#the past few years I've only played a handful of games total. But this year that number is going to go way up I think.

[six-improbable-things]

My Steam Year in Review this year is going to be so fucking insane. Considering I'm hopefully going to have finished P:WotR twice just in this year, not to mention all the other obsessive spurts I've had with other games over the course of the year (Wildermyth, Islanders, Roots of Yggdrasil) I can't wait to see the fucking insanity that is going to be this year's stats. In January and over the summer I was pretty much playing the same game every day for a month straight, lmao. It's certainly going to be amusing, if nothing else.

[reidsrambles]

Part 1: New Year's Eve

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Description: My only New Year's Eve plan is to help my best friend Penelope entertain her many party guests. When I find myself alone with her coworker, Spencer (who I've had a crush on for ages), it seems that my New Year's might turn out different than I had planned.

(Content/Warnings below the cut)

Content/Warnings: [18+ MDNI] smut, protected (condom) PiV sex, oral sex (F receiving), brief mention of being drunk or high in the past

A/N: This fic is part 1 of a duo. Part 2: New Year's Day is in the works, and will hopefully be posted on time! I came up with this idea literally yesterday, and I've been writing like a madman since then, so edits might be made to this one after posting. I'm posting it right before midnight my time! Credit to @saradika-graphics for the divider graphics, including the one I cropped below.

Names used: Baby

Words (this chapter): 2,025

Words (total): 5,759

Penelope has always thrown stellar parties, but this one might be her largest to date. I can hear the music streaming from her apartment all the way down the hall. I sift through the keys on my keyring to find the one I need: my copy of her house key.

Streamers, balloons, and shimmery garlands cover the walls of Penelope’s apartment. There are somehow more guests than I’d expected. Penelope tends to make friends wherever she goes. Still, I didn’t expect for what seems to be everyone she knows to be free tonight. Many guests don party hats. Some are also wearing those silly New Year’s glasses with lenses in the shape of numbers. Not even two steps in the door, and I jump as someone prematurely blows a noisemaker.

Different dishes that partygoers have brought cover every inch of Penelope’s kitchen island. A potluck of appetizers and various salads, from the leafy green kind to the macaroni or potato variety. I squeeze around the guests loitering in her kitchen, leaning against the counter, probably because there’s nowhere to sit. Inside her fridge, it’s like playing Jenga, trying to find a spot to shove the champagne bottles I bought. 

Penelope’s dazzling emerald dress sticks out in the sea of black and metallic fits. Nobody can upstage the hostess, dare they try. I wrap my best friend in a hug from behind and she reflexively smacks my arm before realizing it’s me.

“Oh, my god!” she shrieks. She looks annoyed, rolling her eyes, but my behavior has garnered chuckles from the group she’s chatting with. Two knitting club friends. “Look who finally showed up! She conveniently had to work all day while I finished setting up.” 

I was here on Sunday doing all the decorating grunt work, but I choose to not argue the semantics. I’ll let her have the upper hand. Consider it an apology for the jump scare, Penelope.

“It’s not my fault that New Year’s Eve isn’t a holiday, and I, like most people, work a Monday-to-Friday, nine-to-five. You are aware of that, right?”

Penelope pecks my cheek before swiping at it with her thumb to wipe her bright red lipstick off. I ask her if she needs help with anything, as a good best friend to the hostess does, but predictably, she’s on top of everything. 

I make my rounds, catching up with the many people I already know and greeting those I haven’t met. “Hi! I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting yet! I’m Penelope’s best friend.” 

Hours pass, filled with stories of so-and-so’s new baby or graduation or other meaningful milestone. Then there are the few party games I’m roped into. On the plus side, every time I loop back around past the kitchen, I pick at the hors d'oeuvres. After work, I picked up the champagne, and then came straight here. The finger foods will suffice as dinner, I suppose.

From the spot I’ve claimed as my own against the wall, I watch my best friend, with her seemingly infinite social battery, open the door and gleefully welcome a couple I’ve never seen. How are people still showing up!? 

With a quick flick of the wrist, I glance at my watch. Still two hours to midnight. Ugh, shit.

I push myself off the wall and snake my way through the field of bodies, metaphorical white flag a-waving. 

“Pen, I know we’re getting closer to midnight, but I need to go take a nap or something. I’m absolutely drained. Just let me recharge for a few, and then I’ll be back out here. Promise.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Penelope says, guiding me a mere two feet to the side—all the crowd will allow. “I’ve seen you chatting it up all night. You know you don’t have to do that, my love. I’ve had the bedrooms locked, but Spencer was feeling a bit overwhelmed, so I let him into the guest bedroom if you want to join him in there.” She’s sincere, but teasing, gently bumping my shoulder with hers. Her innuendo is far from lost on me.

Huh, yeah. Spencer’s  the only one on her team, besides Aaron Hotchner, who I haven’t already bumped into tonight. Hotch is probably at home with the family. Where has Spencer been all night? He is usually a bit of a wallflower whenever he does show up to parties. Being friends with Penelope since childhood and moving out to D.C. with her, I’ve gotten to know everyone she’s close with, especially her coworkers. I’ve had a teensy-weensy crush on Spencer Reid since I first met him, not long after I moved out here, and Penelope’s teased me about it ever since. 

I pull my lips tight and nod. “Yeah, I think I can manage that.”

Yes, I’ve gotten to know Spencer quite a bit over the years, which has not helped ease my crush, but there’s no way he thinks of me as anything more than a friend. He probably just thinks of me as a friend-of-a-friend or as an acquaintance. Even worse… 

It’s kind of become a cycle. I start seeing someone or get into a whole relationship, and then I don’t have to think about Spencer at all, which is great. But, when I inevitably become single again and Penelope mentions his name, the longing starts all over again.

It’s just a crush, though. Everyone has crushes. And most people don’t act on these types of crushes. Why would I put Penelope in the middle of that?

The hall where Penelope’s bedroom, the guest bedroom, and a bathroom are is already much quieter than the rest of her house. All the noise is coming from behind me. The quiet is calling to me like a siren’s song; hopefully just luring me into a 20-minute catnap, if I’m lucky.

I gently tap my knuckles against the guest bedroom door twice before opening it. Only the nightstand lamps are on, and this cozy, warm room feels like escaping to actual Heaven right now. Spencer is sitting on the edge of the bed, hands in his lap.

“Hey, mind if I join you?” I ask, my heart rate ramping up instead of slowing down. 

“[Y/N], hey! Of course. Did Penelope tell you I was hiding away in here?”

I close the door behind me, and the roar of the party dies down to a rumble. “Well, I told her that I needed to get away from the crowd for a little bit, maybe take a nap or something, and she said she had just let you in here. My social battery died like, an hour ago.”

I join Spencer on the edge of the bed, keeping a respectable amount of distance. 

“I’m not much of a party person if you haven’t already figured that out,” he says.

“I don’t think I am either, honestly. Well, not anymore, at least. I was a little bit of a partier when I went off to college. But as I’m sure you could guess, me and Penelope weren’t really a part of the ‘in’ crowd as teenagers.”

“Is college the only time you and Penelope weren’t attached at the hip?”

“Yeah,” I laugh. “Basically. Right before I sent off my college applications, we had gotten into a fight over something stupid. It was so stupid, that neither of us can remember what it was over. But, instead of applying to CalTech with her, I applied to a couple schools I knew she wasn’t applying to. I ended up getting accepted to Georgia Tech. Literally, the other side of the country. I think that I had it in my head that I was going to show her that she’d miss me.”

“And then you guys made up?”

“We literally made up two days after I sent off my applications, yeah,” I nod, my story earning a laugh from Spencer.

“I can’t believe I haven’t heard that story before.”

Another rogue noisemaker is sounded, muffled by the wall between us and the chaos, but it’s enough of a surprise to startle both of us.

“Sorry,” he says, “I should’ve asked. Did you want the room to yourself? I don’t mind if you need me to step out.”

“Oh, no. I’m completely fine. If I wanted to be alone, I could’ve just gone to Penelope’s room. It’s not like you’re a stranger or anything. As long as you don’t mind if I accidentally pass out.”

I sit up and round the bed to the far side, and when I slip under the sheets, I regret my choice of a black skirt and tights for tonight. Spencer sits on top of the sheets on the other side.

“I really wish I hadn’t left my book out in the living room,” he jokes. 

“So, you’re saying I don’t get a bedtime story?”

I try, as discreetly as I can, to slip my tights off under the sheets. Every time I adjust my position, I tug them down a little bit more.

“If you want me to read to you, I can,” he says.

Got ‘em down to my knees.

“I forgot about that whole memory thing,” I laugh. “What’s that called, again?”

“I have an eidetic memory. It’s primarily for things I’ve read, though.”

So close.

“I mean, you definitely don’t have to, but if wanted to read me something, it would be really helpful to mask the noise.”

Yes! Finally. I’m freeee.

I kick my tights off my feet under the covers (a problem for me to deal with later, when I’m more awake) and I can breathe a sigh of comfort at last.

Spencer begins to speak, but I cut him off.

“Sorry. Just don’t let me sleep more than 20 minutes. I’m aiming for 15, even. I should be out like a light. I’m a good napper. Gold-medal worthy.”

I flop back down onto the bed and let my heavy eyelids fall shut. Spencer reads some story aloud with no text in front of him. As I drift off, his voice lulling me to sleep, I know this is going to be something that I playback from memory in the future. A decayed version in my own, fallible memory.

The world is dark, but noisy. I haven’t yet gathered the strength to open my eyes, but the rest of my senses are slowly feeding my brain information. I feel a steady rise and fall against my back. Breathing. A man’s face nuzzled into my neck. I’m being spooned from behind, but he isn’t under the covers with me. He’s above them. Even through the fabric, I can feel him against my ass. The hardness between his legs pressed into my backside. Where the hell am I?

It’s New Year’s Eve. Penelope’s guest bedroom. Spencer.

Spencer’s breathing picks up, and as my eyes flit open, I’m ripped from my sleepy bliss and plunged into utter panic. He’s woken up too. Spencer jumps out of bed at the same time I do, clearly stunned.

“[Y/N], I am so, so sorry. I completely didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“Shit. No, I’m sorry.”

Does he know I have a crush on him? Is he going to think I planned that? In my barely-awake daze, I jump to the worst-case scenario. 

Spencer just keeps rambling apologies and swearing up and down that he fell asleep by mistake. My disorganized words of reassurance don’t seem to be cutting through. 

“10... 9…” 

The chanting from outside our bubble only takes a moment for me to register. It’s already midnight?

“8…7…” 

Spencer still hasn’t shut up. Before I can fully realize what I’m doing, I round the bed to where he’s standing. He stops mid-sentence.

“6…5…4…” 

He hears it. He realizes. Our faces are so close; mine, angled up to his. Was I going to say something to calm him down? I don’t remember anymore. His eyes are darting across my face, mirroring my gaze. Eyes, lips. Eyes, lips. 

“3…2…1…”

Our lips crash together right as a chorus of Happy New Years and noise-makers chimes.

Spencer Reid’s lips. On mine. 

Next Chapter: New Year's Day

AO3 | Tumblr | Masterlist

[venerawrites]

Headcanon When Itachi is sick and his s/o is taking care of him

author's note: stupid me missed the part where it said it was headcanons request, so I started writing it as a drabble 😭 Anyway, I fixed it, so I really hope you enjoy! Thank you so much for requesting! <3

Itachi is probably one of the most stubborn men in the Naruto universe. In his mind, he is made to care for and protect those close to him, even if at the expense of his own well-being.

He hates making people around him worry, and especially his s/o. It is bad enough that they are constantly stressed by him being part of Akatsuki and Sasuke seeking his revenge, they do not need additional reasons to worry.

With that being said, Itachi's first instinct once he gets sick is to simply stay away. He never gives a time by when he must be back from a mission, so this easily gives him 2-3 days to rest and get back on his feet before he visits his lover.

As a ninja who travelled all over the world and survived some of the harshest weather conditions, the Uchiha rarely got sick. It happened once every few years, but when it did - it was BAD.

Maybe it was the constant cold rain in Amegakure or the poison arrow with which one of the village's guards managed to hit him (or maybe even both), but just a day after he and Kisame left, he found himself so weak and tired, his teammate had to carry him all the back.

Not wanting to bring him back to the base, the first place Kisame thought of was Itachi's s/o's house.

I've said before that I always imagined Itachi with someone who lives in a remote cottage and is either a herb gatherer or somehow knowledgeable when it comes to natural medicine.

One glance at the black-haired shinobi was enough for them to understand he must have caught the flu or some type of virus. Thankfully, they knew exactly what he needed and wouldn't waste even a minute, before grabbing their coat and running to the nearby village to buy some medical ingredients that were missing in their kitchen.

His s/o would totally pamper him like a baby, despite Itachi's protests and claims that "he is fine".

They would make all his medicine by scratch every single day till he gets better. Most of the time it took the form of either a paste or a tea, which they served with his meal.

If they have any medical ninjutsu knowledge, they will use it to ease his symptoms, but I doubt they will be that good to heal him completely.

Itachi would constantly huff about it, but he secretly loved the cozy space his partner managed to create using all the available pillows/blankets they found in their house.

As I said above, this man is very stubborn, so inevitably there will be some small arguments during that time. Mainly they were started by Itachi, who claimed he was feeling fine now (despite his pale face and loud cough), and finished by his s/o, who would always end up physically restraining him on the bed by laying next to him and hugging him.

In order to make sure he doesn't get up and move too much, his s/o would spend the majority of their day by his side. Reading books to him, telling him stories, playing board games, sometimes even gossiping... They will do anything to engage his mind and keep him distracted from the idea of trying to do stuff on his own.

Something he won't fight, however, is his s/o's massages. They would work on his aching muscles every single night, relieving the pain and the stress his body was feeling. Not only he love the feeling of his partner's hands on him, but it also greatly helps him relax and fall asleep.

With all of this treatment, it won't take long for Itachi to be back on his feet and spoil his s/o as reward for the good care they provided to him.

cc artwork: Oliver Beck

[alltheirdamn]

Chapter 1: Opening Day

Series summary: You've seen it all as the team's lead photographer. You're in the tunnel before the games, on the sidelines for each inning, and always around the players. When Frankie Morales is called up for the new season, you find yourself drawn to him in ways you can't quite explain. Chapter summary: It's opening day at Petco Park, and you finally meet the team's new star catcher. Rating: 18+ (Eventual smut) Word Count: 5k Tags: Triple Frontier AU, OFC! character described as having red hair and freckles, meet-cute, two big dummies bound to catch feelings, mutual pining, slow burn, future smut, duel pov, baseball terminology, etc. A/N: Hi!!! Well, welcome to the series! I'm really excited to share this lil story with you all. I've never really written an OC! before, so hopefully I don't totally butcher it. Anyway, I'm a bit nervous but please enjoy!

Masterlist | Baseball 101

Point. Click. 

Point. Click. 

The camera shutter echoes through the stadium tunnel as you settle into your usual game-day routine. It’s your third year on the media team for the Padres, and you’re beyond eager for the new season to begin. Nothing beats the thrill of baseball season, and it definitely doesn’t suck when an endless array of beautiful men in tight polyester uniforms surrounds you.

Perched on the ground, you angle your camera down the tunnel to capture the boys as they arrive. Benny Miller, the team’s starting shortstop, waltzes through the hall after a few managers get their head start. He’s got on his usual athleisure wear, a workout bag slung over his back, and his blonde hair tousled in a way that’s both messy and intentional.

Point. Click. 

“Welcome back, Benny,” you say, your camera angled a bit higher to adjust to his height.

“Hey to you too, Red,” he grins. 

America’s heartthrob, you think.

Not far behind him is his brother, Will—or Ironhead, as they all call him. He’s been a vet on the team for nearly five years and is one of the top left-handed pitchers in the league. No doubt, with last season's standings, he’ll take them far this year. He’s got the best ERA out of any team in the National League, and his brotherly dynamic with Benny is unmatched. The only difference between Will and Benny, though, is their personalities. Where Benny is outgoing—and a bit flirtatious—Will is reserved and collected. He’s the voice of reason and the glue that holds the entire time together. 

“Hey, Will!” 

You snap a quick photo, all too aware of how much he hates the attention. He gives you a subtle nod and continues down the tunnel behind Benny. 

Santiago Garcia is the next to make his entrance, his infectious smile perfect for a candid moment. Santi was the rookie outfielder last year, securing himself a spot in the All-Star Game with his defensive playing in center field against the stronger teams. You’ve never seen such an arm on someone, and the way he commands the field is wildly impressive. His gigantic ego and self-assurance are also quite impressive and sometimes a bit aggravating. But, you let it slide. He’s a sweet man through and through and has, thankfully, never hit on you. 

Unlike the majority of the sports world. 

Especially when it comes to women working in the media industry. 

You’re convinced Santi has some sort of sixth sense for the camera because the moment you line up for the shot, he’s already sporting a wide grin directed straight at you. 

“Hola, Red,” he says, waving in your direction.

“You know I have a real name, right?” You toss back.

“Whatever you say, Red.”

You roll your eyes as he walks past you, chuckling to yourself as you scroll through the photos logged into your camera. Making a mental note of which to select for the social media posts, you realign the camera back to eye level and squint through the lens. 

The team's newest addition walks straight down the tunnel, with his head low and eyes covered by the visor of his ballcap. Francisco Morales had been called up from triple just a week before opening day. You hadn’t read up much on him or his stats, but you know he’s done quite the work as the catcher for the El Paso Chihuahuas. There had been talks of who they’d have replacing Tom Davis after his season-ending injury last year, and Francisco was their best prospect. 

“Welcome to the team, Francisco!” You holler before snapping a photo.

He barely glances up, but you catch a rosy tint coloring the tanned skin of his face and a slight twitch in the corner of his lips. He’s dressed far differently than the other boys: loose khaki pants, a basic cotton shirt, and a suede bomber jacket. He doesn’t even carry a bag with him, just a plastic bottle of water gripped tightly in one very large hand. 

You’ve been with the team long enough to know his personality is far more reserved than the rest, a bit sheepish and uncomfortable, even. Maybe that’s just the game-day jitters getting to him. 

“Can I get one of you looking at the camera?” You ask before adding a polite please at the end.

He hesitates but ultimately obliges. Through the camera lens, you meet his eyes—the soft, warm brown of his irises boring into you so intensely it causes you to falter over the shutter button. Like any baseball player, he’s got that signature scruffy face, with a distinct mustache over his plush lips and a patchy beard covering his jaw. Despite his introverted demeanor, Francisco steals the air from your lungs just from a simple glance. It’s as if he’s giving you this one moment to capture who he is, and you take it without hesitation.

Point. Click.

“Thank you, Francisco. Good luck today!”

You’re acutely aware of how shaky your voice is, which is unusual given that he hasn’t even spoken to you. 

“Frankie,” he offers as he walks past.

The raspy low pitch of his voice reverbs inside your head, and you only manage to nod in agreement to his wishes. 

Frankie. You can do that. 

**

“So, what are your predictions for game one?” Ryan asks, nudging you slightly.

You’re both crouched behind home plate shooting pre-game warmup photos, the volume in the stadium growing as more fans trickle in. You switch out your sim card and set up your camera for action shots, too focused on getting the right angle of the outfielders to respond. 

Ryan has been your partner in crime on the media team since the start, and both of you got hired right out of college. While you focus more on the game-day action, Ryan usually tends to the off-day social media posts and team engagement with fans. It’s a fair trade-off, plus you’re far more invested in the sport than Ryan is ever willing to admit.

“Hellllooo?” He waves a hand in front of your camera lens.

“I don’t like giving predictions, Ryan. You know that,” you grumble.

“You and your weird superstitions, Red.”

“It’s not weird,” you counter. “Don’t you ever pay attention to the broadcasting curse? If I say something aloud, it’s bound to go the other way, and my hopes will be crushed.”

Ryan adjusts the focus on his lens, shrugging absently at your argument. 

“It’s the first game. Even if they lose today, there’s still six months left in the season.”

“No one wants to lose their first game.”

“You care too much,” he says, but there’s a lightness in his tone.

He knows you care more than you let on. Baseball has been something ingrained in you since you were just a kid. Your dad spent the greater half of his life as the pitching coach for UCLA, dragging you to nearly every game of the season since before you could even walk. You were raised sitting in the dugout with a handful of sunflower seeds in your hand and a baseball cap covering your red hair. Being a part of a baseball team in some capacity had always been in your future, but after your dad passed away when you were just starting college, you centered your entire life around it. You threw yourself into photography, taking every chance at capturing moments that could give you just a second of nostalgia. The photos weren’t just for school, a baseball team, or a social media page… they were for you. It was your way of coping. The longer you could stay on the field, the longer you could live in that bubble of the past. 

Your dad was gone, but you still had baseball. And you’d never give it up. 

“Think Morales is gonna make his mark on the team?” Ryan asks, steering the subject in a different direction.

You tense up, locked on the memory of Frankie’s big brown eyes. There’s something about him that skyrockets your heart rate, and you aren’t sure if it’s in a good way. You search the field for those dark curls, looking at everybody on the field,  trying to spot him during the warmup. Crestfallen, you give up your search and resume snapping photos.

“I think he’ll do just fine,” you say dismissively.

“His batting average in the minors was insane,” Ryan rambles. “Just hopes it sticks here in the big leagues. You know how it is sometimes.”

You did know. Too often, have you seen star minor league players appear on the big stage and choke. Something about Frankie Morales makes you believe he won’t end up like that. There was something in his eyes that told you otherwise, a seriousness that showed this game meant something to him. 

You liked that. 

“Where’s your station for the game?” Ryan asks.

“First base. I might have to step into the bullpen for some shots if they let me.”

“I’m sure the boys will love that,” he teases.

“Oh, fuck off. They’re harmless.”

“I don’t know, Red. I see the way they look at you.”

You deadpan, giving him an icy stare. None of the boys thought of you that way, and you didn’t think of them differently. This was a job. They played the game; you took the photos. 

That was the end of it. 

“I think you’re seeing things,” you argue.

“I mean, Benny is giving you fuck me eyes from across the field right now,” Ryan shrugs.

You steal a glance out to the in-field to find Ryan is, in fact, correct. With his free hand, Benny tosses you a flirtatious wave before throwing the ball back to Santi across the field. 

“He flirts with everyone,” you say pointedly. “Did you see how many girls he brought back to his hotel rooms last season?”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind adding one more.”

You punch Ryan in the arm, clearly annoyed with his pushy behavior toward the subject. Grabbing your equipment bag from the ground, you toss him a quick finger and haul your stuff down to the media room under the stadium. 

**

Frankie isn’t in the right mindset when the National Anthem concludes before the game. He’s not one to get nervous before playing, but something about seeing Petco Park sold out for opening day has him fidgeting. The only saving grace is having Santi playing alongside him. 

He and Santi met back in college, playing together from Sophomore year until Senior year when they got drafted to different teams. Santi was selected in the third round by the Houston Astros and was traded a year later to the Padres. Frankie got drafted by the Padres right away in the fifth round. He spent the last four years in the minors, just waiting to get called up.

Now, the moment is here, and he’s terrified.

Frankie doesn’t like to admit it often, but he holds himself to a higher standard. He’s fucked up in life a few times, and it’s cost him his happiness. He doesn’t want to fuck up now. Not when the entire world is watching. 

“Estás bien?” Santi asks Frankie as they head into the dugout. 

“I’m fine,” Frankie says, but his tone says otherwise. 

There’s a haze over his mind, a fog he can’t shake. Santi claps him on the back, giving him a comforting smile.

“It’s just first-game nerves, Catfish. It’ll pass after the first at-bat.”

Frankie doesn’t respond. He’s got a lump in his throat, and he can’t quite swallow it. The last thing he wants to do is disappoint his closest friend—or the team. He can’t be a disappointment. He has to be good. He has to be the best. 

He has to prove himself.

Frankie runs out onto the field, securing his catcher's mask over his face. The weight of his gear feels like a comforting anchor, leveraging him to keep his mind focused. There’s a roar from the crowd as he takes his place behind home base, and the applause and cheers only make things worse. He’s under the lights, he’s got thousands watching, and this is his one shot. 

The first pitch comes fast, a sinker that falls perfectly into his glove. Strike one. Will is on the mound, his face stoic and focused on the batter standing to the right of Frankie. There’s still some trust to gain between them both, and Frankie hopes he proves himself today. Will throws a slider next, down low and right past the bat. 

Strike two. 

Like a well-rehearsed dance, Frankie and Will waltz between batters. An easy one, two, three, and they’re out of the top of the first. Frankie runs alongside Will as they head toward the dugout, the tension in his shoulders relaxing.

“Great job out there, Morales,” Will says. “Welcome to the show.”

“Thanks, Miller. You’re solid on the mound. Those sliders are insane,” Frankie commends. 

“Gotta keep them on their toes. Now, get ready for the bottom of the inning. Show them what you can do out there.”

As Frankie steps into the dugout, he nearly collides with a body nestled into the corner of the steps. Her red hair is tousled into a ponytail, the bill of her Padres ball cap shielding her eyes from the setting sun.

“Shit, sorry,” she mumbles, stepping out of the way.

He recognizes her from earlier, the media girl in the tunnel. Frankie was so wrapped up in his thoughts earlier he hadn’t noticed how beautiful she was: bright eyes, a gentle smile, and a face covered in freckles. 

“All good,” he huffs, too flustered to choke out any more words.

“You look good out there,” she smiles. 

Frankie runs a hand through his sweat-soaked hair, no doubt looking a mess. He needs to focus—needs to move—but he can’t seem to make his way past her. 

“Be careful with Akin’s pitches,” she adds. “He tends to throw his fastballs up in the corner of the zone.”

“Thanks,” Frankie nods. He’s surprised at how much she pays attention.

“Yo! Catfish!” Santi calls from down in the dugout. “Get your ass over here now.”

“I’m assuming you’re Catfish?” She asks.

“Unfortunately,” Frankie grumbles. “Sorry, I’m just gonna go see what he wants.”

“It’s all good. I’m moving down to first base, so I’ll be out of the way.” 

She rises to her feet and gives Frankie one final smile before stepping onto the dirt. Frankie watches as she walks away, her ponytail swinging behind her with every step. 

Focus. 

**

Halfway through the batting order, you’re already onto your next sim card. You usually space out the amount of footage you take, but the game is electric. The Padres are up three to zero, thanks to a home run from Benny—obviously—and a few quick plays made by Santi and Chris Holmes. 

With two outs in the sixth, Frankie is up to bat. His first plate appearance was abysmal, with a groundout to third base. You saw his shoulders slumped as he walked off the field; he didn’t take it lightly. It’s just the first game, you tell yourself. He’ll do just fine. 

Akin throws the first pitch, a fastball, just as you expect. Frankie takes the strike and readjusts himself for the next pitch. It’s outside the zone, and he tracks it carefully. You hold your breath as he hits a full count, three balls, two strikes… and wait. Akin places a screwball down low, but Frankie manages to get a piece of it and sends it sailing into center field for a double. You startle yourself with how loud you cheer, watching his muscled body run past first and onto second base. You’re so caught up in watching him you forget to snap a photo.  

You scold yourself for missing the opportunity to capture his first hit for the team. Why are you so fixated on him? None of the other guys have ever caused you to miss a shot; no one has ever tripped you up this badly. But Frankie… there’s just something about him. He’s not self-assured like the rest. He’s not cocky in the slightest. Honestly, he looked terrified when you ran into him after the top of the first inning. Before your mind starts wandering off, you check the settings on your camera and return to shooting footage. 

The team wins five to zero. Fireworks sparkle through the night sky as the stadium begins to clear out, and you start to return to the dugout. Benny and Will are in a tight embrace as you step under the awning, your camera gear slung over your back. 

“Great win, boys,” you say, giving them each a high five. 

“Did you ever doubt us?” Benny teases, giving you a smug grin. 

“Not for a minute.”

The Miller brothers make their way down into the clubhouse, leaving you standing alone in the dugout. You peel off your ballcap and remove your ponytail, letting your hair fall down your shoulders. 

“Thanks for the advice on Akin.”

The voice startles you, and you search through the shadows to find Frankie sitting alone at the end of the bench. He’s got his glove resting beside him and his bat propped between his feet. He should be celebrating with the team down in the clubhouse, yet he’s here by himself under the stadium lights and swirling shadows. 

“I’ve got plenty more if you ever need it,” you tell him. 

Frankie doesn’t respond, but his eyes stay locked on yours. The stadium lights illuminate the rich chocolate inside his irises, making it nearly impossible to look anywhere else. 

“Shouldn’t you be with the team?” You wonder. “I’m sure they’re all celebrating the first win of the season.”

“Just wanted some time alone, I guess. Soak it all in, you know?”

You walk toward him, cautious on whether or not to get any closer. You aren’t sure if he even wants company, but you can’t seem to steer yourself away. 

“Was it everything you hoped for?” You ask. 

“It could’ve been better.”

Frankie moves his glove into his lap, offering you a space beside him on the bench. Though you feel reluctant, something inside you forces your legs to move. You want to be nearer to him, to get close enough to see past this wall he’s built up. You’re used to some players being quiet and shy, like Will. At least with Will, though, he’s fun when there’s no stress on his shoulders. He relaxes a bit from time to time and lets his guard down. Something you’ve yet to see with Frankie. 

Sliding onto the bench beside him, you adjust your camera into your lap and lay your ballcap over your knee. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Frankie’s head tilt slightly, his eyes trained on your legs. There’s still a healthy gap between you both, yet the warmth of his body swarms around you. 

“Are you with the team full-time?” He asks. 

You glance at him, studying the way his hair curls around his ears and at the base of his neck. There’s a tension in his jaw that flexes under his beard, a simple twitch that happens after every time he speaks. Despite the timid exterior, you can’t help but to notice the softness in his eyes when he looks at you. 

“Mostly just for home games,” you explain. “I only really travel with the team if they invite me on the road. They like having extra media presence for the bigger series, and whatnot. If I could be at every game, I absolutely would. Sitting on the sidelines beats having to watch it on the TV or listening to the radio.”

Frankie nods along as you talk, his lips pursed as if he’s thinking of what to say. Avoiding any more awkward silence, you flick on your camera and scroll through the photos, presenting him with a few you’d taken during his first appearance at the plate. His arm brushes yours slightly as he leans in closer, staring at the photo far longer than you expect. 

“I kind of fucked up and forgot to take a photo of you after that double in sixth,” you admit. “I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t be,” he shakes his head. “I like this one.”

It’s a photo of him swinging at a curveball, his bat posed perfectly in the center of the box, and his muscular thighs flexed under his pinstripe uniform. You have to admit, it is a good shot—and he looks amazing mid-swing. Your eyes flick up to his, realizing he’s already looking at you. Thank God for the shadows inside the dugout, or else Frankie would see the way your face warms at his words. You don’t ever share your footage with the guys until it’s posted on the social media pages, but it feels different with Frankie. It strangely feels nice. 

“I feel like an asshole, I don’t think I’ve even asked for your name,” he says. 

“The guy’s normally just call me Red,” you shrug. 

“But that’s not your name.”

You tell him your name, and listen to his gentle voice echo it back. It’s rare you hear your name nowadays. Everyone just refers to you as ‘Red’, like it’s who you are. It doesn’t bother you, necessarily, but finally hearing someone acknowledge you makes your stomach flip. Frankie’s eyes never leave yours, and you realize how close you both have gotten. His leg is pressed against yours, and you can still faintly smell the turf on his uniform. He must notice it, too, because he clears his throat and shifts his legs inward. Shutting your camera off, you let it rest in your lap between your hands. There’s a quiet buzz between your bodies, a comfortable cocoon of shared silence that seems to swell with each passing second. 

“I, um, I should probably head down there with the guys,” Frankie says after a while. 

“Yeah, of course. I’m sorry if I kept you too long.”

Frankie rises from the bench, his thick fingers wrapping around the neck of his bat. He offers you a hand, and you shrink under his height as you move to stand. 

“I didn’t mind the company.”

There’s a hint of a smile on his face, just an easy curve of his lips as he stares at you a moment longer. You should move. You should definitely move. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Frankie,” you say. “Great job out there tonight.”

“Thank you.” He says your name, again, emphasizing it as if to prove a point. A gentle reminder that you’re more than just a nickname. 

**

“What took you so long, Catfish?” Santi yells from across the clubhouse. 

He’s already showered and got on his casual clothes for the drive home, something Frankie should have been doing. Instead, he had been helplessly wasting time sitting next to the photographer he had seen around all day. 

Frankie tears his baseball cap off his head, tossing it into his locker as he unbuttons his uniform. He’s still mentally picking apart the day—what he did wrong, what he could improve on—but in each thought, her shiny red hair and doe eyes make a reappearance. Shaking his head, he strips off his undershirt and searches through his stall for a fresh one. 

“Got to chatting with the team photographer,” he says, shrugging the shirt over his chest.

Santi leans against the locker stall, his mouth quirked up in a teasing grin. Frankie already knows what he’s going to say, and he regrets ever mentioning it. 

“Distracted by Red, huh?” Santi teases. “She’s got that affect.”

“She’s not distracting,” Frankie defends. “She just came down to show me some of the pictures she took, and we talked a bit. That’s all.” 

He hopes his clipped words are enough to steer Santi away from the conversation, but Santi can see right through him. 

“Red never shows anyone her photos. None of us ever see what she’s got on that camera until they’re online.”

For some reason, Frankie loves knowing he’s the exception. He saw the way she lit up as she scrolled through the footage, clearly proud of her work. Hell, he doesn’t even care she missed his big play. She spent that time in the dugout with him while his mind was a mess, and gave him a reprieve from the clouded thoughts that the game left him with. Was it awful that he was only looking forward to tomorrow’s game so he could see her again? 

“Maybe she feels bad for me, I don’t know,” Frankie huffs.

He slips on his jacket and runs a hand through his hair before putting on his hat. Santi watches him suspiciously, tracking the tense movements Frankie makes as he gathers his stuff to leave. 

“She’s a nice girl, you know, and she knows her shit, too. Hell, half the guys have tried to grab her attention the last few years, and she’s never been interested.”

“What makes you think she’s interested in me?” 

“I don’t know,” Santi drawls out the words. “Guess we’ll just have to see what she posts tonight.”

Frankie rolls his eyes, shoving past Santi and out of the clubhouse. He steers clear of the other guys as they walk together out to their cars. No one has said much to him yet, and he’s okay with it. Frankie knows he’s the new guy and it’ll take some time for everyone to warm up to him. The only person that seems to be welcoming so far, was Red. Maybe that’s just who she was, but Frankie found himself working Santi’s words over and over inside his head. Red never shows anyone her photos. What made Frankie so special, then? Was he right to think she felt bad for him? If she hadn’t been interested in anyone else, then why did she spend that time with him? 

The apartment is pitch black when Frankie opens the door. Flicking on the lights, he takes in the empty space. Moving boxes scatter the hallway, leading into the renovated kitchen. Frankie barely got the keys to his new place in San Diego two days ago, leaving him little time to settle in before opening day. After this series he’ll be on the road for a week, without any time to get acclimated. Traveling never bothered him, but he wished he could just stop and breathe for one minute. You wanted this, he reminds himself. He’s worked too hard the last several years to let this opportunity pass. The boxes can wait, at least for now.

Tossing his jacket onto the back of the sofa, Frankie slumps against the cushions, scrubbing a hand over his face. He’s been itching to look at his phone since he left the stadium, but he held off. Guess we’ll just have to see what she posts tonight. Digging out his phone from his pocket, Frankie opens Instagram and refreshes the page. Sure enough, the media team already made a post-game slideshow…with Frankie’s at-bat being the first photo. 

The same one he told her he liked the most. 

His thumb hovers over the post as he debates whether or not to look at the rest. He’s already got his one photo, there wouldn’t be any need to give fans more. Yet, as he slides his thumb left over the screen, there’s another photo of himself—from the pre-game walk through the tunnel. Even though his eyes are staring directly into the camera, he knows that wasn’t what he was looking at. His entire focus had been on the girl behind the camera. 

Frankie opens the team’s Instagram page and scrolls through the ‘following’ tab, searching for her name. It’s just innocent curiosity, that’s all it is, but as he finds her name down the list, he’s tempted to press the button. The blue Follow button taunts him, begging him to make the move. Her profile picture is a simple mirror shot, half her face covered by her camera. He wants to see more, like this odd desperation to know her past the lens she hides behind. Before he talks his way out of it, Frankie taps Follow, and sends his phone sailing across the room. It hits the carpet with a soft thud, and sits there silent on the ground. He tips his head back against the couch, pitching the bridge of his nose. God, he feels stupid. 

A soft buzz resounds through the room. Frankie slides his eyes toward his phone, seeing the carpet illuminated by the screen. Just a coincidence, he thinks. Despite the denial he spews inside his mind, he moves from the couch to retrieve his phone. 

Red has accepted your follow request. 

Red started following you. 

Frankie stares at the screen with a stupid grin on his face. He scrolls through her page, finding a surplus of photographs of the stadium, the beach, and a few cityscape shots from various cities. There isn’t a single photo of her, though. He studies each photo, wondering what she saw through the lens of the camera, wishing he could see just one of her face. As he makes his way down her page, a message notification pops onto the screen. 

Red: I hope it’s okay I posted that photo of you. 

Frankie: Absolutely. 

Red: Ok, good. I liked it, too. 

Frankie: Santi told me you don’t show anyone your photos. 

Red: Of course he did. LOL. I’m just protective over my work. I like to keep things private.

Frankie: Why’d you show them to me? 

Frankie watches as text bubbles appear and disappear over and over for at least a minute. He half considers turning his phone off for the night to avoid her response. He shouldn’t care why she showed him, but the thought of it would keep him up all night, wondering why he was deserving of it and not anyone else. His phone buzzes in his hands, and Frankie quickly opens the message. 

Red: I don’t know. You’re the only person I really felt like sharing it with. 

Frankie: I feel honored. Any time you want to share them, I’m always around. 

Red: I’m holding you to that. 

Frankie thinks of a million things to reply with, but his fingers don’t move; all he can think about is seeing her again tomorrow.

[ravenstargames]

✦ Lost in Limbo 2023 wrap-up

And finally, after the hectic period of Christmas and the New Year, we are here and ready for our wrap-up!

Warning: this devlog may include some typos. As per usual!

Honestly, I can't believe we are here. This year has been wild for so many reasons. We have made so much progress, perhaps not as much as we would have wanted, but we have come really far. I'm very proud of my team and thankful for the people we have met this year that have made this journey easier.

So...let's see what we have done this year and our plans for 2024!

✦ First of all, we made our itch.io page debut!

And this was perhaps the hugest milestone for us. It got a wonderful reception even if there's nothing to play yet, so we can't be grateful enough for that. This of course includes the key art and the screenshots we managed to get ready for the itchio page!

✦ We launched our official webpage!

Another amazing milestone for us! I remember tirelessly working with Raquel for weeks to get this done the way we wanted it to be.

✦ We welcomed our editor, Allie Vera, to our team!

They are not only a marvelous person but someone I'm having the privilege to learn from. Her editing skills are amazing and the script has done nothing but improve since we got it in her hands. We have started editing together and she has been working so, so hard, I'll be doing my best to keep up. Please send a lot of love their way, because they deserve it!

✦ We began working on the CGs!

Raquel has been working super hard and right now we have five CGs ready and one in process. The last one will likely be ready for next month, and with that the CGs for the demo will be finished!

✦ The UI was implemented and it's fully functional!

For someone who was a total stranger to programming, I think I've done a good job this past year! The game menus finally look like they should (with a bit of changes needed here and there) and everything is working well. I'm sure the code could be optimized greatly, but for now I'm happy with how it is (as my skills are, well, what they are!).

✦ We finished the demo script and have started the editing process!

That was a huge step for us as many changes were done to the script before we could consider it done. We sadly had to cut chunks of content because we felt like, for a demo, it was better to get to the juicy parts and meet the LI's as soon as possible. Some adaptations had to be made, some ideas had to be scratched, but here we are now, with a finished script ready to be coded, and being edited by Allie!

✦ We got some nice backgrounds done!

Work on backgrounds has been slower than we would have wanted to, but taking into consideration we were studying a master (that was pretty hard on us) and there's only four of us, I'd say it's a victory! There's still some backgrounds left, but as Astro and Raquel work on that, there's other areas of the game that keep moving forward.

✦ We opened a ko.fi page!

This was one of our 2023 goals, so high-five!

✦ We met amazing people, made new friends, and learned from a lot of fellow devs!

What a ride has it been! People I used to admire from a distance, enjoying their projects and gushing over them, are now part of my personal life. A lot of fellow devs have come forward in 2023 with new projects, new inspiring and incredible ideas, and we have been supported by all of them and welcomed as if we had always been a part of the Indie visual novel community.

Just to name a few of inspiring and amazing devs, the sweet folks at Foxglove Games (who have released Trouble Comes Twice!), Velvet Cupcake Games and their progress with Made Marion, Best Laid Plain Productions and their amazing work with Save the Villainness, and of course our beloved Crescence Studio with Alaris and Intertwine, which now has an Extended Edition!

As per usual, Lem (Crescence) has a special spot in this devlog because they have been the absolute highlight of this year. What a loving, sweet, amazing and creative individual. We all are very lucky to have them with us, but specially me; their friendship has meant so much for me this year, and I hope we can only grow closer with time! I LOVE YOU LEM!! 💜

✦ On a personal note...

On the personal side of things, I got diagnosed with OCD in late November. I had been suffering the symptoms since July, knowing something was wrong but thinking it would pass. It has changed my life and the way I see things and myself, and I'm on a long journey that has, unfortunately, affected my work on Lost in Limbo. I have not worked as much as I had planned, but I'm lucky to have my friends, my family and my partner, who are walking this path with me.

I'm sharing this because I think it's important. My experience will hopefully give someone who is reading this the push to seek help; I thought it was nothing and I ended up going through the hardest year of my life. Thankfully, I now have the help I need; I have been going to therapy since October, been diagnosed, and I'm now on my way to learn to live with OCD and heal from it. Some days are harder than others, but I'll get there! 💜

On a happier note, Astro and I will be adopting a cat from a shelter very very soon, if things go as planned! Raquel has taken the plunge and opened a sticker store! She has been doing great so far and is overworked but happy. We are so proud of her!

Also, we finally, FINALLY had the chance to get together for New Year's Eve and celebrate together after more than seven years of friendship! Sadly Kayden couldn't make it in the end because of COVID, but hopefully this is the beginning of a lot of years of celebrating together!

Mostly, the team and I have been doing fine, all things considered. Astro wants you all to now that even if he's not very active on social media, he appreciates your support a lot and will do his best to return that love! Thank you all for your support through the year, as always 💜

We had a bunch of goals set for 2023, and my God if they weren't ambitious. This year has taught us a lot about limits, about being realistic with our expectations and with the amount of work needed for a visual novel, and has overall humbled us.

There's one sprite remaining, the LI's expressions, plus one CG and finishing the backgrounds that need a bit more polishing. That and editing the script into its final state and code it accordingly.

With that being said, I want to be positive and say the demo may be ready for April - May, but I don't know if that'll be possible. We made the mistake of being too excited and too positive when it came to the work we would be able to do, and we apologize for that. We are still learning and we hope you can still support us and make this journey with us as you have been doing since we started.

Still, the demo WILL release this year. That is for sure. As we keep working —and the team has been working very, very hard— we'll decide when the demo will release, giving it time to be beta tested, sent to streamers who are interested, etc.

So the main objective of this year is...

✦ Release the demo!

Obvious, right? But with it comes some smaller goals!

✦ Code the script!

The editing process is going well —thanks to Allie who works tirelessly, honestly— so I hope I can step on the gas and get those corrections done as soon as possible!

✦ Finish all the assets!

As soon as Raquel is done with the CGs, we'll start working on the expressions together (I have already been toying with it) and the remaining sprite. Astro will finish the remaining backgrounds!

✦ Open a casting call for our LIs!

We want the demo to be at least partially voiced. When the whole script is done and more or less coded, we'll open a casting call to give our LIs what will be their official voices for the whole game. What an adventure!

✦ Open our steam page!

Pretty self-explanatory, but there it is!

What a year, huh? We have worked so much and so hard while studying, and that studies are now over. This year has been one of self-discovery, of new challenges, of some goodbyes and some new faces and friends. My only wish for 2024 is for it to be gentler to everyone. Hopefully we can all heal from whatever hurt us in 2023, laugh a lot with our loved ones, and learn more about ourselves and our lives in this 2024! 💜

With that being said, thank you for reading once more, and let us hope this year brings us a lot of amazing games and memories! 💜

[crimsonhydrangeavn]

Hi! I absolutely loved the demo of your game—it was amazing! I'm excited to see more of it. I have two questions: First, how would Garret or Teagan react if they were in a room full of yanderes with y/n? Second, I hope this doesn't come across the wrong way, but I'm genuinely curious—how long does it usually take to release a new episode? I'm really looking forward to continuing the game, and I appreciate all the hard work you put into it. I hope I'm not rushing anyone, and I'm truly sorry if it comes off that way. Thank you so much for reading!

Thank you so much for your ask! I'll go ahead and answer your second question first before moving onto the first one! lol

I wanted to start off by thanking you for asking your question in a kind and respectful way, I completely understand where you're coming from and I don't take any offense to it what so ever!

I know I really appreciate transparency when it comes to games/ things I'm a fan of, so I want to do what I can to make sure I'm as honest and upfront with you all as possible.

So I went through my logs and did the math. Day 1 took me about 6 months from start to finish and Day 2 took me almost a full year from start to finish. That being said, Day 1 was 11k words and Day 2 was 24.5k words total. So given the fact that Day 2 was more than twice as long as Day 1, I can see why it took double the time as Day 1. (That and I learned how to add animation into Renpy and spent a little over a month going down that rabbit hole and making a few animations for the game. I also spent some time refining Day 1 while working on Day 2 so that probably made the Day 2 release take longer than it would have otherwise)

The reason why it takes as long as it does is because I'm making this game entirely by myself. That includes the script, all of the art assets, the programming, the audio, and not to mention all of the social media, and patreon content.

On top of that I also have a pretty steady stream of freelance work that usually equals to about 30-50 hours a week. I've burnt myself out in the past and I'm trying to keep a sustainable pace where I'm making progress on CHVN but I'm also enjoying life and taking breaks as needed.

That being said, I do post monthly game updates on my patreon to discuss what I've finished that month, what I have left, and what the current word count is. ( ATM it's longer than Day 1 and I still have a lot planned haha)

I also think it's worth mentioning that this is my first game and I'm learning how to do everything from scratch. My background is in the visual arts so programming and audio stuff is completely foreign to me. That being said, I'm stubborn as hell and for better or for worse once I put my mind to something, I'll get it done one way or another.

Hopefully that answers your question! Once I finish up the script portion of Day 3, I can give a better estimate of how long it'll take me, but until then I really have no idea when the actual release date will be.

Now, onto the easier/ fun part of your question! lol

Garret would play nice at first, however he would make sure that he was never more than a step away from your side. He doesn't trust anyone to behave themselves around you, especially if they're anything like him.

Teagan on the other hand would immediately try to get you to leave the room. They don't deal well with competition and would want to remove you from the situation asap. If you refused/ couldn't leave with them, then they would make sure to talk shit about all of the other Yandere's and taint your view of them. While it would put an obvious target on their own back, at least they'd know you wouldn't talk to or go off with them out of your own free will.

Thank you again for all of your support! I really appreciate it and I can only hope that the next update is worth the wait!

[arachnovolt]

ArachnoVolt's 2024 Game of the Year List

The time has come once more! As the minutes tick away and the final hour draws near, I wanna shout out the best of best from my extensive laundry list of games that I played this year before we're once again reminded of the inescapable march of time. Counting only titles that released this year, I've played a total of 27 games this year with two of them being early access titles. It was hard to narrow it down but here's my list of the top 10 games I played this year.

10: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Before I say anything about the game, I gotta acknowledge that Ubisoft sucks. Not only for continuously chasing NFT and crypto shit, but for also being complicit in the systemic abuse and harassment of their employees. So I normally avoid Ubisoft titles but I found this used in a GameStop and picked it up cause I was craving a new metroidvania experience.

What I got was singlehandedly one of the best metroidvanias I've ever played in my entire life. The only reason it's not higher on this list are the reasons above. With fast paced combat utilizing one of the most satisfying parrys I've ever used, stunning environment and character design, a great story, and a massive map to map out and explore, it quickly became a stand out title for me. But what pushed it over the finish line was the accessibility options. It had most of stuff you normally expect (high contrast modes, difficulty toggles, etc) but the true stand out was a map marker that displayed an image of the location, giving you a visual reminder of exactly why you marked that spot. I highly recommend checking this out if you get the chance. Even if it means hunting down a used copy, this game absolutely deserves to be appreciated.

9: Minishoot' Adventures

If there's one thing I love more than anything, it's taking the mechanics of one genre and blending them into another. And that's exactly what Minishoot' Adventures is. This game is a Link to the Past style adventure game where you'll be exploring dungeons, collecting upgrades, and slaying bosses on a journey to save your friends. What makes it special is that it's a twin stick shooter meaning that your mid dungeon pick ups will be things like a wide shot attack or a screen clearing bomb. If you're interested in a dungeon crawler with a unique spin, Minishoot' Adventures will sure to leave you satisfied.

8: Core Keeper

One of my most played games of all time has to be Terraria. I love that loop of diving into dangerous caves to explore, mining for resources, and slaying bosses. Core Keeper is a game that asks the question "What if you never left the caves?". I had been following Core Keeper throughout its early access period but I finally decided to pick it up when it had its 1.0 release back in August. This game follows that same loop as Terraria and while I haven't played all too much of it yet, it's one of the few games that have tried to hit that Terraria loop and succeed just as well as they did if not equally so.

7: Nine Sols

Yep. We got another metroidvania on the list. Nine Sols gets a lot of chat from people talking about its Sekiro inspired combat and, while I think it's phenomenal, that's not the main reason I put it on my list. For me, the game's main selling point is the setting and presentation. The hand drawn animations and cutscenes help bring the story to life and make every action look and feel great. This game is also my first exposure to taopunk and from the early few minutes of the game, I was instantly invested. Check out Nine Sols if you wanna get lost in a sci-fi fantasy world like no other.

6: UFO 50

If you're up to date on conversations in the indie community, you've probably heard of this one. If you haven't, I'm thrilled to be the one to introduce you to this gem. UFO 50 is a collection of 50 games developed by a small team of different devs all contributing different kinds of games to the project. What makes it special is the narrative premise. UFO 50 is presents itself as an archive for a fictional and now defunct retro game studio and all the titles reflect that level of quality. This collection contains everything from puzzle games, platformers, strategy games, and even a full length exploration platformer and JRPG. I can't guarantee you'll love everything in this collection, but UFO 50 absolutely has at least one game that'll be your cup of tea.

5: Animal Well

Okay! Top five time! And the last metroidvania on the list. Animal Well is definitely the most interesting metoidvania on this list primarily because, rather than having a strong focus on combat, Animal Well is a massive puzzle box broken down into smaller ones that take up each individual screen of its sprawling map. Every screen transition presents another challenge to solve. Whether it's activating a platform, dispatching an dangerous animal, or collecting something you'll need for another puzzle later, Animal Well kept me guessing and thinking the whole way through. With secrets upon secrets upon mysteries upon challenges, Animal Well is definitely the game that put my brain to the test this year.

4: Another Crab's Treasure

I really want to like soulslike style games but I tend to not vibe with them for one main reason: I'm real bad at soulslike. It's not that I can't play them. It's that I hit a wall (and by wall, I mean a boss that snaps into me like a Slim Jim) and I just get frustrated and/or bored and move on to something else. Another Crab's Treasure is different in that regard by being the only soulslike I've played with options to make the game easy enough to manage difficult combat encounters while still maintaining a consistent challenge without ever making me feel like I'm lesser than for having to utilize those features. Hell, it actively encourages it by making one of the trophies directly tied to using one. On top of that, it's incredibly charming. Both the spoken dialogue and the random text all over the human debris littering the sea floor is absolutely hilarious. The environments and characters are vibrant and colorful. I'm constantly having a blast with Another Crab's Treasure. It's the first soulslike game I've ever played that feels like it wants to be beat it and is actively encouraging me to do it.

3: Sonic x Shadow Generations

Long before I would come to truly call myself a Sonic fan, Sonic Generations was my absolute favorite Sonic game. I still have my working PS3 copy. So you can imagine my delight when this got announced. But Sonic Generations isn't why this got my number three spot. It's Shadow's portion that truly elevates this package into becoming the best Sonic game ever made. Building on the fundamentals from Sonic Frontiers and covering the story of the titular hedgehog, Shadow Generations is the love letter to Shadow that he rightfully deserves.

2: Balatro

Let's be honest. Do I really need to write a whole paragraph talking about this one? Odds are that you probably ended a run right before you started reading this, plan on doing a run after this, or you know someone who falls into the first two categories that won't stop pestering you about it.

And before the coveted numero uno, let's take a little break for...

Most Disappointing: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind

Now this is the third year I've done this list so I wanna take a step back to provide context on this entry. I don't put games here because I think they're "bad". I think that's a reductive way of looking at stuff. Rita's Rewind isn't a bad game. The dev team have been very active and responsive patching major issues since launch and adding quality of life features. It's honestly really fun to play. So why is it here? Simple: Compared to other beat em ups out there like Streets of Rage 4, TMNT: Shredder's Revenge, and Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Video Game, it's really bare bones. All of the Rangers play the exact same. Same damage, defense, speed, etc. They even all use the same basic hand to hand combos despite them being shown to have their weapons. If you're a fan of MMPR, you'll enjoy it for the love and attention to detail it pays to the original series. If you're not a fan of MMPR however, there's a laundry list of more compelling beat em ups out there worth playing.

Honorable Mention: Fields of Mistria

So a rule I have for my list is that only games that hit a full release are eligible for a numbered spot. So while Fields of Mistria isn't a full release yet, it did launch in early access this year so it's eligible for this spot and it's rightfully deserved. What it lacks in gameplay content it makes up for with vibes alone. The 80s anime art used to bring Mistria's inhabitants to life looks great and even in its current state, every NPC's dialogue is varied and unique, making Mistria feel like a living town. Whether you're willing to deal with its growing pains or you'd rather wait for the 1.0 version, Fields of Mistria is one to keep an eye on.

And now, it's time for the moment you've been waiting for! It's ArachnoVolt's Game of the Year! A game that needs no further introduction! Say hello to...

1: Astro Bot

If you know me from any Discord/Guilded server, you probably saw this coming. And I wanna highlight something. I don't have a massive love for PlayStation. Out of the 92 different Sips referenced in the game, I've only played 4 of them so I don't praise Astro Bot for the references. I love platformers and I've been playing them for years. This might be one of the best ever made. Every single aspect of this game oozes passion, charm, and joy. The soundtrack is one of the catchiest I've ever heard. The way Team Asobi utilizes the all of the I can't say enough positive things about this game.

[librarylexicon]

20 Questions for Writers

EDIT: Now with question 17!

Tagged by @cuephrase (ty bb!!)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

32 (that are attached to my account).

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

283,405. I very nearly posted 100,000 of them last year, and only noticed when I looked at my stats in January. If I'd known, I would have posted something else to get it over that line!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now, just Batman, but in the past I've written for Harry Potter, Anne of Green Gables, Little Men, Tintin and a handful of other fandoms. I have a Road to Avonlea fic tentatively in the works, and might return to any of these fandoms if inspiration strikes.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

All the Corners That Are Left is an outlier in my stats because it has more than three times as many kudos as the runner-up. It's an exchange fic that was my first foray into posting Batfam fics, and I liked writing it so much that it actually sparked a loose series of Post-Crisis oneshots, currently called Corners.

Family Crisis is my beloved canon divergence AU of War Games. It's the first fic I started writing for Batman, and I'm so happy that people are reading it. It's very comics-oriented, but still easy to follow without having touched a comic (imo).

Harry Potter and the Time-Turner is the first multichapter fic I ever wrote and completed, back when I was in my early teens. I won't reread it, lest I die of cringe, but I'm bemusedly grateful that it still gets hits and kudos.

Home Assignment is a Dick whump fic I drafted quite a while ago, and finally had an opportunity to finish and publish when I signed up for a Dick Grayson event. I had fun playing around with unreliable narration in this one!

In Retrospect is a HP fic that was written for a challenge where I was given five prompts and a week to produce five one-shots. I chose to make mine interconnected missing scenes set during and after Deathly Hallows, and particularly like how Painfully Abnormal turned out.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! It's a habit that's carried over from my fanfiction.net days, and I receive a manageable amount of comments, so I try to respond to every one. (The only reason I might not is when someone leaves a string of comments that are all very brief. In that instance, I tend to reply to the final comment only.) I adore reading and replying to comments! 🫶

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I've always been an angst lover. The Last Enemy, one of my oldest fics, ends with (canonical) apparent character death, and For the Sake of Our Son ends with both main characters (canonically) dying. How fun!

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Other than a shipfic that's now anonymous, I don't know! I tend to go for uplifting or satisfying endings without necessarily aiming for happy ones (although I rarely have unhappy endings). Maybe You Know I Love You? I do also have a handful of Batman ficlets that I recently wrote for a zine, and there's definitely fluff among them.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I think I got some on fanfiction.net back in the day, but the most hate I've received that I can remember is people being salty about a couple of fics I began when I was a teenager and never finished. I'm sorry, but it's been almost a decade! Yes, you can and should resist the urge to tell me that you don't respect authors who abandon fics!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope!

10. Do you write crossovers?

While I've toyed with quite a few crossover ideas over the years, I've only published one, which is a Rise of the Guardians and Peter Pan one-shot called Lost Boy.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I can't recall any specific instances, but many of my fics have been on the internet for a long time, so they've definitely been scraped for knockoff sites, if nothing else.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, three times! Harry Potter and the Time-Turner has been translated into French, Shirley Not has been translated into German and At Home, They Call Me Tintin has been translated into Chinese. (Links to these translations are in my fanfic masterlist on Dreamwidth.)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I'm open to the idea! I'd have to really know the other author and get over my control freak tendencies, though...

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

I don't ship much (to the point where I have plenty of NOTPs), but I do love TimSteph, and I have soft spots for DickBabs and BatCat (Bruce/Selina) as well. All-time favourite, though? That would have to be Anne and Gilbert from the Anne of Green Gables series.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

Before the War(drobe). Narnia fandom, I really want to return to you someday, but I have a couple things to do first!

16. What are your writing strengths?

My most positive comments almost always mention characterisation. I also think I write dialogue pretty well. In my mind, well-written dialogue is essential to good characterisation.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Even though I write about characters who are superheroes, I rarely write about them BEING superheroes, because I struggle with action scenes. Also description, but I like to think I've grown better at it.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I don't like to use non-Latin characters in my fics for readability reasons, and I don't like to include dialogue in another language if I don't know the language. So, when my characters speak a language other than English, I either just use an English translation with a dialogue attribution (e.g. She said in Spanish) or just use the attribution without the dialogue, depending on whether or not the POV character understands the language.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter! I wrote for it before I knew what fanfic was. I also joined the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges forum on fanfiction.net back in the day, which led to my most prolific ficwriting period.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

My favourite fics tend to be my most recent ones, because they're the ones I've spent the most time on and am most proud of. I can never pick one of anything (as you've probably noticed), so my current favourites are:

Family Crisis – longtime labour of love and Bruce character study

All the Corners That Are Left – Dick character study feat. Jason

Flight Mode – Tim character study feat. Bruce

Phew, that was a lot of questions! I think a lot of people have already been tagged 😅

Scrolling through my mutuals and no-pressure tagging @silverwhittlingknife @geevesthevieve @batrachised @freyafrida and @silent-silver-slip and any other fic writers who see this! 🫶

[yarnnerdally]

Okay. Just Astarion fluff. Tavi is one of my OCs and just... yeah. She's a mom. So. Do what you will with that information.

Total WC: 2.8k

“You write an awful lot of letters, you know.” Tavi gasped as Astarion had crept up behind her and let out the breath she had taken in so quickly, hand over her racing heart. “Perhaps a curse of being a bard? So many words to get out, so little time.”

“Gods, Astarion. Just because you're good at sneaking about doesn't mean you should,” she murmured, shifting another piece of paper on top of what she'd been writing. His brow rose and he smirked.

“Ooh, a secret letter? To a lover back home, no doubt,” he teased. To his surprise she merely rolled her eyes, not a speck of pink to be seen on her freckled cheeks. “No? I find that quite hard to believe, darling. As far as high elves go, and I should know, you're stunning.”

“Contrary to popular belief, bards do not have beaus in every major city,” Tavi said with a small huff as she folded the letter away. He watched as she carefully rolled it and sealed it with wax. “Family. If you must know.”

Astarion hummed with amusement, analyzing her every movement. Tavi was young by elven standards at only 120 years old. Just about half his age. And gods, was she beautiful. Of course he'd felt lust for others before of his own volition, but her wit and way with words was slowly wearing him down. He was curious of her; so open in many aspects of her life but her family, apparently. Then again, they'd only met a ten-day past.

The next few days seemed to fly as they prepared to rescue the druid Halsin and destroy the goblin camp. A perfectly good waste of their time, in his opinion, but his thoughts on the matter were easily outweighed. The party afterwards, however… he had to admit some good came of it. His words were practiced as he wooed her with the promise of a mind blowing night of love making and, though she saw through it, make love they did. There was a stirring in him now that he couldn't shake, especially on the nights where she offered herself to him freely to feed from. Objectively a bad idea, but of course he wouldn't turn it down.

The next time he saw her writing after destroying the goblin camp it was obvious she was upset. Her writing was faster, her brow furrowed as she focused. He smirked as he realized the opportunity he had and crept up behind her again. He had only gotten a glimpse of the name before her arm swung out and connected with his face. She turned and gasped as she saw it was Astarion and hurried her apologies, standing to look over his face with concern.

“I am so, so sorry. Are you alright? Gods, I've been so jumpy lately,” she apologized, her hand on his cheek. He chuckled and shook his head.

“I should have seen that coming. I'm sorry, darling,” he said smoothly, his hand coming up to smooth the crease from between her brows. He knew she trusted him, so why he felt the need to play the long game, he wasn't sure. And if he wasn't playing… well, that was something he didn't want to think about. “Working on a new song?” He played dumb, though not dumb enough, apparently.

“How much of it were you able to read before I clocked you?” She asked, her mouth a flat line and her single eyebrow questioning him. He had been caught out. Underneath the annoyance there was some other emotion. Worry, obviously. But anxiety?

“Just the name. Aurelia. Quite a pretty name. Sister? Mother? Aunt?” He went on guessing, his self-assuredness beginning to peter off as a softer look of melancholy replaced her previous annoyance. She shook her head and took a slightly unsteady breath. Taking his hands she sat on the log again, guiding him to sit down with her.

“My daughter.”

-

“Your… what?” Had he heard her right? Her daughter. She had a daughter in Baldur's Gate. A child. Astarion's throat felt tight in contrast to his wide expression. He was sleeping with a woman who had a child. He blinked a little as he tried to gather words for this. As far as he knew, no one else at camp knew. Not even Karlach, who, for all intents and purposes, was Tavi's best friend.

“My daughter. Aurelia. And… I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner.” Her expression was sad, with a tinge of regret and he immediately decided he didn't like it. Not one bit. Yes, this was all to gain her trust but…

“No, it's… I understand. To a degree, anyways. I mean,” he gave a short laugh, confused. “We've all confided in you now about our struggles. But no one but me knows this now.” He took her hand that was shaking a little and held it.

“I didn't…” she shook her head. “Everyone else is dealing with so much already. And my daughter is safe with my parents. Somehow I became the de facto leader of this band of misfits and I need to be there for everyone.” It clicked for Astarion as he noted the slight bags under her eyes. Everyone went to Tavi with their worries and woes, but who did she go to?

“Darling, I may not be a genius on interpersonal relationships, but one cannot pour from an empty cup.” His words were soft as he noticed the way her eyes began to glisten slightly. She took a steadying breath and turned her head to wipe at her eye.

“I also didn't say anything because I… I don't want you to feel obligated, or… gods, I don't know what I'm saying now,” she laughed, thought it was watery as she sniffed and took her hand back to wipe at both of her eyes. He found himself bringing his own hand to her cheek and cupping it, his thumb brushing away an errant tear.

“It's… alright. I honestly don't blame you,” he murmured, feeling that stirring again as she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. Well, shit. She opened her eyes and gave him a sweet, lopsided smile. Shit, shit, shit. “The idea could… grow on me. But,” he shifted gears, gently grasping her chin. “This means you're not allowed to bottle things up anymore. If I'm not allowed to, you're certainly not either.” She giggled and nodded and he could feel its infectious nature. “I do have some questions.”

Tavi nodded, her hand naturally finding his as they sat by the fire. “Of course. I wouldn't ask you to accept this part of me blindly.” Gods, did she have to be so adorable?

“First. Well, her name is Aurelia. Which is beautiful. Second. How old is she?” Tavi rubbed the back of her neck, her cheeks flushing lightly.

“She's eight. And she looks almost just like me. She just doesn't have as many freckles,” she said, smiling now that she was able to talk about her daughter freely.

“Third. Her father?” Her shift from a smile to a slight scowl told him volumes.

“Is a twat and I haven't seen him in seven years. He left just after I had Aurelia. It was… rough. I mean, I was one hundred and seventeen. We'd only been together for a year,” she said. Her hand tightened around Astarion's subconsciously. “My parents… they were upset at first, obviously, when I told them. But, they love her so much it's hard to tell they were ever upset about it.” A loving, caring family. It was unfamiliar territory for Astarion. Though, he found an anger rising in his chest towards Tavi's previous partner. How could he just abandon her like that? With a newborn?

“He sounds like a real charmer. Perhaps it's better he's gone, though I would love to meet him,” he murmured, his distaste evident. Tavi grinned and leaned in, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“See? I told you the other day. You're sweet when you want to be.” Gods, she was going to be the second death of him. He caught her face before she moved away and smirked as she saw the shift of emotion in her eyes.

“Would my sweet little treat like to see just how sweet I can be?” He purred, grinning as he heard her breath catch. In a split second her lips were on his.

-

“Finally, away from everyone for a godsdamned minute,” Astarion mumbled to himself as he roamed around the shops and market stalls of the Lower City of Baldur's Gate. Despite the joy of his current freedom, his thoughts consistently drifted back to Tavi. He was, despite his original intentions, hopelessly in love with her. They had destroyed Cazador in his lair. They solved the murder of that stupid clown. He shuddered at the memory and pushed it away as quickly as possible.

He wandered down familiar streets in a new and figurative light, feeling calmer and happier than he ever remembered being. This… brightness. It was contagious now. When she smiled, he smiled. She felt like a balm to his heart. Warmth in the purest form. He eyed a jewelers case and the precious things within it. A silver chain with an emerald pendant caught his eye and he smiled softly. This would do. It was understated, but brilliant nonetheless. Just like Tavi.

“Grandpa! This one! Mama would love this,” a little elven girl piped up, coming up next to Astarion at the case. She pointed excitedly at the necklace he had just been eyeing and at first he was going to tell her paws off but then he really looked at her. It… no, surely…

The girl looked up at him and it was as if Tavi was staring at him. The same eyes. The same hair. Less freckles, just like Tavi described her. “Hi! You look nice,” she said with a toothy grin. An older elf hurried over, a look of concern on his face as he apologized for his granddaughters behavior.

“Aurelia.” The name slipped from his mouth before he realized. She smiled even brighter while her grandfather paled before his face became stern.

“Now sir, I don't know how you-”

“I-I'm sorry, sir, I know this seems like a one in a million chance meeting, but I've been traveling with Tavi for the past two months to get back here to Baldur's Gate,” Astarion rushed to explain, not bothering to mask the astonishment at their chance meeting. Aurelia gasped and tugged on her grandfather's coat.

“Grandpa, this is Mr. Astarion! He's got the white hair and fancy coat and everything!” She turned excitedly towards Astarion who, if he could, would have been blushing. “Were you looking at that necklace for mama? Did you two fall in love?” Well, there was her mother's quick wit. “Mama said pretty jewelry like that is nice for special occasions! So I wanted to get it for her when she comes home.” Gods, his heart was melting. He was not overly fond of children simply because he didn't know how to deal with them, per se, but… how could anyone have walked away from Tavi? From Aurelia? He noticed her grandfather looking at him with scrutinizing eyes and cleared his throat a little.

“I, um, yes. I was. I found it complimented her eyes quite nicely.” He saw her grandfather nod just a little, an almost knowing smile on his face though, of course, he knew his… physical characteristics were of concern. There was no doubt he knew precisely what he was and who he was. “I was unaware your mama told you about me in her letters,” he said offhandedly.

Her grandfather gave a small chuckle and clapped his hand on Astarion's shoulder. “Like mother like daughter. Hardly any filter. We… hadn't gotten word from her that she’s back.” Astarion smiled awkwardly.

“We just arrived from Rivington. I have no doubt there's probably a letter waiting for you at home or will be within a day. There are…” Astarion looked over to Aurelia who was talking amiably now with the shop keeper and picking out the emerald pendant necklace. “... a few things we need to get in order before we find residence for the night. I’m not sure how much detail Tavi put into her letters for you.” The older elf nodded and removed his hand. He paid the merchant what was owed for the necklace and Aurelia held it in its small box close to her chest.

“Okay! You have to tell mama that we’re waiting at home for her,” she said adamantly. She fumbled the box as she held out her hand and her pinky finger stuck out. “Pinky promise, Mr. Astarion!” Astarion chuckled under his breath and knelt to her level. He linked his pinky with hers.

“Of course, Miss Aurelia. You have my word. And,” he poked the box, making her giggle. “Your mama is going to be very happy you picked that necklace for her.”

-

Due to their notoriety within Baldur's Gate at the present moment, it had been decided that Aurelia, along with Tavi's parents, would go to their camp to visit. Tavi paced as she waited, her anxiety winning out over the reassurances from her traveling companions and even Astarion. Scratch followed her for a while before deciding to rest, the pacing even being too much for him.

“My darling, they'll be here soon,” Astarion attempted to soothe her again, intercepting her with a gentle embrace. Since he learned of her daughter, she had slowly told the rest of their traveling party about her. Of course they were excited to meet her but all agreed they needed their space for a family reunion first. She sighed and finally stopped pacing, resting her head on his shoulder.

“I know. I just miss my baby,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around his waist. Astarion hummed and gently rubbed her back.

“I know, love. And she's missed you. And… I happen to know she has a thoughtful gift for you,” he teased softly. Tavi brought her head up, smiling and narrowing her eyes at him. She gave him a small kiss.

“You two are going to be a handful under the same roof,” she chuckled. Astarion's brow quirked up with a smile as she alluded to their future together. Her face shifted as she heard a small voice yelling. She let go of him and turned to the road and whimpered before breaking into a sprint.

“Mama!!!” Aurelia cried, running as fast as her legs would carry her. Tavi called for her and ran faster than Astarion had ever seen and he followed after her at a slower pace. The two met and Tavi went to her knees, both of them crying as she held her daughter tight. Not far behind her parents followed, all of them crying now. Astarion stood by for a moment awkwardly before seeing Tavi's arm reach for him as well. He gave in and went to them, letting her pull him in.

“Thank you,” she whispered to him, her smile bright despite her fresh tear tracks.

Aurelia looked up and smiled, too. She still tried to speak through her uneven speech. “Th-thank you for bringing my mama home, Mr. Astarion.”

-Bonus-

Tavi's parents were in an engaging conversation with Wyll and Shadowheart as she sat next to Astarion by the fire. She leaned against him, a pretty necklace now adorning her neck as they watched Karlach and Halsin taking turns to give Aurelia piggy back rides.

“So. You knew she picked this out?” She asked Astarion softly, looking up at him from his shoulder. He hummed and held her a little tighter.

“I said we met in a shop. It may have been a jewelers. And we both saw it and thought of you,” he said softly, his hand coming up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. She giggled and leaned up, pressing a kiss to his jaw. “After realizing who I was, of which I had absolutely no idea she knew who I was, she asked me if we fell in love. In front of your father, by the way. Who immediately realized I was a vampire.”

Tavi blushed lightly and laughed. “Well, the apples don't fall far from the trees,” she shrugged. He rolled his eyes and kissed her gently. They pulled away as they heard Aurelia shout from the top of Mama K's shoulders.

“Grandma! Grandpa! See! I knew it! I told you they fell in love!” Astarion groaned gently, hiding his face in her shoulder. Tavi pressed a kiss to the top of his head as plenty of the other adults laughed.

“Welcome to the family, love.”

[pinchraccoon]

Pinch Reviews: Castlevania: Nocturne

I watched the new 8 episode series from Netflix and Powerhouse Animation, Castlevania: Nocturne. Nocturne serves as a stand-alone sequel to 2017's 4 season "Castlevania" from the same production hands.

While this Tumblr blog is to keep my followers up to date on the games that I've played lately, I have been slacking on my reviews and I am hilariously behind. This is to say, since my initial playthroughs of Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night, I've engrossed myself in the Castlevania series wholly, having played a total of 8 games in the series this year, and watched the initial series as well.

This review will come from someone who holds the games in very high regard, and *particularly* the stories and characters of Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night.

I'll be starting with a largely "spoiler-less" review of the series for those who would like to watch it, and it'll consist of about 1 paragraph of text.

Castlevania Nocturne is absolutely unrelated to Castlevania at large, with only tangential thematic or plot themes that connect it to the series' larger identity. While some might point to the presence of Vampires, Belmonts, and magic and say "well what else do you need?" I find many aspects of the series' identity in campy fun, but interesting and thoughtful instances of character writing the likes of which are seen in games such as Lament of Innocence and Aria of Sorrow, as well as the immense colorful, high-contrast visual style present in Castlevania media since the *very* beginning as elements that I lament the lack of presence of. At numerous points in the show, I thought "Why is this Castlevania? None of this is related to anything Castlevania? Why not just make an original property?" Which I personally find to be a damning sentiment, but I cannot fault the show for that which it doesn't do. To longtime Castlevania fans, you may find the show somewhat underwhelming. However, on a more general term, the show features more instances than not of choppy, flat animation, flat character writing, an irritating dialogue style, and underwhelming gore elements. However, they do *some* good things! There are a few characters who I could see viewers latching onto, and there's occasionally something cool that happens.

With that out of the way, I'll now be entering my *Very Spoilery Review*

First and foremost, Castlevania Nocturne's premise, while not completely and inherently distasteful, nor impossible to do in a way that's interesting, is done incredibly distastefully and uninterestingly. I am referring specifically to Nocturne's insistence on hilariously, absolutely wildly evil Vampires who "run the planet" essentially, who are motivated to put down the French Revolution because the existence of Democracy threatens the ease of the Vampire elite to control the Royalty of the world. I expressly don't think that this is a dumb, uninteresting, or distasteful idea inherently, HOWEVER, due to the nature of Vampires existence in their original literature and folk lore implications, it's incredibly easy to see the anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant inherent themes of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" all over it.

Again, I'd LOVE to see an idea such as this executed properly, however that isn't present here. Here's why. Nocturne features a cast of characters whose motivations are all in some way or another related to incredibly flat vampire characters who do nothing but kill for their entertainment and pleasure. I'm not calling for a reason to not kill the bourgeoise in the French Revolution, I just want a reason to latch onto the motivations of the characters in a way that isn't just "they're a different species than me and are also doing like, slavery and taxation and stuff and they killed someone close to me." Genuinely, EVERY SINGLE main cast member has someone who was killed by one vampire or another in the past, and while that works somewhat to unite the heroes emotional issues such that they can support one another (theoretically) it serves to illustrate the entire, sentient, living, vampire "species" as comically evil, wildly uninteresting, and most damning, caricatures of marginalized people being blamed for controlling all of human civilization. Which, to spell it out more blatantly to avoid the lack of nuance present on the internet, becomes uncomfortably synonymous with long-running theories of jews, or "lizard people" controlling government institutions.

I want to compare to Castlevania's own interpretation of Dracula as a way of demonstrating a "controlling vampire" done Right. Dracula has *very specific* *very pointed* origins and motivations that make him a far more compelling, and more than that, HUMAN, character who has a degree of feeling, despite the evil that he performs. Dracula does what he does because he's hurting, and he feels as though the world has turned and left all it's goodness behind, which, in his eyes, is the truth! It's not that he wants to control all of humanity, it's not that he wants to be worshipped as a god, it's that he just has beef, like people do.

Few to none of the vampires hold that same quality of "beef" in Nocturne. Most of the vampires don't speak, save for a few main heads of their movement, however, even these heads hold hilariously overblown, stupid, uninteresting, unsympathetic motivations that JUST serve to make me hate them on the notion that they're Objectively evil. Like, OF COURSE, I hate the Caribbean slave-owner vampire, and OF COURSE I side with Annette on hating him. He was a slave owner? Duh? You don't need to provide a thousand other scenes of the man being just flat out cruel in the interest of making me hate this man More. Half of his lines are belittling Annette, the other half is justifying slavery, and I'm not exaggerating.

Or, perhaps, consider the "main villain" of the show, Bathory. She's built up as "The Vampire Messiah" for FOUR EPISODES before we actually see her, and then when we do, FINALLY, get to see who this OVERWHELMING threat is, she just laments about, get this, HATING THE SUN. Of course she hates the sun, she's a vampire! That's the actual lamest conceivable motivation. Not to mention, she's insufferably annoying and isn't remotely entertaining to watch, nor are we ever sold on her power to any degree whatsoever other than a bunch of side characters saying "ah, well, she drank the blood of the Egyptian Goddess Sekhmet, so she's pretty strong, we would die for her." When your allegory for the ruling class is this comically evil in the "killing and maiming people" way as opposed to the "capitalist allegory" way, it reads as really wildly uncomfortable.

To summarize the last point, because of the commitment to making each and every vampire character comically evil, and the premise combined, it easily reads far too similarly to monster literature of the past which would seek to conflate the evils of the monsters in question with a specific demographic of people, which is uncomfortable to watch, and rather distasteful to write.

But my distaste for this show doesn't end there!

I'd like to discuss Annette. A lot of people are getting mad regarding "race swapping" or "omission of character in the interest of wokeness" which I think is a load of shit that I couldn't begin to entertain. I am not perturbed by the same things that those people are. Instead, I feel that the explanation of Annette and Edouard's backstory is incredibly poorly paced, and above all, gratuitous in their depiction of black generational trauma.

Annette in this series is an escaped slave who comes to France in search of a Belmont in order to hopefully be able to kill the Vampire Messiah who was foretold to increase the scale of the institutions of slavery that Annette had been fighting against for her entire life. I actually really like her motivation and how it reflects very real attitudes of Caribbean revolutionaries regarding how they felt about the French Revolution. But my main issues with the communication of her motives comes in the gratuitous depiction of a slightly dramatized form of the *very very real* trauma of slavery. This isn't like Toni Morrison's Beloved, or even something like Django Unchained, both of which don't shy away from detailing slavery in as gruesome of detail as possible for the purpose of demonstrating character as well as history. Nocturne demonstrates slavery comically, as it attempts to roll it's own fantasy elements in the same breath as their real-world slavery depiction. For example, the reason that Annette's mother is killed isn't related to the injustices of the notion of slavery in general, it's instead because her mother was practicing magic. I find that these elements in conjunction with one another create a dissonance that puts a bad taste in my mouth, all for the only real payoff to be such that Annette is knowledgeable of, and holds hatred to, the institution of slavery as well as magic.

It isn't a BAD thing to discuss, depict, or have subject matter related to slavery, that's absolutely not what I'm trying to say. What I feel that the issue here is is that a significant amount of the information and cruelty shown could have been omitted and the viewer would have the same understanding of Annette's character. Because they committed far more to demonstrating than was necessary for what elements they were attempting to explore, the incredible commitment to demonstration of black generational trauma feels gratuitous and somewhat cruel. Sorta like the writer is holding it over your head like "hey! you! did you know that slavery is ALSO bad when vampires do it? let me show you some just TERRIBLE subject matter to let you know!" Like, yes, I knew this already, slavery IS evil and is perhaps THE MOST evil, so we were already on the same page here.

This concludes my largest issues with the show from a standpoint of legitimate mishandling of social issues and sensitive subject matter, the rest is more about the show in general.

I don't entirely dislike the way that Richter is written on the macro scale in Nocturne, I feel that his very real connection to the Belmont Clan and the depictions of his mother Julia Belmont, as well as his grandfather, Juste Belmont (who I felt happy to see), was very interesting and worked to the themes. BUT: On the individual, what the character says level, I find Richter SO annoying. This is related to a larger dialogue writing issue with the show in general, which is the inclination to curse like a third grader who has just learned of what swearing is. The number of times that a character uses the term "fuck" or "fucking" purely to provide unnecessary emphasis to their sentence that was perfectly good without swearing comes of as flat out cringey. Now, I swear a lot! I'm not *against* swearing! But the way that Richter and every other character is written makes them all feel unbelievably annoying. Heroes, villains, everyone says "fucking" like it's going out of style! So much so that I might propose a drinking game where you take a shot every time there's an unnecessary use of the word "fuck" in a scene. Granted, I can guarantee you'll be wildly hungover the next day, so I can't recommend doing that.

One particularly damning scene is Richter's moment of personal growth this season, realizing that he has to fight with the whole of him to protect those who he loves, and has a cool fight scene with a bunch of vampires, in which he then says This:

GENUINE COP OUT. I cannot stress enough how every single character's childish inclination toward being edgy by swearing undermines every single character.

I'm beginning to ramble somewhat though, so let's touch on a few things that I think were good and bad, but don't have a ton to say about before we wrap up.

-Drolta is a cool character, and genuinely should have been the only main villain of the show. I also adore her character design.

-The action scenes lack interesting gore, which I felt was a overwhelming positive of the 2017 Castlevania series.

-The monster designs (and show in general) lack color, and it feels like a deliberate attempt to push against the legacy of the source material.

-The animation is excellent when characters are using whips, but very jarring in scenes of standing and speaking, or even in the use of magic.

-Tera is an awful mother figure character and I felt nothing when she was turned in the finale. It doesn't help that they only drew her face twice and copypasted it between scenes it feels.

-The romance plot between Richter and Annette appearing at the end of the show is the Most Forced shit I have ever seen, almost like the writers forgot that they were love interests in the original and decided that of All of the things they had to include that that was INDISPENSABLE.

-Richter, Annette, and Maria's dynamic as a group barely exists beyond each of them calling eachother "Wankers" "bastards" and other terms of endearment. It's a hollow and ineffective means of emulating the good writing that Trevor, Sypha and Alucard had in the 2017 series, and was that show's highlight.

-I like Edouard's arc of being a monster with a soul, and it DOES help to begin to demonstrate the theme of "the lack of absolutes in good and evil", which I'll discuss later.

-Olrox is excellent. He's written well, his motivations are kept close to the chest, and he's genuinely intriguing as a character. I quite like his motivation, I like his design, I like his voice, no he's great. Best part of the show, honestly. (and the only evidence thus provided [save for alucard] of a "not completely evil" vampire)

-again, the commitment to every character exaggerating their sentences by cursing like a child is unbelievably grating.

My final point is one related to whether or not I think that in it's current state the show is worth watching. Generally, with shows, I prefer that the show have some sort of thematic relevance that reflects the progress of the story, and while I can somewhat see elements of that being shown in the "absolutes of good and evil" theme explored by the Abbot, Olrox, and Edouard, nothing is actually done with this theme, and it only comes into contact with our main cast in the finale. As such, these themes are only seen in the same way that dramatic irony is set up, but not executed on. Because of the half-execution of this theme, I feel that the show feels hollow thematically, and feels as though absolutely nothing happens or changes for a single character throughout it's runtime.

In some ways, this show being 8 episodes is really fitting, as it feels like in any other anime when you watch a show to episode 8 and then stop watching, but in this case they didn't release or make the rest of the season, which will likely be released later on in a "season 2" that does literally anything at all to provide the themes or story elements any merit.

Personally, I think I would confidently call this show "unfinished." There is no "win" to match the characters growth, the little that they did, and I felt that I was left on a lazy cliffhanger because of arbitrary fail-states.

As a fan of Castlevania, this could not be further from its source material, as a fan of shows that are good, Nocturne also manages to fail.

It pains me to say that I don't think it's worth your time, as I really want people to get into Castlevania, but I really cannot stress enough that this show is not even close to a good demonstration of what the series is about, or what the series' themes are. Genuinely, I don't care if you don't care about the games, they are better than this show, which is hard to measure, because they're different mediums, but I'm confident in this assessment.

[fereldanwench]

WIP Wednesday

I was tagged by @wanderingaldecaldo to share some stuff I'm working on so AU rambling it is!

(Also I just realized that I am once again so behind on keeping up with my mentions and asks. I need more hours in the day. 😭)

So as some of y'all know, I am a long-time Tomb Raider super fan, and facets of OG Lara Croft almost always influence my OCs because she is just goals. Valerie was no exception here--Her canon street style and effortlessly cool and tough yet elegant vibes were very much inspired by the one and only Lady Croft.

When I realized that across these three mods (one, two, three) I could make a Tomb Raider Underworld-inspired outfit for Valerie, that just became my sole reason for living for like six hours.

Initially, I wasn't planning on delving into a story or anything with the shots--I just wanted to play with some Tomb Raider-esque settings to get a little break from the high-tech/low-life urban setting to refresh the muse--But then I realized this could actually be the perfect setting to explore another idea I had been sitting on for a while.

I had wanted to play with a Yakuza!Goro AU for some time now (turning to a life of organized crime if Arasaka hadn't picked him up has always seemed like something that could have been in the realm of possibility based on the little bit he shares about his childhood), and Lara does get tangled up with some Yakuza shenanigans in some storylines so 💡💡💡 Treasure Hunter/Yakuza AU: I Only Play for Sport (based on Lara's iconic one-liner in the intro of the 1996 game) was officially born!

Work has been nuts the past few weeks, and I didn't really feel like trying to figure out how to mod tats on Goro myself, so I asked the wonderful @86maylin if she was up for a private commission. Luckily, she was. 🙏🙏🙏 (Thank you again, May!)

This has also been another journey into building with AMM--I have a few very specific scenes in mind, and I wanted them to be in totally original settings created specifically for this AU instead of defaulting to my usual locations (like Hanako's estate).

To kick that off, I decided I wanted to make a little living space for Goro. I got a lot of good practice building a stage, essentially, when I did the little villainess shoot a little while ago, so I felt pretty confident that I could put together something loosely inspired by the Tokyo penthouse Lara visits in Tomb Raider Legend.

That game is almost 20 years old now, though, so the assets there were obviously very limited, and I wanted to make something a little more complete and cozy for Goro's home base, as it were. I'm still not finished with it (maybe like 75% of the way there), but I'm pretty happy with the progress:

And another huge thank you to @bnbc and @arasakas-ronin for y'all's prop packs because they have done a lot to add some of that cool-artifact-treasure-hunting goodness to the scene. (I've used a lot but I think this toy set and this decor set were most prominently used.)

And as for the story itself?

Well, no one's here for the plot, right? 😅

I am slowly working on a couple of photostories inspired by some scenes in the Tomb Raider movies and games, and I have a general gist of the premise: Valerie is a wealthy heiress with a fondness for adventure and recovering lost artifacts with presumed supernatural abilities, and Goro is the right-hand man of a Yakuza boss who has a similar interest in such artifacts. They end up having their sights set on the same artifact (currently unknown to me, lmao, although I am very aware of the issues with the genre when it comes to, yanno, glorifying white Westerners stealing shit from other cultures so I want to be mindful that I don't fall into that same pitfall) and sexy rival treasure hunter shenanigans ensue.

So this is what I've been working on! It's a total pet project, I'm so excited about it, and I figured the time between now and Phantom Liberty coming out would be the best time to just go ham with photomode and mods and create a totally self-indulgent crossover that combines my great video game loves.

And one last thing before I shut up, because I wanna share how Tomb Raider has always been a part of Valerie's background: her surname, Powell, was inspired by Manfred Powell, the antagonist in the 2001 Tomb Raider movie. Bonus fact: I used the name "Nishimura" in this photo story, which is also the name of two characters in the Tomb Raider universe (Lara's friend Toru Nishimura in Legend and her girlfriend Sam Nishimura in the 2013 reboot.)

Okay, if you read all of this, you're now legally obligated to share something you've been working on, too. 💙

[penvisions]

dev's 20 questions for writers

loved these questions! interesting to take a look into, thank you so much to those that have tagged me even if they've been lost in the shuffle of things ♡♡

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

19 in total!

2. what's your total AO3 word count?

oof, it's a whopping 606,304 (most of which were this year and last as i've only recently gotten back into writing)

3. what fandoms do you write for?

at the beginning it was one piece / naruto and then hannibal and supernatural, but now it's strictly PPCU (pedro pascal cinematic universe)

4. top five fics by kudos?

accents can be tricky || it's only certain words || return the favor || of beskar and kyber || by the grit of sandpaper

5. do you respond to comments?

i try to!! i get easily overwhelmed on the tumblr side of things but i do try by best to at least do a few hearts or an overall thank you for the response and interaction on something c:

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

as of right now, it's a wip that is pre-outbreak! tommy miller x reader

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

all of them! i try to do happy endings bc i need that in my life and feel like the characters deserve it beyond words

8. do you get hate on fics?

unfortunately, yes. i received a lot on the first couple chapters for {of beskar and kyber} and {garnish} and a looooot on {by the grit of sandpaper} it is what it is, i try not to let it get to me, but sometimes it does. but at the end of the day, i write for me and share it with y'all bc i want to, it's a simple solution to just stop sharing if it grows or gets out of hand (even if i'd rather not do that)

9. do you write smut?

i do indeed, some of it is really tame while some of it is truly unhinged lol

10. craziest crossover?

i'm in the process of trying to do a cross over with din djarin into the world of the southern reach trilogy but i dunno if it will ever see the light of an internet page

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

again, yes unfortunately. both {garnish} and {gone to the dogs} has been copy and pasted

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

i don't think so beyond translating things i've written myself from spanish to english

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

i haven't! but super interested in doing so

14. all time favorite ship?

joel miller x reader!! but honestly, if characters make each other happy or feel loved, then i want that for them. jess and nick in new girl, katniss and peeta in the hunger games to name the top two

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

again, probably my pre-outbreak! tommy miller and maybe {buckles and barley} i have a lot of ideas for both and they seem daunting atm

16. what are your writing strengths?

details!! c:

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

dialogue and pacing of story lines

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language?

amazing, love it, top tier

19. first fandom you wrote in?

one piece!

20. favorite fic you've written?

{by the grit of sandpaper} and {of beskar and kyber}

np taglist: @joelsgreys @frenchiereading and anyone else who wants to play along!

[prodigal-explorer]

speaking of your turn to die i need your turn to die mutuals you don't understand it's a need

so here are some your turn to die opinions and if you agree with them i'd love to be your homie! i promise i have lots of headcanons and goofy jokes and badly constructed essays.

spoilers for your turn to die up to 3-1b!

my top favorite characters of all time are reko, nao, kai, and jou! honorable mentions are kanna, gin, q-taro, sara, and shin!

i'm honestly not a massive fan of any of the floor masters or dolls in 3-1 purely because i feel like i didn't get the chance to know them well. it's a real shame too because i think they're super cool! just not quite fleshed out enough to my liking. i'm hoping we at least learn more about the floor masters in the finale because they have the potential to be so interesting!

i don't really like shipping in your turn to die, i kinda think it's unnecessary (though i don't hate on people who do ship!), but if i had to pick a ship i like, it would be reko x nao! i think it could be cute, and they have a lot of sweet moments in the game!

my favorite part of your turn to die to play is hands down 2-1. those attractions are so much fun! and all the mystery is insane, the part with the fake mishima ai was INSANEE. i also really liked 3-1 because of the part where you use the lantern to uncover people's memories about hiyori and asu-naro. it was so cool to get a glimpse of people's pasts!

to be honest i'm kind of a noob so i can never get it straight which route is logic is which is emotion (even though it's probably really obvious), but my favorite route is the one where kanna and reko live! i watched a playthrough of a route where shin lives but i didn't really like it as much, even though it was interesting to see that side of it!

this isn't really an opinion, just a confession, but i'm really dumb and really bad at the logic stuff so i lowkey thought it was impossible to save reko for the first like three years of playing the game...i figured it out though!

i've never once used a walkthrough to figure out your turn to die, i've always just used my own brain to figure things out. maybe...uh...maybe in hindsight, that's why it took me so long to figure out how to save reko...

the only character in the entire franchise that i genuinely dislike is keiji. i just think he's kinda creepy and off-putting (though that might be in part due to translation errors)? also i'm lesbian so i don't really find him hot i think he just looks like a muscly piece of popcorn.

in terms of my opinion on who the "mastermind" is i actually have literally no idea? the only idea i kind of have is that it's either sara or keiji because they're the only two who we don't get to see how they signed the asu-naro vow. but i also don't really get how it would be either of them because keiji was a victim of hiyori's tricks too, and sara just seems totally clueless. it makes my brain hurt to think about so i kinda choose not to.

i think the "gin is the mastermind" theory is mind-bogglingly stupid. sorry LMAO-

i think the theory of jou being the son of mr. policeman is actually super cool! i don't really know why it exists but i've seen people talking about it and i think that would be a cool connection.

i've read a few things about the referendum theory and i think it's a cool theory! it kinda make sense, though there are a few holes that i can't logic my way through quite yet. it seems very plausible though, and it would make for an interesting plot!

i don't think shin is overrated at all. he's a super interesting character and i love how he contributes to the story, and all the twists about him are so unique and exciting! i do hate when people water him down to like a soggy little man who's super weak and innocent, though. the coolest thing about him is his fortitude!

in case it wasn't obvious, i am on team "q-taro is the goat", especially after 3-1b. even after accidentally getting the ending where q-taro abandoned all of us i was like "okay but that was lowkey cunty af of him..." i've always been on homie q-taro's side and i also think it's hilarious that he's like supposed to be an american stereotype.

anyway that's all i can think of! i hope some of y'all wanna be friends!!

[cryptidsurveys]

Friday, August 23rd, 2024.

First thing you touched this morning? Most likely my phone or one of my cats.

Last thing you yelled at? My dad was downstairs sneezin' up a storm yesterday, so I shouted a few "BLESSIN'S!" to him.

Is your car a piece of crap? Nope. It's around sixteen years old, but it still runs beautifully.

What’s something you’re looking forward to in the next 7 days? Visiting the Mountain Park - hopefully next Wednesday or Thursday.

What’s annoying you right now? This damn headache. It's been coming and going since last Wednesday and I'm just so over it! D;

When is the last time you looked in the mirror? After my post-animal shelter shower.

Would you have a long distance relationship with the person you are with now? I'm not in a relationship. In general, I'm not entirely opposed to a temporarily long-distance relationship, but I would make it very clear from the beginning that I'm not going to be the one uprooting my life in order for us to be together.

Who was the last person to make you really mad? Probably my mom during the initial stages of our reconnection. I didn't let her see the full extent of it (I mostly went home and grumbled to my dad about it), but I did eventually speak up and she's been a lot better about certain things since.

Where is the last place you had sex? Home.

Who is the last person you had sex with? A past partner.

Do you enjoy watching porn? No.

What’s your favorite drinking game? I've never played a drinking game.

Do you cry often? I would say regularly but not excessively.

Do you think someone is thinking of you right now? It's definitely possible.

Choose one to have (beer, cigs, or weed)? Cigarettes. An unfortunate habit I still haven't kicked. I quit smoking weed several years ago; the few times I smoked after that left me feeling dizzy, so I don't think I'll ever go back to it. And when it comes to alcohol, I have to be careful because it's very much a slippery slope. I try to keep it to rare/special occasions only.

Do you wish on stars? I wished on 11:11 earlier because I just want this headache to go awaaayyy.

Are you a big flirt? No.

What is the most disgusting prank you’ve ever done? Probably those stupid prank phone calls I made when I was a kid. It was the one and only time I was ever grounded for something, lmao. I was totally out of hand.

What would you do if you became pregnant? Ugh.

When did you last make out with someone? Was it good? Years ago.

Do you like your body? I've been pretty happy with it lately. It's becoming increasingly toned due to animal shelter work, and the way I carry myself is changing too. I'm starting to look more laidback and confident instead of hunched and anxious.

Are you a likeable person? Yeah.

Who did you dream of last night? I don't remember last night's dreams. I'm also falling so behind on my dream journal… Maybe later I'll try to jot down any recent fragments I can recall.

Whose body do you wish you had? I'm fine with my body. I just wish it didn't get so many migraines. Or ANY migraines.

What is the first thing you are going to do when you get home? I am at home. I showered. Then I laid in bed for a bit and listened to a YouTube video.

When is the last time you saw your mom? Yesterday. My parents and I went out for lunch at Pizza Ranch.

Have you ever been so in love, you wanted to get married? Yeah. Lol that yearning feels so unserious now. I truly loved those people, but I was so naive.

Did you get lucky on prom night? I didn't go to prom.

Is there a song that makes you cry? There are songs that have that potential.

Are you normally a horny person? No. I'm actually afraid of that feeling.

Where is your self-esteem from 1 (low) to 10 (high)? It's pretty decent. I'd give it a 6.5.

What color are your eyes? Hazel.

Plans for tonight? Just chillin'.

Plans for the weekend? Volunteering. I think Saturday will be a full day and Sunday might (?) be a half day - it just depends on who's going to be there. If they're short staffed, then I'll probably stay all day.

[blazehedgehog]

What is the oldest sonic hack that you feel stands up to the level design standards of the present sonic fangaming/hacking community

I specifically avoided most Sonic rom hacks for a long long time. Actually, scratch that: I avoided most rom hacks period.

This is going to be an extremely controversial statement but a lot of rom hacks don't have very good level design. Or they didn't, at any rate. There is a point where things changed, for sure.

But back in the day, having enough skill and talent to make a rom hack was like, the complete opposite brain required to make a fun and balanced game. It's kind of an art vs. technical thing. People who made hacks were coming at it from a more mechanical perspective. This is sort of why the term "Kaizo" came to represent a certain type of ultra-difficult rom hack.

When you love a game SO MUCH that you're willing to reverse-engineer it and build your own expansion for it, generally you're the type of person who has mastered the game several times over. This skews your basic level understanding of what "normal" difficulty is, and in a lot of cases, these people aren't even making something representative of "normal" difficulty.

So you get levels that are super unbalanced, where it's easy to get lost, and maybe they require you to do advanced tricks that the average player has never even thought about. For them, the one who made the hack, it's second nature. They dance through their own levels, totally untouched, because they know where all the enemies are, where all the health is, and so on. They built the lock and the key.

I've had plenty of arguments with people over the years, hack developers specifically, about this topic. I've argued until I was blue in the face, but it doesn't matter, because there will always be that one person who thinks they know better. "It's fine, I learned how to do it, they just have to learn how to do it, too."

And it's just never that simple. Never, ever, ever.

Because you are a unique person. Nobody is exactly like you. The way you learned to do a thing represents less than 1% of people who will ever play your game. Maybe you learned your tricks by watching Youtube videos, or live streams, or reading guides. Not everybody is going to be that dedicated or have that much time and energy.

"You must train for 600 hours before you're ready to try my hack" is not a badge of honor worthy of anything in and of itself. The journey and the destination you've created after the journey is complete are separate ideas.

Go look up achievement statistics to see just how few people even make it past the first boss of most games, let alone halfway, or even to the credits. You very quickly start hitting figures like "only 30% of players did this super easy thing." For a big name, big budget, massively popular, professionally balanced retail game.

And that in itself is only for a fraction of the types of people who make rom hacks. Some just have more to learn and aren't very good at level or game design yet. And there are plenty of hacks out there that suffer from the opposite problem as "Kaizo", where they're just bland and forgettable. It's a difficult balancing act to get right.

These are truths in Doom wads, Mario Maker levels, Sonic rom hacks, the works. So the number of rom hacks I've played that get it right can probably be counted on one hand.

Some of that is because so few hacks get it right, and some of that is because I keep my distance from the hacking scene for that very reason. So if you're like, "wow, I can't believe BlazeHedgehog dunked on that really good hack like that" -- maybe I haven't played it! I used to throw myself to the wolves on all kinds of things where the balance and polish is more frustrating than anything, and it's made me gun shy.

The first Sonic romhack I remember feeling good about was something called "Sonic 1 Pixel Perfect." I really liked its pastel colors and smart reuse of Ristar objects. You might look at the above screenshot with skepticism because it looks too normal, but that's sort of why I like it. It made smart, subtle changes (like the fact time of day slowly changes from dawn, noon, dusk, and night as you play through the zone) and the level design was very digestible. It's just a shame it never got very far.

I seem to recall some of the people who worked on Pixel Perfect went on to make Sonic 2 Retro Remix, which I... think I played? And I might have even liked? But it's been a very, very, very long time.

[sankta-starkova]

LETTERMAN

009; thanksgiving

previous chapter | next chapter | masterlist

summary: the one where ej and andy reunite after years when they're cast as love interests, finally rekindling their friendship and maybe getting something else out of it as well

wordcount: 1.5k

They all sat around in rehearsals as Nini and Ricky performed 'Start of Something New'

The bell went and EJ jumped up, cheering. Andy and Ashlyn, who were sitting next to each other, looked up at him confused.

"Sorry. I really love thanksgiving," he announced, everyone laughing.

"I know everyone is excited for the holiday break but I'm me and I have notes," Miss Jenn said with a laugh, "Your homework is to please go on vocal rest,"

"Dont mind me, I just came to return some missing items," Mr Mazzara said as he walked into the room to Andy and Ashlyn.

"Ashlyn, Andy, couldn't have our robotics team co-captians going home without their binders," he said, handing the girls their stuff.

There was a lot people don't know about them, the girls did so many extracurriculars.

Andy and Ashlyn were in the robotics club, drama club and they were part of the Salt Lake Renaissance Fair. Ashlyn was also in the baking club and debate team whilst Andy did AV club.

They were all talking about Thanksgiving, listening to Miss Jenn talk to Mr Mazzara about food.

There was definitely something going on between them that clearly they hadn't talked about to each other.

"That sounds nice, my family have three protein courses and then everybody's asleep by 6," Carlos explained, Andy walking over to him, Big Red and Ashlyn.

"My folks start eating at dawn and they barely make it past the Macys parade,' Big Red said.

"My family eat and then we watch the entirety of Sound of Music," Andy explained with a chuckle, "My dad was Austrian so,"

She loved her family traditions but after her dad's death, it didn't make much sense anymore and the traditions just felt useless. At the mention of her dad, her face fell. She missed him like crazy and on occasions like this, it was made even worse.

"Well at least your folks are sticking around. EJs parents are treating my parents to a spa in Park City after dinner tomorrow." Ashlyn explained to them with a fake smile.

"If I could ring Cash Caswells neck just once in my life I would die happy," Andy explained, Ashlyn laughing unshamelessly, she didn't like her uncle either.

"Wait, do you guys wanna come over after dinner tomorrow?" Ashlyn offered.

"I never don't want that." Carlos said before he started to yell out, "Party at Ashlyns after thanksgiving tomorrow! Everyone's invited!

Everyone sat in Ashlyns house before Carlos walked in, "The party may begin!" he yelled out, holding something weird.

"You know this is a pot luck and not catering right?" Andy said as she helped him bring his box to the table. She'd only brought muffins.

"This is not food. This is something I've been waiting hears to share with the world. This is High School Musical, the Choosical!" He announced, opening the board game.

She looked at it in awe. It was so detailed, like monopoly on crack. There were hints to the original films everywhere and it was amazing.

"When I was a child, I wanted to go into the movie but the movie was on a screen so I made the next best thing," Carlos explained, a light blush on his face.

"So you've had this for ten years?" Big Red questioned, looking at it.

"And I've never actually played it,' Carlos admitted with a laugh.

"Okay, we'll totally play it," Ashlyn said, staring at all of the parts of the game.

"Okay, so there are two teams. The east high wildcats and the West High knights," he said, letting them sort each other out.

Andy watched as Ashlyn sat next to Big Red, the two getting cosy. When they heard the door go, the two girls raced to it.

They saw EJ who hugged both girls, "I brought some lobster dip. I double dibbed a few times and I feel bad about it but I feel great about telling you two," he explained.

"Hello, I'm Andy, this is your cousin Ashlyn, and you are?" Andy asked sarcastically, not knowing where this EJ came from or why he was being so honest.

"I'm trying out the whole honesty thing," he explained and she nodded, showing him where to put the food.

He placed it down, listening to her, "Honesty was never your strong suit EJ," she stated.

"I'm trying," he said, and she believed him

They walked back, everyone sitting down around the table. Andy explained everything about the game to EJ and he joined her team, East High Wildcats

"Okay, there are four basic categories. Trivia challenge, dance challenge, sync challenge and the glee challenge," he explained, "West High knights pick first,"

"Okay, we're gonna look for glee," Ashlyn said after the team confered.

Carlos picked up a card, clearing his throat, "As fast as you can, sing the lyrics to What I've been looking for to the rhythm of Getcha head in the game,"

They finally did it, everyone laughing at it. Andy thought it was amazing, the team bonding in this way.

She had never had this tight knit group of friends before, people that she could trust no matter what was happening.

"Congratulations, you move four spaces closer to center stage," Carlos said, the team cheering.

"Wildcats, take a spin," he said and EJ leaned over, spinning the thing before it landed on Bop to the top.

"Okay, pick one member from each team," Carlos said and they picked EJ and Ricky, "Your challenge is to stare at your partner and do the Sharpay and Ryan warm-up thing, without laughing or killing each other for sixty second,"

Carlos yelled go and they started doing it, very aggressively. It was shocking that they weren't laughing yet because everyone else was.

Andy though it was hilarious, a smile on her face as she watched them battle it out.

It was strange seeing her best friend and her old best friend fighting against each other for points. But she'd never been happy.

After what felt like hours of the most fun playing, there was a tie, "According to the rules, the only way to resolve a tie is with a lightning speed round of trivia questions," Carlos explained.

"Name both Jersey numbers Troy wears in the movies?" he said.

"Oh, uh, fourteen and ten,' Big Red said and everyone looked at him confused, "I watched it a lot,"

"How does Gabriella describe herself when she's complaining to her mum?" Carlos asked, reading out the next question.

"As the schools freaky genius girl!" Ashlyn replied everyone laughing at the joke she made afterwards.

"Wildcats, who's red tie does Miss Darbus compliment at auditions?" He asked, turning to them.

"Allen?" EJ called out and Andy laughed turning to him, not knowing how he got it right. But they were awkwardly close and he was surprised she hadn't caught him.

"I looked it up on my phone. I can't stop cheating and I'm sorry," he said and the West High knights won.

Carlos gave Gina the pin to signify her team won, everyone getting in for the picture before she got a call from her mum.

She put her mum on speaker, everyone yelling happy thanksgiving out, "Gina, honey, can you take me off speaker?" Her mum asked.

Gina walked out, obviously going to talk to her mum about something or other. The air became awkward and nobody quite knew what to say.

They all heard that Gina was moving, Ricky going out to talk to her. And on that note the party ended.

EJ gave Andy a lift home seeing as the party had ended earlier than assumed. But as they sat in the car, there was an awkward silence.

"Thanks for driving me home," Andy said, "EJ?"

She turned to see he was staring at her phone, and in his screen were hate comment about how being honest wasn't cute.

"Eej," she said after seeing that and he looked up, turning off his phone.

"Its nothing Andy," he said before opening the door to his car.

"Its obviously something, talk to me," she said, leaning over.

She knew him long enough to be able to tell when he was upset. There was something wrong, and it was more than his bruised reputation.

He sighed, "Its just, I want to be honest. And look where that got me, I've lost over 600 followers," he explained, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Those people don't matter, the people tonight who care about you matter," she said and he nodded his head, smiling at her.

The words were enough for him to realise that she was right, he didn't need any of these followers to like him. He just needed her.

"Thanks Andy," he said and the two laughed about the night, a comfortable silence between the two.

He laughed, smiling at her. He hadn't felt like this before, like someone completely understood him.

And as he watched her walk into her house, he wanted to run up and tell her how he felt. But he was confused, not knowing what he felt in the first place.