#the first time i played night in the woods it was entirely on a recommendation from a friend

[rindomness]

BTW I genuinely love that night in the woods does not, in the end, tell you if it was all real or not. It does not even explain whether the goat was real. It gives you mundane explanations - mae's mental health history, gas leaks, the strikes and structural instability in the mines - but also it's juuust legitimately supernatural enough that you end the game going... well. was that all imagined? how much of that was legitimate? the cultists all talk about getting abilities from the pit, and mae's friends are there and are confirming this is actually happening, and I think that was the first time in the game I actually approached the idea that there really was something else going on and it wasn't all just things we the player are experiencing because we're getting it from mae's perspective and mae is a truly intense unreliable narrator.

But: how much does it matter if there's actually an eldritch goat god underneath possum springs, or if it was all just a delusion on mae's behalf, or if it's a gas leak? that isn't the point. that was never the point.

also that maintenance guy is a ghost im 90% sure

[nhlclover]

𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐇(𝐄𝐃) 𝐏𝐓.𝟐 | 𝐋𝐔𝐊𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐄𝐒

summary: a year later, quinn finally learns about what transpired between his brother and his girlfriend

warnings: none really, trevor being a little shit, maybe a little awkward

word count: 1.15k

note: this is a part two to this fic! i recommend reading that before you read this one :)

Luke pulled into the driveway, slotting his car between Jack and Quinn’s. The lakehouse stood timeless as ever, nestled against the sparkling blue of the water, framed by the tall, swaying pines. Everything looked the same, but it felt different for Luke.

It had been a full year since that summer — the summer that left him reeling with a storm of emotions he had barely been able to handle. Luke had spent the year distancing himself from those emotions, trying to forget how he’d spent the entire summer prior trying to avoid you, while simultaneously longing to be around you. The ache had faded with time and distance, and, the crush that had once felt all-consuming had faded to a mere flicker.

Now, as the familiar smell of pine and sun-warmed wood greeted him, Luke felt a strange mix of nostalgia and apprehension. He hoped that being here again wouldn’t bring back those old feelings, especially since you and Quinn were still as strong as ever.

He brought his bags into the house, the quiet environment signalling that everyone was out back. Luke dropped them in his room, heading to the back deck. On the dock, he spotted you slotted under Quinn’s arm, the two of you watching the sun begin to dip below the horizon. Luke felt himself smile, genuinely happy for the two of you. Happy that both of you had found someone so perfect for one another. This thought felt like a breath of fresh air.

The first couple weeks of summer were surprisingly easy. You all fell into the familiar rhythms of summer — long days on the water, games of volleyball and football, and late-night bonfires accompanied by laughter and jokes. Luke felt comfortable around you, the awkwardness from last year had dissolved, and he genuinely enjoyed your company now that his emotions weren’t a tangled-up knot.

One night you found yourselves gathered around the firepit, everyone laughing and joking as you played a game of truth or dare. The flames crackled, casting flickering shadows on everyone’s faces, and the air was warm with the scent of burning wood and the distant scent of the lake. A couple rounds of the game had brought out embarrassing stories like Cole telling everyone about the time he fell into a pond in front of his middle school crush and the completion of ridiculous dares, such as jumping into the freezing cold lake. The round turned to Trevor, who’s eyes narrowed on Luke.

“Alright, Luke,” Trevor smirked. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Luke replied, rolling his eyes at whatever ridiculous question he knew Trevor was about to ask.

Trevor leaned forward, his eyes gleaming. “Do you still have a crush on y/n?”

Everyone fell silent, the atmosphere tensing. Luke’s eyes went wide, his heart skipping a beat as every single pair of eyes turned toward him. He stared at Trevor, momentarily at a loss for words, then shifted his gaze to you, sitting on Quinn’s lap wrapped in his arms. You looked just as startled as he did, but quickly shook your head, your eyes pleading with him.

“I didn’t say anything to anyone, I swear,” you promised him.

Quinn, who had briefly tuned out as he scrolled on his phone, looked up, completely caught off guard by the question. “Wait, what? Since when did you like her?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion as he glanced at Luke.

Luke cleared his throat, trying to appear nonchalant, though his heart was hammering in his chest. “It was a thing last summer, but it’s over now. She actually helped me get over it.” He shot you a grateful smile, hoping that would end the discussion.

“You knew?” Quinn turned to you, his expression a mixture of confusion and concern.

You shrugged, trying to downplay it. “It was no biggie, babe. I just reassured him that we were in love and that he needed to get over it.” You laughed softly, your tone lighthearted, but your eyes flickered with a touch of worry as you glanced at Quinn.

Quinn’s eyes searched your face, and though he tried to keep his cool, a flicker of worry crossed his features. “You sure you’re over it, Luke?”

“Absolutely,” Luke replied firmly. “I swear, it was just a stupid crush. It’s done.”

“Yeah, he’s definitely over it,” Jack chimed in, leaning back in his chair. “He hooked up with some girl like… a bunch of times during the winter. Right, Luke?”

Luke shot Jack a look of disbelief, but it actually worked to diffuse the tension. Quinn’s shoulders relaxed, and a teasing grin spread across his face. “Scoring on and off the ice… nice.”

Luke chuckled, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, feeling the tips of his ears burning at Jack revealing that secret. The chorus of laughter from the group faded softly.

“Wait, Trevor, how did you know that Luke had a crush on me?” you asked, curious as no one had told anyone else about the goings of last summer.

Trevor sat up, clearly relishing his moment. “I mean, come on. You avoided her like she had the plague, but then couldn’t stop staring at her every time she walked by. You’d freeze up whenever she talked to you, and don’t even get me started on that time you nearly burned the burgers on the barbeque because you were too distracted watching her by the lake.”

Luke’s face was bright red now, and you were laughing with the others, though your eyes were soft and understanding. “It wasn’t that obvious, was it?” Luke groaned, half-laughing, half-horrified.

Quinn threw his head back, laughing. “That’s what that was? I just thought you hated her.”

You joined in, nodding in agreement. “Same! I thought he couldn’t stand me.”

Everyone laughed, the tension from the past evaporating in the cool night air. Luke ran a hand through his hair, a sheepish smile tugging at his lips. “Yeah, I was in deep shit last summer,” he confessed, shaking his head. “Like, the deepest shit I could possibly be in.”

Quinn shook his head, his smirk growing. "Man, I’m never letting you live this down."

Luke rolled his eyes, however he was relieved that the tension had eased and that the past crush was finally out in the open and behind him. “Yeah, yeah, go ahead and tease me. I deserve it.”

The game moved on, and so did the night, filled with more laughter, dares, and ridiculous truths. Luke felt something settle inside him, a sense of closure he didn’t realize he’d needed. As the fire crackled and the moon shone down on the lake, he finally felt free – free to be himself, free to be around you, and most importantly, free to enjoy the summer for what it was: a chance to make new memories and let go of the old ones.

[mrsjellymunson]

🥁Drummer!Eddie headcanons thanks entirely to THIS by @littlexdeaths and THIS by @somnambulic-thing 🥁

Because of course I have to give him a backstory…

- He was always hyper as a kid and hitting things with pencils and rulers and branches - himself, furniture, bushes, other children…

- He’d frustrate his mother (affectionately) by stealing her wooden mixing spoons and smashing them against cupboard doors, his toys, empty food boxes, and any pans he could steal from the kitchen

- She eventually started collecting things for him, like plastic tubs, paint cans, wooden boxes, and encouraged him to play them outside

- Al, unsurprisingly, wasn’t a fan, so she tried to get Eddie interested in other instruments too. It kind of worked. He’d spend hours wandering the woods near his home with a secondhand harmonica one of his mom’s friend’s husbands gave him, and a thrifted tin whistle, but he always drifted back to the feral, manic energy of bashing objects with sticks

- His middle school teachers never let him have free reign in music class, sometimes excluding him from it entirely. They wanted him to be ‘good at school stuff’ first, and saw music time as a reward. But, if they’d just let him engage in the way he needed to, they would’ve seen that he was ‘good at’ that to a level far beyond his peers. Plus, it would’ve had the added benefits of helping him manage his energy levels, and concentrate better in his other classes

- Eventually he moves in with Wayne, who finds an old acoustic guitar at a yard sale that Eddie absolutely loves. But his passion for rhythm remains, and he collects old containers, cans and pots and arranges them outside the trailer, tinkering away with them of an evening as a way of unwinding before bed

- The neighbours initially hate it, but when they notice that this kid actually has a decent sense of rhythm they start bringing him stuff to add to his set, like plastic barrels and metal oil drums

- He inadvertently becomes the locus of entertainment for the ‘park parties’ that start to happen. People join in with guitars, banjos, at least two residents have violins and someone’s friend even brings a clarinet one time. When some of the old geezers discover he plays harmonica, just like they do, they have ‘hoedown showdowns’ where they duel, and there’s much cheering from the other residents. Eddie even learns to play the spoons (he’s an annoying natural) from the old codger four trailers down, who’d barely been seen outside of his home for months at this point

- One night he and some other disaffected friends break into the High School music room, intending to do some damage, maybe even steal a few things. But when Eddie steps in, after strumming his fingers over the strings of a few instruments and plonking away on the piano as he walks past it, he spots an old, tattered drum kit at the far end. It’s red, with peeling decals, the supports are corroding and at least two of the skins have been mended with duct tape, but to Eddie’s eyes it’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. It seems to emit its own light, and levitates above the ground, calling to him. He sits behind it, picking up the first decent pair of sticks he’s ever held, and starts to experimentally tap out a rhythm. He finds the foot pedal, and adds it in. Tentatively, he makes contact with the cymbals, revelling in the variety of sounds he can make. After only a matter of moments he’s practically playing a tune, and his cohorts stop their fiddling and pause to listen. One walks over, aghast, and nods his head to the beat for while before remarking, “You’re a fucking drummer, dude!”

Final quote shamelessly stolen from the documentary ‘Count Me In’ where Taylor Hawkins describes how he discovered his future vocation (if you're a drumming fan I highly recommend it).

Visual references: HERE from @eddiemunsons-missingnipple and THIS by @jqmunson

Adding my usuals, my series are coming along, I promise 😁🤭 @joejoequinnquinn @jamdoughnutmagician @guiltyasquinn @madaboutmunson @airen256 @sunshinepeachx @the-unforgivenn @skrzydlak @comeonatmebruh @jamiecb66 @80s-addict @abellmunsonmovie @definitionwanderlust @sheneedsrocknroll92 @munson-blurbs @wonderlanddreamer @daisy-munson @maedesculpaeusoubi @kurdtbean @mediocredreams @in2tswft @micheledawn1975 @littlebebebunny @12thatsanumber @alastorssimp @the-baby-angel @eddie-is-a-god @wolfqueenxxx @losingmygrasponreality @richter-raccoon @1deverland

[fancyfeathers]

Okay I went to go see a production of the musical Anastasia, which is quite a bit different than the animated film and so got an idea for the Yandere Moriarty brothers and with darlings who are sisters are share the story of Anastasia.

(I put the lyrics of Anastasia songs in this so I recommend you listen to them when they come up when you read this because that is how I read it and it also just adds vibes)

The order of the songs that are included

In My Dreams

Stay, I Pray You

The Neva Flows

Still/The Neva Flows (Reprise)

Picture the plot of Anastasia, a royal family murdered and an entire nation turned upside down by a revolution that said times would be better but they were not. Well the entire royal family was murdered, though they did not survive the daughters may be still alive and there is a rumor that her grandmother who resided in London would pay a hefty sum to whomever would bring the three of them back. A few young ladies in the nation who happens to resemble the missing princesses gets picked to play the parts but it just happens that it is not a part they were playing, it is actually them. When the three and their friends escaped the nation and made their way to the capital of the British Empire to look for their grandmother who is looking for her missing granddaughters, and when it turns out to actually be the missing girls, Britain booms with the news, foreign royalty reunited.

But to back track a bit to when the three and their companions arrived in the nation they had the brief encounter with an Earl and his two younger brothers when looking for directions around the city. While their meeting was brief but very kind which was nice since the three of them were nothing in that moment, of course the sisters did not notice how smitten they had the men. So when the morning paper arrives at the Moriarty estate and reports the heartwarming story of old royal family being reunited and the Moriartys are not oblivious to why most of the old royal family was murdered, they were hated by the people but now the new government is also hated, an example of what they would not do in their plan.

When the sisters encounter the Moriarty brothers again it is at their first ball since the massacre of their family, the three of them returning to high society. William had no doubt when he read the paper that the sisters were the missing princesses that the paper spoke of, but it is certainly something else to see them all dressed up while their grandmother shows them off. The brothers manage to get a moment alone with them and the conversation is pleasant till Albert asks what life was like between what happened and now and they all go pale in the face, and to describe what they said I can only quote the lyrics from the musical…

They said I was found by the side of a road There were tracks all around, it had recently snowed In the darkness and cold with the wind in the trees A girl with no name, and no memories but these

Rain against a window, sheets upon a bed Terrifying nurses whispering overhead "Call the child Anya, give the child a hat" I don't know a thing before that

Traveling the back roads, sleeping in the wood Taking what I needed, working when I could Keeping up my courage, foolish as it seems At night all alone in my dreams

In my dreams shadows call There's a light at the end of a hall Then my dreams fade away But I know it all will come back One day

The brothers watch as the girls get dotted on by the aristocracy of England, it must have been so hard for them, terrified and alone like that, and then having to live like the lower class. Then one of the nobles mentions the Lord of Crime and says that the girls must not be scared since they have been through that sort of thing already and the girls have never heard such a person and then explanation comes up and the three look like they are about to vomit, all those horrid memories come back of the massacre that night, killing nobles just because they wish for change is what caused them all this pain.

Albert’s darling, the eldest of the three, the one who looked out for and protected her sisters all those years, is the one to find out about the Lord of Crime’s identity first. Since she is the eldest, she gets invited to many of the parties and balls, including the masquerade that had the game of Lord of Crime that the nobles laugh at but for her it all just feels to real for her. She was invited by Albert himself to be his plus one and as they dance she confesses that making a game out of the deaths of others makes her sick. When they were leaving their home, boarding the train, they encountered a count from their past who cared for them, who bent of his knee and kissed each of their hands, and led everyone in a prayer of farewell to their homeland because they would never return again, someone she hoped would be here but he died protecting them, fatally shot by the police for illegally boarding the train and they would have been killed as well if he did not care so much about them. He was kind and yet was said he must die, it was sick, she can still remember the words he said to them…

How can I desert you? How to tell you why? Coachmen, hold the horses Stay, I pray you Let me have a moment Let me say goodbye

To bridge and river Forest and waterfall Orchard, sea, and sky Harsh and sweet and bitter to leave it all I'll bless my homeland till I die

How to break the tie? We have shared our tears And shared our sorrows Though the scars remain And tears will never dry I'll bless my homeland till I die

She has to excuse herself to keep herself from crying, but when she returns there is a man dead and practically no one cares and she just looks up to the upper balcony where Albert is and he is smiling while speaking to another. People are unbothered by the dead man or the smiling one above that is responsible. She runs out the party and calls her own carriage and leaves while just sobbing uncontrollably.

The second to uncover the truth is Louis’ darling, she is awake when her sister returns home from the party and absolutely mess and she rushes to her sister’s side to see what was the matter and everything pours out of what she saw. At first she does not believe her, that is until the next day where she is sitting down at the park with a book in the nicer part of London and is approached by Louis who spotted her from afar. He sits with her and the two chat and then Louis tells her that Albert let him know that her sister left the party rather early last night and asks her if she knew why and instead of responding to his question she asks him what he thought of the Lord of Crime and his answer makes her shake her head, the country needs reform and-

She interrupt him and excuses herself, because she had everything taken from her and she never did anything wrong. She tells him that what the Lord of Crime is trying will get them nowhere because she has seen what has happened when this sort of thing happens…

I saw the children as the soldiers closed the gate The youngest daughter and her pride My father leaving on the night they met their fate His pistol by his side

The Neva flows, a new wind blows And soon it will be spring The leaves unfold, the Tsar lies cold A revolution is a simple thing

I heard the shots. I heard the screams. But it's the silence after I remember most

She leaves, running off as Louis calls after her but to no avail. She runs home to tell her sister that she believes her and they both try to tell their littlest sister but she does not believe them…

With Williams’s darling, there is a part of the musical, a man is sent after them to kill her if she turns out to be the actual missing princess. She was invited to tea at the Moriarty estate and she goes to show her sisters that they are being silly and there is nothing wrong with the Moriarty brothers since they were so kind to them when the first came to London and where no ones. Tea is very pleasant, though most of it William just asked her questions and asked her questions. When it came to an end and William is helping her get her coat on there is a knock on the door and since she is about to leave, she opens it only to see a face and a uniform she thought she had left behind in Russia

Gleb

An underhanded girl An act of desperation And to my consternation I let you go

Well, not this time Paris is no place for a good and loyal Russian

We are both good and loyal Russians

I've come to take you home

My home is here now

Stop playing this game, Anya! I beg you

We both know it's not a game Gleb

If you really are Anastasia Do you think history wants you to have lived?

Yes! Why don't you?

The Romanovs were given everything And they gave back nothing Until the Russian people rose up and destroyed them

All but one Finish it I am my father's daughter

And I am my father's son! Finish it I must

There is a gun pointed at her and her life flashes before her once again. She truly thinks she is going to die in that moment, she closes her eyes tight, awaiting her fate, but the bullet never comes. She opens her eyes only to see her assassin dead on the ground, a blade buried in his skull and she screams and falls back, right into William who is wiping the blood stain off of his face. It is when he caught her and she looks up at him to see him smiling at her that she realizes her sisters were right all along.

[pahrak-the-sinnoh-slizer]

Game Night: Cassette Beasts

Pokémon fans threatening to find a new monster taming series is like Americans threatening to move to Canada: we’ve all said it at some point, and for completely valid reasons, but the reality is that it just isn’t that easy to pick up and go.  For me at least, it’s hard to pin down exactly what it is about Pokémon that’s central to my interest in it, so I’m not quite sure what to look for in other monster tamers.  At the very least, when something like Palworld rolls around I can easily tell that it’s not that.  The last several Pokémon games have been some of my favorites, but I’ve remained curious about the genre at large; unfortunately these games are innately a rather large commitment, which doesn’t pair well with my indecisive uncertainty.  All this to say, while I was definitely intrigued by Cassette Beasts when I first heard about it years ago, that intrigue never actually went anywhere…until now.

I believe I recently heard someone toss it out as a recommendation on a stream I was watching, which is why it stuck out when I was browsing the Games Done Quick channel on YouTube.  Out of curiosity, I wound up watching the speedrun.  I then poked around the official wiki a bit and came to realize this game could be very appealing to me specifically.  And BOY was I right about that!

Before we get into it, spoiler-free tl;dr: Cassette Beasts both wears its inspiration proudly on its sleeve and iterates upon it in many truly fascinating ways, with an atmosphere that switches effortlessly between delightfully cozy and creepy cool.  I have some gripes, but I have been thoroughly entertained and downright mesmerized playing this game.  If you have any interest in monster tamers, pixel art indie RPGs, and/or cosmic horror, I highly recommend checking Cassette Beasts out.

>PLAY

The game first asks you to customize your character, sans outfit—that comes later so you’re not entirely overwhelmed right away.  There’s also an option for pronouns, including he/him, she/her, and they/them, which is lovely to see.  You are then dropped onto the shore of a mysterious island, and are found by a girl who tells you that you’ve landed in a different dimension.  So, yes, technically an isekai.  But this is a limbo-esque world that only has humans because they keep falling into it from time to time—every single character is either from another world, or was born to parents who are stuck here.  That, combined with making your character’s explicit goal “find a way home”, excellently avoids the most common pitfalls of the genre and lets you assess it without preconceived notions.  What’s really interesting about this is that people are pulled from many different worlds, and from various points in the timeline: you have characters talking about the Mars landing of 1969 and the 20th century peace treaty with the elves, and also famous Greek philosophers and Karl Marx.  I love how eclectic it is, and it’s frequently used in really funny ways. (You all remember Diogenes, right?  Guess what traits are shared by all the monsters he uses.) The people brought here have all banded together in a mutually supportive community, with everyone contributing what they can and materials like wood and metal being traded for goods as opposed to using money.  Why do we want to go home again?  This sounds like a nice place to live!

But anyway, we’re here for the monsters.  And in-game they are just called “monsters”, never “Cassette Beasts”.  Which strikes me as odd.  But the monsters have been in this world way longer than the cassette tapes, which are actually a relatively recent arrival courtesy of an isekai’d shopping mall.  Rather than catching a monster, you record them on a blank tape, meaning that even if you are successful you’ll still need to defeat the monster or flee to end the battle.  You then use your tape and cassette player to take on the form and powers of the recorded monster, and fight your battles first-hand!  Pokémon briefly flirted with this idea in a spin-off manga (Pokémon ReBURST), but here it’s fully embraced; this sort of approach can be seen in other aspects too, as we’ll see later.  After learning the basics, you’re given a few major questlines and then set free into the open world of New Wirral, tackling whatever catches your attention as you romp around.  There is some level-scaling, though I’m not sure of the specifics.  Regardless, both it and enemy AI can be adjusted via Settings, and you can also turn off the glitch effects that show up if those are impacting your experience.  In battle you control both your avatar and one of several recruitable partners, and can carry up to six tapes at a time—essentially Doubles format, with all the complexity and chaos that entails.  One very interesting wrinkle in the formula is that in addition to the tapes/monsters having health bars, the humans also have their own health bar, hidden under that of their tape as if the tape’s HP was a shield meter.  If attacks overkill your tape, the excess damage is dealt to your own HP, and if you lose all of your HP then you’re done regardless of how many tapes you have left.  It’s an important extra resource to keep in mind, and the same is true for (most) NPC cassette-users: if you deal enough damage to their own health bar you can defeat them without having to get through all of their tapes.  Until the late/post-game, that is, where your human foes are invulnerable beneath their tapes while you very much are not, and that feels very unfair.  I also find it strange that there’s no item for restoring your human HP—campfires to rest at are fairly plentiful, but it’s still somewhat odd.

Each monster has one type, and rather than limited uses for each of its moves, both characters generate AP every turn they can then spend on certain attacks.  Moves also each have a type, but while there is a same type attack bonus (STAB), it’s not as significant as it is in Pokémon.  Naturally, each type has advantages and disadvantages over other types, but!  Weakness and resistance is also toned way down, and is not your primary goal when using type advantage. Type interaction is far, far more nuanced in this game, involving the entire spectrum of ailments and buffs and debuffs, and even changing the target’s type.  For example: Water extinguishes Fire, temporarily reducing its attack power.  Using Fire on Water creates steam, which heals Water over the next few turns.  Fire also melts Ice, changing it to a Water type for a few turns.  And this is all just barely scratching the surface!  A chart showing these interactions is given to you in-game, which is nice; more than that, whenever you discover a new interaction for the first time, a tutorial box pops up and elaborates on the effects, as well as providing an explanation of why (extinguish, steam, melt, etc) that goes a long way in keeping track of them all.  While a fantastic feature, it can get repetitive at times: the mystical Astral type has identical interactions with all four classical elements, and despite all 4 being mentioned the first time, you’ll still get that same text box explaining that interaction 4 times.  Types range from the usual suspects (Fire, Water, Air) to some very…surprising choices (Glass, Plastic, Glitter), plus Typeless moves that take on the type of the monster using them.  Moves are treated as stickers applied to your tapes, and can be peeled and moved at your discretion; you obtain them either from leveling up a tape, or from shops and chests and drops.  Leveling up monsters (from 0 to 5 stars) also increases their max AP and how many move slots they have, and I think slightly increases their stats?  Your human characters, though, have their own stats which increase as you level them up from 1 to…well I’m not sure exactly but it exceeds 100 at least.  I couldn’t tell you the exact mathematical way the two sets of stats interact, but it’s a neat idea, strengthening yourself as well as the tapes you collect.  Your partners gain experience even if they’re not with you, and thank God they do, otherwise it’d be a pain to spend proper time with each and every one of them.

There’s one other major battle mechanic unlocked at the end of the tutorial segment: Fusion.  After filling up a meter, your avatar and partner can fuse their monster forms together to unleash hell upon your enemies.  Monster sprites were made modular so that the game could automatically generate fusions on its own, meaning that there are in fact over 16000 different fusions you can make, and your bestiary will keep a list of them all. (Thank God there are absolutely no incentives for filling that list!) Fusing will also cause whatever music track is playing to gain vocals, which is a fun way to up the presentation factor.  Your relationship with your partner is key to Fusion: its measured from 0 to 5 hearts, and you need at least 1 to be able to perform Fusion at all.  At 2 hearts, you gain a super move.  Every level gained increases the stats of your fusion as well.  It’s a fun mechanic to mess around with, even if a lot of the fusions can look a bit derpy—small price for the sheer flexibility of the system.  I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that Pokémon fans have been enamored with fusion since at least B2W2; I doubt it’s coincidence that Cassette Beasts chose to implement it as a Mega Evolution-esque gimmick.  Once you get to the late/post-game, the NPC fights also gain access to Fusion, giving you a chance to figure out ways to play around the feature from the other side.

Like I said before, this game greatly expands upon a number of fan-favorite concepts from Pokémon, and I’m pleased to say that extends all the way to Shinies.  Every monster has a small chance to be a “bootleg”, with not only a different color scheme, but a different type.  There are a total of 14 types in the game.  Do you see where this is going?  Every single monster has 14 variants with different types and color palettes (even their original type, weirdly enough?).  And every single one has a page in their bestiary dedicated solely to tracking how many of these variants you’ve found.  Probably nightmarish for a completionist, but holy shit is that insanely cool!  Multiple palettes to choose from instead of being stuck with just one that might suck!  And they have mechanical differences to incentivize recording them beyond simply collector’s value!  Fantastic!  There are also various ways to increase your odds, all the way up to 20% in specific cases, which I imagine will entice quite a few players into the hobby of bootleg hunting.

Let’s see, what other mechanical topics can I cover before moving onto more story-related stuff?  Field moves are a thing—you obtain them by recording a specific monster, and in the case of some like the glide you’ll partially transform when it’s activated.  I think it strikes a nice balance: it’s dependent on what you yourself have actually recorded, but doesn’t ask you to dedicate move or party slots to it.  Their approach to evolution feels simplified: when you rest after getting a tape to 5 stars, you’ll be prompted to “remaster” it if applicable, rather than having to guess which level you should be aiming for.  There are a few wrinkles when it comes to branching evolutions, but only a few, and mostly come down to either having a certain move on the monster to change its remaster, or, after choosing to remaster, being given two options right there.  Those options can be a bit vague, though; I looked into it ahead of time, and if I had gone with the option my gut opted for when remastering my starter, I would have gotten the less cool-looking monster.  I also want to mention the loading screens; you know how The Sims lists random stuff on its loading screens?  They do something similar here, except they’re all related to one of the monsters: “Directing Traffikrab”, “Tuning Kittelly”, “Sharpening Ripterra’s knifeclaws”.  It’s a little thing but I find it charming, and perhaps a bit devious in making players curious to track down these various monsters being teased.  Oh, and selecting the Flee option will tell you your percent chance to flee, and even if you fail you can still choose to blackout if you really just want to get out of there.  There’s also a Mystery Gift analogue that’s been used to distribute various bootlegs, and things I haven’t even tried like the “Gym Pass” to customize your player character's stats.  Beating the game also unlocks customization options for future playthroughs like randomizers and permadeath.  There’s a LOT.  It’s a very packed game.

Right then, story.  There are two BIG big questlines, one of which being a setup similar to collecting Gym Badges: there are 12 special NPCs all over the map who give you a stamp when you defeat them, but rather than specializing in a certain type, they tend to have a favorite tactic they employ in battle.  One of the easiest to find specializes in moves that create defensive walls; one particularly annoying one prioritizes controlling accuracy and evasion; there’s even one who specializes in just one particular monster with an elaborate signature move.  It’s perhaps not an enormous difference, but again, it’s nuanced.  There is also a “Champion” fight at the end, but I won’t get into that.  More importantly, the questline that the game is largely centered around and leads to the end credits, is the hunt for hidden subway stations that house powerful, eldritch boss monsters known as Archangels.  Apparently, when humans first wound up in New Wirral, they didn’t know what to make of the monsters and tended to refer to them as angels or demons.  That fell out of fashion as the community came to understand monsters better.  The Archangels, however, cannot be understood by human minds.  Each one is drawn/animated in its own style that clashes with the world around them—your partners all say that it hurts just to look at them, and just being in the stations makes them feel uneasy.  A personal favorite is the claymation skeleton with a vertical mouth, to give you some idea of what to expect.  These fights have their own unique mechanics, and the Archangels tend to hit very, very hard; if you do survive, some floating guy in a red coat with a 3D rendered reflective triangle for a head shows up and absorbs the boss (concerning), and you’re given part of a riddle that will eventually lead you to the final dungeon.  The vibes are incredibly at odds with the typical overworld gameplay, and I mean that in THE best possible way.  The Archangels were a real highlight for me.

In addition to those, every partner you can recruit has their own questline, which can range from a single fight all the way to finding 6 hidden locations around the map with their own substantial battles to win.  The girl who finds you at the start of the game, Kayleigh, is your first partner, first having a quest that’s essentially “finish the tutorial” before switching to a more personal quest that involves dealing with an actual cult.  You’re also very early on pushed in the direction of Eugene, who has that long, long quest finding hidden locations all over the map.  Slow-going as it is, though, it’s about fighting off a horde of capitalist vampires who are trying to establish a housing market, so.  That’s fucking hilarious.  But it has stiff competition in Felix’s quest, where you follow his middle school OC brought to life as she journeys to four sacred altars to slay their guardians.  That’s right, Felix’s edgy anime OC, an angel demon catgirl ninja named Kuneko, is also up and about in New Wirral and he is mortified by this discovery.  Excellent questline, no notes.  Another partner you’ll run into fairly early is Meredith; her quest involves navigating a dungeon you probably won’t get to for a good while, though it’s a solid dungeon when you do get to it.  There’s also Viola, the character from Twelfth Night by William fucking Shakespeare, whose search for her brother takes her into a haunted shipwreck to face a villain from a different Shakespeare story.  New Wirral is very eclectic.  But perhaps least expected of all is Barkley the dog.  One of your playable partners is a dog.  His quest is the shortest and an utterly fucking brutal punch to the emotional gut.  Anyway I like all these folks, they’ve got personality and endearing character development that touches on some personally relevant topics.  Aside from Barkley, you can romance any partner after maxing out your relationship level, and that was a tough choice to make.  The Gym Leader analogues are sufficiently quirky for their role, and you meet a handful of other perfectly fine recurring characters—including a few who are only encountered in post-game quests.  If I’m really being strict here, I don’t think I’d say any of this game’s characters have jumped the ranks to new blorbo status, but take that as you will.

The post-game has an interesting structure to it.  You don’t unlock any new areas, not really, but after engaging with the newly-unlocked sidequest board for a bit, you gain access to a few longer questlines.  There are two that eventually come together which each feature their own new characters, one following the direct consequences of actions you took earlier in the story, and one that’s about someone new being dropped onto New Wirral, showing that the world keeps turning even if your particular story is over.  There’s also another questline which delves even deeper into the background lore of the game, and that’s something I’ll never get enough of.  The repeating sidequests are brief and rewarding enough to from a satisfying gameplay loop to disguise the grind, and I’m only just now considering an extended break after nearly 70 hours total gameplay (which I would guess is around half post-game).

Oh, I should also talk more about the bestiary and completing it!  Each monster has the standard flavor text and habitat listing, plus that page that tracks bootlegs, and a list of how many you’ve encountered/defeated.  However, when you raise a tape to 5 star level, you also unlock an additional page of flavor text, usually something related to the inspiration for the monster’s design.  While heavily scaled back, having this sort of progression in the bestiary reminds me of doing research in Pokémon Legends Arceus, and I very much appreciate that.  Going that far is optional, of course—really, doing anything involving the bestiary is optional.  But the game does nudge you in that direction and reward you several times along the way.  When you first encounter the “professor” character, he gives you a series of quests that just ask you to record one of the monsters found in the central region of the map.  Easy!  From there, he gives you a handful of resources and tapes every time you hit a new milestone of 10 monsters recorded.  In the post-game you can also randomly get quests asking you to get a certain monster to 5 star, or perform a specific fusion, or use a specific monster to fight the professor’s assistant, all slowly, slowly nudging you in the direction of completion.  But what’s really interesting is that you don’t necessarily have to fully complete the bestiary to get the grand prize (this game’s equivalent to the Master Ball).  Cassette Beasts originally had 120 monsters.  A later update raised that to 128, and some time after that, they released a DLC that added a handful of unnumbered monsters.  You get the Master Tape by recording 128 monster species.  So, if you record a bunch of the DLC monsters, you can “complete” the bestiary without tracking down every last monster in the base game.  If you do go beyond that, the completion percentage will actually go over 100%, which is so weird to see, but in a cool way.  It seems the intention was specifically to not make completion increasingly difficult as new updates are added, which is honestly pretty rad!  And, again, though I appreciate the bestiary remembering all of your fusions, I’m so glad there’s nothing incentivizing you to from every last one of them.  Same goes for bootlegs.  So, does this mean future updates/DLC with even more monsters are on the way?  No clue.  But they are working on a multiplayer update expected to release soon! (I don’t have Switch Online so I won’t be able to do much with that lol.)

I did purchase the DLC right away; I was confident I would enjoy the game enough I would want it eventually, and buying them both together was slightly cheaper than buying them separately. (The bundle also comes with a cosmetics pack but it’s nothing that interests me personally.) After progressing through the main quest enough that you become able to access the final dungeon, a small boat washes ashore, and you’re able to ride it to a dock in the middle of the ocean housing some sort of carnival.  The ringmistress asks you to explore the three major attractions and beat their power sources, the “Infernal Engines”, into submission.  Despite being a small area it’s still just as open-ended as New Wirral, an effort I appreciate.  You can tackle the attractions in any order you want, even leave in the middle of one to go do another if you prefer.  The place is also populated by several new monsters to record, including one of my personal favorites, a ghostly book monster named Hauntome.  It’s a few mini-dungeons, some solid bosses capping them off, and then one last boss, with a loose story in the background that has some connections to the main story but isn’t anything essential.  I don’t know if I’d go as far as to call it a must-buy, but it is fun, and inexpensive, and more Cassette Beasts.  Up to you.

There are two major themes I picked up on during my playthrough: community and art.  The people who’ve ended up in New Wirral, in spite of coming from countless different dimensions, have all banded together to support each other and however many newcomers show up; they don’t even ask for anything in return, they just value life and want to be sure people are cared for.  The theme that plays in Harbourtown is transparent about this: “we’re all in the same ship […] but at least we’re together […] I don’t know you but we’ll make the most of / wherever we are now”.  Fusion is about literally joining with someone to create something stronger than either of you could do on your own.  There are even some genuinely scary twisted manifestations of this idea, like the Mournington cult and the truth behind the Landkeepers—people crave community, and there are some who will use that to their own advantage.  It’s baked into the motivations of all your partners, and, switching gears, most of them are heavily connected to art too!  Felix is an artist learning he doesn’t need to be ashamed of his past, less “polished” work.  Kayleigh, after addressing her regrets with Mournington, reconnects with her old hobby of playing guitar.  Meredith actually takes things in a different direction: she used to spend all of her time consuming vast quantities of art to the point that it cut her off from her community, showing that you still need to exercise moderation when it comes to art.  Viola is a character from another, pre-existing work of art!  The Archangels play into this as well: one of the biggest things setting them apart is the way they clash with the rest of the game’s art style, and their nature as incarnations of humankind’s ideas is a delightfully malevolent spin on the whole thing.

Taking these two themes together, Cassette Beasts presents a thesis on our responsibility to our fellow people and how we can all find our own way to fulfill it, with a particular focus on art and how it broadly conveys our ideas and inspires change.  The final boss fight punctuates this beautifully when, after Aleph destroys your cassette player, Morgante awakens and tells you that you don’t truly need the cassettes.  “THE ABILITY TO MANIFEST YOUR WILL TO ALTER REALITY…TO CHANGE YOUR WORLD, AND YOURSELVES...THAT LIES WITHIN YOU.”  Then she and ALL of your partners fuse with your avatar, and through your combined might, you strike down the malevolent forces in your way, secure a path home, and bring a huge, fundamental change to New Wirral as its inhabitants now have the option to decide if they should stay or go.  It’s an extremely satisfying ending, even if it does see you and your partners going their separate ways.  But, who knows?  Given a few tidbits from the post-game, it sounds like we just might get to meet them again someday.

Again, I had a really, really great time with Cassette Beasts and highly recommend it.  It’s charming, its fun, and it’s only $20!  Maybe don’t get it on Switch, though, not if you can’t stand frequent load times.

And, just to brag about my bootlegs a little:

-The random free bootleg from Harbourtown was a Glass-type Dandylion for me

-The freebie Ritual Candle netted me a Water-type Glaistain!

-The post-game bootleg starter, I got a Poison-type Candevil

-Was able to use the mailbox to get a Fire-type Undyin

-And obviously there’s Barkley’s Ice-type Pombomb

-The first one I encountered purely by chance was an Astral-type Jellyton

-Air-type Jellyton

-Ice-type Carniviper

-Astral-type Carniviper

-Fire-type Traffikrab

-Plant-type Squirey

-Ice-type Boltam

-Lightning-type Snoopin

-Poison-type Kirikuri

-Glass-type Scubalrus

-Glass-type Spooki-onna

-Lightning-type Dominoth

-A Fire-type Piksie

-A Glitter-type Picksie

[her-satanic-wiles]

Masterlist

In the eerie moonlit forest, you are ensnared in a nightmarish game of hide and seek with the malevolent entity Dewdrop, whose demonic force has targeted you. The chilling objective is to survive until sunrise, seeking refuge in the Ministry’s cabin deep within the sinister woods. With the dawn as your only salvation, you must navigate the haunted forest, outwit the relentless demon, and reach safety before Dewdrop claims you as his prize. The race against time intensifies, making the night unforgiving as you strive to survive until sunrise in this twisted pursuit. Yet months after your first encounter with Dewdrop's demonic form, you convinced your lover to let a second hunt begin. But, in the shadow of night, who is truly hunting whom?

As this is dark fiction, I'm choosing to rate it 21+. Please respect my rating. Please heed the trigger warnings in each part! Thank you.

Part I ⛧ Part II

🔞 MDNI 🔞

WARNING

This is a work of fiction based in the extreme horror category and should be treated as such. I do not condone the actions the characters make, nor am I actively encouraging others to participate in such actions in everyday life. It also does not reflect the personalities of the performers who play these characters.

The purpose of this fic is to shock, scare, entertain, and make readers entirely uncomfortable. If you are not in a headspace where you can safely read and enjoy this story, or even if the trigger warnings make you uncomfortable, I highly recommend and encourage you not to read this. Your mental health is more important than a work of fiction.

If you are struggling to come to terms with past trauma, please talk to someone and seek professional help.

You deserve to feel safe, loved and cared for. Thank you.

Commissions are open! ⛧ Memberships get early access!

No bound copies, translations, or other derivative works of this fic may be created or distributed without express permission from the author, for monetary gain or public use.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

I have no idea if you're still answering anything despite your hiatus and constant uploads, but could you recommend any fics that include drinking games, or just getting to know each other hang outs with the squad (not just John and Sherlock)? I love the friendships!

Hey Lovely!

Ah, I'm done my 2 week hiatus, and even then I was, as you said, still fairly active LOL. I just needed a break from feeling obligated to get new lists out right away, is all! :)

I do have a few lists you might enjoy:

Games

Games Pt. 2

Drunk and Drinking Johnlock

Drunk and Drinking Johnlock Pt 2

Those are pretty broad lists, so here's the exact fics from them you may prefer. If Anyone has any they want to suggest, as always, please do!

DRINKING GAMES / HANGING OUT

Never Have I Ever by Hannelore-Grace(T, 2,073 w., 1 Ch. || Humour, Friendship, Drinking Games) – In which the Yarders, Sherlock, and John play the time-honored drinking game.

Bored Games by patster223(K+, 2,769 w., 1 Ch. || Cluedo / Board Games, Friendship, Humour) – Sherlock is bored and John decides that they should play Cluedo. In retrospect, it was a truly awful decision.

Paranoia by Ewebie(M, 3,789 w., 1 Ch. || Humour, Drinking Games, Scotland Yard Gang, Jealous / Possessive Sherlock, Inappropriate Questions, Embarrassed John, Matchmakers) – John and Sherlock join the gang of Scotland Yard for a night of drinking, and it gets a bit personal and revealing.

Right Foot Red by Irrevocably_Sherlocked(E, 3,089 w., 1 Ch. || First Kiss/Time, Board Games, Frottage, Masturbation, PWP, Friends to Lovers, Come as Lube, Come Marking) – ...ok, it’s juvenile, but at least it’s a game where touching is allowed. And if something more were to happen, well, John can’t say he’d be too upset about that. “What are the rules of this game?” Sherlock asks, the disdain evident on the word ‘game’. “I spin, you do as I say.” John thinks he sees a slight widening of those pale grey eyes at that, just for a fraction of a second, before it is shut down. Oh, this is interesting, he thinks.

The Hand You're Dealt by MapleleafCameo(M, 9,806 w., 6 Ch. || Humour, Friendship, Card Games, Alternate First Meeting, No Slash / Platonic Relationship) – John wouldn't have minded so much if only Sherlock would stop introducing him as 'John Watson. I won him in a poker game.’

The Hand You're Dealt by MapleleafCameo(M, 10,624 w., 6 Ch. || Humour, Friendship, Card Games, Alternate First Meeting, No Slash / Platonic Relationship) – John wouldn't have minded so much if only Sherlock would stop introducing him as 'John Watson. I won him in a poker game.’

Never Have I Ever by hudders-and-hiddles(E, 10,655 w., 1 Ch. || Pining Sherlock, First Kiss / Time, Drinking Games, Love Confessions, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers) – John and Sherlock tag along for the Met's weekly night out, where the evening's chosen drinking game is Never Have I Ever. Sherlock is reluctant to join in until he realizes he can learn all kinds of new things about John, but he forgets that John might learn a thing or two about him as well.

Out of the Woods by SilentAuror(E, 20,471 w., 1 Ch. || Post S4, Romance, Slow Burn, Flirting, Drunk Sex, Practical Jokes, POV Sherlock, Bottomlock, Possessive John, Pining Sherlock, Frustrated Wanking, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, First Kiss/Time, Virgin Sherlock, Love Confessions, Soft Sherlock, Dancing, Bum Appreciation, Hanging out with the Yard) – Sherlock is fairly certain that John has taken to flirting with him of late, but can't be entirely certain of it. At least, not until a case takes them into a forest, along with Lestrade's team and something happens that will change everything about their lives...

MARKED FOR LATER

Sherlock Learns How To Play Strip Poker (and loses badly)  by wendymarlowe (E, 5,127 w., 3 Ch. || Strip Games, Strip Poker, Blindfolds, First Time) – Sherlock has deleted the rules to poker, so he demands John teach him. Strip poker, because why not. And blindfolded, because John refuses to play without Sherlock having a handicap to counteract his giant brain. The fact that John can now ogle Sherlock's increasingly-nude body is just a bonus, of course. Part 33 of John and Sherlock's Kinky First Times

In a manner of speaking I'm dead by fellshish (T, 6,372 w., 1 Ch. || Halloween, Mystrade, Angst With Happy Ending, PIning, First Kiss, Drunk Idiots, Drinking Games, Humour) – Sherlock and John accidentally dress in matching outfits for Lestrade's Halloween party. Things only get worse: someone pushes them to play 'Never have I ever'.

Spin The Bottle by helloliriels (M, 8,120 w., 6 Ch. || Drinking Games, Calls/Phones, Strip Games, Truth or Dare) – Have you ever played this game before, Sherlock?

The Mole by ChrisCalledMeSweetie (T, 18,378 w., 8 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Reality TV AU ||  Mystery, Adventure, Games, First Kiss/Time, Humour, Romance) – Ten strangers — Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Martha Hudson, Molly Hooper, Jim Moriarty, Greg Lestrade, Sally Donovan, Philip Anderson, Mary Morstan, and Irene Adler — must work as a team to win money on a reality TV show hosted by Mycroft Holmes. The twist? One of them is a mole, hired by the producers to sabotage the game.

The Last Drop by Phyona (M, 20,185 w. || Pre-Slash, UST, Drinking & Talking, Drinking Games, Spooning, Witty Banter, Intense Conversations) – Sherlock and John fend off boredom with a night of heavy drinking. Part 1 of the The First and Last Trilogy series

[jennaflare]

Nextfest Game Demos You Should Try

I've been playing a ton of demos during nextfest (going until 10/21 if you want to try any of these yourself!) and figured I'd spread the good word about some games worth checking out. Naturally, all these demos are free. I trawled mostly through the "story-driven" section, but there's a range of genres I tried. If you like games like Disco Elysium, Pentiment, In Stars and Time, or Night in the Woods, we might have similar taste! (Here's a longer list of games I've enjoyed)

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector

The sequel to the fantastic sci-fi RPG Citizen Sleeper (which if you haven't played it yet, what are you doing! go! play it!). This game is a Discolike that has its own identity and mechanics. Big emphasis on space capitalism and how awful it is. This one introduces an actual crew to the familiar gameplay of the previous game, which I'm very excited about. I love the idea of actually having my own ship + people aboard it who are a continuous presence in my game. Check! It! Out!

The Rise of the Golden Idol

An extremely good puzzle game where you collect clues and fill in the blanks (literally). I still haven't played the first one (only played the demo for that too) but man! The game mechanics are fun and I love the art soo much. I love solving puzzles and I love how these are decently challenging without feeling like I'm beating my head against a wall.

The Scarlet Deer Inn

An adventure game inspired by Slavic folklore where you play as a mother and innkeeper. All the characters are embroidered!! It's so cool!!! Visually, it evokes Ghibli and Pentiment. The story quickly took a dark turn in the demo, and I am extremely intrigued to see where this project goes. Highly highly recommend checking this one out.

Keep Driving

A lowkey management RPG with great pixel graphics and fun music. You're a young person on a road trip, so you need to maintain your car, work odd jobs to buy gas, and most importantly, have fun! I can easily see myself losing entire days to this game. Fun little gameplay loop. Give it a try!

Mushroom Musume

Raise a mushroom daughter in this pixel RPG! Just in the demo, there's something like 30 endings. I've played through three times and gotten three different mushroom daughters, and the final version (out later this year) will have double the content that's in the demo. The art is great and the game is well-written. I'm going to keep playing this demo until I've exhausted it!

Loco Motive

Point-and-click murder mystery comedy on a train. Great voice acting, fun & bouncy pixel art! Had a great time playing this one. Not a lot to say about it aside from it's fun and made me laugh.

Urban Myth Dissolution Center

Ooooo it's spooky! Another pixel game with really, really fantastic art. You're a new investigator for the Urban Myth Dissolution Center and it's your job to look into rumors of urban legends. This one's also a point-and-click investigation game, though with a bent towards horror. Really looking forward to getting to play the full release for this one.

The League of the Hustlers

A point-and-click adventure game set in 1700s France. You play as the members of a group of rebels who rob & murder nobility, specifically those tied to an organization called the Sons of Sun (I think they said that was the name anyway). I'm intrigued by this one! The demo was short and some of the mechanics are stupid difficult (looking at you, swordfighting minigame), but I was able to skip the section after a few failed attempts. There was very little in the way of instruction on the minigames, so I hope they add that in. I like the art style.

The Edge of Allegoria

Pixel turn-based RPG that takes inspiration from classics of the genre. It goes a little too hard on delivering on the steam store's page promise of "this ain't no f@#%ing kid's game" imo. Like ok I get it, you say fuck a lot and murder squirrels. That said I did have fun with the mechanics, and the humor could probably work for some people. Feels like the kind of game I really would have liked between the ages of 16 and 20 because it was "edgy" and "not for kids." ymmv.

Button Man

Set in 1920s Nova Scotia, you play as an enforcer for a local gangster. I love the vintage comic book art style with the halftones and comic book panels. The controls were a little weird (for some reason I couldn't use WASD for movement) and there's like two different interact buttons and they don't explain either? Didn't get to see too much of the story, but I had fun with it.

My Party Needs an Alchemist

Extremely cute. You play as an alchemist struggling to gather ingredients in a dangerous world. Luckily, you find a party to help you out, you just have to keep them alive! I have been craving an alchemy game that I actually think is fun (aka something that breaks up the monotony of making potions with story or some other minigame or whatever) and this looks very promising! The characters I've met so far are sweet and the art style is adorable. Looking forward to the release for this one.

Rooster

Another cute one. You play as Rooster of the Chinese zodiac, sent back to ancient China to learn a lesson. About being a decent person, I think? The art is cute and the music is nice. It's a very casual experience and feels like it's meant for a younger audience.

Polismos

An ancient Greek citybuilder. It seems very intricate and could potentially be fun! The UI is a bit busy, but that's kind of how citybuilders tend to be. I didn't play too much because I always WANT to like citybuilders but I never find them all that fun. Worth a look if it's your genre, though.

Demos I played so you don't have to

Divinastros - Card game using tarot suit cards & zodiac influences. You're fighting against Olympus (often mispelled in the game as "Olimpus," though the misspelling is inconsistent). I never really figured out how to play because it felt like the rules and objectives were poorly explained. Mediocre art and the game is rife with misspellings and grammatical errors I would have overlooked if the game had been fun. Maybe you'll get the hang of it, though.

Grimfield Mystery - This one was sooo disappointing. The art & vibe of the trailer made me think of Gravity Falls, but the gameplay was clunky, poorly explained, and not really fun. Maybe the full release will improve upon what's here but for now, I don't recommend it, and I'm not wishlisting this one.

Ad Agency Simulator - Another in these weird specific simulator genre. Fun enough, if that's the kind of thing you like. Drag-n-drop ad maker thing. Possibly uses AI art but I really didn't look that hard or play that much so. shrug.

[firethekitty]

okay you reblog a lot of albums ive never heard of and am curious about but it’s hard to get myself to sit down and listen to a whole album so please please, Top Ten-ish Songs To Get To Know You kind of list? pretty please?

i literally daydream about people asking me stuff like this LOL. so this is hardly a comprehensive list of all my favorite songs ever but here are some songs that are really important to me!!! this got REALLY long so i put it under a read more

1. meet me in the woods by lord huron

my absolute favorite song Ever like of all time. means everything to me. i could listen to this every single day and never get tired of it. INSANELY fun, incredible vibes, makes me want to go outside and shoot a beam into somebody. lord huron is an Experience. all their albums are concept albums and there’s actually a fair amount of lore going on. on the physical CD for strange trails it actually has the characters’ names next to their respective songs

for meet me in the woods, it sounds very upbeat and happy, but listen closely and you’ll realize it’s not quite as it seems… in-universe, it’s narrated by a woman named francine lu, and the song has the same chords as the first track of the album (and another of her songs) “love like ghosts”. she also narrates “the night we met”, easily LH’s most famous song. francine lu is not having a normal one. what’s her problem? listen to find out…..

2. crystals by of monsters and men

this was my favorite song ever for about 6 years until meet me in the woods ranked just a tiny bit higher. sooo fucking fun, itches a part of my brain that’s only accessible via icelandic stomp & holler. makes me very happy and always cheers me up! of monsters and men was the first new (at the time) band i ever really discovered on my own without hearing about from my parents or other people, and i’ve been listening to them ever since (almost 13 years!!) they are incredibly important to me and i highly recommend all of their albums

3. sunblind by fleet foxes

relatively new but became a favorite as soon as i heard it. this is also one of the most Me songs i can think of on top of just being so fucking gorgeous and raw and heartfelt. this song is a tribute to deceased musicians who influenced robin pecknold (the lead singer and songwriter for fleet foxes) and how their music is pretty much the reason he’s even alive today. my favorite lines are “only way that i made it for a long time / but i’m loud and alive, singing you all night”. this entire album is sincerely a masterpiece and i highly recommend listening to it all. fleet foxes have really beautiful and unique lyrics, they remind me of mitski’s lyrics in that they’re very poetic and personal and emotional but still subjective enough that you can connect them to your own life

4. this must be the place by talking heads

specifically the stop making sense live recording, which i still half-refuse to believe is a live recording because it’s just THAT fucking good. whenever someone says david byrne can’t sing i direct them here, because he does sincerely have an incredible voice and he simply Chooses to sing weirdly bc he’s a quirked up white boy with autistic swag.

this is just a really sweet and romantic song from a band that otherwise stays far away from love songs and it works extremely well. this entire album is fucking incredible and easily the best live album of all time. half of them are BETTER than the studio recordings, and you can also watch david byrne leap straight up backwards like a full 4 feet

highly recommend watching stop making sense just the entire film

5. vein of stars by the flaming lips

back in 2014, i watched a very beloved streamer play a game called “space engine”, in which you explore as much of the universe as we’ve theorized to exist. this was a little before copyright laws got so fucking strict on youtube and twitch, so mr. vinny vinesauce could play any music he wanted while planet-hopping. one of those songs was vein of stars, and it’s been one of my absolute favorites ever since.

the flaming lips are definitely an acquired taste. wayne coyne does Not have a very good voice and it can get extremely grating, especially to someone who hasn't heard them before. but when it works, god it works. this song is so pretty and nostalgic to me, always calms me down whenever i’m In A Mood. it’s nihilistic but not in a depressing way, more like “yeah maybe we aren’t here for any particular reason, maybe there’s nothing after this life. there’s nothing we can do about that, so why worry?”. very peaceful. REQUIRED listening when stargazing

6. good old-fashioned lover boy by queen

one of the first songs i ever truly hyperfixated on. unfortunately i listened to it SO fucking much it kind of ruined it for me, but i still do really love it. i may not listen to it that often anymore but i felt obligated to put it here bc it had a Profound Effect on my developing brain

7. too much time by john vanderslice

the year is 2012 and you're halfway through the newest episode of the hit podcast welcome to nightvale. cecil announces the weather. little do you know that you will carry the next 3 and a half minutes with you for the rest of your life. this one is just absurdly nostalgic to me (and not to mention incredibly vash the stampede coded). beloved song!!!

8. waltz for zizi & the real folk blues by the seatbelts & mai yamane

well it’s no secret that i think cowboy bebop has the greatest anime soundtrack of all time and one of THE greatest soundtracks of all time Ever. this is just an objective fact actually.

i believe this is because the seatbelts and specifically the composer yoko kanno studied real jazz, blues, and bebop to make the ost. like it's not just "jazz-flavored", there is genuine, deep respect and you can hear it in every single track. waltz for zizi gives me physical goosebumps every single time i listen to it, it's absolutely perfect. i've made it a ritual to listen to every time i visit the shore at night and go stargazing. sincerely transcendent experience

9. cuckoo song by cosmo sheldrake

hhhhhrrr this entire fucking albummmm hhhhhhhrhhhhrhhhaauuuuUUUUOOOGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

back during my final semesters of college, i had to take a course for art degree seniors. we’d pick something we were passionate about, make art for it, and it would be hung up for a week in the exhibition room. i chose birds of course, but wake-up calls inspired me to shift that choice to something more important than just random funny bird drawings. i focused on bird species that have gone extinct within the last 60 years because wake-up calls is made almost entirely out of endangered bird songs.

i’ll be honest i can barely listen to this song or anything on the album because i WILL literally start sobbing like in real life. cuckoo song in particular just makes me start crying every single time i listen to it, it’s like a magic spell. it’s not even necessarily sad but just viscerally bittersweet. the art for the album is made by flora wallace. here’s the spotify canvas i made a gif just for you 👍

10. take you back by orville peck

and finally………….. the song that made me realize that i actually DO love real country music a lot, and that the derivative “bro country” sub-genre that developed in the early 2000s has absolutely destroyed any positive opinion of country music in society. we NEED to go back, and orville peck is more than doing his part. this is the first song i ever heard by him and it's just so goddamn fun. i am completely unable to not sing along to this when it comes on

not only do i highly recommend orville peck but also any country music from the 50s and 60s, especially marty robbins, charley pride, conway twitty, and of course mrs. dolly parton. and later country rock/folk rock bands like america and creedence clearwater revival. it’s SO good i’m so serious

orville peck is the only modern country singer i can think of who's not afraid to bring back the harmonicas and whistling and steel guitars and whip cracks and yeehaws. it's fantastic. he's also gay and an outspoken trans ally. i believe this gives him the power to revive country music from the dead 🙏

[extraneousdominomask]

What I did on my summer vacation

As you've no doubt gathered by now, for the last two years I've been playing various old games with my wife. I often used to post about that adventure here, and then I kinda stopped. I feel bad about that, especially when it comes to the two excellent, free indie games I had fully intended to spotlight. So here's a quick rundown!

Celeste, OJONMRAG, Double Cross

Three great indies I got in the same bundle. Celeste needs no introduction, and I've spoken about it before. I don't know if I ever mentioned Oh Jeez Oh No My Rabbits Are Gone!!!, but it's a fun puzzle game with cute visuals and surprisingly catchy music. And speaking of those two things, Double Cross is a hidden gem of a game. We really enjoyed its eclectic cast, and still sometimes quote the zany catgirl in particular. ("All cats are tyrants, Zahra.")

Manic Miners

Lego Rock Raiders was a toy line in the 1990s, which earned its own video game tie-in. I remember it fondly... as did one absolute hero, who remastered the dang thing as a non-profit passion project. Manic Miners is available via Itch for free - because it's a fan game! He had to ask very nicely to do this at all! - and it completely revitalizes what was an engaging but flawed fuzzy memory from my childhood. As well as adding several quality of life improvements to make the game flow better, cut content is restored and entirely new features are added in, such as a character creator. If you want an accessible game that can provide the sweet, sweet satisfaction of collecting every scrap of resources from a initially messy environment, I highly recommend this.

inFamous 2: Festival of Blood

An important thing to know about me is that I hate vampires. I don't like 'em and I don't like looking at 'em, so I usually avoid and and all vampiric media, even if they're getting slaughtered. For that reason, despite loving inFamous 2, I never checked out its DLC side-adventure Festival of Blood... until now. (Making a new purchase on the PS3 digital store was hard, but not impossible. Thanks for complaining every time they try to shut it down, everybody!) It's a short experience, but a lot of fun, thanks to the wise decision to let Zeke narrate the whole bullshit stor- I mean, thrilling tale of true heroism. I found Bloody Mary to be an entertainingly nasty villain, despite my biases.

Psychonauts 2

Psychonauts is one of the video games ever, no question. Expectations were lofty for its much-delayed sequel. If anything, I think I prefer this one! The core (the gameplay, visuals, hilarious writing, and Peter McConnell's consistently excellent music) all remain unchanged, with new mechanics, some quality of life improvements, and an impressive voice cast all added on top. Jack Black and Elijah Wood are both in this game, and they're both great!

Pokémon White

this one kinda sucked ngl

Halo: Combat Evolved

Mostly, I'm showing my wife a game and not the other way around. There was one major franchise that I had almost entirely missed, however - aside from a few free-form skirmishes at parties - that she fondly remembers. This summer, we both experienced the first Halo together, and in short: yeah, I can see why this changed the course of the industry singlehandedly. It still feels great to play, even with my wife assuring me that the sequel is a big improvement from these already solid bones. I frankly don't relish slaughtering the fleeing, crying Grunts, since we as a society have moved on considerably when it comes to the rights of funny little guys. But it feels great to shoot aleins and Cortana is my friend. Exactly as advertised.

Jak II: Renegade

this one definitely sucked, holy shit. I remember this being a good game. I remembered incorrectly.

Shantae (2002)

I've played two of the more recent Shantae games, and I found them charming. But how does the original hold up? Pretty well, honestly! It's far from perfect - the day and night cycle really adds nothing beyond referencing Castlevania - but the music and visuals are truly impressive for the original GameBoy. I'm gonna be thinking about Shantae's cute little 8-bit dances for a while.

Undertale Yellow

Like anyone who listens to a lot of Toby Fox's music over YouTube, I've seen my fair share of dubious OCs and "epic fights" floating at the corner of my vision. With that in mind, I went into UY with managed expectations, despite the positive buzz. Could a fangame really match the unique energy and charm of one of the greatest independent games of our generation?

Uh... yeah! I'm as surprised as anyone else, but everything from the music to the gameplay to the writing was really bang-on. It's not a flawless experience - the El Bailador fight needed reworking, it was WAY harder than other, more impactful fights - but the eight years of passion very much shine through. If you're a fan of UT/DR and need something to tide you over as we all wait for Chapters 3+, I fully recommend this. It's free!!!!

Spyro the Dragon (1998)

Finished this just yesterday! I got the remaster when it came out, but - no offense - nothing beats the blocky low-poly charm of the original. This was my first time replaying it in several years, and for the first time, it felt small. Levels I remember struggling with posed no challenge any more. But I think that only speaks to how many times I replayed this lovely little adventure. Also, did you know that of the, like, four voice actors in this game, one of them is Clancy goddamn Brown? He plays like 30 of these polygonal dragons!

...I would normally try to end a post this long on a more climactic note, but, uh... yeah.

[koskela-knights]

I’m trying to make my own AW2 playlist of chapter ending songs—do you have any recommendations? Feel like we’re similarly obsessed with the spiral…

Thnx for your question! And well yeah I might be a bit obsessed with the spiral/loops and its endless possibilities & scenarios that could've been 👀

Besides the official ending songs the game already provides, there are some other songs that give me general AW/AW2 vibes or specific feels for certain characters! I've been pondering about songs to share for a while, so this is a great opportunity! Thnx again for the ask!

Also feel free to share your own songs in my inbox if you feel like it :D

It's gonna be a long post so buckle up 😅

This is the moment to share my love for Lord Huron, specifically their Strange Trails album but also Vide Noir one.

Strange Trails is, to me, an album about being lost and cursed and it's about love. Honestly, I don't think The Night We Met is a good representative about the entire album.

Meet Me In The Woods

This entire song just screams Alan Wake to me.

I took a little journey to the unknown, And I come back changed. I can feel it in my bones. I fucked with forces that our eyes can't see. Now the darkness got a hold on me.

(...)

How long, baby, have I been away? Oh, it feels like ages though you say it's only days. There ain't language for the things I've seen. And the truth is stranger than my own worst dreams.

(...)

I have seen what the darkness does. Said goodbye to who I was. I ain't never been away so long. Don't look back them days are gone. Follow me into the endless night. I can bring your fears to life. Show me yours and I'll show you mine. Meet me in the woods tonight.

Like, how can you read those lyrics and not think about our boy Alan.

2. Way Out There

Drifting in a land time forgot If you think that I've changed, you know me not I belong bodily to the earth I'm just wearing old bones from those that came first I been unraveling since my birth

Those lyrics and partially the song in general remind me of Alan in the Dark Place trying to escape. How many loops has he been through? (Thus in this context, kind of wearing 'old bones from those who came first, aka older iterations of Alan himself) Also, the theremin they use is so fitting and it's an instrument often used in horror movies so <3

3. Vide Noir (both album itself & song)

Where can you go when it’s all in your head? These are the last words that I ever said Where can you go when it’s all in your head? These are the last words that I ever said

Tbh, this album also gives off major Control vibes with its themes and songs about the Astral plane & the black void. Many other songs on the album talk about the main character getting lost and drifting in-between time/space and living/dying

4. War by Poets of the Fall

You might be familiar with the song already and its music video 👀

I like how all the Poets were involved in the video as Taken (have you seen BTS shots of Olli with a fake beard?!!) Anyways, the song makes me think of how Alan has to remember that there are people out there who want to help him. That there are people out there fighting against the Darkness, even if he is mainly unaware and might even feel he doesn't deserve external help. It also reflects Alice being Alan's bright light in the darkness, and the reason he wants to keep fighting to get back to her.

In a similar vein, Lust For Life (also PoTF haha) this song could also be seen through an Alan/Alice lens, the shared shoebox mechanic and Alice trying to help/guide Alan back to the real world.

What is lost may be found Safe and sound

5. Hello Cabaret by PoTF

Now this song is maybe one of my faves of the Ghostlight album. Relistening to my fave lyrics of the song, it reminds me of the Koskelas and Ilmo specifically.

For when you come calling Dancing on my grave For all my choices made Judging me for how I played The hand you dealt me Stains the blood that flows

(...)

Of all I once did love but lost Nothing comes without a cost The wise fool said that's just the way it goes

(...)

Most will never comprehend Till' they're in the very predicament

To me, Ilmo at the end of the game is heartbroken and dead inside now that his other/better half is gone. The 'you' in question here might as well be the player or Scratch/Alan and he feels judged by the narrative of his previous actions. He's made decisions and sacrifices and used the Cult as a palpable 'villain' for the greater good. Something many probably didn't/wouldn't understand unless they were in his shoes.

6. Chasing Echoes by PoTF

It's a fun coincidence that in AW2 you have literal Echoes to chase huh.

Is this a role or disguise seeking mercy in creation? Just another device or truly a time when we will rise? Oh one and all, to the occasion And bridge the gap to see the other side?

The more on-the-nose/literal meaning aside, I think this song can be read as another one about Alan trying to escape the DP/spiral upwards toward ascension. Again, there's a 'you' in this song that could be interpreted as Alice who is a light inside Alan's darkness.

7. Brother by Lord Huron

How long have I known you, brother? Hundreds of lives, thousands of years How many miles have we wandered Under the sky, chasing our fear? Considering the spiral and the historical background of the Koskelas and their (indirect) ties to the Huotaris, they might as well known each other/been brothers for longer than what we see in-game. Some kind of trouble is coming Don't know when, don't know what I will stand by you, brother 'Til the daylight comes or I'm dead and gone

(...)

I know we can't stop what's coming But I will try, oh how I'll try Will you fight with me, brother One last time, one last fight

We know Ilmo got visited by the Dark Presence and has had nightmares about killing Jaakko. Luckily, he rose above that (as far as we know) but I think the dread and fear of losing Jaakko keeps lingering just underneath the surface. Personally, I enjoy the thought of people sometimes remembering the previous loop/spiral and that those affected/remembering would try anything to keep the loop from repeating.

8. You Belong To Me by Cat Pierce

If you're a fan of Alan/Scratch, this song has that obsessive/possessive vibe to it that seems to be a dialogue/mix between them.

I've heard allegations 'bout your reputation I'll show you my shadows if you show yours Let's get it right dear, give a good fight dear We'll keep it all up behind closed doors

(...)

I must confess to you, I want to possess you Feels like we're dreaming, we're tripping and reeling Just say that you belong to me I could get lost in the feelings we're feeling Just say that you belong to me

[katherine-smith-xo]

Okay, so... I’ve been getting into The Long Dark, and I tried interloper (the hardest difficulty) for the first time. I want to illustrate the differences between my still relatively recent first time on pilgrim (easy), and interloper.

-Pilgrim

I spawned in a relatively calm area during the day, mystery lake, having picked it myself. with pretty much anything I needed for the first night or two- emergency supplies, a coat, etc. I wandered around, slipping and spraining my ankle which I promptly bandaged up just fine, and snuck by some wolves who were probably more scared of me than I was them. I then climbed a hill that made claim of a fire ranger tower, found its collapsed remains which I looted, and curled up inside the roof which sheltered me from the wind. I managed to collect wood scraps to start a fire, and survived the night.

-Interloper

I spawned somewhere I was mostly unfamiliar with, Blackrock, It was cold, nighttime, and I had nothing but the clothes on my back (A t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers) and a tin can. I rapidly lost what warmth I began with, desperately started searching for the prison which I knew was in the area from playing Wintermute, kept wandering for pretty much the entire night until morning. I somehow hadn’t gotten frostbitten or hypothermic yet, and after following some signs, I’d found shelter. The small building on the perimeter wall brings me no warmth like I’d expected it to, so i promptly made for the main building. I didn’t make it very far. I was thrown to the ground by a wolf and mauled to death.

One brought me wonder and awe of nature.

One brought me terror and hopelessness of the wilderness.

I recommend this game, it’s so well put together, and I see a lot of people either say the story mode is bad or just that they never tried it. Wintermute was what trained me to survive! at least on easier difficulties.

[mybookplacenet]

Featured Post: Do You Believe in Magic | Book 1 by Jim Melvin

About Do You Believe in Magic | Book 1: Recommended Review by Kirkus Reviews (top 25% of Indie books): "A delightful beginning to a promising series that’s sure to appeal to teen readers who feel like outsiders." — Kirkus Reviews, October 2024 The winner of 11 international awards. In this exciting and enchanting fantasy novel, readers are invited to journey into a world where magic is not merely a fairy tale but a powerful reality. This gripping story revolves around an everyday boy leading an ordinary life until a chance encounter transforms his world forever. Suddenly, faced with inexplicable happenings and being able to perform magical feats, Charlie grapples to understand his newfound abilities. Little does he know, he has become central to a battle between forces beyond his comprehension, a war underway in the invisible realms around him. Book 1 of the teen fantasy adventure "Dark Circles" explores the timeless human question – do you believe in magic? – in a context that feels entirely fresh and unpredictable. It takes readers on a fantastic adventure, filled with wit, mystery, action, and a touch of romance to tie it all together. Targeted Age 13 and older Written by: Jim Melvin Buy the ebook: Buy the Book On Amazon Link to Series Buy the Audio Book: Buy the Book On Amazon Buy the Print Book: Buy the Book On Amazon Author Bio: I grew up on the shores of western Florida and spent much of my childhood swimming in shark-infested waters long before the movie Jaws put a scare into everyone. At the time, I was too skinny to attract a shark’s attention. About ten other boys my age lived on my same street, and we hung out morning, noon, and night playing the usual sports that young boys love — football, baseball, “kill the carrier,” etc. — but as a group, we also played fantastical games that contained magic, monsters, and superheroes. It was in this setting that my imagination as a writer of magical fantasy was born and nurtured. I moved from Florida to Upstate South Carolina about twenty years ago and drove from Tampa-St. Pete to the Clemson area on Interstate 75 many times. It’s about a 10-hour drive, which is quite wearisome. And the traffic around Atlanta can be horrendous. I’ve always found the rest stops to be a bit spooky, especially at night. My MC Charlie Magus also found them to be spooky. If you read Do You Believe in Magic?, you’ll get the picture. My first home in SC was on forty wooded acres that included a creek that wound through a forest to a waterfall. It wasn’t as magnificent as described in my books 😀, but it did serve as the inspiration for the story. I am at home in the mountains. It’s where I now live, and I do long hikes at least three days per week. Characters in fantasy novels tend to wander around a lot in the wilderness, so I feel comfortable writing about natural surroundings. I have written “Dark Circles” with young teens in mind. I tell potential readers that it is appropriate for 13 and older, though readers as young as 10 and as old as 80 have enjoyed it. When I say appropriate, I mean that there are no sex scenes and only very limited profanity. But like most epic fantasies, the series has its violent moments — sort of like the later Harry Potter books. But just because a series is appropriate for young teens doesn’t mean that it has to be sophomoric. To the contrary, “Dark Circles” is a sophisticated work with a lot going on between the lines in terms of themes, allegorical elements, symbolism, foreshadowing, literary tropes, etc. My newsletter (Jim Melvin’s Realms of Fantasy) goes into extensive depth about this. Some of the themes in my series are obvious: bullying, good vs. evil, coming of age, heroism. But in the end, the most important theme of all is the idea that only the best among us are willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good — the literary equivalent of a soldier throwing himself on a hand grenade. Follow the author on social media: Learn more about the writer. Visit the Author's Website Facebook Fan Page Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Read the full article

[thesmumbo]

Smumbo's top 10 games he happened to play in 2022

Not necessarily games that were released in 2022, just my favorites that I played for the first time last year.

10: Night in the Woods (2017)

by Alec Holowka, Scott Benson, and Bethany Hockenberry

Peak fall vibes game. Night in the Woods features a compelling mystery and some great spooky moments. The setting and characters really resonated with me, so I got a lot out of it.

9: The Pedestrian (2020)

by @skookumarts

Pleasant puzzle game inspired by the signage that surrounds us in our day-to-day lives. Some of the puzzles were quite difficult, and I kind of dislike the direction the game took in its last act, but it was still a very fun and unique experience.

8: South of South Mountain (2022)

by @colorbomb

Cute & hilarious visual novel with a fantastic art style. I could not stop laughing throughout the whole experience.

7: Portal Reloaded (2021)

by PORTANIS

From a pure gameplay standpoint, this was a very satisfying sequel to Portal 2, and it's possibly the closest we'll ever get to a Portal 3. Portal Reloaded introduces a third portal which allows you to travel to the same place at a different time, so certain things have been moved/removed. It gets really complicated, and I’m amazed this was able to be created as a free standalone mod for Portal 2.

6: Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery (2022)

by Grace Bruxner and Thomas Bowker

Approximately 3-4 hours of pure, unadulterated joy and whimsy. I can’t believe it took me this long to play Frog Detective, but I’m so glad I did. Everything about these games resonated with me strongly.

5: OneShot (2016)

by @girakacheezer, @nightmargin, and Eliza Vasquez

A transcendent experience. Explores the unique ways in which video games can tell stories, and the nature of free will. Features some interesting meta game mechanics which require you to interact with files outside of the game. The visuals and soundtrack are spot-on as well. Weird how there’s so many great RPG Maker games which work so well in spite of the engine.

4: Scorn (2022)

by Ebb Software

An incredible audiovisual experience. I liked the gameplay too, even though it seems like a lot of people were disappointed by it. I'm amazed that a game like this even exists. Absolutely oozing with atmosphere and symbolic meaning. The story spoke to me on an incredibly deep level despite lacking words, or even any semblance of humanity.

3: What Remains of Edith Finch (2017)

by Giant Sparrow

One of the greatest games ever made. All of the vignettes and set-pieces throughout the game are flawlessly paced, with a wide variety of gameplay and visual styles. Packed with detail, made with love, and so emotionally resonant. I loved this game.

2: Bloodborne (2015)

by From Software

For years, I would try to play Bloodborne whenever I had access to a PlayStation 4, but I wasn’t able to do a full playthrough until 2022. It lived up to the hype. This is my favorite From Software game, and it’s already one of my favorite games of all time. I really hope this gets a remaster/PC port some day. It’s a masterpiece.

1: SIGNALIS (2022)

by @rose-engine

One of the greatest horror games I’ve ever played. Amazing visuals and atmosphere, fascinating world and lore, and a captivating, mind-blowing cosmic horror sci-fi story. I especially loved the evocative UI designs throughout. Highly recommended if you like Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Dead Space, PS1 style games in general, or if you have even a passing interest in survival horror. This is my #1 game of 2022.

[mindninjax]

To Shape a Home (15)

Winter- Chapter 15

Last Chapter| Masterlist | Next Chapter

Bakugo x Reader

Warnings: None

WC: 4.2k

a/n: HERE WE ARE! NOW YOU GET SOME ANSWERS! Ok so a few notes. One: this entire conversation is heavily based on a conversation I have had with my husband (I'm not gonna tell you which one I was in it though lol)

Two: the featured song is This Feeling by Alabama Shakes. Gorgeous song, as always I recommend listening to it while reading it. It's a good "making up" song. Also matches Katsu's inner monologue shdbj.

It’s bright.

That’s Katsuki’s first thought when he awakens in his bed the next morning. He’s tucked in, the blankets under his chin are soft as he stretches his limbs. When he opens his eyes and is met with the onslaught of morning sun and chirping birds, his head aches.

There’s a pounding, like a woodpecker knocking against a nerve in his mind that beats and beats and beats until he can longer take it.  He sits up with a groan, gazing around the well lit room. It’s spinning and Katsuki feels nauseous as he tries to steady himself.

This is a hangover.

It’s been a while since he felt this way, and because this is the first time he’s been hungover in a while, it knocks the wind out of him.

What happened last night?

When he's finally able to piece together what is happening, he immediately panics. He looks at the other side of the bed, searching for you. There’s no sign of you having laid in bed, the empty spot next to him absent of warmth. Katsuki has a quick flash of the first night he went to bed without Camie and he winces and pushes it away.

In one swift movement, he’s pulling the blankets off of him and rushing to his bedroom door. He’s shirtless, the wound on his arm pulsing with pain under the bandage. He has on a pair of thick red flannel pajama pants that he’s sure he wasn’t wearing yesterday.

Katsuki bounds down the stairs, his home is clean, nothing looks out of place. There are a few scrapes on the wood floors, a few vases he had on a shelf in the living room are missing, but other than that the house is tidy and in order.

There’s music playing, a soulful slow rocking beat drifting from the kitchen as the smell of something frying in grease wafts into Katuski’s nose. As he gets closer the song gets louder, the smell of food gets stronger, and he can hear humming and the sizzle of something cooking. Katsuki takes a deep breath as he turns the corner to the kitchen and bears witness to a lovely sight.

It’s you, hair dripping with one of his plaid shirts draped over your body. It falls to your knees, buttoned sloppily over the pair of simple light blue underwear you wear. Only a few buttons are fastened and one sleeve of the shirt hangs off of your shoulder. The exposed skin, your shoulder, a peek of your stomach, and your cleavage all looks soft.

You’re humming along to the soulful song that, surprisingly, Katsuki recognizes. You’re rocking your hips slowly as you gently push the bacon around in the pan. You hum and mouth the words to the song while you cook, completely unaware of his presence.

Fuck, you look good, the sun spilling through the window illuminates you like an angel. A dusting of snow outside reflects the sun and makes you look even brighter. The pounding in his head is agitated more by the brightness but he doesn’t care if it means he gets to look at you.

See, I've been having me a real hard time

But it feels so nice to know I'm gonna be alright

The lyrics you're singing catch him off guard. Iseverything going to be alright? Katsuki clears his throat to get your attention. You stop singing but you don’t turn to look at him and he’s a bit nervous.

“Eat,” you command, pointing to a plate Katsuki just noticed was on the tiny table in his kitchen. The plate is full of fried eggs, bacon–cooked just the way he likes it, fuck, you were made for him– and toast all swimming in grease.

Katsuki obeys, pulling the chair out and scraping it across the linoleum as he sits and mutters, “Thanks.”

You shuffle over and place a mug of coffee down in front of him. He wrinkles his nose, pushing it away.

“No thanks.”

“I didn’t offer. You get drunk and hungover, you drink the coffee. Those are the rules. Now, drink .”

Your expression doesn’t change from the calm nonchalance you’ve been sporting all morning but the bite and command in your tone shuts down all thoughts of refusal. He drinks as he watches you remove the last of the bacon from the pan, shut off the stove, and grab your own mug of coffee.

You sit down across from him at the table, sipping your coffee. You’ve turned off the music so it's silent now. Nothing but the birds chirping outside and the scrapes of Katsuki’s fork on his plate as he continues eating the breakfast you cooked–which is fucking delicious by the way.

It’s too quiet for too long as you sit and watch him eat. You take occasional sips of your coffee, blinking slowly as you watch him. Again you don’t look angry, in fact you’re watching him with a small content smile on your face and Katsuki thinks that maybe everything will be alright, despite the circumstances.

“Where’d you get booze, Katsuki?”

Or maybe not.

For some reason he can’t look at you, fear and shame pulling his eyes to the floor like gravity. He’s quiet, he feels the heaviness of guilt in his chest and it almost makes it hard to breathe. He growls to himself. A year and a half of sobriety, down the toilet.

“Katsuki.”

He sighs. “There was one pack in the cellar. Emergency stash, just in case.”

“There any left?”

No answer.  You don’t make any noise or move, you just stare and it scares him. Will you leave now ?

“Keys to the cellar?” You ask.

He nods his head to a hook behind you.

“Ok.”

The eerie awkward silence fills the room again, up to the brim so much it feels like Katsuki may drown in it. Your eyes never leave him except to occasionally glance out the window at the fat snowflakes accumulating on the sill while you sip on your coffee. What are you thinking? Are you pissed with him? You should be. He’s pissed with himself.

“So you gonna tell me what happened?” You ask, taking a sip and breaking the silence.

He doesn’t wanna talk about it. Can't he just enjoy this morning with you? It’s the first in a week that you two have shared a morning. He missed you. He missed your face, missed the way you’d stand and speak to the girls as he took care of their stalls and filled the troughs. And then it hits him. It’s morning he hasn’t fed the girls. He scoots back in his seat.

“The girls—“

“Fed with new water and hay. They’re in the barn and fine,” you interrupt taking another nonchalant sip. When you gaze at him again you give him a tiny smirk.

“You were right. Sweet Mama is a stubborn girl. But we had girl bonding time and we’re great friends now. She’s doing fine by the way. She’s off her leg and lying and relaxing in her stall,” you reassure him.

“Heh, told ya she was a stubborn one,” he brags, sitting back down and smirking.

You don’t smile though. You stare at him, or more so through him. Serious and stern and he doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to get your expression out of his mind.

“That wasn’t a question by the way. You’re going to tell me what happened. Right now,” you command, setting your mug down on the table.

Katsuki gulps and his Adam’s apple bobs in his throat. He’s never heard you be this stern or look this sharply at him. He knows you mean it. He stabs a sausage with his fork, takes a bite, revels in your good cooking, swallows, and then he looks at you frowning.

What does he say? Does he just blurt it out to you? He’s honestly not sure what happened, there are too many things running through his mind for him to understand it. The drinking, if anything, helped numb it. But now it sits heavy and aching in his chest.

Katsuki takes a second to peek through his lashes up at you. Your head is tilted, face smooth and calm as you take another sip of coffee. You patiently wait for him to form the words, and as you do, he thinks there will never be a more perfect person than you.

“Joja is…” he starts and then stops as the words get caught in his throat.

It’s a shitty situation all around, and he’s partly to blame for it, yeah. But Katsuki knows it’s not just him. It wouldn’t be like this if Camie had never left. This wouldn’t be a problem if she’d kept her promise to him. It is easier to share the blame, at least right now it is, so Katsuki quickly rephrases his sentence.

“She’s selling my farm to those fuckers,” he replies finally.

It’s not technically a lie. Maybe it’s not entirely true but still, she’s at fault. The sound of the words makes him wince again and Camie’s voice replays in his mind.

Suki, I’m sorry but the farm’s bein’ sold to Joja.

Your eyebrows furrow in confusion, you know exactly who he means but you don’t flinch or wince like he does when he mentions her and  he wishes for half a second he had some of your courage.

“How? How can she do that? She needs your permission too, right?. You’d both have to sign a contract and–”

“Deed has her name on it,” Katsuki huffs.

“What, why?”

Katsuki slams a fist down on the table in anger, the dishes clang loudly and you move quickly to catch the mug that almost tips over from the force. It’s a valid question and of course you’d ask it. He grinds his teeth in frustration and speaks through them in a hiss.

“This is her family’s land. They let us have it when we decided to move out here but then she left and it never got passed to me. I shoulda fucking checked that shit out but I was drunk every day after she left. I’m such a moron. Don’t know how those Fuckers at Joja found out but they reached out to her and offered her a pretty penny. She must be hurtin’ in funds,” he explains.

Nothing can make him feel like less of an idiot right now. He should’ve gotten the deed changed as soon as she left. But going to her and her family to discuss it meant he’d have to see her and talk to her and Katsuki doesn’t know if he would’ve been able to handle that. He saw her on the Joja commercial and look what happened.

Again you’re perplexed, trying to see all the pieces he’s giving you and fit them together. Yet he can tell, it still doesn’t make sense to you, with good reason.

“She…She has to know how much this place means to you, I mean, that much is clear even to people who don’t know you. So why would she do this?” you ask, putting a finger to your chin like you're a goddamn detective.

Anger gurgles in the depths of Katsuki’s belly.  Why are you questioning her motives? It’s not like you know anything about her. Why can’t you just trust that when he says Camie fucked him over again , she did. Are you taking her side? His blood boils over and he’s yelling again.

“Because she’s a bitch. I don’t know!” he snaps back at you. His fist is tightened as it sits on his thigh and the ache in his arm feels like it burns every time he flexes.

You surprisingly stay calm and when you meet his eye, your stare is burning.   “You don’t mean that.”

You’re right–surprise surprise–he doesn’t mean it. But how the fuck would you know that? You couldn’t know. Your grandpa didn’t abandon you . Your grandpa didn’t promise you that you’d both take care of this farm together. Your grandpa didn’t promise you that he’d spend his life with you and then up and leave in the middle of the fucking night.

He glares at you, “ How the fuck would you know what I me—“

“Because if  you thought she was just a bitch you wouldn’t flinch every time her name was mentioned! You wouldn’t completely erase her name from your vocabulary or ban your friends from saying it!” you interrupt and this time you have a glare that matches his.

Your outburst catches him off guard and he leans back in offense before he shakes it off and fires back at you. He stands suddenly, throwing the chair he’s sitting in back and it tumbles to the floor.

“Why does it matter, hah? Why are you asking me all these damn questions? I’m gonna lose my farm! What more do ya need to know?!” he cries. He bites his lip, trying not to let tears roll down his face. This ain’t the time to be all emotional and shit.

“Because there is clearly a lot more going on here that you aren’t telling me and I’m trying to help you figure it out. It’s clear you haven’t dealt with any of the Camie shit and I think it’s time for me to call you out on your shit so you can deal with it. You know, the exact same way you called me out in the cellar?” you snap.

You stand then too and shout the loudest you’ve ever yelled at him. Your face twists into a scolding expression, like you’re lecturing a young child and if Katsuki weren’t paying close attention to what you just said, it would’ve made him angrier.

His eyes widen as he watches you huff angrily across the table from him. He hasn’t dealt with it? Course he has! He stopped drinking, he met you, for fucks sake he cried and told you he loved you while drunk and having a mental breakdown just last night!

“It ain’t—“ he starts but you stop him again and what you say almost makes him break completely.

“You love her.”

It is so simple. Just three words that put everything into perspective. But, it can’t be true though because Katsuki is sure of his feelings for you that much is clear.

“I love you ,” he states.

Strange how easy it is to say it now that he’s already said it. It rolls off his tongue naturally now. You smirk, the tension in the room dying down as you sigh.

“Yes I know, but you love her too. And that’s why I’m not gonna let you keep looking at her like she’s the Wicked Witch of the West in your story,”

Unfuckingbelieveable. You’ve just pointed out how he still cares for his ex and you don’t even sound jealous. There's not a hint of anger or resentment or suspicion when you say it. You just say it, like you're stating a fact or teaching a class. Katsuki can’t say he’d react the same way if the roles were reversed but again he thinks, this is why you’re perfect for him.

“How come you ain’t angry about that? About how… I feel… about her,” he stammers. He wants to ask you how you could even know that he still loves her but he thinks that may be too much to dive into right now.

You look dumbfounded. Almost like…like you expected him to feel this way. You raise an eyebrow and chuckle and he wonders if it’s that obvious.

“It would be silly to believe you’re over someone you literally don’t talk about because it hurts you too much. How can I be angry when you’ve been here for me countless times?”

Again, you make a lot of good points. Which is again, annoying. Katuski wonders if maybe you went to a class for shit like this. Maybe you and Ei went to the same class since you’re both able to get inside his head like this. He rolls his eyes and lets out a sigh as he bends down to pick up his chair. He sits back down at the table with his arms folded over his chest, pouting. You only smile and sit back down as well, crossing one leg over the other.

“Now that that is out, I’ll ask again. Why would Camie sell the farm when she knows how much this place means to you? I don’t know her, so maybe she is an evil witch, but something tells me that’s not the case. So, quit hiding stuff from me and tell me what’s going on. ”

He guesses he should tell you the whole thing. He briefly remembers the way he got pissed with you in the cellar for doing the same thing. Tellin’ half truths' that were so clearly not who you made yourself out to be. You’d unleashed everything on him after he called you out and it’d made him see you in a brighter light. It was a big fuking leap in figuring out he wouldn’t be able to get you out of his head either.

You deserve that same respect. He shouldn’t hide from you. He blinks, inhales deeply then releases the longest breath he’s ever inhaled. His eyes drag up your body to settle on your eyes and he holds your stare before he licks his lips and lets it all out.

“When we talked, she said she left because this wasn’t what she wanted. And the deed was in her name and she forgot to change it over. She ain’t sellin’ the farm, her family is. Shit ain’t going well for them and they need the funds.”

You don’t say anything, letting him take all the time he needs. You take a sip of your now cool coffee and when you realize he needs a bit of reassurance, you nod and say, “Go on. You can tell me Katsu.”

He grits his teeth again. This is…hard. Thinkin’ bout all of this again, even retracing the conversation with Camie, it makes his hand itch again, makes his throat dry. He swallows and clears his throat lightly. He's thankful when you get up–without being prompted–grab a glass of water, and scoot it in front of him. For fucks sake, you’ve gotta be a goddamn mind reader or something.

He takes a sip, and then continues. “ She called me to warn me about the sale. And then she uh… apologized for leavin’. Like really apologized, told me about the modelin’ shit, how it’s been hard to find gigs and shit but….she fuckin’ sounded happy. Even though she’s strugglin’, she sounded happy about it. Never sounded that happy out here pullin’ weeds with me,” he grumbles as he twists his fingers together anxiously.

She had apologized for her family and had apologized for not being able to stop them. The apology wasn’t empty or hollow. It was full of remorse and it hung in his chest. Talking to her, hearing her voice was painful, but a relieving pain, one that he needed in order to feel better, like pressing the venom from a wound.

He chuckles sarcastically, “And wouldn’t ya fuckin’ believe it? I wasn’t pissed with her. She said she was happy and my stomach got all twisted and shit, like the time I finally beat Ei at checkers. Guy is a goddamn master but I finally beat em,” he says, a devilish grin on his face. You smile and shake your head at him but you don’t say anything still and he sighs as he continues.

“Like a fuckin' idiot I couldn’t even be upset because I…” he trails off but you finish his sentence, as you always do.

“You still love her.”

Katsuki sighs and hangs his head in shame but you don’t stop there.

“You still love her and you were happy because she was happy. And you couldn’t be angry at her, which pissed you off even more and confused you…”

You sound as if you're piecing together a mystery, staring at him with a tilted head as you think through everything. You pause for only a second, again putting a finger to your chin and gazing at him for a long while. He can feel your stare but he doesn’t dare look up at you.

“And that’s why you got drunk,” you finish.

“Yeah.”

More silence. Katsuki’s never felt this comfortable but tense at the same time in the wake of silence, but with you, the silence still means peace, as long as you’re still here with him. He knows that now, and he rests easy.

“I suppose the stuff with Sweet Mama didn’t help either, huh?”

Katsuki sighs again, lip slightly pushed out to pout a little. “And not seein’ ya for a week,” he adds as if it’s obvious and it is. He’s sure if that stupid fucking storm hadn’t kept you away from him, he’d have at least been able to stay calm enough not to get drunk again.

You sigh as well. “Yannow, someone once told me, ‘Bottlin’ shit up is never good for ya’' you say in a mocking country twang that actually makes him chuckle.

Is this how it’s supposed to go? Arguments with a spouse? Not saying you’re a spouse but after all this, he’d be damned if he wasn’t thinking about making you one. Especially when you reach across the table to grasp his hand and untangle them to place your hand between them.

“The next time you feel like you don’t know how to feel, the next time all of that confusion and bottled up shit makes you so angry you don’t know what to do other than drink, tell me, ok?” you speak gently but firm so he knows that you mean it when you say it.

He raises an eyebrow, “How’d ya know that I fel-“

“At this point, I’m clearly a Katsuki expert. I could teach a class,” you say giggling and placing a kiss on his knuckles. “I’m serious Katsu. You don’t have to deal with shit alone anymore. And if we need to just sit and do this,” you gesture between the two of you,“Yannow, talking shit out so you understand a little of what’s going on. I’ll do that with you. You don’t have to punish yourself or be self destructive and drink again. You’re not alone anymore. I’m here with you now, Katsu.”

There’s pain in his chest again, a good pain that flows through every muscle in his body and warms him. His chest squeezes his heart but instead of it being cold like when he thought about Camie, it’s warm and grows hot the longer he stares at you. For some reason he thinks about how doctors used to burn away infection from wounds and decides this must be what it’s like.

He doesn’t say that though, instead he snorts, “Tsk, can’t believe you called her the Wicked Witch of the West. ”

He watches you roll your eyes. “Hey! I said I’m not gonna let you make her the witch! Big difference! Besides, the Wicked Witch of the West was my favorite character!” you say a little smug.

Katsuki rolls his eyes as well. “That don’t surprise me,” he says sarcastically.

You stand, walk around to place a kiss on his forehead and grab his plate to clean up from breakfast. Something is still bothering him though. He grabs your wrist, “What about my farm? I’m not gonna fucking lose this place. It’s my home.”

You slip onto his lap and he wraps an arm around your waist to pull you closer to him. You cup his cheek and he immediately closes his eyes and leans into your touch. Then you shrug your shoulders nonchalantly. “Oh easy peasy. We’ll just offer a better price. They sell it to you for a better number, you pay it and they get their money. Everybody wins…except maybe Joja, but who cares.”

Katsuki chuckles darkly “yeah, lemme go down to my gold room and grab a coupla wagons full of money to give em,” he says then tacks on a “That’s sarcasm Sweets,” for good measure.

“Har har. How much is the farm selling for?” you ask, still easy going and optimistic. His throat goes dry after he tells you the amount and your optimism almost vanishes completely.

“Holy shit, your farm is worth that much?” you ask incredulously.

He tries not to sound too smug when he replies “‘Parently so,” but the twist of your lips into a cute little pout tells him he’s not as good as hiding it as he thought.

You sit in his lap, kicking your feet in the air and absentmindedly playing with his fingers as you think. This is the calmest he’s been all morning. He loves watching your brows knit together and your lips pucker while you think but he likes it even more when your face lights up with an idea.

You stand quickly, back to him as you stare off at nothing. “Oh my god. I’ve got it.”

“The hell are ya talkin’ bout?” Katsuki asks, standing with you.

“Holy shit, so some good will actually come out of this thing. I owe Nejire a drink.” you mutter to yourself. Katsuki clears his throat to gather your attention again. What the hell are you muttering about? What thing?

Suddenly, you whip around to face him, a giant smile on your face. “How would you and the gang like to go to an art show?”

—

Thanks for reading!

[ice-block]

I can’t believe we’re THIS FAR into October and I forgot to remake my spooky games recommendation list! Anyway! I’m not a person who is big on horror, but spooky games can and do hit different. Here’s my list.

There are only a few times where I would say a video game sequel is just as good if not better than the og. This is one of those cases, little nightmares follows the story of a little girl named 6 trying to escape a boat full of man eating monsters called “the maw” where the second game follows a little boy named mono in his attempt to survive the world on land that really isn’t much better. This series could be described as “spirited away, if it was rated mature” little nightmares will always be special to me because it’s one of the first horror games I played and I enjoyed it so much I almost immediately replayed it (and then again. 5 times.)

I said I’m not big on horror, but I’m willing to suffer for milfs. The plot on this game falls just short of any expectations I had but it was a lot of fun to play and has great characters! Really the best part is the exploration and stealth needed for the 4 houses. The only part I gave the controller away for was any time I had to travel through the main village. I hate zombies.

Smile for me is a psychological horror taking place at “the habitat” a place where “sad people” go. The art style on this one is very unique and I had a lot of fun with it! The horror itself is not too intense (unless you entirely dislike trauma to teeth) and this one has multiple endings! The characters are funny and lovable and this game has a lot of replay value.

Bendy and the ink machine really acknowledges something we all knew- rubber hose is terrifying. This game has an interesting story while paying tribute to the history of animation!

If you have somehow managed to make it this far without ever hearing of this game, go play it now. (But for gods sake, if the content warning at the beginning applies to you, do not play this game.) it’s free to play and fairly short, this game is worth it to see through to the end.

Night in the woods is that game I revisit every few months and it completely changes my life again. It might be one of my favorite games overall. If you like midwestern existential dread this game is for you.