#this isn't even it the well isn't even dry

[lokisgoodgirl]

Breaking Fast [Loki x Reader]

A Link to my Masterlist is HERE Summary: Loki breaks a self-imposed sexual fast with you, of course. (w/c 1.6k) Warnings: 18+ only. Smut. Language. Asgardian Loki x Female Reader.

Loki was acutely aware of each thud of his boots against stone, each swish of the leather cape which brushed his knuckles as he ignored the hungry eyes following him.

He had one goal; one objective which would consume him with black, maddening fire if he didn't sate it before the need reached crescendo.

'A sexual fast', he'd told his brother loftily. 'To counteract the tolerance from centuries of overindulgence.' And his brother had laughed. But the scepticism had only made him more determined, and Loki had kept the promise to himself not to break until it was a necessity. And now, you'd left him no choice.

As the ache in his hips tightened, he couldn't recall why he'd tried to resist the coy glances for so long; the calculated shift of your body against his during feast days and court balls. Desire ran hot and hard in his veins. It was decided. He would have you—and his fast would be broken.

He wanted to feel your gasps of pleasure fresh and needy on his face, the moans of surprise as he knocked the air from your lungs with his legendary cock. He wanted to own you; mark himself on your supple thighs between wet, indecent pleasures and wring the tantalising lilt from your voice until it was rasped and rusted with his name.

He would fuck you like another never had, and like another never would. Until your dying breath, it would be his prowess that made your cunt glisten in the dying of the light.

Loki's leathers tightened furiously.

The messenger would have arrived to your quarters one hour ago, bringing his command. You would be waiting in his expansive wing used exclusively for entertainment. His nest of debauchery and hedonism, such as it was; dust gathering on its silks and scattered pillows.

Not for long.

He smiled as the bronze doors bearing his emblem drew closer. He could see it now: your naked body spread on the furs, draped out for him, driven half mad by anticipation. A dizzying pulse of excitement soared in his chest. Two guards stationed outside rose their spears in salute and brought them sharply to the marble floor. Loki waved a hand, and the doors spread as smoothly as he would part your legs.

"Open it to no one."

The guards exchanged a worried glance.

One of them cleared his throat. "Not even....her...Prince Loki?"

Loki's eyes narrowed as he spun slowly towards the one who'd spoken. The fear in his eyes made Loki's cock throb despite the swoop of irritation forcing up his throat. "Do you mean to tell me she isn't here yet?"

"N-No, my—"

"And miss your theatrical approach?"

Loki's gaze snapped in the direction he'd come, heat flushing immediately through his chest. You stood straight and regal, delicate hands clasped in front of you and your chin tilted up with an air of imperiousness that made his scalp tingle. Silk chiffon, barely opaque, fluttered in outrageously alluring folds down to your ankles.

"It's foreplay, watching you storm around like a conqueror. I thought that was the intention."

Loki opened his mouth and closed it again as you passed, shooting a last warning glare at the guards.

The doors slammed behind him.

Loki watched with uncharacteristic silence as you wandered to the window, casting a cursory glance over the sprawl of Asgard’s golden turrets glittering in afternoon sun. "Everyone has been so invested in your sexual fast, Loki." His name teasing on your lips made his manhood twitch riotously against leather. Norns, he'd never wanted anyone more. And yet he couldn't move. The silhouette of your body was outlined against a halo of thin, pale fabric. "Although I must confess, your public have been rooting for its end. The gossip well is positively dry without you."

"Is that why your temptations have been so flagrant?" His voice was forced; strained. You glanced over your shoulder with a wicked smile.

"It's a game we play. Me and my Ladies."

"I only saw you playing it."

"As intended. On my part, at least. I can assure you it was quite competitive."

Loki's feet moved of their own accord, crossing the sun-slatted room in several long strides. And then your hands were in his hair, fiddling at the clasps of his cape, tangling your bodies and feet and mouths in a liquid rush of desire. He slipped the material from your shoulders, fine as spider web, devouring kisses rushing down the long column of your neck. You smelled like crushed florals, spices: tingling inside his nostrils and making his hips snap against your abdomen.

"I want you to ruin me, Loki Odinson..." Your smile grew against his ear. "All the depraved, filthy fantasies you've run through your mind as you fucked yourself like an animal in your lonely bed. I want them all."

Loki's mind folded in on itself as lips crushed together, bodies moving to the nearest pile of furs as his tunic was shed, belts skittered across the floor and tangling in the dress discarded beside it.

He crawled on top of you: naked, resplendent, his pale cock flushed with raging, animal anticipation. "I will not be gentle," he murmured, it tenderness shifting to a savage purr as he grazed his nose up yours and punctuating it with a hungry nip of your bottom lip.

"Neither will I."

He brushed a thumb slowly over your lips, teasing the bottom one down, parting willing beneath his touch, and pushing his thumb further inside that hot, sweet mouth.

He felt a flicker of tongue against it, and then, you began to suck, your head tilting back ever-so-slightly; eyes fixed on him. His thigh pressed up between your legs and a brief grin dawned on his lips at the gasp that followed.

Your fingers fastened around the meat of his length, guiding it inside you. Loki's ragged groan would be heard in Muselheim. But he didn't care. All he cared about was the tight, hot grip of your pussy as it absolved him of any doubt, lighting up the deep, dark, dormant pockets of his mind.

His biceps tensed as he fell to his forearms, caging your impossibly perfect face. He bottomed out, dragging himself back, and the hideously primal ripple of pleasure that coursed across your features made him want to burn the world for you.

Words were lost in the slap of skin and the tight smack of his balls as he plunged deeper. Your hand fisted in his hair, edging him on with each slam of your hips.

Orgasm exploded like magma, searing from his belly and coating his limbs in electric, juddering ecstasy. He slid down the furs, dripping as he went, and burying his face between your legs.

The taste of cunt was heaven. Gods, how he'd missed it. What was I thinking? As Loki's fingers tightened around your hips, reacting to each rise and fall of each breathless moan, he resolved never to deny himself again.

The taste of your sweetness arrived like sunrise through the tang of his cum. He dove deeper, careful to keep the methodical lap of his tongue away from your swollen clit. Too soon. He wanted to feel the madness in your twists against the sheets; to feel you come undone like boneless prey. He wanted to hear you beg. He wanted—

"Loki," you pleaded, and he met your eyes over the swell of your stomach. There was more than lust in them—it was devotion— and the god groaned deep in his throat as he suckled your clit.

Your back arched, and his hands slid up your spread thighs, tips sinking into soft flesh.

He made you come four more times—each leaving you with more sweat glistening on the spill of your breasts. As the fourth ebbed, as he massaged his jaw, you flipped upward and slid onto his lap.

He fucked you like that: slow, intimate, benevolent, for as long as he could bear.

The careful scratch of nails on his shoulders, the soft caresses of your pretty moans in his ear. His hands slid to your waist before raising and twisting your body in one fluid motion to all-fours.

"Do you know you are honoured?" he asked with all the imperiousness he could muster. He had a sudden, blinding need to cover every inch of your body with his seed. Your profile appeared, locking eyes with a rabid determination he’d only ever seen reflected in the mirrors above his bed.

The words from your lips were ambrosia: low and smooth. "Honour me, God of Mischief," you commanded; and so he did.

Loki slid inside your wet slit with a guttural choke.

His large hands grasped at your hips, fucking you like a dog, the slap of his skin against your flesh filling the air like hail. He was conqueror and king; ruler of every pitched whine of pleasure from your lips as your fists tightened against the furs and you panted his name like it was the only word rattling around your skull.

Fresh, milky cum welled at your sex, spreading up the thick of his cock as he slowed and pulled out, dipping the tip leisurely before slamming to the hilt like the starving dog he was. "Turn around," he ordered against your spine, acutely aware of something shifting urgently inside him; the urge to fuck, and fuck, and fuck.

You complied, eyes sparkling. He watched them track from his spread thighs, cum glistening; the flushed cock in his hand, the tight, taut nip of his waist. Your gaze rested on his ropes of tense shoulder muscle, the shift of his right bicep as his fingers toyed with the leaking crown of his manhood.

Shameless.

He loved it.

Your hands cupped your breasts, massaging gently. Loki couldn’t look away. His hand moved faster, jolting at the scratch of your nails on the underside of his balls. They tightened.

"F-Fuck," he rasped, head falling back and curls of damp hair sticking across his forehead.

He groaned a final time, cum forcing up so fiercely it might rip him in two. His neck snapped forwards at the moment it exploded, landing at the hollow of your neck, dripping in thick, white tendrils over the sweat-pearled gleam of your skin.

He panted, mouth open, dazed as you drew a finger up the mess and sucked it clean. You rose to your knees, kissing him deeply, one tilt sliding into another; the taste of him strong in your mouth. "Welcome back, Prince Loki," you whispered. And between the flush of your bodies, Loki’s cock twitched.

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[leighsartworks216]

You're Not A Burden

Zayne x gn!therapist friend!Reader

Based on my own experience as the therapist friend and my struggles with being genuine about my emotions with people close to me ✌️

Warnings: hurt/comfort, established relationship, childhood friends, crying, nightmares

Word Count: 1,517

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AO3

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Zayne has seen this same pattern ever since you were little; the weight of being the person everyone dumps their problems onto, rants to, leans on no matter how small you may be. It's happened for so long now, he can't remember a time you weren't the one stepping up to bear the brunt of someone else's troubles.

He remembers so vividly one day during recess. Your friend was crying because one of the teachers was being mean and unfair. You held them close, let them cry into your shoulder and blubber about their troubles. And then you went into class with that same teacher, experienced that same cruelty, and held your tongue. It was never about being stronger than anyone else, or that admitting anything was wrong was a weakness; only that admitting anything was wrong would place your troubles onto somebody else.

One time, when his parents were away, he slept over at your house in a pillow fort in the living room. He woke up before you, and you had dry tears on your cheeks.

You take the burdens as easy as you take in a breath of air. Even now, in the middle of your quiet night in, your friend called to rant about their job, their relationships - anything they needed to get off their shoulders. You smiled apologetically at Zayne, kissed his cheek, and disappeared into the bedroom to finish the call without disturbing him further.

He understands, better than most, how difficult it is to watch someone suffer, physically or emotionally. How many times had he gone out of his way to ease the burden of his patients outside of medical care? Trying to get a plushie from the arcade for a girl who was too sick to get it herself. Playing chess with a lonely old man, even when it cut into his lunch breaks. But even he has limits to the burdens he carries.

He listens attentively for your voice through the closed door from his seat on the couch. Quiet hums to show you're listening. Muffled words of advice and support. The call goes on for some time, an hour or more, but not once does he hear you talk about your own struggles. Yet, he knows work has been more demanding lately, you haven't been sleeping or eating well, and you were really looking forward to an uninterrupted night in with him - information gathered through observation, more than not.

Not a single word of complaint.

He can't focus on his book, so he sets it aside in exchange for his laptop. The soft clack of keys fills the silence. It nearly drowns out your voice entirely; the typing pauses every now and then to listen when you speak. His work isn't as efficient, so focused on listening for you, but he manages to get through a few emails and a report or two.

When the door opens, he perks up like a dog whose owner just came home. His fingers are still on the keyboard as he watches you come out from the hallway, smiling apologetically once more as you tuck your phone away with a final glance.

"Sorry about that," you murmur as you sit back in your spot on the couch. He closes his laptop and sets it aside. "Lisa's been having a lot of guy troubles lately and just got back from a bad date."

He hums his acknowledgement and turns his body to face you. Cool hands grab yours, holding them in his lap as his thumbs massage into your palms and work out the tension in your fingers. "You didn't say much."

You laugh lightly, as though it's completely normal. As though it should be completely normal. "I didn't want to bother her with my own problems - she has enough of her own to deal with."

"What problems would those be?" he questions. You tense up, like you want to pull away. You don't, but you stare at the ministrations of his hands with a shake of your head.

"It's nothing."

"But if they're problems," he tilts his head, trying to catch your gaze, "shouldn't I know about them?"

You glance at him with a grin that doesn't quite meet your eyes, and a slight downturn in your brow. "You're not on duty right now, Dr. Zayne."

He lifts one of your hands to kiss your palm. Your fingers brush his cheek. He leans into them without thought. "I didn't think I had to be to listen to my partner's issues," he shoots back, shooting down your deflection. His voice grows softer. "It's unhealthy to keep negative emotions bottled up. I am always here to listen should you need to let them out."

Something stirs in your eyes. Discomfort, at being called out and exposed. Worry, and fear. You look away again. "I don't want to bother you with that stuff."

"Who said you would be bothering me? I want to hear about the issues you have, however minor they may be." He releases one of your hands to cup your cheek. He directs your face back to him, leans forward to rest his forehead against yours, stealing your ability to look away. Your eyes remain lowered, staring at his nose. "You always carry the burdens of others. Allow me to carry your burdens, before you collapse under the weight."

You're silent. He shifts his fingers slightly, resting his middle and ring finger over your pulse point just under your jaw. Your heart is beating wildly. It stutters, jumps, skips. You inhale softly.

"You..." You shake your head slightly, nose brushing his. Your free hand fiddles with your pant leg. "You don't tell me about the issues you have, either."

He smiles slightly, wryly, as though you've just started trying to deal with a shrewd businessman who can't resist haggling.

"I had a nightmare last night," he admits softly. That draws your eyes up to his, finally. "When I woke up, it felt like I was still in the dream."

"What was it about?"

He gives you a pointed look. You frown. Your hand clenches around your pant leg, like admitting anything about yourself is agonizingly painful.

"I... I haven't been eating lunch during my breaks."

It's barely admitting anything, but he hums his approval nonetheless. "I was in the hospital, but the corridors were dark. I heard your voice echoing down the halls..." Your heart skips a beat in time with your concerned look. "Why aren't you eating lunch?"

You squeeze your eyes shut, hiding from the inevitable disapproval on his face. "I haven't been sleeping well, so I've been sleeping in my car during my breaks... I... passed out once, at my desk, because I was so tired... I don't want to concern my coworkers like that again." You wait a few seconds before cracking your eyes open. Sure enough, it's his turn to frown with worry. He knew you were tired lately, but he hadn't heard anything about you passing out at work. He can only be grateful you weren't out on the field at that time. "What happens next?"

"... I can't find you." His frown deepens, eyes flickering down your face, taking you in. "No matter where I look, you're not there. And when I wake up, it takes a moment for my mind to catch up and realize you're right there beside me."

Neither of you speak. Your pulse is calm now. The dark bags under your eyes concerns him more than ever now. The daze in his eyes when you woke up this morning to find him looking over your face flickers back into memory.

Eventually, he breaks the silence. "We'll take our lunch breaks together," he tells you, leaving no room for argument. "The next time you feel faint at work, or too tired to keep going, please tell me."

You nod slowly, silently sealing a promise with him. "The next time you have a nightmare like that, you have to tell me, too."

He nods in return. "I will."

You blink, pausing, waiting for something that doesn't ever come. Waiting for him to decide your burdens are too heavy to bear, or become disillusioned with you now that you're no longer this infallible beacon of strength and dependency. But it never comes. Instead, Zayne strokes your cheek with all the tender patience in the world, rubs his nose purposefully against yours in semblance of a kiss, sits quietly with you with no expectations.

Large drops of water begin to form in your waterline. You swallow, fighting the starting tremors in your lungs. He wastes no time in wrapping his arms around you and pulling you into him, helping you sit in his lap where you hug him around his neck and hide your face in his shoulder.

He kisses the side of your head as your body cries with a practiced silence, rubbing his hand in soothing motions against your back. "You're not a burden for having problems, or for sharing them with others," he whispers. "You don't have to carry everything alone anymore."

---

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[celtigxr]

There's also the aftercare, because a empty socket isn't just an empty socket. it needs to remain dry and taken care of daily, because moisture build up creates bacteria. Which they obviously don't know about. So even when the healing process went by well considering the circumstances, infection can happen even after. And im gonna be honest, an uneven cut sapphire cannot be sitting comfortably in there.

I was thinking once again about how Viserys was a terrible father with obvious favoritism even in the worst cases. Aemond had lost an eye and he didn't care about the life of his legitimate son.

We also need to contextualize and Aemond suffered more than in a modern context with advanced medicine. There was a lack of hygiene, the concept of sterilization didn't exist. In fact, the instruments were not disinfected for the operations adequately and so bacteria could proliferate. Rudimentary methods were used and herbs and substances were taken that hardly alleviated the pain.

There were no painkillers, anesthetics. You had to suffer.

Furthermore, there were no antibiotics and bacterial infections could easily spread and be lethal. Precisely in reference to this, sepsis is an inflammatory response of the organism that can also lead to death. Sepsis was lethal in the Middle Ages. There was no vaccine against tetanus (so the blade that had wounded Aemond could also cause a lethal wound for this reason).

After the previous premise, Aemond could lose not only an eye, but also his life if his body reacted badly and due to gangrene or sepsis. If the infection spread, death was almost certain. That day Viserys, instead of caring about his son, treated him like the worst of beasts without feeling a minimum of empathy for him. He did not treat him as a son, blood of his blood. He even questioned him, while Aemond was in shock, asking to answer to him as his king and exercising his power over his son as a sovereign even in such a difficult time for him. So not only did he not punish anyone and did not say anything, but he blamed Aemond almost as if it was something he should not care about in the slightest. The missing eye, the life of Aemond were the last thing on his mind.

[eddieswritinghell]

Headcanons: How they treat you when you're tired

141 & König with reader

Price:

Absolutely tucks you into bed.

Could be his bed, could be your own, but there definitely a bed getting tucked.

Once you're warm and cozy, Price will bring you your favorite warm drink (bonus points if you both like the same kind of tea).

If he doesn't have anything else to do for the day, he'll gladly stay and cuddle with you.

The man's probably tired himself from the day and any extra time spent with you is well worth it.

If he needs to go back to work, he'd at least stay around until he made sure you were asleep.

Price would run his fingers across your hair and smile at your relaxed face.

He treasures how much you trust him in these moments.

Gaz:

You might be tired and he might not be, buthe's making a movie night out of it regardless.

He knows you'll end up falling asleep regardless, but he secretly likes it when you do because you always manage to end up on him in some way (lap/shoulder/etc.)

He'll make you both popcorn and if he's feel extra special, he'll have already gathered some snacks you can both share.

Gaz will hold you tightly and rub your shoulders as you burrito'ed in your blanket while the laptop playing a movie is sat on Gaz's lap.

You'll be fighting off sleep for a good half an hour before Gaz's yawning makes you feel even more tired.

Neither of you makes it through the movie before you're curled into each other's arms and fast asleep.

Ghost:

He's seemingly always constantly busy and you often think he doesn't have a lot of tike for you.

He'd want to give you more of his time, but he considered himself married to his work.

However, you've both come up with a solution for when you're both feeling tired.

Ghost had bought a little lap desk that he could use on the bed so that the both of you could lay side by side.

Careful maneuvering allowed you to curl into his side as he worked on the final pieces of his paperwork for that period.

You'd fall asleep and a few hours after Ghost would have his work finished.

Placing the lap desk on the floor, being careful not the wake you, he would flip over toward you and pull you into his arms.

You could feel the faint traces of his fingers running along your facial features which allowed you to fall into a deeper slumber.

Soap:

He absolutely blabbers you to sleep.

You'll both be cuddled up in bed, him asking sure the covers don't show any skin besides the faces of you both.

He'll tell you stories, either stories he has created throughout the day or stories he had witnessed or had a part in.

He enjoys story telling, but it takes him quite some time to master the quietness of nighttime story telling.

He could still get a but excited at time with his stories, but he mostly kept it under wraps.

Eventually, long after you had fallen asleep, he would wear himself out to be tired right along with you.

He'd press a kiss to your forehead right before he succumbed to sleep, squirm his way further into the blankets, and curl himself around you.

König:

If there's a bath, there's a bath to be had.

Gets all the best smelling stuff even if he's not a huge fan of it.

He knows you like it, so he'll deal with it for your sake.

It probably grows on him because those scents remind him of you.

He isn't a huge bath person himself, but he'd gladly join you if you wished for him to.

König would carefully massage your back and shoulders while cleaning you off.

Presses kisses into your water-warmed skin in spots he knows are ticklish or that make you a touch squirmy.

He'd dry you off and dress you in your favorite pj's, making sure you were comfortable.

As soon as he'd make sure you were comfortable in bed, he'd join you.

As always, requests are open :)

[bokujou-monogatari]

So, the Marvelous CEO stepped down.

Let's talk about that!

❕This post contains speculative discussion covering: Marvelous Entertainment, Rune Factory, Story of Seasons, and touches on other IPs in the Marvelous folio. Also some fiscal discussion! It might be boring 😅...❕

Following the money

For those unaware, Marvelous isn't doing so well fiscally. In response to a (consistently) poor earnings report from 2024, the current Marvelous CEO Sato Suminobu announced his retirement from the position to elevate Shinichi Terui (an executive director) in his place.

The reasoning for the poor fiscal reporting was cited as "too few core IP releases and low sales".

What does that mean for the future? Well, while this decision focuses on 2024's performance, let's first take a bit to recap the first-time releases from 2019 to now:

January 18, 2019: Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes

June 3, 2019: Dead or School

June 9, 2019: Senran Kagura: Peach Ball

July 18, 2019: WACCA

September 13, 2019: Daemon x Machina

October 17, 2019: Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town

February 6, 2020: Granblue Fantasy: Versus

February 25, 2020: Rune Factory 4 Special

August 25, 2020: Kandagawa Jet Girls

November 5, 2020: Shadowverse: Champion's Battle

November 10, 2020: Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin

February 25, 2021: Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town

May 20, 2021: Rune Factory 5

(Almost a year later!) May 19, 2022: Deadcraft

October 17, 2022: Potionomics

November 2, 2022: Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom

January 26, 2023: Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life

March 2, 2023: Rune Factory 3 Special

June 1, 2023: Loop8: Summer of Gods

October 3, 2023: Silent Hope

November 3, 2023: Fashion Dreamer

November 9, 2023: Cuisineer

(Almost a year later, again!) November 1, 2024: Farmagia

Dry Spells

From 2019 to 2024, 23 titles (please correct me if I missed any!) were delivered. 2022 and 2024 were undoubtedly fiscally dry periods, with one-year periods between releases.

Of the released titles in this period, 10 were from more notorious series; and 6 of those were from the company's self-described Flagship IPs (3 from Story of Seasons and Rune Factory respectively)!

Despite Rune Factory and Story of Seasons being flagship IPs, over half of the games (4/6) released 2019-2024 were remakes or remasters of previous titles (Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town, Rune Factory 4 Special, Rune Factory 3 Special, and Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life), leaving only 2 titles as standalone, new mainline entries in their respective series. Oh, and there was Doraemon too, I guess.

Even with the massive sales seen - with Pioneers of Olive Town being the fastest selling XSEED published title ever and Rune Factory 5 topping 500,000 units sold worldwide after an unprecedented comeback - the games still massively under-performed at launch. The backlash was so strong for Olive Town that the producer (Dai Takemura) was run off his social media platforms and formally apologized for the poor launch. Rune Factory 5 also suffered during the Japanese launch, garnering criticisms from Japanese and North American fans alike amid celebrations of the series' return. This left fans in each space wondering what their favorite series would look like after such rocky starts on the new Nintendo Switch hardware.

The Future, Sprouting

Despite the struggles and setbacks, and nothing to really "make it rain", the flagship series are continuing to grow with 2 new additions to Story of Seasons - a cross-play online multiplayer title, and the next mainline game (purportedly the 30th anniversary entry) - and 2 new Rune Factory games - with entry 6 in development, and Guardians of Azuma releasing in May 2025.

These games are really going to have to do something outstanding to make up for the broken trust of their fans. But with a company struggling with its financials, there's always going to be a tug of war between satisfying fans and generating revenue.

This is where speculative analysis on my part comes in.

Flexible and Mobile

Current market trends point towards more open-world, cel-shaded style games for mobile (ala Hoyoverse games, Wuthering Waves notably). And the Nintendo Switch is, after all, a glorified touchscreen tablet. It's not lost on fans that there's something going on in the background regarding the games' development, and how eerily alike they are in visuals into some of the bigger, heavy hitting and grossing mobile titles out there.

The style on its own is simplistic, colorful, and warm. It's also very fast to develop and refine - no overly complicated textures or super granular details. The art direction also makes it lighter than other games which have many materials or polygons. It just works.

However, that can point to speculation around development; whether the studio is trying to streamline into shorter times...or is headed in a mobile direction. Let's take a look at some recently released screenshots from Guardians of Azuma.

There are elements of UI design displayed here that would feel right at home on a device held in one's hands, and not just with controllers in palms! Make no mistake, mobile is not an insult here. In fact, mobile may be just the direction these series need in order to sustain themselves in the current market era. Mobile gaming currently accounts for (roughly) 110 billion USD annually, across the globe! Even indies like Stardew Valley can see sizeable mobile market gains from concurrent releases on app stores.

It also wouldn't be the first time either series appeared on mobile. A company with as long a history and staying power as Marvelous would surely see no small number of players and a steady revenue for Story of Seasons and Rune Factory by tapping back into that market. Perhaps we're due to see things sprout on that platform soon?

(What happened to that in-development Story of Seasons Mobile title, anyway...?)

[anghraine]

The household Star Trek watch just hit The Wrath of Khan! I've seen it multiple times before, but it was really different to watch it so shortly after watching TOS and TMP.

My feelings are ... more complex now. Where Spock's character growth was randomly rewound in TMP for unexplained reasons, Wrath of Khan!Spock feels so much more the Spock he was becoming in TOS. He's older, steadier, and far less repressed while still retaining the composure and dignity that are so personally and culturally important to him. His sense of humor is still dry but less buried and harsh, he's reserved and unflinching in a very Spock way but it feels healthier and more integrated than anything he was capable of in TOS. I don't get the impression that he's at all ashamed of what he feels for Kirk at this point, nor ashamed of the strain of human qualities in himself.

I feel like we see how far Spock has come from his early shame and denial, for instance, when Kirk, McCoy, and Saavik go to beam to the research base. There's this less-repressed-than-formerly-but-still-powerful intensity between Kirk and Spock that, as ever, gives the distinct sense that everyone else just ceased to exist for them. Spock says outright, "Be careful, Jim" and it's very adorable and relatively open by Spock standards. And then professional hater McCoy is like ... oh, so am I chopped liver? while Saavik is just ????? and it's hilarious and just feels very recognizable.

I do think this film is kinder to McCoy than TMP and I appreciate seeing him quietly do his work as a doctor instead of haunting the bridge and needling Kirk and Spock, but he's a fairly muted presence in the film and still finds time to be a bigot. Not going to lie, it's incredibly cathartic when Spock uses his own prejudices against him and then tricks him into... uh, well, everything that's going to happen.

After all these years, Wrath of Khan!Saavik remains an absolute delight. She's trying so hard and Alley gives this great sense of a million thoughts going through her head at all times. It's really fun to see a very young Vulcan who isn't even pretending to have it all figured out, despite her rattling off rules and regulations. One of my favorite Saavik moments is when she's like "*gasp* You lied" in the most classic gifted-student-discovering-the-world way and Spock serenely replies, "I exaggerated."

(Spock is truly living his best life. I do not think this Spock has the slightest desire to be anywhere but where he is or anything but what he is, and it makes me very happy until aghghghhhhhaghhghgh.)

But anyway, Spock and Saavik have this really charming and understated mentor-protégée relationship that I like best in this iteration. (I don't care for the direction it goes in later for uhhh related reasons, but Alley's Saavik plays off of Nimoy—especially—and Shatner very enjoyably.)

Kirk is difficult for me, because the Kirk of the films in general just feels so far removed from TOS Kirk to me when he's not interacting with Spock. Yes, there's a familiarity evoked by Shatner's performances, and Kirk is compelling in this film, but ... it's a better film for Shatner than Kirk, if that makes sense? Shatner is genuinely quite good in it!

For one, I always forget that the hammy KHAN!!!!! is part of a cunning scheme in which Kirk is much more subtly slipping information to Spock and the frustrated rage is a performance for Khan, hammiest man in the universe. In reality, Kirk has a bunch of dialed-down emotional moments—the way he's quietly frustrated with Carol excising him from their son's life but still maintaining an amicable-exes relationship with her, for instance. But of course, the big one is Spock's death scene, especially that dreadful moment after Spock dies when Kirk just slumps against the radiation chamber looking almost confused in the way that grief really can just daze someone into that "puppet with the strings cut" quality. It's genuinely a heartrending moment.

For my ultra-Trekkie best friend J, Kirk's eulogy for Spock is the part that affects him most of all. And I get it! People tend to point to the twitchy "the most... human" part of it, but the most effective part for me is when Kirk is quoting Spock in the eulogy and saying he won't disrespect Spock's profound greatness by disputing his argument now, and he's clearly trying to be dignified and professional in a way Spock merits despite his own devastation, and then there's this shudder in his voice that is fantastic (and just, agggh). And I think "the most human" is pretty clearly not meant as a denial of Spock's Vulcanness, but an absolute rejection of virtually everyone's incessant treatment of Spock as subhuman for the crime of being biracial. Lots of good Shatner moments all around, though.

But.

So much of what's going on with Kirk's character arc seems grounded in what's established internally in the films and just overwriting major aspects of his TOS characterization and history. I dislike David Marcus for a ... lot of the film, and like, I appreciate him taking the initiative to set things right and acknowledge his misjudgment of his unexpectedly cool and newly bereaved father. But the approach being "I guess you never have really faced death before and having to process it is new for you" is extremely WTF when Kirk at this point has survived a genocide, lost much of his family including a brother and sister-in-law he seemed to be quite close to, has lost various good friends, there was the whole Edith Keeler thing among other losses he just had to keep powering through, and then at this point the person he has acknowledged as the closest person to him in the universe (one who had a significantly longer natural lifespan than him!) is also now dead.

And movie Kirk is like—yeah, I always came up with some trick to avoid ever facing death directly and I'm like WHAT. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT. THIS IS OBJECTIVELY FALSE. But the movie absolutely does not treat it that way! I do like David nervously turning back and acknowledging that he's proud of Kirk and the hug after such a monumental loss, but ... at what price.

This feels especially glaring because of the moments where we do get a pragmatic, reasonable Kirk whose priorities make perfect sense for his previous backstory, like:

DAVID: We appear to have plenty of time. KIRK: Is there anything to eat? I don't know about anyone else, but I'm starved. MCCOY: How can you think of food at a time like this? KIRK: First order of business, survival.

But it's important to his arc in the film that he's constitutionally unwilling to endure the weight of unwinnable scenarios, and is almost defined by being all about winning against any odds, and that's very weird to me. Kirk has always been determined and resourceful and cunning, yes—and we do get some of that here; he plays Khan like a fucking fiddle almost the whole time—but the possibility of loss never struck me as something he was refusing to contemplate.

Carol's dry line about how Kirk has never been a Boy Scout feels pretty specific to movie Kirk and pop culture Kirk, too. TOS Kirk is repeatedly described as having been solemn and bookish in early adulthood. Even in his thirties, he's not generally a maverick IMO; he won't subordinate all critical thinking and judgment to regulations, but he prefers to find some way to reconcile them if he can. His overriding driving motive is most often his sense of responsibility—to his crew, their ship, their mission, and the principles of the Federation and his brand of philosophical humanism. If he's got to break regulations to fulfill his deeper responsibilities, he will, but he'd much rather not!

You know who in TOS very much does have it in him to jeopardize everything out of loose cannon determination to blast through every obstacle unlucky enough to get in the way of his absolute refusal to accept loss? Spock. Spock risks the lives of hundreds of people in desperate and improbable attempts to get Kirk back, multiple times! In the context of his culture and even of Starfleet, he is far more of a maverick than Kirk ever was in TOS.

I know this sounds more negative than I want to be, because I'm very fond of this movie in its own right, and Kirk does have some fantastic Kirk-ly moments. We do get a strong sense of Kirk's intelligence and resourcefulness without TMP's device of everyone ganging up on him for reasons presented as sort of justifiable despite his completely accurate judgment of the urgency of the situation. But I'm reminded of the "Kirk drift" article about how post-TOS representations of Kirk seem to become increasingly representations of the idea of who Kirk was in TOS rather than having much to do with any particular details of Kirk's actual characterization in TOS.

[jacqulants]



ILLICIT .1

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Living in the underground isn't easy, especially when your friends are taken away from you. To get by you sell illegal healing remedies on the black market but what will happen when Levi tries to stop you?

         Music played through the tavern                                                                       🎵

              🎶

                                                                                  🎵

                  🎶

"Here's to the future! The future our children will be in.." his words were slurred from alcohol, "the future of..beautiful women!" He winked, "And..and- and the future that Y/N will let us drink as much beer as we want!"

Everyone in the tavern roared yelling in unison, "Cheers!"

You couldn't help but let out a soft smile, "sweet words won't work on me. You guys are still cut off for the night."

"Boooooo! Why not" The drunk man yelled out before stumbling on the floor.

"That's why. I rest my case. Go home, before I call your wife to escort you out." You picked up a wet glass and began drying it off.

He sighed, "same time tomorrow?" He asked.

"I'll be here working and serving beers." You smiled and he nodded before dragging himself out the bar.

"You've always had a knack for getting trouble to leave." An old frail voice spoke.

You looked to the side to see a regular, he was a very quiet man. He just came to drink and watch the drama unfold here every night.

"Hi Elias." You spoke out before continuing to grab another glass and dry it off, "you need a refill?"

"Hm.." he tapped his chin, "well I think my show here is done."

"Maybe maybe not, perhaps another fellow will stumble in here and give another drunken performance." You smiled.

"Back in my days," you internally sighed, "I went to every bar, flirted with every pretty lady and stole horses from those..those..what do you call them?"

"MP's, military police. And sure you did Elias."

"No no I'm serious! Back when I used to live on the surface-"

"The surface?" Your face snapped at him.

The tavern was only lit by candle light, the warm yellow ambience surrounded the tavern. The warm light covering the maple wood table and chairs, the stone floors. Only other light source was the windows but what light can you even get when you live in the underground.

"Ah, that got your attention." Elias smiled.

"Perhaps."

"Well. I'll tell you about the surface if only you tell me how a rogue criminal like yourself came to become the underworld sweetheart. Oh! And a beer." He tapped on his glass.

You nodded and began filling his cup with beer, it foaming to the top, "deal." You passed the beer back to him.

The tavern was somewhat empty but it was silent, drunk folks went home or either passed out on the tables. You leaned on the bar looking at Elias.

"Let's see..the surface. I guess I would say I was a mischievous soul. The military police are no better up there, still as lazy and still as corrupt. While the MP's were in food comas I would steal their horses and ride around the plains."

"The plains?" You asked.

"Yes the plains. They were green grassy hills to put it simply. The blue sky and occasionally birds flying over. I would ride as fast as I could to feel the wind, it was the only time I felt free. And then one day the MP's caught me, I fled down here after a long shootout, living the rest of my life down here. I've never felt so..lost. I miss my youth." He sighed looking down, "but enough of me! What's your story."

"Hm. Well my mother and father were criminals, hid down here and one day they got arrested. I'm not too sad about it, I didn't know them that well. But I was 14 when that happened and I had to learn how to stay alive. One day I met a boy, Levi. Levi Ackerman. Now he's the best scout there ever was but that wasn't always the case. We were both so young, I stole a yam from him and he chased me through the alleyways and tackled me down. He noticed how helpless I was so he became my friend. He introduced me to his friends. I felt like I finally had a family." You smiled.

"I always tried keeping up with him but I never could. Then one day I made this invention, it had the stupidest name ever and I called it the Boomshakalaka. It's a stupid name I know but I was hoping maybe it would make Levi laugh."

"Did you have a crush on Levi?" Elias asked.

"Hm? No never. He was my best friend, I just wanted to make him smile because he always had that grumpy expression. Anyways I made the boomshakalaka, it was a smoke bomb. One day Levi, Farla, Isabel all went to test it out. I begged Levi to let me help but he said no, of course I didn't listen. I ran to the town center to help them but the MP's recognized me and began to chase me. Levi saved me and then for some reason the Scouts began chasing us all. Levi was flying through the air with ODM gear and me on his back and a scout took us out of the air. I landed in an alleyway and watched the scouts take all my friends away."

"And you haven't seen them since.."

"I haven't seen them since.." I sighed, "when they left. I decided I would live my own life. So I began helping whoever needed help, I got a job at the tavern. Gave food to people who needed it. Then my boss began yelling at me in front of all the customers saying to stop wasting food on hopeless causes. The customers began attacking my boss, shouting to never yell at me again because I helped them in ways my boss couldn't. I never realized the impact I had on all these people. After that I became the owner of the tavern."

"Have you ever seen the daylight?"

"No. And I would love to..."

"Well if I can say one thing for certain it's that you don't belong here kid. You're too nice for the underground. Or should I say the underworld." He drank the last of his beer and slammed it down.

"Thanks for the beer. Have a good night." He smiled handing me a baggie of coins before wandering out the door, the door hinges moving back and forth.

You couldn't help but clench your heart, yearning for your friends.

"It's whatever now. Time to close up." You furrowed your eyebrows before grabbing the broom and hitting the drunken customers with the bristles.

"Cmon! Time to get out! You don't have to go home but you certainly can't stay here!" They all sat up from where they were passed out, groaning with headaches before stumbling out the tavern.

"See ya tomorrow!" You waved them off before turning back to the door and locking up for the night.

It was the middle of the night you could tell, not the safest time to be walking out but what else could you do. Walking down the town where shops were closed up for the night, the only light being the lanterns.

"Y/N." You heard your name being called.

You turned around quickly to see a man in a green hoodie. He had the wings of freedom.

"You're a scout. Why do you know my name?" You crossed your arms.

He grabbed his hood and pulled it back to reveal his identity.

"Levi?" you whispered.

You were frozen, heart thumping with joy, your friend was alive!

"Y/N. Im with the scout regiment, I have some questions to ask you."

Your feet lunged foward to him holding him in a hug.

"Levi! I thought you died!"

"Um..my names not Levi."

"Huh?" You pushed him away to see it was in fact not Levi but a boy with blue eyes.

"Oh. I'm sorry I thought you were someone I knew.." you muttered.

"My name is Eren. Sorry for the confusion." He bowed, "however I must ask you some questions."

There was a silence, "You said you were with the scout regiment, is there someone named Levi Ackerman."

"Uhh.." He looked around confused as what to say, "Yes? But that's not the point I have to ask you-"

"Can I talk to him!" You almost shouted.

"I- do you know him?" He seemed surprised.

"Well I wouldn't be asking about him would I?" You grasped your shirt.

"Well I don't know-"

"Please."

The boy named Eren seemed hesitant but nodded his head.

"He's..he's watching me as we speak. Has he always been creepy?" Eren revealed before pointing at the shadows.

You looked around the buildings and walls, finally your gaze catching someone in the shadows. You stared at it for an abnormal amount of time.

"Levi?" You asked.

The figure hopped closer until it landed on the ground, pulling his hood back, it was actually Levi this time.

"Y/N." Levi spoke up, "Eren you weren't supposed to reveal disclosed information to a civilian."

Levi examined you; you still wore the bomber jacket that Farlan gave you, you got taller, and you seemed more confident. He couldn't be more pleased with the person he saw right in front of him. In all truth he was a little scared to see you again, which was a weird sensation for him to feel.

"She was looking for you!" Eren exclaimed.

"You were alive all along. And you never bothered visiting once?!" You shouted.

"..It was a series of events." He looked away.

"What series of events? I thought you were dead." And all of a sudden he walked closer, patting your shoulder.

You couldn't help but feel your heart break a little, "why didn't you come back?"

"Because you were safer without me." He said with that stoic expression you were so familiar with.

"And how do you know that?"

"Me and you both know if I stayed, we would all eventually go down." He fixed your bomber jacket, "you kept Farlans jacket, thats nice."

"But at least I would have known where you guys were at."

"Understand where I'm coming from Y/N." Levi's eyes shined a little.

"I understand." You nodded and watched him retract his hands away from your jacket.

"We have some questions we need to ask you if it's alright." He repeated again, you nodded.

"Follow me. It's not safe out here." You said before leading the two boys back to the tavern.

"I've never been in the underground before." Eren said.

"It's definitely worse than where you guys come from." You remarked.

"Somewhat I guess.." Eren murmured.

"Hey Levi. What happened to Farlan and Isabel?" You turned around.

A silence hung around the air, "Oh. I understand." Was all you could respond.

The two pulled up chairs at a table and you did the same.

"What do you need to ask?" You questioned.

"Y/N. Are you familiar with the black market?" Levi asked.

"Levi. I've lived here all my life. Duh. I know the black market." Eren laughed at your remark.

Levi side eyed Eren before going back on topic, "Okay. Well are you familiar with what's called the Asclepius Remedy?"

"Asclepius Remedy?" You asked.

"Yes. We have reason to believe someone has been selling healing remedies to people in the black market."

"Annndd that's bad why?"

"It's bad because this remedy is infused with titan fluids. This remedy injects titan fluids into an injured subject allowing the person to heal just as a titan would however it doesn't turn the subject into a pure titan. Just enough to heal them." Levi explained.

"Oh that thing. We call it instant heal not Asclepius Remedy." You explained.

"I see. Well we need to discover who is selling these remedies as it can pose a danger to civilians. If given too much, even a millimeter more, civilians can be turned into titans and destroy the whole underground." Levi furrowed his eyebrows.

"And you need my help?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you're the underworld sweetheart. With connections like that you can help us find who this perpetrator is." Eren interjected.

"Oh. You guys know about that?" You asked.

"Well..we went undercover down here a month back. Every place was being destroyed or robbed except yours so when we asked, we discovered that you're protected by the people down here." Eren admitted before Levi kicked him under the table.

"Okay. And if I help what do I get in return." You crossed your arms leaning back in the chair.

"We'll give you papers and money to live up on the surface." Levi proposed.

"Deal!" You sat up and reached your hand out, Levi accepted as you two shook hands. "However, I must ask you to come back tomorrow, it isn't safe to be roaming out here at night."

The two nodded getting up from their seats heading towards the exit of the tavern.

"It was nice seeing you again Y/N." Levi looked back.

"You too Levi." You smiled.

The two men left the tavern wandering the undergrounds streets.

"How do you know her?" Eren asked.

"She's a very good friend of mine from when I lived down here."

"What! Captain you never told me you lived down here!" Eren exclaimed.

"I never told anyone. Now quiet down before people hear us." Levi hissed.

Y/N began making her descent down the stairs. A large metal door blocking her path. She entered a 4 digit code to the security door, the door panels slid open, smoke pouring in before revealing purple light surrounding the room behind the metal door. Tables of test tubes, beakers, microscopes were all over the room. On the left wall were fridges. In it, Asclepius Remedies.

[featherymainffins]

Trying to remember where I first encountered humanity as a horror to see if this has a root the same way you can trace literally all of my thirst for fictional characters back to WITCH, but ngl I genuinely cannot remember anything like that.

[king-of-havoc]

I'm going to kill the people who decided everything in public bathrooms need to be motion activated. It's never done well, it's always so fucking janky, I JUST WANT TO WASH MY HANDS

[doctorweebmd]

accidentally* brainstormed a very complete outline for chapters 4-8 for eih, which should theoretically take us through Part 1. which is. you know. a godsend or whatever.

*accidentally meaning i was just eating delicious pancakes and the thoughts happened. usually its me crying screaming and shitting myself in front of an empty word document where ideas manifest. this is notably much more pleasant.

[2-kamikou-1]

ok but no guys seriously how do you ask for reassurance in a way that doesn't make you look like a stupid yandere stereotype

[forgetfulmachineart]

[ID: Three digital full body drawings of Bdubs in a moss cloak holding a minecraft clock over his eye with different levels of rendering. The first is greyscale with minimal shading with a green spiked halo behind his head. The second is colored with cell shading and a yellow halo behind his head, the halo casts some light onto him. The third is similar to the second but with more painterly shading, most noticeable on the face and his moss cloak. The halo is red and casts red light. The last three images are close ups of his face. /End ID]

I NEED Clock Man to win the time based Life Series I swear to god I’m going to eat dry wall if he doesn’t

[roombagreyjoy]

*said with increasing distress, eyes blodshot and an empty mug in hand* you guys remember writing right????? you guys remember posting fic and publishing things and talking to editors about potential projects right???? you guys remember being creative in your creative jobs and not just rereading old work and having a panic attack over the time wasted over curating hyperspecific character playlists that you get mad about five minutes later right????? i'm not insane right????? creative block is normal even if it lasts for months right???? i haven't written a fic in YEARS but it's ok i'm ok i have to finish TWO original pieces for next week that I haven't even started but it'll probably be fineeeee I'm totally not being a complete and raving lunatic about it it's probably gonna be okay <3 yay <3

[whiterunguard]

Things are in store. Things are going to happen.

[chussy]

honestly if it weren't for the dermatological Horrors going on with my skin I probably wouldn't even have a skincare routine, I'd like rinse my face with water and idk put some lotion on my face when I put it on my body after showering. and sunscreen when going out at high UV index times. but no, I just had to have the skin texture of the fucking Atacama desert

[doberrrman]

I have this feeling that I have unofficial beef with my neighbor...