#tbh I still need to watch the gameplay but once i do...

[fernflowerss]

Do you see my vision? Please tell me you see my vision

[pip-n-chips]

how (some) DoL characters play Minecraft

Robin

Mainly sticks with the easy difficulty

Likes building things in survival mode instead of creative for the extra challenge

Has keep inventory on + mob griefing off

Plays multiplayer a lot (sometimes with local orphans, sometimes online), and can get quite competitive during minigames

Parkour is the bane of their existence

Has like 46 dogs in their main survival world

Scared of Herobrine (they know he's fake, but...)

Has thought about streaming their gameplay, but they need some encouragement from you in order for them to go through with it

The peaceful music from the game paired with Robin's commentary is calming, you might take a nap...

Whitney

Griefs your base with TNT and lava buckets, initially

Starts getting more creative with ways to fuck with your shit, you'd be impressed if you weren't so pissed

Got a friend of theirs to help them use cheats, but brags about it + takes the credit for themself

Has been banned from a handful of online servers, takes pride in the ever growing list

Builds,,, questionable sculptures

"lmao get good bro"

Basically a big troll lmfao

Throws their controller/hits their keyboard when raging (they strike me more as a console type of person, though)

Has a dog/cat/horse they name the same thing every single time (perhaps in remembrance of an old pet or stray)

Mickey

Almost exclusively* plays modded singleplayer

* Maybe they used to play with Robin or other orphans (before life got so much more complicated, anyway,,)

Has made their own mods + add-ons but hasn't posted any online

Fond of mods that add RPG + fantasy elements to the game (especially DRAGONS!)

Pretty good with redstone, they like making weird contraptions

Has a complicated + organized base

Sets up traps, hidden compartments + other secrets in their base even though they're the only one who'll see it

Tries to get all the achievements (vanilla + any that mods add) + collects and frames special items

Has a lot of commands memorized + knows how to use command blocks

Sydney

You introduce them to the game and they like it a lot!

It's funny watching them learn more about the game and what to do/what not to do

Punched a bee once and fell off a cliff trying to run from it

Dies a lot tbh, and you see death messages you've never seen before because of that lol

Corrupt!Sydney makes their character twerk (crouch, un-crouch, repeat), laughs at it every time

Surprisingly good at building, recreates locations from their favorite books

Only really plays it when you guys play together, though

If you're gaming together at their house, Sirris pops in to check in on you guys at some point and pauses to smile at the heartwarming sight (as embarrassing as it may be for Sydney)

Kylar

"What if I put my Minecraft bed next to yours? haha jk... unless?"

Has the most OVERKILL gaming PC setup you've seen (way too many screens, everything has lights, etc etc. looks pretty dope tbh)

Likes designing Minecraft skins! (there's like 10 separate skins of you in different outfits)

Plays heavily modded Minecraft, but will play vanilla or lighter mod packs with you

Definitely tried that one Girlfriend mod at some point

Has attempted a few speedruns (in the Top 10s for some of them!)

Gets SO excited when you tell them that you like Minecraft too (but it's not like they didn't know that already)

Alex

Doesn't have much time to play with their current workload

When they do, the most they do is play it as a farming sim (???) (you get them to explore more options to do in the game)

Becomes a BIG fan of parkour!

Downloads parkour + adventure maps so they can play it offline (farm WiFi can be unreliable)

Learns some basic redstone, mainly to improve their (in-game) farms

Automatic farms + mob grinders, though they still like the experience of doing it themself

Builds a Minecraft version of their real farm, excitedly shows it to you

Names some in-game farm animals after their siblings as a joke

Gwylan

Only plays offline because they live in The Forest ™️

Loves potion brewing! (they don't have an internet guide so they experiment with different combos all by themself, gets quite good at it)

Hoarder. Has so many items scattered across their chests, they forget what they do and don't have

Aesthetic matters to them a lot when choosing where to put their base + building it

Went to the End + defeated the dragon just to get the blocks there + the egg for decoration

1.17 (first part of the Caves And Cliffs update) is their favorite yet, all the new blocks and cave biomes make them go aaaaaaaaa

Felt so bad when they had to kill animals for food in the beginning, has a good farm system now though

Definitely keeps mobs you can't tame as pets

[swiftthecardinal]

Jet Set Radio Redux!

So, this is the first post about the silly AU, aside from past drawings. Unlike other AUs, it's more like an AEU (alternate-expanded universe) and doesn't have a specific theme. It's more my weird remix of Jet Set Radio and whatever things I find neat I mixed in built up into a wild little alternate universe I call my own. So yeah, let's get to it.

The actual going ons of this world

This alternate universe is split up into a trilogy of theoretical games, each with their own sort of style and what I'm doing with them.

Jet Set Radio Milennium

The OG JSR of this universe. Sticks pretty close to the original game in the base plot and gameplay style and was basically the original sprout that resulted in the AU, but the fridge horror is very intentional and much more clear than in the real OG JSR, but it's still portrayed in a pretty comical way due to whose point of view it is exactly and keeps the sweet, saccharine, fairly simple artstyle of the source material. Gameplay-wise, it's much faster than OG JSR and isn't momentum-based anymore so the tagging QTE doesn't feel like it's slowing things down too much and you don't slow down on rails like JSRF. I'll explain further about it with the JSRM gameplay post.

Jet Set Radio Overclock

The replacement for JSRF and the sequel to JSRM! Why you're all teenagers still in 2024 needs a pretty damn grand explanation of the lore behind Graffiti Souls, rudies and related magicky hijinks, but we'll have to skip that for now as that'll be explained in a future post.

Basically, 23 years after the events of Jet Set Radio Milennium, Goji's successor and son, Masashi Rokkaku, has totally changed Tokyo-to, now Neo-Tokyo, to a pretty bland metropolis completely absent of real rudies, as in the type of haunted teenager that was present in JSRM. Now it's just a bunch of kids who think they're cool, paint on legal graffiti walls and call each other gay until you bust onto the streets once again in your fresh new bodies like the big damn spooky badasses you are.

Why did no rudies return before? Well, Masashi Rokkaku was using netrium, basically magical Graffiti Soul power as a clean energy source for his big awesome city. Thus, no Graffiti Souls could come around to make any teenagers spooky again because they were getting juiced. This is getting long, so I'll elaborate in a further post.

I'm not sure what to do for the actual gameplay, but it'll actually be momentum-based now. So yeah Jet Set Radio Overclock. This one's plot is... wild...

Jet Set Radio Retro (title in progress)

A prequel game in the 1970's shamelessly filled with OCs. Not done too much work on it, but I have ideas in mind and it's title won't have Jet Set Radio in it because the titular radio station in it at all for obvious reasons. So, this'll be one you get to watch and evolve in real time!

Other Video Games

Ollie King is canon, basically being rudie culture for non-haunted peeps, and lacks stuff like actual vandalism. The predecessor to the "rudies" in JSRO. It's more so me just thinking about the funny skateboard people tbh.

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is non-canon in all forms in JSRR to avoid even more comparisons to Jet Set Radio. It's a thing of it's own. Honestly, I would love to but this is more for the sake of Team Reptile's cool game not just being compared to JSR constantly even if it is a spiritual successor.

So yeah, beware and adore my abominable brainchild.

[noname-nonartist]

SoC was barely released for a month how'd you get burnt out already 😭

I’m sorry! TToTT

I’m not 100% sure either but I think it’s gotta do with how doing the dailies are sort of a bit much for me.

Like Project Sekai dailies are simple for me. “Play” a few songs (aka have it be automated), watch some ads for a few mats, and maybe spend some of my tokens on the event store.

For SoC, the normal dailies are the extra rewards for the mats need to grow ya characters. But there is also the Clash mode, the Tower mode, the Spiral Destiny mode, and the events with time locked stories.

And like. ya also need to play through the levels in those events manually in order to see all the stories. (which after work I’m usually super tired to do that on most days).

And this is also including the main story as well too, since they are separate stories usually. (Yes there is an auto mode for each battle, but ngl. The AI be low key not the brightness and I don’t have enough mats to make my characters stronger. So atm I HAVE to manually play the stages/other modes. There are Sweep mode and the Octopus Can but those are limited)

With Project Sekai. The Event Stories are the continuation of the Main Story. And if I missed it or don’t have enough energy to read/watch them. I can always look it up on YouTube to watch them (or on the game itself but like. I don’t trust the EN translation tbh).

Yes there’s only a limited amount of Auto Plays ya can do a day, but it’s enough for me to do all my dailies consistently without having to do it manually. And the only time I have to play it manually is the Challenge Show Mode. Which isn’t much.

And yes this also means I’m not doing the Co-Op bonus, but like. I’m very neutral towards the battlepass. So I honestly don’t care about that.

And sure I’m not maximizing my mats this way, but as long as I still get a good amount every day. It a-okay to me~

It build up over time too, since I’m not constantly spending them to improve my points/cards upgrades. So like I have a good amount of Mats atm in Project Sekai.

That’s another thing too. The cards building is very easy. Just level the cards up. I don’t really need extra mats to make them necessarily better. Once they are maxed. I can used them to get a bit more points. I don’t have to get a weapon nor gear to make them “stronger”. I just stuff them with music sheets and Bam! Done!

Basically. Project Sekai gameplay be more lax than SoC. Which isn’t Bad! Again I LOVE SoC GAMEPLAY! I was a Hugeeee Fire Emblem Awakening Fan back in my days! (And the characters be pretty compelling to me so far too!)

I just. Tend to get tired mentally from work (especially since it’s been super stressful this past two months) and so I don’t have enough energy to do all the dailies nor story progression. ;v;

(Plus whenever I play SoC for at least an hour my phone start heating up)

Sure I’m still am drawing somewhat consistently (I try and get something somewhat presentable once a week, but that’s due to art inspiration hitting super hard that I gotta draw it out)

But that’s usually during my weekends. So I’m not drawing everyday like I’m doing with these mobile games. Ya feel me? •3•;

I hope that explains things! TwT/

[texasthoughtsaboutnothing]

Throwing my thoughts into the aether on Limbus. Still feeling pretty down about it, honestly while I wouldn't say I'm boycotting the game or company I have no motivation to log in. I completely skipped the event and experienced the story vicariously through posts and videos.

Which got me thinking because... I don't miss it? I love the story, still do, probably always will but in terms of playing the game myself and giving PM my money for a season pass? It's so easy for me not to. And I don't mean that in a backhanded judgy way at all, but because, and let's be completely honest here, Limbus has issues. Issues I was willing to overlook because of a bottomless well of goodwill that obviously wasn't as bottomless as I thought.

Combat effects are super satisfying and animations are good but the day to day experience of playing kinda dragged. I did Mirror runs every day since launch until Season 2 and it burned me out so bad that I didn't max out the pass until just before 4.5 (if I ever did tbh I don't remember). Second Mirror was better but at it's core the game is just have a bigger number and win clashes/press winrate; Hard Mode was good but not something I actively enjoyed, especially not every week.

And that's just the game as designed, there's so many bugs and issues and compensations to go with them. Canto 4 was infamous for it's combat padding. So I could engage with all of that or... just watch the story online? Spend my free time on an experience I don't have to convince myself to enjoy?

Which takes me back to Lobotomy Corporation, which I once saw described as "anathema to the soul" regarding it's gameplay. And yeah, that game filtered me super hard. I gave up, looked up the rest of the story, and moved on the Ruina because I actually enjoyed playing it. Right up until the ending boss gauntlet that filtered me again and I just looked up the ending because I was so tired. It's actually the norm for me to disengage from these games after a point and treat them as VNs.

So I must wonder, how many people are in the same boat? How many can just go "yeah I know I can just look up the part I actually care about, do I even need to play?" The 54% lowering on mobile play just dropped but it's an expected downturn when the event is over and we're just waiting for new content. I'm really curious to see if it stays down come Canto 5 for the reasons I highlight here.

[emdotcom]

I played through fnaf 1-3 (started 4 & hated it too much to finish it), & since then, I have opened up 1 & 2 a bit -- mostly 1. But I really only play it a short bit before I close it, & won't re-open it for quite a while.

On the other hand, I have constantly thought about & gone back for Post-Shift 2. Overall, I just really like the gameplay, but it also has some really good QoL that I wish was in any fnaf game/in more fan-games.

First up, & something I've been complaining about for years -- you can select which night you want. Normally, you can select nights 5, 6, or custom night, if you have beaten the game. If you wanted to go back to night one, you would need to delete your save, which is just kinda annoying. Post-Shift 2, while it is split into 2 exes, lets you pick nights. As long as you've beaten up to that night, you can go back & play all the logs that proceeded it -- if I wanted more practice on night 2, before going into night 3, the game lets me do that & remebers my progress. It's neat!

There's also the use of arrow keys. In the (awful) Uyeah interview, Rjac said a tester has suggested using keybinds for the gameplay. I love. This feature so much. The general formula is WASD for directional movements, Q to look into a blindspot-type area, & E to turn back (with some exceptions -- E is used outside of blindspots to pull up menus, on some logs). You can still click around the screen to do most things, but I just really like this -- feels snappier, tbh. I've thought about hooking up an auto clicker exclusively to have it click things in fnaf, so I could do things like press shift to turn on lights, or ctrl to close the doors.

It's also got this function that probably makes the game mondo unsafe for epilectics, tbh. If you're in danger, the screen will start slowly flashing, then speed up as you run out of time. This makes for a satisfying feeling when you barely escape danger, & the flashing stops. You can visualize how long you've got, better, & the mystery is more figuring out who/getting to where the danger is. Sure, you know the screen is flashing, but do you know which sound queue went off before the flashing?

'course, the game isn't perfect. A big thing I've complained about is what comes after dealing with threats. Most enemies have a little Wario Ware-esque minigame you need to complete, when you encounter them. When you finish it, you press a "done" button, & then a sound or animation plays, & then the threat is dealt with. Unfortunately, the animation/sound is always long enough that you can do what you need to, but still die as you watch the animation, because you aren't safe once you press the done button. You're safe when the animation ends. For a game that flaunts its sound & movement this much, that means waiting a full second or so, which doesn't sound like much, but is definitely enough tome to get you killed.

The fix there is pretty obvious -- switch the order of events. Make the player safe, after the button is pressed, & then play the animation.

I can wish the game was different, sure, but it's still my favorite, & the quirks like that don't bug me.

[thebiggestmenace]

What are your thoughts on Abby?

Absolutely no judgement wether you like/dislike her, I feel like this is a controversial question within the fandom lol

hi, anon, I have many a thought and this is definitely a controversial question in the fandom lmao

I think she grows on you. when I first watched a gameplay, I absolutely hated her, I hated the fact that you had to play as her and that her part might be longer (it felt like it at the time, but I'm not sure if it is actually longer) than Ellie's. but after watching it for the third time, I do not despise her anymore. I get why she did what she did, but I do not love her.

again, I get why she did the golfing, but really? it was 4 years, Abby. surely, you noticed that you'd just be passing your own grief onto someone else? and shooting him in the leg? really? I imagine that was because Abby knew it wouldn't have been an easy fight if he wasn't injured, but still. he helped you, man. once Ellie got there and Abby had to hear the cries and the screams from her, did she not realize that Joel was a father figure to her? that she would just be pushing her own giref onto her? and 4 years, really? I know I already mentioned that, but seriously. she had to have realized at some point that killing Joel wouldn't help her.

however, they did make Abby similar to Joel, so it isn't a strong hatred at all. her willing to risk everything for Yara and Lev, then doing everything in her power to protect Lev. Joel did the same for Ellie, and look where that got him. I don't know how to properly articulate this, anon, but I do get why she did it, I just don't like it.

and that isn't solely for the fact of the golfing. it's also - it didn't need to be that brutal. at all. it didn't need to happen in front of Ellie. Abby wasn't there for Jerry's death, and Jerry's death was pretty clean cut. there was no pain. just a shot to the head. Joel's?? first you shoot him in the leg, then drag him down to a basement and beat the shit out of him with a golf club? and not stopping when his daughter comes in? it didn't need to go like that.

and the theater?? yes, Ellie didn't need to kill every single one of Abby's friends, but tbh Ellie lost everyone that meant something to her, so Abby taking Joel was most likely just the final straw for her. Ellie wasn't in the right state of mind for that whole trip, and yes, she was in the wrong, but that isn't to say that Abby's in the right. I know Abby didn't know this, but Ellie did not know Mel was pregnant, Abby was told point blank that Dina was, and she still tried to kill her. I am forever grateful that Lev got her to stop, cause man, I would not have survived that. but it's just a constant cycle of grief. Joel kills Jerry, Abby kills Joel, Ellie kills Abby's friends, Abby kills one of Ellie's and tries for more.

and then the epilogue???? this has many variables to it, in my opionon. yes, Abby did leave Ellie after the theater, so Ellie going after her was her own choice and so she could've deserved what happened. but I don't think it was really Ellie's choice in going. this is why we don't like game Tommy, by the way. Ellie wanted to go after Abby before she showed up at the theater, Tommy wanted to take Dina and everyone back to Jackson, so they did. and then once Ellie is living as best a life as she can, all things considered, Tommy shows up and yells at her to go back after Abby because "'I'll make her pay.' That's what you said once we got back to Jackson." and Ellie does go after her, because this grief is just. so heavy in her, she feels she has to.

but her going to Santa Barbara means that she was able to save Abby and Lev. so she did, and then she fought her. I'm torn for the fight because Abby kept telling Ellie to just let them leave, and they'll forget everything and they won't have to see each other again. but also Abby bit off her fucking fingers, so. her biting off the fingers has always gotten me. I know Abby doesn't know about Ellie's life outside all this fighting, but that was her one connection to Joel. and now. it's gone. but Ellie was able to realize that killing Abby wouldn't do anything. it wouldn't bring Joel back. it wouldn't make any of this better. if anything, it'll make it worse and also pass it onto Lev.

so yes, this is how I feel about Abby. I do not hate her, but she is not a favourite. she's very neutral to me currently, but everytime I rewatch the game, I hate her less, so with this fourth rewatch, my opinions may change again. but this is how I currently feel

[mlynar-nearl]

the amount of pulls you just said was insane sorry, did you just say 290 for ling/lee? and 170 for gavalter/pozy? absolutely insane that is some. wow. (can i say anything i hand mhy my wallet like it is free)

ok but yeah i can see like.... why. i mean. i love old man nearl i want him, i want him now so i can finally get started on my nearl family agenda and have to m9/mod3/maxlvl everyone in the nearl family (i love them little lovelies) and i have only done this with nearlter but blemi needs rocks and i hate rocks i hate farming 1-7 with a passion i have literally postponed farming rocks so much i have like 7??? un-e2'ed 6*s just bcs they need rocks (and also bcs they are not meta lol)

ur wallet is terrifying. anyways will u max pot the old man? i feel like u wld tbh but like complete guess.

and yeah most ppl will talk abt honkais story instead since it is pretty good, but i like the gameplay very personally, like... im a sucker for good hack-and-slash games (that i can play on mobile bcs idh a pc oop) that also dont require *that* much brain and honkai has honestly filled up that for me lol. its nice its flashy i press buttons its a win-win

but yeah before that, for the longest time, it was just arknights that stuck with me and its really obvious why bcs its a really good game (even now ofc tho sss pains me in every way possible) and i still do is2 all the time for fun even tho ive maxed out my candle level for weeks alr like hell yeah !!! i love this game!!! i burn out sometimes but i usually get back within one or two events (hence my incomplete guide ahead + the one medal missing from lingering echos + i only completed medal set for tw on the rerun) but yeah i love arknights and sometimes i wish i had more friends to yell abt it !!! watched the concert (the one with phenomenal agents and i was rly sad that i couldnt talk abt it to anyone properly)

ah once again sorry for the length, but i would love to hear what other gacha games you play as well ! personally i am a gacha game only person (my standards are a bit low sometimes) and i dont play much outside of gacha tbh. ah and of course, have a nice day !

i pretty much only pull on limited banners which is why i could put in that many for gavial and pozy without dipping into the wallet that much. ling and lee, on the other hand, THAT shit hurted my money. for my arknights pulls i basically set myself a number of rules that rely on the slight delay between CN and global that let me think out ops in advance and such. essentially, i allow myself one operator release between limited banners to actually invest in, based on how they look, their mechanics, and what i like in a character. so mlynar is my one between gavialter/pozy and omertexas/penance, simple as. GG was a previous "one." so was surtr. unfortunately this system does mean i have to skip characters that i do like- for example, i prio'ed GG over gnosis and fiammetta, who i both really enjoy as characters- because i ruled that GG has the most utility that i can take advantage of in my average playstyle and her global range is just too good at covering for my smallbrain moments. so for that reason, i normally have around 17 ten-pulls saved for each limited banner including the free ones that you get (meaning i average around 175 pulls since i throw in a few singles to make it nice and even.) ling and lee were an exception since mr lee just decided to fight me on it. to this day the only operator released on a limited banner that hasn't come home is irene and that's because i put foresight in myself and reminded myself that gavialter and pozemka would be upcoming in a much shorter gap than between ling/lee and specalter/irene, and i would regret it if i went all in for irene. the primary goal is always the operator who will be impossible to get at any other time of the year. yes i plot these things that far in advance like a general going to war. it's how i Survive . i've been doing it pretty much since i started when the limited to save up for was W.

i don't intend to pull for maxpot on mlynar for this reason. even with him sitting at my all time favorite character in the game, it doesn't fit my standard of pulling. eyes are ahead to omertexas and penance once he's home. though i do have idle plans to use any royal guard tokens i get on him. i would like him to be maxpot someday but given that i generally roll with the broad goal of collecting as many characters as possible, it's incompatible for the moment.

rn i indulge at feh and genshin at the request of my friends who do play them. i do enjoy genshin and it's a fun time killer- it's a shame the fanbase is So. i try not to indulge in gacha games unless they're recommended to me by friends, and arknights was, in fact, a rec when it was fresh enough (i think right after partial necrosis dropped because i had the frostnova lore explained to me as a hook.) i started right at the tail end of nian's banner. most of the vibeo games i play are non-gacha to avoid the hurts to my wallet that mr lee put on it. at least with arknights i can feel like i'm actually paying them for a good game PFSDLGH.....

[imraespace]

HEHLPME IMISSED YOUTOO POOKIEIE YES I AM BACK 😈

bio labs i hate bio labs i remember doing kne and i did si bad HELP ME 💔💔💔 and i rmemeber charging someone 15 dollars for my business exam guide or like study notes and I OVERPRICED THEM YES BUT IT WAS LIKE 2-3 DAYS BEFORE THE EXAM AND IM NOT GIVING THIS OUT FOR FREE.

YAYAY A DOLLAR IS A DOLLAR 😈😈

fragant flower bloomws with dignity sound sso cool omg im porbably gonna chekc it out after i read 49739759274 other things bc somehow i start things but never finish it like i remmeber reading smth in 2020 i didnt finish it came back in 2021 STILL DIDNT FINISH BC I REREAD IT BC I FORGOT EVERYTHING AND STOPPED AT THE SAME SPOT FROM BEFORE??? 2022 came back reread stopped again but made progress 2023 came back reread I DIDNT EVEN MAKE IT TO THE PART WHERE I STOPPED AND NOW ITS PROBABLY TIME TO GO BACK TO IT IN 2024. if anything we try again next year 💔

i had an episode addiction and i actuallt redownloaded it when my cousin was with me and we were voice acting the charscters it was so finny HELPME IHATED WHEN EVERY GOOD CHOICE WAS USED W DIAMONDS LIKE HELLO IM JOT SPENDING 395793 DOLLARS ON UR GAME.

JAY FROM KUBZ SCOUTS MENTIONED OHYMGOSH I LOVE JAY I WATCH HIS VIDEOS SM WHILE I WAS DOING MY APPLICATIONS I HAD THEM IN THE BACKGROUND HAHAHAH i hc rin to love his chilla’s arts gameplay bc 1. horror game duh and 2. jay is just that dude

i loVE KENJI TOOO i acc listen to his song and lowk its so bomb even tho the lyrics r like .. HELPME

i actually have a bathtub and sometimes i jusr fill it up and throw in my 10 rubber duckies to play w them bc i feek bad that they just sit on the shelf…. I NEED TO DO A BUBBLE BATH SOON I SWEAR

- 🐙

HELOME 15 FOLLARS I should do that..

ITS SO LOVELY AND SO CUTE I'm in my romance era first it was skip and loafer then the apothecary diaries I'm gonna read the manga then light novel for that just to see jinshi and maomao together ehehehebeg... BUT OMG I LOVE THE FRAGRANT FLOWER BLOOMS WITH DIGNITY SM IT MAKES ME SO YEHRHEHEY heheheheh

LMAO THATS ME IVE READ MAGI THE LABYRINTH OF MAGIC BC there's no hope of any other seasons.. AND SINBAD KINDA PISSED ME OFF I FORGOT THE REASON WHY I THINK HE TURNED ON THE MC alibaba he's so cute actually i love hakuryuu his name is literally my dc and tiktok username HELP anywaysIDK I FORGOT I THINK HE WENT ABOVE THE LEVEL OF GOD AND I WAS LIKE BRO WHAG ans it's like 7 more chapters I have until the end and then I stopped reading.. and if i do I would have zero clue what's happened bc it's been 2 years.

SAME BUT I GOT FED UP WITH TH3 DIAMOND CHOICES MY MOM BOUGHT THEM ans I used it ha bc I used her phone but then she stopped playing and i was broke then she found that game I play now and it's actually a 17+ game bc it have mature stuff in it but she gave me it to play AND THERES HOT PPL THERE so who am I to say no???!!😂😂🤫🤫

YWS JAY I LOVE HIM SM AND CORY I MISS CORY AND KAI AND DOC

kenji kai and doc playing together was the best😕😕 KAI WAS MU FAVORITE AND HE WAS JUST LIKE KENJI I REMEMBERED I WATCHED HIM PLAY THAT MINER GAME ON ROBLOX AND EVERYTIME HE OPENED HIS MOUTH I WAS LIKE WHAT?? he's so funny tho BUT HE DISAPPEARED LIKE CORY OMAGRJAMFHMWND😒😒😒

LMAO YES I LOVE KENJI NEW SONG it suits him you should listen to his first song with kai it's a banger fr!! (it doesn't even really have any lyrics tbh..)

MY GRANDMAMA HAD A BATHTUB I USED RO PREYEND TO HE A MERMAID IN IT but i gotta shower here theres like a small wall so the water won't run out so when I was younger I used to take a bowl and block off the drain so the water can fill up like a bathtub and pretended to he a mermaid there as well plus it eas bigger! BUT I ALWAYS FLOODED YHE BATHROOM AND ONCE IT GOT OUT OF THE BATHROOM AND INTO THE CORRIDOR AND MY OLDER BEOTHER SLIPPED that wasn't my fault that was his like why you running🙄🙄 I got in trouble! (ofc) but I WAS A MERMAID!! h2o who?!,! ME!!

[dopaminergicaddictions]

3/8/24

6:46 a.m-updated

I doubled up on the sleeping meds. I should be sleeping by 8 a.m or 9 at the latest. I'm a little worried I'll throw off my circadian rhythm but who knows. I had to double up bc I've only been up for 15 hours.

I cleaned out two draws today. I was productive. Tomorrow aka later today i have to call the psychiatrist and call disability to reschedule my appt.

Then I'm going to finish my password book. I might sweep my room and clean my ac. I got to finish my mattress pillow top. I did all my laundry but that. Including my bedding. I've been productive.

I had a dream about you last night. I wish I could remember it. It wasn't a good one. That's all I know but when I woke up it was before 7 hours and I just passed back out and it was gone.

I have a feeling you ignored me again. Idk.

The hallucination has been the same. So I guess the weed didn't do any damage at least I hope. I hope I can get in with the psychiatrist asap....

No news on the dating front. That arsenal of photos without glasses is coming up. If a girl can't like me for who I really am that's okay. I don't need to see clearly.

I know you would have wanted me to wesr my glasses. It seems most women do not like the bald guy with glasses look.

I looks funky without my glasses but whats a guy supposed to do?

I feel less attractive with them on. Once I wear my new script for a few days I'll see Apple sauce tbh.... so maybe getting those ray bans aren't worth it. I just want to look attractive.

I wish a woman would like me with my glasses. I wish a girl would like the bald guy with glasses look. It's who I am but I guess I need another Katie. Someone who would rather I not see clearly. Its not that's important to see clearly. Maybe I can introduce myself with glasses on thr first date bit without any photos in glasses I'd feel like I was lying. They might not like it.

Also I could wesr them sometime later... idk... Maybe I'm just not meant to be loved how I am... I used to have one good eye. Not neither is good but things aren't that blurry...

I'm never going to be an edgy guy with tattoos who looks sexy. I'm always going to be a dorky guy... without any tattoos at this point I'd get some just to look more attractive...

I'd actually change a lot about myself despite liking how I look to find someone.

It is what it is. I'm going to do one profile as thr authentic Nathan and one profile as the fake Nathan and see what happens.

I can't help but think all the women are like he is dorky. Maybe it's the bald head. We will find out. I'm never wearing a toupee but like- Maybe just maybe taking off Mt glasses will give me an edge.

I might remove all my videos in yotube with my glasses.. I won't have many left but whatever. No one minds watxhing me if they want to see the gameplay but women don't like something about my picture. I think I look handsome. It's their loss but I can't be alone forever.

If you're coming, just know I'm still waiting for you. I'm not joking. None of my eggs are in that basket... but if I found someone I'd drop her for you in 2 seconds.

I want to grow old with you. I want to watch your girls grow up. I want to marry you but most people never get what they want. And I accept that.

I'll always be hopelessly in love with you. I'll always think about you fondly. I'll always love you with every fiber of my being. I'll always wish any girl I end up with is Elise.

I feel stupid for saying that but its the truth

[clavis-baby]

The (possible) Downfall of Obey Me

5-16-21 (when writing this the event toys out)

(Tbh this post is just be trying to be naïve towards Solomare and at ever aspectthat I mention you have every single right to be upset and mad)

Okay so it’s no secret that Obey me is making bank and is very very obviously trying to make us money on the game with even trying to make us spend money with original stuff that was free to now secretly changing some mechanics behind our back

Here’s a post by @thalfox https://thalfox.tumblr.com/post/653994972840919040/i-just-noticed-a-little-bit-ago-that-the-barbatos that dose a really good job at explaining everything that has changed

(also this isn’t a hate thing fox has actually done a great work explaining everything to good detail of what has changed)

With all the changes I don’t think that it’s shocking to say that players are leavening the fandom because of many reasons to the games getting stupidly harder to even the game development

This is just a heads up this in no way is a post saying “hey this is why you shouldn’t feel this way” I kinda just wanted to see from a business standpoint and be naïve of what’s happening you have every reason to be mad at Solomare because even me I’ve been playing sense week 2 of game released and I’m only on lesson 42 every counter argument that I’m going to make I have complained about at some point

Arguments

(P.s grammar is really bad it’s sort of turned into more of a rant I wrote this at 5 am without any sleep so sorry)

1. Obey me is marketed as a free to play game

First there are many reasons people are mad this main thing that I hear about is from a lot of people is that is a “free game” which lets be honest is ridiculously hard

But still it is still essentially a “free to play game” I personally feel like the main prolog is lessons 1-20 to introduce all the characters to understand and getting the just on how to play the game

Okay and now here’s where I sort of stand with obey me, the gatcha rates are kinda ridiculously lucky when you play for the first week you luck is so amazing and is in my experience with gatchas the best luck I have ever seen for games so it’s not really hard collecting the cards

Now are they the best absolutely no, this I feel like is where you might have to spend money unless they up the skills on the Nightmare A

But what Obey me is technically trying to do is obviously making you pay by releasing your favorite demon card every 2 week which…aren’t essential they are really just hoping that you love your main demon enough to pay

With the high increase on the gatcha rate there really isn’t a pity unless you count the card pieces (but I’m not going to count that because you are more likely to roll your UR before completing the pieces)

Now after lesson 20 once the huge break I feel like Obey me almost expecting the players to keep logging in any doing jobs and some players did do that and boy did it pay off

But those players have not needed to spend a single dollar and are all caught up

Now for everyone else who didn’t the game was so difficult it’s unimaginable and because for that a whole lot of players left the game and personally I don’t blame them because of how much impact the next lessons were

Now sort of like Mystic Messenger you really just have to grind you ass off log in everyday and do JOBS :D and grind but as hard and long as it is you are still able to be a f2p but where obey me fails is that when grinding Mystic Messenger grinding was a lot more fun for me it took about a whole year to just get 550 hourglasses even when I purchased and same with Genshin Inpact it takes a while but with obey me there isn’t really anything else to do once you get to a certain point which I think obey me really lacks and could be part of a reason why people left. Grinding just is not fun (now I do think that on a phone there is so much you can do with a app game but I feel like there could be a bit more they could do)

Personally I’m just going to come out and say it don’t spend your money for one UR card for your favorite demon it’s really not worth it now im one of those Mammon stans but if I ever wanted a specific card for instance the Mammon bunny card when it first came out I wanted it so badly and didn’t get it but I also knew there would eventually be a revival so I saved and did not spend any DV(demon vouchers) until the revival

The events

Some people complain about getting the cards in the events onestly for me this one kinda makes a bit of sense I noticed the first change when the Vampire even came out and how it wasn’t as easy to get the second card but if you think of it it makes sence why

When the first event came out (Santa event) you only had to collect about 30,000 gingerbread compared to the 100,000 in event today but when the first event came out no one was at high enough levels for the AP required and you would every day when times rest to gain gingerbread as well as there was only one part to the story so when people kept leveling up their AP Obey Me had to higher the bar so it wouldn’t be so easy to get all these cards and have a actual reward system but eventually they also added another story lesson starting at the Ruri Chan event

Second thing about the events is that one there started just getting plain out boring.

When lesson 20 finished and we were all waiting for season 2 I was still loving in everyday and logging in at 12 and 8 for the free 30 AP because I didn’t know what else to and would participate in the event but eventually what I think that all otome games that have constant events like Ikemen Vampire and Ikemen Revolution they just start getting repetitive and getting real boring so I stoped playing until there was something more interesting

The last thing that some people complain about the events is that you can’t keep up with the story and the events now I can’t find it but I believe that @0beyme said something about the events a long time ago about how you have to pick between the event and moving through the main story which I kinda think isn’t really the games fault and more just a discussion on maybe missing a event

Add ons

Okay so they did this from day 1 you spend a certain amount of Devil point that you guaranteed don’t have and get out a card

Now this is just spelling out a disaster

Yeah so for the first Charge Mission is when you log in which everyone had but essentially what they want you to do is spend $100 on a game that you just logged into and never experienced or played I don’t really understand what they were even thinking with that but it must’ve worked for them to keep doing them

The second time they did it was when the break was over and season 2 came out and they celebrated by doing another charge mission which was the Lucifer and Simon card which would cost again $100 again I really don’t understand what they were thinking

And now this is I believe the fourth time they have done this for the 1.5 anniversary where they know that Mammon is obviously a favorite for many Obey Me players and where smart to put it on the really stupid charge mission but the difference is, is that instead of it costing $100 it would cost almost $200(same with Levi’s) for one thing I don’t understand

But one thing that you do have to remember is is that this isn’t apart of the main gameplay it really just is a mini game if you would even call it that of dress up and optimization so still I guess would be just a add on that has no effect on the actual story and game so you could I guess still call it a f2p game with really really stupidly high priced add ons

VIP

Umm so I am the first one to call myself out I have bought the VIP package first when season 2 happened and I knew how much I loved the game so personally it was worth it to me to support the developers and gain something out of it

Now I haven’t really seen much complaints on the VIP because people more use it as a “hey the game is impossible with out VIP” but the people who say this ive noticed never bought it

For $9.99 each month it is 100%

IT IS NOT WORTH IT!!! Out of everything you get which honestly isn’t much you get some extra free space in jobs and really that’s it and if you choose to use all your job slots for the highest paying you get around 30,500 about a 10,000 difference not really worth it in my opinion

With VIP you also get other things like higher chance of gifts from Jobs which you will not notice one bit, and +20 AP (which if you play the events is sort of useful) as well as extra packages exclusive to VIPs so after paying $9.99 per month you also get more things to buy and that’s about it for VIP now if you really want to get more grim just use your AP and spend it of normal lessons you will get more AP that way

The Story and Kids

This could be all me just complaining and a theory by I wanted to include it anyway

Obviously many people are not even caught up or even playing but as more lessons went on the less interesting the story became to me I don’t know if it’s a me thing but season one was absolutely amazing the once season two came out it was good but not anywhere as good and one

One reason why I think that it to me became almost bland is the amount of kids that is on the app and how sensitive people were if anything bad happens

It’s no secret that the Japanese versions a lot more non-kid friendly for hell’s sake the characters don’t even swear as well as all the colors I feel like to a American audience bright colors is usually marketed towards kids but in other countriesI think many understand that that is not always the case for instance a lot of people will thing in America that anime is all for kids but I mean look at Attack on Titan or Tokyo Ghoul you would not let kids watch that of literal people getting brutally murdered you just don’t see things like that in the West where something looking kid friendly could also be very adult like

Also wtf dose this in the App Store say +12 with Ikemen Vampire and a lot of other games if you have a game rated +17 then there will be a actual pop up that says something along the lines of how “thier could be violence acts and sexual act are you sure you want to instal”

Now the story I’ve seen people point this out but there isn’t really much character development for instance Beel he dose not have a actual personality his personality (fight me on this one) all you really know about him is that he likes food and his family now I could be wrong cuz I’m on lesson 42 but still not much and this is kinda with all the characters except the special ones where the devs really favor and love for story

Some one mentioned how the developers hold back a lot which I agree with 100% they said how when there is character development they all the sudden pull back and never will almost talk about it again like ???? So there’s this constant bland story

——————-

Honestly if you liked this I might do more cuz as much as this post made me especially at the end I kinda liked ranting so...yeah there is also many other things that I want to rant about but I’m tired soooo

feel free to comment your opinions btw

Bye ima go sleep now

[murfeelee]

Check In Tag

(Once again Tumblr deleted my whole effing post....)

Long story short, I’m posting this questionnaire cuz I saw it on my dash and I got nothing better to post--blame RL.

why did you choose your url?

Cuz I’m an uncultured swine who couldn't think of anything clever or creative.

any side blogs?

Almost 10, it’s madness.

how long have you been on tumblr?

2013

do you have a queue tag?

I queue everything, so I don't bother with a tag.

why did you choose your icon/pfp?

She’s Sakura Rain, my first TS3 sim, back when I was obsessed with Tinkerbell and the Pixie Hollow faeries (don’t judge me). She’s my fave berry sim.

why did you choose your header?

It’s a vestige of my old TSR theme/aesthetic.

what’s your post with the most notes?

My TS4 Still Unimpressed Rant, from 2015. I still DGAF about TS4, as EA barely scratches the surface or gives us anything we’ve never seen before. We FINALLY got llamas (they’re technically just reskinned cows, EA, you ain’t slick), but the rest of Cottage Living’s just a retread of TS3 Store stuff with new graphics & animations & half the gameplay (TS4 in a frikkin nutshell TBH).

And eff TS5; I want a TS1/TS2 remake, the same way Final Fantasy 7 and Resident Evil 2 got remade. Watching The Red Plumbob’s meticulous videos hammers home how badly EA’s failed to move FORWARD with this dang franchise, so they might as well go back to the frikkin start. I’m tired.

how many mutuals do you have?

Bunches, and I know for a fact half are inactive.

how many followers do you have?

Too dang many, since I never see most of y’all--unfollow me, and just track the Sims 3 CC tag, or bookmark my Build/Buy CC page & CAS CC Page. I keep telling y’all you don't need to follow me to find my CC, and I still get people showing up on my front lawn.

how many people do you follow?

Tons--simblrs, fandoms, art, trivia, fashion, etc.

have you ever made a shitpost?

Nah, I’m a ranter. I’m liable to go off on just about anything, but EA especially.

how often do you use tumblr each day?

I’m super sporadic. I’m most active on the weekends, when I try to catch up with tracked tags, messages, etc.

did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?

Omg right after I posted that TS4 Unimpressed Rant I got this heated--and I mean H E A T E D--message, with some salty AF EA employee nonnie cussing me from A to Z. I clearly struck a nerve. XD #EAYouSuck

how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts?

I reblog whatever I want. I try to keep most stuff off main though, and put it on my personal blog.

do you like tag games?

I hate thinking of people to tag; it’s so stressful. Cuz I’ll inevitably forget someone, then I feel bad for leaving people out.

do you like ask games?

Y’all know I jump on these things even when no one’s tagged me, LOL.

which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

Who frikkin knows; people come and go.

I tag anyone!

[chibigaia-art]

Hi, can I ask you something? How can I get into the Team Fortress 2 and Overwatch fandoms without playing the games? Because I saw your art and I want to get into those fandoms, but I'm not really good at online games and they give me anxiety. What am I supposed to do? Sorry for the bother and I hope you're having a nice day/night!

HI HI THANKS FOR ASKING ME THIS 😳😳😳 I got into overwatch the moment it was released and I couldn’t play the game for over a year, so I know how it feels,, the fun thing about both games is that you can really just ignore the game itself and enjoy the characters and story!

I’m gonna put everything under the cut because the post became longer than what I expected,,

OVERWATCH

one of the sad things about ow is that they retconned some stuff and some lore bits are really blurry and confused (for example they had D.va be a Starcraft pro-gamer or smth and then they just removed the info idk why) ; I was really into the ow lore since I couldn’t play the game at first, but as time went on I just kinda stopped bothering with it? reading the characters’ profiles gives you an idea of who they are and what they do tho so that’s nice

- so, first, you have the animated shorts, (AND FOR SOME REASON THE BEST ONE ISN’T INCLUDED IN THIS PLAYLIST) which are what really pulled me into it! After them you can read the comics, some of which are tied to seasonal events, like ‘Uprising’; they’re listed in reverse chronological order, so the first you should read is Train Hopper (tho most of them aren’t related to each other anyway) - side note, in the same page as the comics there’s also the short stories! But I only read Ana’s so I dunno much about what happens in the others :’)

-  speaking of seasonal events, every year around april there’s the Archives event, which recount the events of specific moment in overwatch/blackwatch history - you can watch the gameplay and cinematics for those here!

- the thing about OW is that there was a constant adding of new heroes, and with those there were origin stories released - there isn’t an official playlist for these ones, and the best way to watch them in one place is here ( you need to scroll down a bit); for some reason Blizzard never uploaded a good quality of Tracer’s origin story, so here it is

if you expect to see something related to lucio or zenyatta, i regret to inform you we’re still waiting for that stuff :°°]

TF2

Okay so tf2 didn’t really have a story at first, aside the set up of two brothers hiring mercenaries to fight each other, but as time went on they expanded on it with the comics; it’s a lot more graphic than OW so warning for tons of blood and gore in 90% of this stuff

- first thing, watch the ‘Meet the Team’ videos; they’re focused on each merc so you get a LOT of characterization for the most part and tbh I love them for that; there’s also a playlist with outtakes from Meet the Medic

- NOW the comics! Where the lore starts! They’re split into TF comics and Update comics; the TF ones are where the story happens while the update comics are more related to, well,, game updates, though there are still some bits of important stuff that you need to know to get into the main story; if you want to skip the update ones and go directly to the TF comics tho, read the catch up comic so you know the set up! Even if you read the update ones first, the catch up comic is super helpful;

- other animated shorts! Expiration Date (my beloved) was released along an in game update and is also the only relic of a time where TF2 could’ve been an animated series for adult swim; End of the Line is a community made video, for a community made update, so it’s not canon material but it’s still really nice; Jungle Inferno was released with the homonym update and it’s also been the last official animated short,, for now,,, hopefully,,

- the Mann vs Machine and The Sound of Medicine are TECHNICALLY tied to the main turning point of the story, though the shorts are more focused on the characters/gameplay once again, so you can watch them even if you have no idea of what’s going on in the comics - they’re fighting robots! Medic is cool!

aside the official stuff, Valve used to host the Saxxy Awards, which were basically contest for animated shorts - all the entries aren’t canon obviously, but some of those + a lot of other SFM/GMOD videos on youtube are REALLY good and fun; I’m not gonna list my faves here since it’s already a pretty long post but uuuh if you ever want a quick list, just send another ask anon, i’ll happily oblige 😳👌

_________________________

For both ow and tf2, you can also look up the wikia pages of the characters and listen to their voicelines/interactions with other characters, those are always fun!

[oshinsimblr]

aaa hi :)

any tips for making personalities for your sims + how to enjoy your gameplay without rushing ?(ty)

hi! some quick tips off the head.. hmm.. well first, i watch a lot of quirky/diverse shows. i gain alot of inspo from real faces in real life and base personalities off of characters from tv shows or people i’ve met. people tend to be fleshed out already, so bringing that in the sims is the most organic way to create them. i go by the rule of two good traits, and one random/weird/quirky one to spice the sim up. don’t make perfect sims! sims aren’t perfect. they need a quirk.

tbh, you’re going to rush the first week of new game play haha. meaning, you’re going to ‘want’ to rush the new job process, gaining a couple skills, establishing connections. once you do that - slow it down and live realistically. do we get promotions every 3 days? not really, so let your sim live a little and focus on going on community lots. try playing the filed and not finding your soulmate the first time around. try building skills away from home, put the laptop in your sims inventory and get out the house. when it starts to get boring, play another household. and not just any household, play your sims friend or potential love interest. life is about connections, accomplishments, memories (sadly, we create these for our sims in ts4) and our environment. make their home a home, make it cozy so when your sims want to be loners, their home is still fun and aesthetically pleasing!

i hope this helps !! x

[hold-my-hand-kuroo]

phases of the moon

tbh when they told me that i’d need eighth grade biology in the future, i didn’t think it’d be for this

also it’s almost 2 AM so forgive me this isn’t proof-read

pairing: tsukishima x reader

i. waxing gibbous

At the young age of seven, you meet your lifelong friend for the very first time. Initially, you’re a little bit scared to meet your new neighbors, especially when you’re told that one of the sons is the same age as you. It doesn’t make it easier that Tsukishima Kei is especially cool for a five year old. He’s quite tall, fast at his subtraction tables, and exceptionally good at naming dinosaurs and reading big words. To you, he’s basically an adult and completely unapproachable, even after sitting quietly in his room while the real adults were chatting elsewhere.

His room is clean, and you’re amazed at the stacks of chapter books resting on his desk. They have pictures of fossils and big-toothed birds and when you open it, pages are filled with blocks of long words; you’re amazed, curious, but unable to read any of it.

“Do you like dinosaurs?” the blonde boy asks, watching you flip through his books just for the pictures. You jump a little bit, surprised that he finally decided to speak to you after what seemed like years of silence. He has a raised eyebrow, but he doesn’t seem too mean. You’re still a little scared. “Or maybe not…?”

“They’re cool,” you finally answer, flipping back to the page that caught your attention. “I like this one the best.”

“That’s the tanystropheus.” His reply is instant, and you start to think that all kids that wear glasses must be smart. He gets up from his chair and walks toward you, taking a seat right next to you on the floor. “Its neck is three meters long which is like, way longer than its entire body.”

He continues on listing facts and saying large words that completely go over your head, and really, you’re in awe at his knowledge. You can’t believe that he’s really seven, but you also can’t believe that the quiet boy from two minutes ago is actually quite talkative. It’s almost like a switch was flipped, turning him into a more animted version of himself. You don’t mind, but you wish he’d slow down just a little bit so that you could follow.

“Which one do you like?” you ask, diverting the topic and hoping that he’d stop. He flashes you a grin before flipping to another page. It’s clear that he has the book memorized.

“I like the pterodactyl.” Pointing to what seemed like a dragon, his eyes are practically glowing. “They can fly, you know?”

“Like birds?”

“Yeah, but birds are a little different since they have feathers.”

For the next three hours, Tsukishima reads to you, and even though you’re confused with some of the names, the effort you put into understanding seems to please him. It’s not every day that he has a companion to talk about dinosaurs to; usually, his friends would call him boring and leave, so he doesn’t bother expressing his interests. In fact, he’s so ecstatic at his newfound companion that you find him at your door almost every day with a new book in hand. Over sweets, preferably strawberry shortcake, Tsukishima reads to you, pausing once in a while to see if you have questions. Sometimes, he’d adjust his glasses a little, and you’d find yourself thinking over and over again, “He’s such an adult.”

Afternoons get loud when Tsukishima introduces the card game Dinosaur King to you. He’s all smiles when you walk into his room one day, running up to you with his deck and a deck of your own that he bought with his carefully saved allowance. Once the two of you get into it, hours feel like seconds. Rather than gameplay, you’re more fascinated by the card design, but since you know that Tsukishima likes a good challenge, you try your best to play well. You find your math skills improving drastically, calculating lost life points almost every day, and when you beat Tsukishima for the very first time, the two of you laugh at your own excitement and flailing arms.

Once it got warm enough to play outdoors, you pass your time in his backyard with his older brother, Akiteru, who’s actually a real-life giant. Even though he’s tall and a whole twelve years old, he smiles a lot and is just like a kid, except not. You don’t know much about him except for the fact that he plays volleyball, and according to Tsukishima, who practically glows with pride every time you watch him practice, he’s very good at it. You think volleyball might run in the family’s blood considering that whenever Akiteru throws a ball for you and Tsukishima to receive, you’d always miss while Tsukishima would bump it back. You’re a little proud that your best friend is smart, athletic, and incredibly kind and wonder if he’s just naturally good at everything.

Childhood is filled with reptiles, backyard volleyball, and laughter, especially Tsukishima’s. You can’t say you hate the sound of it considering that it makes you giggle too. For Christmas that year, you write a letter to Santa wishing that things would stay the same forever.

ii. waning crescent

Things begin changing when you’re both twelve. Tsukishima’s tall as ever, looming over most of the other kids in your class, and with his height comes the expectation for him to be a real adult. You almost feel bad for thinking the same thing five years ago, especially when he starts to smile less. It’s childish, he says at one point, renouncing his card games in place for constant volleyball practice.

If anything, Tsukishima’s more focused on volleyball than ever, and you’re not surprised. With Akiteru being both his idol and the ace of Karasuno, you figured that he’d want to follow his brother’s footsteps at some point. You’re not sure what being the ace means, but Tsukishima’s convinced that only the coolest grown-ups are allowed to have that position; you suppose that’s why he’s trying so hard to act differently, but you don’t mind helping him out. Tsukishima’s the happiest when you’re throwing balls for him to receive or spike after school, and because it’s the only time where he genuinely smiles without holding back, you’re more than willing to keep helping him practice. It’s the closest thing to normal and is painfully nostalgic.

You’re not sure what to do when Tsukishima begins to tease you. Sure, his tongue has gotten significantly sharper within the past few years, but you know well that he’d never tease out of malice. Not to you anyways, so you just laugh and tease back, because you hate letting him have the last laugh.

When rumors being to spread at school about Tsukishima being some big bully, you’re more than eager to debunk each and everyone, to show them all that your best friend, although a little bit cold, is nothing of the sort. He stops you though, because he doesn’t care. You don’t understand what’s so fun about being feared or ostracized, and you definitely don’t know why he continues to push his classmates away, but you don’t want to force him to do something he doesn’t. Still, you wonder if the whispers ever bother him. Being cool and an adult at the same time seemed incredibly lonely.

Yamaguchi is a special exception much to your delight. Rather than being frightened, he reminds you of your younger self being attracted to Tsukishima’s maturity, and you find it oddly reassuring that Tsukishima is still able to let people into his life. You suppose it’s because Yamaguchi is interested in volleyball too, and now, he can pass the ball with someone besides you during his free time since you’re not that good at the sport in the first place. Nonetheless, Yamaguchi urges you to join. “The more the merrier,” he says, and Tsukishima seems to agree but never verbally. It’s been five years though, so you know that when he fiddles with his glasses and looks at the ground, it means he wants you to play with him.

Whenever you’re free, you visit the junior volleyball program to cheer on your friends. Tsukishima pretends that he hates the attention, but you know he doesn’t, and when you’re asking Yamaguchi about how practice went, you catch the blonde’s eyes flickering at you and then away. You know he wants you to ask him too, and you almost always comply if he isn’t being too mean to you. It’s fun to tease him back since it always catches him off guard. It’s then that you begin to hope that maybe, just maybe, Tsukishima would replace some of those condescending smirks with more smiles again.

Your hopes are for naught.

Despite fully immersing himself into the sport, Tsukishima’s first time watching a high school match ends with an abrupt realization. You and Yamaguchi are with him, and it’s devastating to see his face fall when his eyes meet with Akiteru’s in the stands, cheering for the guy he’s been lying to Tsukishima about being. It’s the highest form of betrayal, and after that single match, everything changes.

No longer does Tsukishima walk to volleyball practice with hidden excitement, and no longer does he ask you to practice with him after school. It becomes hard to talk to him, much to your dismay, and you often find yourself sitting in his room in silence as the two of you study. He doesn’t read to you, he doesn’t flaunt his knowledge. He just sits there across from you, not meeting your eyes at all. Maybe it’s out of shame for trying so hard to be someone who wasn’t what they said they were. Maybe it’s just the crippling disappointment eating away at his spirit. You don’t know and neither does Yamaguchi.

His image doesn’t improve that much in class either. You’ve noticed that he has a newfound distaste for excessive energy and big expectations, and it makes him more dislikable by the kids around him. His tongue is venomous, and even though you know deep in your heart that he’s a nice person, nobody se can believe it. Still, he’s never genuinely rude to you aside from occasional snide and playful remarks. That’s the only thing left that you can keep a hold of, so you settle for it.

The two of you are so far away from being adults, but it feels so lonely even then.

iii. new moon

Tsukishima’s aware that he’s different from how he was during his childhood, but it’s always comforting to know that you understand him inside-and-out. He’ll never say it out loud though, since he isn’t exactly good at things like expressing his feelings or showing genuine sincerity, but he expects that you’ll understand. The knowing silence that the two of you shared is practically irreplaceable.

Which is why it hurts a lot more when you choose to confront him.

It’s the night before his summer training camp during his first year of high school that you have your first serious fight with your best friend. In the past, your fights have been more like playful banter or simple bickering. You’ve never raised your voice against him and vice versa, but when you’re sitting on his bed and watching him pack his bags while complaining about what a hassle practice is, you can’t help but question his motives.

“Then why are you still in the club?” you ask, raising an eyebrow. He hums, his usual sound for acknowledgement, but doesn’t turn to look at you.

“It’d look good on my resume,” he answers matter-of-factly. You’re not convinced, especially since you know for sure that his grades are already stand-out and that he could’ve done anything but continue the sport.

You sigh. “Are you sure that’s it?”

“What do you mean by that?” You notice the small change in his tone and suddenly become aware of the awkward tension in the room. Slowly, he turns toward you, feigning a smile. “You know that it’d just be easier for me to continue, since it’s the only sport I know, right? You can’t expect me to learn basketball-“

“Kei, you like volleyball don’t you?” you interrupt, shaking your head. You’re desperate to know why he keeps burying his feelings, especially since the trust between the two of you was a piece of work years in the making. It stung a little bit, and frankly, you’re sick of it. “You like volleyball, so that’s why you keep playing.”

“Haven’t you been listening to me since like, forever?” he asks, laughing sarcastically while rolling his eyes. “I hate sweating, and you know I can’t stand the weird duo. I’ve said it thousands of times, hello?”

“Then you would’ve quit.” You say it bluntly, because in reality, it is that simple. Tsukishima liked to pretend to be complex, but he never was. “I’ve known you for years, Kei, and you wouldn’t keep playing if you actually-“

“I hope you aren’t pulling the childhood friends card.” Now that one hurt. “Even if we’ve known each other for years, you can’t be so sure that you know everything about me, right? I mean, I barely know anything about you-“

“Liar.” You feel yourself getting heated. You’re not sure if it’s because the conversation is getting nowhere or if it’s because you’re shocked by his words, but you don’t want to just drop the topic. “Kei, you’re scared, aren’t you?”

“Of what?” he scoffs. He grips the shirt he’s holding to the point where his knuckles begin to turn white. That’s how you know you’ve hit bullseye.

“You’re scared of trying hard again, because you think everyone around you are better than you-“

“But they are. That’s just facts,” he scoffs again, this time becoming more tense. “No matter what I do, I can’t even compare. Have you see how Hinata jumps? I’d just get eaten up, so why would I even try?”

“Because you want to, but you’re just scared of failing.”

His gaze at you becomes icy, and you feel chills running down your spine. Gulping, you try your best to not waver under his pressure, because you meant everything you said. You know you’ve struck a nerve when his eyes turn into a glare, face close to a scowl. He’s mad, and you’re at a loss of what to do.

“I don’t know why you’re being like this, but I’ll have you know that failing isn’t impressive,” he says with a wave of his hand. His tone is like nails against a chalkboard, and you feel as if the relationship you’ve built throughout the years has completely disappeared. “Let’s say I do try, and I get benched anyways. That’d be worse than if I didn’t-“

“See? You’re scared.” You sit up straighter this time, refusing to lose your edge. He glares at you, jaw clenching, but says nothing. “You want to become a better player, don’t you? You shouldn’t be afraid of being like—“

“Enough.” He’s curt and to the point. If there’s anything that he hates more than wasted effort, it’s being confronted and having the confronter being correct. Of course, he shouldn’t be surprised since it’s you, but he’s still annoyed. “It’s getting late. You should leave.”

You frown. It’s not late at all. In fact, dinner probably wasn’t even ready at your house yet, but you know what he’s trying to say. Getting up slowly, you pace to his door, opening it quietly. He’s not facing you anymore, and you turn around to see that he’s occupied with folding more clothes to add into his duffel.

“Kei…you know I’m telling you this because I know you’re capable right?” you try one more time, voice barely above a whisper. “I’ve seen you block before, and you can read other people so well-“

It falls like fake praise against his ears, and in his mind, Tsukishima remembers all the blocks he couldn’t stop, the ones that he knows that even if he tried, he couldn’t have due to a sheer difference in skill and talent. There were other people who were good or even better at his position, and he’d be damned if he were caught trying and still couldn’t compete. He knows he’d lose in the end, and he wants to avoid the sinking feeling of disappointment at all costs.

He thought you knew. You were there with him when he saw his entire dream diminish into nothingness within the span of seconds after all.

“Someone’s getting all cocky just because they’ve known me for a while, huh?” he lies through his teeth, nails digging into his own skin as he says it. He wonders why he can’t come to terms with you, but more importantly, he wonders why he’s choosing to hurt you instead. “Don’t get too ahead of yourself. Like I’ve said, maybe we’re not as close as you think, Y/N.”

You wince. It’s his first time speaking to you like that, and you realize it’s the same tone he used to mock others. Other that weren’t close to him at all. It hurts a lot more than you expected. Still, you refuse to have him have the last word.

“Fine. Be like that.”

The two of you don’t talk for the next few days, and you don’t even receive the regular texts complaining about Hinata and Kageyama while he’s gone at the training camp. It’s lonely without Tsukishima to vent to, and you miss the snide remarks he’d make about the people you hated. He was always there to cheer you up, but now, he only makes you frustrated. You don’t think you’re wrong, but you wonder if you had gone too far that night. Maybe you should have just left it as it was, or better yet, not have brought it up at all.

It’s not until Tsukishima returns home that you hear from him.

“Hey,” you star awkwardly when you open your door. He’s showered but looks exhausted from playing the sport he supposedly hated for days on end. The worst part was that he still wasn’t looking at you, and you’re so bothered by it that you don’t hear his mumbling. “What did you say?”

“Sorry,” he mutters again, staring pointedly at the floor. His brows are furrowed in clear frustration, and when you let out an audible gasp, he only grows more flustered. “I said too much before.”

“Me too,” you respond after taking in his apology. You don’t remember the last time, if ever, that Tsukishima had said sorry to you, and you’re surprised that he’s even capable of doing so. “I shouldn’t have brought it up-“

“No, I was being…rude,” he struggles. It looks as if he’s physically pained with the idea of admitting his faults, and if it weren’t for the situation, maybe you would’ve laughed. “I didn’t mean it when I said that.”

“About what?” you probe, and he grunts, foot shuffling ever so slightly.

“About us not being close,” he practically grits through his teeth. He’s conflicted with what to say next, but you’re more amazed at his honesty. “We are. I didn’t mean it. And you were right.”

He stands still, bracing himself for a response. In reality, Tsukishima Kei is afraid of a lot of things, and he hates to admit it. He knows that you’re aware of his fear of humiliation and being overwhelmed by others around him, but he wonders if you also know about how scared he is to lose you, his closest friend. His tongue is sharp, too sharp for his own good. He’d be lying if he said that he didn’t lose sleep during the past few nights worrying about how he might’ve made you cry.

“I like you a lot more when you’re honest, Kei,” you chuckle finally, and he lets out a heavy sigh, shoulders sagging. You can tell that he was anxious and that it took a great deal from him to see you, but it’s almost endearing. “And here I thought that I’d have to open up applications for a new best friend. I was thinking about Tadashi, actually.”

He smirks, looking up. “If you’re in the mood to tease me, could you at least let me in? You’re letting all your air conditioner out with door open, and I’m in the mood to complain about people.”

You comply almost instantly, pulling him by the wrist through the door and into your room. Like clockwork, he sits against your bed right next to you, and it almost feels normal again with him telling you about terrible the training camp was and how he couldn’t sleep because the people around him snored too loudly. It’s relieving.

“I learned how to block better,” he adds finally after debating whether or not to tell you. Your eyes glow, and oddly enough, he can’t find it in himself to hate how smug you look. “I still hated the camp though.”

“Because you missed me, right?” you joke. Tsukishima outright stiffens straight, holding his breath and hoping that you wouldn’t notice. But of course, you do. “Oh man, I really got you there.”

“Shut up,” he grumbles, looking away again with a scowl.

iv. third quarter

You remember a few things. The sound of Ushijima’s spike hitting Tsukishima’s hand followed by the slam of the ball that lands back on the floor, the roar of the crowd, and Akiteru’s yelp as your iron grip around his hand tightens and practically cuts off his blood flow. When you break down the memory further, you see Tsukishima just seconds before the block wearing an awfully cocky smirk, and that’s when you realize that it’s all premeditated. From the way he kept glancing at the setter with such a cold and chilling stare to the way his arms moved over toward his left, Tsukishima had played the block over and over again in his mind. It was the seed of his efforts finally coming to fruition.

And then there was his declaration of love for the sport that was no longer “just a club,” his yell that silenced the court and stunned everyone in the stands. Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted the stray glance that he spared you, as if to ask, “Did you see that?” You almost laughed, because of course you did.

These thoughts flood your mind as you cling on tightly to Tsukishima in the lobby after the game, ignoring all the obnoxious howls and cheers from Tanaka and Nishinoya in the back. You feel like you’re about to cry again, as the tall boy desperately tries to pry you off of his body without being too forceful, pushing you by your shoulders and desperately trying to walk out of your hug. He says something about you making a scene, but you honestly don’t care enough to listen.

“Are…are you crying?” he asks, voice mixed with surprise and frustration, still trying to shove you off. “You’re getting your snot all over my shirt, Iet go, Y/N-“

When you finally do decide to put some space between the two of you, Tsukishima sighs in relief and sends Yamaguchi and Hinata a glare for giggling in the back; however, what he didn’t expect was for you to take his hand into yours, gently tracing your fingers over the bandages. He sighs as you being to tear up again and runs his free hand through his hair.

“Pretty lame, right?”

“Kei, you’re literally the most stupid person I’ve ever met in my life, and I hope you know that.” He’s not used to being insulted, let alone twice since Yamaguchi had also given him an earful in the bathroom. He’s startled and annoyed but chooses silence over bickering. He’s still a little scared of fighting with you for the second time.

“It was only one block, and I got hurt anyways. It’s-“

“It was a whole block against Ushijima,” you wail loud enough for the entire lobby to hear. Tsukishima’s absolutely mortified, giving a look to Yamaguchi and telling him to get something to wipe your tears with, anything. “You touched the ball so many times, and you knew where all the spikes were going, and you read them like an open book, and you made their setter scared, and then you even tried to run to do that slide spike thing, and then you did the yelling thing for the first time ever, and-“

“Okay, okay, I get it, you thought I did well,” he practically pleads, trying to steer you to a less crowded area. The boy is desperate to escape the grins of his team members. “Now will you please stop crying? Actually, why are you even crying? I don’t understand-“

“It’s because you’re stupid.”

You ignore the affronted grunt he lets out and instead wonder how you could possibly explain to him about why you were crying. Would he even be able to understand what it felt like when you witnessed his fall from grace, the abrupt end to his childhood, only for him to rise again and become more than what he could ever expect? You doubt it, but just thinking about it keeps your tears going, and you’re sure that you’d have worst pair of swollen eyes after you were done.

“Why are you crying harder now?” he huffs, exasperated.

Tsukishima rolls his eyes and does his best not to tease you about your futile attempts at hiding your face. He groans inwardly, not knowing what to do when you were emotional. He’s not very in tune with his own feelings, let alone someone else’s, so instead of struggling for proper words of consolation, he heaves a very heavy sigh and pulls you back into his chest. He’s a bit awkward with his hands, not knowing where exactly to put them after you lean in. His arms hover around your waist, but he doesn’t dare touch you. He doesn’t know why he’s so nervous, but he keeps his arms awkwardly in the air until it’s time for him to leave for the awards ceremony. Even then, he doesn’t actually want to leave you alone still crying.

“I’m gonna call you later,” you tell him right before he’s about to turn around, “and I’m gonna tell you about how dumb you’re being. Again.”

“Looking forward to it,” he mumbles under his breath, and you barely hear it. Barely. “I’d clean myself up if I were you though. You look terrible.”

Your laugh comes out as some kind of sniffle or snort. Tsukishima shows a face of disgust. As is turns out, mean Tsukishima and happy Tsukishima weren’t mutually exclusive. And you could live with that.

v. full moon

You suppose that after years of pretending to be some kind of mature and cold adult, Tsukishima has to make up for the childhood that he ended earl on. Or at least that’s what you reason as he wraps his long arms around your waist, pulling you in between his legs. Placing his chin on your shoulder, he presses his cheek against yours, moving around ever-so-slightly, because he knows that you’re terribly ticklish.

“Kei, I’m trying to type a paper,” you whine, trying to shake off his long arms. Of course, he doesn’t let you, and you feel his fingers sink into your sides. You let out a yelp. “It’s due in an hour, so I’d really like it if you stopped tickling me.”

“Maybe you should’ve worked on it earlier this week, then.” He’s trying to provoke you, and even if you can’t see his face, you know he’s wearing his signature smirk. “I mean, you had all that time, but instead, you just-“

“Why are you acting like you weren’t the one who made me rewatch all the Jurassic Park movies?”

“You could’ve just said no,” Tsukishima laughs, running a hand through your hair. It didn’t take a lot to realize that he was trying to get you to fall asleep before you could finish properly.

“Even though you were clinging onto me so that I wouldn’t be able to leave the couch?” you muse, refusing to be deterred. Your fingers continue to move at a lightening pace, but you’re not sure what you’re actually writing.

“I don’t remember that happening, though.” His voice is playful and teasing, yet soft enough for you to start feeling your eyelids grow heavy. “Looks like someone’s getting sleepy. Why don’t you just call it a night?”

“I’m almost done, Kei,” you try to reason with him. You hear him sigh, and roll your eyes. “If you want cuddles so badly, help me edit my other pages so I can get this done faster.”

“I never said anything about cuddles,” he denies almost instantly, voice raising. You can tell that he’s flustered and smile to yourself at your small victory.

Despite his protests and clear explanation that he wants you to hurry up because he can’t sleep with your laptop screen being that bright, he takes his phone to access the document that you’ve shared with him, still refusing to let go of you. He always hated editing on his phone, but he chooses to tolerate it just for you. He won’t admit it, but he likes the way your body feels pressed against his chest and how you’ll jolt when he accidentally pokes your rib. He laughs at your little typos while scrolling carefully through your paper, making sure to tease you about them, as he also enjoys it when you get frustrated and try to get out of his arms. He’s fully aware that you can’t, and he’s sure that you know that too, but he finds the effort amusing.

“Why does it feel like you’ve returned to being a kid,” you groan quietly, annoyed that your concentration was being broken. “I know you want to be spoiled and want my undivided attention, so it’d work out a lot better for the both of us if you just edited my work quietly. Like a good kid, Kei.”

“I’m 23,” he corrects pointedly, casually skipping over the fact that he really did want your attention and was getting annoyed that you were so focused on your essay instead of him. Sure, he understands that it’s an important final for you, but he can’t help but feel just a little bit irritated that the bed was feeling colder than usual.

“You look like a hag but have the mind of a toddler, I swear.” Just one more conclusion paragraph and a works cited page. “I’m almost done, baby. Promise.”

“Am I really being called a kid when you can’t even do your work on time?” he snorts, eyes tiredly scanning the wall of words. He yawns and buries his face into the side of your neck. Setting his phone down on your lap, he lets his finger brush against your thigh and laughs when you grumble something about him being more of a kid for stealing your strawberry from your cake earlier today. “When you’re free tomorrow, I’ll buy you a new slice.”

“Yeah, so that you can steal my strawberry again,” you mutter with a roll of your eyes. “I know you, Kei.”

“Such a shame that you couldn’t have it,” he chuckles. “It was good, I’ll tell you that.”

As an act of grace, Tsukishima gives you a moment of silence to quickly add the finishing touches to your paper before watching you hit submit with excessive gusto. Laughing at your over-dramatization, removes his arms and all but drags you to the bed.

“It’d be more romantic if you carried me instead of pulling me around like luggage,” you complain. He extends his arm for you to rest on, and you adjust yourself so that you can face him.

“You’re dating the wrong guy if you’re looking for a Casanova.” He allows for you to take his glasses off and nearly presses into your hand that you place on his check. Moving his palm to cover your own, you hum as his fingers trace over your skin.

“Should I break up with you, then?” you tease, making it apparent that it was just a joke based on the amount of tenderness in your voice. “After all, my boyfriend looks at me the same way he does at dusty, old dinosaur bones.”

“Even though your mom literally called me today asking when we’re planning on getting married?”

“I wish she’d stop,” you sigh and frown. “I can’t believe she’s already talking about marriage when we haven’t even graduated yet.”

“She’s been talking about marriage since our second year of high school. This isn’t anything new.” Tsukishima breaks into a small, rare smile. “We’re going to graduate soon, though.”

“And? Are you saying what I think you’re saying-“

“I’m not trying to imply anything,” he denies with a grin. Cheeky. “Rather, what are you implying?”

“Well, do you want to do the whole marriage thing?” You question him out of curiosity rather than with an intent to pressure. After all, you had a hard time imagining Tsukishima in a domestic setting, especially since all he ever did was bother you and distract you whenever you had chores to do or cooking to get done. “I mean, not like right now, but in the future.”

“I wonder,” he muses. Running his thumb over your ring finger, Tsukishima thinks about which types of rings would suit you the best. His mind plays through design, color, and cut of the diamond, but he does this silently while chuckling at your look of confusion. He doesn’t want to say anything now, not when the two of you were still very much overwhelmed with what life had to offer. There’d be a better, more appropriate time, and he tries to picture what that day would be like and when it’d be. He gets a little excited by his own imagination.

“Kei, what’s that supposed to mean?” He only looks at you in response, eyes tender even if he won’t say exactly how much you make his heart grow crazy and how he feels like he’s the luckiest man in the world. He’s sure you know how he feels anyway.

“You’re tired, right?” he chooses to respond instead. Placing chaste kiss against your forehead, he closes his eyes much to your dismay and protests. “I’m already asleep.”

There’s something about his delicate and warm kisses that puts you at ease. From the way his arm always stayed around your waist at night to the look he’d give you first thing in the morning, you have a sinking suspicion that you already know the answer to your question.

“Love you, Kei,” you whisper, and despite him being “asleep”, you the corners of his mouth quiver slightly before turning upward.

[shachihata]

me rambling about rejuv’s storytelling structure under the cut i didn’t edit this post so if i’m unclear well. That’s what you get

ok so basically as i do my *checks watch* third replay of rejuv, i’ve basically been putting together what i’ve been calling like... a “lore walkthrough” of it? essentially, i’m writing synopses of each of the “story beats” of rejuv in correlation with the “gameplay beats” of rejuv, as laid out by jra’s 100% walkthrough. which seems kind of nebulous, but i mean something like this...

where i’ve put the “story beat” next to, in parentheses, the one or more gameplay sections that they correspond to. and the way i’ve split up the story beats is, i’ll admit, pretty subjective. i’ve been sort of basing it off of the natural “flow” of events, with each chapter having some sort of exposition and then a main conflict/climax. for example, chapter 4 looks like this:

“goldenleaf town” sets up the exposition for the chapter conflict, while “wispy tower” is the main climax that provides some sort of resolution to this conflict. simple!

most chapters, i’ve noticed, are around 2 story beats long, with each story beat taking place in a different area from the last. chapter 4 is divided into the goldenleaf town exposition and the wispy tower conflict/climax; chapter 8 is divided into the magma stone exposition and the valor mountain conflict/climax; chapter 9 is divided into the past aevium exposition and the west gearen sewers conflict/climax. longer chapters sometimes break this flow by introducing what i call a “falling action” beat. an example of this would be chapter 5: from the pre-blacksteeple exposition of the disappearance of akuwa town, the blacksteeple castle conflict where you confront neved and madame x, and the terajuma island falling action where you’re introduced to the next main “hub area” of rejuv. i’m on chapter 12 right now, and the only chapter that’s been shorter than two “story beats” is chapter 3, one of the shortest chapters in the game gameplay-wise, anyway. the exposition and climax both take place inside of chrysalis mansion, and occur in such short sequence with basically no falling action to speak of; story-wise, there’s nowhere that feels “right” to split it up, if that makes sense.

now, i’ve noticed that what i consider to be the “weaker” chapters of rejuv actually are the chapters that have three story beats -- these chapters, as you might imagine, are the longer ones that tend to drag on in terms of their conflicts and resolutions. chapter 5 “naturally” ended with the ending of blacksteeple, but you have to sit through a sequence at terajuma island that imo breaks the mood of the chapter by introducing you to... a tropical jungle where everyone’s complaining about the heat, literal minutes after the INCREDIBLY intense sequence where melia reveals that she’s still alive, you’re introduced to who madame x even is, and madame x kills nancy. the conflict has come to its natural close, and yet you’re immediately thrown even MORE problems that DON’T have a natural conclusion with the end of the chapter. instead, they get “dragged on,” meaning that to end your gameplay session with the end of the chapter leaves you feeling “unsatisfied” with the few answers you’ve received: saki is missing and nowhere to be found, alex and sam reveal that angie is the next big bad guy of the terajuma arc, nim is getting weirdly sick and weak, a cutscene with ren shows him joining team xen... and so on.

obviously, in any story, there has to be an overarching plot and conflict that does span multiple chapters. like, i’m not saying that all the problems in a chapter need to be resolved in that chapter. i’m saying that the “weaker” chapters introduce multiple smaller conflicts that simply aren’t on the level of the main plot that don’t get addressed to any satisfying degree, which weakens the overall impact of the chapter’s conflict and makes it feel longer than necessary. if that makes sense!

it’s this tendency to “drag on” that makes rejuv’s storyline much weaker after act 1 (the ending at valor mountain), imo. chapter 8 was an incredibly strong chapter, definitely one of my favorite in all of rejuv -- magma stone exposition plus a powerful ending at valor mountain where a lot of subplots are either resolved or, at the very least, addressed in a way where the player’s reassured that they haven’t been forgotten about (just off the top of my head... crescent’s connection to the player, jenner’s love for melia, nim’s psychic powers and inhuman nature, zetta’s problems and disorders, team xen’s weird immortality-at-a-cost, etc etc etc). it’s a natural ending to the main conflict of act 1: Team Xen Has Problems And Wants Melia Soooooooo So Bad. you win! ...at a major cost. it provides satisfying resolutions to the problems that’ve been presented in the first half of the game, while still setting up the stakes of the next act (angie, team xen at large, Crescent’s Connection To The Player). you’ve got a pretty clear idea of What To Do Now and What The Plot Is Going To Address Next, but the main threat still on the table is Madame X And Co.

...and then act 2 comes in and starts muddying stuff up. the reason why act 1 works so well is because even though there are so many minor problems being introduced, the major problem is still hanging over your head at any given moment. melia dead? it’s team xen. keta’s dead? it’s team xen. aelita’s being tortured? it’s team xen. amber’s being kidnapped? You Guessed It, It’s Team Xen. there’s no ambiguity about what the overarching plot is, as opposed to the myriad of “overarching arc-spanning problems” that are introduced in each chapter in act 2. once again, off the top of my head: your role as the “interceptor,” the role of bladestar, kieran and clear, the puppetmaster, nim/lorna, angie, vitus/indriad, the stone incident... and team xen’s previously-monolithic strength is undermined by madame x’s role in the doomed future, as she becomes a semi-ally even though there was very little prior character development for her besides “evil lady who killed your mom and warned maria in the prologue and has some sort of goal that you’re unwittingly ruining.” their importance in act 1 is diminished by all of the new problems suddenly being thrown at you in act 2 that have arc-wide importance, even though you, as a first-time player, have no idea why so many problems seem to be having arc-wide importance.

expanding off of what i was talking about earlier with chapter 5: the problems “drag on”! a TON of problems are introduced with VERY little resolution in each chapter, and the previously-rigid story beats start falling apart, making the story less satisfying to play through even though you know there will be a resolution at some point in the future. take my (very very tentative) outline for chapter 11 so far:

i wasn’t... very sure how to split this one apart, tbh, because every beat has so many problems and so little resolution, everything ends up blurring together. the first beat, “grand dream city”: the missing rune. bladestar. valarie not recognizing you guys. alice and allen and karen and their connection to the theolias. cassandra’s connection to team xen. madelis’s new job. the second beat, “stone incident”: venam being turned into stone. isha and the hospital of hope. nightmare city. who the fuck is the puppetmaster. nightmare zetta. aelita’s problems and issues disorders. being the “interceptor.” the xenpurgis. the last beat, “rose theatre”: what happened to aelita. souta’s connection to the eldest. your crew being signed up for the festival of dreams tournament.

...how many of these are resolved by the end of chapter 11? uhhhhhhhhhhhh. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. yeah. compare this to how much “tighter” chapter 4 felt! the first beat, “goldenleaf town”: geara coming to intercept you in goldenleaf. ren’s connection to goldenleaf. narcissa’s problems with goldenleaf. mosely’s conflict with goldenleaf. the wispy tower incident. the second beat, “wispy tower”: mosely comes back to help you! you realize that the wispy tower is somehow connected to team xen/houses information important to team xen, and beat geara’s ass in the process! you beat narcissa in a gym battle, and goldenleaf changes their ways! ren tells you that he has problems with goldenleaf because it was his father’s last wish that he “save” goldenleaf! it sets up future conflict (ren’s dissatisfaction with the outcome, what sirius and co. were studying in wispy tower, geara meeting up with jenner/zetta/nim in the altered dimension), but there’s a clear main conflict that gets resolved and ties back to the main enemy, team xen. it’s clear-cut, it’s strongly written, it’s done.

yes, act 2 expands the scope and heightens the stakes of rejuv a lot, which is why so many problems Are Introduced At All -- but the main conflict gets very heavily muddied with all of the minor problems that are thrown at you with every single conversation, it feels. i’m only on chapter 12 but from what i remember, this “dragging on” problem happens a lot throughout act 2 (although there are some sections i think are very strongly written, don’t get me wrong). that’s why chapter 15 is so good, in comparison: it provides so much fucking resolution. it’s a “return to form,” in a sense -- conflict is set up and resolved in that chapter, while questions from previous chapters are brought back and answered (to... some “vague” degree of “clarity”). this is very much opposed to a lot of the chapters in act 2 imo, where a bunch of problems are set up with no resolution in that chapter at all. idk. my memory of them is kinda fuzzy and i gotta just keep chugging through the game, it’s interesting just to break down how all this stuff works in a meta storytelling sense ig :T