#well if you don't like caves it might be plenty but i personally was like aw i want more cave

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread

The Sacrifice

YA horror

set on an island in the Philippines, with legends of a dreamer god who requires sacrifices, and a history of deaths and disappearances

a local teen who’s one of the only people willing to go near agrees to be the guide for a hollywood crew determined to film their ghosthunting show there - and won’t leave even when bodies start showing up

nonbinary MC, creepy plants and caves

[acstation206]

I messed up. /j

Introducing...

THE AMAZING DIGITAL ARCADE PARTY!

Yeah, that's right, I caved in.

Basically the exact same show except its established lore and setting is more largely inspired by archive compilations of popular vintage arcade games of the 80s and 90s such as Pac-Man’s Arcade Party, as well as the different takes within the sci-fi / fantasy genre by the likes of Wreck-It Ralph, Tron: Legacy, and Infinity Train. 

==

= BACKGROUND (in a nutshell) 💿 =

In an attempt to save their dying business, C&A developed and manufactured the first hybrid arcade game of its own kind that combined other popular arcade games and home console games with virtual reality. However, just as the company’s luck was turning around, numerous lawsuits from game companies by the likes of Nintendo and families were filed against the company for their product, from apparently “ripping-off” Super Mario Bros. in its entirety to causing many children to either inexplicably fall unconscious or suffer from amnesia after the cabinet’s headset was put on. Just then, as C&A announced they’ll be temporarily recalling the product to fix its issues, a shocking discovery was already made by investigators that would soon bring the company to its demise: the game’s AI had gone rogue, and once a human mind dies from losing one of the games in any way, they are either permanently reincarnated as a personified cartoon character of themselves or just straight up die in real-life depending on the outcome.

==

= ART N’ STUFF 🎨 =

(might wanna make a separate masterpost for that in the future but oh well)

NES Ragatha

Pomni and Caine redesigns

==

= Q&As and BOUNDARIES (sort of) 🎙️ =

"Are there any plans to make a full webcomic out of this?" - Uhhhh, mayyybe? I'm not entirely sure, honestly. While there may be a few side comics and artwork from my head I want to get out sometime, I don't really have much plans for this AU that'll be worth telling a full story right now since I feel there is plenty of things that I've yet to figure out and develop in a matter of time, particularly the setting and characters (especially considering the OG show itself has only 2 episodes out as of writing and I only have mobile apps like ibisPaint X to make this all possible at the moment).

"Can I make fanfics and OCs for this AU?" - Of course! I've seen a lot of incredible things from the community, especially in regards to alternate universes, so you're absolutely more than welcome to share whatever's on your mind as long as your heart's in the right place. I can't really guarantee I'll see every bit of it since I do have some personal biz of mine to take care of at any moment, but I'll be happy to reblog them whenever I get the chance. Just tag me and we all good. :)

"Are there any canon ships in this AU?" - Yes. Yes, there are. Well, only BunnyDoll (Jax x Ragatha) to be specific. HOWEVER, you are free to ship whoever you want here! Showtime (Caine x Pomni), ButtonBlossom (Pomni x Ragatha), it's all okay. The choice is yours, a romantic buffet! (Plus, depending on the quality of my writing, I'm not even planning to dwell too much into it for now, aside from the side comics that will.)

==

That's all for right now. Enjoy! :)

[just-a-strange-boy]

a helping hand

part one

part two here

masterlist

Unable to use his hands after the accident, Stephen is in desperate need for some help. And who are you to refuse?

Pairing: Stephen Strange x Reader (GN)

Warnings: 18+ (Minors DNI), questionable sexual proposal, handjob, edging, orgasm control

A/N: IT'S TIME! buckle up bc this is shameless... and tbh who wouldn't love to help our poor Stephen in need

"Of course I'll help out", you had said, thinking that you could spare some time, to sporadically take care of Christine's friend, determined to offer a hand whenever you could.

It was a clear arrangement – whenever she couldn't be around to help, you'd be the one to step in for the time being. Keep an eye on him, help him around the house, and make sure he won't do anything stupid that might hurt himself.

And you had just been fine with that. It wasn't an issue for you to pop by once in a while. You had flexible work hours and being the reliable person that you were, Christine knew you'd definitely jump in when needed.

What you hadn't expected was kind of getting stuck with helping, something you had most definitely not signed up for, to the point where you found yourself regularly on duty during your free time. Not that you didn't like to help out – there were worse things you could have imagined and there must have been a good subconscious reason why you kept agreeing to it.

You just hadn't planned to get so wrapped up in it.

Instead of simply sparing a couple of hours for Christine's friend because you could and thought helping him out was a good deed, you had ended up agreeing to an entire week on duty at his apartment, because someone had the audacity to leave for a medical congress, letting the task of caring for him fall into your hands and not missing the opportunity to instate you as a personal watchdog.

"Yeah, don't worry about it", you had said, though her request initially confused you.

Why was she asking you to stay around his apartment for an entire week? Not even Christine stayed around him for that long, knowing fairly well how insufferable his behavior was sometimes, glad she had the distraction of leaving for work and getting out of the house once in a while.

Maybe you wouldn't have had to agree to staying at his apartment all week. A couple of hours would have sufficed and you couldn't even quite explain to yourself why you still put yourself up to the challenge.

Perhaps it was because Christine always had the tendency to put on that kind of tone and expression on her face that expressed 'Please do it for me or else I won't be able to get rest'.

Being the worry wart that she was, she wouldn't have let it go until you caved – which was exactly what you had done, agreeing to her request anyways and accepting you would just have to pester the man in question with your presence.

He probably would have been happy to stay on his own for a bit, with no one around to constantly get on his nerves. You often felt like this was exactly what Christine and you were doing.

He would have been fine, probably, because it wasn't like he was incapable of taking care of himself. Yes, he was in a vulnerable position, his last surgery hadn't been that long ago and his hands were still in some state. There were things he couldn't do on his own, he needed to rely on help with certain things, but he wasn't a child needing to be coddled.

Christine's friend, Stephen, had gotten into a fucking wreck of a car crash, leaving him unable to use his hands, which had taken the most damage. You had heard plenty about Stephen Strange before all that happened, considering he had been good friends with Christine ever since she had gotten employed at the Metro General. But you had never had the pleasure of truly getting to know him until you began helping him out.

Plenty of people probably knew, as did you, that Stephen used to be a truly brilliant neurosurgeon, who would obviously not be able to continue to work in that field since his hands were pretty mangled. Which of course was really frustrating him to the point where he had refused to accept help from outside, all alone in his stupidly huge apartment, relying on not another person in the world but Christine, who was pretty much the only friend he had.

And now he had you too, since Christine (understandably so) also needed a break from Stephen sometimes and had pulled in you, her sibling, for help.

At first Stephen had been mad at her for even bringing someone else around for something as ridiculous as being cared for, claiming he didn't need to be pitied by another person, as pity was all he had for himself and his lost career.

But once his frustration was out of the way, he had warmed up quickly to you. It might have been because he had quickly learned how snarky you were, unashamed to speak your mind and comment on his occasional dickish behavior, volleying his little jabs and teasing him right back.

Or perhaps, it was simply because you weren't throwing him a pity party, while never once belittling him for the amount of help he actually needed.

By all means, Stephen should consider himself lucky that someone put up with his shit.

It was a given that Christine helped him out, considering they'd been pretty close friends for years and colleagues as well, she was aggressively caring for those she loved, and since Stephen didn't have a lot of other people to rely on, she fit the role perfectly.

You also quickly began to understand why she had wanted to split 'Stephen duty' with someone else though and being family, you were apparently the only reasonable choice.

She could be certain that he wasn't going to dismiss you or else he would have to endure the wrath of Christine – and she sure had a temper people knew better than to mess with.

So had he though.

He truly was the perfect match for butting heads with on the regular. Sometimes you were convinced he was just being a cocky and arrogant ass out of spite, to rile you up, to get on your nerves as a payback for getting on his, to have some fun because he was getting sick of his recovery at home.

Sometimes you acted out of spite too, placing things out of his reach, screwing on bottle caps extra tight, rearranging his cupboards, to the point where he was forced to ask for help (which he hated doing), but this, as much as most of your comments, was all meant in good humor.

You were sure that Stephen got it. He didn't seem to mind that you were head-strong and speaking your mind, didn't seem too bothered by the harsh things you said sometimes or the not-so-friendly tone you tended to use when it was necessary.

He even seemed to find it rather amusing sometimes, making for playful banter, and in a way you were almost certain that he liked having someone to argue with, even if only for his entertainment.

It offered him some sort of distraction he desperately needed, after things going dastardly wrong, after all this suffering due to his own stupid lapse of judgment, letting himself be distracted while driving and leaping down a cliff.

There was a lot of pent up frustration within Stephen, a lot of sadness, and desperation. Things he didn't necessarily show, but obviously felt anyways. So whenever you managed to put a smile on his face with your gentle, friendly teasing, you were relieved to see him in a different mood.

You liked Stephen quite a bit, no matter how much he was irking you on some days – and no matter what it was, you were always there to help. So maybe staying at the apartment all week wouldn't be as bad.

Surprisingly enough, Stephen hadn't resented the idea either, though of course dropping the occasional comment about not wanting to be under supervision 24/7.

While you were not one to coddle, going after your own work on your laptop and giving Stephen some space during the day, you were insistent on taking care of his basic well-being, as usual.

You did care for Stephen, and not just because of your sister. In some sort, you considered him your own friend as of now, wanting to make sure he was having a reasonably pleasant recovery, fully aware how much it must suck to go through all of this.

How far you were willing to go though? No one, not even you, would have been able to tell.

"You can either eat the food I make for you or go back to wasting your money on shitty takeout", you had set pretty clear the first evening, scolding him like he was an insolent child not wanting to eat his greens, staring him down at the kitchen table when he wouldn't bother touching the dinner you made, "But I sure as hell won't let you miss out a meal."

Whenever you had stepped in prior, you were trying to make sure Stephen ate properly and regularly, because you knew the man occasionally refused to take a meal altogether, which usually ended in an argument. When arguing with Christine, she tended to give in.

While you were really fed up with his stubbornness sometimes, you had always accomplished getting at least some food into Stephen and this time was no different.

A mere two days later, you had been quietly working on your laptop in the living room, waiting for Stephen to finish up his shower, when you heard a thud and a loud "Fuck", thinking that perhaps the shampoo bottle had slipped out of his hands. It didn't sound like a dangerous bang, so you weren't sure whether you needed to check on him or not, but just in case something bad had occurred...

You still got up, caught a peek into the bathroom and rolled your eyes hard when noticing that it hadn't been his shampoo, and dear Lord, Stephen had apparently managed to slip, the spray of the shower still raining down on him while he was sulking on the tiled floor.

"Did you hurt yourself?", you asked instead of 'Are you okay?', because you knew that Stephen felt far from okay the way things were. He was obviously ashamed this had happened, any other person would have been too, but accepting of the situation itself, accepting that he needed help.

He didn't dare to look at you then, but you could tell there was defeat written all over him and it probably wasn't helping his embarrassment that he was stark naked – which wasn't the first time you had seen him like this, as you had assisted a few showers before and gotten into plenty of awkward situations whereas you'd seen a bit more than asking for, but still... the two of you sure could have imagined a more comfortable setting.

Though you were rather unafraid to touch him, which was a good thing. How else could you have possibly helped?

You touched Stephen all the time. Helping him get dressed? Done that. Combed his hair? Yup. Shaved his stupidly handsome face? Also yes. Changed the dressings on his hands? A given. Assisting him in holding as much as a spoon without dropping it? Daily. Tucking him into bed at night? Okay, maybe not that one, but you sure would have, if he had asked you to.

"It's hard to fall down gracefully without using your hands to help yourself", Stephen sighed, but turned out to be unharmed by his tumble, though he would likely still get away with some bruises from the impact. Coming round the shower cubicle, you could see his knees seemed to have taken a lot of the brunt, not too mention he had cracked the skin of his elbow open, trying to not use his hands to ease the momentum.

"This is ridiculous. Slipping in the shower like some seventy year old sod”, he grumbled.

"I slipped in the shower once as a child and that's how I lost two of my teeth. It happens, Stephen", you tried to ease the mood, momentarily seizing the spray, so you could aid Stephen to get back up without getting too wet yourself. You casually looked him over – he seemed fine enough to continue. At least he hadn't banged his head or something. Still, you decided to stay nearby for the rest of his shower, making sure he was able to get out unharmed.

"What were you even doing? Were you feeling dizzy?", you inquired, helping him towel off his hair, quietly acknowledging how long it had gotten since meeting him for the first time and especially how the gray on his temples had begun to spread.

"No, just unaware of my surroundings for a moment, didn't think and... there I went", Stephen answered, but you weren't sure if that was the whole truth.

You accepted it though, continuing to help him dry off. Situations like these brought an uncomfortable awareness to your mind - he was putting so much trust into you, letting you help him like this, and you had never really managed to find a good answer as to why he was allowing you do all of those things for him.

All the signs of trust were obviously there. He was letting himself be vulnerable with you, being in situations that were so deeply intimate without refusal or much shame.

Stephen was allowing you to touch him too, aiding him with getting dressed, letting you check his newly won bruises today – and as usual, quietly accepted your care for his hands, his sore point, tender and heavily scarred, so that he mostly kept them hidden beneath a layer of bandages, ashamed of having anyone see them.

Sometimes, only sometimes, you even got the impression that whenever your hands were on him, it seemed to ease the tension out of his shoulders, never minding the undoubted awkwardness of the moment.

You weren't one to judge. Maybe he did want a bit of comfort after all and therefore didn't mind being taken care of sometimes, even though always pretending that he didn't need any help or tending to.

Everyone needed someone. Even him.

Stephen was a very lonely person. He would have never admitted to it, but all the fame and the glory from his neurosurgery days hadn't really ensured stable friendships and people being actually interested in him on a personal level. On the contrary, a lot of people had dropped Stephen rather quickly. But not Christine.

And thanks to her, you wouldn't anytime soon either.

You grew aware of Stephen's actual issue, when your work was interrupted for another time that same day. Finally coming to actually work on a commission that had been prompted weeks ago, setting the final touches to the project, tapping away on your graphic tablet, you took note of the noises coming from Stephen's bedroom.

Somehow you tried to make sense of it as moans of discomfort, anguish, perhaps he was having a nightmare, perhaps he was in pain, perhaps he was just frustrated he couldn't sleep, a reoccurring problem he had described to you before.

Whatever it was, it did appeal to your little helper syndrome and you at least felt like you needed to look after him, figure out if anything was going on that might require your help.

So you went to check on him, no regard for personal privacy, quietly opening the door to the bedroom, about to inquire what was going on and whether he was okay.

"Stephen? Is everything... oh..." Shit. Okay.

You had barely crossed the threshold to the room when you took note of what exactly was happening. Because the noises of frustration weren't rooted in trouble sleeping, but as it seemed in sexual desperation – and apparently the man had been trying to get off, unable to take care of his evident erection, pulling the blankets over himself immediately once noticing that you were standing in the doorway.

Awkward.

Standing like a deer in headlights, you wondered which one of you would have rather wanted a hole to open in the ground and swallow you whole to avoid the complete embarrassment.

"God, fuck, I'm so sorry", you apologized after overcoming the initial full-body freeze, not sure whether to leap out of the room, cover your eyes or just act bluntly about it. Logically it would have been best to not make a big deal out of it, because it wasn't, not really.

Just a private moment you had interrupted. Nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone had needs.

"I was... uh... I was worried something was the matter and...", you tried to explain then, going on stuttering and noticing that nothing you were about to say was going to save the awkwardness of the situation.

"Well, you know what's the matter now", Stephen sighed, barely illuminated by the soft lamp light from the bedside table, though still turning away from you in plain shame, continuing on with the sort of self-pity you had never experienced so strongly from Stephen before.

"I'm pathetic. Can't shower without help, can't live without help, I can't even jerk off without help, because of this stupid fucking car crash and these stupid fucking hands and I can't even blame anyone but myself for it."

It wasn't all too often that the man voiced his own hurt so intensely, clearly on edge, emotional about what had and, in that case, what hadn't happened.

Understanding of his evident frustration, but unsure what to do with him now, in this state, you contemplated. Things were already awkward enough and it didn't help you remained standing there while Stephen was wallowing in self-pity, and you weren't really sure why the idea of helping him out even crossed your mind in the first place.

Sure, helping around the apartment was no big deal, attending to Stephen's needs was okay, but taking care of this rather specific issue... you didn't want to push his boundaries too much after all.

And yet you were so bold as to ask, "So, are you in need of a helping hand?"

"Fuck off, now is not the time to make fun of me", Stephen groaned, probably ready to smother himself (or you) with one of the pillows, "Life already mocks me enough. I don't need to have you ridiculing me because of this."

"I'm not... I'm not mocking you", you assured him, finally moving, closing the door shut behind you as you went over to the bed, watching his cowered figure, "I'm just... I'm not pitying you. It's just...me... requesting like... a favor for a friend in need? I'm sure I could help you out some way? If you wanted me to, that is."

"Why would you even offer that?", Stephen asked, though appearing neither dismissive nor exceptionally shaken about what you were suggesting. A little in disbelief perhaps, but that wasn't surprising since you were clearly deciding to cross a boundary for the two of you here.

"Because life's been shit for you and I guess you could need some relief. Since you can't seem to get off on your own, I'm offering to help you with it", your answer seemed to make him consider and you planted yourself down on his bedside. You reached out and touched his shoulder, trying to find out how he would respond to you initiating touch.

"Maybe it will help you unwind and relax?"

Stephen turned to look at you. "We will never speak of this ever again", he hummed in agreement, "And not a word to anyone. Especially not Christine."

"Promise", you agreed – this was definitely not something you were meaning to boast about. You just wanted to help and the decision to do this for Stephen had been surprisingly easy to make.

A normalcy had kind of settled over the situation, which however didn't mean that you weren't feeling some type of way. You were a little jittery as you slid into bed next to Stephen, making sure not to cuddle up to him too much, because you weren't sure how he would feel about any unnecessary affections.

This was just about a quick hand job and that was it. It already must have taken a lot for Stephen to even accept the offer. Not to mention, a lot of desperation too. But he trusted you. This was a friendly gesture and nothing more. It didn't have to mean anything, let alone be a big thing between you, something that might never be mentioned ever again.

Gently pulling back the blanket, you probably held your breath as much as he did, reaching out, making sure to touch Stephen where his sleep shirt had ridden up at first, your hand finding its place on his stomach, letting him get accustomed to your touch, which wasn't entirely new to him – this time with a little different intention than usually, which made it all the more exciting.

The man drew out a shaky breath, agitated even, and his muscles were tensing up before he was even thinking of relaxing. Looking at him, you could see there was concentration on his brow, his gaze averted to the ceiling, neither daring to look at you nor at where your hand was resting.

"Okay?", you asked.

"Yeah", Stephen said, barely a whisper. His consent urged you to go on, your fingers brushing over his abdomen, following the trail of hair down his navel, fully aware that his pants were still bunched down somewhere around his knees, and you could have reached for him right away. But you didn't, sliding your hand past his arousal, stroking along his thighs instead, bracing yourself to make the next step and touch him more intimately.

But even your hand on him alone was seemingly enough to awaken all sorts of things within Stephen and he sucked in a sharp breath as your hand skirted his inner thighs. He was warm, his thighs firm under your touch, and you gently squeezed them in reassurance.

"You're a damn tease", he muttered.

You thought replying something witty, but you knew better and just bit your tongue this time, curiously watching his face, not meaning to stare at his genitals. It wasn't like Stephen didn't seem to like it. He had closed his eyes, seemed concentrated, small breaths were slipping past his lips, and he swallowed hard.

As you continued to carefully caress his thighs, you could most certainly feel him squirm, tensing again, but not because he was uncomfortable. He was aroused, you had no doubts, and his words just made it all the more evident he wanted you to go on.

“Please don't make me wait”, he requested, so quiet as if he was speaking a forbidden thought aloud.

You didn't, fingers trailing the path up his thighs, enjoying the little huff that escaped Stephen when you brushed past his balls, reaching for the half-hard member, responding to your touch with a twitch, stirring in interest. Wrapping your fingers around him, you grabbed the base of his cock in a tight hold.

"God, I feel like I'm about to burst already", Stephen groaned in anguish as his breathing almost turned labored instantly, pressing his head back into the pillows, and the notion alone encouraged you to be a little more bold in your advances.

"Well, we can't have that, can we? Spilling your cum all over my hand and I haven't even really gotten to touch you?", you chuckled, unsure how Stephen would react to your words, but unable to hold them back. He didn't seem to mind the dirty talk though – if anything, it seemed to rouse him even more. You could feel the warm flesh throbbing in your hand, practically begging to be touched, already craving some release.

But maybe you didn't have to make this as quick as you had planned for initially, only allowing him slow movements of your hand, gently tugging on his cock, drawing out soft moans. And dear lord, he sounded wonderful. It was entirely entrancing and you found it hard to choose where you'd rather look – at the subtle emotions passing Stephen's face during your ministrations or his erect cock. With utmost interest, your eyes flicked back and forth.

You made sure to touch all of him, from the base all the way to his tip, thumb gliding over the glistening cockhead, a satisfied smirk coming to your lips when you noticed how much precum he was already leaking, circling his glans, before stroking down again, tracing the veins on his length, making sure to give special attention to those spots that made him buck his hips when touched.

No wonder Stephen was responsive and desperate for it. You had no idea how long it might have been since someone had touched him, intimately most of all. Stephen didn't have anyone, wasn't partnered and you doubted that your sister was that sort of friend. His own hands wouldn't do, which had caused you two to end up like this in the first place. Touch-starved like this, there was no doubt Stephen deserved someone to take proper care of him – and you had made it your mission to do so.

Unfortunately for him, you weren't all that nice to just give everything to him right away.

So as the man tried to thrust into your hand, wanting to chase his own pleasure, needing more, you eased the grip of your fingers around him, almost letting go off him, stopping any sort of movement altogether, earning a huff from Stephen.

"Oh, fuck off", he groaned with evident frustration, fully aware you were doing this on purpose.

"Do you want me to stop then?", you asked, with a grin Stephen didn't see as he still kept his eyes closed, and loved the power you held over him - you could have just taken your hand away, walked off and left the man even more desperate than before. Of course, you would have never been so cruel to actually do this, now that you had already gotten started, but the thought was amusing.

"No", another groan followed, "I want you to go on, you asshole." Then a pause. "Please", he added then.

"As you wish", so you tightened the grip around him again, jerking him at a slower pace, gently at first, before beginning to move your hand a little quicker, knowing very well that the change of rhythm, the change of pressure applied, was going to keep Stephen more on edge than anything else. You knew how, in some ways, it was more than cruel to tease him like this, in his position no less, but if Stephen was seeking release that badly, you might at least make the best of it and draw it out as much as he could.

You'd make sure to give him an exceptional orgasm.

So whenever you felt Stephen tense up, his breath quickening, his moans increasing, his words more pleading, brows furrowing, biting down on his bottom lip, when he might have been just on that threshold to achieving an orgasm, you stilled any movements again, sometimes taking your hand off him entirely, sometimes only abandoning his cock for a moment, though always long enough for a looming orgasm to be ruined entirely. It was a torturous game to play, trying to bring Stephen close to the edge each time, only to deny him pleasure the last second.

It didn't take you much to drive him to madness with fleeting touches, promising release, not quite allowing him to get it, and then doing it all over again.

The sight of Stephen was wonderful. He was squirming, erratically breathing, his sweet moans turning to frustrated groans, his words reaching from "God, please, just let me come" to "I hate you for doing this to me", but still welcoming your hand whenever it returned to touch him, each time a little more.

You didn't even want to imagine how much his balls must have been aching after minutes of being edged and denied, but of course you decided to take pity on Stephen eventually. You weren't that heartless after all and when you finally gave into him chasing his pleasure, allowing him that sweet relief, guiding towards the long awaited orgasm, it was absolutely worth it.

For the last few strokes, you even let him thrust up into your hand, gently guiding him through his orgasm as it struck. A long and shaky moan escaped his throat, a sound of relief coming from deep within, his body completely tensing up, before that concentration finally left his brow and was replaced by a look of ease, surrendering to the sensations altogether.

You could feel his cock pulsing, thick cum spilling all over your fingers and it didn't even seem to end there. He really was bursting, arching his back off the mattress as he was coming loads and loads, his entire body was trembling, sweetly groaning.

You doubted anything could have ruined the moment for Stephen now and thoroughly enjoyed how he was seeming to enjoy himself, jerking him through the remaining throes of passion, until his body just slumped.

Noticing his orgasm had passed, you eventually took your hand off his cock, gently placing it on his lower stomach instead, both sticky with cum anyways. You smiled to yourself, following the movement of his chest, still breathing heavily, and decided to wait for him to calm down again, allowing him another moment of comfort, allowing him to have another presence near, someone warm and caring.

He deserved it.

Though it wasn't like you weren't doing this at least a little bit for your own gain. You had enjoyed doing this for Stephen, had drank in the sight of him, this intimate moment forever etched inside your brain. And now that you thought about it, you wondered about whether you could still only consider this a friendly favor or if perhaps you wanted things to change between you.

You had never really questioned the kind of feelings you harvested for the man. Or could see yourself potentially having for him, if there was any sort of potential at all. Of course, you had come to consider him a good friend – but good friends didn't just randomly pay each other sexual favors, did they? Not like you were counting on this being more than a one time thing... well, unless he wanted to perhaps.

"Jesus... that was kind of... mind blowing. I mean I haven't come for weeks, but I don't think I have ever come that hard in general...ever", Stephen commended you, interrupting your train of thought, still a little out of breath, "Fucking hell, where did you even learn to give handjobs like that?"

"Years of studying", you joked, deciding to definitely not give him an honest answer to his question, looking at him to find him curiously eyeing you in return, "Sorry for being a tease. Can't say that I didn't enjoy it though."

"So did I. As you can probably tell", Stephen sighed, seeming a lot more content, showing you one of his rare smiles, "Though I'm probably going to need to wash up again now. I'm sticky and sweaty."

"It was my pleasure. Make sure to tell me if you ever need assistance again", you patted his stomach and leaned in to give him a quick peck on the cheek, before withdrawing altogether, trying not to smear any of the sticky fluid on your hand anywhere else it wasn't supposed to be, deciding to flee the room quite fast after realization hit that you had just jerked your sister's friend off. You had made your own friend, a man relying on your help day by day, come the hardest in his life ever.

Though perhaps it didn't matter, for this was only going to be a one time thing and you'd accomplished to help him out, only because he needed it. The moment was gone now and it had been good while it had lasted. That was the most important thing.

Stephen's voice stopped you in the doorway when he spoke your name. "Thank you. Not just for this. For everything you do for me.”

You turned your head back for a moment, gave him a reassuring smile, acknowledging his gratitude, and left anyways.

[tubbypeddle]

Hi! I really like your writing, I was wondering how would part 5 characters react to a y/n with an uberman sleep schedule. personally, I only do it during summer.

hii!! thank you so much for the compliment, what!!!! you're so sweet 🫂

also, an uberman sleep schedule!! I had no idea what that was, I had to search it up! how interesting!!

For those who don't know, from what I found, an "uberman sleep schedule" is a form of polyphasic sleep where someone takes multiple 20 minute naps throughout the day, spaced approximately 4 hours apart. (Polyphasic sleep refers to a sleep schedule where you sleep more than twice in a single day)

for now, i'm only going to do the bucci gang, but if you want la Squadra too, just send in another ask! i'll be happy to 🫂 also, I apologize for the wait 😭 I got a little caught up with personal things, I didn't mean to put this off (I actually feel so bad it's not even funny)

(author's note: no smut in this one <33, also for underage characters it isn't exactly an "x reader" like what will be suggested for the canon adult characters, since I don't feel comfortable with that, but I hope you enjoy it anyway)

Giorno Giovanna

He's a little shocked by how easy you find sleep, and a little envious honestly

Ever since he was a child, he found it hard to fall asleep.

So the fact that you can just lie down for a nap and actually take a nap

He's a little jealous, not that you'll ever know. he's a master at hiding his feelings behind a straight face. Not jealous enough to do anything,

It's amusing to him, to find you in many places around Passione headquarters taking your little naps

sometimes, if he feels comfortable enough with you, he'll leave you little presents while you nap

just small things, like a little frog companion, or a cool rock he found with a note wishing you well

Bruno Bucciarati

He finds it endearing how strict you are with your schedule, if you're strict with it. You have a timer that you set before you sleep, and you wake up to it, always.

It's a little impressive, honestly

Bruno isn't one to have a very strict sleep schedule like yours is, he can't afford to.

So when you can just do that, it's adorable honestly.

plenty of little catnaps throughout the day

when he has time, you might be able to convince him to join you in a quick nap, though it might be a little difficult. it's hard enough for him to get to sleep at night without a nap in the middle of the day ruining his sleep schedule.

but when he does cave into your request, it's some of the most peaceful sleep he's ever had in his life.

Leone Abbacchio

he understands the appeal of taking cat naps throughout the day, and if his schedule allows for it, he'd do it too

it's not hard to convince him to take a nap with you, he loves any excuse to shirk work, especially if it's with you (much to Bucciarati's annoyance)

though, taking these naps with you fucks up his actual sleep schedule, so he ends up staying up really late into the night

usually, this would irritate him to no end, but since it's you he's staying up for, he doesn't mind

(especially if it means he gets more naps with you the next day)

Narancia Ghirga

he might be a little confused about why you sleep so often, though this isn't ill-intentioned

he means well!

he's just...a little confused (when is he not, honestly)

there's so much to do in the day! so much fun to have! why do you sleep so often?

be prepared for when you're sleeping out in the open, though, because he has a bad habit of fiddling with you while you sleep

his language of affection is touch, so he likes fiddling with your hands, or your hair, or even just poking you while you sleep

if you're a light sleeper, it's best to watch out for sleeping around him

he might even draw on your face

Guido Mista

he's actually pretty chill, pretty laid back, even if he does poke fun at you a little bit for sleeping so often even if he does the same thing

you'll probably find him sleeping around his apartment before he finds you sleeping

and he openly encourages you to slip in beside him if you find him (he's a little stinky though /affectionate)

If he finds you sleeping first, though, he'll probably just slip in next to you (if you've given him the okay ahead of time)

or he'll sit beside you and read a magazine if he isn't sleepy

(he loves and appreciates nap dates and I will die on this hill)

Pannacotta Fugo

he probably wouldn't have much of an opinion or reaction, so sorry if you were looking for one from him

it's just something that you do, it's none of his business what your sleep schedule is like

the only thing you'd probably get out of him is worry

"why are you sleeping out here? This sofa is awful for your back. Sleep in your room."

Aggressive worrier, definitely

Trish Una

she probably thinks it's cute

naps are fun, she loves naps, but she won't indulge in them too often

she definitely worries that sleeping too often could ruin her skin (I don't know how it would, but it probably would) so she won't indulge you in a besties nap too often

she will offer to sit with you though, as you nap

she'd probably take it as an excuse to do skin care with you, or a chance to touch up her nails, or even just relax alongside you

IM SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG!! I GOT DISTRACTED WITH OTHER THINGS IN MY PERSONAL LIFE 😭

I HOPE YOU LIKE WHAT I GOT!! can u tell I didn't know what to write

[lesuccube]

➚ 𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐑 : ᴍᴀʀᴄ ꜱᴘᴇᴄᴛᴏʀ — ʜᴀʟꜰ ᴏꜰ ᴍʏ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ

𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒 — just some waddling birds and a man waddling through his emotions .

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 — fluff infection

𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 — not beta'd , constructive criticism is welcomed . reblogs and comments are appreciated .

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓 — 0.9k

marc never thought he'd find love, not after his abuse, not after layla. he found himself unlovable, there was nothing about him left to love. there was only the broken fragments of who he used to be, a shell of a man he once was.

until you came into the picture.

you showed marc that all hope isn't lost, that you'll fill in the blanks of his heart and soul with your own.

funny enough you and marc met at an aquarium. he needed to be in a place he could silence his mind. the library was out of the question, he wasn't a book person and steven might get a little too overexcited and take over. the museum wasn't even an option, he's seen enough of the place when his alter still worked there.

he could go for coffee at a cafe but it's usually crowded with boho people or teenagers so that's scratched from the list as well. the only other place he could go was his old and cold storage unit which steven absolutely loathes so the brit had kindly offered the suggestion of going to the aquarium.

it was a big place, slightly crowded but it was mostly just a bunch of families. besides there were areas in the aquatic place that plenty of people don't visit.

but funnily enough, marc finds himself staring at penguins. waddling birds diving into waters or just penguins being silly penguins. he finds the monochromatic aviators funny and calming that it soothes the ache in his mind that plagues him with memories of his past.

when was the last time he went to the aquarium? was it when he was just an only child? or one of randall's birthdays? when was the last time he gazed at the fishes and watched his reflection on water and glass without his past rearing its ugly head at him, reminding him why he can't have the luxury of doing something so simple?

marc can't remember at all. he hasn't done anything fun for himself in a very long time. not since roro died, not since his mother beat him up as a child. fun became a foreign concept to him. his version of fun was what led roro to drown in that cave, his fun is what had killed, albeit accidentally, his younger brother. so ever since, he hasn't done anything remotely enjoyable for himself.

"did you know male penguins woo females by offering them rocks?" a voice asks, interrupting his spiraling train of thoughts.

when he looks at the person talking to him, he finds you standing next to him with a friendly smile and a gentle look in your eyes. "also they're monogamous birds. but only for the season, they can still choose a different mate the next or they'd stay with the same penguin but that depends." marc raises a curious brow before pointing a finger at himself, "are you talking to me?" he asks and you laugh, a sound so soft like tiny bells ringing.

it's a pleasant sound, he thinks to himself. he doesn't mind hearing that again.

"who else would i be talking to?" you retort with a shake of your head. you lean your arms over the metal railings of the penguin enclosure as you turn your head to look at him. "you were looking at them so intently so i thought you were interested in them. apologies if you weren't though."

he was a stranger and yet you acted so nice, so warm and friendly. he wonders if you act the same with everyone else.

somewhere in the deep crevices of his mind, he wishes you don't. but that's not for him to know just yet.

it's that simple act that marc found himself listening to you as you listed down all the tiniest facts you knew about penguins, followed you down the halls of the large aquariums as you toured about every aquatic exhibit. if you weren't telling him silly things, you'd make goofy interpretations of the fish that swim by you.

he shouldn't find this funny, he shouldn't be laughing at all but he is. you were doing something so childish and yet marc was entranced, he was enchanted by your youthfulness and how you carried with you a childlike wonder that drew out that little boy in him.

you had marc in the palm of your hand, he was yours that day, hook, line and sinker.

whatever gaps he had in his childhood, you fulfilled and made true. you completed those empty holes in his life by making or recreating them so whenever he'd look back, the painful memories of his past were hidden behind the ones you made together.

you made him do things he's never done, challenged him to be better each day, whate er he had missed out on as a child and as a teen, you made him feel and experience. marc was eternally grateful for that.

marc had always thought he wasn't worthy of love, that nobody can ever love a man like him and yet here you were. you stuck by his side since that day in the aquarium, held him on nights when he's plagued with nightmares, brought out a side of him he's long since buried because he's deemed himself unworthy to be a child once more. but through time and time again you show him how wrong he is about himself.

marc spector never thought he'd love again, but now his heart only holds your name. burned to his skin like a tattoo with every kiss shared, marc knew by then that he is yours, just as you are his.

and you always will be.

[elstreem]

(Spoilers for FGO LB6)

Something that has been bouncing around my head for a while now is how interesting it is to compare Bedivere and Oberon's actions and roles in their respective chapters.

...I'm pretty sure I can never put this neatly or concisely enough so ok rambling time!

Which means, this is a warning for a very long post. Seriously.

I have read discussion on similarities between the Faerie Knights and the Knights they were named after, as well as Morgan and Goddess Rhongomyiad, and of course the game itself compares and contrasts Artoria and Castoria. It wasn't until I read that Chapter 6 Habetrot mirrors Bedivere's journey that I realized that our cat-loving fairy is actually Bedi's counterpart in Lostbelt 6 lol, but it is obvious in retrospect (they bond closely with Mash and help her work out her issues, they're both close friends to a queen figure who they now must work against, they're carrying a secret weapon that has to be returned to someone).

So why compare and contrast Bedivere and Oberon? Because I feel like it and also I just think about Bedivere a lot :b A little disclaimer though, I don't actually have Oberon on my account so I might be off base about my understanding of his character...basically, these are just my musings!

But yeah, I think it's interesting they're very alike characters in a lot of ways: they appear to help Ritsuka and co., but secretly had their own agendas waiting to be fulfilled at the end of said chapter. They both even have important bonds to the iteration of Artoria that appeared in their chapters, and interestingly, both of them do mention outright having used Ritsuka for their own purposes and express a sentiment about being fake (Bedivere's wording is "counterfeit" while Oberon is, well, a Pretender).

At the same time, Bedivere and Oberon are very much each others' opposites, too - and I think the key difference here is Bedivere is truly himself, and Oberon...basically can't do that. "Staying true" is an impossibility for Oberon because his very existence is being something he's not.

Going scene by scene, the contrast between the two shows as early as their respective meetings with Ritsuka:

Bedivere tried to keep his distance from the Chaldea crew, even giving a false name and bluntly stating he can be considered an enemy. (key word here being "tried," he sure caved in quickly later on lol) He even says the meeting was just coincidence, and you know, in retrospect it's a crazy stroke of fortune for both Bedivere and Ritsuka to meet like this in Camelot.

By contrast, when Ritsuka finally meets Oberon face to face, he's immediately friendly and personable, even stating he's destined to help them. However, this meeting is definitely not coincidental, as Oberon has been making sure to keep Ritsuka and Castoria on a specific track of actions.

Following the story, Bedivere doesn't actually join Chaldea until he shows himself against Gawain during the night of Selection. And even then, he sort of admits it was an impulsive decision on his part -

And he even confesses to Mash that what happened afterward wasn't totally for Ritsuka's and Mash's sake, he was also just taking advantage of the Chaldea crew.

While he is a genuinely good person, it's true Bedivere had his own personal agenda throughout Chapter 6 which he kept secret until the confrontation with Goddess Rhongomyniad. It just so happened that goal aligned with what our heroes were after, too, so it all works out.

Meanwhile, Oberon does a lot of things to help Ritsuka from the get-go, and he makes plenty of suggestions as to what to do next - but as it turns out, it's all part of his plan to lay the groundwork for him to appear as Vortigern. Castoria even calls him out on this when she confronts Oberon about how he deliberately kept it secret from Ritsuka he knew where Mash was.

Speaking of which, this is another major difference between Bedivere and Oberon -

Part 1 is mostly Mash's story, and as with all of Arc 1's companions, Bedivere mostly guides her.

I know I have terrible BediGuda brainrot hours all day every day lol, but I do admit as far as the actual game goes, Bedivere is shown being very close to Mash. The film switches it up by giving the conversation before the final battle between Fujimaru and Bedivere, but in game, it's Mash who reassures Bedivere there is meaning to his journey, and it's Bedivere who tells Mash how to fully utilize Lord Camelot. Mash even reacts to the news of Bedivere being a summonable Servant by saying she has another Senpai to look up to (which, tbh I'm kinda sad the game never really followed up on, I think it would have been cute to see more of Bedi being Mash's supportive senior at the Round Table).

By contrast, Oberon very much focuses on Ritsuka, and there's a couple of scenes where he talks extensively with Ritsuka about personal matters.

It goes both ways in Lostbelt 6 really, if you think about it, Oberon goes out of his way to have Ritsuka tell him about the Lostbelt and how they've felt so far, but in turn, Ritsuka actually does learn enough about Oberon to be suspicious of him at various story beats. (Although, one thing I'm not completely sure of is, does the Oberon who appear in the Garden of Lost Will the actual Oberon or is it just a representation of Ritsuka's doubts?)

In any case, while they have a different focus in relationships, Bedivere is still clearly shown caring for Ritsuka as Chapter 6 goes on, and at the very end, when he comes clean of everything, he does so with an apology.

So while Bedivere hid a secret all this time, his end goal worked well with Chaldea's goal of eliminating the Singularity, so no harm was ultimately done by his keeping his secret, even if his aberrant action was the root cause for Goddess Rhongomyniad being who she is.

And by contrast, Oberon does address Ritsuka and Castoria's anxieties, and makes sure they are doing what needs to be done, but while doing so he is also making sure he can be Vortigern again. Needless to say, his end goal of destroying the world is something Chaldea needed to stop. Though, my understanding of Oberon is, he does care for Ritsuka and Castoria, but his way of affection and concern is all twisted up because of who he is, so he can't really be honest with them even if he wanted to, because admitting it would turn it into another lie.

Their relationships to the Artoria they knew are also interesting to look at, because both Bedivere and Oberon in part made them who they are. Bedivere meant well when he didn't return the sword, only to find it led to Artoria turning into the Lion King, and he sought her for a long time to fix his mistake. Even then, when they met again, she didn't recognize him until he could reveal Excalibur for what it really was. And before that, Bedivere knew Artoria as a king to be looked up to - he loved her and served under her, so while there are strong emotions of respect and concern, it's still a formal sort of relationship, the king and the knight. Meanwhile, Oberon practically raised Castoria while he could. The way they interact is very much devoid of formalities, since they argue and fight a lot, but deep down they understood each other for what they were.

There's probably also something to be said about how both characters did find closure at the end of their journeys, but while Bedivere got it after fulfilling his goal despite all the hardship, Oberon got it even after he was thwarted at the very end.

I think I can put a few more comparisons in but I'm gonna be repeating my points and just stating what's already in the dialogues.

So to sum them up - one is a horrible liar and the other is a natural liar :b

Sorry, I just had to put in how terrible Bedi is at lying, it's pretty funny.

Gosh, I don't even know how to tl;dr this, it's so scattered and long. I think it took me over two hours to write this and this probably still reads more like ramblings...and man, I hate having to look for screenshots only to find I'm missing the one I'm thinking of and I don't want to be bothered to re-check the game :')

But yeah. Anyway. Bug boy got them issues, while Bedi resolved most of his (good for him).

[alternianstuff]

Grubs! A Kind of Extended Talk

If you are here reading this, chances are you're either a curious extraterrestiral that somehow got hold of this blog's url (greetings!) or you are one of the lucky few who survived the hardships of the first stages of grubhood and somewhat safely matured to trollhood. An applause to you. 👏

Statistically speaking, only a measly 15% of a batch of grubs from a Mother Grub make it to trollhood. The rest either are stillborns, get eaten, get hunted down, or die of natural causes like illnesses or injuries. No matter your caste, you are special.

A curiosity, there is a 2% chance that a single grub egg might have twins. However, the two do not particulary tend to stick together, but they will recognize each other thru scent, both in their larval stage and adult stage.

There is also the typical rivalry that comes with such an occurrence and they might actually try fighting each other, so you might not even know you had a twin in the first place.

Anyway, what happens once the little guy pops out the slimy ball of mucus? Well, at that stage they are VERY small, around the size of your palm. Their eyesight is miserable, and they can barely emit noise. That's when they are allowed a period of stasis in the caves to absorb their egg's slimy nutrients, and grow a little.

Once their eyesight forms a little to the point they can distinguish color and depth, rougly 1.1 feet long, and their horns are no longer little nubs but somewhat a recognizable shape, that's when they're let out on their own.

If you're wondering, at this stage it's virtually impossible to tell a grub's gender (why would you assign it one anyway in the first place?).

Out there they have to survive on their own until they find a Lusus to bond with, unless they meet a horrible demise. Obstacles include the scorching sunlight, Lusii that see them as food rather than kin, and also poachers. Despite their size and apparent helplessness, they do have some tricks up their sleeve.

An example is Rustbloods and Goldbloods just now developing their telekinetic or psiionic powers, which actually makes them slightly more dangerous than a pupated troll, since they cannot control them.

People tend to avoid Cerulean grubs completely (or try to snag them for a ton of cash), because they tend to fire random mind control at their attacker when threatened. It does not last as much as a pupated troll, and feels more like a pounding migraine, but it is very annoying.

Then there's higher castes like indigos and purples, which have abnormal strength. A grub's bite is already nasty by itself as they have some sharp teeth, but when indigos and purples bite, they lock their jaws and don't let go until they're satisfied. And sometimes, they can dig right past your muscle tissue.

You'd think seadweller grubs are an easy catch since they're in confined areas like lakes and rivers and the sea, but those tend to have a strong scent that gets them a Lusus fast (highblood privileges I guess). And those Lusii tend to be very nasty. So, do not try.

Now that we got a look at the castes, what's next?

The Pupation process!

The journey towards trollhood requires some fundamental steps. The grub must be at least one sweep old, have a Lusus it bonded with, and feel safe in an enclosed area like a cave, tree trunk, etc.

Eventually, a grub will start to secrete a foam-like substance from their mouth that is greenish in color: That is them making the cocoon's silk and mixing it with their saliva.

They will soon find a comfortable spot to cocoon up, and each grub was observed to have their own style based on caste and personality: Some hang by a thread, others literally 'glued' themselves on a surface, some lazily sat on the floor like a sack of tubers, And plenty more creative ways.

The silk, when hardened, is surprisingly sturdy. Some trolls keep it as a memento after they pupate, or reuse it for clothing.

It takes a troll half a sweep to pupate, and what goes inside sounds gruesome, but fascinating: The grub's body 'digests' itself sort of, and some specialized cells start to rearrange that slurry around into the new body.

After they hatch, they will have one last reminder of when they used to be trolls: Troll scars. They're present on the sides of one's body, a little more below the armpits. Apparently the middle legs of the larval stage simply fall off and get used in the pupating process.

Everyone remembers the silly things we did when we first got out that slimy mess. Personally, I fell right on my face, rolled on my back, then went to get some water from my sink, which strangely didn't seem so scarily big and tall anymore. My lusus took a whole day to lick me clean. - SL

[ashtxeman]

Punch-Out!! Pet Headcanons :]

I thought it'd be nice to get more info out there from the massive 12,000 word document I have for Punch-Out stuff. So, here's what the boys pets are (excluding Don and Hippo who, as of now, don't have any)! Silly disclaimer that some of this information has been put on some individual headcanon posts, so if you think you've seen it before, you probably have! Still nice to compile it all together. Now enough yapping..

Joe would love a cat, but he's allergic so he can't get one. He might cave eventually and just power through it. He does consider Kaiser's pet to be his own, but he's allergic to them so isn't a fan of handing out belly scratches or pats.

Kaiser has a schnauzer called Stahl who rocks a mustache just like him! They get along incredibly well, matching from the military force in their steps when they go on walks, or the muddy green colour decorating their overalls and leashes respectively. An inseperable pair.

Disco has a budgie called Bingo and a parrot called Donna (an odd name, but he insisted on naming it after Donna Summer). He's always been a fan of birds and loves teaching them to talk so he can someday create his own bird choir (where he is the main vocalist).. so far, results are less than desireable. But he still lives his birdy babies.

Hondo has an absolutely ferocious Scottish fold called Tofu, who Hugger named. She will bite, claw, scratch, and hiss at anything that moves, and often times she's been compared to Aran in nature which Hondo sadly agrees with. Deep down she truly does love Hondo, she just has a very violent love language.

Hugger, as anybody would think, has an ungodly amount of animals in his house. A maine coon called Bobby, Murphy the squirrel (who Hondo named), Maple the bear, two horses called Dusty and Valley, a flock of birds that constantly hang around in his garden, a fox called Muse that stops by occasionally, a landseer dog called Beethoven (he couldn't get his hands on a St. Bernard, so he improvised), and a terrier called Husk. 

Tiger has his white tiger, Gahana. She's a gorgeous creature and has the exact same smug nature as her owner. Often time she's kept in India since owning a tiger isn't very common in the states, but whenever Tiger fancies a visit he can easily go over to her or bring her to him.

Aran has a surprising amount of pets. Two weasels called Tom and Jerry (reference intended), a cat called Lucky, and a few lizards named Burren, Porter, Druid and Mulligan (all names of Irish pubs that Aran has definitely been to). His house smells like animal pee and he does not care how much you complain about it.

Soda has two huskies, Sila and Vlast, alongside a miniature pinscher called Sergey who he rescued from the streets. Sila and Vlast are powerful, boastful dogs who love to show off a little, whilst Sergey is more humble but does enjoy playing copycat with his siblings.

Bull doesn't have any personal pets, but has plenty of farm animals (and several bulls) back in Turkey that he gets along well with. Suppose they bring him comfort.

Macho has his three dobermanns, Duke, Cooper and Ace. They are spoilt to death and whenever he has the opportunity he WILL bring them up, so chances are if you know Macho you know the doberbros just as well.

Sandman isn't a big animal fan, but has a guinea pig called Drowsy who loves to cuddle (and sleep). She often loves to snuggle in bed and keep the big man calm when he needs it. She's a suberb emotional support animal.

[jupiterswasphouse]

BUG FABLES - A REVIEW

I just finished Bug Fables for the first time and got all the achievements! Here are my thoughts! (Skip to the end if you just want a quick overview of each point):

I really enjoyed this game! It's nice to have another experience that's like the first two Paper Marios because after playing TTYD for the first time last year I found myself wanting more of that style (Although I personally really love SPM and PM:TOK), but even still, I think Bug Fables does plenty to separate itself from just being TTYD again.

The party system is definitely a lot more standard, with three main party members rather than a main character with a cast of partners (Unless you count a certain secret character you may get in late game), but the battle system is very reminiscent of Paper Mario, with the ability to perform action commands and block incoming attacks, as well as using special skills. In a way it also reminds me of the Mario And Luigi games, in that some of the skills you can perform are team attacks, although, in this game, the team attacks use up a turn for all characters involved. It's very familiar, but manages to stay fresh throughout as you play through and gain new skills.

I really like how all three main characters (Vi, Kabbu, and Leif) have types of enemies they specialize in, with Vi for airborne enemies, Kabbu for enemies that need to be overturned or have their defenses lowered, and Leif for enemies that are underground or that you might want to freeze. And these skills aren't just limited to the battlefield either, as each of these abilities are utilized in unique ways to traverse the overworld as well, making it interesting to solve puzzles and find secrets in ways both intended and not.

There are also tons of medals in the game, which makes it interesting to strategize with what you may need for a particular fight. Although late into the game and in post game that strategy essentially becomes Overload Vi With Attack Medals for every fight, as Vi can really become a massive damage dealer if you play your cards right (Granted I didn't know this until Chapter 7).

In terms of difficulty, I think Bug Fables is fairly well balanced, and can easily be beaten by someone familiar with the Mario RPG style. Personally, I played the whole thing (except the boss rush and cave of trials) with the hard mode medal on, which made Chapter 7 in particular a pretty daunting jump in difficulty, especially considering I wasn't fully ranked up by the final boss due to avoiding a lot of fights earlier on.

When it comes to the story, it'd had me very intrigued to find out what was going to be revealed next, with each main character having their own secrets. Obviously, if you know anything about Bug Fables, Leif's mystery is certainly the biggest, but that doesn't stop those for Vi and Kabbu from keeping one's interest! And it's not just the main characters who are important, as the game provides a world to explore which leaves the player asking plenty questions, answering just enough of them while leaving some room for speculation. It provides an interesting representation of bugs, with aspects based in both reality and fiction, with lore books and story beats that fill in some of how we got from one to the other.

It even shares another aspect with the Paper Mario franchise in the time-tested tradition of "Oh! That's actually kind of scary!" in both what is outright shown to the player and what is implied in lore. But don't worry too much, as the writing has the light hearted charm to balance it out, with heartfelt moments and light jokes here and there. Although not having too many big gags, I would say, some certainly stick out.

Heading into spoiler territory (skip this paragraph if you'd like to avoid these spoilers) for a moment, I like that they seem to set up the classic trope of the person you're working for potentially ✨ being evil all along ✨ only to subvert that expectation. As much as I was fully prepared for it, I really wasn't looking forward to the Evil Boss twist and was very relieved when it didn't happen. You do get a sort of parallel to this idea, however, in that the Wasp King is actually a usurper, to the point of actually not being a wasp at all. I was honestly disappointed going in that you were fighting wasps, but it delightfully surprised me to find that the real wasp queen is actually quite nice and the wasps make peace with the other kingdoms in the post game. (It was also quite the fun surprise to find a friendly wasp with a name very similar to my own in the game!).

And, furthermore, the looks of the game! This part really doesn't matter to me much as it tends to be more important that the gameplay and story is good, but it's a point to bring up nonetheless,

I like the style! The 2D elements are well done and provide a pinch of extra charm to a game that's already got plenty of it. The model and texture work is also nice (if a bit bright), and gives you a fairly good idea of the world around you. It does leave some to be desired, I'll be honest, there's a pinch of crust to it, especially in the outline department, as there are places where you can very clearly see objects clipping into the outline of a different object (I feel I can take a solid guess at how it was done and, yeah, I do understand it though, other methods may have been highly resource intensive). But, I feel like it's fairly easy to be able to look past these flaws and appreciate it for what it is, and it's not like those flaws get in the way of the player's enjoyment of the more serious moments or the action of gameplay.

Finally, the game was also very stable, seemingly, as I encountered no major glitches, certainly nothing that would get in the way of a standard player's experience.

-

All in all,

Gameplay: Varied, familiar but new, not very repetitive despite the implications of the genre, and fun to explore the possibilities of

Difficulty: Manageable. Hard mode is exactly what it says on the tin, to an extent, and you may end up needing to change tactics a few times should you go that route.

Story/Lore: Intriguing and, in places, touching. A good range of emotions and discoveries that leave the player asking the right amount of questions.

Graphics: Fairly good, having a high amount of charm, leaving some things to be desired but presenting no actively experience-harming flaws.

Stability: Very good, showing no signs of full-on game breaking, only very minor occurrences of visual or audio error.

Overall: Recommended!

[rainbowcarousels]

I'm still too sick to catch up on my fics or comments, but can I interest you in some headcanons about Nicolas de Lenfent if he'd survived into the modern era?

Utterly acidic in commentary, claims it's a lack of filter but it's just pushing the extremes to see what gets what response. Dresses up what he's saying like he's dressing for a performance, the difficult part is finding the important part between the venom and what he's actually trying to say. Armand and the threatre kids are still some of the best people at this.

Misses the theatrics and rebellion of the 60's-80's rock and punk. Dresses like a late 80's goth, something inspired by Siousie Sioux and Nick Cave with anarchic flair of punk. Can and will talk about every single pieces origins at length. One of the rings belongs to Armand. He's not getting it back.

Likely has a personality disorder, most probably borderline with it exasberated by traumatic experiences. Given the modern predisposition with mental health, has gone to several therapists over the years but tends to eat them when they annoy him.

Can and will get into the most knock-down-drag out fights with Lestat even now. One was about whether Bowie ripped off Bolan in terms of theatric expression, another about the performative nature of charity as a way to show purity in the modern era. ('You don't care about charity and if good deeds are done, are good deeds not enough?' 'I've done plenty of charitable needs - I've fucked you, haven't I?')

Always covered in writing, tends to just write on himself when he doesn't have paper.

Begrudgingly will look at Antoine's work, will rip it to shreds like Miranda Priestly looking at a blue sweater if he doesn't like it but will be helpful if he does. Antoine gets extra marks for being the replacement with musical talent. Feels closer to Sybelle (he understands the need for obsession as expression to the point of ruin to create something beautiful better than post) and encourages her to write more of her own pieces. Will listen to Pandora's without complaint. She was with Marius a long time, she gets it.

Big fan of like Baz Luhrmann, psychological thrillers and mindfucks. Actually does agree with Armand about Blade Runner but he's not going to TELL him that. Their relationship is complicated, but he doesn't really hold much against him other than he was supposed to die and he's grumpy that he's still alive. Actually loves the little gremlin for trying, for being honest when it seemed like everything else was bullshit.

Drawn to dark or just inappropriate humour. He has a 'the world is going to hell, might as well enjoy the ride if we're fucked either way' mentality and it tends to colour his interactions. The more emotionally uncomfortable, the worse the humour - has probably asked Armand if he did anything kinky with his hands and been disappointed with the answer.

[bagheerita]

Asking about "What if Nothing" not because I dont know but because I am desperate for a little peak at the next part👀

😂 Well if you're desperate... let me see if I can help with that.

wip tag game

So "What if Nothing" is my workdoc for the What if Nothing series. The next fic is currently titled "These Wolves, They Keep on Scratching at My Heart" but I've already changed it once so it might change again. It's about John coming to grips with the fact that he's thrown his lot in with Todd, and what that means for him personally. And also what it means to the rest of the galaxy, because they consider all Wraith pretty much the same and he has to kind of prove himself when he happens on a culling and also runs into Ronon. Meanwhile Todd has been absent too much so he has to go back to the hive and do Commandery stuff, which involves following up on some rumors about an outcast Wraith who knows about a way to sustain Wraith without feeding on humans, among other things. I haven't decided if they also finalize things with the Asurans in this story or if that needs a separate story.

This is all I have so far:

Before John leaves Todd to go hide the ZPMs and shop for supplies, Todd gives him a knife.

The handle is elaborately carved, and the black leather sheath has a pattern of iratus embossed all down the edge.

“The quality is good. Use it to trade for the items you need,” Todd says. “Here.” He shrugs out of his coat, pulling it around John's shoulders. “Tell them you killed me and took it. They will not suspect you of the truth then.”

John swallows. “I don't-” he begins, but doesn't know what he intended to say after that.

Todd's eyes are bright, and John has to pull him close and kiss him again, Todd’s arms around him and John holding the knife in one hand, the other tangled in Todd's thin shirt, holding on to him.

“Do not be foolish, Sheppard,” Todd murmurs against his mouth. “Tell them you killed me to get it.”

John leans back and snorts. “Trust me, I have some experience hiding illegal relationships.” It's supposed to be a joke; probably not a great one given what got him into this mess. “Anyway.” He looks away from Todd. “I've got plenty of stories about killing Wraith so they don't think to ask if I like fucking them.”

Todd sighs. “I dislike sending you alone.” His hands linger on John, smoothing the coat over his front.

There's something warm in John's chest that feels like it wants to explode. “I'll be fine.”

“Of course you will,” Todd agrees. He steps back with another sigh. “I must go.”

“Yeah.” John's hand goes to touch the coat he wears.

“It may take some time for the virus to work on the Asuran planet,” Todd says. “It need not weigh on your mind that you complete this errand before we go to examine their progress.”

John snorts. “Better to hurry than dawdle.” That jolts him into action the way nothing else had. “Shouldn't take me long. See you in three days, tops.”

__

John visits the first two worlds on Todd’s list without incident, hiding ZPMs under the floor of an abandoned building and in a cave under a frozen waterfall. The third address has Wraith present, and John hides the ZPM under an outcropping of energy rich rocks on the other side of the planet. That's him two-thirds done with the first errand in under twelve hours.

On the fourth planet he gets careless and is almost caught by another Wraith. On the plus side he gets to try out his new knife.

He's sitting on one side of the jumper, panting, looking over at the blood slowly drying on the dead Wraith's coat, and he thinks he has an answer to something that's been nagging at him.

__

Prepared for his second errand, John lands the jumper on a planet his team explored last year, now deserted after a Culling, and then gates to Fellar for the market there.

He trades some of the gear from the jumper for some shirts. No one asks why the duffel bag he hands over is stamped USAF and he doesn't ask where a Pegasus merchant got shirts with labels that say “made in Texas.” Apparently the market for Earth fashions isn't great, and the duffle is worth four shirts.

He waits till he finds a tailor to bring out the Wraith coats- Todd’s and the Wraith he stabbed. “I want to sell this material. Any market for it?”

The woman looks up from her needlework and frowns at him. “I can take it, but I can't give you much for it,” she says. “There isn't much call for Wraithskin, but it's durable. I can use it for scraps and linings.”

John looks around at the samples of her wares. “Could I get this one tailored to fit me?” he asks as casually as he can.

She looks up from her needle to level a long look at him. She looks down. “It would be cheaper than buying one new. Provided you found the right tailor.”

He exhales. “Then you're not interested.”

She snorts. “You don't have anything to trade.”

He pulls out Todd's knife. The tailor tenses, but John tuck the knife under his arm for the moment and holds up the tooled leather sheath and belt.

Her eyes flicker in interest but she shakes her head.

“I could do something for you,” John offers. The tailor's look can only be described as suspicious, and he elaborates hastily, “Physical labor, or something.”

“Hmmm.”

He watches her needle move for several minutes.

She sets down her work. “Seven days, doing all my labor so that I can concentrate on this, and I keep the other coat, the belt, and all scraps.”

John hesitates. “I have an appointment in two days I can't miss.”

She snorts. “Four days. No less. And it won't be fancy.”

John takes a deep breath. “I'll need a new sheath for the knife. Something simple.”

She nods.

“Okay,” John says. “You have a deal.”

She gives him a long look then nods. She puts down her needlework and fetches a tool from her supplies. “You can start by ripping these seams out for me.”

John cuts out the seams on both sides of Todd's coat.

“Do you want to keep the length?” She asks, eyeing him as he works.

John hesitates. “Some. Past the knee,” he says recklessly. He has a coat in college that he loved that was longer like that. The tailor's eyes linger on him like she knows and he continues, “could you make it with lapels like this,” he mimes out the shape, “with buttons here?”

She smiles in a way that softens her face and nods.

When he's done with that he cuts the other coat into strips about an inch wide. His hands hurt from the unfamiliar activity of gripping the shears she gave him to use, and thankfully after that it's time to help her pack up her market stall and head home.

“My name is John,” he says as they're walking. “You know. Just in case you need to yell something at me.”

She smirks. “Yalanna,” she replies. He has to assume that's her name.

Yalanna turns out to live with her sister's family; she sends John out to help her brother-in-law with the farm, and when he comes back in he learns he's signed on to do farmwork for the next few days, Yalanna will stay home from the market to work on his coat with help from her youngest niece, and her older niece, whom John is replacing in the field, will go to town to open the stall and sell Yalanna's wares.

It's an uncomplicated few days. John learned enough about horses when he was younger to not be entirely worthless on a farm, but he’s never done labor like this before, pacing up and down endless rows with the ploughbeasts, bending down to run his fingers through dirt to break it up before standing and moving on to repeat. He wants to be worried about Todd, the Asurans, Atlantis, but he falls onto his pallet in the stable every night and sleeps deeply without dreaming.

Yalanna has him try on the coat when she's done pinning it how she likes and before she sews in the final seams. John is surprised by how much he likes it. He runs his hands down the material and flips the collar up to cover his neck.

Yalanna looks satisfied. “I will have it finished tomorrow,” she says.

John’s lost track of time but he thinks that will be five days actually. He doesn't say anything, because it's good work.

[iidsch]

Look I'm going to be a bit of a centrist here for the sake of the argument, but I think is your right to play games like Hogwarts Legacy if you want. Obviously I think the game is bad in many ways but if after knowing that you still decide to play it, then you do your do - freedom of choice etc etc.

However, this does not suddenly make it okay to play the game. You're still giving money to an antisemite and a transphobe, there's no way to get around that. And the fact that every person who plays the game refuses to admit they are doing something harmful is what pisses me off the most. Like man, at least don't be a coward. Be a bigot if you want but don't try to cover it by lying to yourself and thinking you are not a bad person.

Yes, the money you spent to buy the game is going to JK Rowling, and she's going to use that money to push anti-trans rhetoric and policies, by donating the money to anti-trans groups, supporting anti-trans politicians, etc. And even if you don't take into account the money, just getting the game and talking about it is contributing to her fame - and thus her power to influence British politics and the British public.

Also, before anyone brings this up, this is not analogous to buying from big companies because in a capitalist society where big corporations own literally everything and are heavily interconnected, you can't avoid buying stuff that has been produced unethically. If you want to boycott every evil company you might as well go live in a cave and eat grass for the rest of your life. But Rowling only owns the Harry Potter property, boycotting her is as easy as not buying anything related to HP (which is not an essential commodity so you can perfectly live without it).

Not to mention that by playing a game filled with antisemitic tropes you're unconsciously absorbing those ideas and normalizing Jewish suffering and the hatred towards Jewish people - something the nazis themselves did to get away with the Holocaust. And you can't pull the "im immune to propaganda" excuse because I bet you didn't even know half of the antisemitic tropes present in the game before someone had to explain them to you, so you will internalize the other half you cant identify.

There's no denying that playing the game has terrible consequences. This is a fact. If you want to deny it then you're either really stupid, a hypocrite, or okay with hurting trans and Jewish people. Choose whichever is true for you but don't lie to yourself: your actions have harmful consequences and you're a bad person because of it.

And hey, if it sucks to realize that you're a bad person, that people are going to be hurt because of your actions, then don't play the game! Don't do the thing that is hurting people!! We're not asking you to whip your back 100 times to ask for forgiveness or donate all your savings to trans/Jewish orgs. If you want to be a good person you really just need to not play the game or support any of JK Rowling's properties. It is that simple.

Plenty of people have recommended other franchises similar to Harry Potter so I'm pretty sure you can find a substitute to fill the void of not being a potterhead. And if the nostalgia is the problem then I ask you: would you be okay if someone defended a racist, sexist, homophobic, etc piece of media because it was part of their childhood? Nostalgia is a strong feeling, even I admit that, but sometimes feelings can lead you to follow the wrong path. Being aware of that and working to fix it it's the most mature and the most ethical choice you can make.

Change is hard, but not impossible, and ultimately I believe that everyone can become a better person if they try. But even if after all of this you still decide to play Hogwarts Legacy and support Harry Potter, because you don't care that you are contributing to the suffering of thousands if not millions of humans, then I hope you know there's a place in hell for horrible people like you.

[moriwanderer]

Akihabara (also Tateishi and Sarushima)

Akihabara! Tokyo's Electric Town! The city of neon lights, arcades, multi-story doujin shops, and a plethora of other wonders! The otaku paradise!!

Or... not? But first, we take a trip to the seaside, and then a trip to an island of monkeys! (sans monkeys, because reasons.)

Tateishi park, where my sandals became salted!

Across the peninsula there's a small park on the other coast called Tateishi. It's a pretty long walk from where I'm staying, but there's a nice sidewalk the whole way and it's pretty well shaded. It mostly features a beach somewhat protected by a rock that has a small shrine built-in. The whole time I was wandering the shore, my sandals were sitting up out of harm's way. After I was walking back out, a large wave came up and soaked them. I guess I didn't pray at the shrine hard enough, or something!

The Tale of Sarushima

A long time ago, someone was lost in Tokyo Bay until the ghost of a monkey appeared and led the poor soul to the safety of the island. It has been called Sarushima (Saru - Monkey, Shima - Island) ever since. Or so the story goes.

It's.. not as impressive as I had hoped. Most of the neat historical aspects were off-limits, the beach was closed for the season, and the route to the cave was closed off as well. One might have better luck in August. That said, the trip was totally worth it just for the ferry ride over, with the seemingly endless amount of moon jellies visible just beneath the water nearly the entire way.

Akihabara

The otaku mecca was... disappointing? There were a tonne of things to check out, but the main areas seem to have been primarily taken over by used cell phone and laptop shops. Like, everywhere. Then there's the fact that everything seems to carry an Akiba tax (ie, things there are about 2x-3x more expensive than elsewhere, outside of general food). I found plenty of neat things that I couldn't afford, and honestly very little that I could get to say, look! I've been here!

There was a small shop FULL of retro gaming goodness whose name I sadly don't remember; it was to the side of one of the many alleys located in the basement. It would have all of your PC-FX and Towns Marty needs, if they didn't cost your first born. Still, wonderful to be able to see them in person and play with them.

It was also an overcast, rainy day and we arrived late, so we got to see maybe a quarter of the area. We didn't even get to Gamers! This of course means that I have to go back.

Sega, where'd you go?

See you next time!

[parttimepuff]

My god… slumblor party…

"What’s a slumblor? Not that I, get to go." Beep asked, mumbling the last part. Magolor had managed to coax her out of the shadows to look around her room. It was plenty big for her with several boxes with decorations he thought she may like. "Ah, it's pun on a slumber party. When a bunch of people sleep over at one person's house and have a fun time." The Halcandran explained, knowing she probably hadn't been to one before.

She considered the idea. "Do I, still not get to go? If it’s here?" Beep hesitantly questioned, assuming her grounding forbade that. "I think Beep deserves to have a little slumber party, as a treat>" Lor expressed, Magolor being quick to agree. "Yeah, of course! I mean, we are kinda doing that now, right? Setting your room up can be fun." He elaborated, hoping to cheer the Matter up. "Heh… I guess so." She replied.

"I’ve never had a room, unless you count Rev's head…" Beep trailed off, wondering if she was grounded from his mind, too. "Well, this'll definitely have more room for you! Plus, probably easier to decorate." Magolor joked, trying to shift her attention back to the room. "Decorate?" She echoed, glancing at the boxes. "I can’t wait to see what you two come up with>" Lor chimed in encouragingly.

The Matter looked to the ground. "I, only had the rocks in the cave, I might not decorate it right…" Beep murmured. Lately, it felt like she could only do the wrong thing. Seeing her doubt herself hurt and her friend didn't intend to just let that be. Magolor placed a hand on her shoulder or, what was close to a shoulder. "Hey, don't say that. Besides, it's your room. It doesn't matter what anybody else would think is the 'right' way, cause it's for you. As long as you like it, then you did it right." He gently explained. "Exactly!>" Lor agreed wholeheartedly.

Beep's eye welled up a little before she wiped it away. She really needed to hear that. Well, might as well see what she liked among the boxes.

[zorbik-guligan]

This just made me think of something theres usually different type of immortality and i think i figured out one that would suck and not suck so things like death right if you spend too much time around it you usually can go numb but if your immortality just prevented trauma like yeah you could be stabbed but it will heal that but mental like yeah you wouldn't have ptsd or any other bad things but each death you see would suck a lot and you could never go numb to be fair tho that would also mean that you can just keep getting back up so like it wouldn't be too bad but damn in those small moments it would probably be torture also imagine getting lost in a forest right before the industrial revolution than you come back like 200 years later imagine how weird that would hold on i think thought of something

How to avoid the problems of immortality

Stay around people this should help with sense of time and staying up to date

Dont just go around flashing the immortal stuff gonna attract the wrong kind of attention

Probably stay out of major historical events or at least stay in the shadows dont want people to start making connections

Also probably shouldn't just keep artifacts around they might be normal to you but would probably annoy archeological people

Avoid caves volcanoes and pretty much anything that could trap you for centuries or decades stuff moves fast

Probably invest in making fake IDs cause handing a ID that says birth year 1654 july 18th would probably cause problems

Pick up a few trade jobs might not need to eat but sleeping in the rain can only get so comfy plus doing stuff with bare hands kinda sucks

Dont get into politics cause if you get "assassinated" and just dont die thats also going to cause problems

Dont donate blood or organs good chance your a carrier for disease living that long

Get shots regularly not all diseases will kill you but they can kill others

Probably avoid graves wouldn't really do much of anything besides make you really sad since you'd never get to see them again even if afterlifes are real

Don't start a cult its tempting to label your self as a god or whatever because of immortality but yout probably gonna get a lot of people killed tho considering everything you might technically be some sort of entity

Avoid doing jobs for science unless you want to skew their data

If you regenerate crazy fast do not get surgery properly would scare the doctors either do it your self or if possible just chop off like half of whatever and hope it grows back correctly

Avoid anything addictive such as nicotine alcohol essentially all the drugs

Starting a company could go very well considering the power you could get but theres also a chance that once again you get discovered tho if your a filthy billionaire not likely that anyone dies probably just you

Things that probably wouldn't have any major consequences

That cult thing might actually go smoothly if you do it right just dont be violent unless provoked and stick to your thing dont go mettiling in politics just gonna cause problems

Being a farmer or shepherd would give you plenty of work and depending on the area assuming your a nice person if you are found out probably nothing bad happens probably

Travel just explore the world could do alot of things other people cant also would just be fun

Help take care of the environment considering that you dont need to rest or anything assuming its that kind you could probably help some company or whatever their called work

“All those centuries, and you haven’t learned how to use a cell phone?” “I am 800 years old! Unless you know how to work a 15th century printing press, you can stop laughing and show me how to do the Twitter.”

[macawritesupdates]

Ahh loved the new Yuuji files chapter so so much it was the best one yet! Opening up with summer camp and gojo immediately falling prey to his own hubris was great I was super concerned about that mascot for a moment I was worried it would end up being the death god. Poor Yuuji he's got so much experience he's in his element but no one wants to listen to his advice. I'm not very outdoorsy myself but a good half of my family is and I know from them how easy it is to get hurt if you fuck around. There are multiple eagle scouts in my family who'd have some things to say to all the kids about how foolish they were on the river. Thank goodness Yuuji was a good person and willing to literally jump in to help cuz that could've been a disaster I'm not convinced the Kyoto kids would have survived on their own. Especially since if they had gone without Yuuji they might have ended up in the death gods territory without any way out just like all those other people. Damn Sukuna should realize Yuuji is entirely incapable of sitting by while others meet their doom by now. The death god was so creepy and cool I feel bad for him but also scared coz he wants to do good things and is currently a victim but he's also crazy powerful and beings like can so easily destroy little fragile humans or even just ruin our lives without thinking. Going together into the afterlife to fight God together is incredible good for them. The true forms were excellent Yuuji getting to appreciate his boyfriends true form was lovely and everyone seemed so cool. I'm so glad Yuuji got to kill a god that was awesome. I wonder how Susumu will feel about that. Little sun god Yuuji I love it. I had a headcannon that Yuuji was descended from Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto the goddess who lured Amaterasu from a cave by dancing. In my head cannon the two goddess had a kid who could have been a god himself but he fell for a mortal woman and became human to be with her. The families pink hair comes from the dawn goddess and their gold eyes from Amaterasu. This was just me making fun little theories based on the hints you'd sprinkled in. Anyways love Yuuji being a little sun demigod good for him. Anyways I love Yuuji just casually being himself immediately forgiving rude behavior and making friends with a god as though it were no big deal. The death God's regret that he didn't take more time to get to know Yuuji was cute actually I don't think he's got much to worry about on that end though because he's going to be so busy that one human lifetime will pass in a flash and then he'll have plenty of time to hang with his new friend. Mai and Muta staying behind oh it hurts but it's also so so good! Mai will probably have a great time once she gets used to things she'll be honored as a hero in a God's court and she's so powerful now it's the complete opposite of her life with her old clan. I hope she becomes his right hand woman and achieves great things living a legendary life. Yuuji saying he's not trying to redeem Sukuna but he wants to be in the same purgatory one day damn. I could wax poetic about that forever actually. It's the love and acceptance ok. It's saying I can't save you from the consequences of your own actions but I still won't leave you alone. I will sit with you in hell. Sukuna's well hidden fear of hell too that was great. Ugh it was just a perfect chapter and you brought Toji back I can't wait to see where that goes. I still have more to say lol there's so much good stuff in this one but this comment is already getting long so I'll probably be back in your inbox later with another one haha. Until then thank you so much for writing and sharing with us!!

Thank you ; w ; I was nervous about this one as it has a lot of weird worldbuilding, much like the last fic, and always hit or miss if people enjoy that or not...I just like writing more epic action stories sometimes with more of the world/action ; w ; The death god has been planned for a LONG time, since dropping hints as the ending of this series of fic, the second to last curse, is so contingent on Yuuji having done something BIG that is shaking things up.

Mai and Muta had such sad deaths in the manga, like just always felt they had so much awfulness happen and never got anything to show for it. I like my angst, but I feel if there isn't hope, if there isn't any good payoff, then that death wasn't just, as Yuuji would say. Here, they choose to stay, but it is for reasons of seeking out a better path, not "dead" as much as "Living it up in the god court" ...so they can come back for plot reasons later *coughs* *coughs*

Sukuna making himself into twenty finger cursed objects to maybe be reincarnating instead of dying speaks to me that he does NOT want to die and may have a fear of what comes next, but that's just my headcanon I'm putting in here hehe.... as for the cave incident with a certain sun goddess...mmm....there is a connection there hehe!

I feel it is important for Sukita that Yuuji does NOT just handwave Sukuna being awful, but has an acceptance of it but full send, knows karma has to make this bastard boy pay for it all c: He might become better, do better, but it doesn't erase the past. There is a price to pay, one way or another.

Also Toji coming back was literally the whole reason this chapter exists. I wanted to bring him back. I stared to build the idea they somehow get him back from the afterlife. This chapter was always about bringing Toji back as the funny surprised twist from the day I started writing this fic XD Goes to show you how an idea can really morph over the course of a story!

Thank you as always for the wonderful comment!