invited to many.

… He is.. Even more handsome in person. And I’m willing to bet he thinks I’m just some dumb bimbo right now…

“Your name is Alyssa right?”

“Yeah.. My sister is one of the brides.. Kind of planned this entire thing and then totally forgot to plan myself an convenient escape, so I’ve been hiding in my room. Tonight is abou Sara and Alex… I don’t wanna.. Be in the way. Wouldn’t be much of a party guest as I’m not feeling very festive at the moment.” Alyssa shrugged it off. Ray’s collar was crooked and it bugged her, so she rose to tiptoe and straightened it, nearly toppling into him as Felicity and Thea and Kaitlyn all raced upstairs, probably trying to beat one another to the bathroom. The end result was Alyssa, pressed against Ray and Ray’s back against the wall. She gave a sheepish little giggle and he shrugged, letting her know it was alright and he wasn’t bothered, his hands on her hips to keep her steady.

The mention of studying perked his interest and he asked about it.

“Yeah.. I picked one hell of a career path. I had no clue I’d have to go through so much school to get a teaching degree.. Especially considering I wanna work with at risk kids or  kids with disabilities.. There’s just.. So much that goes into it all and I want to be the teacher that makes a difference.” she shuffled her feet, twisted a blonde curl around her fingertip as she stared up at him.

Ray grinned and then nodded to the party in full swing down below. “Doesn’t all the noise make it hard to study?”

“It’s no noisier than my dorm used to be.” Alyssa shrugged and then sighed and admitted with a nod, “Okay, yeah.. It does, but my sister is.. She’s the happiest I’ve seen her.”

“I get it. If you want to take a break, maybe we could talk or something? I mean, if you want to.”

“I’d love that, actually.. Do you drink, Dr. Palmer? Because I bartended and I’ve been told I make a pretty mean mixed drink.. If you wanna venture down and into the kitchen? I need to check the batch of jello shots I made earlier anyway.”

Before he could stop himself, he was nodding and following along.

The kitchen was empty and Alyssa set to opening the refrigerator and pulling out the shots, sitting them on a counter. When she turned back around, she found herself body to body with Ray, who towered over her. She nodded to a higher cabinet.

“If you want.. There’s some bourbon in that cabinet. I just can’t quite reach. Short girl problems.” Alyssa shrugged and Ray laughed, reaching over her to grab the bottle. Alyssa took it, grabbed for a two liter of Dr. Pepper sitting nearby and poured the two into a glass, putting a cube of ice into it, holding it out to him.

“That’s actually not that bad.”

“You should be here on the Fourth of July. Did a drunk watermelon last year and.. My sister passed out on the stairs because she ate like half.”

“Oh wow..”

“Yeah.” Alyssa found herself fidgeting, not sure what to do with her hands. Once she had her own drink poured, she took a long sip and then eyed the laughing and dancing crowd in the living  room before looking back at Ray. “So.. What’s Mick’s big plan? Sara knows he’s up to something…”

“Magic Mike.. that is.. All I’m allowed to say. I’m not even gonna attempt to figure out how he and Snart talked me into it.”

“Oh my god.. They roped you into doing it too? Interesting.” Alyssa felt her cheeks heating up at the mental images in her head. Ray rubbed his hand over the back of his head and he shrugged. “I tried telling them I literally cannot.. Dance like that. Snart insists that we all have to do it. It’s tradition, Mick said. I say, if Sara wanted us all to shake our asses like that…” Ray trailed off, taking a bigger sip of the drink. Alyssa did the same, but it didn’t take her mind out of where her mind had went, and as a result, she choked and started coughing.

Ray patted her on the back and eyed her with concern. “Are you okay?”

“It went down wrong.” Alyssa giggled and when she found herself pressed right against Ray, she stared up at him a few seconds. Every part of her was beyond tempted to raise to tiptoe and fluff his hair or play with his tie, to touch him in some way.

“Yeah, well.. Be careful.” Ray chuckled as he said it. Her body brushed completely against his and she muttered quietly, “I fucking love this song.” as some older power ballad song he didn’t really recognize came on. She met his gaze and bit her lip, almost as if she wanted to ask something. Ray cleared his throat.

“If you wanna dance..” he suggested, trying to be casual about it.

“Yeah, I was kind of hinting… at that..” Alyssa admitted, giving that soft laugh again as she let him pull her closer.

From behind them, Sara cleared her throat. “So you did come down from your room, huh? And I see you finally met Ray face to face.” Sara flashed a grin at both of them and Ray looked from Sara to Alyssa, noting the blush and the way she gave her sister a slightly dirty look in teasing. He chuckled and spoke up. “Yeah, Alyssa and I were just talking.”

“It looked like you two were dancing to me. Come into the room with the actual party, you two are my family and I do want you here tonight.”

Alyssa and Ray shared a look and Ray slipped his arm around Alyssa, the two of them making their way to the next room. Mick gave him a smirk and Ray mouthed, “You and Snart and Nate can dance.”

“Wasn’t gonna make ya, haircut.. Just wanted to get ya livened up again. Been kinda down lately. Thought you could use tonight.” Mick muttered as he moved to stand next to Ray. Ray nodded and answered quietly, “Yeah. I think I did need it.” as he stole a glance at Alyssa, who was standing opposite her sister Sara, the two of them about to take a shot at the same time and he smiled to himself.

It felt good to smile again. It felt really good.

[moonvalecrossing]

Now here's something I haven't asked you in a long time: a "Fav and Least Fav" ask related to Pokémon. Favorite and least favorite Gym Leaders of each type they specialize in? Kahunas and Trial Captains will count, but if one ends up as your fav/least fav, I'd suggest separating them and the actual Gym Leader that's your fav/least fav of their type. Also, Bede and Marnie's statuses as Gym Leaders will count too, mostly just so Piers can have some competition with his sis. :P

Alrighty. Time to sit down and tackle this!

Normal Type- Least Favorite: Whitney. WHITNEY. That damn Milktank. I’m sure she’s killed many a Nuzlocke team. And yet still has the gall to cry like a baby when she loses. She also comes across as one of those vapid dumb and pretty trend girls. “Everyone was into pokemon so I got into it too!” I really think skill is the only thing they care about when they hand out the title of Gym Leader sometime because this chick really doesn’t seem to be the type who’d normally get this type of authority.

Normal Type- Most Favorite: Cheren. He is adorable baby husband. Though mostly it’s really cool to see another rival become a gym leader like Green did. I just wish they’d kept his glasses instead of for some reason swapping them to Bianca for some reason.

Fighting Type- Least Favorite: Korrina. Her character art bugs me. Is she seriously supposed to be wearing skates and also doing fighting moves? I can’t even stand on four wheel skates without nearly breaking every bone below my waist. And you’re telling me this girl runs around doing axe kicks on roller blades??? No thank you. Also she hoists a Lucario onto you. I like raising my pokemon from their earliest point and you go and make me have to take one because I’d feel bad if I didn’t since it wants to come with me now.

Fighting Type- Most Favorite: Brawly. Mostly because he’s hot. Slightly because his gym is actually a gym with workout equipment in the remake and I find that amazing and hilarious.

Flying Type- Least Favorite: Skyla. Partially because of her anime counterpart. Mostly because I hate her design. Why are her wrists so thick on those gloves? Why is she wearing boots, a cropped jacket, those weird gloves, and what look closer to boxer style panties than shorts underneath a bunch of bondage-y belts? She looks like a generic anime waifu more than a pokemon character. Like a Mega Man OC. Of one of those weird dating games where the women are just objects in female coded human form Skyla’s a humanized seatbelt.

Flying Type- Most Favorite: Falkner. Because Kahili isn’t a gym leader. Congrats, Falkner. You cute little bugger. Also he’s the only notable male flying type trainer.

Poison Type- Least Favorite: Prepare the flame shields. I don’t like Roxie. Small children as Gym Leaders bug the hell out of me. I see Gym Leaders as characters with high authority in the pokemon world. I hate the idea of kids who look like they’re only a few years out from learning the alphabet and basic mathematics having any kind of power in a region. The only exception I have is Galar because the gym leaders feel less important since they’re merely sports celebrities. ...Also I hate Roxie’s Pebbles Flintstone hair. It makes her look even more like a baby to me.

Poison Type- Most Favorite: Koga. Despite the fact I still think that he and Sabrina had their gyms switched, he’s still my favorite. He even became a member of the Elite 4 and left the gym to his daughter. I find that sweet.

Ground Type- Least Favorite: (Actually Hapu, because of reasons stated above for Roxie, except even more because this kid is a freaking KAHUNA. Why is this little mud farm girl chosen to be the KAHUNA of a whole dang island and one of the most important people in Alola? Surely the Tapus could find someone better, but then again the gods must be crazy.) Clay. Because he looks like a Texan Business Tycoon. And I’m a left-leaning American. That should probably explain things well enough. Because boy howdy do I not wanna open that can of worms. Maybe if I ever get to the point of fighting him in Black Version my opinion will change. But like I said. My real answer is Hapu. Clay just has the misfortune of being next at the bottom of the line.

Ground Type- Most Favorite: Giovanni. Because he is my mafia husbando and I am a garbage human. Have you seen a picture of the man in the “How I became a Pokemon Card” manga? Hot damn. And his newer pokemon cards? HOT DAMN.

Rock Type- Least Favorite: Gordie. This Ronaldo Fryman looking fucknugget with accessory tips from Bling Bling Boy on Johnny Test. He looks like one of those smug basement dweller types who’d call me a FEEEEEMALE if I turned him down for a date. Also his official art does the same thing I hate about Diantha’s. His knee faces more inner-forward but his foot’s pointing outward. Unless that picture’s drawn with him in mid dance spin, dude’s ankle is broken. At least he looks kind of cute when he doesn’t have his hair styled back in that douchey style. I feel like he’d yell about feemales again if I told him I thought his mom was hot. Also he’s not wearing socks with dress shoes and that should be a criminal offense.

Rock Type- Most Favorite: Roxanne is super cute. Even if she’s skirting the line of young people in positions of power she actually looks like a mature person who was ahead of her age level in school. However I will object to the idea of her being a teacher in any shape or form like in the anime. This person hasn’t even struggled through the mental ravages of puberty aint no way she should be allowed to be a teacher.

Bug Type- Least Favorite: Burgh, if only because people use him as a stereotype a lot and I hate that. Toxic masculinity is bs. MEN CAN BE FABULOUS WITHOUT BEING GAY. That said, his pants and shoes are a color crime.

Bug Type- Most Favorite: Guzma is the equivalent of a Bug Type trial captain and you will never convince me otherwise. I- what- you’re really gonna fight me on this? Fine. Bugsy. Bugsy is my precious bug-catching child. Precious baby.

Ghost Type- Least Favorite: Acerola. I’ve already stated why I hate kids in power like this. Plus I just. do not like. characters with the bubbly personality and the cat mouth. I instantly know I’m going to dislike a character the moment I see that damn catmouth. I’m not coming up with a non-trial alternative for this one. I am either neutral to or love the other ghost trainers.

Ghost Type- Most Favorite: Morty. Because 1. He’s hot. 2. He’s got a sweet scarf. 3. Agatha’s not a gym leader. :P Morty has a very nice design. After the remakes came out anyways.

Steel Type- Least Favorite: There’s only like two of these. I don’t hate Jasmine at all but she’s the only other actual gym leader of the Steel Type. So we’re gonna use Molayne anyways. Mostly because his stick-ass gangly legs give me the creeps.

Steel Type- Most Favorite: I’ve never met him but Byron looks like a miner hobo and I dig that. Plus he made Roark and Roark’s hot. (Then why isn’t Roark my favorite rock gym leader? Because not all my favorites can be because of my asexual thirst.)

Fire Type- Least Favorite: Blaine always makes me think of my grandfather and I am not that fond of my grandfather. Even though Blaine seems much much nicer and friendlier a grandpa than my actual grandfather.

Fire Type- Most Favorite: Flannery’s design is adorable and I love it. Doesn’t hurt that it’s also the kind of outfit my more pro-fire trainer would wear.

Water Type- Least Favorite: Marlon. Don’t get me wrong. Marlon’s hot. But he gets to be least favorite for lying about being a tan boy. Seriously look at that tan line around his swim suit that pastey white skin does not do his design favors.

Water Type- Most Favorite: Wallace. This one is pure thirst. Pure. Thirst. Wallace is a babe. I love everything about this fabulous bastard. Especially his hat and scarf in the remake. Especially the remake. Babe.

Grass Type- Least Favorite: Milo. I’m starting to feel like the people who design and did the art for some of these newer characters don’t know how bulkier people’s legs work. Because Milo and Gordie’s legs just look really, really wrong. These characters do not have ankles their calves just end at flat feet. Also milo’s leg is doin that broken ankle thing too. Other images don’t make them look as bad, though. Other than that I hate characters who have no whites to their eyes. It’s freaking creepy and Milo’s baby face doesn’t help. And I can not figure out the design of this guy’s eyebrows either. I know he has them but they don’t look like the anything but exist to blend with his bangs.

Grass Type- Most Favorite: Erika. I like her design a lot. I guess some of the weeb in me still exists deep in there.

Electric Type- Least Favorite: Sophocles. I just don’t like his design. At all. Only other arguments I could give are the kid with with Clemont again. That and his jumpsuit.

Electric Type- Most Favorite: Lt. Surge, Volkner, and Elesa are are great. But Elesa wins because Lt. Surge is a paranoid soldier who makes getting to him a chore and Volkner looks like he takes the same brooding pills they fed to Cloud after Final Fantasy Advent Children turned into into the broodlord. Also ‘urgh need actually challenging opponents’ characters bug me, regardless of how attractive they are.

Psychic Type- Least Favorite: Tate and Liza. But this time the main reason ISN’T because they’re babies. No, no. That’s a big reason, but even being psychics can’t save them. They have a BIG problem. The main reason for these two is that their gym team is garbage. Emerald and Black2/White2 not counting in this because of the remake being their current gym team in my eyes its just a damn solrock and lunatone! I love me Lunatone, don’t get me wrong. But damn, kids. How are you actually gym leaders with a team of pokemon that is barely suitable for the gym trainer in the first gym of the region? The only starter that can’t hit you with a super effective move is the fire starter. Being a double battle only means that I can get rid of your pokemon faster because I get to use TWO pokemon moves on my turn.

Psychic Type- Most Favorite: Olympia. Her design is absolutely beautiful. I want her dress. I want her cape. She is the black and silver space queen and she WILL BE RESPECTED IN THIS HOUSE. Even if whoever did her art doesn’t seem to realize dresses don’t slip into the navel or hug into the crotch hole. Surprised whoever drew it didn’t also add the camel-toe since they think fabric works that way. If I were her I’d strangle someone with one of those magical floaty ring bracelets. Space mom aint having non of your objectification shit.

Ice Type- Least Favorite: Candice. You live in a winter town. Your gym is an ice slide hell. Put on some goddamn pants and a coat. I’m not gonna give you any sympathy when you end up with the worst cold ever.

Ice Type- Most Favorite: Melony. She is adorable and has actual weight to her. And she loves her kids. And holy shit look at her she’s actually dressed for cold weather and ice unlike nearly every other goddamn Ice Gym Leader besides Pryce.

Dragon Type- Least Favorite: Claire is an arrogant b-witch who cant accept defeat and is worst that whitney because at least Whitney gave you your earned badge when she stopped crying like a baby. Claire refused until you did some ‘trial’ and still didn’t think she’d have to give you the badge until granddad dragon master told her to stop being a child. Also she gets more least favorite points because she’s what has prevented me from talking about how much I hate Iris here. That’s right, Claire. I dislike you so much you get MORE hate points because you prevent me from hating another character more than you.

Dragon Type- Most Favorite: Raihan is a babe and the most challenging Gym Leader I’ve ever faced. Bonus points because technically I wouldn’t call him a type-based gym leader but a strategy based leader because he focuses on weather more than dragons. Plus his “Leader Challenges You!” post makes him look a little wild.

Dark Type- Least Favorite: Marnie. Because I wanted to see her brother again so I invited him to the Championship thing and Marnie freaking cockblocked me by beating her brother in the first round. LET ME SEE YOUR BROTHER, MARNIE.

Dark Type- Most Favorite: Piers is my husband and Marnie’s just gonna have to deal with it. :P He’s super cute and his worrying over Marnie in the post game was the cutest damn thing. Plus young Piers in his rare league card is so precious and gives me life. It’s gonna take a lot of work for any other dark type trainer to top Piers.

Fairy Type- Least Favorite: Mina. I hate Mina. Lazy/Unfocused/High artist characters piss me off. Alo Mina should have been a normal type trial captain because of smeargle and the fact that Ilima has pink hair and the same huge buggy-like water eyes Valerie has. Mina even dips her damn hair in paint like Smeargle does with its tail. Mina couldn’t be assed to have an actual trial the first time around. Second time around she just made you go collect something from people you already beat.

Fairy Type- Most Favorite: Bede. If you can’t look this beautiful sparkly eye angel of a child in the eyes and find him amazing once he becomes Opal’s apprentice, you have no soul and should probably get that looked at.

[poipoi1912]

What does it take to be acknowledged by you, mentioned by you, followed by you, tagged by you (just once)? (This is an honest question. Come on, you're a lawyer, all about rational answers and blunt facts. I'd really like to know, so I can see what I could improve on.) - Sincerely, NotInterestingEnoughIGuess

I am a lawyer, so I don’t know about these “facts” you speak of, but here’s an unnecessarily detailed and long-winded answer which may or may not make sense :D (that’s what lawyers do lol)

What it takes to be acknowledged by me: Send me an ask :D But I imagine you mean getting a like or a reblog? You’d need to post a cute gifset of Sonny or Barba, or something about Barisi, or some thoughts about SVU (ranging from the hilarious to the serious). Caveat: I’d also need to be on tumblr to see your post, which is kind of a crapshoot these days. Sometimes I can't muster up the energy to scroll through my dash (or to get online at all), so I just go outside (walking always helps me) or I listen to music or I write. I'm here when I can, I see what I see, and I like or reblog whatever I happen to see that day.

What it takes to be followed by me: Blunt facts? At this point, you’d need to be a Deckerstar blog. I do adore and appreciate my SVU mutuals (half of whom don’t even post about SVU anymore, lol), because they keep me informed, but these days I mostly rely on the tags to find SVU content (i.e. cute pictures of Sonny/Peter). In my view, SVU has been declining in quality, and it’s not much fun anymore, so I don’t feel like seeing it on my dash any more than I already do (omg harsh) (but true). (except for terrible-slash-hilarious pics of Peter making weird faces or wearing denim-on-denim-on-denim. Do you post that? @ me! I’ll follow you asap.)

Seriously though, I'm very happy to see that there are quite a few new Sonny blogs around and I’m pretty sure I’ve reblogged something from all of them (who are you, anon, lol?). omg disclaimer, if you’re a Barba blog I probably won’t follow you! Most of my mutuals may not love SVU anymore but they sure love Barba, because they have good taste, so my dash is like 30% Raul on any given day, which is how I like it :D. Basically, my dash right how has all the SVU content I need (i.e. “a small amount” lol). All the “new” blogs I’ve followed, say, in the last 6-ish months, are either about Lucifer/Deckerstar or about writing prompts. Because I want to enjoy my dash. So, if you want me to follow you, I’d suggest getting into Lucifer. You’ll thank me later :)

What it takes to be tagged by me:Honestly, prior interactions. I don’t tag people all that often, but when I do it’s because I appreciate their humor or their thoughts. Or when I want to thank them for posting something, or when I want to comment on one of their posts, etc. I’m not the most interactive blog, lol. I keep to myself most of the time, unless someone tags me first. My main interactions with you all are usually though asks (which I try to respond to in a sort-of timely manner, but which sometimes get away from me). So if you’d like to know what I think about something specific, about one of your theories or ideas, shoot me an ask.

Now, I’ve made several posts about my current life situation (death and illness and pain), and unfortunately I don’t have enough time to be on tumblr and participate in the fandom as much as I would like (or as much as I did last year, before my situation got even worse). That’s just not a priority for me, not out of choice but out of necessity. Fandom is a lovely distraction, and I value all of you (and your humor and your creativity and your kindness), and on some days a tumblr post will be the only reason I smile, but my main focus is on my family and real life obligations. I miss out on a lot of the fun, but there’s not much I can do. I don’t even have time to read fic anymore. I have to “schedule” my tumblr time.

That said, when I am here, I do still check the tags, and I love seeing what people thought about an episode (lol), and I love writing down my own episode thoughts, and reading people’s reactions, and saving Sonny and Barba and Dodds Sr. gifs. And I also adore to speculate on spoilers, and discuss the characters. Most of that happens through your asks, actually, which is why I enjoy it so much. It’s my favorite way to interact with you all. Problem is, that can only happen when the show gives us something to work with. And they haven’t been doin’ that lately 👀

Bottom line, I feel that my main contribution to this fandom is my fic, and I focus my energy on that, sometimes, instead of participating more. I do feel bad about that, and I do think it’s a little selfish of me, because on occasion I like to use fic to work through some of my own issues (with grief or apathy or loss). Meanwhile, I might go “off the grid” and “ignore” you all (read: I might go for weeks without checking tumblr at all, either because I'm having a tough time and I can't be my usual peppy self :D, or because I'm too busy to breathe). Then again, that’s kind of the point of writing, isn’t it? Isolating yourself a little, and creating something? :)

Writing helps me mentally and psychologically, especially now. And, to be blunt, tumblr doesn’t always help with that, as I’m sure most of us know :D (how can I focus on writing when Raul is out there wearing fabulous suits and glasses? GLASSES? like, gimme a break, guy!)

tl;dr

What you can do to improve your blog, anon, as well as your entire life, is to start watching Lucifer (which comes back THIS MONDAY OMGGGGGG). Make a Chloe Decker-exclusive blog and I will follow you immediately. (I will also follow Veep blogs, for the record. Are there any Richard T. Splett blogs out there??).

Another thing which would improve your life, and mine, would be if we both stopped watching SVU, but I suspect we’re in too deep :D

[thewraithrisingfilmscenes]

THEWRAITHREVIEWS:

HELL OR HIGH WATER (2016)

The reason I decided to watch this film was the amount of hype surrounding it. and the fact that it was one of the Oscar nominees for Best Picture. I saw it at the top of many year end lists, and the critics overall gave it 98% score. Now I sat through the whole thing, and I have no attention span and no patience for anything that doesn't completely hold my interest. Half the films I start get shut off after the first 15-30 minutes, so something in this movie kept me captivated but it in no way deserved the fanfare it received. Now of course all filmakers hope to bring home a golden statue, but it should come secondary from creating a work of art. Hell or High Water created exclusively for the praise of the Academy. If there is one thing Hollywood has a raging hard on for in theory, yet despises in practice it's the people of middle-America and the South. They can't get enough of a good ol' boy on the screen, with that accent, that rural ruggedness, but the people that championed Hell or High Water thinks that every inch of land between New York and California should be peppered with warheads until even the shitty redneck plants can't grow. "..my heart is with Jeff Bridges, because I loved [Hell or High Water]. The acting was sheer perfection. Jeff makes it look easy but, boy, what he does is not easy." said one anonymous Academy voter about Bridges' character, a grizzled soon to be retired Texas ranger. I think Bridges is a tremendous actor, but the performance was little more than giving himself mush mouth, putting on a generic accent, and making old people noises. It was good, but it wasn't great, and I've seen him do great so I know the difference. The lightly racist banter between Bridges and his partner seemed to be lifted directly from Breaking Bad. There is nothing in this movie that hasn't been done before. I did not give a single fuck about any of the characters, especially the ones we are meant to be sympathetic to be. The scenes that are disjointed in time seem wrongfully placed and would have been much more effective on a linear timeline. It lacks any semblance of character development and the only explanation as to why the two main characters are criminals and put their lives and families at risk are that the bank is going to foreclose on their property. The moralist allegory of 'the big banks are actually doin' the robbin'" is just gross. I'm not telling you to avoid watching this movie, obviously there was something compelling in there that kept my attention, I just don't think it deserves all the hype, let alone a nomination for best picture. Gosh darnit.

6/10

[drink-n-watch]

Genre :  Fantasy, drama, yaoi, catboys, almostmullets

Length: 30-50 years

Studio: Nitro+ Chiral  

It seems the Ribika (a race that evolved from cats) have just about reached the end of their rope. Not only has a terrible epidemic killed most of their females, bringing their species to the brink of extinction, but some type of terrible calamity is making their world itself reject them. Little by little, the world is being taken over by the Void, making great swaths of territory lethal to the Ribika and cutting off their resources. In these bleak times, the best a cat can hope for is to lead a quiet life and die a painless death. And that’s exactly what Konoe was planning to do but it seems he’s at the center of something bigger than he could ever imagine. As he finds himself swept away by an adventure full of danger, demons and ancient magic, can he find the strength within himself to save the world. Luckily, a lot of pretty pretty catboys are happy to help.

It says something about me that my autocorrect doesn’t even pick up the word “catboy” anymore. Something along the lines: Irina is awesome, you should be her friend!

How you doin’

I actually have quite a history with Lamento. I had been a fan of Nitro+ for a while. Their 5pb studio has produced some of my favorite Visual Novels in general, the main studio is responsible for such titles as the flawed but still worthwhile Saya no Uta and Hanachirasu, and of course they collaborated with Type-Moon on the massively popular Fate franchise. Point is, Nitroplus knows how to craft a Visual Novel. It’s no surprise that eventually I got curious about their BL imprint Nitro+Chiral.

My very first encounter with Yaoi in general was the Visual Novel Dramatical Murders. An experience I found so amusing that I quickly decided to try something else from the studio. True Blood looked a little too standard and while Sweet Pool seemed to be a bottomless pit of wtf, I couldn’t find a version I could play. This left Lamento which wasn’t a bad thing at all. In fact, the cover art and description were exactly suited to my tastes and I couldn’t wait to dig in.

oh no…I forgot to move my mouse…

What followed was a study in ambivalence. Right off the bat I really liked Lamento. I loved the high fantasy setting and deep lore. This being a Nitro+ game of course, the production was irreproachable, with a large fully voiced cast, even extras get their own actors, and all of them are very good. The music plays an important role in the story and has obviously been given a lot of special attention. The art is beautiful, and a huge collection of sprites and transition effects, give the impression of animation.

crowds can get loud

Even by today’s standards, this is a high quality visual novel. There aren’t too many choices to make and most are obvious, but some are still rather intriguing, and I did feel some interactivity. The way the story branches out and then intertwines in the various routes, makes second playthroughs much more engaging than in some other titles.

Nad for all that, I couldn’t finish it. Not even a single route. I played for a bit then sort of abandoned it for close to a year. By the time I decided to pick it up again, I had forgotten most of it and started over. I played for a few weeks and didn’t catch up to my first playthrough. You see, that 30-50 years length time isn’t a typo. This game is soooooo long.

painfully long

It feels as if an excellent team of writers put it together, but they had no money left over for editors. It’s full of description and little side events that, while well written, bring nothing to the story overall. I think that you could have taken out about half the script without really affecting the substance in any way. The pacing is just terrible.

And because of this, it takes a while to truly get into it. You have to read through hours of exposition and establishing text, remember dozens of characters, before you get any meaningful development that would cause you to empathize with anyone. Except Bardo – Bardo is the best from minute one but of course he only shows many hours into the game and you’ll need a few more before you can get on his route and actually get to know the character at all.

the best I tell you!

Of course, once you’ve finished one route, you can skip previously read text in subsequent playthroughs but, as this is an older game, you don’t have an autoskip button. You have to hold down the shift key (at least on my version). There are a few around this, like playing in window mode, holding down shift then bringing a different window in front (like Youtube for instance), then you can let go of shift and it will go on skipping (which is really just fastforwading) on it’s on. It’s still a bit of a hassle. Without exaggeration, I believe my second playthrough consisted of at least 30 minutes of skipping. That should give you an idea of the gargantuan size of this thing.

bigger isn’t always better

So time and time again, despite liking every single element of Lamento, I ended up getting discouraged and dropping it before it truly got the chance to start. For some reason, after finishing a few VNs and Otomes in a row, I decided to give it another go a few weeks ago. I figured I would control my completionist tendencies and skip over bits I remembered and concentrate only on scenes I had zero recollection of. This helped a bit. It still took a while but, possibly having gained patience with age (Ha!) I stuck it out, and boy am I glad I did.

Nitro+ knows how to put together a visual novel. A few days in, I had caught up to my first playthrough and was firmly on adorably idiot Asato’s route. It took me another week to finish the game mind you, I know, cause I didn’t sleep for 5 days… Catboys…

who’s the cute kitty

The story is classic fantasy stuff, a few routes seem to have some plot holes and you will need to play everything to get the whole picture but it’s decent. I would like to see an anime version of this. I enjoyed how fleshed out and interesting all the supporting characters were, even minor ones. The dramatic aspect of the story is undercut by frequent humorous interactions and the devils are always good for a laugh.

Although explicit consent is a little iffy, there no actual rape scenes (except two of the very bad endings) and at most suitors will pester Konoe into romantic situations but never force him. Probably one of the most respectful BL games I’ve played in that regard.

there was a lot more trust building than snuggling…

The power dynamics are excellent as well, and different in every route but consistent with the characters’ personalities. As for the sexy times, they are pretty sexy indeed. Just ridiculous enough.

As an aside, there’s frequent touches of cat behavior – i.e. grooming, purring, playing with grass blades or chasing mice, that are just adorkably hilarious.

unfortunately I have no screencaps of those – so you get a hug

I’m not going to put a full playthrough here, but if you’re interested in that I refer you to domshiki’s fantastic, marvelous, I wish they would start posting again but that’s probably not happening blog. Warning, very NSFW and spoilers (duh).

I will however give you a taste of those fine catboys that have made my local coffee shop a fortune:

Konoe

That’s me! Nice huh. It could be you too! Konoe is a BL game protagonist. He’s pleasant and down to earth. Usually the straight man…um, well, you know what I mean…. He was however a bit more tsundere and prone to lashing out that the average, a trait majorly brought out in Bardo’s route. Konoe is in way over his head but he’s pretty rational and doesn’t play the damsel in distress much. In every route the characters sort of take turns helping each other out and I really like this. I enjoyed being Konoe quite a bit.

Rai

I think he’s the main route. His is the longest in any case and has the most CGs. (And they were almost all naughty, that’s why you guys get these…) I remember hating this guy the first times I played. Again, I’m not sure what happened in the last few months, but I really didn’t mind him this time around, at least at first.

He’s the stoic, super arrogant, cold type and it takes him forever to warm up but when he does, it’s pretty gaaahhhh. He’s not abusive though, just very distant. Oddly, I found him more annoying towards the end of the route when his arrogance seemed to go up yet one more level. It was already too high.

Konoe is the closest to a stereotypical MC in this route. Strong headed but still generally submissive and hopelessly devoted to his partner. This said, he does put Rai back in his place a few times and make fun of him, so not entirely hopeless. At the start of the game (for the first 2871443825t86 hours) I thought this would be the one route I have to drag myself through for the sake of completion, but I did end up enjoying quite a bit of it. Not just the CGs… I mean they didn’t hurt…

Asato

Asato is a big ol puppy dog in kitty form. He has some serious trauma in his past which I suspect involves getting dropped on his head a lot. He’s a little slow but brimming with good will and madly in love with Konoe. His voice actor does a tremendous job really bringing out both the slow and the love.

Since he’s nothing but a big ball of adorableness, Konoe can’t help but to get a bit protective of him in this route and you end up taking a more dominant, leading role. For some time, Asato is obviously much more interested but Konoe eventually starts sharing the affection and the natural development of their relationship is really very sweet.

Both characters go through a huge amount of growth and this would be my favorite route except..

Bardo

I loves me a troll. Always have.

Bardo is the dirty ol man with the big mouth. He’s super easygoing and endlessly teases, well pretty much everybody, but Konoe in particular. As the older more experienced one he tends to take the lead in situations and seems to relish in embarrassing Konoe as much as possible. Which makes the younger kitten lash out every two seconds.

This is by far the funniest route for the most part but of course we eventually get a strong dose of dark and troubled past! This is sort of the opposite of Rai, as Bardo seems to have fallen deeply for Konoe while the latter tends to ignore and push him away for the most of the run. However, it’s also the only time we get any hint of jealousy out of Konoe which was fun.

Bardo mixes all the playfulness with a good amount of comforting and he is by far the most reliable partner for Konoe. In quieter scenes, when his voice actor went for a tired or worried tone, he was so delightfully attentive, it actually comforted ME.

As I said there are a ton of fantastic side characters, antagonists and demons, all of which are really just a delightful.

See even my post for this game went on FOREVER.

TL:DR Lamento is a very good game with very bad pacing. If it weren’t for the length, it would probably be one of my favorite Visual Novels. I miss my catboys already.

Favorite character: Firi (I didn’t even get to talk about Firi…) and Bardo

What this VN taught me: PATIENCE

Suggested drink: a Devil’s Cat

Every time Konoe gets snappy – take a sip

Every time Asato says Konoe – take a sip

Every time a Devil makes an appearance – take a sip

Every time kuims are mentioned – get a snack

Every time Rai tchs – get some water

Every time Froud or Verg laugh – take a sip

Every time Firi makes an appearance – raise your glass

Every time Leaks is mentioned – take a sip

Every time we see the poet – take a sip

Every sexy time– put the glass down, you don’t wanna spill

And here are all the screencaps I couldn’t even fit in this monster post!

Lamento Beyond the Void or How to Ruin Your Sleep Schedule with Catboys Genre :  Fantasy, drama, yaoi, catboys, almostmullets Length: 30-50 years Studio: Nitro+ Chiral   It seems the Ribika (a race that evolved from cats) have just about reached the end of their rope.

[the-iris-of-goostly]

Pilot (original work)

AN: Hi, I’m planning on this being a series (this being chapter one). This is currently unedited and I’ll skim it over in the morning and fix any obvious mistakes I find. but for now, it’s 1:45 AM and I feel I’ve earned some sleep after writing (exactly mind you) 1,800 words. I hope you enjoy. :D

He just wasn't having a good day. plan and simple. First was the mugging then getting kicked out of the bar and-. He slid down the chipping brick wall at his back, his shirt riding up his back in the process. what'd he do to deserve such a fate? He, the great Pilot Jones, son of Henrietta Jones (the greatest adventurer of her time) and whomever it was she'd found pretty the night of his conception (she'd never told gran so he doesn't know if she even knew who his other parent is). How was he meant to live up to her name if he can't even defend himself from muggers or win a- "Hey kid! I'm talkin' ta you. what're you doin' cryin' in a dirty alley? You did fine in there, better than most do against that fucker." He wiped at his eyes, "huh?" "yeah kid, Pete's a mean bastard,  'specially when he's drunk." The woman said, bending her knees slightly and extending a hand "Name's Jenna, now come on, lemme help you up kid." "Uh, okay," he stated eloquently as he grabbed her hand, allowing her to pull him up from his position on the ground. brushing the dirt off the seat of his pants he lost his footing and stumbled back into the wall, knocking a couple more chip of old brick loose with his horns. Jenna snort "damn, you must be fuckin' toasted kid. what's your name? I think I missed it when you screamed it in there," she asked with a smile. He straightened his back and said, "Pilot Jones, son of Henrietta Jones." "Ha, yeah and I'm Gandhi's niece. Nice ta meet you though Pilot." "I'll have you know I am the actual son of Henrietta Jones! my gran told me all about my mom." Pilot said with more than a little agitation. "Really? Well if you say your gran told you stories about your mommy being a big, brave, famous adventurer then I guess I have no choice but to believe you do I." Jenna asked in a tone heavy with enough condescension to compress coal into diamond and no small amount of humor in her eyes. "She is my mom, gran's got pictures of her holdin' me as a baby."  Pilot grumbled, "and fuckoff anyway, I don't gotta prove anything to you!" "HA, okay kid, let's get you back home and in bed, you look like you could use it. where're you stayin'?" Jenna queried, singing an arm over Pilot's shoulder. ... "Come on pi, spit it out." "I don't have anywhere to stay, I was gonna rent a motel room for the night but I got mugged right off the train," he admitted grudgingly.pushing her away. "seriously? where're you gonna sleep kid?" "right here if you'll leave me the fuck alone!" "Bad idea, Jax doesn't like squatters outside his tavern and this district has a few tonnes of ogres if you get what I mean." Pilot let out a long, exhausted groan, "you know'a anywhere nearby I can crash with no cash?" "weeeeeelllll, there's always my place," she stated confidently, getting into his personal space, "and I could think of more than a few uses for a pretty little incubus such as yourself..." "Oh, uh," he stammered, stumbling slightly in his haste to get away, "I'm not really interested honestly..-sorry." "What'd you mean not interested, I'm fuckin' gorgeous!" Jenna said, more than a little peeved at the little brat's audacity. "You gay or somethin'?!" "uh, or something... sorry..." "It's fine kid," she muttered, calming down considerably at him being quelled by her outburst. "If you wanna stay with me for the night or till you get yourself sorted it's fine nothing's gotta happen s'long's you don't get in the way of me gettin' laid. If you don't wanna stay with me then there's a homeless shelter a few blocks thataway." she proclaimed, pointing around the corner behind him, "just go straight until you hit Smelton ave. then turn right, if you come across Bev's Club for Gentlemen you turned the wrong way, there's a big green sign hanging out over the sidewalk in front'a the shelter." "Thanks," he chirped, face lighting up, "and I just wanna say your really pretty, I'm just not really interested in any of that..." A smile tugged at the corners of Jenna's mouth, "thanks kid, Oh! Wait a moment before you go!" she exclaimed unzipping and rummaging through her purse before coming across a stack of cards held together with a rubber band "take one," she ordered, handing over the entire stack and going back to rummaging through her bag, "AH-HA!" She yelled as she held up a quarter in victory, "there's a payphone right outside the little diner kitty-corner to the shelter, call the personal number on that card if you need anything. Okay?" Thank you! You're a lifesaver!" Pilot exclaimed hugging her without really thinking about it. "Anytime kid," she said, returning the hug with an inkling of shock. "Okay, I won't hold you up anymore, be safe kid and have a good night." "thank you, good night, be safe." He said, pulling away from the hug. "I'll get going, you said a... right on... I forgot the road..." "Smelton Avenue, now get going before they run outta room," she instructed, shoving him out onto the sidewalk and pointing where he needed to go. "Bye!" "See ya sometime kid." she seems nice. he thinks to himself as he walks the way she directed, crossing the road and getting honked at, oh right, road laws are a thing. "SORRY!" he hopes that's enough for them not to call the cops, don't think he could handle that right now. What was he thinking about... Oh! Right Jenna, she gave him a card didn't she? Oh, he still hasn't put it in his pocket... He read in in the street light 'Genevieve (Genna) L. Perez' okay, her names spelled Genna, good to know. He bumped into someone who was thankfully actually paying attention to what's going so as to not get trampled by the metal death machines going dozens of miles per hour faster than he'd be capable of at his fastest sprint, even with magical aid. "Sorry, I was lost in thought," He apologized, slipping the card and coin into his pocket. "Yeah, just don't do it again and we'll be fine kid." why's everyone calling him kid tonight? he doesn't look that young. does he? Oh, that guy's walking that means he can too. okay, uh, he's just crossing S. Darkwell st. so that's two blocks done, at least he's pretty sure, he wasn't paying that close of attention, maybe he passed Smelton a while ago and missed it because he was lost in... oh there it is. Now take a... He lifted up his hands and made L's with the thumb and index finger on both. "right" he muttered to himself while dropping his left hand back to his side and pointing the other in its namesake direction before the path corrected to the direction being pointed in being straight, at which he dropped his hand back to his side. He continued walking until he reached a stout building with a big green sign  that read '24 hour homeless shelter: shelter for the homeless, first come first serve, payment welcome but not required before 2 1/2 weeks' hanging on unrusted chains from what looked like a big, sideways metal fence post that was painted black and sticking out of the front of the building. he walked up to the double doors and opened them the light of the lobby blinding upon first entry off of the dark street. Blinking a few times to restore his vision, Pilot walked up to the desk where a sickly looking man sat. "Sign in in the book child. How long do you think you will be staying with us? What is your name?" The man asked all at once. "Um, my name's Pilot Jones, I'll be staying until I can find somewhere else which may take a while." he said, trying  to concentrate on the book before him as he signed his name. "what time is it?" It is 1:03 in the morning, you would not happen to be the son of Henrietta Jones perchance would you? She always told me she liked the name Pilot..." The man queried. "You knew my mom?" Pilot asked, taken off guard. "I certainly did! she stayed here a lot whenever she was in town, said that it provided ten times the entertainment for a fraction of the cost." The man stated with a faraway smile. "Huh, sounds like you knew her pretty well then..." Pilot commented, shuffling where he stood, " don't mean to be rude but I'm a little bit... intoxicated and would prefer to be clear-headed to talk about my mom." The man laughed a throaty laugh at that, "I can see that the apple does not fall too far from the tree in this case. I sense you will be a most interesting man in the coming years. Now if you will follow me I will show you to your bed for the night, it should be quite quiet tonight, we are at only half capacity tonight..." "Why's that?" "It is best for you to not question things tonight. Tomorrow however, you can ask all you desire and more. I just hope you are prepared for whatever you may aggravate with your curiosity..." Pilot groaned, "can you please not do the whole ominous statements right before I go to sleep thing. Now I'm gonna have nightmares even worse than they'd be if they were just from the booze." "As you wish little incubus, this will be your bed for tonight, good night." Pilot watched the man walk back to the lobby and shut the door behind him. Pilot flopped onto the bed assigned to him, pushed the threadbare cotton blanket down the bed until he was no longer on top of it then stuck his feet under it and flung it up to cover his body. The blanket had fallen about two-fifths the way up his body, he grabs it by the top-most edge and pulls it up to his shoulders. Falling into a fitful sleep filled with ogres and bum fights in about a minute.

AN: So, what’d you think? pretty good, rough around the edges sure but still fun, right? Anyway Pilot is obviously the titular and main character. Genna is going to be very important to the story and the (currently unnamed) man is probably going to be important to this book and be a recurring character in future installments in some form. I’m really just wingin’ it right now but I’ve got some nice ideas in my head of what’s going to happen and I have to important characters all developed as I want them to be in my head. criticism welcome.

TO CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICS: I’m happy you deem this worth of your time enough to comment and help me with my writing.

TO NONCONSTRUCTIVE/DESTRUCTIVE CRITICS: I FEED OFF YOUR RAGE. YOUR DISPLEASURE AND LOATHE ONLY PROVIDES ME WITH GREATER POWER. Have a lovely day/the rest of your life, no matter how long/short mundane/extravagant it may be.