#it's even got an exploration move where you can just explore and do the puzzles without having to fight anything

[theoriginalriffles]

klance fic recs pt.2 (as of June 2025)

to see my first rec list, go here. organized by word count <3

You can't even light blunts in space by hayleykiyoko // 5k // Canon

writer's synopsis:

After Lance is in a healing pod for record-breaking time, Keith is surprised to see him come out different.

my notes: basically, Lance loses his memory in the pod, and the paladins make Keith be the one to take care of him. this fic is genuinely so funny and cute, Lance is such a lovable shithead here. ps there's no actual weed usage here lol.

To All Seven Moons and Back by UndimmableSpark // 5k // Canon

writer's synopsis:

While exploring a rainy planet with an abundance of moon related culture, Keith does his best to puzzle out how Lance feels about him.

my notes: sooooo sweet and precious and silly. neurodivergent Keith you've got my heart 4ever!!

you're my pepsi-cola, I'm your coca-cola by laallomri // 9k // AU

writer's synopsis: “Are those Victoria’s Secret?” Keith freezes. He can’t tell if it’s judgmental, or curious, or—what—but he turns, slowly, and faces the boy. He looks normal. Not like he’s going to say something rude about the origin of Keith’s pajama pants. “Yeah,” he says cautiously. “My friend got them but they didn’t fit. They were on clearance so she couldn’t return them, so I use them instead.” (Keith really hopes confirming this isn’t a bad move—) “Aw, man,” the boy says, and Keith only has the barest second to panic before: “My sister likes their pajamas so I was hoping to get them for her for Christmas. But I guess if it was on clearance they might not be selling them anymore.” College AU/(Sort Of) Soulmate AU

my notes: we got trans keith, we got romellura, we got subverted soulmate au, we got awkward sweet pining. AKA it's a banger! this one was so tender and teenager-y i loved it.

i don't wanna let you love somebody else but me by ericawrites, killproof // 16k // AU

writers synopsis:

A stellar collision is the coming together of two stars caused by gravity, gravitational radiation, or other mechanisms not well understood. Any stars in the universe can collide. Keith and Lance do.

my notes: okay that synopsis doesn't set you up super well for what this fic actually is, but it's a celebrity au that has a mixed media format (transcripts, interviews, social media posts, as well as prose) that focuses on coming out, fan interaction, and our classic one-sided-rivals to friends to lovers. this was soooo 2018 but soooo sweet and funny.

Critical Hit by orphan_account // 21k // AU

writer's synopsis:

It’s the year 1986 and Lance just wants to do three things- 1. Hang out with his friends, 2. Maintain his high scores at the Dreamworks Arcade, and 3. Live life like a Hughes movie, not necessarily in that order. Everything’s going to plan until some asshole called ‘Firelord’ get’s the high score on Lance’s best game- Voltron: Legendary Defenders. And now? Well now, it’s on.

my notes: i loooove a good highschool fic + this has a great retro feel + stoner keith (my current obsession)!!! the rivalry dynamic was so good in this and I loved the pidge/hunk/lance friendship. too good!

hey, mom, i met a boy by mothpoem // 30k // Canon Divergence

writer's synopsis:

“Sweetheart,” says Lance, his hair longer, his shoulders broader, the slope of his nose uneven now where it didn’t used to be, “you don’t know the half of it.”

my notes: i have so many thoughts about this one but: if you've ever wanted to know what Keith saw on the space whale? yup. this is 30k of that. and almost all of it is Lance, ofc. beautiful prose and great humor just- yes.

A Rioting Blue by heavily_caffeinated // 30k // Canon

writer's synopsis:

As they broke into the ship, sliding quietly along a shockingly understaffed storage deck, no one thought to grab Lance. To touch base, maybe mention that the priority was the prisoners of higher standing with bigger pockets, which required a level of secrecy and nonchalance. And this requirement would need him to contain his emotions throughout the mission, even if his teammates were to fall or get injured. Even if he found Keith and wasn’t pleased with his treatment. He would need to remain calm. The monarchs were the priority. This lack of forethought led to what is considered one of the worst intergalactic shipwrecks of all time. After all, Keith Kogane was always Lance’s first priority. *** After Keith is abducted, Lance fights to get on a Blades mission to break into a Galran ship imprisoning hundreds. He keeps his own mission to himself. Step 1: follow orders until he can’t. Step 2: find Keith in the prison and break him out. Step 3: kill anything that slows him down. 

my notes: i realized that I hadn't really read much angst this month so i picked this one out of my marked for later folder and JESUS. wow. great choice. i need more of the paladins getting angry/vengeful/violent/lowkey crazy and this absolutely served that. the lance yearn was insanely well done. A+

and then... an honorary mention. not a klance fic, but so good I had to share.

Before The World Was Big by sh_ootingstarzz // 2k // Pre-Canon

writer's synopsis:

He’ll never be seven again; he’ll never be seven again, laughing in the backseat of his Dad’s pickup truck, and that terrifies him. Or growing up—in all the wrong ways.

my notes: literally so good. get ready to cry about Keith, like, hard. we got the mommy issues, daddy issues, religious issues, internalized homophobia, just slap, slap, slap, slap, ur dead and ur crying. ATE IT UP.

[bestdressedchuuya]

Ok I wanna talk abt crow country cuz I just finished it tonight and I really loved it, major spoilers under the read more 👇

So as soon as we saw the first "guests" and how humanoid they were, I knew they used to be human, and I kinda figured that they were originally park guests who got blobbed up due to the crazy shit happening right underneath the park. And like... I did feel kinda bad at first shooting up monsters who used to be human but it's like eh, typical horror trope (I mean that's basically what zombies are) so I got used to it. BUT THEN you find out that they're humans from the future who are desperately trying to communicate a message to you despite the fact that their bodies and minds are completely falling apart and I dunno abt anybody else but that made me feel WAYYY worse about blasting their heads off. LIKE...they are using the last semblance of their human thoughts to desperately write out the year they came from in blood all over the place and it's so tragically falling on completely deaf ears!! BIG OOF. MY GUY EDWARD CROW FUCKED UP BIG TIME.

[yariation]

Awkward

-> Choso x afab!Reader

Summary: Choso’s weak when it comes to you.

Warnings: Smut, piv, mention of cum, riding, non-proofread

Wc: 500... I think

"You look so pretty like this, baby." Choso's words are muffled against your chest.

His lips graze up the skin between your breast, before focusing on the skin of your neck. His tongue darts out to lick you and taste your salty skin. He's almost addicted.

He's addicted to swallowing your moans, kissing your skin, bitting your flesh. But never too hard. He'd never hurt his girl.

"Awe, thank you, pretty boy." Your fingers gingerly run through his soft hair.

Your thighs feel so warm around his lap. He loves how he could look up at you in this position. As if he were looking up at his own personal goddess. His hands explore your body, any inch he could reach. He can't deny it.

He loves it when you straddle him.

"I was thinking..." You look off to the side shyly, uncertain. Your finger toys with his bare chest, tracing invisible circles. "Maybe... We can try something new?"

Choso's eyes widen in surprise, his cheeks flushing red. Curiosity floods his mind, joined with eagerness and excitement. He edges you on, by giving a squeeze to your bare thigh. 

You sway your hips a bit, grazing your damp panties against his boxers. You feel his erection twitch against you. A quiet hiss leaves your boyfriend's lips.

"Perhaps we could try doing it like this?" You suggest.

"Like... Like this?" He asks confused, but intrigued.

You nod, before pressing your hand against his chest, then gently pushing him backwards. His back meets the soft feel of the mattress and pillows behind him.

Fuck, the sight is better from down here. He feels more of his blood start flowing southward. His boxers feel like a cage. The teasing sight of your clothed pussy against his restrained cock, makes his breath hitch.

His hands are carefully placed on your hips, unconsciously dragging you back and forth. Just to feel that sweet friction, even if it's just a bit.

You giggle at the sight of your slowly, crumbling boyfriend, who lies under you while you straddle him.

"So... Is that a--?"

"Yes. It's a yes." Choso answers almost too quickly.

You drag your hands away from his chest, about to pull your panties to the side, but he beats you to it. Two hands frantically move, with the purpose of getting into you.

Two cold fingers pull your panties to the side, while using his other hand to pull down his boxers, just enough for his cock to spring free. Quickly, he rips a condom open with his mouth, before sliding it on.

He looks up at you, watching how your face contorts softly, as he eases himself into you. His eyebrows furrow, feeling how you suck him in so nicely. But what really got him off, is when you suddenly drop your hips down. Your breast bouncing while you do so. It's quite a sight.

Your clit hits his pelvis and every inch of his cock is enveloped by your heat.

He stares at you, lovingly. Hands on your hips, caressing you up and down as he watches you adjust to him.

His eyes on your hooded ones, before gazing down at where your bodies connect.

With a teasing smile, you give him a playful squeeze. His cock twitches inside you.

You suddenly feel a hot liquid oozing inside you and his erection pulsates, before softening a little bit, but he's somehow still hard. His wide eyes snap up to look at you. A flustered expression on his handsome face, his lips parted. You also meet his gaze with a puzzled look of your own.

"Did you just cum...?"

"...yeah."

Poor Choso. He already gets off by just simply having you on his lap.

He couldn't take the thought, sight and feeling of your riding him, and probably short circuited.

He cummed, before you could even move an inch.

[joocomics]

1k followers celebration event — ⌞⌗ xdh drabble⌝

𓂃⠀𓈒 jiseok x fem!reader x jooyeon

genre: smut ( 18+ ) ── 0.7 words

request: “we both really like you” + dry humping

✎… threesome, sub!reader, dry humping, pet names, light choking (f!rec), implied overstimulation

( event masterlist | xdh masterlist )

Jiseok’s hands are beneath your skirt, grasping your ass. His strong appetite for you grows every time your hips respond to his domineering touch by swaying forward.

“You know…” He sighs, staring back down at where you’re straddling his lap, gaining friction from his bulge that’s twitching inside his gray sweatpants. His brows knit together as if he’s in the middle of solving a puzzle. “We both really like you.”

The weight of his words make the air around you feel heavier, but then he looks up at you again and his face lights up. His boyish laugh, an alluring familiar tune, breaks the tension, and you can’t help but smile back.

He doesn’t see this as a problem, but rather as an opportunity that promises to make the night much more interesting, unforgettable; for everyone involved.

You hold your curious gaze on his face for a moment before shifting it to Jooyeon who’s sitting relaxed beside him. He's been watching you and Jiseok with an unreadable expression - unreadable to you, because you've only known him for a few weeks.

“I like both of you too,” you say, and your mouth remains open in awe from the greedy grip of Jiseok’s bold palms. His fingertips sink deeper in your flesh as he guides you back and forth simultaneously lifting his hips up for even better friction.

Or maybe he’s just trying to get a better idea of what it would be like to thrust his cock inside you.

“Well then,” Jooyeon murmurs with voice laced in amusement that sends a shiver down your spine. “We should figure out what to do about that. Have you ever had two guys play with you before?” He cocks his head to the side, keeping one hand over his crotch. “At the same time?”

His gaze on you is intense, but inviting; the longer you maintain eye contact with him, the stronger the warmth in your core becomes.

You wish he would’ve touched you by now. You wonder why he hasn’t made a move yet when he’s clearly interested just as much as you and Jiseok are. Is he waiting for something?

You catch Jiseok biting his lip with anticipation.

“No, never.” You admit quietly, moaning softly right after. Every next move you do against his boner pleases you undeniably more than all the previous ones, tempting you to rub your sweet spot through your panties even harder.

The two boys glance at each other; there’s excitement glimmering in their eyes, a sense of understanding and agreement too. They’re already plotting what to do to you without needing words; the mischievous smiles forming on their lips expose the dirty intentions they’ve had for you all along.

“She's a good girl, she'll tell us what she wants,” Jiseok grins; his gaze flickering between you and his friend who's finally moving closer, kneeling behind your back.

Jooyeon doesn’t do anything to interrupt the unrestful grinding between you and Jiseok. What he does is invite his hands beneath your shirt and attach his tongue to your neck.

Your head falls to the side, giving him perfect exposure to explore you through his salivating mouth. As his slim fingertips sneak into your bra, catching your nipples, Jiseok focuses on supporting your rhythm that makes his cock throb.

“Fuck, baby—“ He groans loudly, smacking your cheeks before squeezing them again as the stimulation overpowers his senses. He would've never imagined that the view of you melting in Jooyeon’s arms would turn him on so much. “Got me so fuckin’ hard for you. You feel it, doll?”

“Mhmm…” A single small sound is all you manage to give as an answer. You can feel the rush that's resulting from the mutual euphoria distracting you by pulsing low in your tummy.

A firm hand crawls up your chest and wraps around your throat. The next second, you feel Jooyeon’s hot breath escape his lips.

“I want you soaked, do you understand? I’m not gonna do anything for this pussy if it’s not dripping for me.”

You can sense the devilish smirk without having to look at him; its impact is lingering in the air, arousing and demanding as he speaks, just like the light pressure around your neck.

“Go on,” he signals you to keep up with Jiseok’s hips pushing against you. “Don't make me wait.”

! please do not repost, copy or translate my works

! please keep in mind that english is not my first language. i apologise for any mistakes i’ve might missed

[nokillbananashelter]

THE NEXT ZELDA

Things I Think The Devs Are Thinking About

This is going to be a series of posts digesting what Zelda has done/is doing recently, namely, with EOW, TOTK, BOTW (& AOC/AOI) and how that relates to the fandom and their responses to reception of these games and where the devs have clearly shown interest with their whims. I was originally going to post this as one thing, but we don’t need to be that insufferable and I’m still formulating some thoughts on the other ones. And please remember- This is speculation!

PART 1: DUO PROTAGONISTS

I think we are at the point where dual protagonist structure is on the doorstep. Echoes of Wisdom was almost that already and they seem very keen on addressing giving Zelda space to be the protagonist. It would be absolutely incredible to have this open format where you are either journeying through as Zelda in one part and Link in another, or you are actually united and have to figure out how Zelda or Link’s toolset fit into the puzzle in front of you.

It’s been a minute since we’ve had a narrator companion. Zelda has already been in that role so I think this time they have the opportunity to simply just have her be… a voiced protagonist. I’m not saying she needs to have a voice actress this time (she probably will) but it would be interesting to have dialogue happening in a more tangible light. Link DOES talk in BOTW/TOTK, but also….Imagine how they could play up the characteristic of being kind of quiet. Maybe link does not interact with NPC’s in the same way that Zelda would. Maybe he says things that are a little more simple, functional, and Zelda does a lot more negotiation and investigation. Imagine the comedy, drama, and development that can happen by having link reserving his words more and Zelda speaking very freely and openly.

Idk, I think they are trialing the interest of zelda with the voice memories too- do players have interest in Zelda lore dropping on us, as we explore the world? I think the answer to that is a resounding yes. Imagine as you’re exploring as Zelda, or with Zelda, and it gives you the option to let her lore drop if you wanna hear it. It’s not forced on you, it’s not required, it doesn’t stop you from doing what you’re doing. It’s there to engage in if you want. I think people would want that & the new totk content is probably gonna be wanted in the base game next time.

And I also think they already kind of trialed this in the BEGINNING of TOTK too. Link is there to make the path safe for Zelda so she can interpret ruins and offer context for what you’re going through. I think my only complaint about that beginning section was how she ripped attention away from moving forward to demand the player pay attention to what she was doing. It was necessary as an opening act in a video game where you wouldn’t necessarily know to not skip past that, but in a more sustained capacity, the ability to skip over it would be right in the heart of how they’ve been developing these games- and I think a lot of players would appreciate that.

Further on teamwork, EOW’s last dungeon felt like a prototype for swap-between puzzles. I honestly really liked it. And while I didn’t really like sword mode for EOW, a game starring both Zelda and Link has a lot of potential for that kind of switching dynamic to work out really cool and feels like a fertile ground for creating challenge and interesting puzzles. I genuinely wanted more puzzles where Link & Zelda got split from each other in a room and had to independently figure out how to solve it. That fucking owned, even though it was only like three rooms.

It also defines and reinforces their skillsets a little bit more. Narratively speaking, Link is not credited for all of the creative adventuring you do that often, despite you showing a lot of wit and creativity and wizardry as link. He’s credited as a swordsman most often, and Zelda is the priestess. It makes sense for her to have the wacky powers and being more oriented towards creative wizardry and sleuthing and for him to be a audacious Fliptastic acrobatic fighter. Obviously, they are also defining Zelda as being insanely capable in combat, as we see in EOW & soon AOI. Combat = Link and Puzzle = zelda do not need to be mutually exclusive to each other- they both can be forces of nature and creativity and wit. But I think it gives them a lot of space to be defined and complement their skill sets in navigating solving puzzles and doing combat. Dungeon items can be made to be more Linky or more Zelday. Link could get a hookshot, Zelda could get a superpower. It just makes sense to me. I would love it if Zelda retain some of her summoning power from EOW, and Link retained a lot of his cool adventuring gear. They both can be capable in every aspect of gameplay, but one is tinted more magically and the other is tinted more adventurously.

And although the Sages in TOTK are sloppy implementations, they are 100% a trial of what it feels like to have people follow you around, and how you may possibly interact with them to engage with their abilities. I think there’s a lot of successes and failures learned from the way that they were implemented. A second pass on reactive companions could work out in a really cool way, and it’s not like there aren’t 1 million other examples in other games that worked better that they can learn from. They’re thinking about this and I don’t think they’re done with it!

i know a lot of people probably wouldn’t like this, but the notion of having to look out for both characters & make sure that they can complete their task while you do yours is fascinating to me. Imagine you can even choose which character you want to use in a fight or troubling situation. When you’re link, you gotta keep the baddies away from Zelda, disarm bosses through their various phases, and deal the finishing blow. When Zelda, you gotta maintain and complete seals/spells, keep baddies away from link, and change the shape of the battlefield in your favor. You may even have players that end up preferring one or the other in the challenges that come from being one or the other. It could make the game more accessible in that way. Imagine sometimes you get separated, and have to find the other one and break them out of a situation. This is something that could happen in particular story beat points, or be a consequence/complication of exploration that entice you to solve puzzles or explore areas you may otherwise miss or skip over.

And Imagine how dual protags opens up the possibilities for co-op! I would love an open world Zelda, where my partner can just drop in and drop out however we please. Imagine one of you exploring one end of the map while the other explores the other end. It would be so insane if that flexibility was a primary feature of the next Zelda. I wouldn’t even mind if the game was relatively conservative structurally if that was the primary gimmick. I really think it’s worth exploring.

And this isn’t even to mention four swords and what they may have learned from that experiment.

Genuinely, I think this duo protagonist concept is eminent. Out of all the things that are going to happen next, this one feels like the idea they are coming around to most. It could please a lot of people and it could be done in a way that doesn’t require you to sacrifice Link’s or Zelda’s importance in the story, or even your capacity to play the whole game as just one of them if you really wished that.

[carbonbasedmatter]

there's sadly not a lot of content of them together but troy and annie's friendship is so important to me. I feel like we don't talk about them enough outside of general trobedison. they're two people who liked the idea of each other at some point for kind of superficial reasons but grew to appreciate each other as their own people and not just this goal of someone to "pull" the more they got to know each other. honestly glad that the writers dropped the ship cus it's so much better than it would've been if it was romantic. instead we got this cool thing where they both kind of helped each other grow into themselves and cope with changes.

the talk they had at the end of mixology certification reflecting on everything that happened after annie's sudden crisis about what she wanted to do with her life was so sweet.

ANNIE: ... I did it because I didn't wanna be me. I did it because i'm not sure who I am. Admit it- we went to school together for four years, and you didn't even know me.

TROY: Yeah, but I know you now, You're Annie...You like puzzles and little monsters on your pencil and some guy named Mark Ruffalo. You're a fierce competitor and a sore loser and you expect everybody to be better than who they are and you expect yourself to be better than everyone. Which is cool.

This was the episode where Troy realized that becoming an adult isn't this big, dramatic change and the people he looked up to were just as confused and imperfect as he was. He decides on his own that the grown up thing to do is to get everyone home safely rather than drinking. Here he's the one reassuring Annie, telling her how she does still have time to explore the world on her own terms, not knowing her well back then was his own loss.

I really like that about their dynamic how Troy kind of helps Annie realize she can just...relax and be herself without being judged, seeing her high school crush that she always wanted to impress casually building pillow forts and speaking in only movie references with his best friend. We don't see any immediate drastic changes in her that it seems unnatural but she's definitely more comfortable weird in her own way after moving into 303 (For ex her making Abed film missing lover clips for her)

I love how much they both care about abed too...in different ways. troy matches his weirdness, giving him an escape from what the rest of world thinks while annie shows him he CAN leave the world of simulations and scenarios, being different from someone but still having them respect you as a friend and build a close relationship with them letting him connect with the world. But they actually care about him letting him show a vulnerable side that he doesn't with a lot of the other members of the study group.

I also think the gay himbo+ smart but insane lesbian dynamic is v funny yea

anyways here are some silly photos that'll hopefully help get my point across

[reigraceee]

Notes from a first-time severance viewer: Woe's Hollow edition

aka: a day one Mark x Helly shipper goes on the biggest emotional rollercoaster of the season

part one / prev part / sev notes tag

So basically, what I've been doing is sharing my experience and notes from going into Severance blind. And if you know anything about my thoughts on previous episodes, you'd know that I'm a huge fan of Mark and Helly. So. This was a wild episode for me.

Now, unfortunately because I was binge-watching, I never took a moment to reflect and realize that Helly was not actually the Helly I knew. So... the reveal in this episode absolutely killed me lol.

Obviously, my experience is different because I got to binge the season, and thus I'd like to know what other people thought of the episode! Let me know what you thought watching Woe's Hollow in the notes!

^While the whole show has elicited a lot of confusion from me, this ep was the most wild lol. This was the first time the innies were getting to experience the outdoors (not counting the OTC) which is cool, but I wish they explored that more. Then again, there was enough going on in this episode.

^*insert meme of the monkey looking away awkwardly*

I genuinely (and this is embarrassing to admit because I'm pretty aromantic and spend a lot of time complaining about how there's too much romance in media) spent the first few episodes of s2 just waiting for Mark and Helly to kiss lol. What can I say? They're special to me. Partly because I see a lot of myself in them, but Severance kind of was/is the markhelly show to me, especially on first watch. Now of course I love all of Severance and I've since taken time to rewatch and digest everything so that I can properly appreciate other aspects, but I just love Mark and Helly so much and they were forefront in my mind lol.

^turns out the actors were actually filming outdoors which must have been a fun change in scenery lol

^I think I typed this down when Irv was creeping and watching Mark and Helly from behind a tree or something weird like that, idk. I think at this point I'd noticed enough of Helly's odd behavior to be suspicious of her, although I hadn't really stopped to put it all together. I *do* remember wondering if Lumon did something to change her or if there was another influence at play, but I never seriously considered that Helly was actually Helena.

The difference between binge watching and waiting weeks at a time, is that instead of trying to answer questions with theorizing and reflecting, I just tried to move forward as much as possible to find out what happens next lol. So, my experience was definitely way different than those who spent months digesting and growing a relationship with the show.

^You know what? First of all, I called it. Second of all, I still want to know where Miss Huang and Mr. Milchick went! It really keeps me up at night, the way they just disappeared.

^*insert meme of the monkey looking away awkwardly*

This was the scene where she went to visit Irving in his tent. I was basically yelling at the scream for Helly to tell Irving that she was an Eagan in my blissful ignorance.

Also, I was really puzzled by this scene. I remember thinking "Would Helly make a snow animal?" because while it was really cute and all, it really felt out of character. Not out of character in a bad way (like the way she suddenly turned into a gaslighted) but just in a way that felt a little off.

Anyways, thankfully the real Helly isn't a gaslighter, because I was getting really frustrated with her in these first few episodes. It felt like a character assassination, and I was really confused lol.

^Ok but seriously!! I got the impression that the book was supposed to be about the two brothers but then the twin got killed off in chapter two! I just want to know how much wilder the plot could get please.

^*insert meme of the monkey looking away awkwardly*

Why did I even say that?? My goodness, I'm dead lol

I guess because I was getting evil vibes from Helly? Which I mean if I'd just thought about it for a second more maybe...

^This is sad, but I got really excited lol. The realization I had later was the BIGGEST letdown. I was just trying to ignore the signs and root for these two smh. And it was an especially big deal for me to be so excited, because (like I said before) I usually hate romance plots. These two were so specially to me and I just wanted it to be real lol

^I was getting so bothered by Helly and I could not with her lying. I felt like I was trying SO HARD to be team Mark x Helly and Helly was ruining it by being a little liar. I guess I just thought Helly was ashamed and needed to talk things out. But now that I know the difference between Helly and her outie, I really don't think Helly could ever be this bothered by things. Not in this way at least. Helly is headstrong and upfront. Whenever she has a problem, she's always quick to express it. Helly's honestly a really great communicator.

^See, besides my annoyance with Helly lying, I also feared that their relationship was doomed because of the reintegration. I was pretty much just trying to get what I could before it all completely fell apart lol

^me crashing out, still completely oblivious, while Irving was figuring it out lol

^So the fun part of binge-watching things is that reveals hit you right over the head. I mean I felt that. When Mark gets all piss-y in the next couple of episodes, I totally understood because I experienced the same grief firsthand lol. I mean truly, I gasped so hard I had to take a few moments to catch my breath again. It all came crashing down on me so hard. It was like this revelation of "Oh! of course!" with a sprinkle of extra confusion because I didn't understand what Helena was trying to achieve. I mean, to this day I'm still trying to decipher what her game is, but it was extra confusing then.

^I WAS HAVING SO MUCH FUN UNTIL I WASN'T

At this point I was just very broken hearted because all the progress I was waiting for in Mark and Helly's relationship was just thrown away. I was certain my ship was dead lol. Also, I guess I was too devastated to notice that they killed Irving, because I was really confused as to what happened to him when I started the next episode. I owe him a formal apology.

I'm sorry Irving. You knew better than I did. My feelings for them kept me from seeing objectively. I'm ashamed I couldn't figure out that my favorite character got replaced by her evil twin :'(

Personally, I think this is one of my favorite episodes (if not THE favorite). The reveal was really cool for me, and it was really fun to watch the mystery of why Helly was acting weird unfold. Theorizing is fun and all, but there's something about the whiplash I experienced this episode that I wouldn't trade for any other experience lol.

[daydreamersinasylum]

Are you okay, Puzzles..? (910-P..?)

"Hey.. I couldn't help but notice you're in my stargazing spot.."

He walks up to me.. from the ladder, specs of dust brushed away as he sits.. rather comfortably next to me.. eventually in my lap?

"I-I should go.."

A hand grabs my leg, "Don't go, please..? Teddy would be sad.."

He really doesn’t know who I am.. or.. or does he? I watch as he sits.. bringing out what looks like a damaged, well used notebook full of drawings.. wait a second.. this was my astrology book.. gasp

"Did you want to log constellations with me..? Maybe something spectacular happens tonight!! Is that why you're up here, mister?"

“Hey.. I believe one of the dippers are showing up tonight..”

“Really??"

He nods, smiling softly at the young Puzzles, “I believe so.. do you trust me?”

“If you could predict a meteor shower, in your dreams!” They both end up laughing, Little Puzzles moreso.

“Do you imagine what it’s like to see the stars up close.. a telescope, situated right here? The movies exploration of the moon must have been extraordinary..”

Little Puzzles sits at my knee, “A telescope?? I’ve always wanted one of those.. they make them so futuristic in cartoons.. I have my toys but they’re nothing like the real thing. I'm glad you think space is cool too.. people just call me some sort of nerd!"

I chuckle as he rambles on.. amusing little gentleman, he has been a charmer, an 'Annie' all these years..

"If we got a telescope.. I'd love to share with you.. mommy taught me all about sharing! It's what friends do, they have all sorts of fun in the movies anyways.. if only Dad would let me have friends sleepover, then we'd work together and save for one ourselves! It'll be just like the movies!"

“Yeah.. you got that right. Everything does look cooler in the movies..”

I look down.. disdain.. not even in my older years did I not get to use a real telescope until I think my college years. I got glimpses, but not full ones with the TV head making it hard to use-- my screen glitches as the unfortunate fact resurfaces. . .

I-I cut off my own head before I got to truly experience using a telescope normally..

If he knew who he became.. who I was? How can I ever face him.. knowing I did this to him.. m-my poor younger self, his innocent face.. this flashback I'm in seems to be a few years before the INCIDENT. He must be about 6 years old by now..

I look to young Puzzles, as he points out various constellations and sets of stars we get to see.. our home, fenced, against a big hill towards the city.. the city where I always dreamed afar, my inspiration grew to be a movie star.. I hold my face as I feel my TV screen shift.. articulating my thoughts. It flickers.. and flickers... as my thoughts overtake my usually arrogant.. ego-maddened expression. I can't.. I can't make it stop..

Am I having a panic attack?

My senses heighten as I realize I'm struggling to breathe.. my heartbeat drumming out of my chest.. i-it hurts.. a gasp.. static all over my body as I panic.. I can't move.. everything HURTS. Wincing, I hold my head.. but no matter how much I hold it-- I can't help myself like I did with a h-human head..

He notices as I lie down.. my thoughts drowning out my ideal TV expression, “Are you alright..?”

.

.

.

My thought bubble bursts,

“What..? I’m n-not.. alright..?”

I sit up slowly, as if I didn't hear him properly.. the ringing in my head won't leave me alone like the voices that have taunted me all night..

“Did.. you want to talk about it..?”

I look surprised.. as I maintain my gaze to the stars I loved so much, what could I possibly say that won’t traumatize him..? I can’t exactly tell him my thoughts as if he were my therapist..

After a while.. I feel him laying his head on my leg.. awkwardly. “You uhm.. don’t have to answer.. if you don’t want to.”

My ever loving question is.. how does he see me? Feel my presence? Is he also a hallucination..?? Where is Stardust!? SHE DISSAPPEARED!

“Starlight? Are you on the roof again?”

.

.

(Guys, I think he's spiraling, hope he doesn't fall off the roof.. but if he does, make it a blanket burrito. -- Cosmic)

[meggannn]

Games I Played in 2024

I played a lot of games this year (finished 33 but dropped a few others) and thought I'd write up some quick reviews. Didn't include Metaphor Refantazio since I only played the demo of that (really enjoyed it though), but I did include Hades 2 since I put in 100 hours into it and I think it's pretty obvious I like it lmao. listed in chronological order of when I played it

Howl: Hate to start out with a game I dropped, but I was just really bad at the puzzles in this one lol. You play as a deaf woman who is immune to the "howling plague" which turns people into feral beasts, so she alone travels the land to help villagers and try to find a solution. Really neat concept, I was just bad at the grid-like puzzle system.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits: 3/5 Thematically it's maybe a story more appropriate for children, in that you play as a young woman charged with taking care of spirits who have moved on and looking after the environment, but the combat was hard enough that it felt more suited for adults, which made me kind of wonder what the target audience really was. Visually it's stunning, and it's got all the elements of a typical AAA game these days (collectibles, puzzles, zones to explore). I found the plot a little simple, like if Disney wrote the game and Pixar animated it, but the gameplay could occasionally get hard. I've never played a soulslike game before so I can't comment on whether it is appropriately challenging for a "soulslike," like some have debated.

Persona 5 Tactica: 4.5/5 I enjoyed this one! The gameplay feels like Fire Emblem strategy set in the Persona world, which can be a bit simple in the main story maps but gets increasingly complicated in the challenge/side maps, especially those where you have to accomplish an objective in one turn. The chibi art style might turn people off but this feels very at home with the main game's story and themes with two surprisingly fun new companions.

Venba: 4.5/5 What a surprise I like the cooking game about a family adjusting to life and dealing with Asian diaspora. I think it could've been longer because I was enjoying the recipes but it did make me cry. Phenomenal soundtrack too.

Eastshade: 3/5 The idea is that you're a painter and you can walk around an island and capture the scenery on your canvas to fulfill requests from locals. Unfortunately it felt more like Crafting: The Game which wasn't really what I signed up for but it's still a relaxing time.

Dépanneur Nocturne: 3.5/5 A short little game I picked up randomly. You go shopping at a convenience store late at night and find some weird things on the shelves. Unexplainable, cute, kinda fun.

Hidden Through Time: 3.5/5 A cute little find-the-items game with the ability to make your own themed maps. There was a lot of variety in the levels.

Yoshi's Crafted World: 3/5 I played this at May's when I was catsitting at her house lol. Cute time-waster for a platformer I'd recommend for kids but honestly got a little grindy at the end.

Hades 2: (Personal GOTY) 5/5 Though it came out in May, I played this pretty much throughout the year. It is in Early Access, but I truly believe this game has more polish and content than most finished games have on release, so in my heart it counts. Melinoë is a wonderful character, there's some real depth, heart, and humor to the writing, and the world has gotten even grander and denser than in Hades 1. The stakes are high in that she has to defeat an undying Titan over and over again to save her family, but the game still feels quintessentially Hades while also reshaped to fit Mel's character and journey. I feel like the team knows exactly what they want and what they're doing. Supergiant doesn't miss and I'm very excited to see what future updates hold.

Synergia: Dropped. This is a cyberpunk visual novel with robot yuri about an overworked detective who purchases a new household android for company. I ended up putting it down because the writing was... mostly fine, but when it stumbled, it felt very awkward and unnatural; I also realized the main writer was a man, which made some of the "oops, I have to sleep naked" lines coming from the childlike android feel fetishy at times. It wasn't constant, but it was prevalent enough to bother me. Still I've seen some wlw enjoy it anyway or even embrace those aspects, so what I don't like someone else might.

Harmony: The Fall of Reverie: 3/5 This one has a neat concept. Polly, the main character, is tasked with keeping balance between two worlds while juggling the desires of Glory, Bliss, Power, Chaos, Bond, and Truth, who are anthropomorphized characters you can agree or disagree with in their direction to lead humanity. The gameplay idea is that you can see the consequences of your choices branching out before you make them, which at times is really cool because it lets you plan what you want, but at times also feels like you're really just looking at the behind-the-scenes of the developer code lol.

Hello Goodboy: 2.5/5 I must've misjudged this one because I think it was either for real little kids, or it just wasn't translated well. It's a story about a kid and his dog in the afterlife. Felt approachable for teaching kids how to play a video game for the first time.

Hohokum: 3.5/5 At first I could not get into this for the life of me but then it clicked after a few sessions and now I think really fondly on this weird, abstract experience that is more of a toy than a game. I only mark it down because I found the map so damn confusing.

Pentiment: 5/5 No notes, full stars, going right up there on the shelf of "games I'd recommend to Disco fans." This game officially made me a Josh Sawyer fan. I didn't think I'd get invested in a story about 16th century Bavarian monks but I cried several times.

A Tiny Sticker Tale: 4/5 A cute puzzle game set around the idea that you can pick up stickers of items and people, and place them somewhere else. Nice for an afternoon!

Pyre: An excellent 4.5/5 that I look more favorably on in hindsight than when I was playing; I want to give it a 5/5 rating but something about the combat really didn't click for me. You have been banished from the Commonwealth after an unmentioned crime, and after finding allies, you discover you can guide them to partake in ancient rites that will grant ascension back into the Commonwealth one at a time (if you're successful). To earn everyone's freedom, you basically have to play basketball while juggling all three of your main player characters on the field, who all have different abilities and movement speeds, and I struggled with that. That said, the story is Supergiant at its absolute peak, and I think it has the best soundtrack of all their games, which is saying a lot. There's light character roleplaying, but the main choices are made for you in how well you play fantasy basketball: the game will move on whether you win or lose, and the story will adapt.

Landlord of the Woods: 5/5 I really enjoy Madison Karrh's games and Landlord of the Woods is no exception. It's a short puzzle game about finding a new job and showing up on your first day... except your job is a landlord to a community living in the woods who do not want a landlord. Lighthearted yet also creepy, ironic without being jaded, it's delightfully unique.

Insomnia: Theater in the Head: 4/5 A short narrative/puzzle game about a woman's struggles with insomnia. Really captures the energy of all the wild thoughts running through your head at 2am.

Detective Grimoire: Secret of the Swamp: 3.5/5 Starting to show its age but I really like detective games where YOU have to figure out who did it. It is also fortunately not very punishing but you do have to think a little.

Roadwarden: 4/5 This gave me maybe the closest feeling of roleplaying Dragon Age Origins that I've had since playing Pillars of Eternity, just with a smaller budget and largely text-based. You play as a Roadwarden, who is charged with keeping the roads of a peninsula safe from monsters and bandits; but you have another job from your supervisors to see if the peninsula would be open to trade in the future, and would require new merchants and changing leadership. You can be a hero, an asshole, you can sell out the villagers, or quit your job and live with them... there are lots of small discoveries and connections to be had in this game.

Sarawak: 3.5/5 Another short little game, this one a literary mystery set in Oxford and Malaysia, about a woman investigating her parents' histories. I find myself really enjoying these small narrative adventure games as I get older.

Catlateral Damage: 2.5/5 Wish I enjoyed the "cats knocking stuff off stuff" game more, but truthfully it got a little boring after ten minutes.

Planescape Torment: 4/5 Clearly a long-beloved game for a reason, and I see how it inspired Disco Elysium. The combat is horrible and mechanics are old as balls, but the story and writing are top-tier. You play as a man who wakes up in a morgue after dying with no memory of who he is, and you have to hunt down your memories through the clues your previous lives have left you. But it's not a detective story, it's more about reinventing yourself and deciding who to be in your new life. The OG Harry du Bois, in a way.

En Garde! 4.5/5 What a goofy game! It's a quirky, funny action/adventure game that fully embraces the swashbuckling energy of fencing with a woman lead, which is a nice difference. The characters are flamboyant, the lines are overdramatic, and the game is very self-aware of its genre and embraces it. Found the enemy waves a little overwhelming at times but nothing insurmountable, it just has a lot of mechanics.

Robotherapy: 3.5/5 An interesting little premise about a robot that wants to be a therapist. The writing is fine, but occasionally weighed down by its need to be funny; still it's got a few interesting twists.

Lieve Oma: 3/5 A short story about a child who goes walking in the woods with a grandmother hunting for penny buns throughout the years. This kinda touched me because I never knew my grandparents well.

Hatoful Boyfriend: 4/5 Yes, I'm about a million years late to this game. Turns out the pigeon dating simulator is, in fact, really interesting, genuinely funny, and an absolute horror show at times.

Lego Horizon Adventures: 3.5/5 What the hell, it has Aloy shooting machines and Varl loving comic books and Sylens as a DJ. It definitely feels like it was made for kids who have watched for years over their parents' or older siblings' shoulder as they play the more difficult Horizon mainline games. I did wish it were longer and the gameplay a little more complex but I had fun with it.

stitch.: 4/5 Great little puzzle game where you group certain numbers of stitches together to form shapes with a truly INSANE number of puzzles.

Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery: 4.5/5 A short narrative adventure about an artist trying to paint "the finest scenery" with some simple puzzles. It reminded me a lot of Ghibli films, maybe not as polished but with some really heartbreaking twists and moments for me about inspiration, communing with your fellow artists, and also the passage of time.

Wavetale: 4/5 A 3d platformer about environmentalism and worker's rights that takes place in a flooded world with only boats to get around... until Sigrid discovers a supernatural ability to run/ride on water thanks to the help of a mysterious shadow. I didn't think this was going to get as deep as it did, and while I think it did go a little long, I respect the vision even if the platforming was kinda clunky.

Summerhouse: 3/5 Another game that's more of a toy than a game. You unlock different walls, windows, roofs, trees, people, etc. to build your house. I like the style of this one, just wish there was more of everything.

Between Horizons: (GOTY RUNNER-UP) 4.5/5 Hidden gem of this year! Despite having just a few things in common with Mass Effect 1, it reminded me a lot of that game (red-haired default female protagonist on a spaceship suddenly thrust into a position of authority and tasked with tracking someone down). It takes place on a generation ship deep into its journey when suddenly systems are sabotaged and rebellion looks like it's brewing. Stella, the new Chief of Security, has to find the culprit before the mission reaches a point of no return. REALLY good puzzles in this one imo, I actually had to pen-and-paper some stuff to figure out who did what.

Dungeons of Hinterberg: 4/5 Another hidden gem in which dungeons appear around the modern-day Austrian Alps, sparking a sudden wave of tourists and dungeon-crawlers to visit. Part Zelda and part Persona, you explore dungeons by day and hang out with friends and locals by night. The game questions us on if the tourism brought to a small town as a result of the magic spawning there is actually helping, or if the capital and greed it brings might change the village for the worst. The game is about 1/3 relationship sim, 1/3 combat, 1/3 puzzles; I enjoyed all three to varying degrees but I think the puzzles are the strongest.

Paper Trail: Another grid-based puzzle system I dropped (I'm noticing a pattern). You play as a young woman who runs away from home to go to college, and she can "fold" corners of reality to make bridges, connect landpaths, etc. Gorgeous environments and neat concept, I just struggled with it.

1000xResist: (GOTY RUNNER-UP) 4.5/5 Half of Tumblr should be playing this. It's a scifi game set in the distant future in which aliens have arrived on Earth and brought with them a devastating plague that kills most humans. A girl called Iris is the only person who seems to be not only immune but also now immortal, who is cloned/later clones herself throughout the years (first to study a cure, and then to keep company/create a new society). You play as Watcher, a clone created a thousand years later to record Iris's life, now known as the ALLMOTHER's, life, and ensure her authority goes unchallenged in a post-apocalyptic world. I can't even talk about it more without spoiling but it tackles authority and rebellion, identity, memory, bad friendships, generational trauma, modern Asian American/Canadian diaspora... If you enjoy any combination of the following you will probably enjoy it: Everything Everywhere All At Once, Evangelion, Imperial Radch, Arrival, Ghost in the Shell.

not included are my gatcha games lmao which are currently animal crossing pocket camp (og and complete) and fire emblem heroes

[bettydice]

I have finished Veilguard. A bunch of thoughts under the cut!

The Companions: Loved all of them and all the banter and their interactions. I thought the companion quests were fantastic and there was a lot of content there and I enjoyed it all. Voice acting was fantastic and some line deliveries made me tear up. And while it was honestly nice to have everyone get along well and be respectful with each other, I did miss some... bite and conflict. Like you get all those delicious conversations with Solas and questioning of motives and I wanted more of that sort of thing. Also I'd die for Assan and Manfred. The Environments: This is definitely one of the strongest parts of the game for me. Everything is gorgeous and I loved just walking around, exploring. I thought they found a great balance of streamlined and exploration! Puzzles were at a difficulty that I can still enjoy (thus very simple, I'm sure other people are annoyed by that) and it made exploring satisfying and relaxing instead of a chore. And I loved seeing changes in the environments after certain events or NPCs moving into places that I'd cleared. I rarely fast travelled because I loved walking through the Crossroads so much.

Rook: Overall, I enjoyed Rook. I chose Erika Ishii's voice for my first playthrough and thought it was fantastic. Also loved every Mourn Watch dialogue option. However... Rook has a loooot of auto dialogue and the dialogue options feel quite limited, so I'm worried about replays and being able to make different Rooks actually feel different. Also hate to say this, but Rook could smile a little less in cutscenes... I also don't think you can play a Rook that antagonizes any companions or is just plain shit at conflict resolution.

Combat: Even though I never felt like I fully mastered it, I enjoyed it. And especially after recently replaying all the other games - the dragon fights were so much cooler (though as a mage, they were also 80% running around screaming). I didn't miss being able to control my companions, except for taking screenshots. Romance: I romanced Bellara and I love her, she is my beautiful wife. I do wish there'd been more romance specific content, especially because you get to see soo much of your companions getting together and being together and you're just there like... what about me? Spare romance banter for Rook pls? I didn't even get a romance specific greeting! Though ultimately, I'm really happy with the romance and the ending added some welcome drama, because Bellara was the one that got abducted by the blight/Elgarnan and yesss! The drama! The fade statues guilt trip! She's so smart and fierce when she returns! And the last scene was super sweet. <3

Story: Overall I'd say... Yay? Loved all the Lore drops and actual answers. Thought the side quests were well done and interesting. Another shout out to the companion quests! All in all, I'm satisfied with the ending, I think. HOWEVER! You can feel the Things We Didn't Import all over the game. There were so many moments where I was like, okay they COULD have mentioned xyz here easily, but no, they have to go out of their way to be vague or not let you talk to this character much. I don't need actual cameos (Isabela you deserve better) but there's so many missed opportunities for simple mentions or codex entries and it's such a shame. Because this IS the culmination of the story and why can't we see that reflected in little moments, so that we can truly feel the depth of the story once more? But I do love the Codex! There's so much good stuff in there! I might even go back and read all the Codex entries I haven't yet. Oh, why do we see no Elves working for Solas? Did he manage to get his entire spy network killed before the game? Classic Solas. Music: Soundtrack was fine, better than I expected tbh though a few scenes had some really awkward whimsical music that made me go ?????????? The Varric thing is dumb. The 'twist' only works because I guess nobody ever mentioned his death ever again. I hate sacrificing character development or People Behaving Normally for twists.

Why is the Inquisitor still wearing FUCKING PYJAMAS. Really wish there was an option to dye armour. The decision between Minrathous and Treviso is a cool concept and loved (though hated) seeing the fallout but what.... Rook and their two buddies are the only thing standing between a city and complete ruin???? I do not think so.

That's all for now.

[colesluvr]

When Your Powers Are Taken | All Ninja x Female Reader

REQ: I HAVE A REQUEST!! How abt all ninja x female reader; when your elemental power is taken by aspheera (like kai’s was taken)

can i be frank with yall, i kinda like this lmaoo. kinda want to make a p2 to this, how y/n will react to losing her power. thx for the request, i really enjoyed writing this!! hope yall enjoy! <33

if you want me to make this a seprate reaction i'll write that as well, just holla <3 by that i mean each of thme having their own reaction to y/n losing her power

E/P: Elemental Power

"No! Don't!"

It was too late. 

With one push of the block, aligning the puzzle in it's proper pattern. It glowed bright color's and the pyramid started to rumble. Dust and pebbles fell from the top of the room. Everyone stood in a line in front of the large chamber, waiting to see what will happen.

Suddenly, the door exploded, causing everyone to duck down as dust filled the room. Laughter soon emerged from the chamber, and you opened your eyes to see a large, blue, female snake slither out with a staff in her hand.

You squinted your eyes, coughing from the debry that fell upon you. You tried to get abetter iew of the snake lady in front of you. 

"Free at last," She said as she looked around. She looked forward to see 8 figures on the ground, "Where is he?" Was the first thing she asked. Looking oward Lloyd. 

"Who?" Lloyd grunts as he tried to stand, "The treacherous deceiver. The one who imprisoned me." She spoke, "Tell me where he is, and I, Aspheera, will show you mercy." The snake demanded. 

"I believe she is looking for the boy mentioned in the hieroglyphics." Zane guessed as everyone sat up from the ground.

"What do I tell her?" Lloyd whispered, looking over to Nya who got in his face with a worried tone, "Tell her the truth! We don't know." 

They all stood, Lloyd starting to speak, "Uh, that was a while ago..."

The blade on the snakes staffed began to glow purple as her rage increased. Raising her weapon, she shot a bright, purple beam to Lloyd, knocking him into the nearest wall. 

Clutch Powers dodged Lloyd's body as it made contact with the stone. The ninja's pulled up their hoods while you got your weapon in hand, all of you ready to fight. 

"Let her have it!" Jay shouted, shooting a spark of electricity toward the Serpentine. 

"Uh," Clutch spoke as he hid near the wall of the exit, "I'll get help!"

"Help from who? The camals??" You shouted at the explorer who ran away. "Y/N, focus!" Nya shouted at you, both of you dodged the blast of purple energy shot at from the snake. 

The Serpentine chuckles as all the Ninja's and your's powers blew right off her, leaving not even a scratch on her. 

"You." 

Her hand pointed toward you as you were the only one in front of her. Her eyes and yours locked, "You are a E/P elemental?" 

"The one and only! Name's Y/N! Not so nice, to meet  you!" You shot a blast of E/P at the Serpentone when you shouted to meet,watching her once again take the hit without ant damage. 

You watched as her head slowly raised, her hissing loud and clear in your ears. 

"Your E/P, enlightens, me." Aspsheera spoke softly, slowly slithering her way toward you as she continued, "For too long I have been trapped in this cold, dark place."

 You stepped back  from the snake as she got closer, and closer. 

"I will take your E/P!"

"I'd like to see you try, snake!" You tempted, ready your power in your hand. Before you can land a hit, you saw her wave her staff to the side and toward you raising up, however your body followed with her staff. 

You felt your body freeze, you couldn't move. Your feet were lifted from the ground as you felt the power inside you fade away. It hurtI. You let out screams of pain, trying to break free from the Serpentines hold. 

However, the purple hold had you in a tight knot. You weren't able to escape and endeered the pain. 

"Y/N!" Kai cried your name, attempting to get up and stop the snake. 

"What's happening?" Cole cried "She's stealing her elemental power!" Zane shouts, answering Cole's question. "We must stop her!"

They tried.

They really tried. 

When they attempted their spinjitzu on her, she gave them a taste of theirown medicane, somehow still being able to steal your power.

You felt your eyelids get heavy, and your body grew more and more tired by the second. Next thing you knew everything went blank. 

"She knows Spinjitzu." Lloyd mumbled in a worried tone. 

"How?!" Jay cried, twice as confused as Lloyd. 

Suddenly, your body fell straight to the floor, but you didn't move. Not even an 'ow' left your lips. Bad sign.

You were knocked out cold. 

"Y/N!" Lloyd called out your name, everyone running to your body. 

"I..thank you, elemental. In return for your gift, I shall spare your lives." 

Next thing, well, no one knew, was there hands chained up to each other and pinned to the wall high above the ground. However, you were still knocked out in between Zane and Nya. 

"May you enjoy your time in this place, as much as I did. Farewell," Aspheera, who was now the color of your E/P, bid her goodbyes, slithering toward the exit.

"You won't get away with this!" Lloyd yelled over to the snake.

They all watched the Serpentine leave, Lloyd looked back at your unconscious body. Your head was hung down low as your right arm was raised in the air by the chain that pinned you all to the wall. 

"Y/N? Y/N, can you hear me?" He cried, pulling himsef forward to try and see you better. Nya was able to reach over, holding herself forward with her feet, as she pulled down your mask that coverd the body half of your face and look at you with a sadden look. 

"Zane, how is she?" Cole asked, looking ove rto his Nindroid friend who was already steps ahead of him. 

Zane took a moment to scan your body, before responding. 

"Her vitals ar stable. She's alive. She should recover shortly." Zane spoke with a soft smile.

"Good." Lloyd sighed, looking at the chain above him,

 "Now we just have to figure out a way out of here."  

[cattofwatt]

The Area Review

Guess we just go? Yeah let’s go

The Third Floor

-very good starting area and not too absurd just yet and it’s good to set the move of the entire game after this point

Teeth apartment

-I love/hate the baby crying you can hear in the apartment. It makes me feel so so bad. Also it was a very emotional area and honestly no other sub area made me feel the same way the Teeth apartment did.

Edwin’s apartment

-I am including the meat section as Edwin’s apartment. Anyway I do like how strangely normal it looks. And the whole light gimmick was cool. It has my fav outside of battle death where you just look outside with the telescope. The meat area was very bizarre and really makes you want to ask what the hell is going on.

Taxidermy apartment

-very underrated one. The whole gimmick is pretty good and the taxidermy animal statues really made me feel paranoid that they would suddenly just jump out at me. The enemies designs were very unique and the boss Taxidermy I wish got way more love

Ice apartment

-I don’t have much to say other than that the enemy designs looks pretty neat. I really wish it was explained more why exactly this happened

The Second Floor

-very nice area. Short and sweet. Hard to compete with the floor above and below it as nothing new (beside Eugene) opens up after following days. Also you meet Leigh here and that’s great because I support woman’s wrongs. As I am one too

Jeanne’s apartment

-not much at first but after her mutation this small area is pretty fun with the many hydra heads you have to find and kill if you want to save her.

Lyle’s apartment

-imagine the apocalypse is happening and your stalker(s) manage to stay sane enough to talk and continue what they do. Anyway nice little area with unique enemies and I do like Lyle’s uncloaked design. Also his sprite after burning his photo’s is so fucking sad man

The First Floor

-god I was so overwhelmed the first time I got here. Perfect labyrinth but with just enough clues to tell where you are

Plant apartment

-I still choose to believe this was Hellen’s apartment. Anyway the enemy designs are pretty good but like the ice apartment it’s only importance is when your going through it

Frederic’s apartment

-ah yes my favorite singular puzzle because it isn’t just fight and attack you have to pay attention to clues if you want to find and save the real Frederic. And I think the whole paint idea was very very neat

Ground Floor

-god that bus crash was so fucking epic. Wish it was more punishing if you decided to fight them there and now. Anyway this whole section is very neat but doesn’t have that much actually in it. It doesn’t really have its own sub sections you could say. Or I just don’t remember any. I don’t count the laundromat or the convenience store

Edit: I am a idiot

Henderson’s apartment

-war…war never changes. Very good music and enemies and whole area keep changing is very cool

Basement

-probably my favorite entire section. It just has such good subsections.

Bug apartments

-I think this was neat and I don’t know why all these bug enemies have normal ass names like Sam saw these things and just somehow immediately recognized em

Sewers

-I did like the whole aesthetic of this place. Very much a maze like Floor 1 is but honestly at first it can be an even tougher maze with how everything looks very similar. And I did enjoy the furnace puzzle

Fungal Area

-The music here is so calming and I have no idea why. Also laughing mold is my best boi and I’m happy he can live. And I think the fungal enemies look good. Could’ve been a little more unique besides the boss ones but still

Garage

-“transformers roll out!” Ass place. Anyway I fucking love this sub area as it’s so unique and every single enemy design is amazing and so good looking. The idea of just mutating with vehicles is very cool

Roof

-now this is a amazing little area you get to explore. Probably best art in the game and the music is in my top four absolutely. Just good music and make sure you made the correct decisions

(Pssst!..hey! I’m making a fully original oc! I’ll post the design idea for it! Keep in mind it’s going to be fully in text as again I have no artistic skills of any kind lol)

[askagamedev]

On the topic of “what the player is doing”, what do you feel about so called walking simulators? How does the design of a game where the player is largely is moving from point a to b is defined?

Even in walking simulators, there's still the active element of moving around the environment and examining each item. The player retains agency in exploration games, even though there aren't too many other overt actions to take.

Consider a "walking simulator" like The Talos Principle. The actions that the player take include exploring environments, collecting puzzle pieces, avoiding obstacles, jamming obstacles, moving boxes, climbing boxes, using boxes to obstruct enemies, and that neat time recording feature. The Talos Principle primarily interweaves the exploration and narrative elements with puzzle solving.

Another "walking simulator" is The Stanley Parable. In it, there's really only exploring and interacting with the environment, but the presence of the narrator enables two major actions the player can take - obey or disobey the narrator and see the results. It is these decisions and actions that provide the engaging gameplay - the players get pulled in by seeing the results of their choices.

The important thing about the actions that the player chooses to undertake is that every action a player does must cause the game to react to that player's specific actions. Moving from point A to point B shows the player more of the world. Choosing to interact with a door means the door opens, revealing what was behind it. Allowing the player to jump should allow the player to reach places that would otherwise be unreachable without the jumping. The actions a player can take must be acknowledged and recognized by the game. This creates a sense of agency and ownership that places the player in the game world. The player experience changes from "Kratos pulled the head off of Helios" to "I pulled the head off of Helios". These active choices cause a sense of self-insertion that would otherwise not exist if everything just happened while the player passively watched the scene unfold.

[Join us on Discord] and/or [Support us on Patreon]

Got a burning question you want answered?

Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter

Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr

Frequent Questions: The FAQ

[bluebudgie]

I heard it's GW2 map hours

And just because I feel like it. An appreciation post for LS3. The story throughout that season may have been a little choppy, but man if it didn't deliver in the map department.

Bloodstone Fen. Absolutely tiny and gimmicky. And so much fun. A new map aesthetic we've never seen before. Introduced new gliding masteries that felt somewhat relevant on release. Evading obstacles while flying? Getting adventurous now! Map completion in <15 minutes? Say no more, your ultimate keyfarm friend is here. Best experienced without mounts.

Ember Bay. A giant SKULL SHAPED volcano. Probably the most brutal jumping puzzle in the game. Doesn't get more metal than that. Introduced a new way to travel around the map. Which wasn't optional. You had to use it to get to places. Mounts made that obsolete though.

Bitterfrost Frontier. Another tiny one. Had that one mechanic where you had to craft a tonic to be able to enter a part of the map bc otherwise you'd freeze to death. Literally noone liked that mechanic but if you get into the freezing place and move to the right part of the mountain you get an absolutely gorgeous view. Also great forest section. And that one cheesy cherry tree lookout that used to be restricted but can now be flown into with mounts.

Lake Doric

Draconis Mons. Do I even need to say anything about that one. Oakheart Essence. Explore the map by becoming spider man. Absolutely gorgeous map with a fun layout and tight meta bosses. An amazing jumping puzzle that seems confusing at first, but once you figure out the clever hints that point you in the right direction becomes an absolute feast to complete. They truly didn't do anything quite like this map since 😔Best experienced without mounts.

Siren's Landing. Hey it's Orr! But it's less deadly and more varied. (ilu OG Orr no hatred here). First time we got a weird waypoints-that-aren't-waypoints mechanic. Trying to get up to the stupid spider boss with updrafts only was.... interesting. (Or was it a mastery point? Was it both?). Another amazing jumping puzzle! A perfect breather after the two complex puzzles in the maps before, but still posing a decent enough challenge.

LS3 had sooo much variety. Hell pit swamp! Fire! Ice! Jungle! Each map had such unique features. Absolute top tier season for map design.

[pikaflute]

if we do get a p4 remake what kinds of changes to the game would you like to see, if any? :^)c or would u rather it be basically just a gameplay and graphics upgrade

Yosuke romance route. That's it.

No but seriously: I think graphically to me, the only thing that needs updating is the fog, because in p4 golden (at least the non vita version) it's not as nice looking as the original. I'm kinda insane where I'm like I don't want them to change the models. I like how cutesy they look. I like the the talking sprites too like yeah they're goofy but they have a lot of charm. I know they're gonna update them anyway but I don't want the sprites to change too much because of that charm and also because if I can't see Adachi's derp face I'll die. Also if they make Adachi not ugly it will literally be the end times.

Gameplay wise I also don't think the dungeons from P4 are anything too terrible. I would like them to feel less of the same thing over and over again you know? Like maybe more puzzles like the stuff in Void Quest, Secret Lab, and Magatsu Inaba but with less backtracking. I know the default is to make it just like persona 5 but I don't know I want something like engaging with the dungeons. I think the battle system is fine as is (because I don't think they've changed it all that much). They can add those teamup/calvary attacks they had in Golden but with more combos for the teamups and make them more cinematic.

Also they should keep the social link system from Golden where you get moves as you level up. Especially with Rise and her persona because the shit you got from her SL was like. Saving my ass. And bring back Youthful Wind IDGAF!!!!!

Also also, because I was reminded of it: Keep skill cards. And fix fusion forecast because sometimes that shit just never worked for me LMAO. Also IDK if Persona 3 Reload had shuffle time but keep the shuffle time from P4G because the one from the original was like pulling teeth.

Really the only thing that I think truly needs fixing in 4 is story elements. Many other people have brought this up but p4 is dated as fuck. I think you can guess which character I'm referring to. But even minus him, sometimes (and this is more noticeable in golden exclusive scenes imo) the team feels a little mean to one another? Idk like they pick on Kanji (Yosuke especially) a little too much and while he does deserve it: Yosuke gets bullied too much despite doing a lot for team in terms of trips too. I don't think need to change every instance of Yosuke's lines like most people, but maybe make it less harsh. Most stuff is probably (hopefully) going to get a rewrite anyway but again this is Atlus we're talking about so wishful thinking.

Besides that there are four major story things I want changed:

1. Naoto's romance social link is straight up ass. Like someone in the studio writing that got retrograde amnesia while making it or something because it's so terrible. I also share this feeling about a lot romance social links with the girls on your team and I feel like they just need to redo the whole thing because it just doesn't work.

2. Just remove the camping scene. Obviously there are more instances of homophobia in P4 but this is the most egregious one and I literally cannot watch it any time I replay this game. Just remove it. We're done. You can rewrite it. It's fine. We've moved on as a society.

3. I know it's cope. I really in my heart I know it will not happen. But a man can dream for a Yosuke romance route. I can cope. Yosuke's romance with Yu would be a natural progression of his social link (not feeling like he belongs in Inaba and his self esteem issues stemming from that) and his insecurity. Sure, it doesn't explain away his homophobic remarks but internalized homophobia would be a good angle to explore. So I know Atlus isn't going to do that because they're not nearly good enough. Also I just want this to make persona 5 fans seethe.

4. The golden content is up in the air. Most likely costumes and the QoL improvements would come back but the golden exclusive scenes and the two social links are still a mystery. If they do come back just, make Marie interact with the cast more. There's a long period between Kubo and Naoto where nothing really happens and the game kinda drags so you could have an opportunity to have Marie bond with the cast more and have her feel less like a Mary Sue tsundere made to be Yus girlfriend and more like the actual character her social link makes her out to be.

Other than that: I want more character interactions with the Dojimas and Adachi. Idk. I like the the family dynamic with Yu and the Dojimas a lot and Adachi's their weirdo uncle that is just there. If they don't add his social link in the remaster this could be a nice substitute for letting you bond with Adachi a bit. Adachi is like the most important persona 4 character imo and letting the player interact with him kinda helps develop that bond more and also have the player learn more about Adachi even if some of it is an act.

I know it's a lot to ask for Atlus to write new shit for the remaster but I feel like P4's biggest weakness is these little story elements that snowball into the bigger issue of it being a game from 2008. We can be woke now Atlus it's fine.

Honestly, my biggest hope for Persona 4 remake is that they don't put the hollow forest and accomplice ending behind a paywall like they did with episode Aigis. They probably won't (because lbr who would buy it) but Atlus has biblical greed so we will see.

I also hope this remake will make people finally shut up about this game. Like I hope this game is woke as fuck so the people who discourse about it or have told me they'll never give it a chance while shit talking it will finally shut the hell up. I just want to grill for GOD SAKES!!!!

Also add Adajima plot relevant sex cutscene or I'm not buying it.

[ofpineapplesanddawns]

Now we're on part five of this blasted au, and hopefully we're getting somewhere with this, haha.

On with the fic!

--

"Did you enjoy your bath?" Lucian asked when Peter walked out into the hallway, finding the lycan already dressed and ready for the day, even though it was already early evening, oh well.

"A few notes on bathing in an ancient stone tub." Peter started. "One, it looks cool as fuck, but straight up is not uncomfortable when the water's cold as balls. Two, I'm honestly disappointed it wasn't filled with blood, in a whole, ya know, Elizabeth Bathery way. Or Lady D's bath puzzle from Resident Evil. And three, you need towels."

The older man chuckled at that, which was the most positive reaction Peter had seen out of him the whole time he'd been in the fortress. "You need to heat up the water using the fireplace and the buckets nearby, I don't often bother with it as I can just bathe in my lycan form. I'm not sure why they would put blood in the baths, as that is a waste of blood, and it is of no use to them outside of their bodies."

He then smiled. "And why use a towel when you can just shake water out of your fur?" He turned away, heading for the stairs, and Peter sputtered, throwing his dirty clothes into the bedroom to chase after the man.

"Did you just fuckin' make a dog joke!?" Peter asked when he caught up to him.

"It is not a dog joke when it is a true fact. And I am not a dog."

"Wolf joke, then!

"Not a wolf, per say. Just something more than wolf or human."

Peter glowered at the back of Lucian's head. "Smartass. Where are you going?"

"Out. I need to stretch my legs, I've been cooped up in the bedroom for days, and I need to get moving. I hate being restless." Lucian replied as he walked out of the broken doors, out into the night. He removed the fur lined jacket he has been wearing, then turned to face Peter. "You may come with, if you so wish."

"Ehhhh... yeah, no. Not the runnin' sort. Got the legs for it, not the motivation, ya get me?" Peter gave him a grin before shaking one of his legs, as if to demonstrate. "Also, you clearly saw me runnin' away from you in these boots, not the best sort."

Lucian looked at his leg, then at him. "I'm shocked you hadn't tripped earlier in the chase." He tossed the jacket towards Peter, who fumbled and nearly dropped it when he caught it.

"I am still not sure why you decided to explore a fortress up in the mountains during the autumn, but I just assume that you are not the kind of person who makes the best choices for himself." Lucian said in a casual tone, though the smirk he wore had him clearly being smug.

"God, you're a prick." Peter grumbled. "Go off and be free or whatever it is lycans do on runs." He said aloud and he swore that Lucian called him an insult in Romanian. He flipped the man off, watching him run past the main gains, out into the darkness.

Peter sighed loudly, glancing up at the sky, the moon wasn't full, but it was getting there. He wondered how much more dangerous someone like Lucian was during the full moon. From what he was told, lycans could change form at any time, but the moon was helpful. How so, Lucian didn't elaborate, as if he wanted to keep that a surprise.

Probably shouldn't push his luck with dog jokes around a werewolf.

"Nah, still gonna do it." He smirked to himself and pulled his headlamp from his pocket, slipping it on. His phone followed and Peter started to record.

"I'm back inside the castle, the name of which has escaped me. It's the one with the Moon Beast protectin' it." Peter started to narrate as he walked around, avoiding recording the bones that still laid on the ground. He really needed to ask Lucian about that.

He spoke about what he saw as he wandered around the castle, looking into rooms that he could open the doors for. He filmed what looked to be rotting, torn, and damaged with age tapestries. They seemed to depict several people, typically three people in particular.

All gothy and vampire-y, they look like douche bags. Probably were. Or are. Peter had no idea if any of the vampires who lived here were still alive, Lucian didn't seem sure of this fact himself when he was telling Peter stories.

"Hot werewolf guy's gotta get updated on his vampire info." Peter said to himself, then added: "note to self: edit that line out, don't wanna get Lucian in trouble."

It was weird though, being here and having gotten all that information from Lucian. Why tell a human any of this stuff, especially when he stated that the human world was meant to be ignorant of the war between the lycans and vampires. Lucian even said that it was possible things were kept quiet by outside forces, from what he had learned over his long life.

Fuckin' insane a whole supernatural war was happening while humans had their own battles and conflicts. And the whole thing of having a fight in front of dozens of humans in 2003? Why do that? What was the point?

Not doing a great job with the whole keeping things secret. He snorted to himself as he came to a door, finding it unlocked. Inside was what looked to be a throne room of sorts, with several seats. Peter's boot steps echoed in the large, stone room as his headlamp illuminated areas.

One throne was damaged, and it didn't look like it was caused by structural damage, this looked like someone tried to tear it apart. Judging by the deep, long gauges that could only be caused by claws...

"Fuck." Peter hissed, approaching it. He filmed his examination of the chair and stepped back. "Did Lucian do this? God damn, he could have done that to me..."

Which was a frightening thought. The guy he tried to help out while he was sick, and was eating energy bars with over an hour ago, could have torn him apart like he was made of tissue paper. If he could do this to stone, he could make it so that Peter was just a splatter of meat.

He remembered the bones, and he felt a cold shudder go through his whole body.

Lucian was a dangerous figure, a war leader with centuries of fighting under his belt, and with a kill count to boot. He was an all-powerful beast of a man and wolf, one that could have killed Peter at any moment.

And yet he didn't.

"Probably should count my blessings, or whatever..." He swallowed, deciding that being in the throne room or counsel room, or whatever this place was for had been explored enough.

His wandering led to him finding another room that he had no access to, it was purposely chained off, with even large chunks of stone blocking the door. Peter was curious, but knew he couldn't move all the stuff out of the way to see what was inside.

Still, he was curious. He pocketed his phone and climbed up a few of the stones, finding something engraved on a door.

A name, faded with time, along with a strange symbol under the name. Weird, the symbol looked kinda familiar, where had he seen it before...

"What are you doing here?"

Peter screamed and nearly fell off the stone he was kneeling on, before slamming himself into the door with a wince. "Fuck!"

He turned around, seeing Lucian standing there, holding an honest-to-God torch, like you'd see in a movie with knights and shit. Lucian did not look happy to see Peter, in fact, he was glaring hard. "You shouldn't be here."

"I figured..." Peter rubbed his cheek where he had hit it on the door. "Sorry, I went explorin', you never told me I couldn't, and you didn't say shit about where I could and couldn't go."

"You could have at least asked." Lucian said. "Please get away from this area, it should be left alone."

Peter glanced at the engraving, then at Lucian. "Why?"

"It's a tomb."

"Oh." Peter blinked, and moved to get back down. "Right, okay, yeah."

The tired tone in Lucian's voice hinted to Peter that he should probably not ask about the tomb, that this was enough of an explanation. He was curious of the name, Sonja, and the symbol, but he realized that this person might have been important to Lucian. From his past, probably. Had she been a friend? Not a sibling, Lucian said that he had no family, maybe a... girlfriend? Wife?

He held his tongue as he followed Lucian away from the tomb.

"Why were you exploring my home, if you do not mind me asking?" Lucian asked after a few beats of awkward silence.

"Just... wanted some B-roll footage for my new video. I promise, it won't contain any footage of you. Plus, I wanted to explore a scary old castle that gives off the Dracula vibes. I mean, I've seen plenty of castles while livin' in the UK, how can you not? But this? This is my kinda aesthetic."

"Dracula, eh? Is that still something humans enjoy?"

Peter nodded. "Oh yeah, now there's this audio story version where episode releases correspond with all the dates from the book. It's well done, can't wait for letters from my good friend Jonathan."

He snickered to himself, but noticed the confused look on Lucian's face. "Dude, how behind with the times are you?"

"I have not had much access to human media in well over a decade, Peter."

"Fuck, that's borin'. No wonder this place has no wifi, I'm gonna have to go into town to upload my video."

"Hm." Lucian turned to face him. "When will you be heading out? I'm better now, the healing has mainly finished, minus a few twinges, but those will pass."

"You sure?"

"Very. This is nothing compared to the coma, and it is not the first time I've been harmed since I was shot. It's just been a while, people tend to avoid me at all times."

"'kay." Peter sniffed, shoving his hands into his pockets. "What're you gonna do when I leave?"

There was a shrug. "What I've been doing. Keeping myself alive, hunting, prowling around, and killing an vampire that dares to come close to this place. It's been about four years since the last time I've seen one, a death dealer to be exact. He did not get very far past the gates."

Peter felt that cold shudder go up his spine again. "God damn, Lucian. You say it like it's normal, but that sure as hell ain't. Why would a vampire even come here?"

"Because this used to be theirs, and because sometimes someone assumes that the 'Moon Beast' is a lycan warrior and want to take them on."

"Shit. Look, before you jump to conclusions, no, I didn't know you were a real monster. I straight up thought you were some local legend." Peter said, waving his hands about. "Trust me, the vast majority of the legends I've gone to explore over the months have been just that, legends. Myths. A load of old wive's tales."

He poked Lucian in the chest. "But you? You're fuckin' real! And I can't even film you because I even I know that's a really, really stupid idea! And if vampires are still after you, uuuhhhggg...! I don't think I can even post this episode! I'll come up with an excuse or whatever..."

Lucian stared at him in the light of the lamp and fire, his expression was hard to read, but he was looking right at Peter. "Are you trying to keep me safe?" He asked, his voice quiet enough to not echo in the empty stone hall.

Peter blinked and then made a face, followed by a series of improbable noises. "Yeah, well, don't want some vampire to think they can get wise and try to hurt you again! Don't want a repeat of that Kraven guy, or whatever, right? Come on, show me more places around this castle! Let me see Dracula stuff!"

Lucian didn't say anything regarding that fast bit, but he nodded, asking if Peter would like to see where he used to do his blacksmith work.

TBC

--

Peter likes Lucian, not in a romantic way (not yet), but he knows he'd feel like shit if something happened to Lucian, especially if it was because a vampire watched his video.

Also, in my head, Lucian blocked off the room Sonja died in, leaving it as her tomb. The symbol is her necklace. :)

And, again, head canon, Lucian destroyed Viktor's throne seems like something he'd do in his grief over Sonja. And as a fuck you to the man who caused her death.

Still trying to think of how Peter could get Lucian to travel with him, but so far, I'm enjoying Peter and Lucian getting to know each other.