#one of our favorite bits is when a series of games technically starts with a game seemingly unrelated

[all-the-pacs]

#1 - Galaxian (1979) (Yes, Actually)

What the? You said you'd be playing all the Pacs! But that's clearly Galaxian! What gives?! Well, if you'll just sit down, you'll understand a bit...

So... Technicality is a funny thing. One moment you're sitting down to play every single Pac-Man game you can think of in chronological order, and the next thing you know, you're playing a game before Pac-Man chronologically released. Such is the power of highly-specific iconography that would later come to be heavily associated with the series actually appearing in a game before it even existed!

So. Galaxian. You've probably heard of it if you've heard of video games before--or at the very least, you've heard of its older brother, Galaga. While the latter doesn't meet the requirements to be a Pac (and quite frankly, this game almost didn't), there's juuust enough here that makes us raise an eyebrow and say, "this'll do."

What's this? Why, at the top of the "Score Advance Table" is none other than... The word "Convoy"! And below that and to the left is none other than the Galaxian Flagship. On the off-chance you've never gotten far enough in Pac-Man before, or just never used his Neutral B in Smash, that there alien flagship was effectively Namco's de-facto mascot before Pac-Man really shook things up for them. As a result, it got a cameo in the first Pac-Man game and has been closely orbiting Pac-Man ever since!

Also, wait, the Galaxians are the heroes and we're just fighting aliens? That's definitely strange, seeing as in Galaga the enemies are manned by the "Boss Galaga", which seems to imply the alternative.

Though, not as strange as the fact your ship is also called a... Galaxip. Just rolls off the tongue there.

Okay, one thing that's not apparent in these still images is that this game is shrill. Like, very high-pitched and very squeaky. Especially compared to many other early Arcade games, it sticks out like a sore thumb in just how dang loud this game is. Anyways, the standard game loop of Galaxian aren't really anything to write home about--and they weren't even when the game first released. Space Invaders had already existed for some time, after all.

No, Galaxian stood out for a few other reasons. For one, as that cyan alien is kindly demonstrating, the aliens don't just sit there and take your fire, only occasionally firing back. No, when an alien wants to fire back, it descends from formation to both shoot at you and also try and take a swing at you--contact damage will kill you! Secondly, and why those Flagships are so important and why this game was as revolutionary as it was...

Yep, the enemies actively employ the buddy system. Flagships will bring up to 2 Red Aliens with them at a time, descending upon you with not only increased firepower, but the red aliens will actually serve as a meat(? spacecraft?) shield for the Flagship, tanking shots themselves to prevent you from getting a solid shot in.

They do a good job, evidently, because wow we stink at Galaxian. We'd like to think we're okay enough at video games--we've got a few challenge runs of games much more complex than this under our belt--but it just goes to show that sometimes the simplest things to grasp can totally kick you in the shins.

In addition, however, there's one last detail; should there only be a few aliens left standing, they'll enter a sort of panic mode and, instead of returning to their spot in formation, they will gladly charge you endlessly. Forever, if necessary! Until either you shoot them down or they take you out, they will endlessly circle from the top to the bottom, wrapping back around and occasionally firing at you.

So, let's say you brave the trials that the Flagship ship poises, and properly gun it down in spite of its bodyguards. The game's actually equipped to handle various possibilities and reward you accordingly for how "dangerous" the game deemed it. The factors--as far as we could tell--are if the Flagship died last, and how many Red Aliens guarding it you took out. Pictured is the result of gunning down the maximum two red aliens guarding a Flagship, before gunning the Flagship itself down. This resulted in 800 points, the maximum amount you can get out of a Flagship! It's worth mentioning you only have one bullet per round, so your aim needs to be pretty good to get this. One miss and that thing will gladly rocket to the other end of the screen, leaving you a sitting duck while the aliens get to circle back unscathed.

You may be wondering if anything unique happens if you clear the board of all aliens. Does the game end? Are the Galaxians safe from the intergalactic conflict they've found themselves in? Do the aliens do a little dance?

Nope, the round simply resets and a new set of aliens shows up. You actually get a little indicator of how many rounds you've cleared in the bottom right, however--looking it up, the game will actually abbreviate the flags if you clear 10 rounds of this. Can you imagine 10 rounds of pure, unaltered Galaxian? Too much for us, at least.

Still, this was a fun time, and we're glad we got to sit down and warm up to this project with this game. Get our proverbial feet wet, and all that. But let's be real here--you didn't come here for the Flagship. You're here for a different guy entirely.

Never you mind, we getcha, and we hear ya loud and clear. And no fake-outs next time; we're playin' the original Pac-Man. See ya whenever we get around to that one!

[clementineofmine]

"Some Things Just Take Time," #2, 4, and 14

Woohoo, thanks @rockinlibrarian for another ask for Some Things Just Take Time!

2: What scene did you first put down?

This is the second fic in a series, so by this time I had an idea of what the characters were doing and what I wanted to happen so I started with the first scene with Five and Dolores! And then I did actually attempt to plot this out chapter by chapter, but of course that changed wildly over time. I'm a panster, not a plotter, at heart, so even my best laid plans are often waylaid by the characters making their own decisions and not telling me ahead of time.

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

Yay, I wrote much more dialogue for this fic than I ever had before, so I'm glad I get to answer this again! One of my favorite scenes is Five and Diego in the aftermath of some shenannigans. In this scene, Diego's been pissed at Five for some valid and some not very valid reasons for quite a while now, and I wanted to give these two a chance to connect and potentially heal old grudges. Sorry this is more than dialogue but eh I get to answer it how i want :)

“Remember that stupid board that Dad had? That he insisted on those stupid bullshit scores?” Diego asked. “I didn’t think they were bullshit,” Five shook his head slightly.  Diego looked at Five, and had to do a double take. Whether it was the resurgence of memories or the way Five’s hair had fallen across his face, Five looked incredibly young, and so much like the teenager Diego remembered.  Diego blinked to clear that thought. “Yeah, well that’s because you were usually on top, asshole. Half the time you cheated.”  Five scoffed. “Technically, using our powers wasn’t cheating.”  “Technically,” Diego scoffed back, “means bullshit and you know it.” Five looked at the ceiling before he spoke next. “You and Luther were always so full of yourselves. Allison, too. Like, just because my number was five, instead of one or two, I was supposed to let you beat me or something.” “Well, I—” Diego bit back a smart retort and started again. “No. It wasn’t that. Dad just always seemed to like you better. And then when you left…” he swallowed the rest of that sentence, tasting the bitterness of the words.  When Five had left, their father spent the next three years pushing the rest of the siblings, as if they had to make up for the loss of his favorite. He had pushed them to achieve, pushed them into fame, but it was always with a sneer on his face, always with a taste of bitterness. It was untenable, and Ben had been the first to break. After that, they had all found their way to leave.  “...it was like he was punishing us. For you being gone.” 

14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?

YES THERE IS. I'm not the first or the last author to do this, but what drove me to write this fic is wanting to show the siblings working together, working through their dysfunction, to succeed. And secondly, for them to realize the value in working as a team. I also wanted to showcase Five as I see him, as an old and tired, half-mad, flawed person who makes mistakes but is never going to stop, never going to give up until he saves his family. He's a character driven by love, even if he doesn't quite understand what that means.

Thanks so much for the ask! It was fun. And, it forced me to remember my tumblr password so I could do this on my computer, because doing asks on mobile is bullshit.

Fic ask game

[chirpingfromthebox]

My favorite bits from the Minnesota post-game press interviews after PWHL Finals Game 4

You can find the entire interviews here! Be sure to give them some views/likes/nice comments/etc.

At the table were Kendall Coyne Schofield, Kelly Pannek, and coach Ken Klee.

The fact that this only got posted now had led me to earlier speculating that they just hadn't done one (especially since no one had mentioned anything). But apparently there had been some technical issues with this one and they only just got them sorted.

Like the Boston one, I'll refrain from my instincts towards making my life easier and just put in all the questions, so as to make sure that anyone interested won't miss anything they might find interesting.

The transcription and a handful of my thoughts on it after the break.

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REPORTER: Ken, when you started looking at the replay did you think the goalie interference call was the right one?

KEN KLEE: I mean, it’s tough. When it’s in real time it doesn’t look like it, but obviously when you see the replay and slow it down she definitely loses an edge. It’s tough to tell if it’s from Boston player’s stick or she’s just losing an edge. It’s just one of those things that happens. We had lots of chances to win the game. So for us, we get to play another game. That’s the way we gotta look at it. It wasn’t a do-or-die for us, but obviously that one hurt, going from a big high when they’re- the confetti’s going and gloves are coming off. And then you gotta try to refocus real quick. But we get to play another game, so we’re gonna regroup after this one. It hurt and we’ll get back to work.

R: Maybe for Kendall, or Kelly, can you maybe speak to what Ken mentioned? Just the having to collect your stuff and get back ready to go. Just, what’s that like?

KENDALL COYNE SCHOFIELD: Like he mentioned, obviously it’s a high of a high to a alright we’ve gotta balance out this situation, pick up our stuff, and get back to work. You know, it’s not an easy thing to come down from by any means in an instance. But that’s what we had to do. Obviously it is hard, but that was what we had to do.

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REPORTER: Maybe I’ll ask a follow-up for Kelly, your line had several great chances today. It seemed like you guys were really clicking. What’s working with you, Grace, and Denisa [Křížová]?

KELLY PANNEK: Just keeping it simple. Moving off the puck, moving for each other, and trying to keep that puck moving in the offensive zone. Denisa is really scrappy and she finds a way to find pucks in space and create space. She had a few great rushes. Her and Grace- and anytime you get Grace into space she’s a threat. I just think we’ve been keeping it simple and working off each other well.

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REPORTER: For anyone, how would you say that the momentum shifted after the goal was overturned?

KELLY PANNEK: I was out there the shift right after, for that first puck drop. I didn’t feel like there was any really big momentum shift to be honest. Even when they ended up scoring, it wasn’t like they had a bunch of momentum riding into that, it was just a hockey play that happens after two overtimes. Actually, to Kendall’s point earlier, we did a good job of resetting. Sometimes the bounces just don’t go your way, which it wasn’t tonight for us.

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REPORTER: Obviously great goaltending from both teams tonight. To have over 20 shots taken on your goalies and to go scoreless into double overtime. What’s your thoughts on the goaltending tonight?

KENDALL COYNE SCHOFIELD: Well, I don’t think it’s just tonight. [Kendall and Kelly chuckle]. It’s been the whole year. You look at the goaltenders around the league in the regular season, you look at our last series against Toronto, you look at their series against Montréal. You’re not seeing very high scoring games. You kinda just gotta expect that, you gotta be okay winning one-nothing. But this league is obviously the most competitive league in the world and the goaltenders are phenomenal all across the league. So I don’t think it’s a shocker by any means.

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REPORTER: Kelly, how were the legs in that third overtime? And were you guys doing in-between the OTs to try and keep the energy levels up?

KELLY PANNEK: The legs were fine actually. That’s probably the longest game I’ve played in actually. But it felt pretty good. It’s just kinda the same thing you usually do: talk about what’s going well and what you can adjust, staying focused, hydrating, getting a snack. Just all the basics.

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REPORTER: Just wondering, after the game stayed out on the ice and thanked your fans and then it look like the players were talking. Just wondering what the message was in there? And if not there, in the dressing room what you were saying to one another?

KENDALL COYNE SCHOFIELD: Oh, yeah, I think we have the best fans in the league. They showed up tonight, obviously we wish we got a different result for them, but just so much credit and love for our fans here in the state of hockey. It was an awesome atmosphere. So just to be able to soak that in one more time, knowing that no matter what, that’s the last time we’ll leave that ice in front of our home crowd. We know they’ll be cheering on Wednesday from here, wherever they may go. I think A Bar of Their Own is the hot place for them to go and celebrate and watch and cheer us on.

But I think the message is to learn from it and turn the page and be ready to go come Wednesday night and do what you need to do. There’s no secrets. Everyone’s tired. [laughing] We’ve played a lot of hockey. I think a lot more hockey than most of us are used to in this inaugural season. We gotta recognize that we did a lot of great things tonight. A bounce here, a bounce there, we’d maybe be having a different conversation right now for sure. But being able to turn the page and recognizing the last one to win is the hardest one. That’s the reality for anything. I think that was the message. Rest up. [Laughing] some people’s legs feel better than other [looks over at Kelly and Kelly smirks back].

KELLY PANNEK: I think I’d just be lying to myself. We’ll talk about it later.

KCS: It might just be an age thing, Kell.

KP: Hey! Hey. District 21.

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REPORTER: For Ken, last I checked, so forgive me if this is wrong, but Lee Stecklein led all skaters tonight in ice time. Just what does she mean to this group?

KEN KLEE: She’s awesome. She’s a leader. Both on the ice and off. You know, she controls the play. She’s got as good of a stick and gap as anybody in the league. For us she’s paramount. She’s awesome out there for us. I’m not surprised. I haven’t seen the minutes yet, but I’m not surprised for you to tell me that she probably led us in minutes tonight. She often does. She’s just a great player for us. She’s been a great player for us all year. [smiling] We’ll need her to be a great player again on Wednesday.

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REPORTER: The power play opportunities, plentiful, just couldn’t finish the job there. What do you feel like it’s gonna take to crack the code on the power plays?

KEN KLEE: I think we just gotta keep putting pucks on nets. I think we hit four posts. A half-inch off one way or the other and those are in the net. We had some great looks and their power play had some great looks too. It was an exciting game, it was just a matter of inches. The whole game was. For us this one hurts, but we’re going to have to reset and we’ll have a day tomorrow to rest and we’ll travel to Boston and get ready to go on Wednesday.

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You know, I was worried about where Minnesota's head might be at (especially after it was seeming like they hadn't even done a post-game press session). But not anymore! These two were Cool A.F.

WAY different vibes from where Boston was at after Game 3.

Kendall and Kelly had a sort of fun energy I can only describe as the sort you get after pulling an all-nighter where you've pushed past the tiredness and entered a state where all your worries seem lighter. They were joking with one another and seemed to know exactly what they needed to do going forward.

And Pannek must be made out of pure Tough, because you could never never tell that she just did 5 periods of hockey. If you showed me some clips from this and told me it was from a PRE-game press conference I would never doubt you for a second.

It should be noted though that these two are both captains of the team, veteran players, and Olympic gold medalists (and SO much more). So them taking this in stride is exactly what you want to see from your veteran players.

I am curious how the more rookie players are taking it. But if your team's leadership is this calm and focused, I've gotta think that would go a long way to helping get your head back on the right track. And I hope so, because I think Minnesota's rookies are the X-factors in this series. As we've seen so far this series when players like Heise and Jaques get rolling? They are hard to stop.

In any case my worries have been put to bed, and my take away from this is that Game 5 is gonna be EPIC. Boston seems to do their best work when they have everything on the line. And Minnesota has a confidence in its abilities that can't be shaken.

OR one team will finally figure out their power play game and then just absolutely run over the other team.

It's the championship after all.

Anything can happen.

[zenmai--jikake--no--komoriuta]

about me — people i’d like to know better.

LAST SONG. I don't remember what the last one I listened to was exactly, but while I was outside trying (unsuccessfully) to rig up a dashcam this morning, I had some music on from my iPod and this one has since lodged itself in my head:

FAVORITE COLOR. Soft peachy orange! (#FFC3A6) :D

CURRENTLY READING. I don't tend to read books too often actually! So technically nothing, but the last book I was reading was a .pdf of Gavin de Becker's The Gift of Fear on my phone as in-flight entertainment on the way to and from Perth a few months ago haha (it's one of those books you see recommended everywhere so I decided to give it a go while I had little else to do)

CURRENTLY WATCHING. At this very moment, on tv there's a medical doco called The Hospital: In The Deep End that I'm half-watching while typing this-- and back home, James and I were watching the new Spice & Wolf reboot! The series is very near and dear to his heart so it was fun hearing him explain certain bits and how they differ in the various adaptations, but we got sidetracked with work getting busy and need to get back to it sometime :')

SWEET, SAVORY, OR SPICY? Sweet!! I have a huge sweet tooth (I actually just got back from baking a mini vanilla cake to snacking on while I'm here housesitting lol, haven't baked a cake in years but "I still got it" as they say) but I also really like savoury things just as much-- but it depends what food/drink item we're talking! Like I prefer savoury veggie muffins over sweet cupcakes, but I also take my tea with 3+ spoons of sugar so it really depends from thing to thing lol and spicy is just straight-out; I have white girl spice tolerance and dislike anything that makes my mouth more than tingle haha, hate it!

RELATIONSHIP STATUS. Taken! We've been together 4 1/2 years now, he's actually my old raid leader from the Heavensward era in FFXIV! He got my sister's husband into the game while they were studying to be chefs and then they got me into it and one thing turned into another... but we only started dating in 2019 right before the pandemic after going on a group holiday to Japan with our friend Linkshell-- he was really cute in-person so I ended up crushing on him hard, and he thought I was still with my ex (also from the game, but long-distance) until I invited him out for a coffee date and he went "hm suspicious", it turned out he still liked me from back in the day so we gave it a shot and yeah! Somehow my FFXIV journey all comes back to him in the end which is always funny to me :')

LAST THING YOU GOOGLED. "cooking frozen chicken kiev in oven" = there were some kievs/kyivs in the deep freezer but no cooking instructions on them.......... put them in the oven for dinner right after getting my vanilla cake out lol (future kate: they were delicious)

CURRENT OBSESSION. I could ramble for days and days about this series but it's still My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999! It's a really cute fluffy slow-burn romance between the basically canon autistic aloof pro gamer Yamada and college-student Akane who only plays games very casually-- they're part of the same MMO guild and cross paths at a RL event, and a lot of the initial plot follows how they slowly befriend eachother and confess and aughhh//////// /// It has gorgeous art, fun and likeable characters, treats its "rival" characters with grace and empathy even when they're struggling or getting rejected... there are MANY parallels I've drawn between their relationship and my own while reading so I get even more enjoyment out of it than most lol, they have such a healthy relationship and their dynamic is really sweet and I love it so much I made a whole 44-song fanmix about it haha-- but yes I highly recommend the series!! There's an anime which came out last year which is a really faithful adaptation, and the manga has recently started getting an english tankobon release too :D

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Tagged By: my sis @arty-ffxiv!

Tagging: none bc I Am Shy™, if you wanna yoink it then be my guest! also tag me bc I wanna seeeee

[alterchaos]

Hi everyone! I’m back with another update!

After watching the poll this past week, I am happy to officially announce that Alter Chaos will be continuing in writing as a full and complete story!

I’m honestly so excited to put my attention and effort into making sure this story is written with proper love and care. I feel like a novelist! ♡ Since I no longer have to put equal focus on the art and visuals, I plan to really take my time plotting everything out, closely revising my pieces, and sharing a wider range of stories to help build the world and central lore better. With that in mind, there are a few specific things I want to point out:

1. I would like to go back to the drawing board on most elements concerning Seven Rings and the Moonbeast Saga. I won’t be altering the central plots but I was never fully satisfied rushing through these stories given the limitations the technical/art focus placed on my imagination. Seven Rings especially needs more attention, as I originally planned to go through every boss and adventure with Sinbad and Ali Baba, but rushed it for the sake of continuing the following saga. I even want to rewrite the saga’s ending to be more in line with this structure and to be a proper build up for what follows, so only expect the original pieces to be posted after I get to that more as a bit of behind the scenes than anything.

Moonbeast, thankfully, just needs some tweaks and rewrites to the script apart from the arc that was already posted (Roses - Tears). The central plot for this saga in particular has gone through MANY changes and variations since the beginning of this series. For instance, I ditched the Chip/memory plot in favor of a more unique storyline concerning the mysteries of the world known as Gaia (I’m especially excited to reveal more details on that). I need to go back with these ideas and properly lay them out, every detail, to ensure this saga maintains structure and a more natural sense of progression.

2. Since I will be reworking these sagas, I would like to pick up all the way back at the start, following Tale of Two Brothers and work from there. I had already written the immediate next episode/chapter and plan to post that alongside a drawn one following Party Hardly. From there, I may not write a full chapter for EVERY episode of Sonic X, but most, including some brand-new tales to add to the mix.

As we work through these stories, I also plan to write smaller side chapters called Mobius Adventures. These will revolve around side games such as Sonic Rush and Sonic Riders, or even little unique stories such as Silver eating a chilidog for the first time or Chaotix detective/band shenanigans or Eve helping out in the town etc. I want these stories to flesh out Mobius as a world not too far removed from our own despite the crazy adventures. It will also help more pivotal and central plot elements hit that much harder (muehehehee♡).

3. I can’t promise a weekly schedule, so I will be posting when I feel like it from now on. One week I may be free and want to write 3 chapters and another week I may be offline. Who knows. What matters is enjoying the adventure and having fun! ♡

4. Just because this path won the poll doesn’t mean I will never draw or post things such as random pages or character art. They will just be rare. I at least plan to share what I already sketched out when I post their respective chapters and will also be finishing a certain chapter (coming soon) in comic format since I was almost done, it’s my favorite episode in the show, and the physical comedy would be lost in writing.

5. I will release a couple posts/documents in the future laying out a proper timeline for the series as well as important lore elements to help readers keep track of the world and plot at large. I’m also learning more about how Tumblr functions as a site and may be experimenting with extra blogs/sites to create pages or “tabs” to help organize everything. If any major changes are made to my blog, I will be sure to send updates to help you all locate where things have moved. My goal is to make chapters as easily accessible as possible rather than being forced to scroll through months of posts.

That’s all I have for now. Thank you all for reading and supporting this series and I will see you all in the next post! ♡

[twistedtummies2]

Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes - Number 25

Welcome to A Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes! During this month-long event, I’ll be counting my Top 31 Favorite Fictional Detectives, from movies, television, literature, video games, and more!

SLEUTH-OF-THE-DAY’S QUOTE: “How did people survive before there were pattern-recognizing sparse representation algorithms?”

Number 25 is…Abby Sciuto, from NCIS.

I’m cheating a bit with Abby, because she technically breaks one of my rules I established at the start of this event: no “side detectives.” What this rule means is that I’m supposed to only count the focal detective characters in the series, not any allies or assistants they may have. (For example: Sherlock Holmes would and will count, but Inspector Lestrade would and will not.) However, I’m making an exception in this character’s case, on the grounds of a.) the fact she’s my favorite character in the series, and b.) the way this show works.

“NCIS” is very similar to our previous entry’s source, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” (Indeed, while this might be a coincidence, the two even SOUND sort of similar.) Rather than a typical detective/mystery series, where the focus is on a single chief sleuth solving baffling crimes, these shows are more “crime dramas,” and feature ensemble-type casts, where various different characters have different roles to play in the crime-solving process. And, just like CSI, the show does cycle itself through a sort of revolving cast, with major characters coming and going every several seasons. Our focus today, Abby Sciuto, is no exception: she is not the main character of the series, and in fact she left the show in Season 15 (the series is still going strong and will soon be having its 21st season, for reference). Therefore, many would say this is mammoth cheating, and it sort of is…but after tossing the idea of including her in the ranks or not around in my head for a while, I basically just threw up my hands and decided, “Fine. She’ll count.” Because I just love Abby that much.

For those who don’t know, “NCIS” focuses on the crime-stopping adventures of a team from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, stationed in Washington D.C. For the first fifteen seasons of the program, Agent Abby Sciuto – played by Pauly Perrette (whom some comic-loving folks may know for voicing Lois Lane in “Superman vs. The Elite”) – was the chief forensic specialist of the team. She is at one point described as, “a paradox wrapped in an oxymoron, smothered in contradictions of terms,” and later in the same scene as “the happiest Goth you’ll ever meet.” Both of these descriptions pretty much fit Abby to a tea. On the one hand, Abby is cheerful, hyperactive, kindhearted, eccentric, and at times downright childish. On the other hand, she’s got a morbid and macabre sense of humor and style, a feisty and spunky edge to her personality, and can kick butt when the going gets tough (often surprising other members of the team when she does). On still another inexplicable third hand, however, she’s also deeply spiritual and at times shows a hidden vulnerability. She’s the youngest member of the team, and she’s also quite possibly one of its most brilliant: a genius years ahead of herself. It’s quite often Abby, specifically, who provides the final links in the chain to whatever puzzle the rest of the team are trying to solve, and her skills with electronics are easily matched with her perceptive talents of observation.

While I enjoyed “CSI,” as I said on my previous pick with Grissom, I felt the problem with the show was that a lot of the other characters just didn’t interest me as much as he did. NCIS, in some ways, has a similar and yet different problem: I actually think the whole cast of NCIS, generally speaking was pretty strong…for most of its run. (I mean, for God’s sake, you had David McCallum in the cast – may he rest in peace – that definitely had to count for something.) However, Abby was the primary reason I think I kept watching it; while the rest of the characters were fun, and I could actually say a LOT about ANY of them if I was asked (unlike most of CSI’s cast), she was truly something special. I’m going to be honest, it wasn’t long till after Abby left the series that I stopped watching it; I haven’t really caught up with most of the past five seasons since then. There were a LOT of behind-the-scenes issues that resulted in Perrette leaving the program, which I’m not going to go into here; suffice it to say, no one could fault her for her decision. It is a pity, all the same, that it seems Agent Sciuto will never return to spot out hidden details while downing enough caffeine to kill weaker souls.

Thanks for the good times, Abby.

Tomorrow, the countdown continues with Number 24!

CLUE: “No matter what the anthropological reasons, we fight to make the world a better place.”

[onestepbackwards]

Hello! I'm normally a ghost reader but I really have to tell you the following; I love your writing! Wholeheartedly! It really makes my day, even my whole week when I read your oneshots/short stories! I'm currently in love with "What's all the buzz about?" and "Our Angel" - the submas twins are sitting rn rentfree in my mind and reading your awesome stories really makes me happy! Also, I really, really love "Love that bites" - I never played Castlevania and never watched it but still; your writing pulled me right in! Now I'm even considering buying one xD (do you have a recommendation?) Anyway! Just wanted to tell you that and wondered when a next part might come - if you don't know/have no idea or don't feel so good bc of health problems, that's fine! Don't pressure yourself and take your time! :) Kind regards crimson anon

Hello Crimson Anon! (o´∀`o)/

Thank you so much for the kind words!! I’m really touched you like my writing 🥰 When I started this blog, I never really thought people would like it this much, so its nice to see messages like this 🥹

I’m glad you enjoying all my stories, and even gave my Castlevania fic a shot!

If you do want to try the games out, there are a few good ones out there to start with!

I first recommend Symphony of the Night. It’s a classic, and redefined the series, and even created the Metroidvania genre with the help of Metroid games!

It was specifically designed to be a Castlevamia game anyone could play. It starts out a little tough if you aren’t sure what to do, but it still considered a gem, and I enjoy playing it. I’d even do daily randomizer runs of it when I still had a computer! This game was a lot if people’s first Castlevania game too!

(Word if advice, if you play it, explore every cranny you can, look at every item description, and there are technically 2 clocktowers. One in the middle if the castle, and one that is an actual tower. The first is a kinda a mistranslation, but if you want the full experience, it’s easier to figure out some things if you know that. The game is deceptively longer than you might think.)

You can get SotN on playstation 4, and on a few other consoles I believe! You can even get it with Rondo of Blood, one of the best Castlevania games before Symphony came out. If you want a more original Castlevania experience, Rondo is the way to go. Symphony is actually a direct sequel to Rondo, but you don’t have to beat Rondo to know what’s going on.

Though if you do get the Rondo + Symphony bundle, Symphony is technically a remaster, with new text and voice acting. A lot if the iconic lines were changed or redone. Its still done nicely, but if you get this version, make sure to look up the original cutscenes on youtube. Dracula’s lines may be memed a bit, but he put his whole non existent soul into those lines, along with Richter. Evil Richter my beloved~

Rondo has some of the best sprite work, level design, and enemies before Symphony, while still being a classic! It technically took a long time for it to get an english release too, and i had a lot if fun with it!

You don’t have to know the overarching story to play Rondo either. Most of the games don’t really require knowledge from previous games.

But if you want to start somewhere based on the story, I recommend Lament of Innocence. Its the first game in the timeline, though you would probably have to emulate it since this was only released in the ps2 i believe.

It’s an amazing game, and plays similar to Devil may cry 1. It has its issues, but i genuinely love it, and it IS first in the timeline.

If you can’t find it, or emulate it, i know some lets plays are on youtube, and one of my favorite streamers has played it as well.

For a beginner, those are the ones I recommend! But honestly, Symphony is probably your best bet. Its casual and fun, and has a good story that a little of the anime was based off of (though the rest was based off of Castlevania 3, but they took lore from symphony too)

If you like symphony, it more or less set the standard of modern castlevania games after that before the reboot. So playing it will help out a bit if you wanna try any others that came out afterwards, most of them on gameboy and ds are pretty good too.

As for my writing, i’m about 2500 words into Love That Bites, and about a 1000 for the next Our Angel! I’ve been working on both instead of one at a time so i can focus on Beemas, and a genshin fic i’ve been planning, and maybe another castlevania fic 👉👈

I try to get all my chapters around 3000 words before i post them. Just a personal goal of mine. If i write more, then great! But i try to write about that much first.

so thats one reason its taking a bit longer than usual, added with the migraines i’ve been fighting for the past few weeks. I’ll try to have those out soon though! Hopefully within a few days!

Thank you so much for reading and enjoying my stuff 🥰💕

[anotherhumanpet]

🎮💖

Munday asks!

🎮 — favorite video game(s)?

There's several and they all make the cut for their own reasons.

Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2 are favorites not only for their game play and stories, but for the environment they take place in. Course, I've always been fond of the general concept around the old west so this doesn't come as much as a surprise to me, but still. In hindsight as well, I think it's hilarious that I didn't even know of the series until my brother alerted my parents and I to the upcoming release of the first one, and our parents promptly decided it would be a good birthday present for me. Boy what a lovely mistake that was.

Stardew Valley is another favorite too due to the sheer comfort it brings me now days. Although the fast paced nature of it can be a little bit stress inducing, the incredibly low stakes of everything makes it relaxing enough that I don't care. I just stress myself out with over achieving, such as when I'm trying to rework the fields for spring thaw. (I need that fucking freeze clock like no other.)

💖 — what was one of the greatest/happiest moments you’ve had in the rpc?

Man, there's been lots. Like, for all my frustrations and grievances both IC and OOC, I have had tons of wonderful moments that I cherish with all my heart and wouldn't trade for anything in this community.

I think my default memory will always be this snippet I played out between Jetfire & Jetstorm (my muses) and an Optimus they were hiding out with at the time. And to make a long story short, they winded up being invited to someplace they technically weren't supposed to be at by a friend, so Optimus had to negotiate for their safe return from the friend's boss - who was pissed about their presence but not necessarily looking to start a fight over it; just very angry and guarded. So when the boys finally landed safely on Optimus' grounds, Optimus acknowledged their return with a simple, "Good. [pause] Good." and immediately marched over to them to give them a hug.

Honestly, the bonds those boys forged and the story I had going on there was probably my peak. I wish I could recreate it but I'm not sure I ever could.

[mareenavee]

More asks, yes? YES? 💞what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language 🎈describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change 🤲what do YOU get out of writing? 🧿what steps do you take to not take things personally if a fic doesn't do well, or if your writing/posting/sharing experience isn't going how you'd like it to? And I'm going to invent my own because I want to use an emoji, that's it that's the reason 🐦 What would you like to see MORE of, in the fandoms you're following. Could be writing/art related, could be fandom culture related. What would you like to see exist that doesn't at the moment (or doesn't anymore)?

HELLO! AH. I like that birb emoji :3 Always feel free to make up extra questions 😂Thank you for these!

Here are some Fic Writer's Asks for ya'll!

:D Here's the ask game.

💞what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language?

Well! I can tell you my favorite part of writing a story (or reading one!) is character, followed closely by worldbuilding. But what's most important is a little more difficult to simply pick one thing. A good story has all of these things in spades. A good, solid plot idea. Characters that the author knows well. Clever worldbuilding aspects that make the setting seem real...and a good handle on language and grammar all work together to create a fantastic experience. So there's no most important part -- just that all of it has been given the author's best possible effort (:

🎈describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change?

Ohhh I love this. Mostly because it's such a Thing (tm) in art spaces and is always a topic of conversation. I don't hear about it much for writers, except maybe "voice/tone" in critique circles. All I can say is that style regardless of medium is composed of certain habits the artist incorporates into their work.

For writing, that's going to be specific turns of phrase that tend to be used, perhaps it can be a series of tropes or situations the writer tends to focus on or include in their work. Just like with art, style changes the more skill you gain in your particular craft. Even so, a style may still seem "fixed" to the average reader, even if with each project, you improve and things change to suit.

So my go-to style is usually writing close third limited with rotating pov characters (: But even if I were to say, switch to first person with just one character through the whole story and posted it anonymously there's certain ways that I word things and certain themes that might make a reader be like "Oh this sounds like something Mareena might have written." It's weirdly difficult to describe exactly... but I hope that kind of makes a little sense lol

🤲what do YOU get out of writing?

This is an excellent question, my goodness. Writing fic has been so healing for me for so many reasons. I've had a really rough time the last few years irl with life throwing everything it can at me to try and grind me down. For a bit, it actually did, I suppose, and I'd stopped writing much at all. I hated everything I was producing, if anything at all and it was just a bad time.

Things looked up a little when I decided it didn't matter how good the writing was, but that I got something down on paper. I'd just finished a month-long art challenge for myself (I painted 31 pokemon and it was a lot of fun, even if it wasn't perfect) and I wanted to plan out something similar -- low stakes, just for fun. With the help and encouragement of some of my irl friends, a little help with an idea and MANY MUCH planning, The World on Our Shoulders started as a challenge to write and post daily, damn the consequences.

Since then, I've been revising. Some of my characters (not all just the MC either) have been given some of my problems. I like to write hope into hopeless situations anyway. It's cathartic to see characters experience the same huge emotions I can relate to and make it through to the other side. I get to write that. I get to be in control of the narrative for them, no matter how hard it gets before its resolution. It helps me believe in myself and my own strength, too. It's funny how art does that, I think. (:

🧿what steps do you take to not take things personally if a fic doesn't do well, or if your writing/posting/sharing experience isn't going how you'd like it to?

Well I suppose the "doesn't do well" part mostly doesn't affect me because of my stance on social media and hustle culture. At the end of the day, it's not about how many comments or kudos or likes my fic/posts get, it's about having fun making the content. I am writing for myself first, in this case, and for the readers second. I am lucky to have a circle of mutuals that I love hearing from regarding fandom things here on tumblr and discord. We support each others' creative endeavors and that is, in my eyes, doing well. If it brings joy, even just to me, it's good. It's doing well. My steps are simply to write, and share. The rest is nothing to worry over.

🐦 What would you like to see MORE of, in the fandoms you're following. Could be writing/art related, could be fandom culture related. What would you like to see exist that doesn't at the moment (or doesn't anymore)?

Well, would I even be me if I didn't say I wanted to see more Teldryn fics in the TES tags (: So yes, that. But more than that, I'm interested in different takes for the character. For any characters, really. I want to see deep stories with lots of different perspectives on lore and the handling of different quests in the game. I want adventure, I want witty dialogue, I want flawed OCs that team up with the coolest NPCs to go out and discover what they're really capable of. If they happen to be Teldryn stories, all the better.

I do want to see people finish some of their WIPS, too. I know that's a big ask. But there's so many on AO3 at least that have been unfinished for months, years even and I want to encourage all those writers and cheerlead their work. I know very well that sometimes life just gets in the way of being able to devote so much time to a project. But I hope everyone who has an unfinished and/or back-burnered TES fic (or any fic, really) sees this and knows I'm rooting for you. Your work is WORTH IT. Your stories matter. (:

So I guess another facet to this answer is, for fandom in general, more cheering each other on. Writers ought to stick together, after all. I'd love to see even more supportive, kind words for each other. More encouragement in general. I see too much silliness and arguments over the details in fandom and the only way to change that is to loudly support each other as often as possible.

[somevirtualnolife]

Three Things

1539 words

Also on Ao3

Rating: G

Series: Tokimeki Memorial: Girls Side 2nd Kiss

Pairing: Daisy (OC) x Saeki Teru

Summary: Saeki Teru goes to a baseball game to support Mizuki's cheerleading, but it looks like he isn't the only one who notices her.

Author’s Note: I'm somewhat back! It took me a while to figure out what I originally wanted to do with the part since I wanted it to be from Saeki's point of view. The ending of course, is a bit of a cliffhanger, but that just means I have to write more, eh?

While I do joke that I like to bully him, it was more that I wanted to show off the feeling of when in the game where Daisy's stats are getting really high and all the boys start to notice you and want to take you out on dates. And of course, the moments when Daisy is walking home from a date with one boy, but then another boy spots them.

I hope you all enjoy it!

“I don’t see why you had to drag us along,” Harry huffed as he crossed his arms, his eyebrows furrowing in annoyance. “Just because you want to see your girlfriend shaking her pompoms in a miniski-OW,”

“Sorry, my elbow slipped,” Saeki Teru flashed an apologetic smile on his face. “Also, we’re just friends,”

It was true, Mizuki and Saeki had already established they weren’t in a relationship. Not… technically. Obviously, he liked her, and they hung out a bunch, but to be a couple, that would complicate things. There were just… a lot of other things going on in his personal life, about his parents and Sangosho. He’s still been having difficulties having them see just how important it was to keep working at the café. They were just…

Close.

“Seems like couple behavior to me,” Harry mumbled, rubbing his stomach.

“I have to side with Saeki-kun actually,” a bi-speckled Itaru spoke up.  “I am assuming that neither Saeki-san nor Shirogawa-san have formally agreed that they are going steady, then they are technically not a couple, even if you have gone on a few dates. There’s something freeing about that, don’t you think?”

“Going steady? Are you from the 1950s or somethin’?” the musician continued to complain.

“But doesn’t that work in your favor, Hariya?” Itaru pushed his glasses up slightly, a slight smirk on his face. “Considering Nishimoto-san and Meiko-san…”

“WHOA-HEY! That’s different!!”

“Can we please move on from this topic? I just want to watch the game,” Saeki tried not to lose his cool with the two. There were way too many other students around for him to be too snarky.

He had to admit, Harry was right about one thing. Yes, he was here to see Mizuki and support her. He had noticed that she was coming to work more tired because of the extra practices they had been doing in preparation for both their cheerleading tournaments and to cheer for Hanegasaki’s other sports teams. So, he dragged Harry and Itaru to make it seem like they were just a bunch of boys ready to support their school’s baseball team during the semi-finals (albeit maybe he should have found people that were more inclined to enjoy sports). Being the Prince of Hanegasaki, if girls from his ‘fan club’ saw him treating Mizuki with favoritism, it could cause a lot of problems for her.  

“Hey guys!” a chipper voice called out to the three boys. Sure enough, there was Mizuki, waving her yellow pompoms as she walked up toward them.

“Hey, good to see you,” Saeki responded, clearing his throat. He could hear Harry snicker quietly beside him, but he would deal with him later.

“It’s, so awesome you guys could make it. The baseball team has been working hard this year!”

“Shiba is playing today, right?” Harry asked, a big grin on his face. “Man, that guy is so awesome.”

“Yep! Katsumi-kun has probably been working the hardest, in my opinion. With him as our ace, there is no way we can lose.”

As Mizuki continued to chat with Harry and Hikami, she lowered her pompoms and placed them behind her back, Saeki got a proper look at her outfit.

Okay fine. Harry was right about two things; he certainly didn’t dislike the cheerleading uniform, especially on Mizuki. The black knee-high stockings, the cerulean blue V-neck sweater that matched the (surprisingly) short skirt...

Was it him or was it getting warmer out here?

“Kiki-sempai! We’re gonna be starting soon!”

Saeki snapped out of his thoughts, which was probably for the best. Who is Kiki?

A bubbly, pink-haired boy in one of the black oendan uniforms came skipping down across the field and wrapped his arms around Mizuki from behind in a friendly manner.

A bit too friendly.

“Sorry, I was just catching up with my friends before the game,” Mizuki replied. “Shouta, these are Itaru Hikami, Harry Kounoshin, and Teru Saeki,”

Shouta’s purple eyes looked squarely at Saeki when Mizuki mentioned his name, looking him up and down a couple of times.   

“Ehh~? So, you’re the Prince of Hanegasaki huh,” he asked before leaning his chin onto Mizuki’s shoulder. While his voice sounded curious, his facial expression said otherwise. His purple eyes narrowed slightly, a slight sneer that the rest of the boys could see.

“I don’t see what the big deal is,”

Saeki felt something on his left temple twitch as well as a flutter in his chest. “Well, that’s not a nickname I chose, I assure you.”

“Mmm, well, I guess the girls will choose any pretty boy with a tan these days, huh?”

This little punk…

“Shouta-kun! Be nice. Teru works hard, so he does deserve that title” Mizuki playfully tapped one of his arms. “He’s right though, I really should get going, but I will talk to you guys after!”

With that, Shouta let her go and they took their leave, with her waving her pompoms one last time. Saeki could hear Harry snicker, which he felt warranted another elbow to the stomach, but he would leave it for now. Whatever. He didn’t care.

It wasn’t long before the baseball team came out and Mizuki and the rest of the cheerleading squad lead the Hanegasaki students into organized cheer whenever their batters were up. She wasn’t a different person while she was up there, but it was more like, cheerleading highlighted some of her best qualities. No- no, not those qualities. More like how she was just so hardworking and through that, could motivate people as well. While the two of them often bickered, he was also aware that she had a very positive and bubbly personality. It was enough that even he found himself in the spirit of the game. He actually wanted them to win and was following along with all the cheers. You know, to a point. He still needed to keep his composure after all. People were watching.

But he did have to admit this; Mizuki was incredibly cute out there. To top everything else off from earlier, there was certainly a lot of appeal to her shaking those pompoms. He didn’t think that he’d be the type to be into such frivolous, fanservice-y antics, but well. Here he was.

Okay fine, Harry was now right about three things.  

In the 9th inning, the crowd cheered and roared in celebration when the infamous Katsumi Shiba hit a home run, winning their team the game. Hanegasaki would be going to the finals! All that work really did pay off.  

“YOO! Now that was sick. Did you see that!? Just straight out of the park!” Harry said as everyone started to make their way off of the bleachers.

“I have to admit, this was truly a remarkable experience,” Itaru added. “Seeing how they did today, statistically speaking, they most certainly have a chance to win the city-wide tournament tomorrow against Habataki,”

“Ha-ha! YES, let’s bring it to those rich-kid snobs! But first, this calls for celebration. You guys up for karaoke or something?”

“I’ll catch up with you guys later,” Saeki responded, already starting to make his way in the opposite direction of them towards the field and small stadium. “I’m just gonna see if Mizuki needs anything,”

“You hear that Itaru? If she needs anything,” the guitarist started to make kissing sounds.

Oh, how he wanted to deck that musician square in the jaw, but for now, he continued walking, making sure that no one saw the pink rising in his cheeks. He then leaned against the wall of the concrete building, waiting for her to exit from the building where everyone was changing.

He did want to congratulate Mizuki for all her hard work and see if she wanted any company walking home. Celebrations for the actual athletes weren’t until tomorrow since they needed to be fresh for tomorrow’s game, and that included the cheerleaders. You couldn’t be doing dances and being flipped into the air while exhausted after all. Plus, it was just something he had gotten into the habit of lately. Because of her busy schedule, sometimes the only time they saw each other was when he would walk her home. It wasn’t anything weird, no matter what others thought.

Finally, he spotted the curly-haired cheerleader exiting through a door. Chatting with a very tall, muscular, and (admittedly) handsome baseball player.

Laughing and smiling.

“Mou, Katsumi-kun!” Saeki heard her say in playful annoyance, a big smile on her face.

And Katsumi Shiba, known for his serious demeanor, smiled back.

There was a flutter in his chest, just like when Shouta had his arms around Mizuki. That’s when he realized, it wasn’t a flutter, but a pang. Was this… jealousy?

No, he couldn’t be. Jealous? Jealous of what? That there’s a boy in the same club as her who has no problems placing his grubby little hands like it’s nothing? That the ace of the baseball team managed to make her laugh and blush? Why should he care? It’s like Itaru said, they were not officially together. They could hang out with whomever they wanted, and even go on dates. They had agreed. They were not a couple.

And now, he was starting to regret it.

[jimblejamblewritings]

yes, i’m a squib | part 11.

Summary: Y/N Black has always been a squib, to the dismay of her pureblood family. Cast out to the orphanage at a young age, she thought that was her life. Until her relative Sirius Black breaks out of Azkaban. Suddenly a letter to Hogwarts in thrusted into her hand and Y/N becomes a true part of the magical Wizarding World.

Warnings for the Series: violence, death, light smut, angst, fluff

Pairing: harry potter x black!reader, cedric diggory x black!reader

Word Count: 4.9k

Previous Part | (Series Masterlist)

Cedric elbowed you in the ribs when you started to fall asleep at the Sorting Hat’s song. It was different from last year, almost like a lullaby. Now that this was your second year at Hogwarts, you understood how the others felt. Watching the first years was both exciting yet miserable at the same time. Your stomach was going to start growling at any minute. Not many were sorted into Hufflepuff. There were a few students left to go but you quickly noticed that Ravenclaw and Slytherin were taking most of this year’s batch of first years. Finally, your favorite part happened— the feast. You half listened to Dumbledore talk and introduce the new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

If it wasn’t your Uncle Remus, you didn’t care. The new professor— Alastor Moody— did not seem like a very friendly man. You stopped when you looked up though. Somewhere at home, you were sure there was a picture of him with your father and a bunch of other people. Your ears actually pricked up when Dumbledore announced there was no Quidditch Cup that year. Teams were still free to schedule practices on the pitch but there were no games scheduled for the entire school year. The Headmaster let the students scream and protest for a minute before silencing everyone.

“We have no Quidditch this season because it is with great pride that I announce Hogwarts has been selected as the host for the Triwizard Tournament.”

You turned to Cedric. “Triwizard Tournament?”

“Happens every five years. Was discontinued for a bit because some kids died, I guess it’s back.”

Dumbledore cleared his throat. “Of course, Hogwarts will do our best to keep up the prestige of this competition. As a competition between the three largest schools in Europe, our reputation of being a good school must be upheld. Students, I am trusting you on this. I would like to introduce our fellow competitors who will be joining us in October, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons.”

The uproar that had quieted became a protest once again. Barty Crouch— your new nemesis— came out to inform everyone of the rules. He uncovered a large goblet emitting a blue flame. The kids had the entire month of September and almost all of October to decide if they wanted to enter or not. After Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrived, names would have to be submitted starting that weekend— from Saturday to Saturday. The last day to put your name in the goblet of fire was October 29th. After that, the goblet would marinate over the names and spit them out at the Halloween feast. The games began almost right away afterwards and the winner got one thousand galleons while their school got two thousand.

The uproar started because of a new rule. Only seventeen year olds were allowed to enter. They had worked to improve the games, nothing that could— should— kill a student. But danger was always going to be there and the International Wizarding Community only felt comfortable reinstating the competition if there was an age limit. Those in their last year of schooling— and any seventeen year olds that might have been in sixth year— were allowed to enter. Everyone else could only watch.

You didn’t care much but you could see Fred and George protesting at the Gryffindor table. They technically would fit the description of seventeen year olds in sixth year, if it wasn’t for the fact that their seventeenth birthdays were after the deadline to put names in. You didn’t see the appeal of a game that had that chance of death, no matter how minute they claimed that chance was. You tilted your head up to look at Cedric.

“You’re not going to enter this stupid thing are you?”

He looked down at you, resting his chin on your forehead. “It seems fun. Plus, they cancelled Quidditch. Why?”

“I just don’t like the competition, you said people died.”

“Well, Crouch ju—”

“I don’t trust anything out of that man’s mouth.”

Cedric chuckled. “Alright, well, the other adults just said it’s been made safer… I probably won’t get picked anyway.”

You huffed but let it go. Everyone was dismissed. Despite the tournament being about friendly competition, both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang informed Hogwarts that the only accommodation they would be needing was classroom space for their teachers to teach the visiting students. When it came to sleeping, they opted to sleep on the enchanted ship that Durmstrang was coming in and the enchanted carriage that Beauxbatons would be arriving on. Beauxbatons’ carriage was going to be parked near Hagrid’s hut. The carriage being there bothered you more than the ship just being a nuisance. It would feel awkward to try and visit Hagrid after hours with the rest of the Golden Quartet.

With Cedric now the head prefect, being in seventh year, you watched him lead the entire pack of Hufflepuffs along with the seventh year girl’s prefect— Charlotte. They demonstrated the famous non-password password of Hufflepuff and gave the speech you remembered last year. All the other students had gone straight up to their dorms but you stayed with all the first years to support the prefects. That and you were once again in the prefect hall. You probably wouldn’t have minded except for the fact that it was a last minute change.

Ever since the Dark Mark appeared at the Quidditch World Cup, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Professor Sprout adamantly refused to let you room with others. They became worried for your safety as a squib. You tried to argue that none of the Hogwarts students bullied you to the point where you thought they actually meant harm— it was usually just taunting. They wouldn’t hear it.

At first, you thought that it was because they were worried about another Sirius type of break-in only with a wizard that actually meant to do evil. You realized after tonight that it was because of the visiting students and their teachers who none of you knew well. Especially the Durmstrang teachers. They were known for teaching Dark Arts rather than Defense Against the Dark Arts— claiming it was the same class with just a different name. The main worry for Professor Sprout was Durmstrang’s headmaster, Igor Karakoff, a former Death Eater.

Your father voiced the same concern and relief in his letter that had been dropped off the next morning. To no one’s surprise, you were eating breakfast at the Gryffindor table with the rest of your friends. You watched Hedwig fly past you and drop off two letters to Harry.

“It’s from your dad and Professor Lupin.”

You smiled as you gave Hedwig an apple chunk for her service since the Great Hall didn’t exactly have insects or mice on the dinner tables. You already knew the letters were coming. Your father and godfather said that whenever they wrote you a letter they would send one to Harry too. They felt bad that he didn’t have anyone and the Dursleys seemed determined to keep it that way. Harry read both of them with joy before setting them down to eat. Cedric walked past the table, handing you your schedule.

“You could sit with your House at least on the first official day of school,” he joked.

You took your schedule with a thank you and began to compare it to everyone else’s. You were all taking different electives so the schedules were the same like they were last year. There were still a good bit of classes shared but it wasn’t the same. Ron took a spoonful of cereal.

“It’s like they’re trying to separate us, it’s a set up.”

“I don’t think anyone is out to get us, Ronald,” Hermione said. “But I do wish we all had the exact same schedule.”

“I’m surprised you’re not taking every class again.”

Hermione snorted. “The Ministry took my time turner after seeing it in (Y/N)’s memory at the trial… besides, every class was a bit much, wasn’t it?”

You all nodded and she laughed. Hermione looked at the schedules with a bit of scrutiny.

“Well here’s why they’re different. (Y/N)’s taking Potions and Herbology with the seventh years!”

“Wait, what?” Harry and Ron pulled your schedule out of Hermione’s hands.

“Yeah.” you shrugged. “Took O.W.L.s over the summer for them.”

“How, though? This isn’t just seventh year, it’s advanced stuff.”

“You guys do know that I’m only good at very few subjects here. Potions and Herbology are kind of my thing. Both Professor Sprout and Professor Snape recommended that I move up. Be happy I didn’t take Care of Magical Creatures with the seventh years, Hagrid offered to let me.”

“No, this is brilliant,” Ron said. “They cancelled exams for the tournament and you’re about to finish Potions and Herbology. You’re good for the rest of your time here. You should tell Hagrid to move you up.”

You laughed and took back your schedule. “I’m pretty sure I’ll have to do some sort of independent study but I’ll consider the idea, Ron.”

The Golden Quartet’s shock and initial disbelief was mimicked by the seventh years when you walked into the Potions classroom. You handed Snape a letter from Hagrid, breathing heavy.

“Sorry I’m late Professor… Wednesday… only day we don’t have Potions before… Care of Magic… Hagrid took us… woods… really deep in… he forgot that I was… ran all the—”

“Take a seat, Ms. Black. I’ll make a note for future reference and try to have Hagrid let you go early.”

“Yes, sir.”  

You sat next to Cedric who rubbed at his eyes to confirm that you were actually there. You weren’t going to give an explanation but Snape took the opportunity to tell all his students that they now had a standard to live up to. He pulled out a large container that was holding the felix felicis that you created last year. Immediately, everybody stopped questioning why you were there.

While Potions was enjoyable, Defense Against the Dark Arts wasn’t nearly as much. It was one of the classes you shared with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. You were excited that it wasn’t until Friday you had your first class. When it finally arrived, you wished that Friday had at least three more days in front of it. Professor Moody immediately called you out very loudly as the squib, making everyone laugh at you. It only became worse when he first asked if it was something he said and then declared that he won’t make you try anything.

“Know you can’t even defend a flea from a rat, don’t worry, Dumbledore’s already told me. Just sit and watch.”

You buried your head in your hands, utterly embarrassed. Your head stayed in your hands for most of the lesson. It wasn’t that important to you anyway— it was all about Unforgivable Curses. From what you could hear going on in the class, Moody seemed to be a very hands on teacher. You could hear him making a spider dance across the room with the Imperius Curse. You could also hear Ron’s screams— you assumed the spider was probably on the desk you two were sitting at which was too close to him for his own comfort. You did look up after hearing the Cruciatus Curse and Hermione screaming for the Professor to stop.

Neville looked like he’d seen a ghost. You shot up from your seat and grabbed his shoulders, leading him out of the classroom. You could hear Moody apologizing— having forgotten that Neville’s parents were put into the hospital by Bellatrix Lestrange performing that exact curse. You only returned briefly to grab you and Neville’s stuff and glare at Professor Moody.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her that mad before,” Ron whispered. “I never want to be on that side of her, ever.”

Harry nodded as he watched you stomp out of the classroom. You led Neville to the Great Lake. He rolled up his pants legs and you both took off your shoes and socks. The water was almost freezing as you dipped your feet in. Digging through your bag, you produced two clementines and two chocolate bars from Honeydukes.

“That was wrong of him. He shouldn’t be teaching here if he’s going to be that reckless! I’m going to tell Professor Dumbledore. It’s ridiculous!” You complained. “Are you okay, Neville?”

He nodded. “Just a bit shaken… I’m supposed to go visit them soon, my parents.”

“If you need someone to go with you, just let me know.”

“Will do. Thank you, (Y/N).”

“Of course.”

“I think class is over,” Neville said. “I think we might’ve missed part of dinner too.”

“Well then, let’s go.”

Neville used a spell to dry off your feet and you guys put your socks and shoes back on. The rest of the Gryffindors in class comforted Neville when he sat down at his table. Cedric looked absolutely appalled when you told him why you came in late. He offered to talk to Dumbledore in your place, being both a prefect and just older than you. Moody called both you and Neville up to the faculty table. The rest of the teachers found out then and there what happened— much to the disgusted shock of some of them. While not happy, you were satisfied at the apology to Neville. He seemed to accept it as he told Professor Moody that he just wasn’t expecting such a hands-on teaching method. Moody turned to you.

“And you, Ms. Black, thank you for being such a loyal friend to Mr. Longbottom.”

You shrugged. “I’m a Hufflepuuf, it’s just what we do.”

The faculty all laughed at your statement, Professor Sprout giving you a thumbs up. Dumbledore chuckled before pointing at your uniform.

“What is that, spew? Is something you students say nowadays?”

You looked down at the button that you had pinned on your sweater vest for the better part of the day.

“Oh, no, Professor. It’s Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. Hermione started it. Technically, it’s S-P-E-W. She already yelled our head off more than once about saying spew.”

“Elfish Welfare?” Professor McGonagall voiced the question they were all thinking.

“Hermione’s kind of gone on a campaign to save the house-elves.”

“And how many students are with her on spe— S-P-E-W?”

“Um, right now? Me, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, Harry, Neville, Cedric and the other Hufflepuff prefects, and Draco.”

“Mr. Malfoy?”

“I forced him. Hermione made me Recruiter. She thinks if people see that she’s not trying to get rid of house-elves working for wizard families that they’ll want to join. I’m supposed to remind everyone of how Kreacher still works for our family. I agree, honestly, there’s nothing wrong with giving them proper clothes and a wage. It doesn’t have to be big, they probably won’t even take it— Merlin knows that Kreacher doesn’t. And if he does, he just spends it on our groceries. I don’t know how she’s going to go about fighting for house-elves to have wands, it’s not like they need them, I don’t know. I’m trying to convince her to drop that point. Bless her, still halfway in the muggle world she is.”

“Well,” Professor McGonagall said. “I would like a S.P.E.W. button for support.”

“It’ll be two sickles. Money’s going to make leaflets.”

“That seems a fair price.”

A bunch of other teachers voiced their agreement in wanting a button— including Professor Snape much to your surprise. You agreed to get the buttons to them as quickly as possible before skipping towards the Gryffindor table, not caring about the looks from the other Hogwarts students. Hermione’s excitement was so much that she jumped out of her seat to give you a high-five.

You all started to walk out of the Great Hall, done with dinner. The others went to their common room but Harry walked you to yours. You stood in front of the barrels, making sure not lean your back one, as Harry talked to you.

“Sirius wrote me something else when I said my scar was hurting. He’s heard strange rumors from all over and says if Dumbledore brought Moody here that it’s because he thinks something is going on too. He said Dumbledore is watching the signs.”

“Signs?” you repeated, questioningly. “Well, if your scar hurts again, you should go straight to Dumbledore.”

“Your dad said the same thing.”

“That definitely means to do it then.”

“I will, promise.”

“Good… goodnight, Harry.”

“Yeah, goodnight.” He reached over your shoulder to knock on the third barrel from the left before pausing. “Hey, how come I’ve never been in your common room but you’ve been to Gryffindor?”

You giggled. “No one’s ever been in the Puff common room.”

“No one?”

“No one, not since… well, it’ll be a thousand years next year? So not since 996, I think. You’ve got to be a Hufflepuff to get in.”

“That’s basically since Hogwarts’ founding. But you guys go to everyone else’s?”

“Of course, it’s because we actually try to make cross House friendships. Not our fault you all invite us.”

Harry scoffed. “You’re actually worse than Slytherin, you know. Why did you even let me know the password if I can’t come in? I thought Hufflepuffs were the nice house.”

“We value fairness, hard-work, loyalty, patience, modesty, and being just. Nothing about nice.”

“Isn’t being just the same as being nice.”

You shrugged. “We are just, it’s just our prerogative that non-Hufflepuffs aren’t allowed.”

“Please?”

“Harry Potter, the only way I’m letting you in this common room is when I can produce a patronus charm.”

His hopeful smile dropped. “So, never?”

“Never.”

Harry rolled his eyes and said another goodnight. He watched you walk through the barrels before they rolled back to cover up the entrance. Padfoot meowed at you when you entered your room laughing as if he wanted to know the joke as well. For the next few weeks, you were greeted by Harry knocking on the Hufflepuff common room barrel every single morning. Cedric, who you shared Potions class with first thing in the morning three times a week, was very confused on Friday when he noticed it wasn’t happening a few times but seemed to be a legitimate pattern. You laughed.

“Never getting in, Potter.”

“I’ll wear you down eventually,” he said.

Cedric finally understood as Harry began to walk on the other side of you. The older boy laughed because he remembered when his friends tried to do the same thing. Delta lasted the longest— asking every day for two months straight, she didn’t even take breaks on the weekend. You grabbed both Harry and Cedric’s hand.

“You’re not seeing the common room, but I do have to say I like having you both walk me to class.”

“You do?” Cedric asked.

“Mmm hmm. It’s like I’m the beautiful princess… and you two are my decent bodyguards.”

At the same, both boys practically threw your hands out of their grips. Cedric pursed his lips.

“Decent bodyguards?”

“Well in this scenario I am the princess. You both aren’t allowed to outshine me.”

“Okay still though, decent?”

“Cedric, you are still handsome if that’s what you are complaining about… just too old for me now, Mister Seventh Year, so yes. Decent.”

“Do I even want to know about me?” Harry asked.

“You’re handsome, Harry, you just need a haircut.”

“Everyone’s wearing it,” he defended.

“Yes, and you all need haircuts. Except maybe Neville… maybe. Now, give me your hands and don’t let go this time.”

You grinned when they actually did as you said.  

“You’re spending too much time with your father,” Cedric said. “I don’t ever remember seeing you strut through the halls like this at all last year— kind of the same walk you have, Harry.”

Harry rolled his eyes, remembering an unpleasant encounter with Snape last year. “Well my dad didn’t strut around Hogwarts, I don’t think I do either.”

You giggled. “Well, my father very much did strut and I intend to do the same.”

And strut you did, all the way to the Potions classroom. You weren’t expecting Harry to be outside the class again when Potions finished. Cedric gave you a side smile and a wink after walking past Harry to get to his next class— you would have to ask him about that later.

“Where’s our other half?” you asked.

“Hermione had Magical Theory on the fourth floor, Ron’s Ghoul Studies is on the fifth floor. They’ll meet us in the classroom.”

You and Harry held hands as you raised an eyebrow. “Ron is taking Ghoul Studies?”

“It was either that or Arithmancy, Dean turned his form literally thirty minutes earlier and got the last spot in Muggle Studies.”

“Sucks. At least he’s not doing Alchemy, that class is so draining. Potions, Muggle Studies, and Transfiguration all in one!” You complained.

“You’re taking Alchemy? That’s NEWT level! Only eight students are allowed to take it in both sixth and seventh year combined.”

“Nine, now. Turns out when you take Herbology and Potions for seventh years, all of your favorite classes are no longer at a time where you can take them. Snape said I’m already on NEWT levels with Potions, advocated to let me try. McGonagall was worried about the Transfiguration parts… I still can’t turn a match into a needle.”  

“Who even teaches that class?”

“Nicolas Flamel.”

Harry looked at you as you guys waited for the staircase to finish moving. You never understand why Hogwarts felt the need to enchant their stairs. It just made it frustrating for literally every student— not a single person that talked to you ever mentioned liking it.

“What?”

“Well, he oversees it. Only comes on Fridays cause he teaches at Beauxbatons. Snape’s on Monday, Professor Burbage on Tuesday, McGonagall on Wednesday. It’s funny, McGonagall was worried for nothing, so far Professor Flamel doesn’t seem to care much that I’m a squib. He says there have only been eight wizards that earned the true title of alchemist. Only two came after him and only was his student. Even at the schools that have it in their core curriculum. Only eight wizards around the entire world have earned the title, he says me a squib won’t change anything when basically everyone fails. You know, I really like him as a professor.”

“Nicolas Flamel is your professor?” Harry asked again.

“Not for much longer. He’s so old now.”

“He is six hundred years old, (Y/N).”

“Six hundred and eighty-five, he never lets us forget it. Although no one else is supposed to know. He walks with a cane now, says life is finally catching up with him.”

“Considering he is six hundred and eighty-five.”

You both laughed just as Ron and Hermione caught up to you right outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. You sat and took your books only to put them up right away— along with every other student— when Moody said to. Everyone froze in confusion and shock when he announced that he was going to perform the Imperius Curse on all of you.

“Not to worry. Professor Dumbledore gave the okay. You students are perfectly safe. He agrees that it’s good to learn the hard way.”

Hermione’s eyebrows scrunched up in alarm as her hand shot up. “Sir, isn’t that highly illegal.”

Lavender Brown echoed Hermione’s sentiments followed by several other students.

“Would you rather know what it’s like now or be out there where someone wants to actually hurt you? The point is so you can figure out if you can fight it.”

That shut everyone up. You looked over at Neville who was at the desk right next to you and Ron’s. He nodded when you mouthed him a question, asking if he was okay. If it wasn’t the Cruciatus Curse, the other Unforgivable Curses didn’t really affect him too much— not much more than it might affect everyone else. One by one you all stood up as Moody reached your desk and tried to resist the curse. You watched each of your classmates fail and do embarrassing but not painful things.

Neville became a champion gymnast, Lavender imitated a squirrel with scarily good accuracy. Dean managed to hop on one leg while also being an opera singer, Hermione suddenly had enough strength to lift two students in their chairs at the same time. While funny, no one was successful. It was Harry’s turn. Professor Moody tried to make him jump up on the desk. For a good bit of time everyone watched in awe as Harry seemed to be resisting. You were staring and smiling too, proud of your friend, until suddenly you heard what sounded like the most painful snapping sounds and Harry was on top of the desk.

“Harry!” you yelled.

“It’s alright, I’ve got it.” Professor Moody mended his bones immediately. “It’s cause he was trying to stop the jump all the way to the very end. Well done, Potter. Everyone, that’s what we want to see!”

Cheers went around the class as everyone sat down. Moody went to the chalkboard to begin writing ways to improve will power in order to resist the Imperius Curse. He suddenly stopped and turned back around.

“Ms. Black, do you want to try it?”

“But—”

“She’s a squib! If we can barely resist, how can someone with almost no magic?” a girl voiced.

You sunk down in your seat, Ron patting your knee under the desk in his own way to try and comfort you. Being in classes with seventh years where no one questioned your existence easily made you forget how quickly you were shot down in other classes. Even Transfiguration would be the same if it wasn’t for the fact that you became a successful Animagus. You heard the way some of your classmates would mumbled how annoyed they were when it was your time to transform something because McGonagall would spend a good ten minutes working with you— meaning the class could never get their earlier dismissal— before saying it was alright and moving on. Usually, they would then cough squib as you all exited class and proceed to voice very loudly how they wished you would just drop out. The bullying was never as extreme as you thought it might be when you first got to Hogwarts last year but it was still there and it still hurt.

Professor Moody whipped out his wand again. “You should all know what the effects are, even if you can’t resist.”

You got up from your chair and moved to stand in front of your desk. You couldn’t lie, the Imperius Curse kind of tickled. A curse meant to make the victim do whatever did it not through pain like the other curses but almost a soft coaxing. You were suddenly very mellow. Just like he did with all the other students, Professor Moody waited till you seemed to be in an almost drug-like state before stating out loud what he wanted you to do so the rest of the class would know the command that was supposed to be resisted. Stand on the professor’s desk and yell Hufflepuff as loud as possible— preferably so another class would hear.

No, you thought. Just like everyone else.

Professor Moody��s voice got louder in your head, even though he repeated the command very calmly for the class. You were almost caught up to Harry’s resisting time. Everyone watched amazed that you were tied with him when his resistance time came up. Moody’s voice was so loud in your head that it was deafening. Your foot lifted up and everyone prepared for the walk to the professor’s desk. You weren’t though.

It became a pride thing, just like being an Animagus was a pride thing. Everything you could do as a squib, you were determined to do. That determination is what made you an Animagus. That determination is what made you hold a mandrake leaf in your mouth for an entire month. Moody suddenly became quieter in your head when you thought about the mandrake leaf. You weren’t just determined, because what was determination? Patience and hard-work. Being a Hufflepuff. And soon Moody’s voice became completely silent as you remembered a different thought. Your raised foot took a step back to help propel you onto you and Ron’s desk. The class gasped as you crossed your leg, smoothed at your skirt and told Professor Moody.

“You know, I think I’d rather not yell Hufflepuff at the top of my lungs. I will, however, yell I’M A SQUIB! I really do hope another class heard that.” You smiled cheekily.

Professor Moody jumped and slapped one palm against the other so hard that you thought it was going to break. He told the entire class that was how to resist the Imperius Curse. Moody looked back at you— you were almost positive the glass eye somehow became even more focused.

“How’d you do it?” he asked excitedly.

“I just had a funny thought, Professor.”

“A funny thought?”

“Yes, the day the Imperius Curse could work on me is the day I can conjure a patronus.”

Moody stood there for a moment, bursting out into laughter when he realized what you meant as you waved your practically useless wand around in lazy circles. Harry chuckled as well from behind you. Hermione gave you a thumbs up and Ron started the loudest round of applause you think you ever received in your life— and that was saying something because the applause in the Hufflepuff common room when you became an Animagus could give a thunderstorm a run for its money.

On the grounds of having one student succeed and another almost do the same, Moody dismissed you early and told you all to enjoy some rest before lunch. Everyone piled out the room excited to do nothing for the rest of the day. With Moody’s dismissal, your classes were finished because it was time for the visiting students to arrive.  

(Part 12)...

[felassan]

BioWare Blog post: BioWare Developer Story – Pride Edition

Welcome to a very special entry in our Developer Story series! While previous editions have featured a single subject, in the wake of Pride Month in June, we invited some of our LGBTQIA+ colleagues to talk about what the studio and its games mean to them as queer folks. So please allow us to introduce you to Technical Product manager Lina Anderson, Technical Animator Samantha Wald, Programmer Rachel Hammond, and Cinematic Designer Mikayla Stock, who were all kind enough to share their personal histories with us.

How did you end up at BioWare?

RACHEL: Game development was something I’ve wanted to do my entire life, from when I first played with our family’s Atari and NES and on through all my childhood. By the time I got to college, I’d fallen in love with programming as well, so I joined my campus’ Game Developer Association, where I made friends and contacts who helped me land my first job in the industry a bit over 15 years ago. I worked with a few smaller companies before getting my job with BioWare 11 years ago, and I’ve been here ever since.

SAMANTHA: My path into the industry was a lot less direct! I studied broadcasting in college to get into video editing, but I eventually started rendering graphics in 3D. I was instantly hooked, and I started doing rigging for animated shows and films. But I had always been a huge gamer, and about three years ago, I realized my skills would transfer perfectly to technical animation. BioWare has always been one of my favorite studios, and I was so excited when I got the offer to come work here six months ago!

MIKAYLA: I’m relatively new to the games industry, too; I got my start working on 2D educational kids’ games after graduating with a degree in animation. I‘ve been with BioWare for a little over a year now, working on Star Wars™: The Old Republic.

LINA: BioWare is actually my first experience in the games industry, but I’ve been here for over five and a half years. I had dreamed about working in games since I was a kid and was really surprised to get in on my first attempt!

How have BioWare games impacted you as a queer person?

SAMANTHA: As a trans woman, I spent a large majority of my life being uncomfortable with who I am and how I’m perceived by society. Before I transitioned, games were always an outlet for me to feel comfortable and explore my identity; BioWare games in particular gave me that in a completely supportive, non-judgmental space, and I really don’t think I’d be where I am today without them.

LINA: Agreed. Both Mass Effect and Dragon Age were instrumental in helping me rediscover myself. I’d repressed so much over the years, and building characters that reflected aspects of me that I’d been hiding allowed me to safely explore these thoughts and feelings. I found I was able to talk about things I’d previously kept bottled up, using my characters and companions as proxies—something that I wasn’t yet comfortable enough to do on my own. Nobody batted an eye when I talked about Lady Shepard having a fling with Garrus!

MIKAYLA: I also found BioWare games—specifically the Dragon Age games, for me—at a time when I was still kind of figuring out who I was. I was fortunate enough to be raised in an open-minded household, but it’s always different being told something’s okay versus seeing it on screen in front of you, presented as being completely normal, you know?

RACHEL: Yes! Watching them start pushing for more inclusion years ago, allowing gay and bi romance options, that was a real help for me at the time. But even outside of my direct personal experience, it was so good to see that inclusion spreading through the industry.

Why do you think BioWare games resonate so well with queer players?

SAMANTHA: BioWare games have always been about playing your character however you want, so I think it’s exceptionally easy for players to insert themselves into the main character. And since queer folks have had so little representation in the past, BioWare games are likely to be the first place a lot of folks are able to see themselves reflected in media.

MIKAYLA: Right, they provide a space for players to explore their identities. There are so many well-rounded characters that it’s hard not to find a couple that resonate with you, and watching the story of a character you deeply connect with play out can be incredibly cathartic. And it’s about not being afraid to tell LGBTQIA+ stories!

RACHEL: Yes—games that try to be more open and attentive towards queer identities definitely help us find ourselves in them. But they help other people see us too; the benefit doesn’t stop simply with our firsthand experience. It also helps normalize queer identities for other players, letting others know we’re real, we’re normal, we’re part of the industry.

LINA: And the thing for me is that the games don’t just have a couple queer characters you can run into, and then you’re off shooting aliens again. These are characters that we grow with through the series, form bonds with, and can choose to be close to.

Do you think BioWare games have made an impact on the way the industry approaches LGBTQIA+ topics?

MIKAYLA: I think any exposure to LGBTQIA+ topics in games is a step towards normalizing them in the industry, and BioWare’s decision not to shy away from telling those stories, but to embrace them, was a welcome breath of fresh air.

SAMANTHA: And I think that’s really led the way in de-stigmatizing queer relationships in games. By being this inclusive in games that are both successful and popular, they made it clear that queer representation is not a detriment, but actually a positive and something a lot of players are hungry for.

LINA: Yeah, I remember seeing the original Mass Effect making waves for having a same-sex romance option. It was absolutely the first major game I was aware of where this was a thing at all, and I think that by showing you could have a gay romance between a human and an alien and not have retailers refuse to stock your games, that may have opened some eyes and made it an easier pitch.

RACHEL: That’s exactly it. The way BioWare handled inclusion rippled through the industry, leading to other studios leaning into that content, which meant that even more games were comfortable with it. It helped move everyone forward.

Do you feel like BioWare sees and supports its queer employees?

SAMANTHA: To me, the biggest thing I see BioWare doing to support queer employees has been to empower them! I have never seen so many queer people in senior leadership positions as I have in my time here.

MIKAYLA: Everyone I’ve had the pleasure of working with has been nothing but kind and accepting, and I’ve never felt the need to be anything but myself. That fosters such a great sense of communication and community. I don’t feel like I’m living inside a vacuum while I’m working; the rest of the world still exists and its impact on employees is not taken lightly.

RACHEL: I’ve been with BioWare for more than a decade at this point, and I’ve only seen the support for our LGBTQIA+ staff grow. There have been some missteps along the way, sure, but the most important thing I’ve seen is that people are eager to listen, learn, and do better. I’ve seen a great amount of work put in to ensure that happens in every circumstance. When I started here, I was not out to anyone about being trans. I had transitioned years ago but I was afraid to tell anyone. But in my time here I was given the confidence I needed to come out again, on my terms. So many other workplaces I’ve been at pushed me back into the closet, but BioWare helped me actually feel free to express my whole self.

LINA: Oh, absolutely. If I wasn’t in a place like BioWare, I probably still wouldn’t be out. Coming out as trans was terrifying in general, but knowing my manager and leadership were there for me as I announced who I really was made all the difference.

Thanks to Mikayla, Rachel, Samantha, and Lina for sharing their stories. At BioWare, we’re dedicated to a diverse, inclusive culture, and try to show that through our people and our games. Of course, we know there will always be more to learn in order to best support our teams. But we look forward to that continued growth—because while it may no longer be Pride Month, BioWare is always proud of all our colleagues.

[source]

[inventors-fair]

IP IP Hooray

Well, folks, it’s that time again. We haven’t done one of these contests since before I started as a judge, so I felt like it was a good time to bring it back. However, this time, it’s gonna be a bit twisty. See, whenever we do an external IP contest, people default to designing their favourite characters as creatures or planeswalkers. If not that, then they design legendary items as artifacts. And they’re always super cool! But this fair is about pushing boundaries, and encouraging you to design things you otherwise might not. So we’re gonna take away a few of the easier options.

This week’s contest: Design a non-WOTC IP card that is either an instant, a sorcery, an enchantment, or a land.

M.E.O.W.

Mandatory: So what does this mean? Take an IP (Intellectual Property) that you enjoy! Might be a book series, TV show, video game- literally anything that is not produced by WOTC (aka, no MTG, no D&D) and make it into a card! This is your chance to send a love letter to your favorite media, and show me some cool new stuff to check out.

Encouraged: Just because you can technically make an enchantment creature that fulfills the contest prompt, doesn’t mean you should. This contest is meant to push you beyond the easy answer of “here’s my favorite character”, so have some fun with it! Do something weird and wacky!

Optional: While not part of the contest, please don’t assume I will know the IP you’re referring to when you submit. A helpful name, short context blurb, or wiki link is very appreciated to make sure I can get the flavor of your submission!

Warning: A common pitfall in these contests is wanting to represent the entirety of your favorite franchise in a single card, which often ends up cluttered and overpowered. Take a second to review your design before submitting through the eyes of someone who has never encountered that IP. Does it still look like a fun, fair card that people would be excited to open and play with? That’s the ultimate goal!

With that being said, I’m super excited to see what comes rolling in! Show me what you got!

~judge @naban-dean-of-irritation​

I-Peek at the other submissions in our Discord! Throw your submission into the Universes Beyond here!

[nat-20s]

 Part 8 of the wonderful! Au: the boys answer some questions! Up to you to decide if they actually clarify anything!

(also on AO3)

~*~

Martin: Hey everyone! I know what some of you are thinking right now: it's not Tuesday, why is this episode in my feed? I know significantly more of you are thinking: I don't consistently keep up with podcast releases, how much free time do you think I have, buddy? To answer your queries: this is a bonus episode! We're answering listener questions to clear the air and/or have fun. Also, I don't know, around 20 to 40 minutes a week, as that is the average amount of time per episode? Maybe during your commute? My husband's omnipotence has been gone for five years, we just have to guess at that sort of thing now.

Jon: For legal reasons, that last statement was a joke. In fact, to cover all of our bases, we do not guarantee that any of our responses are genuine.

Martin: Just because we say we'll answer things doesn't mean we'll answer truthfully. Though, honestly, I think we might make it more enjoyable if we do tell the truth. Like, I don't necessarily have a fun lie prepared for our first question from konspiracyking97: "What's their fuckin deal anyway?"

Jon: Is this referring to the oblique references  we've made about being from a parallel reality and only ending up here as a consequence of ending one apocalypse and potentially starting another or the general premise of the show?

Martin: Oh, it's gotta be general premise, yeah?

Jon: In that case, I'm Jon, the other voice you're hearing is Martin, we're married, and we talk about things that are..nice? Good? Usually generally but occasionally rather specifically pleasant.

Martin: That pretty much covers it. It's not a complicated show. Uhh, next question comes from Shane: are either or both of you aliens? Nope!

Jon: Well..

Martin: No. We are 100% human people from Earth, we are under no definition extraterrestrial.

Jon: Eh..

Martin: Okay, first off, I know the tone of that 'eh' and "not fully human" is not synonymous with alien, so even if 100% is being a bit generous, we're still from the same planet as our listeners.

Jon:..

Jon: But. We sort of aren't though. Technically speaking.

Martin: No no no no no. I don't care if it's parallel, Earth is Earth is Earth, regardless of whatever nonsense metaphysics might be occurring.

Jon: So what you're saying is that if you got sucked through a portal and landed on an Earth where dinosaurs were still the predominant species, you wouldn't consider yourself to be an alien?

Martin: Nope!

Jon: I'm certain that they would consider you an alien. All of their mammals are probably shrew sized.

Martin: Sounds like a them problem.

Jon: Sounds like a-?! You know what, no, this will be an off the record debate, for now, I suppose I concede that the two Earths and our physiologies are similar enough that we might, maybe, not count as aliens.

Martin: Thank you. Anyway, our next question is from anonymous, and asks, "Is all of this an ARG?"

Jon: A whomst?

Martin: Alternate reality game. It's a method of storytelling that's interactive with audience, and usually has, I dunno, a certain suspension of disbelief to it where it pretends to be something actually happening in the real world until a dramatic reveal. A lot times it was used as a marketing gimmick, but others have done it just for fun. I can show you some examples after the show?

Jon: So it's in essence a more involved creepypasta?

Martin, delighted: Aw, babe, I'm never going to have a handle on what pop culture you are and aren't aware of, huh?

Jon: We were born within a year of each other, and I've told you that I was a deeply morbid teenager, you should probably be able to intuit some of things, love.

Martin: This coming from a man who has yet to see "It's a Wonderful Life", but has seen every film in the "Banjo Cannibals" franchise, including the Easter special. Jesus doesn't exist in the Banjo Cannibals universe, why does it have an Easter special?

Jon: The movies are rather shoddily translated from Russian, so I'm fairly certain the Easter component of that special was invented wholesale in the English version.

Martin: You say that like it answers more questions than it raises.

Jon: Yes, because it does. Oh, and to answer anonymous's question, no, this isn't an ARG. From my understanding of it, if it were, it'd be a poorly constructed one, as there's no real game element to any of this.

Martin: Hmm. Well, sometimes the game component is just trying to figure out what's going on with the story, or if there's any deeper content, and people are definitely doing that with this show.

Jon: That's not by design though. It's more a side effect of us having poor brain to mouth filters, I'd say.

Martin: Harsh, but fair. Oh, this next one is from Zac, no K, who asks, "Are you two actually even married?"

Jon, flat: We are, but it's under false names because this whole thing is an elaborate insurance scam.

Jon, incredulous: Yes, obviously, we're married. What did you hear in this podcast that would make you wonder otherwise, and how do we rectify it?

Martin: Clearly we need to up our quota for how "disgustingly in love" and "horrifically sappy" we are per episode. Which segues nicely into the next question from Gwen, "What's your favourite wonderful thing you've brought so far?" My answer: my husband. He's kind of my favourite in most things, you know?

Jon: Boooooo

Martin: Why, what's your favourite thing?

[Jon reluctantly sighs]

Jon, indulgent: being married.

Martin: A: serves you right for trying to pretend you're the less horrifically sappy and romantic one even though earlier today someone put a love note in the lunch they packed for me-

Jon:- Lies and slander! I have never, in my life, done that, even once.

Martin: Oh, sure, not even once. And you definitely don't reserve the lilac sticky notes specifically for my lunches because you know I like the colour. 

Jon: I..I don't.. you're rather ruining my image here.

[Martin snorts]

Martin: Can't have the audience think that you are, on occasion, an incredibly doting husband-

Jon: -A title I would argue we both share-

Martin: - which is obviously why, even with it being your favourite thing you've brought, being married to me is just a small wonder-

Jon, audibly rolling his eyes: As I already explained-

[A Pause}

Jon: Actually, you're right-

Martin: Wait-

Jon:- I really should have brought it as a larger wonder-

Martin: Wait-

Jon: though I should warn you, I think I'd have far too much material for just one little segment-

Martin: No no no no no-

Jon:- In fact, I think I might have too much material for just one little episode-

Martin: Joo-oon-

Jon: I might have to do a whole series! Where would I even start? I mean I could talk about how every day I get to watch the early morning sun highlight your curls when I get up first, or hear you quietly humming and shuffling around the kitchen when you do, or I could talk about how the lunch notes only started in the first place as retaliation to the notes you would leave on the mirror for me to find, or how every time I get to see you at ease in a way that you aren't with anyone else, it takes my breath away, or I could talk about how cute I find the lines between your eyebrows that you only get when you're thinking something petty, but you know it's petty so you don't want to say anything-

Martin: Okay, okay, Christ, I give !up I surrender, and will cease my teasing on this particular topic.

Jon, probably making the :3 face: You don't have to stop. I mean, I could also discuss how very, very attractive I find your voice when it takes on a teasi-mmph!

[There's a pleased hum, then a pause.]

[The audio quality is slightly changed, as if the recording has been stopped and then started later]

Martin, giddy: Uh, heh, anyway, Eric asked what the least favourite thing we've brought was, and because of Jon's attempt to embarrass me live-

Jon, overlapping: It's definitely not live-

Martin:- on air, I'm gonna say it's my husband.

[Jon scoffs]

Jon : If the past few minutes are any sort of indication, I'm going to go ahead and saying that you are lying.

Martin, sighing contentedly: Maybe a bit, but how was I supposed to resist when your indigance gives you that adorable little nose scrunch? In reality, my least favourite thing was probably, um, mini golf? Which, I still don't think is inherently bad, definitely superior to regular golf, but when it's the only thing a next door two year old wants to do with you, the charm begins to wear off a bit.

Jon: Wow. A rather scathing review of a toddler.

Martin: Not so much a scathing review of a toddler as it's a scathing review of minigolf's inability to keep its appeal after the third time in the same week.

Jon: Mmm, the sound effects rather quickly go from part of the atmosphere to part of the irritation, don't they?

Martin: So what's your least favorite thing we've covered here?

Jon: Oh, love, I'm not going to pretend to have nearly enough memory of what we've covered so far to have a least favorite.

Martin: Really? Nothing that you regret or rescind?

Jon: Well, regret, certainly. It was one of the weeks where you went first, and your second item was mutual aid funds, and what they can do for marginalized communities, and I had to follow it with fucking Slapchop.

Martin, poorly suppressing laughter: In your defence, Slapchop, or whatever offbrand we have, is pretty useful, especially when either your scar or my arthritis is acting up.

Jon: I'm still not convinced you didn't somehow see my notes for the recording and decided you get revenge for the first year that we knew each other.

Martin, no longer suppressing his laughter: Yep, you got me! This marriage wasn't an act of insurance fraud, but it was a near decade long con to humiliate you on a podcast that about twenty people listen to. I'll draft up the divorce papers immediately, and then we can finally go our separate ways. 

Jon: I'm glad you've at last admitted it. Such a weight off of my shoulders. Goodbye forever then.

Martin: Right.

Jon: Right.

[A beat.]

[There's a pfft from one of them, before both dissolve into giggles that lasts a good 30 seconds.]

Martin, slightly out of breath: I can't believe we're the kind of people that talk this much about speciality kitchen gadgets.

Jon: Sorry about that.

Martin: God, don't apologize. I'm, like, deliriously happy with our varying degrees of useful cooking ware filled life. If you had told 25 year old me that one day he'd be debating the merits of getting a tortilla press with his husband, he'd have wept, I tell you.

Jon: Funny, if you told 25 year old me the same thing, he would've said "You don't know the future,piss off" and then quietly have a bit of a panic at 3 am that night.

Martin: I bet you were insufferable in your mid-twenties.

Jon: First of all, who isn't, secondly, I was fresh out of Oxford, and third, I was insufferable in my late twenties, as you can attest to, and I'm insufferable now, as you can further attest to, so extrapolation would indicate that, yes, I was insufferable back then.

Martin: Probably a different kind of insufferable, though.

Jon: There are different kinds?

Martin: Of course! You used to be "prick boss" insufferable and now you're "smug in a way that I can't admit I find hot or it will go straight to your head" insufferable.

Jon, in the aforementioned smug tone: Oh, really?

Martin: See, see! Straight to your head.

Jon: Well straight is probably the wrong descriptor-

Martin: Oof, 4 out of 10 joke, babe.

Jon: That would be a far more convincing rating if you weren't grinning right now.

Martin: It's a genuine review, I'm just well known to be a sucker.

Jon: You and me both, darling.

Martin: Okay, if you're pulling out darling, you're clearly in too giddy of a mood to be focused on recording. Last question, from Jess, "You two mentioned meeting at work, but how did you actually end up together?" That's easy, Jon pulled me out of a hell dimension and then we went on the lam together to Scotland.

Jon: If that's not the way to tell a cute boy you like him, I don't know what is.

Martin: All right, that wraps up this bonus episode, and as the old saying goes, hiding from murderers in a cottage is more conducive to romance than suggesting you gouge out your eyes together.

Jon, cut off: Hey-!

[fukurodanni]

love for the rich and emotionally stunted: a comprehensive guide

ch. 2/7 -- prev. -- next. pairing: jumin han x f!reader warnings: n/a series summary: in the months following the incident with his father's most recent paramour, glam choi, the corporate heir of C&R finds himself discovering exactly what it is that makes a person in love so blind. ao3 link

note: sticking a read more right at the beginning. u kno how it is. thank you for sticking around i'll try my best to keep updates within a week or so!

(weeks prior.)

Jumin Han has entered the chatroom.

Jumin Han

She talked to me today.

ZEN

??

Who?

707

She??

There’s a she?!

Jumin Han

Oh.

I must have neglected to mention it.

ZEN

????

Last time there was a “she”...

Jumin Han

… No.

There’s a woman at my office.

Jaehee Kang

Does she work for you?

Jumin Han

Yes

707

That took an awfully long time for you to type lolol

Are you sure~~

Jumin Han

Yes. She wears a lanyard.

Jaehee Kang

Do you not know her name??

Jumin Han

I should think it would seem impolite after… all that.

Jaehee Kang

???

ZEN

?????

All that WHAT?

Jumin Han

I only caught a glimpse of her lanyard. I don’t know.

ZEN

Dodged my question… T_T

Jaehee Kang

Is this that woman you see in the mornings?

Jumin Han

How did you ....

ZEN

?!?!

707

Is our Jumin finally getting some?!

I’m so proud. Haha T_T

Jumin Han

Getting some… what?

Jaehee Kang

I can look into her.

For research purposes. Of course^^

Jumin Han

;;;

I only just started seeing her this month.

At the door. Seeing her at the door.

707

Seeing her OTL

Maybe she’s your future lover come to save you^^

Jumin Han

I doubt that.

ZEN

Yeah lolol

I doubt it too

And right after the Choi thing?? No way.

707

T_T

Ur right

There’s no way...

-

“Do you play video games, Mr Han?”

That’s a new one. “Where would I find the time?” He asks, thinking of Yoosung. “It’s a useless hobby.”

“That was a quick answer,” you reply. “Who hurt you?”

Jumin raises a brow, inquisitive. “No one.”

“Okay,” you say, the beginnings of a grin playing on your lips. “Who ruined video games for you?”

He thinks of the dark smudges under Yoosung’s eyes, the awful typos and the messages at 3am. It’s only a little funny. The door closes behind them. “No one in particular.”

“You’re smiling, Mr Han. Just a little.” You smile too at this, tilting your head in that curious way of yours. When you reach the lobby and then your separate ways, Jumin spares a glance at you.

He wants to say something more, something lodged very deep in his throat that comes out dry breath. He’s never been too good at small-talk, not with colleagues, not with business outside of work. He wants to be, just a little.

He’s not quite sure how that came to be.

-

It’s beyond embarrassing the way he comes up to you in the cafeteria. “You work here,” he says, a very belated realization.

You blink a few times, as if processing. “Yes,” you say slowly. “I have a lanyard.” You wave the offending item around and Jumin finally, finally catches a glimpse of your name.

“I see,” Jumin says, because that’s all he really can say. “Work hard.”

He consults his phone right away, willing the heat from his face and opening the messenger app. It goes as well as expected when he mentions it so vaguely-- Hyun rags on him for his lack of conversational skills and Yoosung drops a line or two about his own miserable love life. In any case, Assistant Kang’s information on you had only reached him earlier today and in a way he’s still coping. It had been baffling to say the least, finally having everything in front of him rather than scattered in the bits and pieces of your dialogue.

You work, technically, in the same position Assistant Kang does. Only in the fashion department, of which Jumin had strategically ignored after Echo Girl and the Chois. It really isn’t his fault he hadn’t noticed you-- not since before this month when you began arriving so consistently.

“Something on your mind?” Assistant Kang asks, looking up from where she’s shuffling through a stack of papers. It isn’t unusual for her to break the silence with a quip-- she’s always been good at easing into a mode of conversation that takes the edge off. As a good assistant and employee should, of course. Jumin wonders if he should relay this to her.

“Nothing,” he says instead, because surely she already knows. “Is it polite to bring gifts for someone you’re sure you will be seeing every morning?”

She raises a thin brow. “Who-- that woman at the fashion department?”

Jumin deigns not to answer right away, looking down at the state of his nails and the tick of his wristwatch. “Surely there must be some etiquette about that.”

-

Jaehee Kang

Buy her coffee.

ZEN

Get her a promotion lol

707

A new car!!!

Yoosung★

Maybr a nicce pen

??

-

“Any favorite TV shows?” You ask one morning. “Personally, I’m fond of office romances.”

Jumin lags for a moment, waiting to catch up. It isn’t an unusual occurrence. “Is that an innuendo?”

You smile, a little flushed-looking, and wave a hand. “Nope. Not at all.” When you look at the second coffee in his hand, though, it seems you need a second to catch up yourself. You’d mentioned offhandedly how you take your coffee the day before, and today something had stopped him at the threshold of the coffee shop he stops at every morning. Funny how things work like that.

“This is for you,” he says determinedly, and you smile a little but there’s still an edge.

“You dodged my question.” You state simply. Jumin does not know what to say.

He thinks about it for a moment, really thinks about it. The only thing that really comes to mind are the Sunday morning programs, and he doesn’t really know them off the top of his head. Maybe the morning news. “No TV shows. Next question.”

“Okay then,” you say, “Any pet peeves?”

Jumin smiles a little. It isn’t really conscious, but he’s finally figured out a way to respond and he just hopes it takes well. “Women who stop me at the door in the morning.”

“Oh,” you say, taking a sip of your coffee. You hum appreciatively. He feels strangely, indirectly accomplished. “Shame. Mine’s men who give me three word responses when I ask them things.”

He scoffs, although it isn’t as hard as it usually comes out. “I answered that in a sentence.” He says, very assuredly. When he looks back at you there’s a softer smile at your lips, rounded at the corners and not quite so mischievous as he’s seen it look before. It looks fond.

“I know,” you reply. He feels a little warmer now, turning the corner where you two part ways. You offer him a two-fingered salute, a “See you in the morning!” and a final turn.

And then you’re gone.

-

The next time the conversation lingers long past the lobby it’s because you’ve coaxed him into talking about Elizabeth III. There’s a point where you’ve reached the elevator and he’s talking to you about her care routine and the minutiae of what it takes to keep her fur so soft and pristine (much of it is her own work and her natural beauty-- of course) and he’s only barely aware of how long he’s been going on, but he pauses to look at you. He doesn’t know what he’s expecting, between Jaehee’s hesitancy and Luciel’s rabid praise and Hyun’s outright disgust--

But there’s something about the way you’re looking at him when he’s finished, curiouser and half-curved into a smile. And he’s been on the receiving end of that before-- his father’s lovers, interviewers and subordinates-- but none of them have ever seemed so affectionate.

He’s seen the same look before when it’s Jaehee with a new photocard, the way Yoosung danced around Rika. It’s the glint in Luciel’s glasses when he gets to working and it’s something, something.

You look like you’ve seen something beautiful.

Which is understandable to him, really, having just shown you pictures of his Elizabeth III. What he understands less is the way you’re looking at him and not the open phone, caught up in a silence that seems way too heavy for a conversation about his cat. Even when the elevator dings it’s with some trepidation that you leave first, a memory, a discovery pulled taut between you two.

“I hope I get to meet her sometime,” you say.

Jumin nods, wordless. The delight on your face at such a simple gesture fixates itself in the forefront of his mind until he returns home to Elizabeth, flickering like hell and unbidden and unexpected but not exactly unwelcome. It’s just as confusing to him as it sounds on paper.

-

Somehow Jaehee gets to you first.

For all the time he’s spent working with Jaehee, working around her and in her general proximity, he doesn’t actually know what time she gets into the building. She seems like an inevitability, something constant and fixed and always there.

So when he holds the door open for two women, Jumin is feeling like he had seen something he wasn’t supposed to. Especially since the two of you seem to be chatting so jovially, shaking her hand with both of yours when you go to part.

There’s another something clogging his throat, a cloying want and a halfhearted desire to draw that same laugh from you, that same open brightness. He hasn’t let himself feel so much about one person-- one particular and fixed point in his life. Jumin feels like he’s chasing-- some feeling, some unnamed ball of fire-- a meteor, blazing and brilliant and too much to be real.

It’s too much to be compared to anything else, not when Sarah Choi was an unlit match next to what a beaming bonfire you are. Suddenly Jumin feels more tightly wound than he usually does.

And really, truly, it feels like a lot to handle, so he turns on his heel after silently handing you the coffee and begins to march. It feels like karmic debt for not having experienced these things as a schoolboy, and then only once as an adult. He doesn’t even know if the one time counted.

“Mr Han--” you say, and it happens at the same time he holds his breath to turn again. Just to look, to see if you appeared as off kilter as he felt. Maybe the world had rotated wrong today.

You stop there in your tracks and he really does believe for a moment that the world has gone astray-- because then it would explain the way air isn’t getting to his lungs right. He inhales just to make sure and before any other dialogue comes from your lips he asks, “Walk with me?”

You both take the elevator then.

-

Jaehee Kang

She’s a very nice woman.

Yoosung★

Huh?

707

U met her?!?!!

Tell me everything

-

It makes your mornings longer, the introduction of the elevator route. He isn’t sure how it became mutual agreement and routine, the same way the cup of coffee steams in your hands and the way you ask after Elizabeth III. The way the door gets held open.

Jumin isn’t sure how many mornings go by, how many of them are spent dreading the chime of the elevator, but one of them brings a much quieter you. And you’re usually such a whirlwind of life, pulling him toward and towards you-- he’d be lying to himself more than usual if he said he wasn’t worried.

You look like you’re steeling yourself too, and you’ve never done that-- there isn’t a thing you’ve said to him that was measured or prepared. You’re kind of like an overexcited puppy, and he’s never been too fond of dogs.

He feels something slide out of place, something like a realization that’s far grander than he knows, hovering at the tip of his tongue. He doesn’t know what it is yet, not really. He’s barely out of his head, ready to ask if you’re alright--

And you cut him off. Like you did that first morning, knocking the breath from his lungs and everything else out of place. Jumin likes things neat and tidy, likes things where they should be, where he’s used to seeing them. You aren’t too good for him, he thinks.

Then you ask, “Would you want to go out sometime?” And he has no reference materials and no forewarning and no prepared response. The odds are against him.

So against all odds and every simmering nerve in his body he says, “Yes.”

tags: @vandysgf @mrs-han

[pair-annoyed]

Anime I Watched This Summer

Summer 2020 has officially come to a close. It’s fall in Animal Crossing and the trees are beginning to turn. Much like quarantine, I spent a lot of my free time watching anime when I wasn’t stressing over starting college. Now that the school year has begun, I thought it would be nice to reflect on everything I’ve watched! 

These Anime were seen between 6/14 - 8/31 (my Birthday!) and are listed in chronological order.

They will be rated on a 1-10 scale; 1 meaning complete garbage, 10 meaning masterpiece. I will offer my thoughts on what I did/didn't like about each show!

1. Bakemono no Ko - 8/10

This was such a great way to start out the summer! I love the dynamic between Kumatetsu and Ren. Overall its a little cliche, but it’s also very wholesome. It’s by the same studio that made Wolf Children (which I loved!). so I knew it was going to be good. My favorite aspect of this movie was its backgrounds and world building! 

2. Wan Sheng Jie - 9/10

Oh my gosh! I know that this is technically a donghua, but its on MAL, so it counts. This show quickly became my favorite slice of life of all time. I adore the art style and all of the characters. The comedy, plot, and design blends so well together. Everything in Wan Sheng Jie feels warm and comfy. It’s also confirmed for a second season! After seeing its cliff hanger ending, I’m so anxious for what comes next! 

3. Dororo - 7/10

I’ll be honest, I’m a sucker for studio MAPPA. I really liked the historical aspects of Dororo. From the outfits to the ways characters behave, its grounded in the constraints of feudal Japan. I would have given this show a higher score if it was a little more grounded in science. I feel like more time should’ve been given to the demons and antagonists of the show. Our MC was so over powered, which made the final fights of the series more lack-luster. I think its less of the anime’s fault and more because the original source material is from the 60s. That being said, I loved this show! It was cute and action packed. Though it isn’t perfect, it holds its own.

4. Bungou Stray Dogs - 5/10

The concepts and action are misconstrued in Bungou Stary Dogs. This is one of those shows that I chose to watch because it was all over Tumblr. The powers themselves are cool, but I can’t understand why this series is so praised. At it’s core its predictable and basic. The fights seemed low stakes and low energy. None of the humor really felt like it belonged. It tried too hard to be something it isn’t. I don’t think I’ll watch beyond this first season. 

5. Kami no Tou - 4.5/10

First off, fuck Rachel, me and my homies hate Rachel. I really really had high hopes for Tower of God. It paves the way for Webtoon adaptations in the future. Its such a shame that this adaptation SUCKED. I have not read the source material, I’m going solely based on the anime. It wasn’t good? It was horrible. I hate Bam, I hate Rachel. I think all the characters expect Rak were awful. Please don’t make a season 2. Please. If you’re interesting in Tower of God, just read the webtoon. 

6. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun - 7/10

Shoujo anime is my guilty pleasure. I especially liked the way Gekkan Shoujo tackled Sakura and Nozaki’s relationship. Besides just the main characters, even the side characters were enjoyable! It was a fun and creative show. My only complaint is how dense Nozaki is, but I also absolutely love that part of him.

7. Jojo no Kimyou no Bouken (Parts 1-2) - 6.5/10

Jojo is not the saving grace of shounen anime. It isn’t something super revolutionary and it certainly will never be a 10/10. Part 1 was so slow and boring. Jonathan was just mediocre at best. I definitely liked Joseph a LOT more than Jonathan. Part 2 overall was much easier to watch than part 1. The fights are good, but there’s just something about Jojo that I can’t get behind. Although I’m completely bashing this series, I’m going to keep watching it. At this point, I wanna know what a stand is. 

8. Clannad - 5.5/10

I was expecting Clannad to be sad, but instead I got a cute, slice of life, romance. It wasn’t unenjoyable, but it was also a pretty slow-burning show. I loved watching Nagisa and Okazaki slowly fall in love with each other. It was funny at times and sad at other points. I am currently watching Clannad: After Story (which I’ve heard is heartbreaking), so I’m hoping to get some catharsis out of that. 

9. Otome Game no Hametsu Flag shika Nai...  - 6/10

This show is only 12 episodes, and yet it still has filler episodes for some reason? I’m a person who doesn’t typically watch isekai because the genre is so over done. However, when it’s done in a very specific way it’s really fun to watch! This show was definitely a lot of fun, it’s also cute and has so many interesting character-character interactions. The ending is painfully cliche, but I think it adds to this shows charm. 

10. Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen  - 8/10

I loved Love is War so much! I love their weird romantic dynamic. I love the characters, and I love the animation. It’s over the top and executes it humor masterfully. The entire show fills you with anticipation for the two main characters. Kaguya is my favorite character. Although I haven’t seen season two yet, I most certainly will! I’m so upset I hadn’t seen this show sooner.

11. Great Pretender - 8.5/10

This show is so colorful and bubbly. The animation is so smooth and they are able to tackle so many different kinds of things given its plot. The whole show itself just feels like summertime. It came out not to long ago, so some people may not be familiar with it. On top of the show itself, the music is great, with a Jazzy OP and and ED that features Freddie Mercury

12. Steins;Gate 0 - 8/10

 I loved the original Stein;Gate so much! So it’s no surprise how much I liked the second season. It builds significantly off the first season in a sort of “off shot” OVA kind of way. The events of Steins;Gate 0 don’t actually happen, but that doesn’t stop it from being meaningful. The big “twist” was predictable and a bit of a let down, but I still enjoyed this. Granted, I’m bias. 

13. Seishun Buta Yarou wa Yumemiru Shoujo no Yume wo Minai - 9.5/10

I sobbed. So much. This movie was phenomenal, it was such a trip. Having watched the original series, this tore my heart apart. It gets a high score for being able to take the characters I love and creating a wonderfully emotional experience. If you haven’t seen Bunny Girl Senpai, please watch it, and then watch this movie. You won’t regret it! 

14. Hotaru no Haka - 6/10

Grave of the Fireflies made me stop watching anime for a while. Studio Ghibli created something grim, something that leaves the viewers feeling hollow. Its a movie about WWII from Japan’s perspective. As an American, all I could feel while watching this was immense guilt. I will say though, that some of the movies main plot could have easily been prevented if the main character had swallowed his pride. His younger sister was also my least favorite character. I get that she’s a kid and that kids are fussy, but you would think that during wartime, she’d be more understanding and at least try to eat the things she dislikes. 

15. Yagate Kimi ni Naru - 9/10

This was a great way to end the summer. This is more that just GL romance, its a love story. Its about growing up and learning to understand your feelings. I related to Yuu so much, which made this more emotional than I expected. It’s really unlike another romance anime I’ve seen. I hope it gets confirmed for a second season. If not, I’ll be reading the manga. 

Seasonal Shows: (Things that are still airing as of 9/5/2020)

1. The God of High School  7.5/10

Another thing done by studio MAPPA. Are you surprised? I absolutely love the action in GoH. The plot however, is all over the place. The story seems fragmented and hard to follow. Like Tower of God, it was poorly adapted. I’m giving it such a high score, because it’s SO much more enjoyable then Tower of God. 

2. Enen no Shouboutai: Ni no Shou - 4/10

My thoughts on season 2 are about the same as my thoughts on season 1. The only difference is that this season has more Jojo references. I’ve rated it lower because its so repetitive. I’m so sick of watching it, but I’ve got to see it through the bitter end.   

3. Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season - 8.5/10 

All I’m going to say about Re:Zero is that I love it. I can’t give an accurate review of it because I’ve been hyping this season since it was announced. If you’re into non-typical isekai, watch Re:Zero, its so enjoyable!