#replaying that game really made me appreciate these two

[cherriski]

I swear I will finish this

[daydreamingyuta]

jeno fluff please..😔 knowing how he is a big homebody, i’m sure he’s the kind that would love to just chill around the house or find random things to do to keep himself entertained 🥹

Homebody | Jeno

summary: fluff, bf!Jeno spending a relaxing day at home with you instead of going out. wc: 1,066 a/n: I've been wanting to write for Jeno for a while now so thank you for requesting! Jeno's such a cutie so I had sm fun writing this. I hope you like it! <3

The two of you had every intention of going out today, but like always, staying home just sounded so much better. Jeno definitely wasn’t complaining, he had always been a homebody and getting to spend time with his favorite person in sweatpants was all he could ask for. 

You’re sitting in Jeno’s bed on your phone, when you hear him walk through the door with a pile of snacks in his arms.You crane your neck a bit so you can get a better view of everything he was holding.

“Are you smiling that big because of me or the snacks?” Jeno asks, stopping at the doorway.

“... the snacks obviously.”

He fake pouts and refuses to move any closer toward you. You two have a mini staring contest before you finally give up. Getting out of the bed, you walk over to Jeno who instinctively moves the snacks further away from you. “I’m not going to grab them.” You say, taking Jeno’s face into your hands and pressing your lips onto his. “Obviously I was smiling because of you.”

“Here.” He says happily, handing over your favorite chips. You gladly take them and hop back into his bed, moving the blanket back and patting the bed to invite Jeno to sit. All the snacks flop onto the bed while he gets situated. You feel his arms wrap around you as he moves you in between his legs with your back resting against his chest. You always loved to sit like this because Jeno was the absolute best pillow.

You get comfortable and you feel Jeno’s hand rest on your thigh, which was something that always made you melt. “What are we watching?” You ask, turning your head so you can look up at him. 

“Hm, I don’t know, let's just go through netflix and see what we find.” He says, grabbing the remote. As always, It took you two far too long to settle on a movie, but you finally pick one you’re both interested in. 

Throughout the movie, you both share all the snacks but once they’re gone, you find yourselves more cuddled into each other. By the time the movie was over, you had moved to Jeno’s side so you could watch videos on his phone while you ran your fingers through his soft hair. 

This went on for a while until one video replayed three times and Jeno still hadn’t moved onto the next one. You look over at him and see that he had closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of you playing with his hair. You stop and give a gentle tug which causes his eyes to open. 

“You’re so cute Jeno.” You say, as he looks up at you.  

“Please don’t stop, baby.” He says, giving you those eyes that you could never resist so of course, you oblige. Before you know it, he starts to fall asleep. He had been pretty busy lately so you could hardly blame him for needing to take a nap. You were always so easily influenced by him so you also decided to close your eyes. Your body moves closer to him as you feel his arms wrap tightly around you, which always makes you feel so safe and comforted. 

⸻

You really don’t know why you don’t take naps with Jeno more often. Waking up in his arms always reminded you of how much you adored moments like this with him. His slightly messy hair, his warm body being pressed against yours, and how relaxed you felt like this. It made you want to appreciate more of these types of moments with him, the moments he only shares with you.

You’re both on your phones trying to fully wake up again, when you hear Jeno’s phone ding. You didn’t mean to look over and read his text, but you saw that Haechan had asked him if he could go online and play a game. You assumed he would say yes, but he didn’t move. 

“You can play with Haechan, I don’t mind.” You say, surprising him that you had seen what Haechan had said. 

“No, I don't wanna ignore you.” He says, grabbing your hand in his and squeezing it. 

“No, really I brought my book over and I know you’ve been wanting to play all week.” Before you could fully get your sentence out, Jeno gives you no less than ten kisses all over your face. “Tell me if you get bored and I’ll get off, ok?.”

You nod your head, assuring him that you’re more than fine with it. You’re at a really good part in your book right now anyways so you get comfy while Jeno starts up his game.

Almost an hour goes by and you’re so into your book. You just got to the reveal of the plot twist and your eyes are glued to the story, which is why you didn’t notice Jeno staring at you. The sounds of his game were still going on in the background so there was nothing to signify to you that he had stopped playing. 

“You’re so pretty baby.” He says, taking you away from the different world on the pages. You look up at him and use your book to cover up your smile. Jeno always found a way to make you shy. “You’re supposed to be playing your game.”

“I know, but I looked over at you and got distracted.” You watch as he turns back to his computer and shuts the game off. He walks over to you and flops down right next to you. “Don’t let me stop you from reading your book.” He says, as he gestures for you to keep reading.

“Are you going to stare at me the whole time?” 

Jeno nods his head and then finds a comfortable spot so he can do exactly that. You read your book for about two minutes before you get shy again from his gaze. “Jennoo” You say, holding your book down, unable to hold in your smile

“Ok, ok I’ll stop but it’s not my fault you’re so addicting to look at.” You watch as he takes his eyes off of you and takes his phone out. You try to get back to your book but his sweet words were the only thing that filled your mind.

“I’m glad we stayed home today.”

“Hm, me too.”

[yurucamp]

Since you mentioned you'd enjoyed it recently, I'd love to hear what you thought and liked about Signalis!

firstly, its presentation is impeccable; it's so polished and cohesive the fact it was made by a two-person team stuns me! i remember gasping in awe at some of the first-person scenes. it really made me think "jesus christ, i want to be a better game developer, i want to learn unity and make something like this"

i found the game itself quite fun to play, but i think i started to like it more after finishing it and watching some long videos recounting its story. the story is presented in such a piecemeal manner that it took a while for the tragedy of it to really hit me, and i think i'd like it even more upon replaying it. (i'm not sure if you've played it so i don't want to spoil, but the central conceit of the game was not at all obvious to me while playing, and looking back at it in hindsight gave me a greater appreciation of how everything fit together.)

i also love how, despite wearing its inspirations on its sleeve and borrowing so liberally from different sources, it's able to create a final product that's wholy its own. like as clear as the developers' inspirations are, it's impossible to accuse it of being a copy or clone of any specific thing, all of those sources are reflected into something new

[m0e-ru]

p4 pokemon au where all problems are because of some stupid zoroark cracked with action replay

maul me over as much as you want over poke partner choices because idgaf im going to start yapping under the cut (2.5k words are yuo joking ?)

um where can i start

i wanna make it clear im sure these characters would all have different pokemon teams if they were playing pokemon on the nintendo ds, like, souji could be a rest staller if he wanted to. but anyway, heres my idea of who these guys would partner up with because i think it’s fun. and none of this is final i could give namatame a goomy too AHAHA

oh another disclaimer while i proclaim ive played all the mainline games, is i havent actually played a pokemon game past XY also im a unova babygirl est 2014 . yippie

Souji feels like such a normal-type guy to me. Cheren black and white. Well, the gray did influence it, but also he’s a very flexible guy.

He caught a Lillipup as a kid, and it’s been with him through multiple moves. His parents didn’t care about a pokemon in the house as long as it didn’t make a fuss, and was kind of Souji’s only friend at the time. It evolved into a Herdier at some point before he gets to Inaba, and probably gets to be a Stoutland for the whole Izanagi-no-Okami equivalent.

Not that I think he’d cheese his way through battles with Work Up -> Return shtick, but I think it’s a funny thought lol

Yusuke got a Tadbulb following him around, which he found in the moving van when his family was unpacking. And the next few weeks, he almost ran over a Froakie going 60kph on his bike. Yosuke appreciates having the Tadbulb around when working around Junes, and the Froakie guides him through Inaba as a local I guess lol. It evolves into the Frogadier when they go investigate the serial murders with Souji. It probably knows Aerial Ace for all I know LMAO

Chie’s Glaceon’s actually Muku, the Eevee Yukiko tried to take care of, until it was put in Chie’s care when she wasn’t allowed to keep it. When they were middle school, after one vacation at Mt. Yasogami, the Eevee ended up evolving next to an Ice Rock of all things. The two wondered why it didn’t evolve from friendship, like an Espeon or an Umbreon, and they joke around that the Eevee loved neither of them and bonded with a chunk of ice instead. Chie makes it wear a muffler because she misses Eevee's fluffy coat, in a way.

Around the same time, Chie found a Mienshao training with her at the flood plains, and it decided to stay with her. Sometimes, she’d offer Yukiko to have it help out at the inn.

Kanji’s mom actually kept a Cottonee around to gather the stray cotton it leaves around to spin into thread sometimes. She wondered where it went, until Kanji admitted it evolved into a Whimsicott after it touched a rock he found lying around on the way home, which was a Sun Stone. It still stays around to help, and even floats all the way to Yasogami just to deliver Kanji’s lunch he forgot at home.

Kanji caught a Blitzle himself, and it was also there when he was beating up all the bikers making a ruckus by the highway, which made him easy to profile during that one TV segment about him. It goes with Kanji while he’s biking, and he’d refuse its help even when he gets tired.

Nobody really knows how Teddie became a boy, nor where he got his Cubchoo. All he’s mentioned is that they “saw one another in each other’s eyes” and it starts sneezing into Yosuke’s face. Well, it’s not too bad because they’re both Junes’ new mascots, in a way. Maybe he IS the Cubchoo 🤔🤔🤔

Rise had the Ralts since middle school. Having it perform with her during her audition to be an idol almost basically made her in the cut. It evolved into a Kirlia which made her more popular as Risette. Although, fans and haters started throwing Dawn Stones at it after a statement where Rise didn’t want to reveal its gender even with so many people asking. Most of them were fake, just to give Rise a scare, and it was only super fans or super haters that would throw in the real deal at shows or even just handshake sessions.

Naoto’s grandfather helped him catch a Surskit before he left the estate and became the Detective Prince. He once accused a Sneasel to be a culprit of one case, but it ended up proving itself innocent, nagging Naoto to certain evidence when he just thought it was annoying him. Impressed by each other’s wit, they’ve become partners in solving crime. Naoto would pacify it with his Surskit’s sweet syrup. And when the Surskit evolved into a Masquerain, Naoto would have two partners by his side. Although, this lead to trusting his own instincts and pokemon more than other people.

Chisato owned a Rockruff, which even adored Dojima before they were even married. It evolved into a midday Lycanroc, which started to help Dojima with his own investigations. When Chisato passed, it was less bitter than Dojima, and would be sent home to stay with Nanako if he ever had to work overnight. When Nanako was comfortable enough with Souji and his Herdier, the Lycanroc would stay with Dojima, and Adachi would help prop him on its back when he gets himself drunk.

A bit after Chisato’s funeral in the middle of the mourning period, her mother came to her granddaughter, Nanako, and gave her a Cleffa, in which they would both learn to take care of each other. It would have fun being tossed around in the air by the Lycanroc and Herdier at home, while Souji would tell Nanako to make a wish on the star everytime it was in the air. Because it’s the Star Shape pokemon lol i think it’s cute

While Adachi was still in the big city, he’d see the skinniest Purrloin in an alley on the way home. He fed it once, and it wouldn’t stop pestering him since. He thought it was over when his apartment complex neighbors started feeding it, but it found delight in annoying Adachi specifically, taking his keys from his pockets, or nabbing a bit of his takeout when he was distracted.

It jumped into the boot of his car, genuinely curious of what was going on, until it found itself in an hours long trip which ended with it in Inaba. Dojima mentioned his Lycanroc smelled a feline scent on him, while Adachi just denies he owns a pokemon, much less that Purrloin that isn’t even native to the area. It’s caught the attention of the locals for a while, and it took it to its advantage to get more people to feed it, but still hangs around Adachi to go nick his new, rusty apartment keys.

There’s also like, this Shuppet that shows up at some point, and his landlady and neighbors keep telling him about it and giving him weird looks. But he doesnt believe in superstitions and doesnt have a pokedex to look at so who cares

Namatame's family has a Bunnelby helping around the business with little chores and such. His parents send it off to Namatame to work with him and keep him company while he tries to recover. Somewhere along the way, he finds an Absol following him on a rainy day, which he takes care of alongside the Bunnelby entrusted to him, or maybe it’s taking care of him? While Namatame becomes more manic each passing day as his messiah complex gets to him, he starts distancing himself from Bunnelby and spends more time with Absol. 

The MOEL gas station has a shiny Heliolisk, but a lot of people don't really know the concept of shiny pokemon, and they haven't seen Heliolisks or Helioptiles in the urban area, so they don't really think it's so special besides it being a different color. It's nothing more than a mascot of sorts, and does silly things with the attendant; like startling Adachi and that Purrloin that follows him around. It can sense when it's going to rain by feeling the static electricity around it. And what's rather peculiar is that it doesn't seem too averse to rain or cloudy skies. It does enjoy basking in the sun, and people would look up to see it hanging around on the station canopy with a spread out frill those days.

okay, so this is the part where I'm supposed to talk about plot. um. anyway

Way back when, there was a Zoroark that would walk among people, disguised as a human. People started rumors and suspected this woman really is a pokemon, but nobody seemed to shun her or really care, she was just a nice lady and took care of the people around her. People would say she came to them from a greater power to be a guardian to the land, similar to the legends in different regions, like Sinnoh and their Arceus.

However, the way she protects her people would be through illusions. She would keep external and malicious forces at bay by severely frightening them at the mountaintops, or the forests, if they ever got through, be it human or pokemon. If anyone were hurt or were about to die, unable to be treated to health, she would comfort them in a grand dream as they would fall asleep for the very last time. 

As time went on and technology developed, people were so entranced with the television broadcasts, wanting to know who was behind the screen, even if they were covered up in makeup and filters. 

The greater power sought to sate the people's desires, and saw the Zoroark it left in their care wasn't enough. So it split the pokemon into two, with one half so weak it was just a Zorua. The newly born Zoroark went off to accomplish its appointed duty, no matter the means. To better determine what the people wanted, however, it created a scheme which would involve stimulating the masses to come to an answer.

The Zoroark played a simple gas station attendant, which would stay close and observe the people. It would choose three pawns to watch over, manipulating the situation in tandem to their reactions. 

well so um basically there's still an isekai with TV portals. the iznmi Zoroark has enough power this time to create pocket dimensions straight from its illusion power. Every victim that ends up inside still gets haunted by their “truth” iznmi determines after scrutinizing them. The Midnight Channel broadcasts are also their illustrations. so basically, instead of things going on by itself from the collective unconscious reacting, it's a Zoroark piecing things together. it's kinda like pokepark 2. HAHAHA

Namatame's still kidnapping people he sees on the Midnight Channel. And when he gets Nanako, the Bunnelby stays behind and begs the IT to help. It helps them find Namatame, where they confront him and his Absol. Through illusions and legitimate power channeling, the Absol mega evolves. The IT defeat it and it returns to a normal Absol. They take both Nanako and Namatame to the hospital, the Bunnelby by Namatame's side the whole time.

When Adachi's suspected to be the killer, he escapes into the world inside the TV and makes a deal with the Zoroark. The Purrloin follows Adachi's scent and ends up in the TV, terrified of its unknown surroundings and hiding from the rest of the monstrous illusions that popped up. It got used to the world, however, and when the IT arrived, it helped them with Adachi's silly puzzles, to which he groans through a PA about how that pokemon’s still annoying him in another world. 

The IT confront Adachi, until a Mismagius appears to stop them. It sings Perish Song (because Magatsu-Izanagi is a Ghastly Wail kind of thing lmfao) but everyone stood their ground, blocking the song from their ears. Even under Adachi's (albeit in pain) command, the Mismagius falters, and the Zoroark takes things into its own hands, creating a bigger illusion to finally deal with these meddling kids for itself. 

But they defeat Ame-no-Sagiri, and its grand voice agrees to stop the grand illusions plaguing Inaba. The IT still have no idea who this conductor of schemes is, and Adachi can't give a clear answer either 

Marie's a Zorua with amnesia so bad she forgot she's a Zorua at all. She started her illusion as a human girl just to aimlessly wander around Inaba more easily and has been stuck in that form since. She was taken into the Velvet Room where they can clearly see that she isn't a human, but a pokemon. What's impressive is that she doesn't have a tail sticking out, which would mean her powers of illusion are rather potent. 

Souji’s made to chaperone her around Inaba to get her memories back, the whole shtick. While everyone stops prying into her nonexistent life, they're impressed with her ability to understand pokemon, as if she can actually understand them. Marie comes to the conclusion that she must have grown up around pokemon to be able to understand them that well. 

In the end, she finds out she is a pokemon, and iznmi Zoroark sends her to a grave that is physically in Inaba, instead of a pocket dimension. 

Margaret creates a conduit from that shed TV to that tomb somewhere in Inaba. Marie runs around as a Zorua and makes illusions to stop the IT from getting to her. But they manage to get to the heart of the tomb and get Zorua Marie from burying herself. 

They defeat another one of iznmi Zoroark’s avatars dwelling in Marie which was controlling her, then Marie comes back to the IT, accepting her identities as a pokemon and a human girl.

The IT thought that the illusions have stopped, and people are free to see what's really in front of their eyes. But Souji confronts the gas station at MOEL, where he reveals he's really a Zoroark with a duty, even startling the Heliolisk by its side. 

The IT enter the final world of illusions and desperately try to find the Zoroark to convince it to stop and let people truly live, that no one should hold their hands all the time, and quit living in a painless and meaningless utopia.

With everyone and their pokemon exhausted, Marie finds the strength to convince her other self. To let it see that she is living proof how people can live a life with the truth, and how they can stand on their own feet. 

After some time, the Zoroark agrees to dispel the illusions it has made, and appoint the rest of its power to Marie for her to be the guardian pokemon of the people of Inaba.

[an0ther1]

Untitled

Leah x OC

This is the start of something Im playing around with. Feedback is appreciated, or ideas/suggestions.

She took one last look in the mirror. It was just dinner with a friend, but being a public figure meant more eyes were usually on her than most. A pair of comfortable designer jeans she had gotten from a photo shoot and a maroon fitted jumper made it look like she wasn’t trying too hard without looking like she didn’t care at all.

She tousled her hair one more time before grabbing her phone and heading to the door to grab her black winter coat and purse. The restaurant was only a few blocks from her place so it wasn’t worth the bother to drive. She didn’t mind the walk either, some of the houses on her street always went all out with their light displays and holiday decorations. Tonight was the first chance she got to walk by and enjoy them.

She was around the corner from the restaurant when her phone went off with a text notification. Even before she pulled it out of her pocket she knew what it was going to be.

Lessi: So sorry Lee, can’t make it tonight. Can we reschedule for later this week?

“Really Russo.” Leah said under her breath as she continued walking. She should have known Alessia was going to cancel. United was in town, which meant Ella was in town, and Alessia always ditched plans with others to hang out with her best friend instead. At least the last time this happened she gave a few hours advance notice. Not 5 minutes before they were supposed to meet.

Lee: Yeah, that’s fine. Tell Tooney I said hello, and I would appreciate it if she could put a few in against Chelsea tomorrow.

Leah stepped into the restaurant and headed for the bar. If she was going to be dining solo, there was no need to get a table. At least at the bar top her back was to the other patrons and she could enjoy a meal in relative peace.

The restaurant wasn’t terribly busy, but there was only one open seat at the bar. Thankfully it was at the end so she would only be sitting next to one stranger instead of being sandwiched between two. Leah crossed her fingers that the guy she was about to sit next to didn’t try and hit on her all night.

“This seat taken?” She asked politely walking up behind the seat.

“Nope. You’re more than welcome to it. Let me scoot over and give you a bit more room.” The person replied in a very obvious American accent and a deep but distinctly feminine voice.

“Oh.” Leah was caught off guard by her incorrect assumption. “I appreciate that, thank you.” She told the person as she took off her coat and placed it on the back of the chair.

After she was settled, a waiter behind the bar walked up. “Ms. Williamson, pleasure to see you again.” They said as they handed her a menu. “Start you with a drink?”

“Thank you. Glass of chardonnay, please.”

“Sure thing.” They said and then headed back down the bar.

“Regular here, huh?” The person next to her asked as they took a sip of their drink without looking in her direction.

“Not really. Only been in a few times.” She replied quietly, not really wanting to drawn much attention to herself.

“Ah, then clearly they watch women's football. As they should.”

And clearly this person knew who she was too.

“Mmm, yeah, I guess.” Was all Leah said in response.

There was silence after that, the stranger going back to their drink. They had their phone propped up on the bar watching what Leah guessed was a replay of the U.S. game against China PR from the week prior.

Leah couldn’t help herself. “What do you think of the Emma Hayes move?”

The stranger turned and faced her for the first time and Leah was struck by piercing blue eyes. Their hair was light brown and cut in a more masculine style, buzzed on the sides with the top longer and brushed back and towards one side. They had a strong jawline, but the rest of their features were what Leah would describe as soft almost. The perfect balance of masculine and feminine. Definitely not Leah’s type, but she wasn’t blind, they were very attractive.

“I think we’ll finally start utilizing the talent we have properly and stop banging our head against a wall repeatedly doing the same thing when it obviously doesn’t work. And I’m not naive, things aren’t going to change overnight. We have a young group we’re still trying to get together on the same page, but maybe they’ll all start going in the same direction at least.” The stranger finished.

“So you weren’t a fan of Vlatko I’m guessing?”

“Absolutely not. He was boring, soft, his lineups and tactics were questionable at best. I didn’t like the hire from the get go and I think he was there too long.” The stranger took a sip of their drink. “I think the powers that be got a much needed reality check. We can’t accept mediocrity and still expect to win. The women’s game has changed. Other countries are finally starting to invest in their women’s programs and youth levels bit by bit, and they are coming for the US, Germany. Being a top 5 team in the world doesn’t mean your success is a guarantee like it might have in the past.”

The waiter walked over then with Leah’s wine. She gave him her order, not bothering to even open the menu, just ordering the same chicken dish had gotten the last time she was there.

“What do you think of the move? Has a bit of an impact on league and country. Her leaving one rival and going to another so to speak.” The stranger asked over her glass before taking another sip.

“Oh, umm. It is quite the shake up. I admit I’m curious who will fill her role at Chelsea. But I’m not sure I have much to say about her taking over the U.S. team. At least not at the moment.” Leah really wasn’t looking to get into any type of potential disagreement or the like with an American about their countries football team. Keeping neutral was best.

“Fair enough.” The stranger gave a slow head nod and turned back to the game on her phone.

Leah took a sip of her wine and watched the game over the strangers shoulder. They must of had a 6th sense because they moved their phone in between the two of them without a word.

“They’re definitely disjointed. Struggling to connect between the defense and the attackers. And they can’t seem to string more than 3 passes together before they lose it.” Leah let her thoughts roll out.

“Like I said, not on the same page. There are a lot of fresh faces, which I love. But they need more time together for sure. That would help with the fluidity issue. They still need to get used to Sonnett playing the 6. I think her energy in the middle still catches some of them off guard. The speed of Thompson is hard for some to keep up with and anticipate what she’s trying to do. There is just a lot of change.” The stranger replied without so much as a glance in Leah’s direction.

It was oddly comfortable talking to a stranger about football as if Leah wasn’t really a part of that world. This person wasn’t asking her about her injury recovery, wasn’t asking or saying anything that actually had to do with Leah in any way. It was a rather nice change from her usual encounters with strangers who knew who she was and what she did for a living.

They continued watching the game in relative silence, just throwing out random comments about a play or player sporadically until Leah’s order arrived.

The waiter placed the plate in front of Leah on the bar. “Anything else I can get ya?” He asked.

“No, I think I’m alright for the time being. Thank you.” Leah gave him a polite smile.

The waiter turned to the stranger. “Another round RJ?”

“Nah, I think I’m good Colin.” The stranger pulled out their wallet and laid a bill on the bar top. “You know the drill.”

Colin, the waiter, let out a hearty laugh. “Yeah, yeah. Keep the change. You keep tipping me like this I’m going to have to start buying your rounds.” He waved the bill at her. A £50 note.

“I might let you do that. Once. But we’ll see.” The stranger, or well, RJ as the waiter had called them, got up from their chair and began putting on a camel hair coat that had been laying over the chair.

As they buttoned up their coat, Leah could help but notice how tall they were. The waiter looked to be about 6 foot, and RJ didn’t seem too far off in comparison.

“Ms. Williamson,” RJ broke Leah out of her mental calculation on their height. “It was very nice to meet you. Maybe we’ll see each other around sometime.”

“Oh, yes. It was nice to meet you as well, umm RJ?” Leah questioned. Not sure if she was to call them that or not.

“Enjoy your meal.” RJ bowed their head slightly, turned and walked away.

“RJ’s an interesting one.” The waiter said as they picked up the empty glass and wiped down the surface where RJ had been seated.

“How’d ya mean?”

“They have a drink or two, and then always hand over a £50 note. Won’t accept change even though the tab is usually less than £20.” He shook his head.

“Are they a regular?” Leah asked.

“Not sure if I would call them a regular just yet. They only moved from America about a month and a half ago, they said. Some digital job of some sort.” He shrugged. “Just holler if you need anything else.” He turned and headed back down the bar.

[tulipsinthedas]

Just finished binging the Fallout tv show and 🤯 I've got so many thoughts running through this little brain of mine. So here's a very long rant no one asked for. Maybe I'll make a more digestible version later. Obviously SPOILERS AHEAD!!! Be warned!

First off - the lore. So many interesting things were added into the lore by this show that I find so fascinating, as well as theories I've had that were touched upon. All of which makes this very exciting but also leaves me DESPERATE for season two. The main thing that has really stuck with me is the confirmation that Vault-Tec were the ones to drop the bombs like hello??? I've always had an inkling ever since I started delving into fallout lore a good year or two ago that they were behind everything, but finally having it confirmed is so fun. Of course, some people out there are going to be irritated (L take) but this imo will make replays so much more interesting. Same with the addition of ghouls needing medication to keep from becoming feral. Although this begs some questions; what is the medicine? Is it just radaway, or something else entirely? Maybe it's connected to whatever Hancock used to ghoulify himself? Or maybe it's connected to Doctor Barrows' research into ghouls fom Fallout 3? Idk! But I hope it's answered in season 2.

Cooper being the inspiration behind the iconic vault boy mascot absolutely gagged me. It was kinda hinted at even in the beginning at the kids birthday party but I was still surprised. Pleasantly, of course. Other smaller things, like the BOS branding and helmets opening up, among other things, were also fun touches that develop the lore in ways that the games probably never would have. It's small things like this that despite livening up the wasteland, would be unnecessary uses of resources from a game-development standpoint. So I think if season 2 ends up being a banger like season 1, we could see a lot more tiny additions to the lore like this!

Secondly - the characters. I don't even know where to start. They were written so well which is such a critical part of a good series. Lucy, despite everything she goes through, stays true to her morals and by doing so, probably unknowingly, is changing those around her. Despite being stubborn, she's willing to listen and understand other viewpoints and adapt herself. It's so refreshing to see a main female lead who isn't written as either weak and naive or strong and boneheaded; she'd a perfect mix of both. I also appreciate them not making her a total push over, even in the beginning before she is given any reason to change. She grows, but never fails to stay true to herself. Plus the whole sex positive thing is an amazing touch to add as well, especially for a woman.

And while on this topic, Maximus is such a cutie pie. Writing characters that are selflessly aligned can definitely be a hit or miss, and without properly being fleshed out, can be one-dimensional, but I never felt that way with him. Despite trying to help others and be a good person, he still has flaws and does feels selfish things. They took the trope of the knight in shining armor, literally, and gave him actual human characteristics that made him feel real. Underneath his heroic demeanor, he's just a little guy who likes slippers and vault popcorn. Who just wants to be somewhere safe away from war and danger, to be where he can just relax and not have to worry. And his romance arc with Lucy is just way too cute. From the moment they met in Filly I knew something was going to happen and I was so excited when they finally kissed lmao. The sweet, innocent love at first sight thing they have going on is the perfect dichotomy to all the bloodshed and heavy themes going on in the rest of the show.

And finally, Cooper is reviving the inner ghoul lover in me and I cannot complain at all. As a certified Hancock lover, I feel seen ✋ also Walton Goggins is just incredibly fine. But that's besides the point. His character is arguably the best written because despite being an undeniably evil person, he is still likeable. 200 years have turned him into a man who had to lose his humanity to survive, and the pre-war flashbacks being shown through his eyes give him, and the story, so much depth. Despite his ways, you can't help but still feel for him, to still root for him and hope that he still has a little bit of that humanity left within him. Which imo was shown multiple times; for example him not killing Maximus in episode two even though he easily could have done so. And the fact that he's still searching for his family all these years later? When he was asked what has been keeping him going so long, I think they are his reason. Whether he is searching to reunite or to exact revenge on Barb for dropping the bombs while him and Janey were outside idk. But it makes his story all the more heartbreaking. I also love the writing for Norm, Moldaver, Dane, and so many others, but this is already too long ass it is.

Overall, this series was so good and I'll be impatiently awaiting season 2! Some things I'm hoping to see next seasons are super mutants for sure, as well as synths and more of the enclave. I think they went easy this season to test the waters and see just how interested people are. And now that they know people are very interested, I think they'll be more willing to invest a larger budget, and add more. Rant over!

[thought-42]

A moment at the beginning of Thrawn and Ezra's space adventures

500 word chunklet that doesn't fit anywhere in my 'Ezra Bridger in theChiss Ascendancy' au, yote out into the void so it leaves my gdoc.

Ezra doesn’t remember as much as he should about the immediate post-Purrgil aftermath. He remembers too much time passing in only a few minutes. Colour he can’t describe in words.

Humans are not made to be that close to hyperspace.

He remembers feeling a lot of people dying. It wasn’t the first time. It wouldn’t be the last.

He remembers his arm hanging loose off his shoulder like an empty sleeve, remembers thinking very clearly ‘a lightsaber will cauterise an amputation’.

He remembers staring up at a purple sky and hearing someone (Thrawn, he knows in retrospect) throwing up somewhere off to his left. He remembers thinking he was gonna start throwing up in sympathetic reaction. He doesn’t remember if he actually did.

He remembers the hiss of rain on hot metal. He remembers stumbling, grimly determined, towards the shade of trees, feeling like he was breathing water, with his hand held over Thrawn’s eyes. He remembers realizing what moisture and bacteria and scavengers do to dead bodies.

He’s pretty sure Thrawn bit him.

He’s pretty sure he tried to drown himself in a swamp just to get a break from the constant mental replay of bodies that no longer looked like people. His brain has helpfully blurred out a lot of the details, which he appreciates in the interests of remaining a functional person. Thrawn must have dragged him out of the swamp. Or the swamp was a metaphor the whole time, or a fantasy he created to self-soothe.

The first temporally plottable memory he has is watching Thrawn rinse blood out of his hair in the river and realizing:

“Oh hey. Your eyeliner game was really good, I definitely thought that was just. Your eyes.”

Thrawn had rolled said eyes so hard Ezra had started laughing and hadn’t been able to stop for a good five minutes.

Years later, when they’re no longer the only two sentients on the whole planet but long before they’ve made it to somewhere safe, Ezra will say “I’m amazed you didn’t just chuck me in the river right then and there.” “At the time it felt entirely appropriate,” Thrawn will say, flatly. “I tried to strangle a child with my bare hands in front of my own officers after choosing to bomb a civilian target even as I was fully aware my life was likely forfeit as soon as I returned to the capital. It was not, you might say, a high point in my career. To be mocked for my one venture into fashion while I was still actively concussed and alone felt just right.”

“I wasn’t a child,” Ezra says, and then nothing else because the rest of what he is thinking is exceedingly unkind, starting with ‘there’s no way that was your first time attacking civilians’ and going all the way to ‘tell me you were passively suicidal without telling me you were passively suicidal, if our positions were reversed I’d have gone for your throat long before we got to that point.’ Some people grew up with parents and a safe home and it shows.

[aughby]

The Midnight Rider

As a professional volleyball player renowned for his unrivaled spikes and unshakable determination on the court, Yuki Ishikawa was the pride of his village. Beneath his seemingly fit look, however, was a passion that not many people were aware of: nighttime motorcycle riding. Yuki traded in his jersey for a stylish leather jacket and headed out onto the wide roads, taking comfort in the freedom of the night and the hum of his bike as the stadium lights went out.

After a really hard battle one evening, Yuki had the overwhelming want to bike. He couldn't help but give in to the allure of the crisp night air. He had a unique kind of calm as he wound through the little alleyways, the city lights gleaming off the visor of his helmet. He had no idea that his double life was going to take a surprising turn.

A woman appeared out of nowhere, running across the pavement and waving wildly. Confused, Yuki pulled over.

"Thank heavens! I've been holding out for ages!" Without hesitation, she slid onto the back of his bike and exclaimed. "Let's go, I'm running late!"

Before Yuki could object, the woman touched his shoulder, leaving him shocked. "Come on, Rider Angkas! Now let's get going!"

Yuki laughed to himself when he realized she had thought he was a motorbike taxi driver. The circumstances were too strange to ignore. He started the engine and took off without saying anything.

Aya, the woman, struck up an animated conversation as they zoomed across the city. "I have to go home so I can watch the Yuki Ishikawa match replay. Truly remarkable, isn't he? I adore you so much!"

Beneath his helmet, Yuki couldn't help but smile. He answered, keeping his voice low to avoid being recognized, "Yeah, he's pretty good."

"You're informing me!" Unaware that her idol was the one riding the bike, Aya said, "I wish I could meet him one day." "At the moment, though, I'll be content to arrive home in time to witness him spike those balls."

Yuki found himself enjoying the talk as he skillfully made his way through the streets. Aya was full of energy, excited, and had no idea who she was speaking to. Upon arriving at her destination, she got off and gave him a folded dollar.

"Keep the change Sir !" She grinned as she spoke. "I appreciate the ride! Mr. Angkas, maybe I'll see you around!"

Yuki was left standing by his bike, chuckling, as Aya vanished into her building with a wave. He accelerated the car, stuffed the cash in his pocket, and drove out into the night.

Yuki was back on his bike, relishing the crisp night air, a few nights later. He was shocked to see Aya waving him down when he passed the same location.

"Not at all! You once more?Aya leaped onto the bike and laughed. "I suppose you're now my own Angkas Rider!"

Yuki made the decision to have some fun this time. "Where are you going, miss?" With a deeper tone, he questioned.

Aya settled in and said, "Home again, please." "And move quickly! I wouldn't want to miss a second of Yuki's battle tonight.

Yuki, without even realizing it, felt a peculiar connection to this stranger who was so enthusiastic about volleyball and about him as they rode across the city. The trip turned into a routine. Aya would signal him down every few evenings, and Yuki would comply silently, feigning to be simply another Angkas Rider.

One evening, Aya let out a sigh as they got closer to her apartment. "Mr. Angkas, you know, you make me think of Yuki Ishikawa." You two exude confidence and serenity. Perhaps you also play volleyball?"

Yuki laughed. "Perhaps," he cryptically responded.

Aya laughed and shook her head. Yes, exactly! By now, I would have figured it out if you were Yuki Ishikawa!"

Beneath his helmet, Yuki smiled, relishing the covert. Even so, he was aware that the game couldn't endure forever.

When they arrived at her building on their subsequent ride, Yuki felt it was time to tell her the truth. He took off his helmet and looked up at her.

"There's actually something I should tell you about,"

But Aya gasped before he could say anything more. "Oh my god, It's you! Ishikawa Yuki?"

Yuki gave a shy smile. "Yes, surprisingly enough?"

Eyes wide, Aya stood transfixed in shock. "You were my Angkas Rider the entire time?"

Yuki nodded, not sure how she would respond. He was relieved when she suddenly started laughing. "This is really crazy! Without even realizing it, I've been fangirling over you to your face!"

Yuki chuckled as well, releasing the tension. It's a small world, I suppose.

Aya continued to giggle and shook her head. "Mr. Ishikawa, you're full of surprises." "You know, though, you're still my favorite Angkas Rider ever."

Yuki smiled. Happy to hear that. "So, would you like a lift to the next match?"

Aya grinned, still struggling to process what was happening. As long as you swear not to take off the bike by surprise!"

And with that, the pair drove off into the night, the city lights fading into a neon streak as they laughed together, connected by the most peculiar and unexpected of threads.

[space-spring]

I reblogged that post the other day about never finishing video games and it made me stop and think hard about my life and the fact that. oh my god....... I really DO never finish video games........... So I have changed my ways by finishing up Chapter 4 and the ending of Chaos route for Tactics Ogre! Tons of endgame spoilers ahead but here are my bullet-pointed highlights:

My guy Azelstan the pirate! I love him. His whole arc with losing his daughter reminded me a little of Svarog and Hossabara from Triangle Strategy (albeit with substantially more nihilism!), and finding him at the port and then going through the story with the girl he takes under his wing made me die a little inside.

I do really appreciate the fact that even once he joins you he's still a little bit of a mess! I feel like a lot of the characters join Denam out of anger or honor or something else equally passionate, and meanwhile Azelstan's out here going "I've lost everything I love and this is just a decent way to try and make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else." He's simply a very sad old man and I love him a lot

This is not a highlight per se but it IS funny: I had to play the whole pirate cove dungeon where you recruit him like three or four times because I kept thinking I had the recruitment conditions fulfilled and then. did not in fact have the recruitment conditions fulfilled. I killed SO many ghosts. I got to the point where I just bought like 30 exorcism arcanas before going in so I could just have anyone regardless of cleric status blast the stilled undead whenever I needed to

AUGHKDHJSHDGHJJS. I am. SO unwell about the Sherri recruitment scene. I cannot express just how much I am unwell about the Sherri recruitment scene. All the Phoraena sisters really are so cool and good and I spontaneously combust whenever they come on screen but this scene is just AUUUUUGH........ It kills me thinking about how long Sherri's been hiding out because she doesn't think anyone will welcome her back and meanwhile her sisters just!!! love her so much!!!!!!!!!! and SHE loves THEM so much!!!!!! it just makes me go woaugh..........

I also just replayed some of the earlier chapters with Cerya and Cistina to test out the endgame rewind feature, and I take back my little chart I made of them a while back where they're arguing over clothes and things. All of the sisters are defined first and foremost by Being Willing To Sacrifice Everything For Each Other and I love them so much about it

And in addition to all the Phoraena sister dynamics, looking at this scene through the perspective of Denam ALSO having a sister who's keeping herself apart because she feels unloved is so. wowowowow

And on that note Denam and Catiua are rotating around in my head 24/7!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm really so in love with how far the writers went with their argument and fallout and also insane about the bad ending in this scenario because AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!?!?!?!?! and also I'm just a sucker for guilt arcs and having to live with mistakes even when it'd be easier not to. Catiua's absolutely insane (affectionate) and I think it's so fun how she changes things around and really comes into her own after this.

Also I really really love that the two of them got to have such a narratively clear conversation about everything that went down!!!!! This is a complete tangent but I sometimes kind of go insane over the fact that in Triangle Strategy we really don't get to see a ton of Roland and Cordelia after they reunite and Whiteholm is retaken. They have. so many things to talk about, and Cordelia has more than a few valid reasons to feel resentment toward Roland for the way he handled retaking Whiteholm. The closest they come to really talking about how they feel is that scene where they're standing in the garden and Roland's trying to explain why he killed Avlora and Cordelia just kinda quietly goes, "I know. I get it. I can't blame you." And while that scene is fun in its own "this bad boy can fit SO many emotionally traumatized Cordelia headcanons in it" sort of way, it's also so so so nice to see Denam and Catiua do the opposite and actually sit down and hash it out for a bit. They get to talk about why they're angry!!! They both get to explain themselves and then reassure each other that they're still loved!!!! They get to be genuinely close again and work as a team!!!!! and I love that for them :)

Also with comparisons to Cordelia, Catiua very distinctly doesn't get sidelined after Denam rescues her!!!! She's an active participant in the war and really takes charge over Denam, which is very neat imo, and I love getting to see her coronation and speech at the end

THIS ATTACK SPECIFICALLY. The whole final boss was so cool but I actually gasped and sat back when I saw this, it was just so so different than any of the other graphics in the game and it made me go nuts

AAAAOAUGH GHAGHG

The credits are really pretty :)

RHCKCHHGLGLRLRLAHHJG I am once again foaming at the mouth about the way the game blends game mechanics and story this is SUCH a fun explanation for how the whole world tarot system works and also I am absolutely gutted by the idea of Denam doing this canonically because he can't stand the regret of the choices he's had to make. I feel like Denam's guilt over the entire conflict isn't explicitly mentioned a ton (he actively makes a lot of comments to the effect of "I'm doing what my honor dictates and I have nothing to be ashamed of") and then every once in a while the game comes back and slaps you with stuff like this. Like hey. hey. yasumi matsuno. can we talk? I jst wantto talkk

Also all the endgame content is SO GOOD. I'm starting to move over to Reborn because I want to experience all the voice acting and stuff over on that version, but it's also so hard to leave my team and all the cool stuff I've unlocked. I need to read up on it more but I'm 90% sure you can recruit Lancelot and Warren if you do the Palace of the Dead stuff which I avoided in Chapter 4, so I'm tempted to go back and do that on there sometime. Or mayhaps I'll just play it through on Reborn once I get through Lawful and Neutral!

But yeah!!! Overall, such a fun route and a fun game and a fun ending :) I do feel like I want to come back to Chaos route once I've finished the other two, because I miss Vyce and the role-playing part of my RPG-obsessed brain really wants him to survive the canon-ish ending because I think there's a ton of things from the beginning of the route that I'll think differently on now that I've finished (like all of the stuff building up to Vyce going nuts and Catiua leaving).

[3rpflx]

Seriously tho the fact that Life is strange 2 is the least favorite and underrated game of the saga piss me off. [SPOILERS AHEAD]

Can we talk about how this is the best Life is strange when we're talking about choices and story? Your choices in the game can change into multiple endings, your choices not only affects Sean but Daniel too, and the fact that you cannot rewind makes it more difficult to make the "right" decision. Every little detail can change the whole personality of Daniel, I know the first life is strange have that too but it ends with the same two endings "Chloe or Arcadia bay" in this one, you have a lot of endings that make you replay it over and over to see what ending you're gonna get. Not forget to mention that you can always rewind and change your choice if you want to (except when you're gonna save Kate).

The story is also something I really wanna talk, we accompany Sean to feel how is live in a xenophobic country (not everyone ofc), having to experience bad treatments just because of his race, the old guy in the gas station telling him that guys like Sean are the reason why the made the wall between México and USA, those two randoms humiliating him by talking and singing in spanish. But the worst part is when they get to wall and the border patrol shoot Daniel and arrest Sean just because.

Anyways, I don't wanna talk too much but Life is strange 2 deserves all the love, I know a lot of y'all expected to see Max and Chloe again (me too lol) but the story and the characters are really good too, my favorite is the first game but this second one has a special place in my heart and I hate seeing how underrated it is. I hope to see more Life is strange 2 content and appreciating this amazing story. 💗

[frenziedslashers]

I hope you get the switch issue sorted out and it just needs a new memory card or something :( I'd love HCs or a oneshot with Handsome Jack, maybe with a reader who's a medic who takes care of his scars and mask? SFW or NSFW or both, whatever you're feeling.

Thank you, I appreciate your support man. It is so far downloading Borderlands: The Pre-sequel alright. So I am crossing my fingers that it at least works at redownloading that game since I was working on a rerun with it and would hate to have to wait until I could get a new memory card to replay it 😭 thank you for the request too, though! I am absolutely living off the fact that there are still people on here who read borderlands stuff. I have really missed this fandom tbh <3

This may be pretty ooc for Handsome Jack. I never write for him, but I was in a fluffy sort of mood so I hope you enjoy Anon :)

Taking Care of Handsome Jack:

He never really let anyone touch him, before or after he became Handsome Jack. The thought of getting too close to someone and having them slip through his fingers like everyone else in his life hurt him, it really did. He just chose not to let anyone know that. I mean, he was supposed to be a feared man, showing any sign of weakness would surely get him demoted to Pandoras most feared, to Pandoras Softest Villain.

But there you were, sitting next to him on the floor of his home, a first aid kit strewn out on the floor before the both of you. "You know, I could tend to these wounds a lot better if you let me take you to my station and clean these with proper equipment. Unless scars are today's form of tattoo, it almost seems like it." You fussed while working away at bandaging up his arm.

"And let someone see that I'm not made of steel and that I bleed? Yeah, fat chance, princess." You rolled your eyes at the pet name. "Why do you trust that I won't tell the world that the all-great and powerful Jack bleeds blood like the rest of us?" You asked him, peeking up at him through your lashes with a small smirk before looking back down to tend to his wounds. "Oh, I just know you won't" he hummed, his other hand moving to rest on your thigh. "I feel like you get cockier each time I come here," "Call it confidence, dolly." He cooed with a snicker, though that quickly faded when you pressed on one of his cuts just right. A hiss left the man's lips, glaring over at you as you tried to hide a smile. "Sorry. "

He watched you for a few more moments until you leaned back, declaring your work finished as you looked over the mans body one last time. At least from what you could see of it. "Like what you see?" He asked you, and you rolled your eyes for what felt like the fiftieth time tonight. "I'm just checking over to make sure you didn't get shot anywhere else. Remember last time?" "God, don't remind me." He groaned.

Last time you did have to take him to your place of work. He had gotten shot in the back, literally, and hardly noticed until his adrenaline wore off. If it weren't for your second inspection and you seeing the blood he would have been a dead man. He never even said thank you for it, either.

"Well?" He asked, and you nodded your head. Eyes moving back up to meet his. Smiling softly back at him. "Looks good, handsome." You teased with a smirk. "Well then come here, gorgeous," he sniggered, pulling you closer to him by your hips. Moving you to rest over his lap. "Has anyone ever told you how hard to get you are?" You sighed, leaning forward a bit, "humor me." This wasn't the first time the two of you had done something like this. It started to become a common occurrence each time he called you to come to his house and patch him up. Some days you wondered if he was putting himself in the line of fire just so he could see you. You didn't think that much into it, though. The last thing you needed was the thought of Handsome Jack actually liking you for more than just your body and easy help. He was ruthless and cared about no one. At least that's what you were always told and assumed.

He sighed back, leaning forward to rest his chin on your chest, staring up at you with a smug expression. It was an awkward angle to stare back down at him, but it made you smile nonetheless. "I think that's what I like about you most." He hummed, "That and the fact that you save me about once a week, and god damn do you fuck really well." He partially joked and you groaned. There he went ruining the moment that you were starting to think was actually really sweet.

"Is that all I am? A toy?" You truly didn't care what the answer would be from the man, you were more so just playing along. But something behind his eyes told you that it struck a chord with him. His brows furrowing together. "Why the hell would you say that?" Well, that wasn't entirely the response you were expecting. Jack leaned back so the both of you were able to look at one another properly.

"Well, you only ever contact me when your bloody and bruised, and then we screw around, and I leave. Sorry, I was just playing around." You confessed, and he shook his head. "Have you ever thought about the fact that a call works both ways? You never call me, I call you for help because it's the only time you'll come and see me. I asked you to come over on three other occasions and each time you said you were busy. You only ever come if I'm dying, I can't believe you think so little of me." He spat, pushing you away from him. This wasn't like him, the sudden emotional change made your heartache. You felt horrible for making him upset. Then again, a part of you expected him to start laughing and point out the look on your face.

He wasn't lying though, he had asked you to come over three other times. Two of those times you assumed was just for sex, but the third time, thinking back on it now with the way he worded it. He did really just want to see you, even if he was drunk and you could tell.

"Jack, I don't think little of you," you tried to reassure him, and he scolded you. "Oh, yet you thought I was just using you as a fuck toy? Yeah, I enjoy it, but that's not who I am. I'm a lot of things, and I've done a lot of sick, idiotic things, but I'm not a user," he frowned, his eyes still focused on you. You could tell he was pissed, betrayed, hurt. You didn't know what you could do to make it up to him, and that's when you saw it. The blood dripping down his mask that made your chest clench in panic.

"Jack, did you hit your head today?" You asked all while leaning forward. "Oh, now you think I hit my head because I'm showing emotions? I'm not a fucking lunatic," he hissed, and you ignored him. Reaching out to touch the face of his mask. Pulling it back to show him the blood on your fingers. "Why are you bleeding from your head, Jack?" You asked with a stern expression. A bit upset he was ignoring the fact that he was still hurt.

"Oh shit," he muttered. Reaching up to touch the blood himself. Slight panic setting into himself. The last thing he needed was a concussion, or something worse. His head did hurt a little, but he didn't think it was that bad. "How many fingers am I holding up?" You asked while holding three fingers up for him. He pouted a bit, "Jack," you stated sternly. "Fine, three." "Good," you hummed, reaching into your bag for a light. "I'm going to shine my light on your eyes to make sure your pupils dilate properly, is that okay?" "Whatever you have to do, doc."

You completed the tests that you had to to make sure he was alright. Though you did suggest he take a concussion test, you knew he wouldn't. He was too stubborn to admit that he had one. Lucky for him you were sure it wasn't too severe if he did have one. "You call me if you start feeling worse, okay Jack?" He sighed as you mothered him. Closing his eyes while you worked on checking the wound through his thick hair. Minus the wound itself, he liked the feeling of you taking care of him. It made him feel normal in a sense. Like you were his loving partner, taking care of him after he got hurt at work, but he knew now that wouldn't be a thing. Or at least he assumed. You seemed to have higher expectations, or at least ones that weren't named Handsome Jack.

"Is it bad?" You shrugged. "Sort of? I suggest taking a shower before I stitch it up." You told him, moving some of his hair that fell onto his forehead. "Can you join me?" You frowned a bit, "Come on, just make sure I don't fall and die. Because if I die, I'm leaving you Hyperion as payback." He quipped, and you let out a groan. He knew you hated working for the place, let alone the thought of owning it. You were a medic, not a business person.

You knew that Jack was playing his games again. The moment the both of you got into the bathroom for him to take a shower he asked if you could join him in it. "As in without any clothes?" "I mean unless you want to shower with clothes on, what are you, crazy?" Jack asked with furrowed brows as he worked at removing his shirt. Turning around so his back was to you to allow you to remove your own clothes. Which did shock you a little. It did give you the chance to look over his back wound though. It was healing up nicely, just as you presumed.

"Alright," You hummed, opening the door so he could step in, you following after. Shutting the door behind the both of you.

The whole shower was quiet, besides the water that echoed in your ears. A nonstop stream that was almost comforting. His eyes were either on your face or the wall behind you the whole time while you helped him clean his hair and body. Giving you the opportunity to make sure he had no other marks hiding from you.

"Thank you," you froze up. God, you were sure you were wrong and this man had the worse concussion you had ever seen before. First, he practically told you he had feelings for you, and now he was thanking you? After nearly eight months of you helping him out like this? "You're welcome." You didn't question it, it was nice having him thank you for your service for once. You did practically do all of it for free. It was the least he could do, even if he was technically your boss.

It wasn't long before the both of you were exiting the shower. Drying off and changing. Jack had a spare set of clothes for you. Most of the time it was the clothes that you left behind, but this time it was clothes you had never seen before. "Are they your size? I picked them out myself. It's an apology for ripping your shirt last time." He told you with a smug grin. He was still proud of that, but you didn't even have the time to be mad at him. They were your size, and the fabric was the type that you liked and that didn't bother your skin. "Yeah, these are great, thank you, Jack." You smiled back at him, and he nodded. Pulling his shirt back over his head after tugging his pants up his legs.

"See, I'm not so unthoughtful, am I?" He asked with a brow raised, sitting on the edge of his bed while watching you head back into the other room after getting changed. He knew you were just grabbing your supplies to bring them in there. He trusted you, after all.

When you did come back, he scooted back so he was leaned back against the head board. Waiting for you to come over and attend to what you both hoped was his final wound. "So," you started as you dug out the supplies to patch up his scalp. "If I'm not a toy, what am I? Or... What are we?" You asked, glancing at his eyes before working on his head.

He was quiet for a while. Long enough that it had you worried, but each time you looked down at his face he was staring at you like he was thinking. Thinking long and hard about his next words. Really, he was praying that you would know without him having to say anything. "Truthfully, I don't even know." He told you, and you frowned a bit. There it was, you got your hopes up just a bit and you were brought back down.

"Well, I know what I want," Jack told you, a small laugh leaving his chest. "I always know what I want, it's what I'm best at. I want you. I want you by my side when I take down the Vault Hunters and open the Vault on Pandora." You stopped your work, staring at him with wide eyes. He had to be joking, right?

"What do you mean, by your side? Like as your medic?" You stammered a bit, pulling your hands away and Jack took this as a chance to grab your hands, pulling them close to him. A crazy glint in his eyes that worried you a little. "Well, that too, but as my partner. My other half. I want you as mine, and I really thought I made that damn clear with you being the only person I ever screw around with. I mean, I let you leave hickeys on me, you think I'd let just anyone do that?" He laughed, and you felt your insides turning. You were scared he was going to start laughing at you if you said you wanted all of that too, I mean. It wasn't like you didn't like him. You liked him quite a bit, actually. You always just pushed those feeling away.

"Are you making fun of me? This is a joke isn't it?" He could see the worry on your face, and it frustrated him. "What part of I like you do you not fucking understand?" He snapped, squeezing your hands a little tighter, and that made you flinch, your eyes and jaw squeezing shut. He regretted his actions, wishing he didn't let his anger get the best of him, but it was just who he was.

He released the grip on your hands. Letting them go completely so he could reach up to cup the sides of your face. "Look at me," he wanted to see your eyes. "Hey, look at me, please?" He asked, rubbing your cheek bones as he waited for your eyes to open. When they did finally flutter open he smiled. A smile that seemed almost too genuine for Handsome Jack. It scared you a little, really.

"Look, I'm sorry I yelled. I just don't understand why you can't trust me. I've been nothing but good to you, haven't I? If I did anything wrong, tell me now." He spoke, and you shook your head. "You didn't do anything wrong." He nodded his head, "Then what is it?" You stared back at him for a second while you thought of what you wanted to say. You didn't want to confuse or frustrate him any more than he already was. "I just don't get it." He furrowed his brows, "Everyone told me you were some heartless bastard who didn't care about no one. So I always just assumed you were using me. I never told anyone about me coming over to help us, or the time that we shared, but the rumors that people spread about them. I believed a lot of them." "Why?" He asked, looking a little wounded. "I guess I just never expected you to like a nobody like me." He sighed, pulling you close to him so he could wrap his arms around you. "Yeah, well I guess I'm just full of surprises." You shrugged, resting your head on his shoulder. "You really are, Jack." No one would believe you if you told them you were sleeping with Handsome Jack anyways, but you were glad to know you were hopefully the only one. If you could even believe him.

"I always just assumed you would want someone like Moxxi," "And have my heart broken again? No way, baby. Plus, you take better care of me, and you let me spoil you without having to flaunt it to the world." You smiled a little, he did spoil you. A lot more than you liked, actually. You always felt like he owed you back each time he would buy you the new supplies you needed and wanted for work or just the little things you wanted for yourself. No matter how much he assured you, you always wanted to pay him back somehow.

Your silence made him a little antsy, giving your hip a light squeeze. "Does this mean you'll be mine, and just mine?" He asked with a grin, and you smiled a bit back yourself. "Yeah, only if you let me make earlier up to you." You stated, beginning to place all of your appliances back into your bag while Jack settled down onto the bed. "Baby, when have I ever denied you?"

[yandere--stuck]

Genuinely curious: why Joker? What is it about him?

Also your writing has kinda made me like him, just a little.

I think it's likely a combination of many things. One of which being that I've been enthralled by the character from a young age. I remember playing the first two Arkham games as a kid and really enjoyed the portrayal of the character and Mark Hamill's performance of the role. Each time I replay the games, I feel I have an even better understanding and appreciation for this version of Joker.

I also recall catching Mask of The Phantasm on TV as a kid, and being scared when Joker kills a guy off screen. It left an impact on me and added to my interest of the character.

But nowadays, I love J for how unrelentingly and unapologetically awful he is. And how happy it makes him! How much of his existence is dedicated to doing terrible things just for the sake of getting Batman's attention because Batman is his reason for existence.

I love how funny and goofy and silly he is! I love the motifs of smiles and carnivals and chattering teeth. He does so many horrible things with a smile on his face and it's charming I'm ngl. And I legitimately think he's funny <3

I like that he goes out of his way to hurt people close to Bruce if they ever threaten to get between them because he's that devoted to him.

I could write an essay about all the reasons I like him,,, I rotate him and Bruce around in my brain 24/7 clown boy I love youuu!!!

And Arkhamverse Joker is the cutest J imo. Pretty boy Joker is great and all but PEAK Joker is a man reaching his 50's with a big chin and nose and smile lines and wrinkles and crow's feet. I'm right.

I hope I could convince you to join the Joker liker side >:3

[cobaltrequiem]

I meant to send this yesterday but as someone who has loved bioshock for years I’m genuinely very curious to hear your thoughts on the games if you’re up for sharing some of them

OMG HI sorry I didn't see this in my ask box! Thanks for the ask @sand-worms and appologies for the rambling ahead!

The first BioShock game is my favourite out of the whole series, but that's partially because I'm quite sentimental about it. It was one of the first "serious" games that I had ever played. I was a teenager and before that point I was only allowed to play "family friendly" games. BioShock was one of the first games I bought with my own money on my own console (a switch lite I saved up for myself), and it was wonderful. The way it wasn't afraid to be overtly political and it wasn't afraid to frighten or challenge the player. It didn't treat you like an idiot.

I soaked up every aspect of it. The gameplay. The setting. The area designs. The characters. The messages that it wore on its sleeve. And the story, god the story! I was completely transfixed by it.

I finished it in two days, and I still consider it to be one of my top 5 games of all time. I wrote an essay on it's themes for my higher english course, and still regularly think about it.

It is one of the two games ever that has caused me to have an epiphany about videogames, not as simply an enojyable experience but as art, and truthfully I cannot bring myself to replay it. My first experience with it was so thorough and meaningful that I cannot bring myself to replay it. I know it wouldn't be the same. You were beautiful and I can never play you again.

I played BioShock 2 shortly after, and was initially quite disapointed at it for not being BioShock 1. You could tell that the story was written after 1 and that bugged me. Its political messaging also didn't seem as pointed to me.

However, throughout the course of the game I grew to really appreciate it's differences. The personal connection between Elanor and Subject Delta was incredibly touching. The choices in the game felt more meaningful and gave it an aspect of replayability that the first BioShock game did not have. The gameplay aditions were also great! I loved using the drill in particular, it was an incredibly satisfying weapon to use. It's story about altruism also resonated with me despite the slow start and I thought the adition of multiple endings (that didn't hinge on "is murdering children bad?") was also great.

BioShock 2 only took me a single day to complete, I sat down for 10 hours and played it all the way through with very few breaks, and I do seriously intend to revisit it - I own a copy for the xbox 360 now which should be infinitely better than playing on a switch lite. Overall its a very well made game, it just doesn't hold the same place in my heart as the original.

BioShock Infinite haunts me.

It's a game that had so much potential. The religious horror. The game's aesthetics. Playing a character that talked and reacted to things!

I went in with high hopes and loved it initially. I had a very personal experience with it too, albeit in a very different way. When I was a young child my dad bought a copy of BioShock Infinite shortly after it released and I would sit in the living room while he played it. It terrified me.

I have particularly vivid memories of the scene at the fair, it was maybe one of the first genuinely terrifying things I'd seen in a piece of media. It was a foundational memory for me and is perhaps where some of my love of horror comes from as an adult because it didn't just scare me to the point of tears, it fascinated me. The gore laden glory kills and the mechanised patriots were similarly horrifying but I never stopped watching. There was something alluring about this game I shouldn't have been seeing.

I really wanted to like BioShock Infinite but just couldn't. The story at times seemed like an excuse to get you from one point to another, the fence sitting centrist politics were tiring, and it tried to do everything at once.

BioShock Infinite was not a good game, but it was mediocre in an interesting way and that has stuck with me.

It wanted to be a political drama. It wanted to be high concept sci-fi. It wanted to be religious horror.

The area design made you feel like you were going around in circles. Vigours had very little story or gameplay relevance making them seem like a pointless adition clearly only meant to imitate plasmids. It didn't feel like a BioShock game but despite all of that it had potential. So many different ideas went into it, so many interesting storybeats and scenes and themes went into it but it just ended up feeling muddy and convoluted.

I can pick out so many things I like about it, so many things that are interesting and could have been amazing but weren't

Not too long ago I read a post from someone on this site. Something along the lines of "a good game will stay with you for a week, but a game that's mediocre in an interesting way will stick with you for life"

My dad never finished BioShock Infinite, but I did. I still think about it to this day.

[bosskie]

Victory Spit

Yesterday, I finished my Stranger's Wrath playthrough I started 3 years ago. It was pretty much all I did yesterday, played from that Packrat Palooka boss to the end. I actually started from Jo'Momma boss a few days ago but didn't play for long since well, those two bosses after it were tiring... I almost gave up with the game but I decided to go on and I'm glad that I did! Those outlaw bosses after Packrat were a lot easier... The difficulty wasn't really linear; even killing that huge Sleg was harder (it seemed quite broken, the model was quite warped; I played on PC)...

But frankly, that outlaw part wasn't really my thing but I started to like the game much more after that reveal part, getting into fighting Wolvarks. I play like never shooter games but I still liked playing the game. Though, I actually found out that the best weapon is actually punching or I at least used it quite often and then just bagged the dudes...

But yeah, just felt like drawing these dudes since I finally finished the game, after 3 years... I have been thinking about drawing Stranger for a while but just didn't have enough inspiration or something for it. The photo ate the lil details I did but well, you can see the main stuff. Not my first Sekto but I felt like drawing them together, and my previous Sekto has kinda bothered me since it looks bad in my opinion... So, a good reason to try again. I had no idea how to draw them together but then it just came to my mind to draw Stranger spitting into Sekto's face since well, Stranger does that spit thing after defeating the outlaws... Idk, I just like to draw stupid silly things. I dunno how to draw these odd dudes but I tried my best. It's just that I don't personally feel like I draw well... But I gotta say some more stuff about the game:

I started to like Sekto more after finishing the game. I just really liked the way he talked and it made me laugh when he did the announcement where he said: 'Attention staff; you are expected to die on your job. No whimpering wussies. Your loyalty is appreciated.' I also liked those brutal 'no fishing' warnings.

I must say that I haven't really realized before how I enjoy stuff like this... Maybe it's the reason why I haven't really found Molluck evil... But I don't really tend to think if something is evil or not, just prefer to understand the reasons behind something since things are often complicated... Also, nothing is actually objective, not even algorithms. So yeah, there is no single truth.

Oh, and yes, I love those RuptureFarms barrels you can find in SW! It really made me feel happy to see them... I have joked that Abe's Oddysee's bad ending is actually the true ending in SW since there are Mudokon Pops in those barrels, so SW is actually from alternative timeline or whatever you call that stuff. What a great game. (Y) But yeah, still wouldn't really say that I become a fan of this game but I'll see if I feel like replaying this. Not saying that this was a bad game, no, I just enjoy those 'Abe games' more.

Oh, and I have been replaying some SoulStorm levels too this week, after like 2-3 years too... Yeah, haven't really touched the game for a few years but I did play thru it 3 times within a year, so yeah... I have played the bad and 'the true/good' ending but also finished the good ending on hard mode. That hard mode was more like just frustrating since the only difference I noticed was that the Sligs did like double damage... Getting the Muds alive thru bullet rain was kinda just about luck at that point (I'm pointing to that Slig Barracks level)... Oh, and one of those levels I replayed was of course the Blimp level! Man, it has made quite easy now, though it was never hard for me, could easily do that time trial door too, but I see the difference. I don't personally just get the hate the level has gotten... It's not a long ass level too, so I really like that thing. Some of those levels just take like 1½-2 hours to finish... It's not necessary a bad thing but well, it's at least a problem when you wish to replay them but don't feel like finishing them but would like to continue them later on since it won't save your progress like that, only if you are playing it for the first time... But I just wanted to say that maybe I also love that level because Molluck is kinda present there and yeah, I 'talk to him' while playing that level, doing my own commentary.

And talking about Molluck, I can say that on Wednesday (29th), I did do my Molluck sculpt! I have just have let him dry in peace since I did him from air-hardening clay I have had for many years... And yeah, I can confess that I didn't do a bust but a naked full body... My thirst for him just won, couldn't help myself. And I can say that it was the hardest Molluck thing I have done so far... I did it for about 12 hours without taking actual breaks, just ate as quickly as possible and so on. It was tough but I gave my everything to my baby boy! He is such a cutie and I love him a lot! I just need to add some clue to make him harder and paint him, and then I'll show him. Oh, and he did end up being bigger than I thought... He is lying on the ground and being about 35 cm long and 20 cm wide. So yeah, he ain't small but compared to the actual Molluck. But more about this after I show him!

Despite of this stuff, I have still kept feeling terrible, thinking that I should kms, but I'm still trying to go on, I even got this new sculpt to take care of; who else is gonna give him love if I'm gone... I kinda just wanted to make that sculpt seem affectionate, just to help myself feel loved. It's just so difficult for me to feel anything positive about myself... I feel so bad when I think about myself... I don't know how to get out of this feeling, I have had it for over a decade... I don't have much hope for myself but well, I'm trying.

Oh, and I wanna add that it's actually difficult for me to get into stories or get attached to any character... It feels like Molluck is even the first character whose story I have actually gotten into... So, he is actually something unique for me. When I play games, I tend to kinda ignore the story and just focus on the gameplay... I'm just bad at this stuff. I'm just saying that I have never been so attached to any character but to Molluck... So yeah, this is one of the reasons why he is so important to me. He is just my precious Gluk and I feel like giving my everything to him!❣️

[blazehedgehog]

Might seem like a random question - but out of nostalgia I pirated sonic advance 3, and tried 1 and 2 also, cause never played them as a kid - but that made me think

Do most sonic "fans" actually like the "if you lose all lives you gotta replay everything from the start" - because I got to world 4 in both and then died and that made me have zero motivation to ever play them again lol (while I appreciate advance 3 for actually having an overworld and stuff, makes it feel alive, like the "downtime" to me doesnt seem like filler but serves the porpuse off cooling of between the action, rethinking your steps and just give the illusion of it being more than a few levels strung together)

I mean, you are describing a practice that all games used to have, not just Sonic games. Super Mario Wonder, a 2023 release, still has a lives system.

If you mean the game forces you to restart the entire game from level 1 if you get a game over, that means something isn't working right with your copy of the game. Your ROM isn't a clean dump, or you haven't set the emulator up right, or something.

Like I even double checked just now to make sure: I beat Route 99 Acts 1 and 2, and got a game over on Act 3. It did not undo my progress and Acts 1 and 2 remain completed.

Do you by any chance have all of this stored on your desktop? Windows can get REALLY picky about file permissions in certain locations and it might be blocking the emulator from writing the save file.

The fact of the matter is, I don't really like Sonic Advance 3.

Sonic Advance 1 is a charming take on the classic Sonic formula. It's not perfect, and once the honeymoon period of its different art style wears off, the gameplay and themes are honestly pretty generic. But it's fine. It does not offend the senses. It nails the pacing and the feel and that's good enough.

Sonic Advance 2 is a little more its own thing. It's kind of clumsy and can get really frustrating (particularly with the bosses) but it's fast as hell and paves the way for games like Sonic Rush, Sonic Unleashed, and Sonic Generations. Those games would not exist without Sonic Advance 2's baby steps, and it's one of those games that I think is really fun to master. I will play Sonic Advance 2 any day of the week (up until the boss of Ice Paradise Zone. Also don't ask me about SP rings)

The thing about Sonic Advance 1 and 2 is they are kind of reflective of the games they were released nearest to. Sonic Advance 1 was following the pacing of the original Sonic Adventure, by being more of a platformer. Sonic Advance 2 takes after Sonic Adventure 2, by being non-stop balls-to-the-wall high speed action, with a focus on flow and momentum.

Sonic Advance 3 tips its hat to Sonic Heroes, but it feels like it was cobbled together out of scraps they fished out of the garbage for Sonic Advance 1 and 2. It wants to be both slower like Sonic Advance 1 but faster like Sonic Advance 2 at the same time and it can't decide between the two.

It mainly does this with the ring system. The more rings you're holding, the more the game raises your acceleration and overall speed cap. Basically, more rings = faster.

But then Sonic Advance 3 is the absolute worst, out of the whole entire trilogy, for punishing you for going too fast. It constantly puts enemies and spikes in the meanest possible places so you're always running into them by accident. So it's a game of going faster and faster and faster right up until you get caught in a gotcha trap and then you're back to being slow as hell again. And when you're slow in Sonic Advance 3, you're SLOW. You feel so sluggish.

That's on top of what I feel like is generally ugly, sloppy level design. Like I said, levels look like leftovers they didn't think were good enough for the first game, and tile alignment errors are all over the place.

Levels themselves are endlessly criss-crossing mazes that interrupt your flow constantly for stupid button puzzles or breakable walls or whatever. An entire game made up of levels like Carnival Night Act 2 from Sonic 3. I don't mind Carnival Night Act 2 as a one off thing, but I don't need a whole game like that.

I generally try not to acknowledge Sonic Advance 3.

[dokidokitsuna]

(mild spoilers ahead) I finally finished my first run of Side Order! DX Tbh, I haven't had that much time to play lately, but I'm still kind of ashamed that it took me this long...^^;

...I'm also ashamed that the boss that killed me on both failed runs, Asynchronous Rondo, didn't show up on the run where I finally succeeded. So it feels like I didn't really "earn" the victory, which is a little frustrating...I'm sure I'll handle it next time, though. *knocks on wood*

Overall, I would rate Side Order a 10/10. ^^ It's simple, but it works.

The theming and atmosphere is very polished and immersive-- tbh I was convinced as soon as I saw the little animation when you step into the cage at the beginning of a level, and it SNAPS shut kinda violently, just enough to sell that oppressive vibe. ^^; It's those little aesthetic details that make Splatoon special...I can't think of another game that does that as successfully.

The gameplay itself is harsh, but fair. Every time I screwed up and lost a life (or failed a run...) I never felt like it was the game's fault; it was always in a moment where I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings or my ink levels...and conversely, when I made sure to pay attention to those things, I always did well. Basically, it feels just difficult enough to reward you for staying focused. I also think the design of gaining power-ups as you go (including dropped items in-level) was a great move for this game mode-- not only does it make gameplay feel rewarding by its very nature, but it makes it stand out from the rest of Splatoon's game modes, where things like specials and extra ink are treated more like precious rarities; things you shouldn't use until you really need them. On the contrary, in Side Order I really let loose with Splashdowns and Inkstrikes for the first time...ever, actually. ^^ Like, I've gained an appreciation for specials now, after being trained to do without them for so long. It makes battle feel refreshing and dynamic~.

Finally, I'm glad they actually filled the game up with relevant goodies to collect. ^^ Palettes, color chips, Marina's diary entries, Cipher's merchandise, even hint-descriptions for the chips and enemies...when they said Side Order was designed to be replayable, they weren't kidding. My completionist instinct is already champing at the bit to accomplish as much as I possibly can...this is one of the main things that was missing from Return of the Mammalians, in my opinion. In RotM there are collectibles, but half of them are just objects lying around on the ground-- if you wanna 100% the game mode, you better count on spending a very dull hour inking the map to try and dig them all up. And once you're done...hurray, I guess?? You found all the meaningless trinkets... :/ Then the other half is just replaying the meaningless missions with multiple weapons...which isn't a very engaging challenge. Despite being more complex than Side Order's floors, they're much more linear-- you basically just do the same thing three times, and either it's embarrassingly easy or frustratingly tedious. I think the main reason I still haven't done them all is because I just can't be bothered: what's the point in trying to replay an annoying mission when the only difference in the gameplay is that it'll take a little longer to move and shoot...? So I can get rewarded with a tiny checkmark...? No thanks...

With Side Order, on the other hand, the collectibles either flesh out the characters or affect the gameplay (or in the case of the locker decorations, actually look nice), and the sheer randomness of the experience keeps things fresh. ^^ No two runs are alike; the simple objectives paired with creative map designs invite a variety of approaches even with the same weapon, and even on the easiest difficulties. The game itself encourages you to roll with the punches, strategize with what you're given and get creative, which not only makes replays exciting and interesting, but fits perfectly with the story's message. Like I said, 10/10~