#that's the back story for my wild-ass choice of first game

[cleolinda]

I never actually explained why I started playing the Silent Hill 2 remake. As many people have pointed out, it is an absolutely wild choice (complex, difficult, scary, LONG) for my first video game. (I’m a mobile gamer, I wasn’t allowed to play video games as a kid, etc.) 

Since Jacksepticeye has come back to Tumblr, I’ll be a dork and say that I became a big fan of his channel over the last couple of years, and I started watching game playthroughs generally to wind down at night. I’ll basically watch anything he plays, and in October, he played the new remake. I was maybe 20 when the original came out, but I didn’t know shit about Silent Hill. Something about Pyramid Head, The Scariest Games Ever, not really my thing, but sure. I started watching and... didn’t really get into it. Planets weren’t aligned that day, idk. I let it keep running, went on to the second video, and then we hit THIS scene:

That music comes in out of NOWHERE like strong perfume and I was like, what the fuck is this game, why is the acting so good, what is HAPPENING, I love it. 

For several weeks, I was obsessed with the Akira Yamaoka soundtrack (both versions) and the story. The Actual Autism fully kicked in, and it was better than dealing with the rest of November 2024. I watched multiple people play the game, learned everything about it, didn’t care about the combat, never thought I’d play it myself. 

And then, two months into this... I kinda... I kinda wanted to fight a leg monster. A mannequin. THEY ARE SO SASSY AND THEY’RE SMART despite having no heads. I wanted to engage in noble fisticuffs (anklicuffs?) with these things. I am proud to say that I have gone from getting stuck in the parking lot on day one to actually being really good at fighting mannequins. (It’s the lying figures that get me. Fucking splash-damage motherfuckers.) Over ten hours of practice play in the first three levels of the game, I’ve only died twice so far (and both times were when the game BOXED ME IN and swarmed me with vomit monsters. Rude).

So anyway, I decided to play the game, and @idoherty451 and I started discussing it in excessive depth, and now I want to do a text commentary for sure, and a video gameplay (voice) commentary if I can get that up and running; I already have some rough reaction audio that I've been posting. I just want all this (and the software I’m learning) to be a new set of tools in my “having fun discussing media” box, really. That said, I don’t know how far I’ll actually take the practice run, now that it’s fulfilled its purpose and I’ve diagnosed that my hapless ass needs to be on light combat. I’ve even played South Vale 2-3 times to develop basic skills! I’m doing so good! So it’s helped to do a first run, get through “I’m lost for half an hour” snarls, and practice moving the camera more smoothly. I may leave off with playing ahead before I get to the last two bosses years from now at this rate and let y’all see that happen, for better or worse, without any prep. 

The whole premise here is that I want to walk through the game and talk about all the lore and easter eggs and theories I’ve learned about. It will be the opposite of spoiler-free (minus That One Big Thing I won’t give away). If you would like to watch spoiler-free playthroughs of this long-ass game, I also recommend Marz (new to the franchise) and Gab Smolders (huge OG fan). 

Anyway, this is what I’ll be doing tomorrow while actively ignoring U.S. politics. James Sunderland has some very specific problems, and unlike mine, he can hit most of them with a steel pipe. Wish me luck with Pyramid Head. 

[ohsweetflips]

my neutral dragon age trait is that 50% of the time i'm like "the more i critique the games, the more i love them. i can appreciate each game for what they are but my criticism and frustration over what they could be are a sign of love" and the other 50% is like "this is the writing of the dragon age series. sure. why not. this may as well happen."

[coichii]

CLEATS ✭

—(🎧)—> you’re a professional soccer player, going on for what feels like the biggest game of your life. so what happens when a girl “slips” and practically fucks up your whole season while your finance calms you?

pairing - fiancé!hyunjin ♥︎ professional soccer player!fem!reader

genre: injuryfic, angst, fluff, and comfort

word count: 2.0k

warnings: cursing

A/N: i really like how this story ended up, so please let me know what you think !! also I’ve never played soccer a day in my life…so

You can hear the cheers and roars of the crowd outside, giving you that feeling you’ve had since the first time you stepped on that field.

Undeniable excitement.

It was the first playoff game of the season, multiple championship titles were on the line. As one of the key players of your team, the pressure was on to give the best performances ever.

The feeling made your heart soar with pride, but also made your body tremble in fear. The thought of letting the ball slip right past your feet, or aiming right where the goalkeeper can block it, had you sweating bullets.

However, the game had to go on no matter what. So with a shaky breath, you were stepping out onto the field with the rest of your team, the cheers getting astronomically louder.

You’re face to face with the opposing team now, a rival team at that. They had practically kicked your ass last year. 2-6. It was embarrassing. You hadn’t cried that much over a game ever.

Your boyfriend, now fiancé, Hyunjin, practically had to bring you back to life. All the hate from your “fans” and media got to you bad, and he was scared. He had never seen you like that before. So vulnerable. So broken. You never wanted him to see you like that again.

So you silently vowed to not let that happen ever again as your captain called heads for the coin toss. The referee called out her choice and threw the coin up, the arena was silent.

“Heads! Home team gets the ball.” The referee announces, and the crowd goes wild. Your heart beat relaxes back to normal as you take position on the field.

Focus y/n. Focus. Focus. Foc-

A sharp whistle cuts through your head as the ball is kicked onto the field. Your head is completely locked into the game. Every movement feels dynamic and calculated. You feel as if you can see everyone’s moves clearly, and it feels good.

Block. Run. Run. Pass. Block. It all feels so clear.

Now it’s halftime, and you couldn’t be more excited than you were right now.

The score was 3-1, your team. You were drenched in sticky sweat, but you couldn’t care less. You wanted payback for what happened last year, and you were going to get it no mater what.

During the fifteen minute break, which you swear goes by way faster than it sounds, you receive a text from your fiancé with a small “ding!”

—

new message from “Hyune!💍”

Hyune!💍: I’m watching right now.

Hyune!💍: You’re doing so good, my love.

Hyune!💍: I’m so proud of you.

You: Thank you so much baby!

You: I thought it would be really hard to face them, yk, after what happened last time

You: But the fans have been very supportive!!! And so have you.

Hyune!💍: Everybody loves you baby, told you so.

Hyune!💍: I’m sorry but I won’t be able to watch the rest of the game :( I’m super busy! But I’ll text you right after.

You: Ok :) it’s fine. They’re calling us back on. Ttyl!

Hyune!💍: Love you, ttyl <3

—

The conversation makes you smile, but that can only last for so long. You need to get back in the game as you step back onto the field.

This time, you’re able to admire the the stands filled to the brim with fans. Team colors flying everywhere, some fans even adorning a jersey with the same number you wore. That always made you feel warm and fuzzy inside, so you wish you could think about it longer.

But another whistle blows through your mind, and it’s the same situation as before.

Block. Run. Run. Pass. Blo-

All of a sudden, the silhouette of a player on the opposing team is coming out of nowhere. They ran into you clean, not even looking at where they were going.

You’re knocked back far, hearing the distant oohs and ahhs of the crowd in the background, but you couldn’t care less. You couldn’t even focus on it, because all you could focus on is the splitting pain coming from your knee.

The pain is so heavy it makes your head reel. Flags go flying in the distance, or atleast you think they do; your sight is dizzy and blurred from when you hit your head on the hard, artificial grass, so you can’t really tell.

Immediately, your teamates are rushing over to you as they scream and call for the coach and medical team to come check on you, concern inadvertently evident on their face.

“Y/n! Are you okay? That was a really bad hit.” Your captains voice cuts through the ringing in your ears. “Y/n?”

“No. No I’m not. My knee hurts so fucking bad.” You weep as tears spring to your eyes.

No, don’t cry y/n. You don’t want the media to react the way they did last time, do you?

The medical team made its way over to you by now as the crowds surprise quickly dies down to hushed whispers.

They examine rather quick that you can’t finish the rest of the game, or even walk for that matter. They lift you onto the stretcher swiftly and precisely, but it still hurts like a bitch.

You’re transported to the hospital soon after that, teammates wishing you their goodbyes as you’re carted away. To say you feel pathetic would be an understatement. You feel terrible, guilty, and embarrassed all at the same time.

◂—♥︎—▸

“Well Ms. Y/N, you’ve seem to have torn your achilles. It’s safe to say you won’t be playing anymore games for the rest of the season.“ The doctor announces flatly, as if it was the easiest thing ever. But to you, it was completely different. It was earth shattering.

You sat there in silence as even more tears cascaded down your cheeks, the doctor muttering a small, useless sorry as he walked out.

I’m so dumb. How did I not see them? Now my seasons over. I let my whole damn team down. I should just-

“Y/N! Oh my god y/n. I saw what happened on tv and I came running. Are you okay? What hurts? What can I d-” He rambles, stopping when your tears come into his view.

“Oh baby.” He pouts as he envelopes you in a tight hug, and the tears fall even harder than they had been.

Your tears soak his hoodie, but he couldn’t care less. He just wants to comfort you, and he’ll do what he has to do to make that happen.

“I-I’m sorry. I let you down. I let my whole fucking t-team down.” You sob, pushing your head impossibly farther into the crook of his neck.

“Shhh. No you didn’t, angel. You could never ever let me down. I’m so proud of you. More than you’ll ever know. And I’m sure your team understands, it could’ve happened to anyone, baby.” He consoles, and it’s working a little bit. Your breath is evening out slowly but surely, and tears are still flowing down your eyes, just not as aggressively.

“I tore my achilles, Hyune. My whole seasons over. All because I made a dumb mistake. I wasn’t paying attention, and now I’m gone. I’m so usele-“ But he’s cutting you off.

“Y/N, baby, you are no where near useless, you hear me? I’m so so sorry you tore your achilles, love. I know that must be so painful. But don’t you dare blame yourself. That girl fouled you, and she was thrown off for the rest of the game too. You can’t blame yourself for something that absolutely wasn’t your fault.” His voice sounding a little more angry at the thought of someone fouling you. “You were fouled, angel. That isn’t and will never be your fault.”

You allow his words to soak in, coating the insecurities swirl in through your mind with a warmth that could never be matched.

The door creaking open interrupts the moment, a random doctor you hadn’t seen before and your team’s health advisor walking through.

“Y/N, we’re going to have to perform surgery soon to make sure the injury heals well.” Your advisor says, and your heart drops.

“S-surgery? I didn’t know I would have to get surgery.” You stutter, and Hyunjin can practically feel the fear coursing through your veins.

“The surgery isn’t very invasive, don’t worry. It shouldn’t take more than two and a half hours and you’ll be unconscious. If it goes smoothly, we should have you out here by today.” The doctor reassures. Her words bringing you some since of comfort, but you’re not all that convinced.

“Don’t worry baby, I’ll be here for you when you get out of surgery and I’ll take care of you well. You’ll be fine, I promise you.” He kisses your hand as he says this, knowing how it makes you feel fuzzy inside.

“Ok. I’ll do it.”

◂—♥︎—▸

You feel dizzy as you slowly wake up from your drug induced daze. The surgery had gone smoothly and just as he had promised, he was still waiting there for you in the hospital despite his hefty work schedule.

“Welcome back, angel.” He whispers gently, kissing you right between your temples. You look over at him, your vision still a little blurry as he calmly strokes your cheek, warm hands bringing you comfort.

“Mhm. Can we leave the hospital now?” You ask. In the back of your mind, you’re wondering if your team won, but that’s pushed back even farther as Hyunjin’s strong arms envelop you in a tight hug. He always knows just what to do keep you with him.

“Yeah, there’s just a little paperwork to fill out and we’ll be out of here.” And you hum in response. “Oh yeah, your health advisor said you would need to be completely off of your leg for a while, so I took a week off of work to help you.”

“What?!” You exclaim. “A whole week? Hyune, are you sure? I don’t want to distract you from your work. I know your schedules are so busy baby, and you’re missing some recordings too.”

“Shh. Don’t worry, it’s already taken care of so there’s no point in worrying about it. Plus, I want to take care of you, what kind of future husband would I be if I didn’t.” He assures, cracking a smile.

“Are you sure? It’s really ok.” You tremble, but it’s almost fabricated worry. You want him to take care of you; it feels really nice when he does.

“I’m positive. Cmon, let’s go baby.”

◂—♥︎—▸

“I think I can ice my own knee, Hyune.” You giggle at the way he’s laser focused on making sure he’s applying the proper amount of pressure.

It’s been three days since the match occurred. Your team still won, thank god, and your teammates came to visit you after the match had ended.

The media was still as cruel and heartless as it always was. You couldn’t even count how many times you were called dramatic by various 12 year old boys who had never even stepped foot on a soccer field before, but it didn’t matter as much to you as it usually does. You have Hyunjin with you, so how could it ever?

“Nonsense baby, this is my job now.” He winks at you, stifling a smile to keep the joke alive, but he’s doing a horrible job.

“Jokes aside, thank you so much for these past few days Hyune. You have no idea how much it means to me.” You watch as his gaze softens at your admission. He smiles gently at you as he lets go of the bundle of ice and grabs your hands in his.

“Stop thanking me, angel. It’s what I’m here for. When I say those vows, I’m going to mean every word of it, and I’m going to prove it.

And he does.

He proves that through thick and thin, through sickness and health, he will always be there for you.

No matter what.

back to masterlist

[ryehouses]

oh yeah I finished veilguard yesterday! #thots under the cut:

the good:

combat in this game was so fun for me. I went spellblade with a touch of ice magic and by the end was ROCKING it. great time. the camera tracking was an issue but more on that later

spite. is. my. friend. I love that weird little guy. what a character. in general there were some really excellent moments: the whole sequence of going through a mental ossuary with spite as a metaphor for trauma. kal sharok. bellara's story was lovely. the whole crew gathering around to talk shit about solas' worst memories. EMMRICH.

dorian made it and is now presumably fucking my inquisitor adras in the fantasy capitol building or whatever. good for them.

I enjoyed getting to see different parts of thedas. the environments were nice and varied and felt like their own distinct places to me. I resent visiting the deep roads AGAIN but i'll get over it.

I romanced lucanis and spite's little wings popping out to cover us up as we tenderly kissed upon the eve of battle or whatever was an excellent touch.

I like that all of my companions felt like my friends by the end of the game, not just my coworkers. it was cute that they formed their own relationships outside of rook as well.

some of the lore you found in pages and notes and things was WILD and I enjoyed picking up every single piece of paper that I found.

the crossroads were cool as hell. felassan was a piece.

GRIFFONS. BABY GRIFFONS. I LOVED THEM.

....if solas had started way back in dai by turning into a giant nightmare wolf, I would've been way more forgiving of, like, every single choice that he made. my brother in the evanuris, you could've been a nightmare dog this whole time? you made me fight TEN DRAGONS across all of thedas with your bald little ass casting weak little barriers, and you could've been huge and biting them and shit this whole time?

the bad:

wow was the final act of this game rushed as fuck

actually really everything about half of the way through act 2 and beyond was fucking rushed. I felt like I could see where storylines had been cut short or thrown aside wholesale, and did not care for it.

i think that the devs inflated the stakes so high during act 1 and 2 that they kind of... did not know where to go in act 3, and it shows.

hated that only like three choices from inquisition mattered to the plot. hate that. if incorporating choices from previous games is going to be too difficult, good news! you have literally 930 years of thedan history and multiple crises to choose from as a setting. set a story during a different blight. during the rise of the andrastian religion. during the qunari first invasion. anything.

it doesn't bother me that my companions and the people around us are nice in general, but it does bother me that almost any potential for conflict between companions, between rook and their companions, between factions, anything, had been removed.

the camera tracking sucked ass and I got whacked multiple times because the camera spun me around and I couldn't see an attack well enough to dodge

dodging was also a major combat strategy in this game and while it wasn't super annoying for me as a mage, my wife is running a rogue rook at the same time and having to dodge every 2 seconds fucked up her momentum

and my biggest irritation: why are we fucking up southern thedas and Kirkwall off screen and in notes from the inquisitor? that was. infuriating.

[hopeymchope]

I've finished playing through Another Code Recollection!

You can see my thoughts on the "Two Memories" part in this first post on the topic. But now we've got to talk about how they handled "A Journey into Lost Memories."

A lot of North American players probably never experienced the Wii original. But as big lover of CING's games, I soft-modded my Wii and imported the European release of "Another Code R." And I loved the CRAP out of it. They really took the innovative puzzles of the DS original and took them to a new level with the Wii Remote.

So. How does the "Recollection" version of ACR fare by comparison?

As I expected after playing through Two Memories, the new puzzles in the "Recollection" version of ACR are a lot simpler than the original. These are more typical to what you find in adventure games and less, shall we say, experimental. There's not nearly as much effort put into using the Switch's unique form/functionality in unexpected ways, but I still had fun solving them. I even got momentarily stymied by two of them this time! The "Two Memories" remake only ONCE had me stuck like this, so I really think they gave "A Journey into Lost Memories" a bit of escalated challenge, and I appreciate it!

Similar to how they removed the bad ending from "Two Memories," they took out some of the possible branches/decisions in ACR for this remake. You no longer have any means by which to identify/describe your lost bag to Dan, ultimately affecting whether you get it back later in the game; the path to retrieving your bag is now different and linear. The subplot where Ashley is briefly accused of robbing the guesthouse also only has ONE solution now. In the original ACR, if you were clever enough to snap a picture of Matthew in the back room while peeking through the blinds, you could actually bypass the entire "prove your innocence" semi-puzzle by just showing that photo to Tommy. But you can't pull out your camera during that part of the story in the remake, so you have to deal with the puzzle no matter what.

3. I positively love the redesign of Janet??? What a glow-up! They added some much-needed diversity into this one with her and Ranger Dan's new look, too. You can tell that both Janet and Dan are now people of some color.

4. The biggest shock is just how much Recollection changed the story of ACR. This is most notably present in how everything wraps up and comes together at the end. Matthew's storyline is NOT left hanging for a future game to pick up this time... he gets closure, though I admit the actual "solution" to his mystery doesn't quite add up and feels a little half-assed. But I understand that the devs had their hands tied a bit here... how do you end his storyline when you don't have a whole other game to expound upon the answers and you ALSO don't want to spend a ton of time destracting further from Ashley's own plotline? It's a tough situation.

5. The biggest change is undoubtedly Ryan Gray. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that Ryan's entire backstory is now different and MUCH more sci-fi in nature. It gets pretty wild! It does at least tie into the resolution to Matthew's storyline, although he also loses some of what made his ending so satisfying in the process. But in fairness, he also GAINS something: Ryan becomes more a sympathetic presence and far less of an emotionally detached person in this version of the story. However, unlike in the original ACR, Ryan no longer leads us to learning the ultimate mastermind behind all the tragedy in the series. Which is... a hell of a choice to make, because now it's kept very VAGUE who the actual mastermind was. I'm not sure if the game actually says who it is (one person is clearly implied to be responsible, but... ) or just leaves it vague for a possible future installment. But shit, if you were gonna do that why not just leave Matthew's storyline the same at that point... ?

6. There are other small changes throughout, of course. Most of them have no real impact on the storytelling to me, but personally, I really missed the scene where Ashley talks to Matthew about D from the first game after Matthew first witnesses a ghost. It's a great moment I wish they'd kept. Also, a funny change is that the characer of Sam Hillman - who never really did jack shit in the original game - is just straight-up removed now. Janet gets a slightly expanded role that lets her step into Sam's position instead. Sorry/not sorry, Sam. LOL.

7. It is once again impossible to overstate the value of the enhanced presentation. The voice cast does an absolutely amazing job throughout, and the more detailed facial animations give Ashley so much more SASS than she ever had before. I fucking LOVE it.

8. The ending credits had me literally choking up... just like the end credits of the original ACR did, but in a totally different way. The montage of beautiful artwork and that pencil-style animation of Ashley feeling hopeful and full of joy is just... SO beautiful. Seeing Ashley in her original outfit from ACR! Seeing Matthew with his dad! Seeing Charlotte's extended family! KYLE FUCKING HYDE cameo appearance! (So glad to see MORE confirmation of the shared CING universe.) That ENDING SONG - so beautiful and touching!!! LOOOOOOVE.

9. Ultimately, if you asked me "Is it better to play the original Trace Memory/Another Code games or just play Recollection?" I'd say "Yes." I can't honestly decide if I love this revision or the originals more, so just PLAY ASHLEY'S GAMES. The story is better presented and the dialogue is better-written here, but I prefer the puzzles and small branches/choices in the originals. But either way: They're beautiful, satisfying stories that, even when they're sometimes predictable, are still thoroughly worth experiencing and full of delightful characters and touching resolutions. I want more people to love these characters as much I do. JUST PLEASE PLAY.

10. #AshforSmash6 :D

[polyhexian]

Sooooooo now that we've all been introduced to and cried over Tell-no-lies and Caitlyn, they're fair game for AUs, right?

Okay, tbh I don't have many ideas for them at the moment, cuz their story was short and happened so far back in the timeline that there isn't much information to work with and it's hard to gauge what the ripple effects would be by the time we get to the canon era.

HOWEVER. It's really easy to imagine them in the Pregnant Belos AU. The inherent crackiness excuses their impossible survival and lack of ripple effects caused by it, so canon can remain unchanged until they just…pop up.

Like, imagine they escaped and disappeared and now they're, like, an old couple living incognito on the farthest toe. They never joined up with any other rebel movements, partially because of the baby, partially because Tell was right and resistence is futile, partially because there just AREN'T any movements to join. But there's other ways to rebel, like teaching wild magic to the next generation and making sure your community is so inconvenient to reach that the coven system never takes hold, so Caitlyn contents herself with that.

So like, they're old. They have at least one adult kid. They have multiple grandkids. They've lived decent lives and have regrets and don't like the current political situation but they're making do with what they've got.

And then all of a sudden the news cycle and social media are all buzzing about THE GOLDEN GUARD CHEATED ON THE EMPEROR AND RAN AWAY WITH THEIR BABY.

Caitlyn side-eyes Tell while he's staring at a news article, because she knows he's been low-key keeping an eye on every new Golden Guard who's cropped up. "Well," he says, chewing on this VERY UNFORESEEN turn of events, "that's…new." Though he's probably also like, okay, well, if they're a COUPLE that explains how this one lasted 12 freaking years when some of the others between him and Tell only lasted one or two. OKAY THEN. DIDN'T KNOW THAT WAS A POSSIBILITY.

He is also highly entertained by how uncomfortable Belos obviously is with this entire media circus. He is definitely enjoying this schadenfreude.

But then a few years later some gossip rag publishes a photo with the headline FINALLY, OUR FIRST LOOK AT PRINCE HUNTER (an attempt was made to crop the photo so viewers wouldn't be subjected to the image of Hooty, barrelling straight towards the photographer with an open maw of teeth lining far down his throat, but it wasn't very successful).

Tell stares at the picture of this adorably confused little 4-year-old and says, "Caitlyn, the lost prince is another Grimwalker."

Caitlyn looks at the owl monstrosity coiled around the child and says, "That's Hooty."

A week later, Eda hears Hooty shrieking with uncontainable joy, and she opens her door to find a pair of very familiar-looking strangers on the other side.

"Hi," says Caitlyn, "I'm your long-lost aunt, and this is my husband, who we think might be related to some of your housemates…?"

At which point Jasper comes onto the scene like "Yeah no I don't have any family, so you can take your livestreamer asses and--oh my FUCKING TITAN."

And then they're just like. Eda and Jasper/Hunter's extended family who pop up for a visit whenever it's hilarious. Dell is both extremely happy to have his sister back and extremely uncomfortable with her choice of partner. At some point the paparazzi get a photo of the Grimwalkers and Caitlyn eating ice cream and the gossip rags are like OMG ARE THOSE THE GOLDEN GUARD'S PARENTS?? Prince Hunter certainly takes after that side of the family! Now it makes sense why the Golden Guard moved in with the Owl Lady, he's clearly of Clawthorne descent!

Somewhere in the castle Belos is screaming, crying, and throwing up. Lilith is also possibly having a crisis when she puts it together that the mystery Clawthorne woman is her aunt and therefore Jasper might be her COUSIN. WHAT? WHAT??

The gang probably does nothing to dispel these assumptions, cuz like. It's another layer of protection against anyone figuring out the Grimwalker thing. But idk if Hunter would grow up calling Caitlyn and Tell his grandparents, like Dell and Gwen, or if they'd be his great-aunt and -uncle instead. Omg but he TOTALLY calls Tell and Dell the same name for like, a solid year, until he gets the difference between T and D down.

Eda would get along GREAT with Caitlyn, obviously. Darius and Caitlyn could be good friends too, I feel like they'd bond over the whole "loving an escaped Golden Guard and raising a child together" thing. Idk about Jasper and Tell? On the one hand it's like, Tell escaped but didn't help any other Grimwalkers out. In the eventually au Jasper is pissed at Lilith for ignoring the obvious child soldier, but in Runaway he very much ran off and didn't care about Will. I guess Jasper and Tell would've been in nearly the same situation here, running off to protect their family, so maybe they'd bond over the commonality.

Except for, y'know, the very obvious differences.

"Y'know," Tell says, perusing the VERY long list of blocked keywords and websites in Jasper's scroll settings, "when Caitlyn and I were on the run looking for a safe place to raise a family, it never once occurred to me to be grateful that no one was making podcasts and fanfiction about us. Never even crossed my mind. I'm going to be actively grateful for that from here on out."

"Yeah," Jasper nods, "if ONE MORE PERSON mistags their stupid AMV 'for reach', I'm going to vaporize their house."

GOD THATS SO FUNNY THOUGH. Dell like YOURE ALIVE??? YOU MARRIED A GRIMWALKER???????? jasper like sick, my survivors guilt just got a little less bad. Hunter getting a new cousin/sibling/whatever even like WOO MY COLLECTION

[theexaltedbride]

Dead Island 2 Slayers X Reader Headcanons (Part Two!)

(Since so many people liked the first one, and some even asked me for more, I decided to let my muse run wild again. Having a great time with the game so far and I hope you all enjoy the little stories that have sprung up from my playthrough and can have a good time with your favorite slayer(s). If you feel I missed any characters or areas it’s because I haven’t heard or seen them yet and I’m writing based on what inspiration comes to me.)

Amy:

-Amy won’t immediately admit it, but sometimes she wonders if she made the right choice in giving up her seat to other people on a previous evacuation flight. It can be hard to keep up the morale, but then you remind her that it was thanks to that which let the two of you meet, and that since then Amy (and the others) have saved so many innocent lives. Not only did Amy make the right choice, you remind her that so many people owe everything to her because of it.

-Sometimes she forgets to work out the kinks in her muscles, and likes to say that she can handle it. But when you put your hands on her and begin working the knots out of her shoulders and back, she melts into your touch and allows herself to be vulnerable with you.

-Always appreciates when you can bring her some chewing gum, especially if it has some good flavor to it or has a nice scent, so she can use it to ignore the rotting stench in the air around the zombies.

-Whenever you start humming or singing or playing the Rocky montage music it just causes Amy to laugh uncontrollably. It gives her that little bit more spirit, and she returns the favor by sometimes acting like a sports announcer when you are training in gym back at Emma’s mansion.

-She always loves giving you a quick peck of a kiss after a successful fight. If you want more you’ve got to catch her (good luck, she can easily run circles around you).

-Once when you were alone, she admitted it was always her dream to win the gold at the Paralympics, but that she’d happily give it up to spend the rest of her life with you safe and away from all the fighting and killing. Sometimes when she thinks no one is looking, she has a little cross she will pull out and use to pray, and she prays for your health and safety, and that if anything happens to her, that you will survive and heal from the loss of her.

Bruno:

-Nearly got shocked to death trying to charge his phone from a Shocking Walker, but you managed to shove them away with a rubber tire, and saved Bruno’s life, this is how you both met, and he gave you directions back to Emma’s mansion where the others could help him, he’s been on you like glue since then.

-If you let him, he will go on and on about whatever internet based shows or media he’s into, and will give your stuff at least a three episode try before he makes a decision of if he’s into it or not.

-Sometimes can get too far into Gen-Z slang when talking about you, to the point you have no idea what he’s saying, but from the joy in his eyes you know he cares about you and is praising you.

-He has dozens of music playlists saved on his phone, three of them are specifically tailored to you, for you, or which remind him of you.

-Over at the Goat Pen mansion he acted like a DJ and got on the mike, announcing to all the zombies that could hear about how amazing you are and how the Zeds better run because the two of you were gonna make today special by going for a world record in zombie kills. 

-Once got super pissed off when some influencer survivor started insulting your fashion choices and he practically spoke in tongues from how he swapped languages in his anger and just couldn’t even focus on his words. No one talks bad about his lover, especially not some fake ass industry plant looking influencer who sold out to the big companies before they even hit it big. 

Carla:

-Carla is proud of her size and strength, never missing a chance to boast about it, especially if you show signs of being into it. When you cuddle or sleep together, you are absolutely the little spoon, and sometimes she likes to joke about crushing your head between her thighs, but if you act like you like it she will start blushing hard and have no idea what to say next.

-She likes to boost your confidence by sometimes letting you one up her during a sparring match at the Gym back in Emma’s house. Half of fighting is keeping the proper mindset, and the other half is a mix of skill and training.

-If you complain too much about how hard it is building up your muscles she will make a challenge. If you can build up your muscle mass to a certain level without enhancers or other methods of cheating, then she will start training naked with you. Is she joking? You have to get those gains to find out!

-Carla likes to be on point when fighting Zeds, trusting you to have her back while she handles the bigger enemies up ahead. She always tells you to stand back whenever you encounter Crushers.

-Genuinely hates the insect swarm walkers, or any other infected covered in insects. More than once you’ve had to brush them off of her or tell her there is nothing crawling in her hair. She’s a little embarrassed about it, but prefers not talking about it and just crushing more Zeds under her feet.

-When the two of you sit together, Cala’s always putting an arm around you and keeping you close to her, and if she’s very relaxed then she will lean her head over on your own.

Jacob:

-Won’t admit it, but he’s got a thing for cowboys and you once caught him wearing some scavenged red cowboy outfit, with a hat and boots and belt, etc. He got so embarrassed when you found him, but brightened up once you played along and reassured him there was nothing to be ashamed of. There’s no dress code for the apocalypse, and so long as he is happy, you are happy.

-Jacob is absolutely the kind of guy to roleplay in the bedroom with you (especially if it feeds into his love for old Westerns), and will play along with your own fantasies if you play along with his. 

-If you have a major issue with his smoking he will try (emphasis on try) to get it under control, but you’re gonna have to get him a lot of nicotine gum or patches. Though you could also distract him from needing to smoke by sharing a kiss with him each time the urge hits him.

-Once you had a night terror (sadly common for everyone these days) while sleeping next to him, and his normally devil-may-care, class clown, demeanor dropped. He was incredibly gentle with you, asking you if you were okay, and willing to stay up all night, just holding you until you drifted off to a more comfortable sleep again. 

-Would love to introduce you to his family, but is a little nervous as he sometimes feels that you are too good for him, and could do better than him. A fear you always remind him is untrue. You love him no matter what.

-It is slowly becoming a thing for the two of you to try and one up each other with jokes, and while it aggravates the others to hear the constant comedy routine between the both of you, its the happiest either of you have been in a while. 

Ryan:

-Absolutely has a ‘Fireman’ voice he slips into (both consciously and unconsciously) when he’s trying to impress you or put you at ease. Gets a blush if you bring it up to him when he’s doing it unconsciously. 

-Is always happy to share stories with you about his brother, but sometimes he will get sad and worry his brother might be hurt or dead...or infected. Whenever those fears come, you chase them away with a firm hug, kiss, or a promise that his brother is okay and will be the best man at your wedding.

-Is the best hypeman of the entire group when it comes to working out at the gym and always knows what to say to help you complete a set and build up your strength for battles to come.

-Whenever you feel bad about your body, Ryan will remind you of how perfect you really are. With just a gentle hold of his hand, and the shine in his eyes, its as if you are catching a second wind when you were at your lowest point.

-Ryan actually ran through fire (thanks to having real firefighter’s pants and boots) to pull you out of danger, and pulled off a good fireman’s carry to get you to safety when some oil caught fire during a fight with the undead.

-Ryan sometimes likes to get a tan when the group takes a day off, and likes to make sure he stretches or does poses when he thinks you’re watching. Sometimes it works, and other times hilarity ensues.

General group headcanons:

-If you can convince the others to try a tabletop RPG together, Luciana will instantly jump in as the GM, though she seems to hate D&D for reasons she will not explain. (Bruno has a bet going that its because Andrea fell for the Satanic panic nonsense). But for just about every RPG out there Luciana has a PDF of it ready to go, even super obscure ones almost no one plays. She’s a big nerd about the lore, theories, and stats about each game and will go on about it till she’s too exhausted to talk.

-Bruno makes movie references and got Carla laughing when he once compared her to the character Byron from Mars Attacks when he started punching out a bunch of Martians single handedly because Carla had been doing the same against a swarm of weaker Shamblers and 1 hit KO’d almost a dozen Shamblers.

-Whenever someone in the group wants to get intimate, everyone else runs interference for them so they aren’t interrupted or ruin the moment.

-Andrea has started to warm up to you the most out of all the Slayers and sometimes packs you a lunch if you’re going to be out with the group for the whole day. 

-If you can find a proper mixtape of Sam B’s songs (even beyond ‘Who do you voodoo bitch?’) he will be in a good mood at someone recognizing his songs beyond his one-hit-wonder song.

Back at Emma’s Mansion: 

-There is a general rule of ‘No Politics’ at the safehouses. Everyone has their own opinion and tensions can run hot after a difficult mission, the last thing anyone needs is fists being thrown over idiot politicians thousands of miles away. (Given some of the encounters and revelations about influencers around Hell-A, this rule is also starting to apply to them too).

-You, Sam-B, and Luciana are the ones actually making notes in the Zompedia based on encounters you’ve all had and what you’ve observed in the field. Luciana wants to turn it into a real zombie survival guide.

-Elizabeth has a near encyclopedic knowledge of random facts and data from all the different books she’s read.

-Curtis will teach you how to shoot his hunting rifle, but make the shots count, he doesn’t have infinite bullets. 

-Carlos helps you with fixing your equipment and learning to clean it without cutting yourself. 

-While Amy is the most mature of the group and tries her best to set a good example, Dani is effectively becoming team mom. She’s rough around the edges but will tell you what you need to hear even if its a tongue lashing for having messed up. 

Movie Night:

-Amy loves picking Forest Gump and will always swear that the original book is a piece of shit, and that the movie is so much better.

-Bruno picks action or heist movies, or wants to watch HBO miniseries.

-Carla’s favorite choices are the Keanu Reeves John Constantine movie, or the first Matrix movie.

-Dani is into musicals. Laugh and she will smack you on the mouth. 

-Jacob loves anything that has a Wester/Cowboy vibe to it.

-Ryan has watched that old Disney version of John Carter of Mars like four times now. 

-Carlos loves sports movies, especially from the Rocky or Creed series of movies. Though he also has a soft spot for Stand and Deliver (1988), he might be convinces to watch BSG (2003) because it also has James Edward Olmos.

-Amanda the influencer is no longer allowed to pick movies.

-Curtis loves picking his own movies and sharing behind the scenes stories about cast and crew.

-Emma never watches her own movies, while Sam B only ever wants to watch Emma’s movies.

-Elizabeth picks movie adaptations of her favorite books, and then comments the entire time about how close or different it is to the book.

-Luciana picks the nerdiest movies you can imagine, but lately has been picking the Evil Dead series, and will totally geek out if anyone quotes Ash while killing zombies.

-Andrea loves historic dramas.

-You know your own choices. The hard part is finding unbroken DVDs in Hell-A and bringing them back to the safehouse to watch. Surprisingly Patton had a couple of them.

In Patton’s Safehouse: 

-Patton really appreciated you taking a gentle tone with him, without talking down to him like a child, or getting jumpy like he was going to bite you. For this he gave you a key to his bunker.

-Has a hidden popcorn machine he uses for when anyone actually sits to watch movies with him and tends to shush people if they talk too much. 

-After the end of the game, you and the other slayers turn his safehouse into a shelter for other survivors and a home away form home for you all. 

-You are very particular about making sure Patton’s safehouse is not messy, in case he ever comes back.

[bulletbilltime]

Pikmin 4 verdict: Ok this is gonna be the best game in the series isn't it

Stray thoughts below:

SPOILERS FOR THE PIKMIN 4 DEMO BELOW

The caves are... actually interesting and well designed?? no more half-assed roguelike random cave attempts (sorry pik2 fans but that game's caves just cannot compete IMO)

That being said... I'm a bit disappointed so far that we're only seeing the same styles of caves as Pik2. They do look gorgeous though, mind you.

Industrial Maze was such a cool cave, simply by virtue of actually having a proper puzzle it's already my favourite cave in the series not named Submerged Castle.

Oatchi my beloved!!! he actually works way better with the game flow than I expected when I first saw him in the trailer. He doesn't feel too overpowered; he's basically an upgradable super pikmin but he doesn't ever particularly feel like he truly outshines the actual Pikmin. (Maybe he could if he gets all the upgrades but

YOU CAN FUCKIN MOVE BASES I'M FSBGFJKSHSAJKDLHS I WAS PRAYING TO THE GODS WE'D GET AN OPENWORLD PIKMIN GAME WITH MULTIPLE BASES AND IF THIS IS AS CLOSE AS WE GET I'M FINE WITH IT

The 20 pikmin in the overworld thing might feel super limiting after being used to squads of 100 piks in the previous games... But honestly I think it's a very inspired design choice! It makes it so the early game stuff can still wreck your shit if you're not careful. You can't just easily roll up with a squad of 100 piks on day 3 and destroy everything in your path. It allows for your in-game character to become progressively more powerful which I think is more satisfying in the long run

I love how you don't just automatically get the onion upon finding new Pikmin types. Makes them feel more precious. Basically: the wild pikmin mechanic is really neat! And it could allow for the return of Purple/Whites without feeling too unbalanced.

"Olimar is the fuckin leaf boy" basically confirmed. Question is: what's with Moss? My current theory is parasite pikmin are involved.

And speaking of... the wild pikmin mechanic means we could possibly get overworld bulbmin if they add them... if this happens, I imagine the entire fandom will go nuclear (in a good way)

If you look through the controls, the Form Line controls basically confirms that you will obtain some form of SWARMING as an upgrade!!! C-STICK FANS REJOICE (The text mentions cardinal directions only but I feel like the odds are high that you will be able to actually swarm your crew with this mechanic. I'd say 70-30 odds of it being true. Don't quote me on that. But if true, then fuck yeah)

Honeywisp is back 🥹

Collecting raw material is so much fun, and

I feel like this game is really leaning on fan service, but also manages to balance it with new things to make it feel fresh!

Someone said it felt like all 3 previous games mashed together and yeah I absolutely get that feeling

Very disappointed that they only have the co-op star bits thing. This game in genuine co-op would rule.

So far the music of the game doesn't quite strike me quite as strongly as the themes from the previous games. Hopefully this will change with time.

Is this game like... an alternate timeline to Pikmin 1? Moss was definitely NOT in Pikmin 1, and the story segment seems to hint that Olimar met Moss during that first crash... Giving the "bad ending" theorists more food IMO.......

This game really, really drags out the wait between Y/N landing on the planet and the first Pikmin huh. It felt a bit too much that you went through the first cave before even getting a single pikmin IMO.

I really like the crew in this game!! They're fun, though they do talk a lot and I could see that bothering some ppl.

Honestly I was super disappointed when I thought there were only 6 crewmates to find in the entire game... but then I found the first castaway and I was back to being excited

I like that you have a little base to meet ppl and discuss tasks!

One of the castaways I saved wrote notes on the Treasures I collected. This implies that we will probably get a biologist who will make notes on the creatures 👀

TL;DR: July 21st can't get here fast enough. The 2 hours or so I've played of this game is already my GOTY and it could genuinely challenge for GOAT (game of all time) if it sticks the landing with the rest of the game.

[ballcrusher74]

hi. I'm interested to hear of the fellas.

🎥LCLethal Company/CCCleanup Crew bcs I'm curious

💔Roblox but I like hearing about stuff so any would do

💎Any, but I'd like to hear of Abstrakt or Metanoia if anyyyy— :³

💕Anything that might not get as much attention otherwise I guess

OK SO

🎥 I think for the base game, it was def the reveal of the nutcracker in the update trailer. That shit still affecting me to this very day. As for CC stuff, that's a really hard choice... There was a thing where Brain was outside the ship, Faux walked by and kinda flicked his head at him (like the kinda flick you do to say 'what's up') and then just.. walked away. I don't know why but that's a little funny to me, but for a GENUINE scene- I think it would have to be when Dopey and Inspector first fought on Offense, WAYYY back in the beginning of CC. 💔 I actually don't know for this one because there's a lot of characters that come from Roblox games, but then there's also weird like. Roblox lore relevant guys and a bunch of other baloney. I think least favorite here though would have to be Folly from Regretevator, maybe because it feels like she just kinda. came out of leftfield? Idk, I don't hate her, I just don't really hold much interest (but that also goes for the game in general now) 💎Did you know about Quasi stars being hypothetical stars that existed in the beginning of the universe and are cool ass stars powered by a fucking black hole in the center of it? It's when a protostar collapses into said blackhole, and the outer part of the protostar being so big enough to not immediately fall into the black hole or being blown away. There's a lot more mumbo jumbo that has to do with the blackhole at the core being the energy source of said star because of material falling into it and creating energy, but I feel like if I sit here and try to proper explain this with scientific terms then my head and your head will explode in due time. anyways I really like space and stars and stuff ( Also I think I've shared as much Metanoia and Abstrakt shit as I can rn so OOPS ) 💕HOOOUH. HOOUH OK. There's a couple that could go here honestly. Lewis Pepper (MSA), Herobrine (Minecraft), Null (BBIEAL), Red (BRC), KAngel (NSO), The Nutcracker (LC)- but really I do think one of these fellas take the cake.

Herobrine.

Despite the fact that his original story is literally just the play on the dead brother trope, despite the story being so short, literally despite everything- this guy has been sticking with me ever since I was a wee little creepypasta fanboy, lurking over my shoulder. It doesn't help with the discovery of White Eyes and the original Copeland stream being found that this has fueled the fire even more. There's something so alluring about the mystery behind him, but also with how malleable his character is because there... really isn't a canon way to portray him. Sure, he's just a little stalker, but that's all we really knew. He's just a husk to free form and I think that's why I like him a lot. I like seeing all different interpretations of him, I love seeing the creativity this white eyed freak brings, and I love seeing the stories people weave based on this crusty ass picture.

Sure, the other characters I listed have either better and more creative designs or well thought-out and complex stories and I still do adore them very dearly, but there's just something about Herobrine that I don't think any other character could do, and for him to stick around with me for this long is fucking wild dude.

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week 2023-11-13

Snack time

Listening: Recommendation from The Friends after movie night, Czech Cultural Anthropologist and Weird Synth Guy Ventolín. This song is MHD, an ode to the public transport network.

It kicks ass and I will brook no argument.

Reading: I finally reestablished my RSS reader and got digging into Tons Of Bullshit I have not been reading for a long time. It also makes me much more eager to explore new blogs since I can add them to a collection, one of which was Soatok's bias-affirming (for me who has used ed25519 for years now) rundown of elliptic curve cryptographic algorithms.

Yes boss I assure you I'm looking at this blog of a blue anthro dhole for work reasons. A customer asked for guidance on key replacement.

Watching: Troll 2, at Bad Movie Night with the friends. A very well put together movie held back by not being a very good movie. A lot of fun to watch.

Really solid makeup work going on in this movie. The troll queen's actor is really having a great time playing a sexy evil goth character.

Playing: Getting back into In Other Waters. I was starting to tear through the story a little and was like "huh I should go check out this rock outcropping" and stumbled onto an entirely new ecosystem that I had not encountered before and ended up bringing back a full load of samples to analyze.

The game does a really great job of explaining the surface appearance of the ecosystem while leaving some of the deeper interactions as speculation, that makes it feel a lot like reading actual research literature about ecosystems. Even when you've filled out the folio on a species you've only just scratched the surface of why it is the way it is, you've fully described its behaviours but that's not near complete.

Making: Diwali over the weekend, so lots of confections. Making a lot of these start to finish for the first time, since I'd usually be in a production line at home.

It went well and involved some interesting problem solving, such as 3D printing a forming die for one of the snacks that needs to be squeezed into noodles directly into hot oil.

Tools and Equipment: Online RSS readers. My last RSS reader was a local affair on my PC and that's fine, but it runs into annoying limitations if you want to read while away from your desk. I would often read comics or blogs while out and then have to come home and manually clear them from my reader.

I'm now self-hosting FreshRSS but you don't have to do that, you can just use one of the many cloud readers. This way I have one reading list always syncing in the background and available on my phone, PC, laptop, work laptop, and anywhere else I want.

[asongoftinandfoil]

While rereading ASOIAF, I started keeping a Google doc with a catalog of every character. Yes, every. Or the ones with names, at any rate.

It started as a way to keep track of the Houses without flipping to the appendix every few pages, and the appendix only covers the major ones. I needed to be able to see the connections between the Glovers and Tallharts and Hornwoods and Manderlys without clicking through 10 wiki pages. So, the list.

And honestly? It's an eye-opening way to read a book. I think of Alice Oswald's reimagining of the Iliad, of reducing the text to a list of names that die. As a reader, I'm adjusting the catalog as I go. I had to italicize Eddard "Ned" Stark and add to his entry "killed by Ilyn Payne," after the bullet points that list his relationships and titles. I sort of got to experience the execution, in my own small way. I made the choice to list him as "alive" at the start, despite knowing his fate, and knowing that I would have to "kill" him later.

On a more macro sense, you see how and where the story grows and changes. The Night's Watch is one of the largest sections of non-noble names, along with the Winterfell household. There are also a lot of italics in those sections. (Just got through Chett's prolog so I'm prepared to wipe out even more.) The Essosi characters, divided into smaller lists based on ethnicity, are few and far between as of yet. There are markedly fewer women than men--which checks out, given how many monastic, all-male "take no wives and father no sons" orders there are in Westeros. It's gonna be biased toward dudes.

The first time I attempted this catalog (some years back, and I can't find the old doc), I hadn't meant to include any smallfolk. I just wanted noble houses with family trees I could follow for politics. But as the Night's Watch stuff ballooned, and I wanted to keep track of all the Dothraki with names I kept mixing up, my vision for it changed.

And I feel like that's the point of the series. Or a point. It's not just about the nobles. The story belongs to Clydas and Rakharo just as much as it does to, idk, Benfred Tallhart. (RIP my wild hare baby boy.) ASOIAF lures you in with the intrigue of nobility and politics and the so-called game of thrones--but it's more about learning to see people as people, to stop "othering" others. Wildlings and Dothraki and Mountain Clans and smallfolk and Will the poacher who went to the Wall for wanting to hunt large game but having the misfortune of being born poor--they're all people, and they all matter.

Anyway my neurodigergent ass loves lists and I recommend this method of slow reading.

[reilleclan-blog]

I FUCKING LOVR THIS PORSHE

-

-

Hello hi , so I was reminiscencing about 2020. My whole life (most of my life) I only played call of duty. There was story RPGs here and there but I'd always go back to call of duty. And during 2018-2019 I was really starting to hate the State of COD. I played COD since I was little. Playing against bots b/c I couldn't get xbox online. I played the hell out of ghosts, bo4, Cold War, bo2 a bit, in total I'd probably have 4k hours racking up all together definitely more. And it's not like I didn't like story games or RPGs I think a lot of them outgrew replayability for me. The walking dead, life is strange, Bully. Most of these series I watched others play I never had money like that. But when I started working I played the hell out of these games and then I went back to multiplayers. Fortnite, was something I heavily played and Bo4. (These games I played heavily in high school 2016)

Then as time went on I stopped having ppl to play with and a lot of these games franchises I had loved , I started to despise. I never thought a company would hate their communities as much as they do now. I was strictly console player so I never had a chance to "broaden my horizons" with games and/or everyone was playing the same shit. So when I started to hate these games I took a chance on a game called "Cyberpunk 2077" I had saw clips of the game way back when, and I didn't really know shit about it except it was an open world rpg and u can hack shit.

So yeah I just wanted a change in scenery with my games I'd play. So yeah Cyberpunk released and it was broken. I was unfortunately experiencing it on ps4 anddd yeah the game barely functioned. The areas barely loaded in, yeah it was pretty bad. But I still wanted to see what the game had to offer. So as they made updates I was thrown into this new world that had me interested every step of the way. I don't usually say this but I'd genuinely want to play cyberpunk for the first time again.

Fast forward to 2020 I didn't realize other titles had released during 2020 cause all I was doing was playing cyberpunk. I had got a pc before or after it released but yeah. I was enjoying a shit ton of cyberpunk and learning Valorant. But for the most part cyberpunk was ALL I played for 4years. And idk I just can't believe CP2077 had such a hold on me. I think that's how games should be, I think CP2077 has written the best story I've seen in a very long time. And the different playstyles ppl can have was endless. During those 2 years of playing CP2077 there was countless updates and me STILL discovering new dialogues and choices thru out the game. Side quests and all.

I never thought I'd be a Virtual Photographer but CP2077 even sparked that for me and it's just made me so happy. I hope other games can take a page from CDPR's book to make these fresh and interesting. That may be easier said than done and "subjective" but I think cp2077 will be a top tier ip that everyone is going to love like gta and something like Skyrim. I hope I live long enough for the sequel and the world doesn't drop marshal law before I get to experience it 😎

I've felt this way for a long time but a lot of RPGs don't feel necessarily "fun" most stuff just feels like chores in the game. They slap a $70 price tag on these games just for the game to be broken, cliche story writing, and just bland and done before. A lot of RPGs follow a formula and I just hope these triple A companies break out of their comfort zones and actually create something new or engaging. Ppl deserve new stuff. I'm tired of seeing "10/10s" on games just cause it's "expected" to be good (but when I play it it's mid ashell)

This is my opinion please do not harass me over something like a damn video game this is just my thoughts. And I know this is wild but ppl have different opinions, and I'm not a god damn hive mind ass

[dirtyoldmanhole]

time for analyzing the absolute most freak-ass set of supports i have ever seen nintendo handle (affectionately)

A-support first since this got overly long, and i also touch on the JP versions as well.

half meta analysis, half lengthy shitpost because.

well ~

Last time in the Gunter/Corrin support train, we learned that Gunter used a little toy ball to coax Corrin out from her shell post the mind wipes when she was as skittish as a kitten, and then in the B support, Gunter/Corrin played catch again for the first time.

A little odd, but fairly tame. Here though ..... :')

(pardon me for the different "Corrin" look -- i ripped these screenshots off of a youtube version b/c i was lazy about not getting into the game proper) god do you know how many random ass files i have as reference for gunter JP/EN voicelines, JP/EN my room bits, transcripts, sprites, etc ... after this fic is done i'm totally making that fanshrine if only to stick all this shit in one place lol

anyway, corrin starts this bright and peppy and eager for more.

eyebrow waggle-/shot

cute. :D

(the stretching's cute, too. like, more seriously, this isn't just wind-down/playtime, you can tell he's always incorporated this subtly as part of her training, likely modifying some soldier's training in a manner a little bit more befitting of her.)

they keep going...

Corrin: Ready as I'll ever be! There's no way I'm missing one of your throws! Gunter: All right, then. Here we go. Corrin: And easily caught. I have to say, Gunter, you have excellent form and follow-through. You know, I just remembered… Wasn't this ball made from a whip? Gunter: It was indeed. A pretty odd choice for material, I know… Corrin: Gunter… Would you be willing to tell me a few stories from when I was growing up? I still have a lot of holes in my memory from when I was little. Gunter: Of course. But you'll have to pay attention to the ball at the same time!

i do find it interesting garon was keeping tabs enough on corrin to have opinions on how she was being raised, but not close enough that she has any recollection of him.

now for an absolutely wtf level of fridge horror: there's a part of the same JP lines above that made me sit way the fuck up.

Gunther: Of course. Then, as we’re playing… On that day, King Garon was in an incredibly terrible mood… He handed me this whip. He told me that until you were obedient, I was to continue whipping you.

"continue whipping" [record scratch] wait what the fuck

... i think that implies that garon was whipping corrin before she was she was sent to the tower?? man what the hell kind of life did corrin have between being kidnapped out of hoshido and before ending up in the northern fortress under gunter's aegis.

gunter's no saint, not in the least bit (i have sooooooo many issues with the side of fandom who thinks he's just a sweet wholesome old grandpa lmao lol looooooooooooool no), but damn did he sure protect her from the worst of krakenburg.

okay this is interesting

a) she doesn't trust her memory like, at all. it's wild to think that gunter's literally likely the one dude that remembers her early lived life the best considering her other retainers (jakob/flora/felicia) were kids even slightly younger than she was, the hoshidan siblings were really young as well, and no other playable nohrian character was around much other than the occasional visit, post her kidnapping.

it's a little terrifying to think about how (i guess, if you interpret the game that way?) anankos was possessing him way back when and had free reign around corrin. that's kind of why i'm not totally in love with that interpretation (that'd be the perfect time for anankos to take out/corrupt corrin. why didn't he?).

anyway

b) that 'closed off' line says a lot from him, considering Gunter's hardly a socialite, either. in fact their whole support chain was framed around corrin seeking him out because he starkly seeks out alone time so much that it's a little ... isolating.

so like, if mister 'nah i don't need to be around people' is saying that, sheesh. i dabble in it with this slowburn fic, but i could almost see corrin being selectively mute at times, and hiding from people days at a time.

their dynamic ain't normal by any means but you can see how that kind of early-stage trauma bonding on both of their sides would influence [gestures at] everything, you know?

gunter's not just a father("figure"). or just a combat instructor. or just a mentor, or later, just a lover -- he's something that's more, even all combined. there's a hardwired sense of trust and codependency that's seared into them from the get-go.

(it's fucked up! god it's fun to write though.)

so i ambled away from my computer at this line while screenshotting these and only afterwards realized that this out of context sounds like a goddamn porno LMAO

[whispers] what in the fuckity fuck nintendo

corrin, sweetie.....

...................how in the fuck are we supposed to read that with a straight face sjkhshajhjhjjh

lol. lmao.

okay [drags hands down face and cackles]

so this is right about where i really have to say i genuinely cannot see their (romantic) relationship being anything but a kink relationship. (and i say this in the fic notes but it's not the 'bdsm acronym pasta garbage' sense, and it's not in the 50 shades of grey cliche 24/7 M/s sense either, god i cannot fucking stand the cliche version of that shit. shoot me if i ever write that.)

and i say that for several reasons.

one - if you're shipping them, their mutual power dynamics are so hopelessly tangled between them and it's the one language -- in a way -- that they both "speak" later on that is uniquely equipped to handle a lot of that and the trauma junk from both of them in a private, loving, dignifying way. i genuinely mean that, too. rev's possession arc with him, corrin recovering from the mind wipes, etc. they're gonna have to face a lot of unpleasant shit together, and actively grappling at and mutually playing with those realities is, in a complex way, hell of a lot healthier than simply pretending it doesn't exist in the first place.

(two - metatextually i think nintendo intentionally encouraged a kink flavor to gunter/corrin because this ship does squick the fuck out of most other people and i'm not totally unsympathetic to that, so i think it's a way of quickly weeding out everyone except the folks who are genuinely here for this in an unironic sense. )

three - i already wrote up kink analysis re: gunter here lol (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ

four - and sorta on this note, what's interesting is... with a lot of kinksters i know, they knew they vibed differently in that way really early on, even as kids. like even in stupid silly make believe play games they'll tie up barbies in random ass ways or discover in a genuinely innocent way that they like specific sensations of pain they can control. later on as adults, a lot of times the brain wires go [bzzt] and suddenly the world of power or sensation play makes a hell of a lot more sense, and frankly, is a lot more fun in certian sexy arenas of life. sometimes it comes along with trauma junk, sometimes it doesn't, it's not a binary thing (as basically everything isn't).

THAT IS A LOT OF WORDS TO SAY corrin also inadvertently being wired that way and having these little semi-accidental lines doesn't actually surprise me that much. (i can also see this specific line being a little bit of a 'hrmm' flag for gunter in that she's not going to run away instantly screaming at the idea of playing these specific kinds of games, later on once when/if they're romantic)

am i projecting a little? fuck yes, that's what we're here for

Gunter: Indeed. I knew that striking you wouldn't ever get you to open up to anyone. So I came up with a different method - one that used this ball. I returned to your room sometime later, and I rolled the ball over to you. Corrin: Which I immediately picked up, examined, and threw back to you. Gunter: Oh, you remember this part? Good.

that actually is incredibly wholesome she remembers this part. ;a; you know gunter was always probably lowkey sad at her not remembering key parts of her childhood, regardless or not if it was moments between them or not.

wheeze

so did you know, treehouse actually neutered this down from the JP version which was straight up, i shit you not:

Gunther: …It’s nostalgic… It really is. Kamui: …How long has it been since? I’ve always considered you like my real father, Gunther-san.

l u l "real father"""""

i'm dying man

every single goddamn time i think this ship can't possibly get more fucked up IT DOES

YOU STRAIGHT UP MARRY YOUR DAD IN THE JP VERSION LMAO

it would be hilarious enough just knowing the whole existence of a (married) S-support coming up but coming right after the heels of that THE BALL WAS A WHAT realization.... hee

anyway here's the last chunk:

Gunter: You… You are much too kind. Ah, now look at what you've made me do. Corrin: Gunter! It's rare that you miss a catch. Gunter: My sincerest apologies. There was… something in my eye. Corrin: Getting sentimental in your old age? Hang on, I'll get you a handkerchief.

damn girl, 'sentimental in your old age'. you vicious! :D

it is horrible of me but every time i think about the end of this support i bust out HYSTERICALLY LAUGHING for a completely different reason since if you headcanon Gunter as always holding a flame for/romantically harboring feelings for Corrin-

CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT HIS THOUGHTS WERE TO THAT ""FATHER" LINE LMAO

on one hand: 'i'm special to her :'))))'

on the other: [ O H K O ]

anyway half of what makes the A-support peak fridge-[everything] is the S-support right after ~ coming soon!

[mementoasts]

Sup, I'm the same anon who talked about how Kaguya sama openings being connected to Daigo ships is possible. I saw that you would love to see my thought process on how I came up with that and ngl, I'm dying to to share it anyone so here it is lol.

I'm not proud to say it, but ngl this has been on my mind for atleast a year now 😅🤣. It started when I revisited Kiwami 2 which is also the time I became a fan of the show or fan of the opening to be more precise. I tend to watch anime that I'm not familiar with if it has very good opening songs. (Death Parade tricked me with its opening, and I love it. Ya boy Koming, that one has a banger op and a great show.) I usually watch anime that I already heard of or know because of the manga. Very good fan animations also gets me to watch the anime. Anyways, back to what I was getting at.

RyuDai with op 1. First the visuals, allthroughout the opening we see the main characters pointing weapons at one another, which emphasizes the war in "love is war". This just reminds me of how Ryuji and Daigo are at war in a way, whether it is due to personal or clan affairs. The weapon of choice also got my attention. We've seen Ryuji with a sword and Daigo with a gun so this works since in the op1 Miyuki and Kaguya are pointing their respective weapons at one another, just replace that with RyuDai The lyrics pretty much works well, like too well imo if you look at it with this ship in mind. Depending on how you translated the lyrics, it can even become more suited for this ship. In addition, the whole vibe of the song screams tension to me. The translated lyrics " this game were playing Are you aware that this is one where no one wins" And "I don't need a fairytale ending Cause happy ever after ending only exists in movies" Connects well to this ship cause frankly this is not a lovey dovey relationship that will end up good, especially with how the canon story went, but plays to the theme of yeah despite the what tragedy it may/ have turned to, there is/was love in there. "You and I are playing a dangerous game" Is it talking about something spicy or the fact that they are technically from the rival clan of one another? Both can work. Have you read the fanfic "Circling Dragons" (link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25474858?page=5&show_comments=true&view_full_work=true )? 'Cause, oh boy, that really is what pushed me to go, "Yeah, Love Dramatic can be its theme song"🤓🤣. Like seriously though, whenever I hear the song, the visuals in my head mainly comes from this fic. Bruh, I'm losing my mind. Anyway, in addition to all of this is Daigo and Ryuji themselves. I feel like if they believe in something they will do it no matter how dangerous it could be. They also both have pride/stubborn and I don't see one of submitting to the other, though at the same time both of them can show care, which connects to the premise of the show as well. I'm probably talking out my ass at this point but keyword in my last message is "probably" so ehh.... The "I can't decide" animatic on youtube by uhh... "北极光" (I can't read this but that's their channel. Here's the link: https://youtu.be/B4a3fJS1aXc ) also helped fan the flames for my imagination to go wild. I actually connected the bridge and the last chorus of Love Dramatic with the last two to three chapters of "Circling Dragons", it just fits imo. I won't explain cause I might spoil people who haven't read it.

With that, I went from, "This is a silly idea😂, I wonder if this could work?🤔" to "Okay how about the other openings?🤔😃💡 How can I connect it to other Daigo ships?" and this spiralled out of my control.

ShinaDai with op 2. You might ask, how did I came to this conclusion that it can work since they're not really at war at all or didn't interact that much. First and foremost, I just wanted to say that fics that I've read also helped in creating this connection to my mind. This also applies to other ships I love. Anyways back to ShinaDai. Let's start the visuals, I admit there's not much connection, but boy, if you changed the first fifteen seconds of the opening, where Kaguya is using the bow, with Shinada or Daigo using a bat and instead of a sudden shield it is them catching the ball, it works. It can allude to the fact that they are the target of their affection like how it is as well to Kaguya and Miyuki. The school setting also helps since that's usually where their (Daigo primarily but Shinada also if you want) love ✨blossomed✨🤣 for the other. Another connection I see is with the vibes of the song, the songs is a bit more playful, but earnest and wholesome, which I think fits Shinada. The song is also like alluding to love making or driving them crazy, which I think fits Daigo's whole thing, sort of... 'cause bro, beating the other school's students for a baseball game which ultimately led to you being expelled is crazy. I graduated as a Valedictorian in highschool so this fact is like so much more crazy to me. Like I get that Daigo doesn't feel like he has a dream (hehehe "Yume") of his own, cause I was the same, but being top of your class opens up more opportunities in the future. I was content with follwing my parents' careers but I eventually got my own goal/dream (hehehe "Yume"). In addition, the baseball plot being connected to Omi and Tojo business is fine and all but seriously though first impression I got after finishing that chapter was that Daigo went there cause he wanted help Shinada and that he knew him when they were in highschool, that's crazy and ridiculous but I love it XD🤣. Another thing I would like to connect is the fact that shinada could've just stayed but he still sent out of his way to help the other protags like bruh you're a civvie joining in to a yakuza business. I know Akiyama is there but he's there because of Haruka and Kiryu. I say he has more connection to the main plot cause he's there with Haruka. Okay, let's come back to how ShinaDai works with op 2. The translated lyrics "Throw my heart to the flames" Fits them cause boy you're getting close to the danger or harm's way just because of someone. Have you read the fanfic "Mob" (link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30643031?page=2&show_comments=true&view_adult=true&view_full_work=true ) or "Immovable" (link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15002513?page=3&show_comments=true&view_full_work=true ) ? Cause some parts of that fics, as well as other fics, sparked my imagination on how I could connect this to the opening. I also found a connection with the lyrics in the bridge of the song "Suddenly I'm falling, into a great unknown A while new world before me, But I'm not alone" It fits with the whole thing where Shinada really doesn't know anything about the Yakuza world, but he knows he'll be fine since Daigo is with him, that is if that's part of your headcanon on how this ship end up.

MineDai with op 3. I love this ship and ngl when I heard season 3 for kaguya sama is coming, one of my wish was for the op 3 to work for this ship. Insane I know. Imagine my joy when it did lol. RGGO I love you cause man, whenever I hear this song, the Mine sotries from that game comes to mind. I love games like that (RIP Naruto Blazing I love that game 'cause collecting all those characters is amazing. The art is cool and I can see some ninjistsu that was only mentioned but was never animated in the anime. I'm a free to play so no, I'm not spending my money on games like this) please tranlsate it rgg even the stories only, please. Anyway back to how MineDai fits with GIRI GIRI. The lyrics imo, is in Mine's perspective and I know I'm right. The song is all about wanting to get close, wanting to get to know them, wanting for this love that they feel to be true and I guess reciprocated. Mine is like this in his rggo stories he has some dialouge where he says something along the lines of he wanted to know more about Daigo, heck one of his mission (sort of) is to get the attention of Daigo just to see for himself what kind of Daigo is, wondering if Daigo is being true in his intention of being friendly. That sort of stuff. The lyrics "Your love, your love, Your love, just confess it to me" Fits if we want to look at Daigo egging on Mine or being "haha unless...". I feel like this fits cause in the stories from fanfic or rggo, Daigo is trying to reassure and get Mine to relax, you know just be friendly with him. Him flirting subtly to Mine works, but alas Mine seems to be too... professional, but it was nice to know they eventually became drinking buddies. You know the fan comic by Alciedoodles, basically like that, that's what I'm trying to get at. I actually have created a whole scenario with the 2nd verse The lyrics "I feel my patience growing thin, You whisper "Don't you ever leave me." with a wisful dream Trying to pinch a nerve, but I've started to learn That your cunning, crafty ways Won't ease this feeling deep in my heart" The Majima family in the bar singing while Mine and Daigo are there just chilling and drinking. Mine is being irritated with the singing, then Daigo hits him with that line and a flirty smile where Mine then proceeds to be flustered, hahahaha. I love and hate my imagination. The first verse also connects in how I'm sure that Mine/Daigo vice versa knows that they're not exactly an angel and they do stuff around them that might not be ideal/good in their perspective. The visuals, I like to replace the student council room with the chairman's office 😅. The sequence of all the students, replace that with the clan members. Now here's where my imagination and knowledge about some RGGO stories really kicked in, you know the pre chorus part in the op 3, where Kaguya and Miyuki are in the student council room then it transitions like a film until Miyuki is gone and Kaguya looks back and sees that he's no longer there then it spirals. If you've read the "Character Story - Mine (RGGO)" translated by cryingcow (for anyone wanted to read or re read this here it is: https://cryingcow.tumblr.com/post/628065021946150912/character-story-mine-rggo ), the end half of chapter 2, that's basically what I imagine that sort of parallels in my mind to this part of the opening. While the chorus where Kaguya runs, I connect that to the chapter 3 of that story event since Mine is basically running around in Kamurocho trying to find out where Daigo went. (My favorite thing about that whole thing is that Mine called cap when the Barker told him that Daigo went into a taxi with a woman then bought every taxi company just to know where Daigo is 🤣🤣.) The bridge of the song fits them, where Mine is really affected on how Daigo acts as well as how it can be hard for Mine to explain his feelings. Depending on how you translated it, you can also interpret one of the lines as " Trigger on the gun, Towards the one you love" That fits with that Yakuza 3 cutscene.

I also wanted to add that op 2's visuals fits with MineDai as well: Mine as Kaguya and Daigo as Miyuki, the majima family as the other students dodging the arrow, and Kashiwagi as Hayasaka in the first 15 seconds. Then in the chorus, Majima with his family as Chika and others being the love detective. Aouxjsishdj hahahahaha I love and hate my brain.

MasaDai with op 4. Now we finally got to the part where this is fully created and fabricated by imagination. This is brainrot or creativity at the highest level. Love is Show definitely fits when things are going well between them. Tbh, with the visuals and song being classy, especially in the chorus, I can just see that hey maybe tojo clan holds an event where every family attends and that's where we can have Daigo and Masato dressed up properly and dance together. Though I like to think that they danced out of sight of anyone, like idk in the gardens? lol. The lyrics " The romance is about to wear off, I'm not normal, and neither are you Is it love or is it not?" as well as in the second verse, imo fits their whole thing. Like yes I ship them, but is it truly love or just attraction? Add to that there's also a lyric where it's saying that they don't want to be alone, which I think both of them feels. I see them as a parallel to one another where they both hated being part of the tojo clan or yakuza in general, which resulted to them being feeling rather lonely. I can see them finding solace and comfort in finding someone who can understand them. You know the MasaDai comics by todayisfridaynight and the fic "Sons of Bosses" (link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45958153?show_comments=true&view_full_work=true ), works imo with the lyrics for both first and second verses, where they mostly talk in cabarets and have some tension going on. I know that the song is actually very sweet, but I also can't help but imagine the lyrics in the chorus as something alluding to this love is just a show, something they use to escape the reality of their world atm. I know it might sound far fetched but isn't that the beauty with art, we can twist it in our own interpretation (just be respectful, especially for differing opinions). The bridge of the somgs also compels me, I have this voice in my head that it works with MasaDai, but I can't see how atm.

Anyway, I think we can all agree that I am clinically insane and has a stage 5 brainrot for Daigo ships. Look he's my favorite I want to give him love, but it won't make it easy since when there's conflict it makes the payoff much more sweeter and deserving. Yes, I love angst with a happy ending. Look this gives a chance for a character arc, evolution, or growth and I like that.

So... this is it. My essay on how Kaguya sama openings can be connected to Daigo ships. Ngl, I enjoyed writing and sharing this since this have been eating on my brain for atleast a year now. Have a good or atleast decent day or night. Sorry if it's too long and I sincerely appreciate anyone who read all of this. 💙💙💙

P.s. I wrote all of this after I woke up, while on work (don't worry it's holy week, nothing much to do), as well as after work so that might clear up the confusion on why it can be all over the place lol. I can probably explain each one better but I'm not really that eloquent and concise to write it better as you've seen. English is also not my first language, so it can be a little tricky on how can I express something clearly, cause man there are some words that has the same meaning, but apparently usually used with a context in mind. I also honestly can't believe I have links and stuff to actually back up my claim, but as i wrote all of this I remembered all of this.

HI ANON!!! i'm late replying to this aaaa i saw it earlier today but couldn't sit down to read through it until just now dsjfkskjgs SORRY IM JUST GONNA WRITE DOWN MY THOUGHTS AS I GO SO IT MIGHT NOT BE REALLY ORGANIZED SDFJKHSKF

i don't really talk about them much on here (it's a crime i haven't drawn them yet) but gosh i love ryudai so much 😭😭 i read circling dragons last year and it ruined my week in the best way. it's absolutely one of my favorite fics ever and i've been meaning to read it again!! it's so interesting to connect that here aaaaa ryuji and daigo's whole relationship is such a whirlwind… most of the time it's less than gentle, but they DO clearly care for each other, even if they're not the best at showing it lol. still, there's so much holding them back from each other, as you pointed out; like their pride, their ambitions/goals (especially on ryuji's part), the omi and the tojo,,, they keep gravitating toward each other, but given their situations and personalities, everything is just a mess aaauugugghh *screaming as i think about them*

also totally random to note, but there's that shot toward the end of the op where shirogane and kaguya are facing each other with guns behind their backs that makes me think specifically about that part from y2 where daigo and ryuji are just walking around each other at omi hq before they fight. i just like the image of them staring at each other surrounded by hearts dshjsfkj

THIS ANIMATIC. THANK YOU FOR LINKING THIS BECAUSE I'VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE AND I LOVE IT and the song too omg i haven't heard this song in years

alright this is where i admit i only sorta casually ship shinadai so i haven't read any fics 😭 i still love shinada though. but i will say i do enjoy thinking about daigo and his high school crush on this cute guy from the baseball team, so after your first ask i was reading through the lyrics and some lines kinda made me think about that hehe. and on that note, i think it'd be cute if it were daigo hitting a baseball toward him, sorta like he's trying to get shinada's attention with it ? something like that sdjsfkhshg

i'm just nodding along at what you're saying about giri giri because i had similar thoughts when i heard the song lol. i just loooove thinking of daigo not-exactly-subtly flirting with mine and it driving mine crazy. the lyrics made me think about that. mine is going nuts over it because he wants daigo so badly, but also still sorta holding himself back when it comes down to actually DOING something about it because that's how he is sfjsdfjhk

YEAH THAT RGGO STORY IS ICONIC… i love the fact mine hears daigo went off with a woman and he just immediately knows it's a lie. 💀 anon you're making me wish i had more of an ability to animate than i currently do because i wanna like. draw some of these visuals ajdsfhjkfdhskf oougughhh i love minedaaaaai i love how insane mine just. is.

"kashiwagi as hayasaka" wait wait wait hang on help now i know in this specific example we're saying mine is kaguya but. i'm kinda visualizing daigo like. ranting to kashiwagi about how he's been trying to get mine's attention and getting flustered because he isn't sure mine likes him back asdfgfsd (this is unrelated to anything, but i think it'd be cute for wagi to be like a cool uncle to him,,, daigo goes to him for this kinda stuff because he's SO not talking to majima about it) ((majima just gets involved whether daigo likes it or not))

don't worry anon, masadai itself has been created from crumbs that do not exist anyway LMAO. but YES i forget if i really mentioned it in your last ask, but op 4 mostly made me think of them like, when they first started dating (still in their honeymoon phase, so to speak). their 'love' is flashy and perfect (and they are annoying everyone around them) but despite all their similarities, there's still some massive differences in their personalities and how they view things, and i think it eventually leads to them fighting all the time,,, but they still keep getting back together because there isn't anyone else that understands them as much as they understand each other y'know,,, daigo, especially, WANTS to make it work; meanwhile masato just sorta likes how daigo keeps coming back to him,,, something like that anyway. i'm still trying to find the words exactly and that's what that fic i was working on is about adfjkgjhflkjhg

i think this is a neat intepretation of the song! with them, their love isn't exactly… good, and obviously it eventually goes to shit. though when it comes to kaguya and shirogane, i think the song is more about how their love should be like, shown off and celebrated now that they've confessed

aaawawawawa anyway anon your brain is huge i had fun reading your thoughts about this, thank you very much for sharing :3 daigo is my favorite character too so i understand how he can infect your thoughts like a bug fdjkhfsjkds every morning i wake up and think about him 😇❤️

as someone who only speaks english (and sucks at it sometimes), i'd say yours is perfectly fine! ^^ hope u had a happy easter!!

[utilitycaster]

Hi hi! This actually isn’t a critical role specific question from me, but you said you’ve been a DM, and I was wondering if you have any tips or tricks for beginners at running a table?

Thank you!

So, DM-ing is a lot of things and it's hard to give a succinct summary so feel free to narrow it down, but here's a few things I have found useful that I haven't found easily elsewhere, or are particularly good notes from things I've watched/read. (For fans of actual play - Matt did some DM tips for G&S back in the day and obviously the GMs of Exandria Roundtable with him, Brennan, and Aabria is good; Brennan's Adventuring Academy is also good and can be listened to as a podcast if that's easier, as can Dungeon Court on NADDPod. The last one isn't explicitly GM tips but Murph is probably the GM whose style I try to emulate most and there's a lot amidst the wacky questions that is worth keeping in mind about how to approach problems as a DM). Also, I failed to keep up with Three Black Halflings but they also had good DM-ing tips.

Don't be scared to say no. Don't be too rigid, but sometimes you are going to have to give a flat no. A lot of people won't do this because they're nonconfrontational or have absorbed too much of the "D&D is fun! Do whatever you want!" philosophy and haven't actually considered that a lot of people do want structure, that one player constantly trying to break the game isn't fun for anyone else at the table, and because the only things the players know about the world and how it works is what comes out of your mouth, you need to provide a consistency within said world. Also sometimes people will be like "can I be this broken-ass build I found on Reddit that deals 700 damage per round but requires a deliberately unintuitive misread of the rules" and you can just be like "nope!" and save everyone a lot of annoyance.

Have a session zero; make sure the party makes sense for each other and for the world and story. Also make sure whatever other tools you use work for everyone. I've said this before but: I play over Discord and I'm often looking at my notes. I'm not going to see someone throw a red card if they're uncomfortable, so I tell my players at the beginning that they will need to speak up if they're uncomfortable, and it's worked out well. Some meta advice on what other DM-ing advice to take: do not listen to the wack jobs who say there is only one way to run a table and that it is coincidentally theirs. Find something that genuinely works for your entire group, what you want, and how you play.

Things to set in the session zero: basic world/party comp including if there's any classes/races/subclasses that don't make sense for said world; absolute no-gos for players (ie, the trigger/this isn't fun for me list) and how you will handle discomfort that arises in the game; house rules. I don't believe in doing most house rules early on - play things generally as written or at least intended until you find something that your group needs that isn't in the standard rules - but I do usually play with Matt's resurrection rules rather than the standard D&D ones but I check with the players first about this.

I think Aabria said she usually plans around the length of the session for each session, and this is pretty reasonable. When I've done significantly less planning than that it's been rough, and usually I don't find that I need significantly more.

Everyone always says "if it's your first time DM-ing, use a module" and like, no one ever does, but consider doing so. It is way easier.

Mistakes happen and don't be too hard on yourself! But also if things are going super off the rails or your players seem very confused, or if the players make a wild but valid choice, it is ok to take a break. You're human; you can say "hey, I'm worried we're not on the same page" or "hey, you did something cool but also I did not prep for that, give me 10 minutes."

CR ratings are really more vague suggestions. I've used kobold fight club to try to build encounters but also I think it's helpful to just accept your first few encounters might be kind of weak, and scale things from there once you get a better feel.

The best part of the GM Roundtable was all of them but notably Brennan talking about how the goal of a DM is to guide the players towards the most interesting resolution because solving things too quickly isn't a story.

It's ok to be on rails. Don't force people outright into choices, but you can guide people towards something specific; a full sandbox-y world is really hard to do. This is also why modules are good because that expectation is set.

Reward good RP. It doesn't need to be mechanical rewards (though someone who's been making consistently interesting and dedicated choices deserves an occasional treat, imo) but if you have players who aren't just running through the basic rules but are actively making creative choices or doing excellent character work and engaging with your world, at the very least make sure they get rewarded with good story.

You are a player too; this is what D&D Court from NADDPod is very good at hammering home. You want to make it a good time for the players! You're also doing TONS more work and if a voice is wrecking your throat, if a topic makes you uncomfortable, or if the party is refusing to follow plot hooks, have a conversation. I think a lot of advice skews either really heavily towards "everything is for the players and you should sacrifice yourself for them and anything less is selfish and mean" or else "the DM is god and if the players don't make the right choice then that's their fault" and neither is correct. You're a player; you're also doing more work. If your plot doesn't interest anyone, then no one's going to have fun, so revisit (and perhaps run a longer/more extensive session zero and do a post mortem, because you are allowed to want to run a specific type of story but you might have needed to be clearer with the players); if an NPC is hard to play you can come up with a reason to change them a bit to make it easier; and if a topic makes you uncomfortable, you're also allowed to throw the metaphorical red card.

Really, I think the biggest theme for all of the above is "don't be afraid to stop and talk if things are in any way not working; do not let a fear of confrontation or breaking immersion set you down a path where no one is having fun."

This was all more on the order of general philosophy so again if you have specifics on like, how to pick monsters or whatever, feel free to ask those, but I find there's often a lot of advice on those specifics and much less on the above. Good luck!

[luxekook]

intimidation | myg

⇥ pairing: yoongi x reader

⇥ genre: fluff, a lil touch of smut, college AU

⇥ summary: in which you think Yoongi is intimidating bc of his dark clothing and his quiet ‘don’t give a fuck’ attitude… but then someone makes him laugh and you watch as his face lights up in the cutest gummy smile complete with shining eyes and blushing cheeks and BOOM you’re whipped for that boy

⇥ word count: 2.3k

⇥ warnings: dirty talk, light smut, cursing

⇥ sequel: intensity

Thursday, September 28th – 11:16am

Min Yoongi intimidated the living hell out of you.

While the boy in question was not all that tall or all that muscular, there was admittedly something in his aura that just screamed ‘big dick energy’... Not that you’d ever get the chance to confirm that hypothesis. You weren’t even sure you wanted to.

Shoulders slumping, you shifted your peripheral gaze off of Yoongi and back onto your professor as she droned on about evolution. Your shared Introduction to Biology class inspired an odd mix of dread and excitement every Tuesday/Thursday morning as a consequence of Min Yoongi’s sheer presence.

Your mind drifted back to the first class of the semester about a month ago...

Arriving in the lecture hall indicated on your class schedule, you took a seat in the middle of the room. You were spoiled for choice given that you had arrived fifteen minutes early for lecture. The first day of classes was always stressful for you, given your tendency to get lost within the many buildings on campus as well as your hatred for lateness.

As the room filled with more and more students, you shuffled through your backpack. “Where the hell is it?” you muttered, searching for your planner where you would jot down important notes.

Finally, you spotted it wedged in between two of your folders. Grasping it in triumph, you tugged it out of your backpack and placed it on your desk. Glancing back up, you found the coldest pair of brown eyes staring back at you.

“Is anyone sitting there?” The question came in a slow drawl, all rough and lazy. Long fingers adorned in rings shifted as the boy pointed towards the empty seat next to you. God, he was offensively good-looking.

You blinked and shook your head, “No, have at it.” His gaze pinned you in place for a few more brief seconds before his chin lifted in acknowledgment and he slumped into place beside you.

You had learned absolutely nothing that first class. Or any subsequent class that Min Yoongi deigned with his presence. The odds were about 50/50 on any given day.

Today, his presence was wreaking havoc on your nervous system. Since the initial encounter on your first day of class, the amount of words exchanged between the two of you could be counted on one hand. Last week he had asked you for your notes from a previous class he had missed, and you almost burned from the inside out with embarrassment as he took in your impeccably organized and color-coded notes with raised eyebrows and a slight smirk.

“Were you planning on framing these?” he had asked while snapping a quick series of photos of your notebook pages. In response, you had scowled, pulling your notebook out of his reach.

You were a nerd. You knew that. But you didn’t like being made fun of for it. Especially by a boy as arrogantly apathetic as Min fucking Yoongi.

Therefore, you were doing your absolute best to ignore him today. The hour and a half of class dragged by so slowly you thought you might have grown a couple gray hairs by the time your professor dismissed everyone.

Rushing to pack up your belongings and multitude of colored pens, a small slip of paper dropped onto your desk. Confused, you immediately glanced up to find the source and found Yoongi sauntering away from you, black backpack hitched over one shoulder carelessly.

Fingers shaking, you opened the hastily folded paper: “(y/n) – Sorry if I made you upset last class. I only meant to extend my compliments to the artist... – MYG.”

Compliments to the—Min Yoongi was so full of shit. But you couldn’t fight the small smile that spread across your face.

“(y/n) ... (y/n) ... (y/n)!”

The sound of your name shook you from your thoughts. Your roommate Nia decided that wasn’t enough and she shoved you in the arm.

“Ow, what the hell, Nia?” you grumbled, rubbing your left bicep dramatically.

Nia scoffed, “You’re staring into your bland salad like it holds the key to the universe. What’s up with you?”

Stabbing said salad with your fork, you waved your well-lettuced utensil in your roommate’s face, “What’s up is that I cannot stand Min Yoongi! He walks around looking like god’s gift to anyone attracted to men. Then, he has the audacity to critique my notes and give me a half-assed apology with further ridicule? The nerve! The gall!”

“I’m going to stop you right there,” Nia cut off your rampage succinctly, “Min Yoongi apologized to you? We are talking about the same Min Yoongi, right? Bleached hair? Piercings? General hatred for life?”

You nodded. Nia’s eyebrows rose to new heights, “We must contact the historians. This is one for the books.”

Rifling through your planner, you pulled out the note Yoongi left you and thrust it in Nia’s direction, “Look!”

Unfolding the small torn paper, you watched as Nia’s eyes darted back and forth... and back and forth... and back and forth.

“Well?”

Nia’s wide eyes lifted to yours, “(y/n) ... Min Yoongi is flirting with you.”

You choked on your lettuce, “What? Where on earth are you getting that? He’s clearly roasting me.”

“Nope,” Nia threw the note back at you, “Clearly flirting. Damn, Min Yoongi is into my best friend? This is wild! Okay, you first need to get on that, and then you need introduce me to Park Jimin.”

“Are you insane?” Your outburst gained annoyed looks from the surrounding students in the dining hall and you lowered your voice, “I am not ‘getting on’ anyone!”

Rolling her eyes, Nia stared pointedly to the right, “So if I'm hearing you correctly, you’re saying that you don’t find him attractive?”

Your eyes followed her line of vision and landed on none other than your topic of conversation. 

God, he looked good. Even surrounded by his group of attractive friends, Yoongi stood out to you. You were just about to glance away when it happened.

Kim Seokjin’s windshield wiper laugh burst through the cacophony of conversations, following what must have been one of his famously so-bad-they’re-good jokes.

And then Min Yoongi smiled.

Your heart stuttered in your chest as you watched his eyes crinkle, his cheeks turn a pretty pink and, his smile to widen into the cutest, most devastating gummy smile you had ever seen in your entire life.

“Holy fuck.” You exhaled. It was official. You were fucking whipped.

“Yup, that’s what I thought,” Nia’s smug tone pulled your focus away from this new version of Yoongi you were desperate to know, “Still going to deny that you want to jump his bones?”

“...No.”

You were scared shitless by Nia’s maniacal grin in response to your admission.

“Excellent,” she smirked, her palms rubbing together like a plotting villain, “Here’s what we’re going to do...”

Friday, September 29th – 10:34pm

Your hands tugged at the hem of the short leather miniskirt Nia loaned you for the night as your stomach flipped more times than Simone Biles’ floor routine.

Damn, you were nervous.

When Nia talked you into attending Kim Taehyung’s party, you had agreed pretty easily. You both had reasoned that Yoongi might not even be there; and, if he was, you would just see if he would approach you.

It had seemed so simple in the moment, but now as you grasped your beer you realized that nothing regarding Min Yoongi was simple. Since arriving about twenty minutes ago, you and Nia had immediately been recruited for beer pong by Park Jimin and Jeon Jungkook. Unable to crush Nia’s dreams of hooking up with Jimin, you had agreed immediately even though you were both absolutely terrible at the game.

Jimin and Jungkook now only had one cup left to make, while you and Nia had five. You dipped the pong ball into the designated cup of water to clean it, took aim and watched in glee as the ball sailed into the front cup.

“Oh, fuck yes!” You and Nia high-fived, taking in the rare victory. Opening her mouth to respond, Nia’s words died in her throat as she looked over your shoulder.

“What is it?” you began to turn to see what was so alarming to your friend.

“No!” Nia hissed, “Don’t you dare turn around. Min Yoongi is staring at you like you’re a five-course meal and he’s starving.”

Your soul left your body, only to be snapped back into place with the interrupting cheers from Jimin and Jungkook as they sunk their last cup.

“Good game!” Jungkook’s arm wrapped around you in a half-hug. You shoot Nia a look, but she’s completely occupied in conversation with Jimin. Jungkook’s arm fell to encircle your waist when you felt it – the weight of a certain someone’s gaze.

You barely registered Jimin and Nia’s exit from the pong table and onto the makeshift dancefloor in Taehyung’s living room. And when Jungkook suggested getting another drink from the kitchen you almost shouted in agreement. Anything to escape the eyes you knew were glued to you.

He’s just a boy, you tried to remind yourself, you could handle Min Yoongi.

You followed Jungkook into the cramped kitchen, nodding along to whatever story he’s rambling on about. Locating the vast array of alcohol scattered along the kitchen island, you grabbed a solo cup and fixed yourself a rum and coke.

“...and then Jin-hyung said ‘It’s burgundy!’” You tuned back in to Jungkook’s story just in time to laugh in the appropriate place. You felt bad. Jungkook was cute and sweet, but just not your type.

“Jungkook,” a low voice broke through your shared laughter.

Jungkook’s eyes widened in alarm as he turned to face the intruder, “Yoongi-hyung! Wh-what’s up?”

Yoongi’s gaze narrowed; Jungkook gulped, “Bye, (y/n)-noona.”

You watched in horror as Jungkook literally scrambled out of the room to get away from you and Yoongi.

“Why’d you do that?” You looked up at Yoongi.

Damn, he looked good. His blonde locks were tousled like he had been running his hands through it and his cheeks were slightly flushed – probably from drinking.

Yoongi ignored your question, shooting a look at the group of boys occupying the kitchen counter space next to you and they immediately made themselves scarce.

His dark gaze turned back to you, “Why Jungkook?”

Your eyebrows furrowed, “What?”

“Why were you talking to Jungkook, (y/n)?” Yoongi moved closer to you, backing you into the counter behind you, “That boy couldn’t handle you.”

Your eyebrows quirked up, “And why’s that?”

“Because, baby, all that hair, all that ass, and all that attitude needs a man to give you what you want and what you need.”

You struggled to formulate an answer as you watched as he took a long sip of his beer, his eyes continuing to burn into yours.

“Are you drunk, Min Yoongi?”

“Lil’ bit,” he muttered and shot you a devastating half-smile, “But still sober enough to appreciate how goddamn good you look right now.”

Your mouth opened and closed several times before you choked out, “I thought you hated me?”

His hand darted through his hair as his jaw flexed once… twice, “Not even close.”

“But you don’t talk to me... you made fun of my notes!”

“I don’t talk to you because I think you’re so fucking cute with your colored pens and your oversized sweatshirts and your overused planner. I don’t talk to you because I want to ruin you and worship you all at once.”

All air had escaped your lungs at this point. You let out a jagged breath as Yoongi suddenly slid his hands around your waist.

He scooped you off the floor and placed you on the edge of the counter. Your arms circled his shoulders instinctually and his grip tightened on your hips. When he glanced down at you, he let out a rough breath, sounding like you were torturing him.

Turning to the side, you tried to hide from his intensity behind the curtain of your hair, but he just pushed it back behind your ear.

“Yoongi, please…” Your desperate words left your mouth subconsciously, the feeling of his lips so close to yours made your pulse race and your head spin.

“What do you want, baby?” he asked, his voice hoarse and his pupils dilated, “I’ll give you anything. Just ask.”

“Kiss me?” You barely finished asking your question before Yoongi’s lips slammed onto your own.

He kissed you like he wanted to own you – and to have you own him. Gravity tried to drag you down off the counter and your mouths separated in a gasp. Yoongi hoisted you up higher with a firm hand on the back of your thigh.

Hooking your leg around his slim waist, you tugged him into you, feeling every inch of his body respond to your touch. He breathed heavily as you dragged your nails down his back slowly, provokingly. You felt his responding groan rumble deep from within his chest.

His free hand latched into your hair and tugged your lips back to his. You both moaned as his tongue circled yours, twining around it, enticing yours to follow.

You swore the way Min Yoongi kissed could be felt all the way down to your bones.  

His kisses got greedier, more desperate as he seemed to be trying to memorize the taste of your mouth on his. “God-fucking-damn," he panted, pulling back slightly and resting his forehead on yours.

You smiled, completely fucked out. His fingertips dragged down your skin slowly until he reached your waist. His hands slid up under your shirt, and he rested his palms against your skin, fingers splayed down over your hips. His hold was undeniably possessive.

Shifting his head into the crevice of your neck, Yoongi muttered, “Go out with me, (y/n).”

The only answer your last few braincells could formulate was a garbled “Mkay”. But judging from the smile you felt against your pulse point, it was good enough for him.

a/n: originally was going to make this fic about jungkook (inspired by this post), but I decided I needed to write it about Yoongi bc he is baby

© luxekook. please do not repost, modify, edit or translate.