#replaying it. this game was strangely so much easier when i was a kid

[mikashida]

screencap redraw from snake eater

[bluetomorrows]

I want longer games with beautiful graphics and how dare you suggest that I'm kidding

So that whole "I want shorter games with worse graphics made by people who are paid more to work less and I'm not kidding" thing is making the rounds on Twitter again and since I don't like to give genuine opinions on that site I'm gonna talk about it here.

In short, I disagree with the sentiment. I DO want game developers to have higher pay, reasonable hours, and deadlines that aren't cruel. I want an end to the crunch that infests AAA development. But a lot of people who post things like that don't understand what it means for a game to be short or have bad graphics. Frankly, this isn't even as much me refuting this statement as it is a chance to rant about those topics.

Game length is a funny thing. When video games first transitioned to the home, the experience was essentially the same as the arcades that were so popular at the time. Atari games were mostly short score-based rounds or head-to-head multiplayer. Even games like H.E.R.O. and Adventure which deviated from that structure to do a version of the more traditional single-player progression we're used to still didn't last very long. It was a mix of both the limitations of the primitive technology and what players had come to expect from the arcades. When the NES came along expectations changed. People didn't want just arcade games, at least not the kind from the 70s. At launch Super Mario Bros. was the clear stand-out game, far surpassing its arcade-like counterparts in critical and commercial success. They wanted bigger and better experiences. So now games have to last, they have to have that progression that's standard now. This evolution was much more smooth and slow outside of North America where there was no video game crash. However, North America's explosion in video game renting also helped push forward this mindset. If you can just beat a game in the rental period before you have to return it to Blockbuster, then you're never gonna purchase it and give the game publishers the returns they really want. So how do you make a game last on still primitive hardware? NES developers came across two main options: bullshit difficulty, and replay value. The former was easier to implement. If the game was insanely hard, then naturally it would take you more time to finish it. The latter required actually talented game developers. A game should be fun to play, and ideally more fun every time. The basic idea is as you get better at the game you'll be able to have a more satisfying experience playing the levels.

Let's take the NES Castlevania trilogy as an example of these schools of level design. Castlevania 1 is a brutal game, but that's really only your first time. When you replay it you now have a grasp on your own controls, but also the patterns of the enemy. You know how to use the sub-weapons effectively and when to spend hearts on them. The visceral gameplay flow here will make you feel incredibly badass but only when you've mastered it, the first time around you'll be weak and scared. The controls are very precise and one wrong move can cost you a lot, but you'll learn the best strategies to deal with it. Castlevania 2 employs the BS difficulty on yourfirst run. The solutions to the puzzles are obtuse and NPCs will give you strange and sometimes misleading advice. You need a player's guide to get through it. But there's the ending stinger. Gaming's first alternate ending. Depending on how fast you beat the game you'll get 3 different endings. Only by mastering the game can you achieve the best ending and see Simon survive the game, therefore encouraging you to replay it to achieve the true ending you want. Castlevania 3 combines the great replayability aspects of both games. It keeps the visceral skill-based gameplay of the original while taking the idea of different content in different playthroughs from Simon's Quest. There are now multiple paths to take to Dracula's castle, and the option to recruit three other characters to your group, although only one can travel with you at any time. 2 primary routes plus 3 possible character combinations mean 6 pretty unique experiences of the game, on top of the inherent skill progression the player experiences through gameplay.

The multiple pathways of Castlevania III's map

So how long is Castlevania 3? Like 3 hours? Not really. Because you're not expected to put it down after that first playthrough. It'd be ridiculous considering how much cartridges cost. Is Castlevania 3 a short game? Yes, but really no. It's a thing I see people very often struggle to understand. Classic Sonic games for example were designed specifically around replayability, the speed-based gameplay being inspired by Yuji Naka seeing through 1-1 of Super Mario Bros. tons of times and seeing how fast he was doing it. Doing the same thing faster is a very easy way for the player to feel they're improving. So many people play these games once and dismiss them when they're not really getting the full experience. If you watch a newbie play Sonic and an experienced player play the same stages it's practically a completely different game.

However when Sonic was coming out a new type of game was starting to appear on the market. Games that didn't need to figure out ways to make themselves last longer than they could, but instead could just last.

Due to the technical limitations of the NES and its contemporaries, the first games to really challenge the ideas of length at the time were RPGs. The main gameplay was turned-based combat, something not very intensive for the system so more resources could be given to the world maps and story. The drawbacks to RPGs in this era are that many still padded gameplay with ridiculously tough enemies and high encounter rates, and the ones that really pushed things forward with grand worlds and stories often never left Japan due to the higher-than-usual cost to localize them for other markets. Still, the effects were felt. These games didn't need to be replayed to make you feel like you'd gotten a full experience. They were able to last, while still holding on to some of the replay philosophy these developers learned during the previous generation.

The massive map of Mother/Earthbound Beginnings for the Famicom/NES. The game drew praise for the fact that every NPC had unique dialogue.

This genre would really come into its own in the next generation of systems as developers across the board were given more freedom in game length due to the improved hardware. Games outside of RPGs could still take inspiration from their world design and how simple action gameplay could only be one part of the design and mechanics of a game. With the advent of the PlayStation 1 and SEGA Saturn and the insanely higher amount of space afforded by CDs, developers were no longer limited by technology and could design their games to be as long as they really wanted.

Also the N64 was there.

This laid the groundwork for the "long" games we're seeing now, something far too complex for me to really analyze. The point is game length was now something a developer had to choose, not something chosen for them. Sometimes they even give the player the choice, allowing them to beat the "main game" or do side content for 100% completion. I'd say nowadays it's strange if a game releases without any side content for you to do. Replayability was becoming less and less important to developers. The only real push back against this came with the adcent of games specifically calling back to the NES and SNES era, specifically by indie devs, a movement that has one grown in popularity as we've entered the 20s.

So here's what I'm getting at: what is game length now? What does it mean for a game to be long? How many short games are truly short? How many truly short games are good?

Well to answer that question I made a spreadsheet. I compiled a list of 50 of my favourite games and the information on them on howlongtobeat.com. I've used this site before and generally, it's accurate, the player base isn't too skilled or too bad at games. In the cases where two versions of a game were listed, I chose the one I played, unless both versions only had very minor differences, in which case I chose the one that had a larger data set. For each game I noted how long it took to beat the base game, the base game plus some of the optional content, and how long it took to get 100%, as well as what option of the three I would recommend to others. I also listed the style of replayability of each game. Whether it was based on skill improvement, alternate paths, or had little replay value. Mind you just because a game was listed as having little replay value doesn't mean you can't replay it and have fun, if the game is good then the game is good, but it just means it wasn't really designed for that.

I tried to have a varied set of games to measure, first-person and third-person, and on-rail shooters, rhythm games, RPGs, action games, and puzzle games are all included, but there may be a bias towards platformers as it's what I've played the most of.

The results were rather interesting. Keep in mind that the games chosen are all ones I consider to be quite good, so this is supposed to represent what the average good game does. I found that the average base game lasts about 9 hours, extended to 14 hours with extras, and 25 hours if you go for 100%. I recommended completing the main game + extras about 50% of the time, with the other two paths each taking up about a quarter. Overall the average time I recommended spending with each playthrough was 15 hours. The longest recommended playthrough went to Super Mario Odyssey with 62 hours as I recommended going for 100%. The shortest time was surprisingly another Mario game, that being Super Mario Land at only one hour. But I think that's actually a perfect encapsulation of what this was trying to prove, as Odyssey has little replay value, while Super Mario Land has the skill curve via repeat playthroughs that I talked about earlier. More games weren't really built for replay value than I expected, in fact I expect the number is a bit inflated as I play more retro and arcade games than the average person. But the market has shifted, content outside of the main campaign is now the lasting appeal. But the question I ask is, should it be? Now there are some games on my list like Spyro: Reignited Trilogy and Yakuza Kiwami where I feel as though if you're not going after all the side content you're kind of missing the point of the game design, however there are other games like Doom (2016); a game that has more post-game content than the base game, yet all that content is completely pointless. Sure you unlock some cute figures and a couple extra skills, but searching around for obtuse secrets just feels like the antithesis of the design of that game, which should be fast paced reaction based action. The addition of it here has always confounded me. My best guess is they were trying to replicate aspects of the original Doom, where exploration was a much bigger part of the game, but here it doesn't work. I WOULD like to play more of Doom (2016) so I can get better at the main game, not so I can find all the doodads, and a game like it should find ways to encourage replay.

I make a special note in the file of Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland and how it encourages replayability. Beating the game 100% unlocks "Extra Mode" a version of the game that is nearly identical with the one difference being that Kirby has half the health. I do dislike this approach in other games I love; Super Mario Galaxy and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze both got "Main + Extras" scores instead of "100%" scores because they pull this at the end of the game, but I don't mind it so much here. Kirby is supposed to be a breezy relaxing game, where taking damage shouldn't be that much of an issue, but this flips that on its head and legitimately changes the way the player approaches the game. But Extra Mode isn't the real thing I want to highlight, what really elevates the replayability of Nightmare in Dreamland is what you unlock after beating all of Extra Mode: Meta Knightmare. Meta Knightmare swaps out Kirby for Meta Knight, and even though he doesn't play dramatically differently from Kirby with the sword ability, he nevertheless again encourages the player to approach the same stages differently. This more serious character should cut down enemies like butter and speed through stages without breaking a sweat, and that speed aspect is even more encouraged by Meta Knightmare removing the ability to save and prominently displaying how quickly you completed the game. Things as simple as a change in aesthetic and scoring change how the game is played and give the player more unique experiences out of a game that's "only two hours long". Mind you this doesn't involve creating tons of side content and extras, it's small changes that have a massive psychological change in how the game is played.

If you want to check out the list yourself I've linked it here. Special cases where games extend playtime through other means are noted where necessary, although they aren't common.

I think the vast differences between games on this list really highlight a point I think I already knew: Games should be as long as they need to be. Typically video games are made to be played for fun, and making long games or very replayable games typically suits that goal, but ultimately gaming is an art form. War & Peace would be a worse story if it was very short, just as The Great Gatsby would be worse if it dragged itself out for another 300 pages. The idea that games SHOULD be shorter isn't something that supports game developers or players, it's something that speaks down to the idea of games as an art form.

So yeah, I don't want shorter games. I don't care if it takes me forever or if it's over in an instant. I just want the games to be good. If I want some specific length then that's my problem, not the developer's.

I think I've made my point about game length being fluid, but that's only half the statement, what about graphics?

Since the dawn of time (1992), man has sought the best and most realistic video game graphics. In olden times, neanderthals were amazed by the 3D worlds of Wolfenstein 3D and Virtua Racer, "games will never be more realistic than this" they said. Now we know that they were stupid fucking cavemen who didn't know how butt ugly their games are, they don't even look like real life. Not like Tekken, now THAT'S some real graphics.

This happened to my buddy Eric

Of course, then we realized that Tekken was also dog water graphics when the PS2 came out. And now it's 2023 and all the PS2 games look fake and gay and actually, I think Wolfenstein and Virtua Racing look pretty alright. This is a point I specifically want to address because when I see people parrot this opinion when they say they want "games with bad graphics" the examples they point to for games to aim for are titles like Hades or other more stylistic, non-realistic games, typically by indies.

This is very frustrating because those games have great graphics.

Why the hell should good graphics mean realistic graphics? Just like with pacing game graphics should be whatever the hell they need to be.

Here are some games that have good graphics in them I think

It's not about the horsepower or however gigaflops per tera butt it can render, it's just about good art direction. Good art direction can be realistic, completely stylized, or somewhere in between! To say a game like Hades has bad graphics is... how do I put this?

Basically, fuck you.

When going for realism the most common obstacle is not entering the uncanny valley, and when going for a more stylized approach the the most common obstacle is making sure everything is still clear to the player at all times.

And no, I don't want games to look bad. And that goes for both

Stylized

and realistic

Just let games be games man. If you truly believe that they're a unique art form capable of creating meaningful experiences, then let them do what they want. You can say developers should be treated better and you're right if you do, but that doesn't mean they have to make more boring art.

[baphomet-media]

Getting Psyched - A The World Ends With You Retro Review

Genre: Adventure Subgenre: JRPG Developer: Square Enix, Jupiter Publisher: Square Enix Platform(s): DS Release Date: July 27th, 2007 Hours Played: 42 hours this playthrough

You’ve almost certainly heard of this game, especially if you’re into JRPGs. When a game advertises itself as being “from the team that made Kingdom Hearts,” I was sold instantly as a kid. One look at the game’s box art confirms that Tetsuya Nomura had a hand at this game with his distinctive bold art style. But the game itself was something that nobody at the time had predicted. The game has an urban fantasy story unlike much that had been told at the time. Furthermore, the game was made to push the DS to its limits and create a battle system that could only work on the DS’s two screens. Does this cult classic live up to the hype, or is it just a janky mess? Let’s find out.

Story

TWEWY opens by introducing our protagonist, an antisocial teen named Neku Sakuraba. Neku unexpectedly awakens in the iconic scramble crossing of Shibuya, Tokyo. To his surprise, the crowds seem to walk right through him, and a strange pin appears in his hand that allows him to read the thoughts of passersby. Neku quickly learns that he has been thrust into the Reapers’ Game, a seven-day death game where the Players are the recently deceased that must partner up to fight the Noise, hostile part-animal-part-tribal-graffiti creatures that seek to erase the Players. What’s more, each day Players must complete missions given to them by the Reapers within strict time limits while avoiding the reapers themselves. If they can make it to the end of the week, they might just be able to return to life.

Along the way, Neku will meet a chaotic cast of characters including Shiki, the headstrong seamstress who is eventually able to get Neku out of his angsty shell, Beat and Rhyme, a pair of street-smart siblings with heavy 2000’s skater vibes, Joshua, an abrasive, sarcastic, literal Christ figure who’s somehow a good guy? Or maybe he’s a bad guy? Or… maybe he’s a good guy again? On top of that, the Reapers themselves vary wildly from the contrasting duo of the laid-back Kariya and the high-strung Uzuki to the lone radical Minamimoto. The game does a good job of having a full roster of characters without overloading the player. Furthermore, while most characters seem wacky at first, they all have motivations and layers behind them that become clearer as you progress through the story.

Without spoiling anything, nothing is as it seems in the Reaper’s game, and multiple parties are vying for control for different reasons, meaning the whole thing feels like one big political intrigue story on top of an urban JRPG. Even on my most recent replay after having played the game countless times over the years, I was hungry to put the pieces together. While the main storyline mostly follows Neku’s perspective and doesn’t explain a lot of the behind-the-scenes interactions and motivations of the secondary characters, the game fortunately has a Secret Reports feature, which are written by a certain character who seems to know way more than they let on. These Secret Reports are near essential to understanding the game’s true story, and reveal whole layers to the plot and world that the main story doesn’t even touch on.

Needless to say, I loved the story of TWEWY. Everything feels perfectly crafted, leaving no loose ends, while still leaving the player wanting more. If anything I wanted to see more of Neku and his friends after the game’s conclusion just hanging out in real life.

Gameplay

TWEWY is a JRPG, but in the loosest sense possible. In the overworld, the player controls Neku, guiding him around the various streets of Shibuya on the touch screen or with the face buttons. Unlike in traditional RPGs, outside of story events the player must deliberately initiate combat with the Noise. By scanning their environment they can read the surface thoughts of passersby, but also reveal noise symbols in the environment. By tapping on these symbols, the player can queue up battles with the noise, and can even chain multiple battles together for back-to-back fights that multiply your drop rate.

In battle, Neku and his partner are sent to separate Zones, with Neku on the touch screen and his partner on the top screen. Neku fights the noise by activating the abilities of pins he has equipped, called Psychs. Each psych has its own activation method, from swiping on an enemy to tapping empty space, to scratching on the screen, to shouting into the microphone, and more. It’s up to the player to equip Neku with the best pins, though pins level up as they are used, becoming more powerful and sometimes evolving into even stronger pins.

On the top screen, Neku’s partner fights the noise by using the DS’s face buttons to move through a combo map and select certain finishers. By selecting the right finishers, you can charge your Sync gauge to perform a powerful special attack. Both characters share an HP gauge, damage to each character subtracting from each side. If you’re following along, that means the game expects you to control both Neku and his partner at the same time. This can be tricky for new players, but you quickly get used to it. Additionally, you can have your partner auto-fight with a customizable delay, meaning you technically don’t have to control your partner at all. However, if you really want to deal major damage and wipe the floor with the Noise on higher difficulties, you’ll want to master battling with both characters at once. When I first played the game in 2007, I found the parner battling to be too difficult to keep up with, but now that I’m older and more experienced, I find the combat to be incredibly deep and rewarding. Additionally, the game rewards back-and-forth control of Neku and his partner with the Light Puck mechanic. Essentially, when one character performs a combo finisher, the light puck is passed to the other character, and passed back when that character does a finisher. In this way, you can build up a damage multiplier based on how quickly you rally the light puck. This creates a natural back-and-forth flow of using Neku until his psychs discharge, then getting a few hits in with his partner, and so on.

My only complaint about battles is that in later fights on higher difficulty the Noise will attack so frequently on the partner’s zone that it’s difficult to get attacks off with them at all. Your partner has a limited block/dodge, but it only does so much and there’s often tons of Noise attacking at once. It’s not insurmountable, but it can be frustrating at times.

Outside of battle, the player must constantly keep up with a few things, food, swag, and difficulty. Both Neku and his partner can eat food and wear clothing purchased from many shops around Shibuya. Food offers an up-front bonus as well as a permanent stat increase once the food is digested by completing battles. However, you can only digest so many times per real-time day, meaning you have to prioritize high-calorie foods before smaller snacks. I found the digestion limit to be a bit too limiting. It can be removed in the post-game, but it still makes food hard to deal with for someone that is effectively bingeing the game.

Swag are articles of clothing that offer flat stat increases, but also have abilities that are unlocked by showing it to the right store clerk. Each clerk can unlock the abilities of specific clothing, and you can unlock more by buying enough stuff from them to fill up their Friendship Gauge. I thought it was fun to slowly make friends with each store clerk, and I felt bad that I couldn’t hang out with them or reciprocate some of their obvious advances, though I’m sure it’s assumed that Neku cherishes his friendships with them after the game’s conclusion. However, you can’t just equip any old piece of clothing to any character. Neku can’t just pull off a dress and cargo shorts right off the bat. Each piece of clothing has a Bravery rating, with characters whose bravery is below that rating being unable to wear the clothing. Fortunately, bravery increases as you level up, and can also be increased by eating food. By the end of the game, you’ll be able to have Neku and company wearing whatever clothing you want.

Lastly there’s Difficulty. The game has four main difficulty levels, being Easy, Normal, Hard, and Ultimate. You begin the game in Normal, but once you unlock a difficulty, you can change it on the fly from the pause menu. On easier difficulty enemies have less HP and deal less damage, but you get fewer XP and worse pins. The reverse is true on higher difficulties, with some of the best pins in the game being available exclusively as drops on Ultimate difficulty. To aid you in this, you can also change your level at any time. Unlike in a standard RPG where your level is immutable to the player aside from leveling up, in TWEWY you can freely choose your level from one to the highest level you have achieved. For each level below your max that you set your level, you get a multiplier for drops. This can be combined with the battle chaining multiplier to get ultra rare drops, some of which have less than 1% and even less than 0.1% drop chances normally. This gives the player an incentive to level up aside from just stat bonuses, and rewards players who go out of their way to engage in battles. As above, battles are largely optional, but it heavily behooves the player to battle as much as they can, not only because you get drops and experience, but increasing your level gives you more wiggle room for harder fights such as bosses.

There are tons more smaller features, but these are the main ones. I thoroughly enjoyed the vast depths of the game’s mechanics and found the difficulty settings to be really engaging and a novel approach to RPG player advancement while still affording accessibility. I was enthralled for multiple hours as I struggled to get the best gear, feed my team the best food, and equip the best pins to get as strong as possible. Until the very end of the postgame, it never felt like mindless grinding, as you can just breeze through the story on Easy if you really want to, but where would be the fun in that?

Presentation

TWEWY is probably best known for its vibrant and bold incredibly urban street-art-themed style, which shows in not only the art, but the UI, music, and writing. The character art is that hard-outlined and overdressed Nomura art style that fans of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts have come to love, and the backgrounds are all vibrant and stylized to fit. The pixel art of the character sprites and Noise are all incredibly expressive, with Neku’s idle animation as he jams out to tunes on his headphones being one of my favorites.

The game’s music is unabashedly lyrical, covering a vast array of genres including JPop, Punk, and Hip-Hop, with many different styles of each. I loved almost every song in the game, though I found one of the overworld themes to be a bit grating at times. Other than that, the music is pretty great, and what’s even better is you can buy CDs of each of the game’s songs in the game to have your own personal sound test right from the menu, even going as far as to allow you to set the background music on the menu itself.

The game even has voice acting, though it’s limited mostly to battle quips and wordless expressions for cutscenes. I actually really enjoyed the voice acting and thought they nailed each character. I was honestly surprised at the audio quality the developers were able to pack into this game. The music was a very slight bit tinny through the DS’s audio chip as is to be expected, but barring that the vocals and voice overs were super clear and the instrumentation of the songs were well mixed.

Overall, the game’s presentation is about as good as it gets on the DS, giving even home console games a huge run for their money.

Conclusion

Honestly it’s hard to say anything bad at all about TWEWY. The game was a bit hard to approach at the time, but it’s aged magnificently. These days, I wouldn’t hesitate to say that it’s the best (at least non-Pokémon) game on the DS. Honestly though some might be turned off by the game’s quirks, I think TWEWY is a masterpiece that everyone with a DS should pick up and play. I can’t wait to see how the newly-released sequel stands up, but honestly the original is a tough act to follow.

Score: 10 / 10

[hitsuackerman]

What in the World? (Akaashi Keiji x Reader) pt.2

Here is part 2 of WINTW? :D Enjoy!

Akaashi’s lineup: @alluring-akaashi​ @oikawalmart-hq​ @extrasugafree​ @bbykiyoomi​ @apricotjihyo​ @colorseeingchick @something-that-idk 

links: part 1

It had been a week since you found yourself stranded in practically another dimension. The research bore very little fruit and you were sure that you were stuck in this situation. But, the feeling of not having to be cautious of the League of Villains or Yakuza was something you loved. Heck, you even decided to buy a house plant to make sure you could still practice your quirk.

It had been a few days since you agreed to become a trial manager to the volleyball club. Everything was going smoothly till a faulty chance ball was now aiming towards you. With no option to use your quirk, your mind went blank as your feet turned to stone. Yet the ball never made contact.

How did you end up here in the first place?

Oh right. Now you remember.

During the weekend, you told your other-mother that you would be taking a trip down memory lane. When asked where you planned on going, she was not expecting your answer to be your supposed previous school. Still, she simply nodded and prayed for your safety.

The teacher wasn’t kidding when she said it was far. It practically took 2 hours to reach Musutafu. Even then, things were still different. There were no high rise buildings with fancy floating signages, no agencies, and no sign of small time criminals wasting their time. Your heart sunk even more when the sight of the UA building was different. The four connected buildings were replaced with a modern looking academy. Similar to Fukurodani.

Showing your old ID, the guard let you enter.

In theory, your classroom should be on the 2nd floor. Luckily, it was the weekend so only those with supplementary classes were present. When you saw the small 2-A, you carefully peaked through the crack on the door to see if anybody was present. Judging by how the students were seated on their desks, it was safe to fully open the doors.

“(y/n)?!” The face ever present in your social media posts. Akiko. That was definitely her. Black hair, chubby, and a smile that could rival Deku’s, it pained how you knew nothing of her. “Oh my gosh! You’re actually here!”

“Couldn’t resist not visiting you two~” Safe response.

“How are things at your new academy?” Asami. Light brown hair, small voice, but definitely pretty was the one who spoke next. “Fukurodani right?”

Sitting on the desk beside Akiko, you huffed and wondered if the way you were acting was similar to how they were used to. Judging by their eager faces, it was safe to assume that you were doing things right. Maybe being yourself wasn’t too scary. Opting not to let your guard down, you merely shrugged.

“The week’s been unique.” It really was. “The subjects aren’t too far off from what we have here. And I got a flier from a 3rd year. Said something about being a manager for some club. Volleyball, I think.”

If there was one thing your dimension didn’t have, it was quirkless sports. Of course normal sports existed but living in a world where the majority possessed quirks, it would be a lie if you said you remembered the last time you played a sport for real.

“Never knew you were into sports, (y/n)...” Akiko commented as she rested her chin on her palm.

“She’s probably in it for the guys.” Asami teased and nudged your elbow. “The Owls are rather strong in the Japanese volleyball world. Have you seen their captain? I heard he’s a wild one.”

“In the sheets or on the court?” You clapped back.

“Oooh now we’re going somewhere!” The light brown hair girl seemed to enjoy gossip about boys. “Do tell us when you see him! I heard he’s as beefy as wagyu can get.”

“Ew.” If there was a beefy person in your mind, it would have to be All Might. Yet the mere thought of adoring his muscles made you want to gag. Still, being with these two women was quite fun despite only knowing them for a couple of minutes. “I’ll video call. After class.”

“So how’s you and Toshi?”

Toshi? Who the hell is Toshi? This person was not in any of your accessible socials or even messages. Not sure what to do, you looked away.

“Mimi.” Akiko quietly scolded your new friend. “Don’t remind her.”

Oh gods was this… It would definitely make sense. Whoever this Toshi was only meant that he was an ex. Damn it all for making things more complicated. Thinking that you should play dumb, you huffed and pouted.

“I have no idea who that Toshi is.”

“Can’t blame you though. It was almost as if he adored the sport more than you.” Asami nodded as she thought out loud. “Plus it was quite a bit of a shocker that you two were seeing each other. Damn those men at Shiratorizawa.”

Shira-what? Why were school names so complicated in this prefecture?

“Damn them indeed.” Standing up, you glanced at your watch and decided it was time for the long trip back home. “Anyway, I’ll call you two tomorrow since it’ll be my first day as a trial manager.”

“Always go for the setter, (y/n).” Akiko teased before you closed the door on her.

And that’s where you found yourself now. Arms crossed out in front of you in a lame attempt to shield yourself from a chance ball they failed to get inside the court. Yet the game must continue and the player whose jersey number was 5 seemingly protected you.

Sure you found Todoroki Shoto hot. Katsuki was definitely high up there too. Kirishima and his manliness? Plus points. But the sight of a quirkless volleyball athlete, whose toned stomach peaked through his shirt as he floated in air to toss the ball back to his spiker was something else. The way he landed smoothly and ran back to the battle field made your jaw drop.

“You’ll have to get used to that.” Yukie whispered as she watched you gawking at the setter. “These boys just love the sport.”

Her words flowed in and out of your ears. That was Akaashi. No doubt. There was no mistaking the same gunmetal blue eyes that met yours during  the first day of your class.

“HEY! HEY! HEY!” The salt and pepper player exclaimed. His fists pumping the air as he radiated happiness. “D’yu see that spike Aghaashi?! Pretty cool right? Right?”

“It was amazing, Bokuto-san.” Akaashi replied with a deadpan face.

Aghaashi? If he was allowing that hyper 18 year old to call him that, they must be close. Your thoughts were cut when the group of men approached you and Yukie. Even in this world you were surrounded by freakishly tall men.

“So whatcha think, (y/n)-chan?” Bokuto asked as he wiped his forehead. His chest still heaving from the game. Asami wasn’t kidding when she said beefy. If anything, he really was a meal. But, your eyes lingered more on the person beside him.

“That was pretty intense~” You had to admit. Seeing a sport without the usage of quirks was rather thrilling. “I might take up the offer, Bokuto-senpai~”

“YOSHH!!” It looked as if he was about to tackle you into a hug but once again, no.5 was there to the rescue.

“Don’t forget that you’re still sweating, Bokuto-san.” Akaashi scolded the captain whose face contorted into one with sadness. Bowing as an apology, you shrugged it off. Being hugged by sweaty men was nothing new. You would have to blame Kiri and Denki for that. “Are you alright? The ball almost hit you awhile ago.”

‘With the view you gave me? Hell yeah.’ Shaking the thoughts away, you simply shrugged and smirked.

“It’s all part of the game. My reflexes were off so, it’s all fair.”

“In that case, I look forward to your decision, (l/n)-san.” He bowed and tailed the rest of the group towards the locker room. His features showing nothing as his senpai teased him about how the both of you knew each other.

“No need to worry about the captain.” Kaori assured you. A gentle smile resting on her freckled face. “He’s like a 10 year old, honestly. But, Akaashi-san is there to tame him so, it’s all balanced.”

‘I’ve handled an exploding pomeranian. An owl would be much easier.’ Smirking at your thoughts, the two girls ushered you towards the bench where you were to sign some club papers. Once your signature was printed, the two of them formally welcomed you to the small nest.

Now that practice was over, the team had just finished mopping the floors while a few of them still kept tossing on the other court. Picking up the balls, you wondered how exact their estimations had to be to score. Picturing how Bokuto managed to hit the ball just inches away from the line showed his control over physics.

“(y/n)-chan!” You turned around to be met by golden eyes and an inviting hand. “Why not show us what you got!”

“You don’t really have to, (l/n)-san.” Akaashi spoke up as well. In his hands rested a ball. His eyebrows jerked when he saw a playful smirk on your face.

“I may be small but I ain’t that weak, Akaashi-san~” It was not intended but your tone was rather flirty and you were not sure how you felt about that. In some strange way, Mineta was rubbing off on you. Damn. You needed to spend more time with Yaomomo. “I’m not really good at it though.”

“D’yu know the basics?” Bokuto asked with such a giddy expression. When you nodded, he stole a teasing look at his childhood friend. “You think you can spike baby owl?”

“I guess if you show me, I can attempt.” Replaying the amount of times you used your quirk, there was probably enough juice for you to manipulate matter around you to land a spike. If this was a chance to practice whatever was left of your quirk, so be it.

“ALRIGHT!” Bokuto jumped as he readied himself. “Akashi! Toss to me!”

“It’s ‘Akaashi’ Bokuto-san.” He met your eyes. “Would you mind throwing the ball up for me?”

“Not at all~” Because he was beside you, he handed you the ball. The moment your fingertips touched his, your breath hitched. It must have been your hormones but you felt an electrical spark. You could feel the heat traveling to your cheeks as well. “Just, uh, give me a sign.”

When Bokuto gave him the go signal, he faced you and nodded. Tossing the ball in his direction, you watched as his eyes followed the floating ball. Almost delicately, the ball landed on his fingertips and immediately tossed it back to his captain. It was quick but the next thing you heard was the sound of the ball hitting the floor.

“That’s how it’s done, baby owl!” Bokuto gave you a thumbs up. “Your turn!”

Heading to his starting point, you focused all of your quirk to your arms and feet. Regulating your quirk was nothing new so the faint glow was nothing to be too worried about. Besides, the gym’s hideous lighting was enough to cover it up. Was this considered cheating? Probably. Not like they knew about quirks anyway~

Giving Akaashi the signal, he waited for Bokuto to toss him the ball. For half a second, he stared as to where you were heading and just how high were you willing to jump. Upon realizing that you were attempting to jump as high as his senpai, he obliged and tossed it with the same amount of strength and precision he usually gives for Bokuto.

With the help of your quirk, the people in the gym felt as if you were floating on air before hitting the ball. The form you held was outstanding and the way the ball bounced off the ground till it hit the school’s logo was impressive.

“WAAAH?!!!” Bokuto practically grabbed Akaashi by his arm and dragged him all the way to you. “DO YOU PLAY? WAS THAT YOUR FIRST TIME? THAT WAS HELLA AWESOME BABY OWL!”

“He’s right.” Akaashi finally pulled himself free from his friend and fixed his shirt. “Who taught you?”

Knowing the perfect reason, you smiled. If Shiratorizawa was as famous as they were, it would be quite interesting to see their reaction.

“My ex taught me.” Gods that sounded weird, even for you.

“Ehhh? Your ex must be good if he managed to teach you that spike~” Bokuto thought out loud. “What school does he go to, (y/n)-chan?”

“Shiratorizawa.” This was getting all too funny. You were never an actress but the way you handled the situation was something you would never forget. The audible gasps of everyone in the room was fun and worth it. “I don’t talk to him anymore, though.”

“Who?” One of the third years asked.

“Ushijima.” You were more than thankful you took the time to painstakingly research all about this unknown ex.

“USHIWAKA?!” The two managers exclaimed in unison.

“Yeah. But it didn’t really last long.” And you had no idea why. “Differences were too much, I guess.”

“Why weren’t there any pictures of the both of you?” Koari asked. Her eyes wide with curiosity and cheeks tainted pink at the new found information.

“Ya’ll know how he is. He wasn’t the type to just take selfies or shit.” Was this really the reason though? You didn’t even have his number anymore. If you had known you dated a volleyball celebrity, you never would’ve took the managerial offer. Still, you would have to give credit where credit was somewhat due. “He was sweet though. I’ll have to admit.”

“How long were you guys an item, (y/n)-chan?” Bokuto asked, his arm now draped on Akaashi’s shoulder.

“Probably a few weeks at most.” That was the safest answer you could go for. Curse your ‘emotions’ for having to delete every single information you had on this Ushijima guy. Still, you were thankful for the break up otherwise things would have been a bit more awkward. “But, ey, the past is past.”

“Who would’ve known baby owl’s type was the likes of Ushiwaka~”

Stoic guys were no big deal knowing Todoroki was there to train you. And it’s not like the people in this world had severe background issues. In a way, it made you happy knowing none of these people experienced what heroes go through.

When the gym was now closed, you were now walking the streets. It still did not sink in. The reality of being in a different dimension with no one knowing who you were. You had already made a few friends and acquaintances here and there but the feeling of emptiness still lingered.

Staring at your palm, you activated your quirk just to see if the amount you used had been milked dry. Surprisingly, a small tug was still there along with a barely visible glow. Placing your hand in your pocket, you let your thoughts wander once more.

Passing by a convenience store, you decided it was time for you to build a deeper foundation with your other-mother. Entering, you searched for the chocolates aisle. The selection was nothing like you’ve seen before. Different labels with unheard of brands littered the shelves. You recalled your other-mother eating a piece but the wrapper had already been discarded.

“Great. Not even the fucking chocolates are the same here.” You complained to yourself.

“You have different chocolates in Musutafu?”

Oh shit.

Looking at the source of the familiar voice, your fingers felt numb and you could feel the heat traveling to your cheeks again. Putting your hand in your pocket, you activated your quirk and felt relaxed once more.

“Uh, somewhat?” Why did this man who smelled a bit of sweat and deodorant have to be so beautiful? He could definitely rival Tododorky in your opinion. But, you digress. Both Todoroki and Akaashi were beautiful in their own way. “Just some unfamiliar brands.”

“Do you need help in choosing, (l/n)-san?” Akaashi asked as he took one bar and read the ingredients.

“What chocolates do mother’s like?”

“If she isn’t fond of overly sweet ones,” He placed the bar back and took another one. “This’ll do it.”

Walking towards the counter, you eyed his purchase. It was an onigiri. Probably for his dinner. Once you were handed your change, he opened the door for you. Him and his gestures were something you were slowly liking.

“So where are you heading?”

Looking at the same direction, your silent invitation to walk home together was accepted. Getting to know him more was somewhat similar to Shinso back in your dimension. Both of them preferred silence and though Shinso was rather edgy during the first few days in the hero course, you were happy when his shell slowly broke down. Though Akaashi was taller by a few inches, you guessed.

When you finally arrived at your house, you bowed and said farewell. For a moment, you saw how he stared at you. Almost as if he were reading you like a limited edition book he had been saving for. Realizing that he was staring a bit too long, he finally returned your act and bid farewell.

Though it wasn’t too long. After a few steps, he turned and went towards the door.

“Holy quirks…”

How did you miss it? Why did this dimension allow you to be neighbors with such a pretty setter? You could feel it. Things were only going to get much worse.

And it did.

Just when you opened the doors to your room, you went to the window and peaked through the curtains. Just a few inches to the right, you saw another window, one with the lights on. Pointing your finger, you slowly pushed the curtain and saw a bed.

As if on cue, a familiar ball of raven hair landed on the bed. The same jacket you saw just a few minutes ago clear as the crack could offer.

“Ah shit…”

Shit indeed.

- - - - -

a/n: so hows chapter 2 :) ? feel free to message me your thoughts and comment if you’d want to be added to Akaashi’s lineup! :) take care and see ya’ll in the next upload <3

[dragonologist-phd]

Saw this and of course I had to do it! Categories and Games are listed under the cut in case that’s easier to read or you just wanna listen to me ramble a bit (no spoilers!):

Favorite Game of All Time: Pillars of Eternity. Kind of obvious if you follow me, lol. A close runner-up was Pokemon Emerald, just because I’ve spent so many hours in that game I know it like the back of my hand. But pokemon is more nostalgic, while PoE I really appreciate the writing and worldbuilding and characters. Which brings us to...

Best Story: Pillars of Eternity again!

Favorite Art Style: This is really hard, because game art styles are all so different and it’s hard to compare! I reserve the right to change my answer many times, but for now it’s Afterparty because I love the colors and it actually makes Hell look like a cool place to hang out.

“I’ll Finish It Someday”: Divinity Original Sin 2. There are a lot of things I’m liking in it but damn it is so long.

Big Personal Impact: Pokemon Emerald! Like I said, I’ve played it countless times, my best friend and I were obsessed with it as kids, and I just really really love it.

Best Combat: So just looking at this list you can probably tell I’m not much for combat heavy games. I ended up going with Superhot- a ‘fighting’ game where time only moves when you do, which turns combat into a sort of logic puzzle. The premise is really cool and it’s one of the few ‘combat’ games that was the perfect mix of difficult and fun for me.

You Like, But Everyone Hates: “Everyone hates” is probably a bit of an overstatement, but Mass Effect: Andromeda did get a lot of hate when it came out and...I think it’s a good game? I think the story and the characters and the combat is all pretty well done? But it had a messy launch and now it seems like nobody cares about it

You Hate, But Everyone Likes: Again, “hate” is a strong word, but their was so much Witcher hype and I just...don’t get it. ~to be fair~ I only played the first one, and I guess Witcher 3 is the one everyone talks about, but I was so bored by Witcher that I will probably never play any sequels. Ironically enough, I do enjoy the Witcher tv series. Maybe if Yennefer was the protag of the games I’d like them more *shrug*

Underrated: Tyranny. No long ramble here, it’s just an enjoyable game that nobody seems to know about.

Overrated: Dragon age: Inquisition. Does this make me a hypocrite? I have played it multiple times and I love my DA OC’s, but DAI is definitely my least favorite in the franchise. They sacrificed writing quality for open world exploration, and I would rather have strong writing.

“Why Do I Like This?” I don’t like Life is Strange. I don’t hate it- it’s a cool premise and there are some good emotional moments. But it employs tropes I don’t like and has a lot of awkward dialogue and is kind of pretentious. All of those things are also true of Life is Strange: Before the Storm, and yet I like it so much more and I don’t know why. Maybe Chloe is just more fun than Max.

Game You Always Come Back To: Dragon Age: Origins. The first actual rpg video game I played, and all of the different backgrounds means it has good replay value. I have an OC for each origin and I love them all! For all of DA’s (many) flaws I still really enjoy this game

That Astmosphere...: Transistor. the art...the music...the conveyance of deep and meaningful relationships with very little dialogue...it’s good

Bad Day Cure: Tales from the Borderlands. I adore the ‘Rivals to Reluctant Allies to Found Family’ trope, and the soundtrack slaps. It’s all I need for a game that just cheers me up

Favorite Protagonist: This one was tought, but there’s no beating Commander Shepard. They’re just pure badass.

After Work Relaxation: Stardew Valley. Extremely relaxing.

Biggest Letdown: The Blackwell Epiphany. Oh man...I would talk about Blackwell a lot more because I do really like it (solving mysteries! talking to ghosts! family drama! inheritance of ghostly platonic soulmates!) But the ending to the series...ugh. I do still recommend the series overall if you like point-and-clik mysteries, just...maybe don’t play the last ten minutes or so.

“Back In The Day” Game: Pokemon Yellow. I still adore this game!

Not the Best, But Having Fun: Dragon Age 2 and Outer Worlds tied for this one, because neither are really the best in any particular category but I do thoroughly enjoy them

Criminally Overlooked: Tacoma. If WALL-E made you cry, you’ll like this game.

Depressing Game: The Walking Dead. Jeez, if I think about it too much I’ll start crying (in a good way!). No knowledge of the show needed- I’ve played all the games and have never watched a single episode

Favorite Active Franchise: Pokemon!!

Indie Pick: Oxenfree. It’s! So! Good! Very atmospheric, wonderful characters, fantastically creepy. I played it for the first time in my room with all the lights off during a thunderstorm and it was an experience

Not Usually My Thing, But...: Borderlands. Like I said, combat focused games aren’t really my thing. But this is one of the few fps games that doesn’t just stress me out and I actually have fun with!

[elle-imagines]

Hello!! May I request headcanons for Victor and Lucien from MLQC? If it’s okay, maybe some soft relationshippy HCs? Thank you so much, I hope you’re having a wonderful day 💫

Thank you, my day is wonderful and I hope yours is, too! It’s been such a long time since I’ve played this game, so I may be a bit rusty! I definitely downloaded it and will replay it again to get a refresher :) Let’s say good-bye to all of my savings again!

Victor

He truly loves you and thinks about you often. He began to become aware of his love for you when he keeps questioning if he’s good enough for you. Victor is aware of his success and the attention it gets. As CEO, he became acclimated to assessing others to his standards, not the other way around. Victor is typically critical and aims to achieve, yet now he feels the need to become better for you.

Victor will always push you to your limits because he believes in you. He doesn’t waste time if he doesn’t see potential. Victor investing time to make sure you meet deadlines, looking over your papers, and making you wake up early are the greatest compliments he can give you. Even though you may hate it at times, he is communicating that he believes in you and will support you to the best of his power. When you forget how strong you are, he will remind you and try to help you see yourself how he sees you. 

Gives very good advice to you when you need it. Victor knows when to back off and let you make decisions for yourself, but he will be there to catch you when you fall. 

Sometimes stops time just to look at you and take a moment to feel the rush of ardor he has for you. 

He won’t hesitate to speak about you when the time is right, and will boast your accomplishments to put a good word in for you. He wants to see you succeed and knows you will work hard enough to handle anything that comes your way. Other than talking highly of you, he prefers to keep you a mystery to others due to his protective nature. He is not one to gossip about his loved ones anyway, so to him the less people know about you when it’s not necessary, the better.

He is a lot more affectionate than he lets on. In the early hours of the morning you will wake up in his embrace that takes half an hour to snake out of. Out of nowhere, he will ruffle your hair when he’s proud of you. He won’t hesitate to rub flour from your face with his thumb. His hands will envelope yours as he teaches you how to cut vegetables with a chiffonade technique. Touch is one of the ways he says he is there for you, that he’s proud of you, and that he loves you.

It’s common for you both to indulge in late-night conversations about anything. Victor is at his most calm and vulnerable at home from a long day of work and can drop the steely facade at the sound of your voice. A glass of wine is usually in his hand, so cherish that rough voice and those soft laughs while he’s tipsy. This pasttime is something you both did before you were together, and continued to do because it grants the easiness of talking about vulnerable topics without having to face each other. Hearing your voice after a long day helps him more than you know. 

Of course he has taken you on many trips to private wineries, deluxe suites, and places on your bucket list. However, nothing beats a getaway to Souvenir. Victor feels like he can be himself. He is anonymous while in the kitchen, able to focus on his passion for cooking with your presence there with him. Most times he will teach you a new recipe or put you to work in the kitchen (of course). Don’t be fooled, he enjoys your company and allowing you back there with him shows that he is comfortable with you knowing his more private and true persona.

“Pass me the paring knife - blade down so you won’t kill me.”

“Here, taste this for me.”

“If you answer my question, I just might relieve your cleaning duties.”

“Here, let me do it before it gets worse.”

Lets you take the reins sometimes when it comes to making decisions, big or small. There are times when he asks for your advice on things such as menu changes for Souvenir or details on a choice he has to make as an executive. He values your opinions and is with you because he also thinks you are sensible and intelligent (sometimes). 

You both regularly debate about everything, and he likes that you can keep him on his toes. What sauce should go on a medium-rare steak, economic prosperity in different countries, is Victor an evil capitalist CEO or evil chef connoisseur, you name it. 

A lot funnier than he seems. His dry humor and witty remarks catch you off guard at times. Victor is very observant of you and makes fun of your behaviors, especially if he notices you checking him out or blushing profusely over something he said. 

As much as he hates to admit it, he does spoil you. If he sees you eyeing a certain dress, the next day it’s sent to your home. If he hears your stomach growling, he’s in the kitchen already while chiding you for not eating yet. Victor always takes care of you and makes sure your needs are met, even if he’s nonchalant about it. 

“How could you have forgotten to eat today? Stay put, I’m on my way.”

“Don’t thank me; it’s nothing.”

“Make sure you take care of yourself, alright?”

“I can’t leave you by yourself, can I?”

He does this thing where he speaks with his regular sharp tone then turns to you and sounds like honey. Goldman has observed it many times and is never ceased to be amazed by it.

Lucien

The two of you make a habit of stopping at each other’s workplaces with lunch or snacks. Between Lucien’s class periods, you will bring him his favorite order of coffee and something to quick to eat. If he can’t make it to drop off food to you, he will definitely call your favorite restaurant to deliver your favorite order. Even if you get the amount of sugar in his coffee wrong, he is especially detailed when it comes to knowing your orders. What condiments you use, pickles or no pickles, your allergies, he makes note of it all and gets it right every time.

You both find tranquility in reading next to each other after a long day of work. Stints to corner bookstores with worn books and cats sleeping on the shelves is a favorite pasttime. Sometimes, he’d ask for you to read to him while he’s cooking or taking a moment after work. He enjoys hearing the serious drop in your voice at an action scene, or the laughter you try to subdue when you read something particularly funny. At night before bed, he will take the reins and read anything you like if you have trouble sleeping. He swears his reading voice is terrible, but will stick through just to hear you shower him in compliments about your love for his voice.

In the most mundane moments you will catch him staring at you. Lucien, even if he may not look like it, is always cataloguing, learning, and observing. The sun’s warmth on your hair brings out the lighter hues on each strand. You have a habit of running a nail over your eyelid when you’re nervous. You have a callous on your ring finger because you hold a pencil strangely. He is always taking note of every aspect of your person, from your small ticks to a glimpse of your morals. Lucien also does not shy away from eye contact. If you meet his eyes he will not have the propriety to look away, and he enjoys the nervous shift you make under his gaze.

“What, Lucien? Is there something on my face?” “If I said no, could I look at you longer?”

“I’m just looking at you, Y/N.” 

“You look beautiful.” 

“A boyfriend can look at his other half, right?” 

He has a notebook that he writes detailed observations, research ideas, and quick sketches of architecture, local fauna, and neighborhood cats. Lucien used to indulge in drawing as a kid so he maintained the skill a bit as an adult. After a while, he will let you look through it or show you a few pages. At times, he makes quick sketches of you when he can. Leaning against a tree, sleeping through your alarm in the morning, catching fireflies at night, anything. He seeks to preserve these moments with you, wanting to immortalize the brevity of your laughter or the way you look at him sometimes.

You learned how to read his researcher’s scrawl after a while. His regular handwriting is quite nice-looking and neat, but when it came to his notes and marginalia, you quickly learned that doctors and scientists have the same handwriting when it came to their work.

You both have a signal that means it’s time to leave when you’re caught in a large crowd, a party, or otherwise less-than-ideal situation for Lucien’s sanity. Lucien prefers to plan and avoid situations like these altogether, therefore most of your outings are at botanical gardens, art galleries, libraries, or aquariums. Speaking events are the only place he’d suggest with a high number of people, only because there isn’t any interaction with them.

Lucien shows his affection differently than most boyfriends. He isn’t keen on public affection and likes have a wide berth of space, though he likes having you in it. He is very subtle and can sneak in a moment of affection when he wants to. When walking with each other, he won’t hesitate to offer his arm, and while taking in art pieces at a gallery he may grasp your hips lightly while moving by. His presence is not flashy, but it’s always there and ensures you feel loved and safe.

Lucien does little things like make you tea when you’re on the way home, turn on a lamp when you’re working late, and give you a warm towel when you’re coming out of the shower. He tries to make your life a bit easier by helping you remember your appointments, circumventing any problems you may run into whether it’s a rude coworker or your chronic habit of leaving your phone at home. Anything that he could help you with, he is there for. He even has a knack for helping you with things you didn’t even know you needed help with.

Every point of your relationship, from friendship to romance, he asked questions about you. Lucien never gets tired of getting to know you.

“When did you start liking oolong tea?”

 “Can I pick your mind for a moment?” 

“How long have you been doing that for?” 

“I’d like you to read this and tell me what you think.” 

The King of Popping Up on You. Before you two were together, Lucien cherished his privacy and preferred to be alone. One of the ways he figured he was falling for you was when he sought your company in his free time. He rarely initiates contact with anyone, but he would text you first out of the blue or give a call to hear your thoughts on something important to him. At your workplace or school, he will pop in to check in on you. Lucien feels this urge to see you naturally in your own environment, watching you focused on a task or talking with others. It’s a way for him to get to know you and observe how you act. When he has free time, he thinks of where he could take you rather than reading on his own. You became a part of him, for better or worse, so Lucien wants to continue forward with you by his side.

[dreamiesdotcom]

[00:00] School... what do you think about school? School is fun, kinda. You enjoy having your classmates as companions and being blessed with reliable teachers, no trouble at catching up to subjects and everything is just light-hearted in a way that you like. School is fun, on most days. More often than not it is. You’re just tired.

Honestly, you’ve been so tired this week. And the last. And the other. You chukle to yourself. Huh. You’ve been tired for quite a while now, haven’t you?  

‘‘Something’s troubling you, right?’‘ Donghyuck swings his bag behind his back, sitting down on the empty spot beside you. There’s a tired sigh that leaves his lips, his messy fringe sticking damply on his forehead. Practice must be catching up to him, and instead of having him spend his time taking a rest, you’re here troubling him. You’re really, really good at this — being troublesome, annoying. Something cold touches your skin, ‘‘Sharing won’t hurt, you know?”

Donghyuck is kind even after all these years you spent in silence. He sits with you during lunch even if you won’t talk to him and walks you home to make sure you’re safe even if he has practice. He lends you his earphones whenever people get too loud, covers you with an umbrella when rain pours and you left yours. He treats you gently and delicately, even lets you call him Donghyuck still after he went by Haechan when he started hanging out with the cool kids, or as you call, his group of friends. He reminds you to not mind the jealous stares, sticks around even if you barely acknowledge him, and you kind of wish he isn’t any of these things right now — caring, protective, warm — ‘cause whenever he is, he reminds you of summer days spent building sandcastles on the beach and see-saws on the playground, having a hot cup of cocoa at his whenever you come over during winters, and whenever he does, you can’t help but speak your mind like an open book.

‘‘It’s been so long, when I think about things. It’s been so long since I tripped and wounded my knees. I kind of... forgot how it felt to have my knees wounded,” you push your knees together closer, staring at the juice box he’s lent you. The straw is already in, and you could only anticipate the fresh taste of childhood greeting your mouth as you contemplate on drinking it now or not; you might cry if you do, you laugh at your thoughts. Donghyuck’s gaze zeroes on you as you send him a smile, one that made your eyes curl enough to hide the emptiness behind them, ‘‘I... kind of miss the kind of pain those days brought me with. It’s probably weirding you out.”

‘‘It’s not weird. Hey, what if somehow, it’s not the pain that you miss, but the reason behind it. Maybe running in a game of tag?” a wistful breath escapes his lips, a youthful grin drawing on his face as he relives his childhood, playing and replaying all the scenes inside his head. He purses his lips before proceeding, ‘‘Maybe it’s the innocence of it that you yearn for. I mean, don’t we all? Bitter or sweet, we all kind of want our childhood back for a reason or two. It was so much easier when it came to everything during those times.”

Bitter or sweet, you ask yourself. Is your childhood bitter or sweet? A tear falls down your face as you continue lightly sipping on the drink, quickly realizing that you can’t quite remember. What’s this feeling? Is this regret? That strange ache inside your heart, maybe this is you, who’s been suppressed and locked away from the world trying to get out, to free itself. You made the best out of your childhood — as good as a miserable one can be at least — how come it seems like it’s not enough? The flavor coating your mouth tastes like something you can name but just as you’re about to speak, it’s overpowered by something else again, bringing you back to square one. It tastes complicated, like bitter, like sweet, like sour. It almost tastes sour, almost. Almost but not quite, just like everything in your life. Good, not good enough.

You can only be grateful that Hyuck doesn’t try to wipe the tears on your eyes, nor pull you closer to a hug in an attempt to calm you down. You’re already crying, no need to make you look weaker than you already do. The blowing wind rustling the leaves makes everything sound and feel empty as if you’re in a world where there are only two people existing. Would you be happy if that’s the case? What if you held on a little more in this current world with everyone else and became the perfect, best version of yourself? Would you be happy, would you be content? Would you truly be glad with that scenario, that flawless, dreamlike reality you always desired, or would you just find another thing to hate? All these questions are making you feel dizzy, one doubt leading to another until you can’t even recognize what is real and what is not. Gloomy emotions wash over you as you continue, ‘‘Sometimes... I miss being a kid.” 

Donghyuck leans his back comfortably, not the slightest bit shocked at the confession. He keeps his eyes on the cotton-candy skies, the pale golden glint of the sun setting making everything look surreal, like a fantasy. It’d be the most comfortable thing to do at this moment — look at everything that is not you. Like this you would feel comfortable to share a piece of your mind and he won’t feel that annoying urge to protect you from the world, to ruin what is tearing you down. Stupid, he thinks to himself, stupid, stupid, stupid! Stupid childhood friends and this annoying soft spot you develop for them. Stop it, Haechan, this is so uncool. You remember what you told Mark back then when he had a fight with the kids who’s been picking on Jisung? Yes, you called him an idiot who’s whipped. You’re not being any different from him right now! If any of them sees you, they won’t ever live this down — sure, they are all kinds of fluff to others but you — you’re Lee Donghyuck who will never bat an eye at anyone (kinda). Jaemin will see you being nothing but saccharine right now and he’ll never forget even if you beg him and that’d stain your image. How the hell are you gonna protect this person if that image is ruined? Damn. Pretty much everyone in this group is uncool already and as much as you adore them, you, Lee Donghyuck, will never be as uncool as they are. He sighs to himself.

Image be damned, he clenches his fists and glares at the trio — Renjun, Jaemin and Jeno — not so far away from the two of you. Nobody cares anyway, and no one will ever know, just that Mark will give me so much shit for this, he tries to convince himself as a muted sobs rip through you, ‘‘Most of the times, though, I miss how scratches on my knees and elbows are the only things that brought me pain, how they’re the only problems I had. I can’t remember having so little problems now. I can’t even remember how it felt to not be tired.”

You remember that moment with your eyes downcast, the flavor of it lingering inside your mouth — sweet, sour, kind of bitter, filled with regret. Like orange.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #252

my personal laptop has to be fixed, so therefore i don’t have games to play, so expect plenty of these to pass the time lmao.

Have you ever said something just to see what kind of reaction you’d get? No, not that I remember. Have you ever confronted someone about using too much chat-speak? ??? No??? Have you ever revealed someone’s secret, after promising not to tell? No. Secrets are one thing I'm very serious about respecting. What is one emotion that you experience regularly? STRESS, MOTHERFUCKER. Describe the last major change you made concerning your hairstyle? Lopped it all off, lmao. It's been like, two years now though. Who was the last person to walk out of your life, and why? It feels like my friend Alex. She's kinda just... left me hanging for months. I think she's active online, but not with me, despite reaching out. She's also deleted her b.net account or just removed me from her friends list, idk. Absolutely nothing seems like it would've prompted that, though. Are you less likely to approach people that look/dress a certain way? I was going to say no, but the last person's answer inspired mine to yes; like, I'm not going to go talk to people with some crazy or offensive shit on their shirts, nor am I going to just go walk up to someone covered in blood. Name one embarrassing activity that you take part in? I don't know. Like I say enough I'm VERY self-conscious of revealing I RP, but only because I'm sensitive to how the person will respond. I'm in no way like, ashamed I do it. I'm just terrified of judgment over something "unusual." Ever been told that you can’t understand love due to your age? Not that I remember. I only claimed to "get it" (to my recollection) at a point in mine and Jason's relationship, and I very legitimately would've guffawed at and honestly nearly slapped you if you claimed I "didn't understand" love. What is your favorite Starburst candy flavor? THE PINK ONES. Do you think that you act like yourself while online? I act more like myself online. Have you ever lied about something to get someone to like you? No. Who is the fakest person in your life right now? I don't keep those people in my life. Have you ever laid down in the grass, and made shapes out of the clouds? As a kiddo. When someone’s constantly negative, how do you deal with it? It depends on the person, but ALMOST in all cases, I really really try to support the person as best I can. It may start to bring me a bit down, but I feel I'm just like... hardwired to help those I love. I think it's what my relationship with Jason did, as he left because he couldn't handle my depression anymore, and with how that absolutely and utterly annihilated me, I don't want anyone else to feel that pain. Now, for people I don't have much of a bond with, it's easier for me to say "I'm sorry, but I can't handle this right now," but even then, I prefer to help. Does Christmas make you feel like a kid again? No. I'm really most excited for aunt reasons, lol. Do you have any artistic talent? Some. Would you ever shoplift from a store if you knew you wouldn’t be caught? Absolutely not. When one of your pets dies, how do you react? Usually cry. I've only ever not done so if I hadn't at all formed a bond with the animal. When you go to the movies, where in the theater do you sit? Close to the front, in the middle. When was the last time you lost your appetite? I don’t know. Have you ever neglected to take care of yourself? Er. Quite badly during '16, in the depth of my depression. I'll just say my teeth are kinda yellow because of it. I want to whiten my teeth at some point if I can afford that kind of luxury. The last song/poem/story you wrote - what was it about? In RP, the most recent section being written now is my main protagonists receiving a visit from their allies before getting their asses torn up the next day lmao. After a fight, who apologizes first - you, or the other person? Usually me, but it does depend. If I genuinely feel I didn't do jackshit wrong, no, I'm not apologizing. When you’re feeling creative, what do you do? Write. Do you mind being in your house alone overnight? Not really by now. Done so a number of times. Are there any dreams you remember from childhood? Nightmares, yes, and one very realistic dream. What worries you most about death? Not knowing what happens afterwards. Do you watch really old tv shows or movies from the 1970s or earlier? I love The Munsters, I Love Lucy, The Beverly Hillbillies, and The Addams Family. I'm sure there's more, considering I liked to watch stuff with my mom as a kid. Who’s your celebrity crush(es)? HHHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG Ever been to a rave? No. Are you afraid to name the person you talk the most shit about? I don't really do that. Like I'll vent about people occasionally, but "talk shit" seems like the wrong word. I don't like gossiping. Are you a jealous person? Envious, rather, sometimes. I get VERY envious when it comes to photography, but otherwise, I don't feel it much. Who do you text the most out of your friends? Sara is like the only friend I text, lol. What would you do if you saw a complete stranger dealing drugs in public?
 Honestly, call an authority. I don't fuck with that. I'm not watching it happen. How often do you play video games? What are some of your favourites?
 I played World of Warcraft daily until my laptop took a shit. Need to get that fixed. Now I play actual video games very rarely... but mostly just because you can only replay the same ole game so many times before you've had enough of it for like a year. There are a great number of new games I want to play, though. I want a PS4 soooo badly. What are a few things that get on your nerves when it comes to Facebook (or your social networking site of choice)?
 More than anything, posting something that's crying for attention only for the person to be like "ugh I don't wanna talk about it." Then don't fucking post it. What are three things you’ve started to like lately? I feel like I haven't found new interests in a long time... Wait! I do feel The Handmaid's Tale and the Wings of Fire book Sara lent me have revived my love of reading! :') I want to go to the book store when I can and get both the new sequel to THT and the next WoF book. What was the last reason for having butterflies in your stomach?
 *shrug* Do you need a lot of space in relationships, or are you happy to spend a lot of time with your SO?
 I need SOME alone time, but for the most part I love being together. Once we're really close, anyway. What was the last thing you cooked from scratch? Scrambled eggs. Have you ever won anything from those games in arcades?
 Yeah. Funny story, there was this one time my sister won a stuffed duck from a claw machine, and it was the one I wanted after trying many times, and I cried so hard that one of the employees literally got one out for me lmfao. I probably still have it in the attic. When was the last time you went out to a fair?
 Not since right before the breakup. How far is the nearest zoo or wildlife park from your house? Do you go often?
 Like, two hours. We almost never go because of the distance. Are either one of your parents retired? If not, what do they do for a living?
 No. My dad's been a mailman all my life, and Mom is currently on disability because she has cancer and obviously can't work because of chemotherapy and all that. She was a pharmacy tech, though. If you could change one physical trait about yourself, what would it be?
 Can all this weight like vanish please. Have you ever gone out with someone you didn’t like?
 ????? Why would I do that???? Well, I didn't yet like-like Tyler because we hadn't been reunited as friends long enough; dating was kinda like... a dumb way to re-get to know each other? Thank fuck that was only two weeks. Would you ever take a bullet for your significant other? I'm single. Would you ever work at a fast food restaurant?
 No. History shows I can't work with people. Are you good at haunted houses, or do you scream your head off?
 AHHHHHHHHHHH I LOVE!!!!!!!!!!! If you’ve seen it, what did you think of the Twilight movie?
 I never watched them. Have you ever gotten your tongue stuck on a frozen pole?
 No. Are you a cat or a dog person?
 Cat. Does the movie Titanic make you cry?
 Ha ha, yes. I watched it on movie day while at the psych hospital and all of us were lil bitches almost sobbing, lol. Because it's a long movie, it went past our allotted time, but the nurses decided to let us finish it because we were so into it. I do have some good memories from those times... Do you think that fat people should wear skinny jeans? I think people can wear whatever the fuck they want without fear of judgment. Do you prefer game systems like Xbox, or older ones like Super Nintendo? The former. Do you enjoy indie music? Yep! What is the most strange piercing you’ve ever seen? Those ones people were getting on their fingers instead of rings... just huh. What do you do when you’re waiting in line at the grocery store? Look around, I guess. Think. What is your favourite beach to go to? I haven't been to enough to know. Have you ever been to a country club? No. Have you ever seen an animal die in real life? Too many times. Animals have been euthanized in my arms, and a kitten slowly died in my hands once. One of the most heartbreaking things I have ever experienced. Teddy accidentally punctured its lungs or broke ribs, I think, or something like that. I'm pretty sure he was trying to bring it back to its siblings because it wandered off, but he held it too tightly. I was home alone, too. It was fucking awful. Do you live on a Rd, St, Blvd, Ln, Way, or Ave? Road. Do you have naked pictures of someone saved on your phone? No. Would you ever go see an opera? Bitch I played Parasite Eve, I don't trust that shit. But seriously, no, not my scene. Do you own anything John Deere? No. Do you have a push mower or a mower that you ride on? Neither. A friend mows for us; he has the latter. What is the longest amount of time you’ve been stuck in traffic for? No clue. I think during a trip to New York. Would you consider joining the air force, army, etc? No. Who was your first crush and what made them special? This kid named Dylan. I thought he was super cute and cool. What is one thing nobody knows about you because nobody ever cared to ask? I dunno. Who did you idolize growing up? Steve Irwin. Do you believe that we are all here for a reason? What might the reason be? No. Have you ever carved your name or initials into a tree or stone? No. What were your best and worst subjects in school or college? Best: English. Worst: math. Name something you would like to devote more time to seeing or doing. Writing poetry. Drawing. Do you like to get your nails done? No. Do you remember the last movie you saw while on a date? Yeah, IT. Do you like to wear dresses? Hell no with my current body. Do you like any ‘manly’ activities like hunting, fishing, or camping? I find fishing to be fun and relaxing, but because of morals, I can't stomach doing it anymore. What was the name of your first boyfriend? First with the title, Aaron. First *real* boyfriend, Jason. Your first kiss? Jason. Are you still with either of those people from the last 2 questions? No. Have you ever used your bra to hold things like you would a pocket? Ha ha no. I think. What is your longest relationship to date? Three years, 7-8 months. I don't remember if the breakup was in August or September. Who ended the last relationship you were in? It was kinda like... mutual-ish, but moreso her. Have you ever gotten back with an ex? No. Who was your first prom date? Jason. Do you cry during romantic movies? Sometimes. Who was the last person to see you cry? Mom. Have you ever been used? I don't think so romantically, but in other ways, I know I have been. Have you ever felt violated? Yes. Do you like when a guy takes you by surprise and kisses you? Not everyone likes guys, so what an assumption. But anyway, only if we're very serious and have heavy trust in one another. Do you ever leave the house without makeup? Pretty much always. When was the last time someone gave you flowers? Been a few years. What kind of gift can win you over? BITCH buy me something Mark-related and you earn like 20 points. Has anyone ever sung to you? Yes. Do you like massages? Depends on who you are. In almost any case, no. They're awkward. Have you ever been skinny dipping? No. Do you sleep naked? No. Is smoking a turn-off? Yes. Is there a certain tv show you get upset if you miss? No. When was the last time you spent the night at someone else’s house? When I was at Sara's a year or so back. What is one food you always crave? Ice cream. Are you an exercise freak? Hunny- What scares you more, spiders or snakes? Snakes don't scare me, so spooders. Do you expect to be married in the next two years? No. Would you ever get implants? Nah. Have you ever had a crush on a sibling’s friend? No. Have you ever had a crush on a friend’s sibling? No. Are you more of a 'girly girl’ or a 'tomboy’? A tomboy. Have you ever dated someone with a child? No. Are you addicted to texting? No.

[whisker-biscuit]

Silent as the Grave: Prologue

Fandom: Sly Cooper

Summary: When Connor Cooper and his wife are found dead in their home, the result of a forced break-in and assault, Interpol is called in to find out who did it. The only witness is Cooper's eight-year-old son, found in a closet with a full view of everything. Nobody is really sure what to do with the kid, but that's just fine.Because young Sly Cooper doesn't know what to do with himself either.

Jim McSweeney was used to being out of place in the world. Being a six-foot, muscular wall of a walrus – and an international criminal to boot – tended to make one stand out. He’d learned tricks over the years to make people glance his way and then lose interest. Look, I’m unusual but that’s about it. It hadn’t bothered him on a personal level in a very long time.

But here, in a no-name museum on the Ligurian coast of Italy, surrounded by gullible tourists and second-rate art, he felt that difference in full awkwardness.

Tugging at the itchy turtleneck hiding his body tattoos, Jim discreetly checked the folded paper in his front pocket. It was a note, written in the elegant cursive he knew could only belong to one person.

Jim, please meet me in front of the statue that looks exactly like you. It’s hilarious.       – CC

McSweeney stepped heavily down the halls, baffled at the labyrinth the museum was turning out to be. It really hadn’t been this big on the outside. But as he passed another doorway, a happy cry had him turning right around to it.

“Seen-ie!”

It was a raccoon toddler, perched on his father’s shoulders and reaching out to the walrus with pudgy little hands. McSweeney lumbered over and held out one hand, which the child high-fived alongside gleeful giggles.

“Hey kiddo, you’re getting’ big now, aren’t you?”

The kit tugged at his father’s cheek fur. “Look, Daddy! Seen-ie!”

“Good job, you found him,” Connor Cooper said, his tone mellow liquid. He looked at the walrus and there was a quick upturn to his lips. His son’s hands were still around his face. “You’re losing your edge, Jim. Sly found you before you found us.”

“Been a while since I’ve been in the game, you know that.” McSweeney peered past his friend’s shoulder and saw the stone walrus statue. It really did look just like him. “Same for you, if I’m not mistaken. What have you been up to?”

Connor’s mouth evened into neutrality, and he glanced around before pulling the toddler’s hands off and placing them at his ears instead. Sly grabbed a hold of them with an iron grip, but the elder Cooper didn’t even wince.

“There’s a kid’s playpen near the museum’s front, how about we catch up over there, yeah?”

It was phrased as a question, but the raccoon was already walking off in that direction, not looking back to see if his friend was actually coming. McSweeney let out a brief sigh before following at a leisurely pace.

The playpen wasn’t much more than a fenced-in corner of the front room with a toy slide and a little table covered in crayons and coloring books. Connor set Sly down within its bounds and the kit wasted no time in crawling under the table, curling up in a fluffy ball.

“Kid’s pretty flexible,” McSweeney remarked as the raccoon joined him in leaning against the wall. They watched Sly bump a table leg and giggle as crayons rolled off.

“Yeah he is.” There was a distinct note of pride in Connor’s voice. “I started training him last month. Gymnastics and jiu jitsu, he’s a natural.”

“Already? You sure that’s a good idea?” The walrus’ voice lowered somewhat. “He’s a little young, isn’t he? Didn’t he just turn three in –”

“Don’t. Don’t start this. You agreed you wouldn’t get on my case about this.”

“I didn’t mean any disrespect, Connor, you know that.” McSweeney pinched the bridge of his nose. “It just…seems pretty early for a child. Could get himself hurt if he’s not careful.”

“It’s not him I’m worried about,” the raccoon growled, folding his arms. He fell silent as Sly crawled out from under the table and started paying more attention to the coloring books. “I started practicing at six, and my mother at five. He’s fine, I know what I’m doing.”

“Alright, alright, don’t get your tail in a knot.” The walrus tilted his gaze towards his friend. “I haven’t seen either of you in a while, I’m gonna get worried. How’s the missus?”

“She’s just fine. She misses you, wants to see you again.”

“Is she here?”

“No…no, she doesn’t know you’re here. She ah,” Connor shifted in his spot. “She doesn’t know we’re here either.”

A beat.

“Connor!”

“Lower your voice!”

“I won’t!” He did anyway. “What are you doing, pulling something like this? I thought you promised to be more honest, wasn’t that the deal? I stay out of your parenting, you open up to your own wife.”

“She knows Sly and I are here in town,” the raccoon asserted, “she just doesn’t know it’s at this museum. It’s, uh, Cooper business.”

“Then what am I doing here?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, actually.” He shifted again, a little closer, and looked around the room before pulling out an old, crusty document from his jacket. He handed it to McSweeney, who opened the top and peeked at the title. He stiffened.

“Connor.”

“I know it’s short notice, and I’m sorry to dump it on you like this, but I need you to take it.”

“Connor, I can’t do that.”

“You don’t even have to keep it with you, just – just hide it somewhere and don’t tell me where and everything will be fine. Please.”

The walrus opened his mouth to argue, then took a closer look at his friend. Connor was getting twitchy. Connor was never twitchy. He closed his mouth and sighed again, brushed two fingers against the title as if to make sure it was real, then stowed it nimbly away under his turtleneck.

The raccoon’s face visibly relaxed. “Thank you, Jim. Thank you so much.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he waved a hand gruffly. “I don’t understand why you asked me to do it though, I’m not the Brainiac. Wouldn’t he be better for –”

“He and I haven’t, been speaking much lately,” Connor interrupted. His words were careful. “We had a disagreement about…whether my inheritance applied to both of you as well, or just the Cooper family. I said. Mmm. We both said some things in the heat of the moment that damaged some pride. So I, thought it would be easier if…for all of us, if you kept the map safe.”

McSweeney waited, but his friend refused to say anymore on the subject. Instead, the raccoon turned towards the playpen just in time to catch Sly already halfway over the child fence.

“Hey, no no no! No you don’t!” He rushed over and plucked the toddler up easily, holding him under his armpits. “What did I say about climbing without asking first?”

“Not to.”

“Then what were you just doing.”

Sly’s response was a wide grin that had the walrus chuckling hard.

“Better watch yourself Connor, he’s got your smile! Haha, we’re gonna see the smirk soon too, I can’t wait.”

To McSweeney’s concern, his friend’s brow furrowed and he hugged his son to his chest, deftly handling the wriggling child without problem. Connor looked over at him with something definite and sober.

“That’s the other thing I needed to talk to you about, Jim.” His voice was calm again. Neutral. “We’re going to be travelling from now on. Often.”

“Oh well. That’s not so strange, you’ve always been a nomad. Just tell me the next time you’ll be in Europe, we can get together then.”

“No, that’s just it,” Connor stroked his toddler’s fur. “We aren’t telling anyone. About where we’re going. I’m dropping off the map.”

“You’re serious?”

“Yes I am. I’m going to devote my full time to raising Sly, help him grow into his heritage. We’ve agreed that it’ll be easier to do so if nobody can find us.”

A shadow was forming behind Connor’s eyes, heavy and full of grief. McSweeney looked at him.

“You’re not talking about Interpol, are you?” There was a subtle tightening to the raccoon’s mouth. His friend plowed on. “You know I can help protect you. Protect your family. He won’t be able to hurt you while I’m there.”

Connor shook his head with a rueful smile. “I appreciate you offering again, Jim, but the answer’s still no. I don’t…” He wavered only briefly. “I’ve already asked so much of you, I won’t make you do any more. Please just keep the map safe for me. I promise I’ll come out of hiding when Sly’s old enough to fend for himself. My mother did it for me and we managed just fine.”

The grief was heavier now, both of them thinking about the raccoon, suddenly alone in the world at age twenty-three. McSweeney let out a huff and came up to his long-time companion.

“Guess this is a real goodbye then?” They clasped hands and bumped shoulders, mindful of the little kit between them. “You better keep that promise, Connor Cooper. I expect to see you in the flesh the minute this kid turns eighteen.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” The Master Thief laughed, hoisting Sly onto his hip as he walked towards the exit. “Don’t get fat!”

“Don’t get caught!” The Muscle Man called back. He chuckled as Connor’s son twisted to look at the walrus over his father’s shoulder.

“Bye-bye Seen-ie!” Those pudgy hands waved enthusiastically.

“So long, kiddo!” He waved back a little less enthusiastically.

Later that night, in a stroke of inspiration, McSweeney broke back into that little museum on the Ligurian Coast, to hide the Cooper Family Vault map in the walrus statue that looked exactly like him. Three days later, he had the image of the museum tattooed into his palm so he wouldn’t ever forget where it was.

Five years later, he would stare at that same palm while watching international news coverage of a “truly horrific event” that “demonstrates the lawlessness of the criminal underworld.”

As jaded Interpol agents would hold press conferences remarking callously that Cooper’s life had finally caught up with him, Jim McSweeney would stare at that palm and weep.

A/N: What have I gotten myself into.

So I was replaying these games recently and got reminded how messed up they were sometimes, especially considering Sly's origin story like holy crap, how do you get that under the censors?? Anyway, this will mostly take place before the events of the 1st game; Sly's time at Happy Camper Orphanage, how he met Bentley and Murray, and how he went from a traumatized child to the smooth-talking raccoon thief we all know and love. 

It's gonna be a bumpy ride, and I'll give content warnings before each chapter (although it shouldn't be too bad, hence the T rating).Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the story!

[tamgerines]

KH3 First Impression and Complete Thoughts

BACKGROUND: i've played kh1, com, kh2, bbs, 2.8, and a bit of khux. i've watched coded and 3d on yt, so i know the story relatively well. this is an impression of my first playthrough. i did my run on standard mode and watched the secret ending on yt. i mostly did this for story, so this will have my initial impressions based on my run that will not cover extra content like the phone mini games and cooking.  my opinions are subjected to change if i ever do any later playthroughs. pls, feel free to disagree w/ me.

!!! WARNING: THERE WILL BE A LOT OF STORY SPOILERS!!!

AUDIO: 

Music: utada is queen!!! that opening song!!! also i kept noticing how lit the songs are in each world esp frozen???  and aqua's. worth a replay just for the soundtrack alone.

Voice Acting: everyone sounded great for the most part. sora’s va have certainly improved and sounds less strained. his vanitas voice has suffered significantly though lolololol. i think i read that someone called it a wannabe dark knight voice? the organization sounded incredible, w/ my fav being xemnas, marluxia, and larxene. the disney and pixar va’s are incredible w/ my fav probably being randall in monster’s inc. 

some ppl did not get vas like xaldin and laxeaus. and phil in hercules. which were all very disappointing bc in the scenes that they were in, they would just stand around woodenly, and it’s very noticeable. 

VISUALS: 

mostly a+. environments are beautiful. water and frost textures are amazing!!! you can really feel that waterga and blizzaga. fur textures in monster's inc. could use some work. little details like the sails moving in potc rly make the worlds come alive. this could be a me prob, but environments in certain worlds make it very hard to see map markers, treasure chests, and disney emblems (which are supposed to be hard to find, but still). mostly in tangled.

strangely enough, this is the only game where i prefer in game graphics to cgi. it's already highly expressive and there's something creepy and uncanny about the cgi esp in the final fight. and it's mostly bc sora's thin chapped lips throughout the entire game suddenly becomes full.

DESIGNS: 

i don't love everyone's outfit or sora's outfit changes in this game besides toy story. this is something i alrdy knew going in, but i've always felt like the outfits in kh1 and 2 rly suited each of the character's personalities. and this is not just destiny trio but even chars like roxas, the twilight town kids and the hollow bastion crew. the move towards a uniformed look makes no sense to me like is it to unify the key bearers as one force against the organization? i could understand why destiny trio was wearing plaid but why the twilight town kids also? by the end of the game, almost everyone was wearing black and it's just boring to me. like there's a right way to do uniform while retaining characters' individual looks, and that's the wayfinder trio in bbs. in this game, not so much.

an aside, but i'm sort of disappointed in the hud moving to 3d too. the 2d portraits have always been part of kh so it's kinda a bum to see it go away.

i don't love the lvl designs but it might also be due to a narrative and pacing issue that i'll expand on. any case, vertical maps are a challenge to figure out. i don't consider myself bad at directions but there are so many moments, esp in hercules and tangled where i would be like where the heck do i go next (and i have the map) only for me to look up and find a shotlock teleport point (and this isn't so much a thing that heightens the difficulty but a time waster).

lvls and bosses in previous kh games have always been known for their gimmicks and mechanics, but in this game particularly i found it to be more tedious? and this mostly applies to frozen: who the fuck designed frozen? who the fuck thought it's a good lvl design to have sora climb a mountain, get kick off it twice, and climb it again as good lvl design? who?

all the disney bosses started blending together for me bc they're literally all giant monsters and rly easy. i think the mistake here is the fact that the disney worlds are put back to back whereas in kh1/2/bbs you have the interruption of original worlds and an actually playable important parts to the main story, in this game all the important storyline in radiant garden are locked in cutscenes interspersed throughout the game between finishing disney worlds.

a lot of ppl might disagree w this, but i miss the cinematic reaction commands and limit attacks. we still have them but i find them to be on a much smaller scale in the form of drive finishers and situation commands, but i find them to be less imaginative in kh3 in order to be less """"disruptive""" to the gameplay. i've always found cinematics charming in previous games as a way to show sora interacting with his party members during combat. little things like beast putting a hand on sora's shoulder, aladdin leaning on him, or riku bumping his fist have a way of making the friendships he forms feel organic. outside of link commands/ summons, in this game, he........just throws a lot of ppl around or is thrown around?

GAMEPLAY:

already sort of went through parts of it in the previous section, but overall combat was smooth. i love how mobile sora is in this game. the improvement to his running speed and addition of all the mobile skills like dodge roll, super slide, flow motion, blizzard skating, etc. makes combat feel fast paced and juking so easy.

magic is super improved on ever since 2.8 and feels satisfying to use esp bc i feel like ur given a lot more mp now and with the ability to save the last of your mana for cure, it feels like you're not always budgeting your magic.

underwater combat was smoother than i expected.

it's a mistake putting almost all the commands on the triangle button. there's so much options you can do in combat and you'd mean to activate one thing, but then an attraction flow comes out and you just want to die. it gets a bit easier as i went on and got more used to the controls, but in general, i still think it's a mistake to not to have an ability or something to disable certain features like in kh2 fm.

gummy ships continue to be a thing. why. i don’t like how i have to turn the camera myself now ;;;. 

i'm not a speedrunner or anything, so i can't say too much else about fighting. the physical combos to me did feel like he was spinning a bit too much tho.

STORY: oh, fucking boy.

i'm not mad, i'm not disappointed, and i'm not even surprised. i already knew that post bbs, kh has already departed far from the franchise i loved as a kid and still today, at least story wise. but let's walk through it.

Disney Worlds: the disney worlds was literally a retelling of their movies. and unlike in kh2 and bbs, where visits to disney worlds were split into two parts, with the first part following the disney story and the second part being heavily tied to the main kh story and thus having original content, the disney worlds in kh3 only get one long visit. and the integration of kh into disney was just done so poorly. remember how kh villains used to kidnap princesses? remember how they used to actually conspire to take disney characters' hearts and turn them dark? remember, you know, when they were still evil and actually interfered with the worlds? in almost every world in kh3, an org member just comes says vague menacing things to sora, calls him stupid, and then leaves. yeah. and oh, maleficent and pete looks for a black box only to not find it, and leaves. AND THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING ELSE FOR THE REST OF THE GAME.

the pixar worlds + bh6 were the only ones with any actual new content and they feel so fresh. i esp loveeeeeeeed toy story omg. the script was so good, funny, and heartwarming. the pixar consultants should have helped kh all the way tbh.

like previous games, there's an attempt for each disney world to thematically tie into the main kh story. in this game, it was as heavy handed as ever, probably even more so. 

Original Worlds: onto the meat of kh, the main story was rushed up until the end. you have a slew of disney worlds, then bam, they slam you with all the human bosses and the important story stuff. 

the ‘awakening’ of roxas, xion, and ventus were very rushed. you literally have one moment they’re no there then two seconds of white screen and all of a sudden they’re there. 

there’s a shit ton of shoehorned character redemption arcs: vexen, demyx, saix, eraqus, xehanort, xemnas, ansem. all were done either offscreen or by some miracle, they reached an epiphany after sora beat his keyblade into their heads. 

the only death scene that i actually liked, that a lot of ppl complained about, was vanitas bc yes, although i thought his character had so much potential, it was at least a consistent and sympathetic death. bless him, born a villain die a villain. same with xemnas bc i loved his last speech. 

xehanort was a shitty villain through and through. no one understood his motivation; it’s like nomura took a page from thanos’ guide of how to write villains, gave him some stupid ass goal to have a keyblade war to restart the world, and then just have him...get everything he wanted? his estranged friend comes back in ghost form for whatever reason and is just like ok we’re cool man even tho u took my student and indirectly murdered me and then gets taken up to heart heaven, like O K. and like what’s the most frustrating is that it’s implied they’re keeping him as a villain??? bc fucking ymx is like ooohh imma just go back to my own time via time travel. it’s too late for u sora hurdur. 

and the younger members of the organization, the ones that we do know were in khux. we don’t get to know how they became nobodies and they don’t get a redemption??? really???  

you can tell they tried, TRIED, hard to give everyone closure. and they miserably failed to close plot points. they actually opened more. who the fuck is the unnamed girl in lea and isa’s storyline? why the fuck did you mention her if you were going to play the pronoun game and not name her??? what the fuck was in the black box??? why are they looking for it when no one know what’s in it??? why the fuck was repliku inside of riku the whole fucking time??? why have org members be norted if they can still have agency and choose to betray xehanort??? why the fuck was BOTH sora and riku in different worlds in the secret ending????? ? ? ? 

and tho i’m very glad that wayfinder and sea salt trios get their happy ending, the destiny trio had their characters assassinated. kairi was teased to become an independent character of her own and fight alongside sora, only to get shafted to become a damsel in distress, again, literally replaced by xion in one of the last battles, AND referred to as ‘motivation’ for sora by xehanort lol. sora, the guy who’s always going my friends are my power, ONLY grieves about losing kairi, accrediting all of his strength ONLY TO HER. riku, who spent the first game desperately trying to get kairi’s heart back, and who protected her from saix in the second, suddenly doesn’t give a shit about her and is just there as sora’s moral support. it’s so frustrating that nomura has the audacity to say that this series is primarily about friendship and then pull this shit lol. it’s transparent. 

CONCLUSION: 

i think for me, the quintessential kh trilogy has always been kh1, com, and kh2. as far as i’m concerned, the story should have ended there for destiny trio. and it’s like nomura said, how he feels more sympathetic towards villains now, i think nomura’s ideas have outgrown his main character. 

sora’s journey worked in 1, com, and 2 because he had an overarching goal to find kairi and riku and return home. not everyone has to understand heartless vs. nobodies or dark vs. light but at least, anyone can understand the desperation of saving your friends. when that framework is taken away, sora’s goals and motivations become unclear; he’s a kid and has little reason to be caught up in xehanort’s plans, the keyblade war, or the organization’s agendas. and his failure to grow with the increasing complexity of the plot, to investigate for himself the bigger picture or even come into a similar realization of his own darkness/ balance like riku, makes him unfit; he’s a reactionary character instead of an active one. that’s why this game, being experienced from his point of view, felt mostly like a catch up to speed for sora and a set up to nomura’s next big thing instead of a genuine ending.  i honestly don’t think nomura knows what to do with him and with kingdom hearts anymore. 

kh3 is a game wrapped in nostalgia and promised something bigger than it could fulfill. and aside from better graphics and improved gameplay, the story wasn’t worth the wait. 

[xsuperhero-expertx]

Thunderstorm Sadness

So I saw a one line promt list and decided to get one shot ideas from it bc writers block and I wanna start writing more.😕

Warnings: language: storms: anxiety: animal cruelty (not in a weird way. Malachai stabs an animal) it’s for the sake of the fic I’m sorry.

(A/n this is before Toni and Cheryl got a thing going on)

Y/n =Your Name Y/n/n= Your NickName

Promt: “Looks like we’ll be trapped for a while…”

—

Hanging out at my trailer with Sweet Pea, Fangs and Toni is always fun. Always.

Tonight is so exception. We’re all unwinding and coming down from the stressful week of work/school

So Friday night trudition is to hang out at whomevers trailer and play games, watch movies, eat a shit ton of unhealthy foods, and drink.

Playing truth or dare or always a strange thing. The way we play is if you don’t do the dare you lose an article of clothing. If you do the dare you can either put an article of clothing back on that you lost, or you can make another player lose an article of clothing. (Serpent jackets don’t count)

And that’s how we’re in our current situation. Sitting in a cirlcle in the middle of the living room. Fangs is in his underwear, Sweet Pea is only in jeans, Toni is fully clothed, and I lost my bra. I decided to take it off out from under my shirt to make things interesting. It gets boring playing the same way every week. All week long we all discuss and think of new questions/ dares to use during the game.

Sweet pea: “Y/n, Truth or dare?”

Y/n “Truth”

Sweet pea: “Is it true you’re related to Malachai?”

Y/n: “Yes” “Moving on. Toni, Truth or dare?”

Toni: “Dare”

Y/n: “I dare you to text Cheryl and confess your feelings for her”

Toni: “I’m taking my shirt off”

Y/n :”finee” you whine “When will you just tell her?!”

Toni: “When I’m ready.” “Next question. Sweet Pea Truth or Dare?”

Sweet Pea: “Dare”

Toni: “I dare you to tell us who your crush is”

Sweet Pea: “Jesus, Toni what is this? Are we in the fifth grade?” Sweet Pea rolls his eyes.

Thunder crashes outside and the lights go out

Fangs screams like a little girl and hops into Toni’s lap.

Sweets: “Well..” “Looks like we’ll be trapped for a while…”

Y/n pushes herself back until her back is flushed against the front of the couch. She brings her knees up to her chest and buries her face in them.

Sweet Pea pulls out his zippo lighter and flicks it open.

“Yo Y/n, you got any candles or flashlights?”

“In the drawer beside the oven”

“Thanks” he mumbles quietly headed to the kitchen to find the candles.

Toni: “You alright Y/n?”

Y/n: “Yeah I’m fine”

Sweet pea re-enters the room and sets the already lit candles upon the coffee table.

Pea: “You guy’s alright?”

Y/n “I’m fine”

Toni “Me too”

Fangs just hums in agreement

It thunders again, a flash of lightning lights up the window causing Y/n to flinch and hold onto her legs tighter.

Pea: “Y/n/n, You sure you’re alright?”

Y/n: “Yeah. I’m gonna go change into sweatpants I’ll be back in a minute”

Getting up and walking into her bedroom Y/n sets on the end of the beds and lets the tears fall from her eyes. She’s always hated thunderstorms. Ever since she was a kid. She couldn’t stand them. But her fear got worse when her step brother framed her for something she didn’t do, her father kicked her out. In the middle of a thunderstorm with no where to go. A backpack full of her essentials and valuable things to her. Her mother was long gone. Went to go live with her side boyfriend mark in New York.

Flashback:

Having nowhere to go she wandered around the Southside in the dark. Walking past the wyrm, she thought about going in. Walking past it, being taught to never go there is what keeps replaying in her head. “The serpents are bad people and you never ever go on serpent territory, you hear me?!” Her father yells in her face, when finding out her best friend lives in sunnyside trailer park. She was 10. Her best friend being Toni Topaz granddaughter of a Serpent made things worse. Being kicked out at 15 was difficult. Changing her mind she walked back towards the wyrm and decided to seek shelter from the storm there. Walking in she noticed Toni and her Granddad. Both clad in serpent jackets laughing and having a good time. Nobody noticing her. Leaving her backpack outside the door under the roof of the porch makes it easier to move around and seemingly being undetected. Trying to weasel her way to Toni someone stops her. “Look! Someone who isn’t a Serpent is on serpent land” “What should we do with this one?!” tell boy yells. “Nothing” FP says venom lacing his voice. He recognized her as Toni and Jugheads friend. Toni now realizing who it is rushed to her side. “Y/n?! What are you doing here?! I thought your dad told you to never step foot in any part of serpent territory? That’s why you could never come visit.” “That’s why you should never come visit!”

“Yeah Tone. He said that. He also said about an hour ago that I’m a disgrace to my family and I am never to be seen again.”

“And that if I ever show my face at their door again they’ll end me.” She lets out a shaky sob. “Malachai framed me! He put a fucking dead animal in the yard that was stabbed to death and had a knife in it. He told dad it was me. He framed me! And my dad, MY OWN DAD. He believed him” she sobs. “He believed Malachai over me” she falls into Toni’s arms.

—

Sweet Pea knocks on Y/n’s door. “You alright Y/n/n? You’ve been in there a while.”

“Y-yeah” Y/n says. Her voice being shakey and cracking unintentionally.

“No you’re not. I’m coming in.”

He opens the door to see her setting on the bed against the headboard. Hugging the pillow against her chest so tight it’s making her arms ache.

“Y/n” Pea says softly. “What happened?”

“I’m fine, Pea. Really.”

“Okay.” He holds his hands up in surrender “I know you’re not okay. But I won’t push it. You need a hug?” Sweet Pea never hugs anyone. Ever.

She looks extremely shocked. But she throws herself into his arms anyway. He sets down on the edge of the bed. Her in his lap. One hand playing with her hair, the other rubbing her back.

“It’s okay Y/n” “Do you wanna tell me what’s going on?”

She takes a deep breath. “I-i hate thunderstorm so much Pea. I always have. Everything is piling on top of me now. You mentioning I’m related to Malachai. The thunderstorm. I dreamt about the memory of being kicked out last night. It’s all piling on top Pea. And I just crumbled under the weight” She sobs “Malachai is my step brother. He framed me for torturing and killing an animal. Which then caused my father to kick me out at the age of 15. During a fucking thunderstorm. I ended up in the Wyrm.” “That’s how I became a Serpent”

“Oh.” Sweet Pea breathes out. “If I had known. I wouldn’t have mentioned his name. I’m so sorry Y/n”

“It’s fine Pea really”

“Y/n” Pea whispers. “If it’s any consolation, my crush. Is you.” He rests his forehead against hers. “Wasn’t plannin’ on saying anything but I thought it’d make you feel better.”

“It isn’t a hint to something more. I’m not pushing it or anything. I’m just. I just. Jesus.” He takes a deep breath. “I just want-“

“Oh shut up and kiss me Pea”

Within a split second his lips were on hers. Not rushed, or needy. Just passionate and gentle. Nothing you’d expect from the infamous Sweet Pea.

“I think I’m starting to fall in love with you Y/n”

“I’ve been in love with you Sweet Pea”

[gondalsqueen]

Chapters: 8/? Fandom: Star Wars: Rebels Rating: Explicit Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla Characters: Hera Syndulla, C1-10P | Chopper, Original Characters, Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger, Sabine Wren, Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, Alexsandr Kallus, CT-7567 | Rex, Mart Mattin, Wedge Antilles Additional Tags: Pregnancy, vague mentions of abortion, future character death in the background, Season/Series 04, Established Relationship, Oral Sex, Chair Sex, Table Sex, sex during pregnancy, chapter 2 has lots of sex, Secrets, the best pilot in the galaxy, flying combat, character injury, canon torture, flight of the defender, rebel assault, Jedi Night, Major character death - Freeform, Grief, Morning Sickness, Counseling, Masturbation, Dreams, Traditions, Space family, Inappropriate bets, Lothal, Shopping, down time, Space Combat, Battle of Scarif, Rogue One - Freeform, hammerhead corvette!, Yavin 4, Stardust - Freeform

Summary: “Hey!” Zeb caught her at the ramp. “You have GOT to be kidding me.” “Why?” “Because that child is about to drop out of you at any moment, that’s why!” “It’s not an X-wing, Zeb. G Force isn’t that bad in the Ghost.” “So you’re going to fly into battle?” ... Yavin IV was busy, busy, busy. One of their spies had tied Order 13 to a program called “Stardust,” and they had something to do at last, just trying to unwind it all. Some sort of doomsday machine.

“Better that than those Defenders,” Hera remarked.

“Would you rather fight one convor the size of a rancor,” Zeb asked, “or a hundred rancors the size of convors?”

Sabine had come back from Lothal with her. “You’re funny,” she told Zeb.

“Hey, trying times! Somebody’s got to make an attempt at humor.” 

“And we appreciate the attempt, Zeb,” Hera said, patronizing.

“You two always team up on me! I miss the boys.”

Sabine stuck her tongue out at him.

By night they were reading everything they could about babies, scrambling to get ready. “These texts are stupid!” Sabine would complain, waving a datapad. “They give directly contradictory information! And then they tell you you’re evil if you don’t do what they say.” 

“What I want to know is how any babies have managed to survive at all, if you judge by the number of things you can screw up,” Zeb commented.

Chopper didn’t think it would be very hard. Ten pound Kanan Jarrus had to be easier to control than the larger version.

“Show me the science behind any of this!” Sabine continued her tirade. “This is all just opinion. Somebody has to have done good double blind studies on babies somewhere in this galaxy.”

When her own soon-to-be-baby kept her from sleeping, Hera scoured the holonet for anything related to hybrid Twi’lek/Human children. Despite the presence of what had to have been millions of children, they were statistically so rare that the medical studies weren’t particularly… informative. She had to resort to getting information from that least trustworthy of holonet locations, the messageboard. She took everything with about fifty grains of salt. “A hybrid child is special,” one woman wrote, just before advising sticking magnets to the baby’s skin to call down Force powers. Hera rolled her eyes. One father very practically advised: “Raise them somewhere diverse and the identity crisis won’t be much.” A third brutally honest mother said, “If you’re a human woman, just go straight for the c-section. It’s going to happen anyway.”

And there were pictures… A three-year-old with short lekku and marbled skin. A ten-year-old who had just won a sports tournament standing next to his father, whom he looked nothing like. A little girl with blue skin and two blue ponytails in place of lekku. Most of those children made through genetic matching and implanted embryos, wanted and tried for for years…

Most hybrid pregnancies didn’t make it, she discovered, the genetics too mismatched to create a viable child. Those invariably ended in early pregnancy, though, and the consensus was that any fetus who made it this far was probably safe. Hera recalled the weirdly appropriate adage about not counting your chickens before they’d hatched, but she wasn’t too worried. Any kid that could kick like that was bound to be healthy. And he looked good on all the scans.

The scans… 

“Everything in the right place, everything the right size,” the technician had said at her last visit. “He’s playing with his hands. And look at this! Do you see that?”

Hera did not.

“He’s already got hair.”

Hair. Her child. 

She should really have seen that coming, but it completely floored her.

She was thirty-nine weeks along—nearly full term for a human, not quite full term for a Twi’lek—when the Battle of Scarif took place. And she was too kriffing fat to make it to the war room when they called her. 

But she heard the speech the Erso girl gave in replay, and she could have kicked herself for not being there to give it momentum. “What chance do we have?” They were Hera’s own words, angrier and more jaded, perhaps, more desperate, but the sentiment the same. “The question is what CHOICE?” Fight now or die.

When the klaxons went off, Hera all but ran towards the Ghost. 

“Hey!” Zeb caught her at the ramp. “You have GOT to be kidding me.”

“Why?”

“Because that child is about to drop out of you at any moment, that’s why!”

“It’s not an X-wing, Zeb. G Force isn’t that bad in the Ghost.”

“So you’re going to fly into battle?”

Objectively, was her child’s life was more valuable than her own, or Zeb’s, or that of anybody else in the galaxy who would be murdered if they didn’t succeed? “Yes,” she answered.  

“Hera, you’re—”

“Look,” she snapped. “It’s now or never for this fight. I’d rather have him die clean, not knowing any pain, than be hunted slowly, terrified. Or taken into some camp…” She trailed off. Did Zeb even know what she was imagining? Where did he think those Inquisitors came from? No, she’d rather have her child die now, with her.

Not that dying was going to happen. 

“I’ve got nose gun,” Sabine called.

“Okay, okay,” Zeb grumbled. “IF you’re really going, nobody’s getting turret gun but me!”

From the Phantom’s rear guns, Chopper demanded to know what they were waiting for.

“Good, then,” Hera grinned. “Let’s go take some back from the Empire.”

Rex waved them off. “Good luck!”

“We don’t need luck!” Sabine told him. “We’ve got the Force!”

…

Scarif. Graveyard, the word would come to mean. Hera flew like she’d never flown in her life, the hundreds of ships around her tinged with light at the corners of her vision, her hands and mind just a half-step ahead of the chaos. This, strangely, was her peak. She kept them alive.

But they had to get that stupid kriffing planetary shield down. “Are you listening to the Admiral? Bombing runs!” she shouted over the chaos on the comms. “Aim for the ring! None of this matters if you don’t get the shield down!” They were still just flying defensive though, few of them even able to mount a run. And those who did were blown into shrapnel after one pass.

“Karabast!” Zeb had missed a line-up shot at two TIEs. It had been a bad angle anyway, and if they’d stayed there for another three seconds to get the shot, another fighter would have finished them off quickly.

“Hey!” Hera called over the pilot’s channel. “HEY! Get your heads on and work together! Y-wings make the bombing strikes, X-wings run defensive! Holy Force, people, get in the game!”

After that they got a couple more shots in. And then Admiral Raddus brought in the new hammerhead corvette, that beautiful beast of a ship, and Hera got to watch one of the more glorious wrecks of her career, that thing diving and just PLOWING through metal and it was… victory.

Pyrrhic victory. 

They’d gotten the information out. Vader’s ship chased the Tantive IV away just before they jumped, but Tantive was fast, and they’d make it.

The Ghost came out of hyperspace a short jump later, one of the three steps that would take them back to Yavin.

“Holy kriff, Hera, that was some flying!” Sabine declared.

“Yeah.” She was still waiting for her breathing to recover. The Ghost’s shields were at more than half.

“You know if they chase Tantive IV down, they’re going to be coming for Yavin next,” Zeb told her.

“Yeah.”

“Did you SEE that thing? It’s operational.”

Chopper suggested several rude technical malfunctions he’d like to perform on that thing.

“Yeah, Chop, you show them.” Hera rolled her eyes.

“Hera—” From the nose gun, Sabine turned to look up at her, that straight-browed fretful face that she made. “Don’t go back to Yavin. It’s time for a break. Fly to Lothal.”

Her stomach twisted painfully at the suggestion. No, not her stomach—her uterus was taking up all the room these days.

“You can comm them that you’ve gone on leave. You should have gone a week ago.”

She did feel a little funny. Post-battle adrenaline probably, but who was to say?

“Okay.”

“Really?”

“Chopper, get down here and chart a course for Lothal.”

[rainbowtransform]

The Means to An End

First Part here, or read it on AO3

It’s years down the line before Shuri finally cracks the code in Tony’s game. She’d locked away the phone and didn’t even glance at it until her children pulled it out of its hiding spot and show it to her.

“We can’t crack it,” they told her, staring. Her fingers shake, and she opens the familiar game. The Black Panther comes on screen and it meows like a kitten. Shuri’s eyes fill with tears and she sinks down, cradling the game.

Her children go to find their father.

KuKhanya, May, and Ubomi come running in with Peter. He stares at her, glances at the game and tells their children to go to their rooms. “Umama is just thinking  of someone we used to know. Go.”

“Listen to your father,” Shuri chokes out, and they turn, fleeing. Peter sits next to her, doesn’t glance over, and says, quietly “I still miss him.”

“I know.”

“It feels like he’s still here.”

“Yeah.”

“Did he make that?”

“I got it when I was sixteen. He’d given it to me. Told T’Challa that I would crack it when I’m older. When he died, I…” She swallowed.

“You stowed it away.”

“Yeah.”

“You know Karen?”

“The first suit Tony’d given you?”

“Yeah. You know why I asked you to make me a completely new one and not upgrade my old one?”

“Because you’re a boy.”

“Excuse you,” he shot back in a snooty white voice. “I’m a man.”

Shuri giggles.

“No. It’s because the suit’s the first thing Tony gave me. It… reminds me of him.”

The game feels cold under Shuri’s hands. “I’m suppose to crack it,” she whispers. Peter nods, and offers his own hand. “If you’re going to try, I’m not going to stop you,” he tells her. “But I’m not going to let it mess up your sleep schedule.”

Shuri’s lips curl into a smile. “You sound like my brother,” she says.

“Considering we haven’t heard from him in a few weeks, that’s an improvement.”

“He’s taken a vacation.”

“Yeah, from everything.”

“He deserves it.”

“Always.”

Shuri shrieks, throwing the game away from her. “This is impossible!” She screams. The children are in school, and Peter sighs. “NADĚJE, monitor Shuri’s blood pressure.”

“Monitoring Creator’s states.”

“Ha, ha,” Shuri scowls. “NADĚJE, cancel order.”

“Order canceled.”

“Still haven’t figured out how to get them human-like?”

“Nope.”

“You’ll figure it out.”

“Do you know?” Shuri asked, jabbing a finger at him from behind, eyes locked on the code streaming steadily from the computer screen.

“It’s Tony’s secret.”

“He took it to the grave,” Shuri smiles grimly. “I would have loved to know it.”

“NADĚJE, could you order some pizza?”

“From where, Creator’s Second?”

“I don’t know, surprise me?”

“I am not programmed for that.”

Peter sighs. Shuri bangs her fist against the computer’s desk. “Hey,” Peter says grabbing it gently. “We’re not hurting the computer; it hasn’t done anything.”

“This is one of the reasons I hate Tony. But the code is beautiful and complex, and it seems just like… something I’ve seen before.”

“Why don’t we try it, together?” Peter suggests.

“I’m smarter than you, Peter.”

“I know, Shuri. But maybe you need a fresh set of eyes. You’ve been working on this as a sixteen-year-old, and,” he checks his watch. “Now it’s been six days, four hours, thirteen minutes, twenty-six seconds. Twenty-seven seconds. Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thirty. Thirty-o”

“I get it!” She says yanking her hands back.

“You’re also running on six hours of sleep, spread across those six days. An hour a day, Shuri. An hour.”

“It isn’t my fault,” she mumbles. “My mind runs through eighty-thousand scenarios per minute.”

“Yes, which is why I want to help.” Peter leans over, pressing his lips gently on Shuri’s. “Let me help you?”

She pushes him away. “Fine, you puppy-dog boy.”

It takes them three months to finally crack the code, and they both are wide-eyed, slack-jawed as they stare at the hologram.

“Hey, Shuri,” Tony Stark says. He’s in his lab, eyes bright and he smiles. “This is going to be pretty weird, huh? But, listen, do you have Peter there? You do remember Peter right?”

The two adults grip each other’s arms. “Ah, you guys are basically inseparable. I’m even sure that you guys are going to get married, too. Maybe have a couple kids. Four, I’d guess. This is for everyone I’d left behind, basically. I’m not going to lie to you guys. I don’t expect to win this fight. I’ve… got something Thanos really wants. Something he’s been craving. But he’ll have to kill me before I reveal anything to him.”

“I’m going to go with Rhodey, because he’s my best friend. Rhodey’s been with me through thick and thin, wouldn’t take my shit or my money. ‘Charity,’ he’d called it. But… he’d invited me to his room, put up with DUM-E for years. I really hope his kids know what a good father he’s going to be.”

(Rhodey’s been dead for three years.)

“Pepper… she’s the love of my life. She couldn’t take me being a hero, and honestly? I never expected her to. She’s different. Doesn’t take my shit, keeps my mind on track, has 12% of my company,” Tony’s smile is thin. “She’s the best thing anyone could ask for. Happy’s being intertwined with her because he’s the best boxing buddy-slash-driver I could ever ask for. He’s the best person to talk to.”

(Both Pepper and Happy left the country. Last Peter and Shuri heard of them, they remet up and had been tanning by the beach together drinking and swapping stories of other places they’d been since the kids took over the company and they’d left.)

“The Avengers,” here Tony’s face darkens just slightly. “They’re following Roger’s lead. I don’t know what they’re doing now. Hopefully some sense has been knocked into them. Scott’s got a daughter, and Clint’s got a whole fucking family. They’ll grow soon.”

(They’re still together. The only difference is that there’s no one to be their scapegoat anymore. It’s rather sad.)

“The New Avengers are the my pride and joy, honestly. They’re the best team anyone can ask for, and they act like a family. They’re teens, but their better together than apart. I’m proud of them, and I hope they know this.”

(They do, they really do. Shuri swallows, hard, and Peter’s arm tightens.)

“Peter’s my first ‘mission’ so to say. Clint’s not the only one to recruit Avengers. I know Peter, and he’s going to do things with or without someone’s permission. I just hope he knows the sacrifices, and how hard it is. Especially if you’re dating a civilian. Pretty sure Shuri’s okay with that, though,” Tony smiled bitterly. “Just know… I’m always going to be proud of you, kid. Anything you do. Except the things I did, and the things I wouldn’t do.”

“Shuri…” Tony huffed. “You’ve either turned forty-seven, which is when the code gets easier, or you’d finally asked for help.” He raises an eyebrow. “What took you so long? The game’s designed to know if you’re working with someone else, and it’s better to figure out… you know. A place. How’s Vision, by the way? The Bots? FRIDAY?”

(Vision disappeared, years ago. Peter heard a rumor, once, about a man with a stone in his forehead who was helping others. When asked, he’d reply “It’s what my grandfather would want,” and turn away. They haven’t heard from FRIDAY since she’d broken the news that Tony was dead, and the bots are still shut down. They’re clean, spick-span even though they aren’t ‘alive’ anymore.)

“Vision’s gone, if I’m really thinking ahead. He’s… upset, probably. Angry, scared. Hopefully he’s going to a therapist. If FRIDAY’s shut down, you just got to rewire her to accept you as her new boss; she’d understand. The bots are different, and you can’t trick them into coming back online. The only ones who can do that is JARVIS. I didn’t have enough time to implement it. She’s learning, and she’ll continue learning.”

“That’s probably it. Um. Oh! Kit-Cat said you liked this one video of me dancing. Welp, here’s a side-by-side of me as sixteen, twenty-five, thirty, and thirty-five doing it. Oh… tell T’Challa that it didn’t matter he’d kept the Exvengers. It was better that they were in Wakanada rather than them loose on the world.”  Tony sighs. “If I survive this, I’m thinking maybe, maybe, I’ll consider going on that date with you.”

And Shuri understands. After Tony died, T’Challa grew distant for a time before coming back. He didn’t marry, despite the councils’ insistence that he “must have a wife, or husband,” and T’Challa had laughed with Shuri.

“They can’t make me,” he tells her. “I can’t, Shuri. For right now, I can’t.” And his eyes were distant, in a place Shuri couldn’t follow.

“Who broke your heart, brother?” Shuri had asked. “Who held your heart tight in their grip, and hurt it?”

“Someone who is longer with us,” T’Challa told her. (And for all her genius, she didn’t ask for help for Tony’s game, and didn’t figure out it was him that T’Challa gave his heart to.)

Shuri and Peter replay the message twenty times over. So much that KuKhanya had come downstairs, and blinked at the sight of her parents watching a strange man. “I’ve seen him,” she said. “On TV. They said he was smart.”

“Not smarter than me,” Shuri jokes.

KuKhanya shrugs. “I don’t know, Umama, he seems smarter than Father.”

Peter mock-gasped and Shuri burst into a round of giggles.

The next time T’Challa visited, Shuri showed him the video. He swallowed, reached out and brushed through the hologram.

“Why didn’t you tell me, before?”

“He must’ve made some last-minute additions to it before he’d died. See? The code of… dancing is decades old, but the one where he’s talking? That’s the day before he died. See? See the difference in color of the code?”

“Yes.”

There’s silence, and then Shuri asks. “Why didn’t you tell me about you and him?”

T’Challa’s smile is bitter, small, and he replies with: “There was no point, sister. Remembering and loving the dead like family is different from a lovers’ death. It’s more painful.”

“Especially since you’re… the Black Panther?”

“Yes, Shuri. Especially since that.”

When they turn and exit the lab, they go to the children sitting around eating dinner. Peter has a Kiss the Cook, He’s Spider-Man apron on and is serving chicken parasame around the table. “Uncle T’Challa!” They all shriek, and he smiles.

“Eat,” Shuri tells them, giving them the mother-eye. KuKhanya sighs, and Shuri looks at her.

“You are the Heir to Wakanda,” she tells her daughter. “You have to do things you don’t like, KuKhanya.”

KuKhanya pokes at her food. “I don’t want it,” she mumbles. “Not if there’s all these rules and things to go with it. Especially making a heir?” She scowls. “Why can’t Ubomi or May do it?”

“If you don’t marry, that’s okay. But that means making a heir falls onto one of your siblings’ shoulder. They’re still young, aren’t they?”

“May’s three years younger, and Ubomi’s a year younger than May.”

“Don’t talk back to your mother,” Peter says from the kitchen.

“Daaaaaaaaaaaaaad,” she whines playfully.

After dinner, T’Challa asks if the children wish to hear a story. They are excited, elated, because ‘Uncle T’Challa’s stories are the best! Better than Dad’s!’

“There was once a boy, young and full of life. But life was cruel to the boy, and gave him a bad father and a neglectful mother. But, mercy was kind, and gave the boy a nice frien-”

“What’s his name?”

“His name?” T’Challa smiles. “It’s Tony.”

No one notices a spark fizzing from the game they’d left on. No one sees something traveling through wires and electrical places. There’s something in the lab, but no one sees it.

DUM-E, U, and ButterFingers come online, slowly, sensing something unfamiliar yet fatherly. FRIDAY overrides NADĚJE and with a whispery, fluttery, little-girl-meeting-her-father, whispers:

“Boss?”

[ciathyzareposts]

What’s Your Story – Vetinari

Answers: Vetinari Introduction and Captions: TBD

Time to introduce someone who’s recently been commenting on our Nippon Safes, Inc. posts – Vetinari!

Si non confectus, non reficiat

Vetinari has admitted to commenting once before, anonymously, on a post on the Cyborg Missed Classic.

My home country is…

Italy, home of Super Mario and the Fettuccine Alfredo (not really).

In kindergarten I was taught that Italy looked like a boot kicking a football… by a teacher who’d clearly never seen a football.

My age is…

42, the answer to life the universe and everything. Even if this should have given me some sort of wisdom about the mystery of our existence, I cannot in good faith say that I feel very much smarter than I was one year ago (or even ten years ago, for that matter).

The first adventure game I played was…

“Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders” on my Commodore 64, in 1988. It blew me away, and I’ve been a rabid adventure gamer since then. I played almost every graphic adventure and text adventure that was available, at least up to the turn of the millennium. After that I relented a little bit, but I still play some newer adventure now and then, and also replay some old classics. Recently I played “Unavowed” and “Technobabylon”, as well as “Day of the Tentacle” (for the n-th time).

Perhaps when we reach our 1993 games, Vetinari will play along and make it (n+1) playthroughs.

My favourite adventure game is…

“Grim Fandango” without a doubt. I even called my two cats Manny and Meche since I am such a great fan. It has all: incredible atmosphere, good puzzles, and a wonderful redemption story.

Funny thing is, when it came out I didn’t play it and wasn’t interested in it, because it felt such a big departure from the previous Lucasarts games with its 3d environment and strange interface. One of my college friends had it and while discussing good adventure games that we hadn’t played, I agreed to lend her my copy of “Broken Sword” and she lent me “Grim Fandango”, even if I wasn’t that keen to try it. Needless to say, I played a little bit and got hooked immediately.

My second favourite adventure game of all time is “Planescape Torment” (which according to me is more of an adventure than an RPG, at least if played “right”), and the third is “Shadow of Memories/Shadow of Destiny” by Junko Kawano, which could be the only really outstanding game about time travel ever made, even if not without its faults.

Thinking about it, I now notice that all of my favourite games are about protagonists that start the game already dead. There could be something to be said about it, but maybe I’ll just leave it to that.

Don’t cry for me – I’m already dead.

When I’m not playing games I like to…

I’m an avid boardgamer, and that is the hobby that occupies most of my free time, at least in recent years. Other hobbies: playing guitar, reading (my nickname comes from a famous series of fantasy books – guess what) and watching movies (I am a little bit of a cinéphile).

I like my games in (a box, digital format)…

I don’t like boxes, they take up space and I am not swayed by the nostalgia factor enough to keep them around. I very much prefer the digital format.

The thing I miss about old games is…

Well, I continue to play old games with emulators, so this is really a moot point. But probably what the new games lack, at least from my perspective, is the feeling of immersion, the idea that you could lose yourself inside the world of the games for hours at end. Maybe it is more of a factor because when you get older you have less free time, and so you don’t have the possibility to really “get into” the gaming world like you used to do when you were young. But that is true for all the things that you did when you were a kid, because of responsibilities and all that. Man, I feel dejected right now.

The best thing about modern games is…

Better graphics, better music, things like that. New games are also more forgiving and try to ease the player into the gameplay a little bit more, so they are less frustrating. This however tends to result in easier games, which can feel a little hollow. Well, you can’t have everything.

The one TV show I never miss is…

Right now, none. Streaming and similar services make it so that I very rarely (if ever) watch regular tv.

The series that I most recently watched are “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”. Some of the ones in the past that I followed quite fondly would be for example “Life on Mars” (the UK version, the US one is awful) and “Leverage”.

Probably not part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

If I could see any band live it would be…

I suppose that I couldn’t choose to travel back in time and see a band which is not performing anymore…

In that case, I really am a great fan of They Might Be Giants, but sadly they tour very rarely in Europe, and never did a gig in Italy, so, yes, it would be Them.

My favourite movie is…

“The Sting”. I can quote the dialogues almost verbatim. It is a great example of what Hollywood can do to make a great entertainment movie which is anyway not dumb and has a great story.

In general anyway I am a bit of a movie buff and I have an expansive DVD collection with movies from the 1920s to the present day.

Excellent choice!

One interesting thing about me is…

I speak (more or less fluently) four languages, but none of them (not even Italian which is my mother tongue) I learned at school.

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/whats-your-story-vetinari/

[ddrkirbyisq]

Quite a bit happened...it was quite the tornado of stuff, as I predicted two posts ago, what with Ludum Dare and everything else happening.  There was even more than I expected thrown into the mix... Ludum Dare Ludum Dare came and went, and despite several hardships along the way, was a huge success for our team! I'll be writing a more detailed post-mortem later, but here are the two (!) games that we ended up making in the 72 hour timeframe: Goodnight Sheep: http://ift.tt/2AfwKw9 Samurai Shaver: http://ift.tt/2Ai9opD The soundtracks for both of those are also available (linked on those pages). Even before it started, it already felt like things might be rough for Ludum Dare, as our writer fell ill that week and wasn't feeling well enough to work together with us.  We decided she should take it easy and help us out remotely instead (which also left me with an abundance of extra groceries in stock, haha).  I actually also wasn't feeling the best that Friday either, though thankfully I didn't end up coming down with anything.  Trying to communicate back and forth over chat and video calls was a real challenge and we really struggled to nail down the concept and gameplay behind Goodnight Sheep as a result of that. Halfway through finishing up Goodnight Sheep we actually decided to start work on Samurai Shaver and just start making that.  Although there were a lot of things that we still needed to figure out about Samurai Shaver still (initially it wasn't even a rhythm game at all!), I personally felt like I had a pretty good vision of what the game should look and feel like, so it felt more certain to me, and I was looking forward to escaping the uncertainty of the screaming lambs to work on something a little more well understood.  However I still wanted to finish up some work on Goodnight Sheep before that, including making the music for the levels, and it was during that process that I made some key realizations about what the game should be like.  So in the end it all ended up coming together just fine -- it just needed some more time to get there. We were about a third of the way through our 72 hours when we decided to start work on Samurai Shaver, which put us quite far behind, but interestingly enough I felt very confident that we could finish it in time.  I knew it was a fairly simple game and we didn't need to make a ton of different assets and such (as we did for games like The Music Box).  And of course, I had a pretty clear vision for the game, as well.  But perhaps the primary reason that I was so confident was because back in Ludum Dare 36 we had also started just as late when we made Watch for Falling Rocks (we totally scrapped our initial idea and started over).  Now that we've done the whole "start a game really late and still finish fine" thing twice, I feel like that will always be a sort of possible "plan B" for us moving forward if our initial concepts don't work out.  Obviously that's not the kind of thing I'd like to rely on, but I think it's a bit comforting to know that because thinking up an initial idea for a game is often one of the most stressful parts of the jam. Anyhow, I'm quite happy with how both games turned out.  Currently we're a good ways into the rating and voting process, with a little over a week left before results are announced.  I've been playing my fair share of games (around 40 so far), and we've gotten around 30 ratings for each of our games. Meowmie Early in the morning on Saturday December 9th, we were woken up to news that the one and only original Meowmie had suffered from heart problems over the night and wasn't going to make it.  We were able to say our final goodbyes before he was put to rest.  It was very hard on us and there was definitely a bit of a crying party that day.  Though I was not his owner, I felt very deeply for the loss, more deeply than I realized that I would, too.  It was a new experience for me as well, since I have never had a pet or anything leave me in that way.  Though it still makes me very sad to think that Meowmie is not around anymore, and the image I have in my mind of him from that day really affects me deeply, I am very thankful for the fact that I was able to see him one last time.  Rest in peace, Meowmie.  You will always be special.  (Thank you) Work Work went through a pretty busy period, as we were getting out another demo of our game for PlayStation Experience (PSX) -- more about that here.  Btw, as an aside, I don't know if I've ever mentioned here that Luna has been out now, both for VR (the true Luna experience) and as a 2D port version for those of us who don't have access to a VR headset.  Find that here. Anyhow, work went through a busy period for sure and I basically had infinity work to do, but I think I managed alright, though there was one day where I had not gotten enough sleep at all and was suuuuuper grumpy as a result.  Funnily enough, once the amount of tasks crosses a threshold, I feel like it doesn't really matter how many other work items there are because I know I won't get to them all, so I just sort of chug along at whatever pace I end up going at and whatever will be, will be. After that, work has been really strange as we are in the middle of transitioning to a new office (heating?? A/C??  More than one restroom maybe?? what is this madness?  Maybe the floor won't be slanted either?).  The new place is ever so slightly closer in terms of walking distance from the station, but also just in a much nicer area (right across from Dropbox).  I haven't seen it in person yet, but should be exciting to have a nicer office, and I'm sure it will make it easier for my cooking-lunch-at-the-office escapades as well.  Maybe I need to start bringing in a portable burner?? lololol Anyhow, I'm on vacation now for the next two weeks (much needed) and definitely enjoying some time off to myself.  Should be useful to catch up on a bunch of things after that super crazy busy period that I had (haven't done any work on Rhythm Quest; want to still do more for our Ludum Dare games; have some music I need to write, etc), but also just to chill out and relax. Games I went through the bonus content of VA-11 HALL-A, so that's all finished up with (don't think I'll bother replaying the main story again, though there is a bit more to experience there).  I've moved on for now -- I just started playing through Cave Story!  Actually playing the remastered Cave Story+ version since apparently I have it on Steam already, but after some careful thinking I decided I'll go with the original sprites/graphics and original soundtrack.  Well...ah, who are we kidding, it wasn't exactly a tough choice.  I appreciate the fact that they took the time to remaster it and everything, but sometimes the original has a certain appeal that is diluted with additional modifications and I personally feel that way about this.  Though, if I was already familiar with the entire soundtrack (I'm not) I think the new soundtrack would be a nice change of pace, so that is something. Other than that, Finding Paradise (the sequel to To The Moon) is out now!  Haven't gotten it yet, but I'm sure I will be going through it at some point.  I wasn't 100% sure what to expect, but apparently Kan Gao himself says the game is "utterly, disgustingly terrible", so now I know exactly what to expect!  (I'm sure it'll exceed expectations, hooray!)  It's all a bit tongue-in-cheek, but to be honest, perhaps it was really warranted after all, because I went into Rakuen expecting a lot out of it and came out disappointed.  So maybe I'll temper my expectations this time.  Though to be honest, how could you not get hyped after THIS trailer???  Hahaha. Besides that, we are making our way through Secret of Mana still (just finished up Ice Country), and have taken a bit of a break on Life Is Strange (but will pick it up again I'm sure).  My brother also came over and we raced through Mega Man 1 through Mega Man 4, which was a blast.  I had a bunch of problems and lost most of those races but was way ahead for Mega Man 3 (also the one that I played the most as a child), so woot.  Mega Man 5 and 6 will probably be real challenges for both of us as we're really unfamiliar with those -- I think I've only finished each of them once... Started playing a bit of Hollow Knight, but unsure exactly what I'll do with that one as I think I want to actually just go through Cave Story first.  It still looks like quite a fine game, but perhaps not as unique or special. Dance Not too much of note here as dance events are sort of on break for the end of the year.  A little birdie told me that Unjammix might actually be happening again sometime, so that is super duper exciting!  Also, it's getting to be a few months before Viennese Ball again, so probably sometime next month it'll be time to whip out my Journey dress and add on the final layers so I can be a fully-embroidered red cloak.  So cool that this costume has been evolving along with me over the past 4 years!!! The last Jammix of the year was not too notable and actually was pretty low-energy for me, but I did end up connecting with someone unexpectedly, which was quite nice. Anime Was skimping on Inuyasha for a while but finally watched another episode, hahaha.  But more notable than that, I watched "The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl" (by the same director and writer as Tatami Galaxy), which I enjoyed a lot!  I've watched a handful of other things in recent months too actually, including A Silent Voice (good) and most notably, The Case of Hana & Alice, which I really loved!  Quite an unusual movie I think, but it's really good, really fun, really well-done.  Currently also watching Evangelion (the series), which I watched most of before (but not all?) but largely forgot about.  Have not watched any movies recently -- haven't yet gone to go see Coco or Star Wars... Xmas Xmas stuff is coming along well!  Like I keep on saying, I still have some DIY gifts to handle, but other than that, everything is pretty much squared away.  It took a lot of work but all the letters and stuff are mailed out and all the gifts are wrapped (and some shipped).  I still have to go on my Santa delivery runs at some point this week but that should be fine :) Cooking Have been trying to make Shui Zhu Yi recently (the sichuan boiled fish dish) to varying degrees of success...I'm finding it quite a difficult dish to get right since there are so many factors, like type of fish, everything that goes into the liquid, the different spices, etc.  I think I am getting closer, and definitely am learning more about what to do and what to avoid, but I'm not nearly there yet.  We'll see. Melee Melee stuff has been good recently; I've been feeling a lot of confidence as Marth especially when I am doing crazy stuff like getting pivot grabs and stuff like that.  I haven't really paid much attention to my Fox but I am trying to grind out some stuff with Falco because my Falco definitely needs some work on tech and punishes, so trying to get better with that.  I'm feeling increasingly comfortable with Falcon but am still figuring out how to place my aerials to go for reads on techchases and how to place moves correctly to combo well.  Perhaps the most exciting development is that I am finally starting to "get" Sheik for the first time, as I'm dedicating some time to learning her as a character.  Like Falcon, she feels really weird in neutral to me, and I had to adjust to learning how to boost grab instead of jc grab (feels really weird....also really weird that you don't =always= boost grab, so you have to do it situationally), but I think my experience with all the others characters (esp Falcon) is helping me understand it more and I feel like I am starting to get a handle on her, which is great since I've always wanted to learn her as a character.  I'm going to try and work that up to par for a while before moving onto Peach, which will require a lot more grinding of techskill since she's a whole other animal. Overall life is in a pretty good spot right now; it's nice to be on vacation finally and to feel like I'm on top of things now instead of juggling around a million different things at once.

[athena-minervaa-blog]

Athena Minervaa x Hendrix Laiskus (ignore the photo ill get a better one) Icy hues flickered to a moving shadow along the far wall of the musky room. At first glance, the young goddess had thought nothing of it, but it was only when It continued to move ever so slightly was when she decided it was time to give it another glance. The movement of the shadow had sparked a slight amount of confusion in the woman as she tried to figure out what the cause was, it seemed too large to be an animal but too slow to be a human. “Reveal yourself.” The brunette had let out as she spoke to the mocking shadows. Her echo had been the only sound to bounce back in her response. How dare they play such games. Had they thought she had been a fool? What had been the reason for such obscurity? Rising to her feet, Athena moved along the far wall; and past all the minor barriers, that seemed to block her from her way. As she navigated around each obstacle the shadow began to move quicker. It was on the run. Angered by the behavior displayed, the woman set foot after it. How are they to invade her personal space, and then proceed to ignore the young goddess? She might have let them go if they were to merely listen; but now they were to pay a price. Gaining on top of the shadow; it wasn’t long before she was at their heels, and with a flick of a wrist; they were under her acrimonious grasp. She had felt the other flinch slightly and pull away from her grip; but it hadn’t been much use, and the other didn’t seem to put up a rather difficult fight. After retrieving back to a desolate room, Athena released the individual and proceeded to be the barrier to the exit. Her anger was brought down to a simmer when she had realized that the intruder was nothing but a kid. Oh, how she couldn’t possibly harm a child. The woman released the small dagger that had already been drawn to her hand; slowly putting it back in its correct holder. Once the dagger had been taken care of, her focus returned on the male. Her icy hues narrowed in the direction of the boy as she instantly spat out to him. “What business do you have lurking around a place like this?” ________________________- The assignment was simple. Watch and learn, find any form of weakness on the target. Hendrix had warned the rest that they shouldn't send him out. He was a disaster now and he knew it. The target was easier to find than he had anticipated but he had to remain in darkness. Why? Because he had been told, not because he wanted to. ''This is bull.'' He muttered in his own mind, unable to make himself care about the mission and that would be his downfall. He sigh when he heard the young Goddess speak. ''If you're caught, run.'' He remembered the words well he had been told before he came out here. A sigh left his lips, not wanting to run but doing so anyway for now, not like he had any chance as he wasn't fast. He could feel the crasp, looking down at the hand as he looked back at her. He didn't put up a fight, the run had worn him out as he had expected, nor could he care about getting caught anyway. Getting pulled to a desolate room, he just looked at her. Unable to grasp the fact that someone with such strange beauty could be his enemy. His eyes glanced down to the dagger that she was putting away. ''I was looking for a pretty girl and there you are.'' He said, trying to sound interested and sincere but surely he was failing at that, as he looked up at her face for a moment only to look back down at the holstered dagger. ''Go ahead. Use it.'' He said in a stoic tone of voice. ''what is it? Too scared to use it? Do it, you'll do me a favor.'' He shrugged as he moved around her. ''Now if you would excuse me, I need to get going.'' He mused, surpressing a yawn as he moved towards the door. __________________________________ "I was looking for a pretty girl and there you are." His words had replayed over and over again in the woman's mind. She couldn't help but snicker at his words. What was this to him? A game? Was he in it for the thrill of the chase? What a foolish child. Her eyes rolled to his words as she could feel his taunts. She didn't understand the male in the slightest. What child would wish for harms way to come over them? Who would ever dare to be that foolish and mock a god? Had he been aware of how powerful the woman was? Or was he underestimating her? Either way it was a rather dangerous game that he had decided to play with her. "Why would i use this against you? You haven't done anything yet to completely deserve that end result." Her words were just as mocking as his. She circled around the boy as she spoke out, clearly amused by his actions. She might not have understood what was going on or why but she wasn't foolish enough to just let him go. Her gaze stiffened; and the amusement faded as she leaned over to speak to him again. "You my darling, aren't going anywhere. Where did you come from? And who sent you!" Her words were sharper than she had intended them to be. But she couldn't let any random person ease their way in. ________________________ Honestly he only agreed to spy on her, to maybe feel some form of thrill, to feel anything at all. But again, there was nothing, no care, no worry, no nothing. In a way it was disappointing, yet it just made him curious, mostly because he didn’t feel disappointment the way others did. “I haven’t? I watched you, invaded your private space. Why not use it against me? The almighty Athena has a soft spot? I mean, that’s what I heard anyway, you’re supposed to be quite ruthless in your ways, are the stories wrong?” He asked as he turned to face her once more. Hen’s hands slid into his pockets as he looked her over fully. A Goddess, but someone looking so very normal to him, yet he was unsure if that was because he simply couldn’t be intimidated anymore by anything. Maybe others would cower in fear before her, worship her like some worshipped the Gods. He knew he would go on his knees for her too but only for the simple reason that standing up was more tiring to him. “I go wherever I want lady, and right now that’s back to my bed, watch some lame ass show on tv. Perfection.” He grinned. “I sent myself. I was curious about you. Can’t a guy be curious about a girl? I mean, I know you are a Goddess to many, but isn’t there still a girl somewhere under all that bravado? That’s what I was curious about. If there is more about you than meets the initial eye. So what’s it gonna be, lady? Stab me or watch me walk out?” ______ Athena’s reply Athena Minerva The males taunts had infuriated the young brunette. How could one just be so reckless? Why hadn't he cared? She didn't like his test one bit. Her lips moved in a thin line as she listened again to what was said. His bored tone replayed over and over again in the woman's mind. Her hands reached once more for the knife as she circled around the male. Without another thought, her hands wrapped quickly around the males face forcing him to look at her. The tip of the knife danced between the small gap between the two of them. "I would watch your tongue if I were you; for your wishes can easily become my request. I want to spare you child, but you are making it harder by the passing moment." her words trailed off as she listened back to the man. Softly he had answered her questions, but not in the manner she would have preferred. "I believe there is a far more appropriate way to speak to a goddess like myself, and it doesn't include 'lady.'" The woman purred.