#which they havent even done yet everyone is still on the team they were on last year ?

[sonknuxadow]

what is even going on at artfight right now they said that early team registrations would be out a few days before the fight. well its the 28th and theyre still not there. Hello

[artisplatters]

GENLOSS ANALYSIS TIME

Spoilers ahead, go watch the vid if you havent already

Also I'm writing this as I'm watching it so don't mind any inconsistancies too badly

Episode 1: Spirit of the Cabin

So right off the bat we have confirmation that the ingredients Ran was being made to cook (and Charlie being made to eat) are actually various organs and flesh bits.

Actually, maybe this was already confirmed but I don't remember there being flash-backs in the original, but then again i only learned how to move frame-by-frame recently (like... today)

And then that explains Charlie's hesitance in eating the dish! He's still under mind control but its some crazy cool resistance that he was able to put it off as long as he did.

And when Ran's mask is flashing we now can hear soundbits from later on in the experiments, from whenever he's not under control, an audio testament that they've been through this multiple times like a loop. Which yeah, we already were told that when the mask lights its because he's receiving memories again, but we (or at least, I) didn't know the memories were of the exact events shown in the episodes.

My only question at the moment in regard to that is that, everyone killed was definitely, irl, actually for-real killed (in universe), so how are they brought back to do it again? Clones? Future resuscitation tech?Are they just conscious corpses being puppeted around like some sorta sick marionette show?

And Sneeg, oh Sneeg, the way he was made to stand so rigidly while Ran was asleep, couldn't even move or sit, just looking around frantically. I wonder if he was made to feel like it had actually been 8 hours. I wouldn't put it past Showfall Media.

Episode 2: The Mastermind of the Warehouse

So, it seems like they cut out the Mastermind's little bit of a freakout when he gave Ran "a little bit of juice" that almost killed them, they also made it look like Ran's recovery from it was much quicker. Makes me curious, but I guess they don't want any of the audience thinking the "villain" is just as scared and unwilling as the heroes yet.

Though with how blunt they are with the other murderous torturous stuff, I'm surprised thats one of the things they chose to cover up.

Speaking of which, the surgery section.

God, the surgery section.

Also sped through a bit, understandably, but that cut away to the security camera where he's just screaming in agony.

It hits way harder like that oh my god. Oh my fucking god.

Charlie is an absolutely insane actor.

Onto the Carousel! Which, by the way, the animation blips have been so fun and they are so well done, amazing work on the animation team's part.

OHHH WHEN SNEEG GETS HIS HAT BACK HE GETS FLASHBACKS TO THE CABIN

You see him freak out at remembering but him trying to keep his composure, UGH such good acting. And him saying he needed to go to the bathroom so he can try to escape, still can't believe that almost worked.

But when they catch him with the mask? So much fucking creepier somehow. Everything went dead silent and froze, and even though his body is compliant you can see the anger and fear in his mind. Also felt like that lasted longer than before.

And then how everyone just snaps back and gets into "acting" again, also super fucking creepy. Insanely well executed.

now, skipping forward to after Nikki's death, when Ran goes through the door after the Mastermind... FACTORY RESET? It says factory reset? How far back does that take Ran? They seem to still remember what they had been through so what exactly is it resetting?

I dont remember the slimetowel segment at all, I feel like it was added. Though that would be the nature of generation loss, not being able to tell what was added and taken away.

Episode 3: The Choice

Oh boy here we are again

The transition being in the style of one of those "classified document" videos is a great touch, cuz it does go "off-script" here supposedly, though we all know thats not the actual case.

Ran trying to talk to the camera people still breaks my heart, they're not in control all they can do is film.

Also, can't believe I ever thought Hetch was a good guy after hearing "You aren't supposed to leave yet" and then the blatant lie that everyone is still alive. Like I never trusted him to begin with but he seemed about as trustworthy as everyone else thats under control.

The way Hetch talks about the company makes it sound like its some sort of eldritch entity, rather than a business conglomerate. And who's to say it isn't, with how it's "repurposed" and "recycled" literal human beings, turning them into brainless automatons. Also the cut to Charlie's stream startled me lol.

Aw man, the music/heartbeat/ringing drowning out Charlie's voice after they find Hetch and get the map. Incredible way of showing Ran's mental shock.

Ȩ̵̏p̵̬͊ị̶̼̋s̷̺͝ö̶̪́̒d̷̹͉̓̑ȇ̶͚͓̀ ̷̤͛͝3̶̨̥̾:̶̥̌ ̵̱̫̔Ṭ̶̺́h̴͔͑̈́ḙ̸̻̅ ̵̱̉̂H̸̞̄e̶̬̠̎͐ṟ̸̜́̾o̶̳͊͝

Ough

Still hurts

The change I've noticed here is that we start zoomed in on Ran's face, whereas I think before we could see the whole scene from the start, Hetch, all of it.

And WOAH, the flashes of the photos before the announcement? Are those all photos of them when they were kids? thats such an amazingly disturbing detail.

Another disturbing detail, the zoom-in and silence following the box closing, showing all the blood pouring out. Horrifying. Not even any music or anything while the credits roll. Really lets the audience sit in what just happened.

The Therapy Sequence

I'm calling it the Therapy Sequence based on how the dialogue sounds, though it very much could be psychology or something else.

This Ms. Roads Character is new, I believe

She's been having "vivid, scary dreams" and says to call her Zero, which ha ha pun but also kinda sad. Zero Roads is a kind of hopeless sounding name.

And then, in the unlisted vid, its the Founder giving us the tape of the social experiments.

"Its your experiments now"

I hope people who are able to afford to buy the tapes will share it's contents with the rest of the community. "Communication is Key" and yada yada.

I have no doubts that there's more secrets to be found within.

Final Notes

I'm so fucking proud of Ranboo, oh my god

This story that they're weaving continues to amaze and inspire me, its so incredible that he's gotten to create this.

I'm so excited for what happens next.

[cleromancy]

some people in comics fandom are ludicrously well read and will do absolute madlad stunts like deep reads of every teen titans, new teen titans, new titans, team titans, teen titans again, adjectiveless titans, titans academy, titans east, titans west, titans in, titans out, titans you do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around, etc, and then they retain this information. and it is an awe worthy thing that they do this. but this is not something that everyone can do or should try to do because we are truly just here to have fun. this type of reader does this bc they enjoy it! not everyone does and if they don't they shouldnt do it. fandom should not be homework.

so ideally a fandom community can just be everyone reading... pretty much only the comics that they want to, and all of us filling in other peoples knowledge gaps. you can have people who only liked one of the cartoons or the webtoons, people who only want to read comics which are really really good, people such as myself who are very knowledgeable on their handful of little freaks but with conditions, people who are *experts* on one specific long-running character with 383829393 appearances ever like dick grayson or selina kyle, and then you have the type of person who has read so so many comics but didnt necessarily retain all that much... you get all types. but none of us even the most voracious reader can possibly know and recall everything about every character in the entire dcu. and on top of that you have people who are *new* to comics and maybe dont even know what type they are yet but still want to write while they try reading to figure that out, bc writing and reading are two very different activities that scratch different brain itches and also, there will never be a point where you've definitively Done Enough Reading to be allowed to participate jn fandom. (particularly bc some writers at dc will be handed a character to write and admit they havent read anything they were in before. please don't hold fans to a higher standard than the people whose jobs this is supposed to be.)

so this is why we should fill in the gaps for each other without judgement and ideally you could just go to your buddy from a young justice server who knows everything about the flash family there is to know but ONLY if bart allen was impulse or kid flash at the time, and ask them if you screwed up anything about the speed force. and theyll probably say that youre probably fine BUT they know somebody who has read every dc comic where max Mercury jay garrick or johnny quick ever appeared or were mentioned and would you like to ask them. you know?

[unethicalexperiments]

idk how to really start this but like. my mental state is just so exhausting like im so tired of it. theres no reason i should be this volatile theres no reason i should react to situations the way i do. just last night i had a weird (not even that bad) interaction with a stranger and it pissed me off so much i tried to kill myself. i wasn't sad or embarrassed i was just so furious over it, because it was a 10 second interaction and i couldn't explain myself to the other person, and i was just so fucking angry i was ready to physically hurt the other person over it well after i walked away. and then once i got home i was so upset that i got that unreasonably angry over a nothing interaction. and its not like i even got angry while i was still with the other person! it wasnt until after i walked away! there were only two thoughts circling in my mind for about 30-60 minutes after (idk im so bad at keeping track of time) that were just "why do i react to things like this" and "i just want it to stop hurting" bc thats the worst of it it just hurts so much. i swear im in physical pain after having breakdowns like that i feel hollow in my chest and obviously i dont have to say anything else about how much it emotionally hurts. i just want it to stop hurting. is that really too much to ask for? to not be in so much pain for just a little while? i guess i still havent come to terms with the fact that im disabled, because i still think of being disabled as someone who uses aids, even though i know invisible disabilities are a thing. i dont see other peoples invisible disabilities as being invalid, just really my own, because i still feel like im high enough functioning that i shouldnt consider myself disabled. i dont use mobility aids yet i dont take pain medication yet so therefore the literal brain damage i have isnt bad enough, im still fine. i kind of got off track but thats also part of it i guess. another thing that really gets me is the fact that i actually do have bpd, i was diagnosed by an actual doctor at 17 and its still a more than valid diagnosis. i feel like im in this constant cycle of "i have to get better because i cant keep living like this" and "i have to get worse so everyone else can see what theyve done to me". like last night i literally had to sit down and reread the dsm chapter on bpd to remind myself this is why youre like this. you do have this diagnosis its real and it is a problem. my 30 minute episodes of actively trying to kill myself to be followed by watching tv or something and laughing as if none of that happened. i still cant fathom not living like this, not having to go through this every fucking day. and then on the other hand i had a great interaction today at my job that made me feel really good about what i do and proving the work that i do is actually helping the community around me. and i felt on top of the world for like an hour, i felt great! and then another thing at work happened where i proved myself/my team to be right about something! which was also great! and i got another half hour of happiness. and then i get home and im reminded of how alone i am, how i really have no one to do or share anything with anymore. which is partially my fault and partially not! im not gonna act like im the most pleasant person to be around or that im easy to deal with, but fuck, man, i try. and it always feels like no one else is trying. i cut my own hair for the first time a few weeks ago; it came out great! and had no one to tell about it.

and now im just staring at a wall over all of it. none of the bad stuff happened none of the good stuff happened. im gonna get violently angry later and im gonna be nearly euphoric later, its just another day. and i want to change i want to change my lifestyle so bad but how can i do that without any help. i spent years of my life begging for other people to help me and got ignored, which resulted in my disability. i tried so hard to fix it on my own but i couldnt! im not a doctor! and now ill never be because i couldnt finish my pre-med classes because of my disability! i feel like im constantly screaming at the top of my lungs and waving red flags shouting please for the love of god someone help me every day and every day nothing changes. they say you cant help someone who doesnt want to be helped, but has anyone actually tried helping people before? youre telling me you cant problem solve? you cant find a different road to a solution, just because we cant take the easiest one? im sorry that its not easy for everyone else to help me, but how does anyone else think i feel?

but whatever. im fine now. i relived every emotion i went through while writing all that but im fine now. now that its all out there its all out there, out of my system. i dont care anymore. because it didnt matter. because it doesnt matter. none of it matters. it happened and its gonna happen again. ill go through these cycles again tomorrow and the next day and the next week and the next month and the next year and so on. it is what it is i guess. but does it really have to be.

[thesugarhole]

so i think it was saturday i had a free two hours or so and since i was done with 2kki updates then (i know i saw dont mention it im waiting it out till the end of the week) i thought hey lets finally go finish dd2, i left the campaign right outside the 5th mountain

so i go in there and have a much easier time because i remember the gimmicks, and i reach the hateful god. and i painstakingly whittle down the hp from 999 to about 100 without once getting face your failures. and im like hey! what gives! did not dawn on me once that maybe i had to kill those two babies at the same time first.... and im still not sure if that was what didnt trigger it because when i finally got a ghost it only took up one slot since hateful god is strictly in the middle. but well, its nice to know for the future runs. so i defeated them! (me?)

the ending cinematic is alright but i think the one from the first game impacted me more. i think, might be rose tinted glasses, havent gone back and compared. ~85 hours total, first game i think was ~92 hours before i went into dlc and achievement hunting

so here comes the real meat of dd2, which is completionism and achievos. i highly doubt ill be able to unlock every single item thats not bought at the altar of hope, but theres nothing really quantifying them anyway so im not that bothered by it.

first achievo i want to get after completing the game is defeat death, since ive only ever seen her in the flashback. so i go at it in denial since its one of the shortest chapters, and as im reaching the brain, having gone to every single fight possible, im thinking mhm. what are the actual chances of getting her? 6%. bad idea to have started with this one, and i only got to 1 shrine too for the characters i havent finished the stories yet, so this run might have been a waste.

the very last battle, before the inn before the mountain, she shows up so yay! i got good luck. and of course, promptly got her ass kicked, so i unlocked the chievo. teehee

forgot to party wipe to denial so im gonna have to do it one more time with that in mind. also, i think this was the first run i was able to complete with a hard difficulty flame on (the very first on the list, i think infernal?, im currently in the process of unlocking stuff by 1 cheapest / 2 useful) and i wasnt trying very hard, so maybe ive finally gotten decent at the current mechanics.

i decided to look at what i hadnt gotten yet and make a list from easiest to hardest so i dont risk like, going for the worst thing first while disregarding easy wins. after that, my next run my goals were:

master 5 skills in one hero: fairly easy in a fuck-it run. surprised i never did it before i finished the game, even. i guess i distributed mastery points as evenly as possible.

heal disease, remove negative quirk, lock positive quirk: it was at the top for easiest, but a lack of money and lack of disease getting could make the going tough. at the first inn, i got a slime mold: it has 5% chance of giving a disease. i thought hmm... i never got a disease from this thing though. oh well theres no more food so eat up occultist. (he gets a disease) :)! and i had an hospital scouted right away, so this one was easy peasy

defeat a lair boss (killing blow) with the bounty hunter: his poster also showed up right away, so i replaced him with the jester and went.... to the tangle. yeahp. was actually very easy because i took zero chances: everyone either buff up teammates, attack the roots or move around. bh is the only one damaging the general (save a starting move or two from highwayman/occultist). surprised very few people have this one, but id bet its hard to unlock naturally.

defeat 3 lair bosses in one run: i was aiming for this one too but then i realized the first confession only gives me two regions. oops.

hero shrines: wip. currently trying to finish alhazreds. otherwise my team is *my* usual suspects (V, J, HWM, FreeSpace).

party wipe to all confession bosses: wip. im with the lungs denial again atm but still at the start of the run because i wasnt able to touch the game since.

i guess im sharing because being able to do all this in rapid fire succession was good rng and luck and made me feel happy. made me feel like the guy smiling with its hands on its knees. AND it has the jester outfit on. imperative. hold on let me get it

^ i named this image silly.png

here's my list, easiest to hardest (to MEEEE):

i have (x?) next to some inn names because im not sure if ive already been there or not, since the images/names sounded familiar when looking them up. but this one is not something i can control (and am also surprised i havent unlocked it during mainline gameplay, guessing i got many repeats- they might have rarity variables that i currently have no idea if they can be influenced or not) so its play until it unlocks. i like to keep 'missing' lists just because

i dont have a shamblino (shambler + bambino, hope you like it) equipped in my current run because i didnt want to make things unnecessarily harder when going for the other ones, so that one will have to wait until all my heroes get breathed on too hard by resentment. pass their turns to death. its actually a bigger effort to die to denial than it is killing it jesus

thats all i guess. have a good week everyone

[daggryet]

I'm still semi-new to all the dsmp lore (and by that I mean I've been around for a few months but have only grasped like 3 solid storylines dhdbdbb) and one thing I havent caught up on is c!jacks lore and from random stuff on my dash I just imagine him as like a doofenschmirtz of the dsmp. Man attempts to be evil but is at best a mild inconvenience

you’re braver than any us marine joining so late, that’s really cool! but oof i remember all i had to catch up on during election, i can’t imagine now - so i wish you good luck, if you need some help navigating i know @relaxxattack has a really helpful carrd :]

for c!jack - yes! that’s what he is on the surface, he’s a cartoon villain, trying and failing to kill c!tommy in the most inconvenient and debatable ways - but he has actual deeper motivation for what he’s doing.

note: cc!jack manifold says his character is a sympathetic villain, you can understand where he’s coming from but he is not in the right. he doesn’t want people to defend his character, just help explain it.

very short summary; he was left behind during manberg vs pogtopia by c!tommy and c!wilbur (they were exiled, but he felt they’d abandoned him to c!schlatt and manberg), c!wilbur accidentally killed him causing him to lose a canon life to someone he previously thought was his friend. manifold land, c!jack manifold’s country/area, was also burned down by c!dream as he wanted to punish c!tommy - which c!jack manifold also blames c!tommy for, partly.

he visited c!tommy during exile and accidentally scared him causing c!tommy to drop him into lava - and as he was swimming up, c!tommy and him got into a discussion leading c!tommy to block it off so he died. now c!tommy only thought that c!jack manifold lost his stuff and it was his fault, so that’s why (aside from c!tommy’s mental state during exile was...awful) the apology seems so lackluster. but c!jack manifold actually lost a canon life - once again, to someone he’d considered a friend that he wanted to reach out to. and this is where it goes from c!jack manifold disliking c!tommy to actively hating him and wanting him dead.

c!jack manifold also lost his last canon life during doomsday, as he fought for and alongside l’manberg and c!tommy, but crawled back out of hell (a glitch happened, and cc!jack manifold incorporated it).

he hates c!dream and c!tommy almost equally, but “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” and all that, so he held back on trying to kill c!tommy until they’d defeated c!dream during the disc saga finale. after that, he teamed up with c!niki (a whole other can of worms) to kill c!tommy - they almost succeeded with the nuke, had c!tommy stalled for 30 seconds less, he’d have been hit by the nuke and died. c!jack manifold views killing c!tommy as killing two flies with one stone; c!dream says he doesn’t have any attachments left, c!jack manifold calls bullshit - c!dream is attached to c!tommy, and killing c!tommy would also be getting back at c!dream.

there’s a more indepth explanation on this re-upload of jack manifold’s stream explaining his entire character. i’m not entirely sure that it’s the full thing, so if you want to, i’d suggest waiting for jack to upload on his vod channel here

c!tommy gets trapped in prison, and c!jack manifold (previously having been hired as employee of the big innit hotel to get closer to c!tommy so he can kill him) takes over the hotel, as the owner is in prison. c!tommy then died in prison by c!dream’s hand leading c!jack to first celebrate, and then after he thought more about it, as he travelled around the server telling everyone of what had happened, he doubted whether he really was happy. because he wasn’t the one to kill c!tommy, he didn’t feel accomplished, he felt empty. it had been his goal, his sole goal, for so long - and now c!tommy was just... dead.

he then begins to think of whether this was really what he wanted, if he really wanted c!tommy dead, or if it was a way to distract himself from the fact that he just really misses his friends - the camraderie, the friendship, they all had in l’manberg. back before it all fell apart, and they left him behind. and he begins thinking about whether he just didn’t miss his friend, whether him wanting to kill c!tommy, getting closer to him in order to kill him, really just wasn’t him trying to get his friendship back. he makes peace with c!tommy and grieves him. admits to himself he didn’t actually want to kill him.

(the vod is here)

then c!tommy gets revived, and c!jack manifold and him has a confrontation in the hotel. it’s quite a heated debate of both parties being angry - c!tommy being angry that c!jack has stolen his hotel, and c!jack being angry that c!tommy is back after he made his peace. c!jack manifold gets really angry and shouts “i launched nukes at you, and you didn’t even care! no one else has done this on the server!”, admitting to having tried and nearly succeeding in killing c!tommy. c!tommy is freshly revived, freshly re-traumatised, and doesn’t really seem to process much of the conversation, but is angry and hurt, and just wants everything to go back to how it was. following this, c!jack manifold decides that the idea that he was trying to kill c!tommy to get his friendship back, was him being delusional. that the c!tommy that was revived, the c!tommy that killed him; that wasn’t the c!tommy that was his friend way back in l’manberg. he decides to kill c!tommy once more.

(the vod is here)

right now, c!jack manifold feels very alone. he still has c!tubbo, but he knows that he’s not c!tubbo’s first priority; he’s not really anyone’s first priority. he used to be c!niki’s, their little duo, but c!niki has moved on with the syndicate, and he’s not sure where he was her. and he still wants to kill c!tommy.

he’s tried to become a prison guard because he knew that c!tommy had some unfinished business with c!dream in there; and as a prison guard, c!jack manifold would have power and ressources to trap c!tommy in there and kill him. during his quest for the job as prison guard, he began a side project as detective trying to gain a favour from c!sam by finding out what happened to his security cameras. and as soon as c!sam owed him a favour, 1-2-3 - prison guard title for c!jack manifold.

and then c!tommy breaks in to kill c!dream, fails, and c!wilbur is revived.

and when c!wilbur gets revived, he walks straight up to c!jack and apologises. no bullshit, no walking around the subject, c!jack manifold didn’t even ask for it; c!wilbur just apologised. and c!jack manifold is left so conflicted because he’s not really experienced that before - being apologised to, for everything, with no gain. he’s not sure whether he feels ready enough to forgive him yet, mostly because he’s just so confused. not even c!tubbo, the person he considered his closest friend (and the person he partly also wanted to kill c!tommy for - c!tommy is selfish (in c!jack manifold’s eyes) and drags c!tubbo into trouble), hasn’t apologised for leaving him behind during pogtopia and manberg. and c!tommy definitely hasn’t apologised - so why c!wilbur?

he decides to build a pub where he can drink with c!wilbur, and c!wilbur can prove that he actually wants to be his friend again.

(the vod is here)

and project kill c!tommy is still a-go, as we saw today, and every time c!tommy annoys c!jack - stealing his stuff or ignoring him - it’s just fuel for c!jack manifold’s fire and desire to kill him.

(edit: this got really long, i hope it helped a little bit, but i’m sorry if it was too compact and/or confusing - and again, welcome to the fandom!! and good luck :D)

[babybottlepop96]

Neji x Reader and Shikamru x Reader (platonic)

A/n: a small drabble. Its all fluff. Just fluff.

Lazy days with Shikamru are some of my favorite days. Lying around under a big shady tree, just listening to nature and feeling a slight breeze through my hair. Shikamaru and I have been friends since we were diapers. Our parents even have pictures of us taking baths together, you know, when it's okay for toddlers to still do that. 

We spent how much time together growing up that we even adopted things the other one would do. I would get saying "What a drag" while he would get caught sometimes eating his pizza with a fork and knife. Dont judge me. I hate getting grease all over myself!

But since becoming ninja and being on different teams, we don't get to spend much time together anymore. So that's why days like this are some of my favorites. My other favorite days are the days I get to spend with my boyfriend, Neji. 

It came as a surprise to everyone, including me, when Neji came and asked me to go on a date with him. We all knew Neji fancied someone but none of us knew it would've been me. We are opposites, but i guess opposites do attract, at least that's what people say anyway. 

He had a singular flower that he gave me. "I didn't know what kind of flower you liked, but Ino said that this is a flower that any girl would love to get." He didn't look at me when he spoke, but his cheeks were slightly pink and a tint of fear and nervousness were evident in his voice when he spoke. I took the flower with a smile.

"I love it Neji! (F/F) are my favorite flowers." I tucked the flower behind my ear.

"Would you like to go get food? L-like a umm… a date?" He twiddled his fingers as he spoke. The strong, stoic Neji Huyga was asking ME on a date. This beautiful man was asking ME ON A DATE! Of course I did what any sane woman would have done and said yes.

That was several years ago and the rest was history. He takes me out for food and a walk after every mission, doesn't matter if it was a small one or one that would take a couple weeks. He would always get me little trinkets he would think i would love and he rarely got jealous. He would only get jealous around certain friends *cough cough* Kiba *cough*. Only once did he get jealous of Shikamaru, but once he saw how close we were as JUST FRIENDS, he hasn't since. He trusts me.. Which says a lot because that man doesn't trust many people.

"So…. Huyga ask you to marry him yet?" Shika asked randomly and i choked on my spit.

"No, he hasn't. But what business is it of yours anyway?" I asked, turning my head to look at my best friend.

"It isn't, but it's such a drag to see you two together, unmarried, while everyone else is either engaged or already married." He spoke, not once opening his eyes.

I huffed, "Well it isn't like he doesn't want to. We just have… something else that is taking priority right now." I looked away.

"Oh yeah? What could be so important that you two can't get married yet?" He was now looking at me with that look. The look that said I'm your best friend and you better tell me before I figure it out myself.

"You can't tell ANYONE! Promise?"

"Yeah yea yeah." He closed his eyes and faced the sky again.

"Im pregnant." I whispered, hoping he wouldn't have heard me. But he is a trained shinobi, so of course he heard. I have never seen that man move so damn fast in my entire life.

"Holy shit!" He yelled as he grabbed my shoulders and light shook me. "Why the fuck havent you said anything befire now?!"

I giggled at his reaction, "Because it didn't seem necessary till now?"

"You are such a drag sometimes, you know?" He smiled at me and I smiled back. 

"Anyway, now that you know… would you like to be the Godfather, Shikamaru?" His eyes widened even more and he hugged me.

"Fuck yes!"

[kiyo-yoon]

Hes already bored of watching everyone fawn over valentines day so he's probably spent all his time listening to music. Yamaguchi has been oddly quiet all day and anytime he speaks, he won't shut up about the event. He thinks a quiet Yamaguchi is an annoying Yamaguchi and eventually breaks when they're walking home after practice.

"Why do you look so depressed?"

"Umm...I'm not, it's just...Daichi and Suga were really affectionate weren't they?"

"Well they are boyfriends and its valentines day. Are you blaming them or something?"

"What? No! No! No! No! It's just...we're boyfriends and...we don't really do that...umm, but I'm not trying to hint that we do more stuff, just pointing out and observing! Ahh! But not in the creepy way! Just th-umm?"

Yamaguchis rambling would be interrupted by Tsukkishima suddenly placing his headphones on him. He would get to listen to some metal band playing for two seconds before the blonde would lean over and kiss him.

"Valentines is about love isnt it? I love music so...so take what I love. Here, J-just listen and shut up..."

And he would walk away with a blush on his face, but never allow Yamaguchi to see it! Meanwhile, Yamaguchi is literally dying on the spot, face red and hands shaking and lips tingling. Plus he's got to listen through Tsukkis headphones which is a bonus!

All day, he's been watching couples get together and give each other gifts and cards and even kisses. During breaks between classes, he cant help but point out a new couple that's gotten together, or even someone who's been kissed or hugged...

They had a short practice of volleyball today, but he couldn't even concentrate because he's been busy admiring Suga and Daichis affectionate teasing and behaviour. He's totally jealous, but doesn't show it and as a result, realises that his own boyfriend has actually forgot what day it is. They all leave Asahi and Noya to lock up and on the way home, Tsukki finally breaks and asks him what's up.

He explains and then totally freaks out when Tsukki thinks hes not happy for Suga and Daichi. His freaking out disappears when Tsukki gives him headphones and a kiss and...that's enough for him, really.

"I can't believe Tsukki just-oh my g-!"

"What did you say? Something wrong?"

"No! Sorry Tsukki!"

Considering that they're already a couple, Daichi plans out the perfect day for them. His parents are away on holiday for a week, so he's pretty keen to get Suga at his house. He's been admittedly more lovey dovey than usual and after giving Asahi a pep talk for later, he takes Suga out of practice and out to town. He takes him to a cake shop where they would have cake and whilst he's ordering, Sugas waiting at the table.

Daichi is totally known for his jealous nature and when he returns to the table and spots some drunk delinquent high schooler, with an arm draped around Suga, he politely tells the guy to...go away.

And of course when he doesnt, Daichi would provoke him until the delinquent ends up trying to start a fight. The cake shop owner ends up kicking all three of them out and Daichi storms away in a mood because everything's been ruined until Suga stops him and grabs him into a hug.

"Sorry...I guess I just wanted today to be...perfect..."

And after a bit of reassurance from Suga, a cheeky innuendo, they end up sharing a smooch and head back to Daichis.

Suga would be the type to constantly tease Daichi for not getting everything right, it's in his nature to be cheeky. He succeeds in making Daichi blush when he lies and says he's upset for not getting flowers. Where's his kiss and hug? He didn't even get him a card? Heartbroken...

Still, Its cute that Daichi is dedicated anyways. Suga would probably be the type to leave a longing kiss, enough for Daichi to remember long in class. He's been listening to his boyfriend mumble their plans to himself and he's totally flustered with that because that's just adorable.

At the end of practice, they walk towards a cake shop, hands joined together and Suga sits down at a booth whilst he's waiting for Daichi to come back with cake. Suddenly theres a weight on his shoulder and he realises it's a teenager, maybe his age? And...yep, definitely drunk and now rambling about anything and everything.

After a few attempts of trying to get this guys arm off him, the guy is refusing to budge and Daichi is standing there and then the pair start arguing and before they know it, the owner of the shop has kicked them all out. Suga ends up chasing Daichi down the street when he storms away in a huff.

"Oi wait up! Daichi! Oi!"

Daichi rambles on about how he wanted today to go perfectly and then Suga pulls him and hugs him again.

"Today was more than perfect. You were pretty perfect too"

Suga would bring his face down for a kiss and then squeeze Daichis hands and grin and hint that they should probably go back to his place because Daichis parents arent in and the rest is up to them.

All day today, his new boyfriend of one week, Kageyama has been in some sort of weird mood. It's their first valentines together, so Hinata had done some research and bought Kageyama chocolates. Unfortunately for Hinata, he didnt know Kageyama is...allergic to nuts and therefore couldn't eat it.

Practice was short that day so Kageyama decided to use the special date as...their official first date together. Hinata is still wondering why the heck his boyfriend is in a bad mood until he spots an arcade poster and teases Kageyama that he would beat him in all the games.

Challenge accepted.

They head to the arcade and after constant arguing about the other somehow cheating, they go to the coin slot machine because...its impossible to cheat on that game. Hinata spots an adorable keychain of a nose with kawaii eyes and tries his best to get it. He fails, watches Kageyama get it and when Kageyama does, Hinata has to scream at him that the keychain is not ugly, it's cute!

On their way home, Hinata is about to split ways from Kageyama when Kageyama gets all sad and moody.

"I'm not just saying it though! I'm serious!"

"Really?"

Hinata would nod with a smile.

"This is my favourite day with you!"

Kageyama would surprise him by tossing the nose keychain over and after listening to Kageyama have some sort of weird battle with himself, Hinata would try something they've never done before.

Kiss...

Except...they've never done it, Hinata doesnt know how to and he's too short to reach Kageyama. Kageyama leans down because Hinata is making some weird face and Hinata pushes himself up on his toes and kisses Kageyama on the cheek.

The lips are too far for their early stage relationship right now.

But his face turns scarlet and he cycles away home and turns around and laughs when he sees Kageyama wobble in his steps. Not bad for a first valentines.

So as soon as he wakes up, Kageyama NEEDS to plan out today since he and Hinata just got together last week. Only problem is...he's utterly clueless. What's he supposed to get Hinata? Flowers? Chocolates? Those are normal...if you're a girl.

Still, he's unsure but decides to just let today go with the flow. At school, Hinatas been commenting on his 'scary' face which, rude, it's the face he was born with. Hinata tries to give him chocolates but...hes allergic to those specific ones..oops.

He's still pretty much clueless, decides at the last minute that maybe he should do extra volleyball practice because Hinata likes that, only for Nishinoya to explain that he and Asahi are locking up instead. They havent been on a date yet so...maybe a date would be pretty good for today?

So on their walk after school, thankfully Hinata finds something for them to do! He finds a poster for a new arcade that's opened and he literally just called him a loser...

Challenge accepted!

Hinata somehow wins the air hockey game three times in a row, cheating obviously, until they both settle on a coin slot game. No way Hinata could cheat on that...

He doesn't, but now Hinata has a new motive and that's to get the most ugliest nose keychain in the world...it even has kawaii eyes on it, as if that'll make it look cute.

In the end, Hinata doesn't win the keychain, but he does instead. He keeps it for a while because...is he supposed to give it to him right now? Later?

They end up walking to a certain path that they'll split ways when Kageyama finally decides to hand over the ugly stupid keychain that makes Hinata smile so much.

"Yeah, just keep it, or throw it away, or keep it..."

And then Hinata would surprise him by making some sort of...weird face by widening his eyes and suddenly theres lips on his cheek and...wow, they technically just kinda kissed in some sort of weird way...

Before he knows it, Hinatas cycled away and he needs to walk home and...wow, his legs are so wobbly right now.

Thank God Hinata can't see his embarrassing smile right now.

Hopefully valentines will be the same next year.

She's not really bothered about valentines to be honest. She's just getting right into her studies and managing the volleyball team etc...

During school, she spots several couples acting all loved up because of the day and...well, she just passes by. She's not one for poking around in anyones personal business, even if it is just something silly like receiving a box of chocolates.

Her only thought right now is...why is she the manager of a ridiculous childish volleyball team?

Because it certainly looks like Tanaka is proposing to Nishinoya and the libero is hiding some sort of letter behind his back. Oh. Tanaka is using his girl voice...isnt it usually the guy who proposes?

Still, she cant help but let out an adorable giggle which attracts Tanakas attention and suddenly, he's bounding over towards her with his face flushed red. He shouts her name loudly, once exactly and then suddenly retracts and spins around and sprints out the hallway.

What...just happened?

Later, at practice, Kiyoko ends up getting a call from her mum, warning her that it's still quite dark at night so she was to be careful.

Tanaka, being the loud person with a heightened sense of hearing, decides to shout and declare that he'll walk her home and...well, maybe a bit of company would be nice?

Maybe she should put Tanaka out of his misery already...

Nah, she's way too playful like that.

"Maybe...maybe you can walk me home?"

And Tanaka? Well, he does his usual adorable cheer that he does and they're on their way! She refuses to let him hold her bag though, shes self independent that way.

Its decided as soon as the clock struck midnight and its valentines, but he decides that he wants to make today a day that Kiyoko will remember!

Obviously he'll get the bro advice from Nishinoya since he has also asked for some advice. So, he ends up heading to school, bumps into Nishinoya who is...screaming about a letter that was posted through his door that morning and Tanaka can only snort at the original poem that's been written inside.

He advises his bro that he should totally just let it play out, be all romantic and even does a simple drama performance for him to follow. And then...Kiyoko is standing there looking perfect as per usual and she blinks twice and suddenly, his feet have left the floor, ready to shout for Kiyoko to hear his confession!

Wait

Hes supposed to be all suave and romantic, especially on the most romantic day of the year. So he stops, clears his throat and spins around and sprints out of there, embarrassed! He was totally NOT cool!

Later at practice, he hears Kiyoko mention that they'll be finishing up soon and then answers her phone. Tanaka just so happens to be standing nearby and hears Kiyokos mother mention how dangerous the streets are because it's still quite dark. This could be his chance!

He could totally walk her home, right? At least occupy her?

"Oi! Kiyoko! I can walk you home if you want!"

For a second, it seems like shes gonna just ignore him again, but then she gives him the most adorable tiny smile ever and nods ever so slightly.

"Maybe...maybe you can walk me home?"

Then hes ready to run away because Kiyoko ignoring him is pretty hot but-hang on, she just said...

Yes!

"Spending valentines with Kiyoko!"

She smiles again and he notices her bag and holds a hand out.

"I'll carry your bag!"

"No thanks"

Where to begin?

Asahi ends up having a nightmare of a valentines! Hes spent every single day of being in Nishinoyas presence, debating whether he should confess to him or not. He ends up asking for Asahi and Sugas advice over the phone for several nights before he finally comes up with the idea.

A letter? That's pretty basic and even Nishinoya should understand the concept behind that. So he wrote one out, maybe the original poem was too much but he had too many things to say and a poem sounds like it should be enough to express his feelings.

He slides it into Nishinoyas foot locker and sprints away before the said boy comes in and catches him. Now he just needs to wait.

So naturally, in class, he cant concentrate. He cant focus on any of his schoolwork and Suga ends up flicking him on the back of the head with a rubber during class because he can literally see Asahi shaking that much...

Why did he ask Nishinoya to stay behind after practice again? Why did he write that? Nishinoya probably wants a different valentines. What if he rejects him? What if he decides that he just...oh god. What if he quits the team? Never speaks to him again? Could he be reading all of Noyas signals wrong?

Something hard hits the back of his head again and he turns around and theres Suga again with his criticising look. The teacher yells and he turns back around with an apology. How embarrassing.

Later, at practice, he's ready to freak out again because Kageyama asks Nishinoya if he and Hinata could lock up. They'd recently become a couple...what if Noya said yes? Asahi wouldnt be able to give his confession...

Thankfully, Noya says no with an apology and then a short explanation that he and Asahi would do it instead. Then Daichi is running over and patting Asahi on the back with a calm 'Try not to freak out. Dont worry, just worry about Suga if you do end up chickening out' and then hes away again!

When it's just the two of them, they clean up together, quietly until Nishinoya finally pulls out the letter from his bag and looks up at Asahi.

"This letter..."

And of course...he freaks out.

"Umm! Oh! It's just...you dont have to read it, well even though it looks like you already have, but it's not worth reading, I suppose you could just look at it as a joke if you want to, but even though it's real...I'm sorry if it wasted your time!"

And to his surprise, Nishinoya only laughs and wiggles the letter in his hand.

"It didn't waste my time, but...are you serious? About your feelings...about you liking me since I was a first year?"

"Mhmm! Of course! I just...sorry, that probably sounded creepy!"

"Eh? No! No of course not!"

"But it's the truth! I'm completely honest! You...you're the best person to have ever come into my life so...so please hear my confession! I...I love you Noya!"

He's pretty sure he hears Noya chuckle for a bit and he wishes he could see him, but suddenly tears are building in his eyes and the thought of rejection from Nishinoya of all people is enough to make him cry.

His body is suddenly falling forwards, Noya is falling backwards because hes grabbed onto him but Asahi is fast, so he loops his arms around Noya and straightens them up so they're standing. Noya grins and then pushes forwards for a hug and presses his forehead against Asahis forehead, his blonde fringe pushing against the aces headband. Asahi can only sigh in relief because thank god...he couldn't imagine going on in life if this turned out differently.

He's never really thought about valentines to be honest. He's always had one person in mind and he's pretty sure that's rude to try and confess to your upperclassmen. Sure he plays along with Tanaka to protect Kiyoko, but its more of a...let's protect the girl because guys are creepy predators kinda thing...

Anyways, he heads to school like a normal day, changes shoes and...is that a letter?

It totally is!

Someone just...this is definitely Asahis handwriting! This was a dream, right? If so, please dont wake him up!

He reads the inside, smiles at the cute poem and when he realises theres a message asking to stay behind after practice so they could talk, he fist pumps the air and rushes to find Tanaka.

He shows him the letter, asks for advice and all Tanaka does is simply tell him to let the day play it out, just like a volleyball game. He even gets down on one knee and pretends to propose, as if that'll happen today.

Still, he keeps it in mind, not for...future reasons...

He watches Tanaka sprint over to Kiyoko within seconds and then run away and remembers that he and Tanaka were on the phone last night. The future ace had declared that he wanted valentines to go perfectly for Kiyoko, so he would act like the perfect gentleman!

Still, he waves to Kiyoko and heads to class.

The rest of the day, he doesnt see Asahi which isnt much of a surprise since they're in different years. He has caught sight of Suga and Daichi kissing at some point and frowns.

If he and Asahi were to get together, there would surely be a lot of looks. People already mistook him as an elementary kid and Asahi as a grown man who is also apparently a delinquent. But hey, when was he to care about looks?

He looks away from Suga and Daichi in the distance and lightly pats his burning cheeks twice before shaking his head. He liked Asahi, no, he loved Asahi! He'd admired the man from day one!

So when it comes to the end of practice which is cut fairly short, he has to quickly explain to Kageyama that he and Asahi would be locking up instead. Kageyama looks slightly annoyed but hey, he always looks like that. He ends up showing Asahi the letter and of course, the big ball of anxiety starts to flip.

But in the end, Asahi confesses properly...reveals that he's liked Noya from day one and...

"I love you too you big baby! Oi! Why are you crying?! I accepted your confession! Baka!"

And then he lunges forwards to try and grab Asahi into a hug but they end up staggering for a bit and...god, he wishes Asahi would just stop crying! He does though, and they hug and Noya really wants to kiss him right now, but hes pretty sure the ace would faint if he did it right now. So he settles for a forehead touch, just so he can reassure Asahi that he's there and...he's not planning on going away anytime soon.

He's there, he's not disappearing and even when Asahi graduates, he knows they'll still be together, no matter what obstacle they face.

[iiasha-archived]

genshin anon! oops turns out i totally forgot to respond lol. yeah the sacrificial is nice. ive got the bow, claymore, and catalyst. almost have 2 r5 catalyts as well.... oo that's nice! yeah xiao has kind of turned into my not used character as well which is kind of sad. i love him so much. but hu tao doing 30k+ crit up to 50k is uh... going well for me one might say. and yeah i also think the rate theyre doing things is okay. people constantly are at the game for not having end game content

lmaoo don’t worry about responding!! feel free to absolutely ghost me i’ll totally understand hehe <3

(2/5) but like.. the game isnt a year old yet. like half the game isnt even out yet. i get theres not a whole lot to do ar 45+ but :/ its a gacha game so its not really supposed to be a play for 8 hours a day thing. although i am torn on that. it is a gacha game but plays and acts like a 'proper' game so i get where everyone is coming from in that aspect. i am so in love with venti. mostly wanted him to collect everyone and for spiral abyss but damn i use him CONSTANTLY and i dont think i could

(3/5) ever not use him now. sucrose is great though! def try to get here she is such a great support! zhongli is so useful though haha. he kind of just fits in wherever. i cant wait for childe i so hope i get him. im saving up all these windblume primos for him haha. and hoping to get rosaria in the process (my pole arm team will almost be complete). yeah the windblume has been great! the STORY THOUGH. it made me so happy? haha. loved seeing all the characters again. and it was just a sweet

(4/5) story :'( the games are pretty cool too! im not a big fan off the freefall one though. the other two are great. and peculiar wonderland! that one is a lot of fun in coop! i kind of really want them to keep the dandelions floating around in mondstadt? they look so nice. oh nice! yeah polearms are fun haha. i used to use a lot of claymores but idk, im just not overly fond of how slow they are? plus none of them really -vibe- with me. xinyan is my fave out of them though. i just walk around

(5/5) with my faves and hope for the best :') chongyun and xingqiu bestest friends <3 that sounds funny ill have to be xingqui when i do chongyuns story quest lol. still havent done any of those but yeah its nice that they do let you skip what youve already done lol. yeah rosaria did show up in the windblume festival which i figured she would. got to remind everyone about her before she is released. did make me like her a bit more honestly. cant wait to (hopefully) get her! she seems like fun!

R5 DAMN.... i think my highest is like R2 lmao again weapons are like the last thing i invest in ajdfklaj i have like. two good swords and 2 good claymores and that’s it. my poor catalysts and bows.......

30-50k crit omg..... i only JUST got the achievement for like i think 20k+ damage with xiao the other day and it was during peculiar wonderland with the plunging/crit buffs LMAOOOO i am not a numbers type of gal </3 

yeah i’ve honestly seen a lot of gacha games that like fucked around before discontinuing and not making a dent in the story... not saying that i want that to happen to genshin of course (knock on wood) but just the rate they’re doing things is definitely fine lmao. and yeah sometimes i don’t even bother playing every day if i just don’t feel like it adfjklajd sure i’m losing primogems but also like. i’m tired bro lmao idk how people can spend hours every single day without just spending a copious amount of money on it. 

but it does definitely feel like more than a gacha game for sure. botw was popular for a reason and i must say genshin ripped it off well LMAO. ughhhh despite what i said i keep pulling for venti and I’VE GOTTEN NOELLE IN EVERY SINGLE 10 WISH THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS FJADKLFJSA i did get keqing for my pity though who i did also really want though so!!!! i guess i can be happy with that lmao although i wish at least 1 of my noelles was a sucrose or something...

and yes! even if it was just brief cameos i’m glad they brought a lot of characters in; really helps build the world especially seeing the friendships between certain characters! i know we got a spoiler in the trailer but i was so excited to just see like. diluc/kayea/rosaria together hahaha. and razor and bennet are so cute!! i think people already knew they were friends from their voicelines? but actually seeing them hang out together/interact really solidifies it. 

oh nice i’m not the only one who isn’t a fan of the freefalling one LMAO the others were a lot of fun tho <3 and yeah the dandelions are definitely really pretty!!!

ahh yeah i think with claymore users i tend to really focus more on their elemental skills/burst than them actually fighting lmao. like with chongyun at least he has a pretty fast cooldown compared to how long his skill lasts and just switch out with another character meanwhile. polearms are fun as well and xiao has been GREAT but i think i was also off put by how little damage my xiangling was doing when i first tried out polearms lmaooo

chongyun and xingqiu are really the best i love them so much... people keep comparing them to buzzfeed unsolved which i honestly haven’t really seen much of but it makes SO much sense especially since their whole thing is like. chongyun looking for evil spirits and xingqiu giving him shitty leads jasdkflsa. 

also idk if you’ve seen this but apparently the tassels they wear on their visions are friendship tassels they gifted each other and JDAFKLAJSKLFDSJ THAT’S SO CUTE GODDD

and yeah!!! again with the diluc/kayea/rosaria group i really want a storyline surrounding those 3 specifically lmao they seem so fun. i actually didn’t realize the similarities between kaeya and rosaria are until they were put together but aside from kaeya being more. idk flirty/extroverted lmao they actually have sort of similar like. idk. vibes? roles? jobs? way about doing things? and cryo users ofc

[projecthalemaw]

The three teens were now successfully off on their adventure, and conversing amongst one another. "Alexis. Was everything okay, back at the pokemon center?" Hera asked as the three walked.

"Hm? Oh uh, yeah. My brain got overwhelmed with all of the lights, sounds, and my eyes had been hurting." Alexis admitted, adjusting her sunglasses.

"Ah. Gotcha. I experience it occasionally, although rarely." Hera nodded in understanding. "So. I'm thinking that, when we get to Nightvale city, My gran will want to have dinner with me one last time. And because shes a total sweetheart, You two can stay for dinner too." Hera spoke, slipping her hands into her jacket pockets. "So, I know Miranda's kind of a tough gym leader. Her gym is certainly eccentric, if I remember some of her battles that are televised. Three floors, each one works with a different weather effect. Remind me what they are, Lucius?"

"Sandstorm for the first floor, Hail for the second, and Sunny day for the third. The top floor, where shes located, is actually the rooftop of the weather facility in Jupiter city. It almost always rains in that city, as well. So when we head that direction, we'll wanna have our umbrella's to be easy to access." Lucius explained.

Alexis nodded, looking up from her pokedex. "I'm reading over Gible's pokedex entry, which also seems to list the ability for the pokemon, and what it does. Sand veil ups evasion in a sandstorm." She spoke. "Meaning that gible will likely be highly useful for the first floor, in my case." She spoke.

"Correct. The ability listing feature was of Professor Morgan's own design, if you're curious. Also. We should use this route, and the cave, to train our partners." Lucius spoke.

"Cave?" Hera asked.

"No. We're not going near the cave on the other path." Alexis spoke, her tone seeming to shift.

"There's a hidden cave nearby, that has pokemon that are rare elsewhere on this island." Lucius elaborated.

"Oh, okay. Sorry for my tone shift." Alexis spoke.

"All good. Yeah. That other cave, on the other path. It creeps everyone out, so mom made it illegal to go near there, at least for our towns residents." He explained, taking a pokeball out and releasing beldum. "Beldum will be harder to train, as it only learns one move until it evolves, into metang. Meaning I should get the jump on training it first, while still training Chomp, my main partner." Lucius spoke. He was going to say something, but got cut off by a girl getting his attention.

"Hey! Wanna battle? I just got a new pokemon, and wanna test it out." The girl spoke.

"You can take her on Lucius." Hera spoke, gesturing for him to go on. "Alexis and I can watch, or go train on wild pokemon."

"Y-yeah. Let's go train on wild Pokemon. Catch up with us after, lucius." Alexis spoke.

3 hard hours of training later, and one sudden thunderstorm that lasted 20 minutes

Alexis, Lucius, and Hera met back up in a Clearing in the Route. Their pokemon, had all gotten stronger.

"Anyone else hungry, or just me?" Alexis asked, as her stomach growled rather loudly. "Just realized I hadn't eaten yet."

"Well. We're close to my Gran's house, and closer to Nightvale City. It's about Lunch time at this point. We can go get lunch at a cafe, then take a few hours to relax before going to my Grandma's for the night." Hera offered.

"I got plenty of Money from the trainers I beat, meaning I can pay for lunch." Lucius nodded.

"Yeah. Let's get healed up at the pokemon center, then go get lunch. It's about another six hours or so till dinnertime, so we have plenty of time to kill at like an arcade or something. The one in Nightvale is moderately large. We can do some arcade games, if we havent blown all of our money by lunch." Hera nodded.

"What's an arcade?" Alexis questioned, not realizing she said it out loud.

"Basically, a place where you can pay money to earn tokens and play games. My dad used to own the one in nightvale city, before he sold it to the Mayor of Nightvale after meeting my mom when she joined him for a game of DDR, or rather. Dance, Dance, Revolution." Hera explained without missing a beat, as they headed toward the entrance of Nightvale city.

Once the three arrived in Nightvale city, Alexis's mouth dropped. This was one of the largest places she'd ever seen. (Not that she remembers anywhere larger.) "Woah. It's... massive." Alexis spoke, blinking slightly.

"There are bigger cities. Heck. The Island where we get our fifth gym badge, the entire place is all the city." Hera spoke.

"Ew. Sounds gross." Alexis reflexively spoke.

"Yeah. I personally enjoy places that have variety to them. I've heard Twilight Island is like a maze." Lucius spoke, as they walked into the pokemon center.

"Hi! Welcome to the pokemon center. Let me know if I can do anything for you, please." The Nurse spoke as she walked out from one of the back Rooms.

"Hi! I was wondering if our pokemon could get a quick heal." Lucius spoke.

"Can do! Just put the pokeballs on the tray here, and Blissey can take care of them for you." The nurse spoke as she put the tray on the counter in front of her.

Alexis put her pokeballs in top slots, although she was somewhat hesitant to.

Lucius put his in the middle, seeming a bit relaxed.

Hera put hers in the bottom slots.

"Blissey will bring you your pokeballs personally, after healing your pokemon. She can heal them through their pokeballs, so dont worry about her getting them mixed up. Feel free to have a seat." The nurse spoke, before turning to follow blissey to the back to work on something.

The three teens sat down, and began to converse among each other. "So. Since we're going to be traveling with each other for the foreseeable future. I guess we should get to know one another." Hera spoke, taking her hat off. "Lucius, pass me a drink?" She asked. "Gotta take my meds."

"Ah, yeah, of course." Lucius spoke as he opened his bag, and passed her a water bottle.

"Well... guess the meowth's gotta come out of the bag. I don't remember much of anything. I only know my name." Alexis spoke, rather quietly. She wasn't sure if the two would still be friends with her.

"That's quite okay." Hera spoke, as she took a couple of bottles out of her jacket, and opened the bottles. "We're not gonna look at you any differently, Alexis. Right, Lucius?" She asked, before taking her medication. Her tone had an essence of "Answer correctly, or I'm gonna smack you." to it.

"Yeah, of course." Lucius nodded.

Alexis let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks. I was feeling freaked out, and was trying to figure out how I should explain it." She spoke. "I dont even know where I'm from."

"Gotcha." Hera nodded. "Well, maybe we can make getting your memories back a side endeavor in our journey." She offered, as Blissey came up to their table, with their tray of pokeballs in hand.

"Thank's blissey." Lucius spoke, as the three sorted their pokeballs back among themselves.

"So yeah. We'll try our best to get your memories back." Hera nodded, her sunshine personality sort of showing in the instance.

Lucius nodded in agreement. "Yeah." He nodded. "So. Now that our teams are all healed up, where are we going first?" He asked as he stood up, hooking his pokeballs back onto his belt loop.

"Hm. Food and drink sound good?" Hera asked as she stood up, gesturing for Alexis to follow.

Alexis nodded. "Yeah, sounds fine to me." She spoke as she stood, and followed the others out.

Once the three were outside, Hera opened her map. "Now. If I recall correctly, theres a really good little cafe that doubles as a burger place, just up the street from here." Hera spoke. "I don't know about burgers myself, but I could definitely go for a Chocolate moomoo milkshake and fries." She spoke, as she put her map away, and began to walk right from the pokemon center entry.

Lucius and Alexis exchanged glances, and followed after Hera, who was already a good two feet away.

After a good Twenty minutes of walking, the trio arrived at a rather large building. "Used to come here all the time after school. Don't remember why I stopped." Hera spoke, grabbing the door and opening it.

Alexis and lucius followed her in, exchanging a look as they got greeted. "Hey there, welcome to Cathy's. Today we've got a deal on burger's and shakes. Buy ten dollars worth and get a third set free." The cashier spoke.

"You two get whatever you want, I'll just get a large thing of fries and a chocolate shake." Hera spoke, as she pulled out her wallet to start counting how much money she'd need to set aside for their meal.

After time passed, and the three sat down after ordering their food, a pair of women walked into the Café, looking no older then Hera. The most eye-catching feature the women had among the two of them was the orange haired girl having a mechanical arm. It wasn't audible what the two had ordered, but it didn't seem overly complicated, as it was done before the trio's meal.

The black haired girl who had it tied back and to the side walked up. "Hey, there's not a whole lot of places left to sit. Do you three care if we join you?" She asked. She adjusted her glasses, as she waited for an answer from one of them.

"Of course! We were just stopping in to get lunch ourselves. We just started our own adventure and all." Hera spoke, seeming a little sheepish.

"Ah, yeah. I remember those times." The orange haired girl spoke. "I think you and I started at the same time, right, rey?" She asked her companion.

"Yes, we did. Now, apologies, but we've seemed to have forgotten our manners. I'm Reyna, and this one here is Cassidy." Reyna spoke, nodding slightly.

Hera nodded. "The guy getting our food is Lucius, I'm hera, and I'll let her introduce herself."

"I'm Alexis." Alexis spoke, nodding gently to the two taller girls.

The two girls who had joined them nodded. "Nice to meet you too. You seem a little young to just be starting your adventure." Reyna noted.

"As much as I wish I were younger, I'm glad to be Seventeen." Hera laughed a little. "Means I dont have to see my parents again." She spoke lightly.

Lucius set their tray down on the table. "Hera, who are these two?" Lucius asked as he sorted their stuff among themselves.

"Cassidy and Reyna. They asked to sit with us as there isn't anywhere else that they can really sit." Hera explained.

"Ah. Nice to meet you." Lucius spoke, as he sat down.

Cassidy nodded. "Mind if I ask who you guys chose as starters? I've heard interesting things about this Region's starter selection." She spoke.

"Well. This year was a bit different, and the professor gave us each two starter pokemon." Hera explained.

"Interesting." Reyna noted, writing it down in her notebook after taking a sip from her drink.

"I chose this Region's variant of Piplup, and Larvitar. I'll let these two answer the question themselves." Hera spoke before digging into her food.

"Region's totodile variant, and gible." Alexis quietly spoke after swallowing the bite she had been chewing on. It was clear that she had something on her mind, but nobody could be entirely sure what it was she was thinking about.

"Cyndaquil Variant and Beldum." Lucius nodded.

"Interesting. And what are the types of your regional variants?" Reyna asked, glancing up from her writing.

"Totodile is dark and fairy, according to my pokedex." Alexis nodded.

"Cyndaquil is an Ice and Dragon type here." Lucius spoke.

"And Piplup is just a ghost type." Hera spoke, after swallowing the food she had in her mouth.

"Fascinating. We came to the region on business, mostly because someone called us here for said business." Reyna spoke.

"She still won't tell me, for whatever reason." Cassidy spoke, shrugging lightly as she stretched her legs out.

"Because if I do, you won't shut up about it. You'll find out in about a month's time. We mostly came a month early to get a lay of the region." Reyna spoke.

"Oh. Okay." Cassidy spoke. "Think we may try the gym challenge. Might be worth it after all, now that we're here. Y'know babe?"

"Yeah. Gives us an idea on how tough some of the trainers in this region are." Reyna nodded, as she looked up from her notepad.

"Ah. About that. Nobody's been able to complete the gym challenge in two years at this point." Lucius explained.

"That's a surprise." Cassidy spoke. "Why?"

"The eighth gym leader, Minerva, disappeared two years ago. Nobody knows where she went." Lucius explained, after taking a sip of his drink.

"Fascinating." Cassidy spoke.

Reyna simply nodded, marking something down in her notepad. "Seems interesting. I guess that's why Victory road looked untraversed?" She questioned.

"Yeah. And the league officials have been unable to hire a new leader to replace her, as her gym is sealed shut." Lucius nodded again.

"Oh, interesting." Reyna nodded. "I need to step outside for a moment, make a couple of Phone calls." Reyna spoke, standing up and stepping away from the table.

"Everything okay, babe?" Cassidy asked.

"Yeah. Just gotta make a couple calls correlating to our work here." Reyna nodded, reassuring her girlfriend before she headed outside.

"So. What's with the arm?" Alexis asked, finally deciding to speak up a little. She gestured vaguely to Cassidy's metal arm, before going back to poke at her food.

"Lost my arm in a fight back home. Reyna built this one for me, when she found me bleeding." Cassidy chuckled lightly, adjusting her hoodie. "What sparked the question?"

"It just looks out of place, with the rest of your attire." Hera elaborated, since Alexis had her mouth full.

"Ah, yeah. Had to unscrew it to get through the metal detector to board the boat to get here. That was not a fun experience." Cassidy admitted.

"Yeah, I imagine so." Lucius nodded. "Anyone wanna battle? Just all friendly like?" The teen asked, cleaning up the wrappers from all of their food. "We've still got time to kill."

"Yeah, sure. I'm down." Cassidy spoke, standing up, and collecting her and Reyna's drinks. "I'll meet y'all outside." She spoke as she slipped out.

"So. Those two are eccentric, to say the least." Hera noted as she laughed a little. "You can go battle Cassidy. Think I'm gonna hit the mall with Alexis, if she wants to come along." Hera spoke, as she stood up, finishing her shake.

Alexis nodded, re-wrapping the rest of her burger she still had and stuffing it in her pocket. "I figure we'll meet back up in an hour or two?" Alexis asked, remaining soft-spoken.

Hera nodded. "Here's my number Lucius, in case you need to contact us before we meet at gran's." She spoke, writing her phone number down on the wrapped and passing it to him.

The trio separated on their own paths, to do their own thing for a little while.

Following Alexis and Hera for the next little while. Lucius will pop back in later.

"So, uh. You've been pretty quiet, Alexis." Hera spoke, slipping her hands into her pockets. "Something on your mind?" She asked.

"No, everything's fine. I'm just... I don't know. It feels weird, not being able to remember things. The food was fine, If that's what you're wondering." Alexis spoke, kicking a couple rocks.

"Alright. If you need to talk to someone, you can. Y'know that, right?" Hera spoke, nodding slightly to Alexis. "Also. Is there anything you want, while we're shopping?"

"A cellphone would be nice. I didn't have one, when I woke up in that room." Alexis spoke quietly.

"Alright. Yeah, we can look at those. You can't get most places without one." Hera smiled a bit.

Alexis nodded. "I figured. I've been observing everyone, and it seems like theyve become an intricate part of everyone's lives." She spoke, looking up at her friend.

"Yeah, it's interesting." She spoke, as they walked into the Mall. "Here we are. The Nightvale Mall. I used to come here a lot. Stopped when my friends moved away." Hera shrugged. "I'm thinking we should get you a couple more outfits, because as nice as your current outfit is, it's kind of out of place seeming." Hera explained.

"Yeah. That'll be fine. I'm keeping this jacket though, to go with any outfits we get." Alexis spoke.

"Yeah. The Jacket's fine." Hera spoke, as she and Alexis walked. "Anywhere you wanna go first?" She asked.

Alexis nodded. "Uh... hm. We could go look at the books first. I think having some reading material would be nice." She spoke.

Hera nodded. "Then off to the bookshop it is." She spoke, as she helped Alexis Navigate to the bookstore on the second floor.

The two girls walked into the Bookstore, which was Relatively empty, outside of a cashier and a couple of elderly people sitting down somewhere near the back, in a couple or chairs. "Get whatever strikes your fancy. We've got a budget about Nineteen thousand, to spend here at the mall." Hera spoke.

Alexis nodded. She really didn't have any idea where to start. After all, she didn't even know if she had a favorite genre. After about fifteen minutes of wandering the store, Alexis had picked up a few mystery novels that caught her eye. "Hey Hera. Found a few books that looked interesting."

"Oh?" Hera asked, walking over to Alexis, to see what Alexis had found.

"Yeah. Just a few mystery novels that caught my attention." Alexis spoke. "Think we should probably get the phone next, then save the outfit shopping for last." Alexis nodded as she and Hera went up to the register to pay for the books she picked out.

"Sounds good to me." Hera spoke, keeping her hands in her pockets as the cashier scanned the books, taking out her wallet when it was time.

After Hera paid for the books, Alexis took the bag that the books were put in, and held it in her left hand as the two girls walked out, and headed for the next shop.

After a while of the two shopping, Hera's phone buzzed, with a text from Lucius, asking where the two were.

Hera shot him a text back, stating that they were leaving the mall right as he texted, and were on their way.

The two girls walked through Nightvale city, eventually arriving at a house, with lucius standing outside, and Cassidy having a smoke nearby. "Hey kiddos. Lucius wanted me to come with him after the battles, as he had questions. Now that you two are here, ima dip out. Maybe we'll run into each other some other time." Cassidy spoke, not giving the two time to answer, as she left.

"...that was weird." Hera spoke. "Oh well. She's probably right, that we'll run into her and her girlfriend again." She shrugged, as she walked up the steps to the front door, and unlocked it. "Gran! I'm home!" She called.

"Hey Hera, welcome home!" Hera's grandma called back from the kitchen. "Are your friends with you?" She asked.

"Yeah! Lucius, Alexis. You two, come on in." Hera gestured.

Alexis was the last to enter, and closed the door behind her. "Thank you for having us, I think." She spoke, nodding gently.

"Mhm! I figured I should feed you three before you go off on an adventure around the Islands." Gran spoke, as she was chopping onions.

"Thanks, really." Lucius spoke, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm making sausage and mac and cheese, with sauteed onions." Her grandmother nodded. "Do any of you wanna help?" She asked.

"Yeah." Alexis spoke. "I may not be of much help, though." She spoke, putting her bags down, and heading to the kitchen.

TBC in another post, because tumblr decided it was too long.

[abiik]

i am the most curious about your owl oc 👀 i would love to hear any thoughts you have on her! her personality, moral alignment(s), presence, relationship (in general or specific, or both!) with other ocs, goals, whatever you got i love her already *keeses her* *keeses u* ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

MYNA!!! SHE CUPS UR CHEEKS & KEESES U RIGHT BACK JO AAAAA

some notes on myna:

while i've mainly based her design of off owls, i have speckled in other birds. for example, her name comes from the myna(h) which is part of the starling family (sturnidae) & i've taken inspiration from the shrike, peppering in their hunting style as a way that she fights as well. another thing i've taken from the shrike is the nickname "butcher" :)

myna was a mom! i have Not decided how many children she had but i DO know she has a picture of her family on her in a locket that she keeps tucked close to her. not even sneaky lil toof can get their hands on it. myna was a great mom! a fun mom, really, who loved indulging her kids. she was/is very community oriented and spent a lot of time tending to that, and she very much enjoyed it. so, in losing that, it was a big blow.

myna learned the tricks she uses now before she became a mother, & attempted to teach them to her children in tiny bits before they were killed. she didn't ever think that they would need to use them, but she thought it would be better if they would know how to protect themselves if it came down to it. BUT um. well. you know...

of the three, myna is def a shit-stirrer. while toof is The lil shit and undead oc is stuck being the brunt of everyone's jokes, myna is the one quietly laughing to herself as toof and undead oc are at each other's throats yet again about something she caused. i'd say she's the type of person who tosses a piece of meat between two starving animals & watches as they tear eachother apart to get at it, if that makes sense.

cont off of this, myna is kind of the one pressing them forward. toof is the go-getter, if there is a reward; undead oc will follow myna bc he believes he's doing something right, he's helping someone, repenting almost, yeah. myna's like the captain of their lil group, in a way, and she's puppeteering it from a perch above them. as toof charges in and undead oc sets up barriers, myna's spearheading the movement, she's the one, essentially, looking at the whole playing field, she's looking at everyone else's weaknesses & strengths & her own team's weaknesses & strengths & she's setting up every little piece so that she & her team end up on top; so that the others play right into where she can swoop in and snap their necks w her talons.

myna likes to see the big picture, she LOVES having all of the information. it's just... how it is with her, and working in a group where one would very much rather EAT the person they're trying to get info from bc it's taking too long and another who would very much rather not waste their time or exert energy SPEAKING to someone who's in rags, it's kind of DIFFICULT. (this doesnt go to say that toof isnt good w speaking to ppl - they r VERY good at it; they're just. impatient)

rn im playing w having her be something akin to rogue/bard for like. an actual specialization, if anything, bc i think that fits best for her. she's less inclined to be an Actual singer, but a storyteller of sorts. im still playing w this.

myna's goals rn are to get revenge on the ppl who decimated her village & killed her family, and in doing so, she manages to recruit toof & undead oc to help her with her goal. however, these two have No Clue that this is their end goal atm. other goals include: figuring out what to cook for a party that consists of a cannibalistic monster companion & a skeleton possessed by a demon that appeases Everyone.

OH relationships!!! myna had a very good, strong relationship with her husband. they were like. super gross and domestic and sweet. he was the epitome of big dumb bi himbo husband who loves his strong bi wife who could kick his ass & def did at one point. he was prob like, a farmboy with a huge bright smile who hauled sheep around, one in each arms, like, the whole shebang, the LOVE OF HER LIFE!!!!! myna LOVES this man, LOVES HIMMM !!!!! & when he died, it was. it was Horrible. myna had to bury him & her children & her entire village, what was left of it, all alone and injured and enraged.

i think i want to give myna sisters. check back in later :)

NOW TO THE GOOD PART!!!!

toof & horny boy!!!!

oh gosh where to start w these two??? i think they all meet w/in v quick succession of each other bc the idea of toof & myna meeting each other & travelling alone for a while together w/out horny boy as a buffer is.... one of them would end up dead. (i am imagining myna & toof just staring each other down on other sides of the fire, myna eating a pomegranate and toof licking their teeth under their veil, both just waiting for the other to lunge) so um yeah, they all meet like. kind of w/in the same day. SURPRISINGLY, myna and toof meet first. but they don't end up travelling together. toof is actually marinating ppl at the time in order to eat them. i havent decided if these ppl r ppl involved w the ppl who killed myna's family, but... probably. so, right off the bat, myna and toof? not friendly.

at this point, horny boy is dead ass asleep, living in his own mental torment w himself (his pride demon) where he was 'buried.' funnily enough, even after all of the false prophet & burning him at the stake shit, ppl STILL spread rumors that he was some sort of old god that will save/end the world & myna & toof get wrapped into the group that toof is marinating & she's trying to kill trying to open horny boy's tomb to release him. unfortunately for toof & fortunately for myna, horny boy ends up killing the group for waking him up & a lovely lil tussle where toof INSISTS horny boy pay them back for the MONTHS of work & myna's logical talk down w a crossbow & a knife to toof's head & neck later, they're all working together!!!!

myna allows horny boy to think that this journey is some way for him to repent or whatever. see, the thing is, she tells them what she plans to do - go kill these ppl - but she never tells them Why & she, technically, lies by omission tons & tons about the whole journey by allowing them (mostly horny boy) to come to conclusions themselves. she just doesnt correct them. believe what you will, she shrugs, as long as you'll help me, as long as you won't stop me.

myna and horny boy are on pretty good terms at first. like good associates. they get stuff done. there are some times where horny boy is a little like ...um myna? & she's like what? & he's like u literally just hung a man from a crossbow bolt. & she's like and? u just sliced a man in half w a shard of ice, i dont think we have time to be getting questionable about how we kill these ppl. they're bad ppl.

they're pretty friendly & i think horny boy does kind of get infatuated w her before she does with him. she has sort of a one track mind, and that's to find the people who killed her family, you know. they do have their fun friendly like flirty moments u know, where it SEEMS like myna may acknowledge that horny boy likes her, but then it drops off & they're all like... ? although, if i had to use a word for these two it would be... tender. i will not elaborate. thatse it.

then there's toof. toof who is much more fiery & fierce and OUT THERE. myna and toof have a sharp relationship right away. first myna thinks they're with the ppl she wants to kill, then they join her lil group just to be able to get paid back for missing out on all of that FOOD they were working so hard for (even if going & finding a whole new group would have done them a lot better), then they're constantly picking at horny boy & trying to needle myna, like they're just CONSTANTLY antagonistic and she's like this Pain in the aSS. but then toof is a WONDERFUL goddamn ally. they're GREAT at getting info, they're a perfect heavy hitter, they're so good at diversions like myna is DROOLING at how they add to their tactics, her eyes have dilated to the size of dinner plates & they are so PLIANT when she uses the right sort of incentive.

basically, myna gets VERY attached to toof as a companion bc of what they offer to the group and toof accidentally gets attached to the One fleshy thing that they Absolutely CanNot Eat. like they just. accidentally become closer and closer and myna, who kind of craves companionship, especially after losing her community & her family & EVERYTHING, is finding it in these two unexpectedly. like. i. hm.

it's still all very much in production but. at this point. i think.... this is all i can think of !! <333 thank u for allowing me to ramble about her *keeses u* ily so muchhh

[sibyl-of-space]

havent angsty long-posted on here in a while lol it’s like i am in 3rd year of college all over again

Well, no thanks to fast and reliable testing, I am at least fairly sure I actually do have Covid. I still haven’t gotten my test results and it’s been a week, but I have a headache typing this because I over exerted myself by performing the highly taxing tasks of... taking a shower, cooking something, and sitting upright instead of lying in bed (as I have been largely doing for the last 2 weeks). So at the very least I’ve been able to communicate with my workplace and am now at an understanding that I should just take this week off too because if sitting upright for extended periods of time makes it hard to breathe, that is perhaps, slightly concerning.

So instead my anxieties now are about the fact that literally contracting Covid was actually in the long run beneficial for my mental health because I’ve been able to just... rest, and play some video games, and rest some more, and sleep, and edit photos, and watch other people play video games. I’ve gotten to just. Relax. I haven’t had the chance to relax since before the pandemic started, because I work at a nonprofit that helps homeless people and that shit doesn’t stop being necessary in a crisis. And it’s compounded by the fact that I work in IT and we had to basically throw together enough band-aid and duct tape solutions to get everyone set up to work remotely, which was hard as fuck to do, and now we are still going in part of the week to help serve meals shifts because we don’t have any volunteers.

(That is like 90% definitely how I contracted it, a few weeks ago I worked a meals shift with someone who was not-so-subtly coughing into his mask next to me and it was not the phlegm-y cough but the ‘ah i am just clearing the old airways’ cough. Why are you working a meals shift to serve the homeless if you have symptoms OH MY GOD. Anyway.)

My workplace is not organized in the best of times, which made it interesting but lively and was largely endearing even if it was somewhat frustrating. But now, it is just driving me up the wall. I have felt at the end of my rope mentally for about 2 straight months with no end in sight. And now the more literature that comes out indicates it could be YEARS before the USA is able to approach anything resembling normal because of this, and I do not think I am mentally capable of handling this kind of environment for that long.

My team is GREAT. I love them. This organization put out the only legitimate IT starting position that did not require 3-5 years of previous experience, paid me MORE than a fair starting wage, and is just all around great at treating me like a person and I’ve learned so much from them. I am so thankful. But the organization as a whole is managed like, well, basically a shit show that makes me honestly miss the well-oiled shitty corporate bureaucracy that was my first job out of college. I’ve been considering applying elsewhere for ages now, but... well first of all I feel like I need to at least have worked a full year here before moving on (it’s been about 7 months presently) for it to count for anything, and also, well it has been very nice actually being treated like a person in a 9-to-5:30 office position and I don’t know how much I’ll be seeing that if I sell out and work for some tech startup or whatever the hell.

Up until now I have had a sort of... promise I’ve kept to myself, where if I am not fulfilled and start to actively dislike and resent my job when I wake up for it in the morning, that I will move on from that job. I have held on to that. My first job out of college was an excellent source of stability for me as a recent college grad, but when it reached a point it was stressing me more than it was supporting me, I moved on. I then worked minimum wage (note: minimum wage was $15/hr at this point so my income was only actually decreasing by $4/hour because administrative assistants do not get paid what they are worth. Now bay area cost of living is fucking stupid, but minimum wage in this circumstance was actually livable for me with the bonus of having my parents’ health insurance.) at a fabric store - I stayed there for 2 years, longer than I’ve ever held a position, and while partly I left because I had more or less finished learning what I had hoped to learn from my coworkers, the store was transforming away from that kind of community DIY vibe it started out as and turned into a kind of etsy wine mom vibe that didn’t click with me as much anymore, and also I was turning 26 and would lose my health insurance through my parents.

So I took the next several months taking my first real break from constant responsibilities/employment since pretty much ever, focused on speedrunning Tales of Symphonia and eventually started studying for a baseline IT certification so I could try and get a job that was more appealing to me than administrative bullshit, which I hated so much. My closest friends I made in my first corporate job out of college were people in QA and IT, so I decided to try and make that a reality. I studied my ass off for a couple solid months, took both tests for the A+ certification, passed, and started applying to jobs. And now here we are.

My frustration stems from the fact that I want to continue working with the people who took a chance on me when I was very green and had no experience, just 2 tests under my belt and a willingness to learn. I really do want to continue learning and growing here. But the environment, through no fault of anyone’s, has been just grating on me. I honestly believe that if I quit they would all completely understand, but I don’t WANT to - I want to stick it out, partly out of pride (this organization has such high turnover, I have already outlasted over half of the new users I’ve onboarded.....), partly to repay the team that has invested in me and treated me like a human being, and partly because I know more experience is necessary if I want to land another job anywhere else.

But boy, am I drained. I was literally hoping I had Covid because it meant I could get 2 weeks off work. And here I am, finally got Covid, am taking 2 weeks off work, and yet I still feel bad about it because a damn test hasn’t come back making me feel validated about it and I’ve still partially convinced myself I’m being a drama queen.

And this break from work is just making me dread the prospect of YEARS of this kind of uncertainty. It’s been so nice just kind of being able to do things at my pace, but it took me actually contracting The Plague to actually get this kind of relief.

Anyway, a few bright sides... first, my tortoise is adorable and doing great, so there is that. (Just looked over and saw her doing something cute. I love her.) Second, I will continue to rest this full week, and next week there is a good chance I will feel more empowered to tackle a workday with the perspective of fresh challenges as opposed to just some monotonous daily grind, after having this time off. Third, if I continue to feel nothing but dread and frustration regarding work, I think I should stick to that promise to myself and give a deadline to when it’s time to start looking elsewhere and move on, because no organization is worth my mental well-being. And lastly, I’ve re-visited OoT for the first time in a really long time (handhelds are about all I can do at the moment), and that was really special.

I’m still fucking pissed that there is pretty much no chance I’ll be able to go to France this Christmas with my roommate and girlfriend. I was so excited to have a paycheck where I could afford to do something not just for myself but for the people closest to me, I routed our flights so we had layovers that would let us connect on the main flight together and paid extra so we could sit together, I was SO excited about this because I spent almost EVERY Christmas in France as a kid because of my family and I miss it SO MUCH, I was so so so excited to share these intimate memories with people I really care about, but the USA is a fucking dumpster fire shit show so who knows when I’ll be able to actually do that now. I haven’t cancelled the flights yet but I’m coming to terms with the fact I’m going to have to do so. Hopefully I can get a refund and we will just have to go next Christmas, but I’m still really fucking upset.

Not even going to comment on how much of a shit show the USA is in general. I feel completely helpless. Another 4 years of Trump is literally a catastrophe we can NOT permit but the current DNC platform looks like it is going to fix about, oh, FUCK ALL, so at this point it feels like there is no hope unless we literally start busting out the guillotines. Every time I see an Elon Musk fanboy on Twitter some of my remaining faith in humanity crumbles. Then I think about how people have been protesting EVERY SINGLE DAY for the right of Black people to LIVE and NOTHING is being done about it. It’s both exhausting and terrifying.

In conclusion, I would like to stop living through a major historical event, please and thank you.

[rogueshipagogo]

ppl have been asking me my opinions on space channel 5 vr... and i guess since i bought a vr headset off craigslist just so i could play it and speedrun it before work the day it came out... i should talk abt it now... i dont rly think i’ll be able to separate it into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ things i think i’m just going to do a rambly stream of consciousness bc i have a headache... but i DO have good things to say abt this game... so st.... sta stay t tune  d

right off the bat, the thing i appreciate most abt this game- i like that space channel 5 vr doesnt have cash grab vibes. i Do genuinely believe that they Wanted to make this game For the people who are still obsessed with it, and that they ultimately did what they set out to do when they intended to scale certain aspects of the series up conceptually to match the way the fandom perceives it nowadays. but like i’ve said before... i’m not going to Disagree with the very common conclusion that it Needed to be longer, or at Least more intricate plot-wise. one of my fun and fresh excuses for sc5vr being as short as it is is because you arent really supposed to be playing vr games for too long anyways, its really disorienting and kinda painful, but even that doesn’t account for why so much of the game that we got is a rehash of old settings, concepts, songs, and characters. [i dont even have a problem with reusing old songs, i just think the ones they chose ended up being misleading]

for example i think it makes sense that the first report is a remake of the first games first report on the surface, it’s meant to take you back to the way the first game felt and give you an idea of what it means that the games classic scenery can be rendered in actual high quality detail now [same with the recurrence of events like encountering the space pirates in the asteroid belt/the last battle against a villain being singing to it about what it’s done wrong], but i really thought, like, report 1 was going to end up being a simulated scenario for the benefit of lou and kee’s training... which i dont think ended up being the case??? i think they really did write ‘ok here you are in the first game’s setting again, fighting the old enemies again, because... :^) ok have fun playing report 2!’

and then whats report 2... you fight another old boss from the first game... but theres Still no clear villain or motivation for anything thats happening... and there wont be until like... basically the end of the game...

like, glitter is a really cute character, but its kind of underwhelming that shes just a random citizen who was kidnapped by an entity that we NEVER LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT... like part 1 was extremely notable for being about corporate greed and corruption, part 2 honestly wasnt that political in comparison but at least made you do a think wrt purge’s motivation and his methods, and this game just has a plot device that feels like it’ll do smth but then ends up not doing anything beyond what we already learned about it from the information on its character bio before the game was out. if it turns out that cell x is actually relevant again in a future entry in the franchise and they do have a more developed concept for what cell x Is in mind, i’ll do an entire backflip, but for now its just chalked up to being the result of More Space Hijinks that dont need to be explained

ESPECIALLY WITH ALL OF THE ALLUSIONS TO CELL X BEING AN ENTITY THAT FEEDS OFF OF DANCE ENERGY... it had me thinking that there would have to be some New Method of fighting it off that didn’t just lend it more power in the process, but nah apparently just tacking on the disclaimer ‘*this dance energy is not for glitter’ is enough to turn it from smth it can consume for power into big attacks you can use to kill it... like honestly it sounds like im asking for a lot from a game that has Never made too much sense, but considering that in part 2 they could add details like ‘oh didnt you know purge can open pocket dimensions? ulala is capable of manifesting tangible dance energy and the only other person who can do that is purge???’, its not like they havent come up with weird new shit for dance energy to do within the plot before. they just didnt do it in this game fsr

like did anyone else think that cell x/glitter was going to be the result of tossing purge out into deep space and him encountering the sc5 universe’s equivalent of an eldritch alien creature, smth more bestial than morolians?? even if purge wasnt part of it, when you say ‘uh oh, this guy Eats this society’s only source of energy!!!’ i expect the stakes to get HIGH, and i want the ramifications of it to be kinda STARTLING, because blank wanted money and purge wanted to ritualistically end the world but something this near to an ecological disaster that would force an entire paradigm shift hasn’t occurred yet in the series?? its totally new!!! there’s a lot they could do with this but OH DONT WORRY ABOUT IT EVERYONE ulala knows how to make dance energy kill cell x instead of feed it she’s got this we’re good no need to investigate more into all that

i can’t explain why the game is like this. and i dont expect grounding to address it in any meaningful way either. i’m sure they’re Aware of these complaints by now- the game reviewing community has Not been kind to sc5vr specifically due to all of these shortcomings [i didnt even touch on the issues with motion sensing and how many of the games mechanics were removed in favor of smth presumably easier to program yet much less satisfying, like Secret Moves just being mini quicktime events and Turning Your Ratings Into Stars just being replaced with the standard Three Strikes You’re Out method of scoring], but the pr team still seems very enthusiastic abt the game and is still promising dlc and potentially even more games in the series after this one- heres hoping that they’ll at least take these grievances to heart and consider making the experience not only more accessible [aka it will... go back to being a rhythm game with controller input.... and not... an exclusive vr experience...], but also as immersive and detailed as the old games, with less reused plot beats. i can let some of it off the hook in this game simply because i’m aware that it began its life as a tech demo that was only supposed to be that initial first report from the first game But Happening All Around You!, but i Really dont think they could get away with doing this little to expand upon the groundwork set by the first two games again. not with the way people remember part 2 being such a vast upgrade from part 1... the bar had been set so high that this just felt like a huge backslide into something even sillier and harder to take seriously than part 1 before we had any idea what kind of staying power the franchise would have as a hallmark of sega’s quirky antics. like... this game is what i think space channel 5 looks like to people who don’t understand the appeal of the first two games. and that scares me

but i guess for the most part, aside from wishing they had done more to revitalize the setting and the lore of the sc5 universe itself, im kind of glad it didnt do a lot to change the existing storylines the characters have kinda forged for themselves- here i was stressing out that they would pull out some plot development that would utterly and drastically change the way we talked abt the series for the rest of time, but so little happened and so little was added to the bank of sc5 lore that we can kind of all just carry on as usual and keep having the same headcanons we always had.

BUT!!! there ARE a lot of cute little details here and there that make the experience feel wholesome and like i said not an utter cashgrab- like so many of the character profiles referencing previous games [all of the references to npcs in this game being relatives of the npcs of the last games made me lose it] and how often ulala changes her expressions up and looks right at you and talks to you. the new music they wrote for the game also all slaps and everyones redesigns [if they got a redesign... rip pudding] are stunning

one of the most important things they did in this game was give a nice sort of Update to every character.... for example explaining that ulala isn’t a rookie reporter any more like she was in the first 2 games, that she’s moved up to being in charge of training new channel 5 reporters, and that while pudding is still somewhat stuck on her rivalry with ulala her career isn’t stagnant either, she was just cast in a romcom series as the lead... which is really nice considering how in the past she was portrayed as somewhat of a loser with almost no remaining fans left from her idol years

and you knew i was going to bring up jaguar at some point HES ALL OVER THIS GAME AND IT LITERALLY MADE ME FEEL LIKE MY LIFE WAS WORTH POWERING THROUGH THESE LAST FEW YEARS AND ALSO LIKE IM A GENIUS FOR SPENDING SO LONG POSTING EVERY SINGLE DAY ‘NO REALLY, HE’S THE SECONDARY PROTAGONIST OF THE STORY, ITS ABOUT CHANNEL 5 AS A COMPANY AND THEIR IMPACT ON EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER ENCOUNTERED THEM AND THAT INCLUDES JAGUAR AS WELL AS ULALA HES INTEGRAL TO THE PLOT BC SHE WOULDNT BE ALIVE IF IT WEREN’T FOR HIM’ i feel like it’s really incredible how in this game he has genuinely nice energy and doesnt withhold praise from ulala just to be helpful in a mysterious way later and he like HAS FRIENDS now. like consider how he went from disgraced former ch5 employee who got mad every time he saw them, to kidnapped robot henchman kinda humbled by the fact that now the turns tabled and ulala had to rescue Him, and now 3 years later his bio is all about how he has a new tv show thats super popular and he has a new entourage of ladies who he considers his '’’’’’comrades’’’’’’’ within the station he founded??? AND AFTER 20 YEARS THEY WERE FINALLY ABLE TO GIVE HIS MODEL JUICY ASS CHEEKS??????????????? NO MORE PANCAKE BOOTY???? THE BOY HAD A GLOWUP AND NO I WONT STOP TALKING ABOUT IT

WHEN I SAY MEOW MATCH THE POSE MOTHERFUCKERS THIS BLONDE BASTARD GETS TO BE IN CHARGE OF THE HUNDRED STAGE BATTLE NOW TOO THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE SPACE PIRATES BAYBEE

[tfw-no-tennis]

continuted hxh thotz

we watched more so i continue my ramblings 

so we finished the trick tower stuff and started on the stuff on the island where theyre all hunting each other....wow finally some hunting in hunter x hunter 

can i just say....fuck hisoka i hate that guyyyy oh my goddddd hes the worst. i just feel incandescent rage whenever hes on screen vhbjdshfjhbsd smarmy horny clown bitch. looooord. he invokes a similar emotion to part 1 dio tbh....like i lose my domestication when i see both those bitches 

oh god that part where hisoka had just spent like hours de-hornifying himself or w/e and he looks all crusty and dehydrated and then he spots that old guy who looks kinda ghibli and he just goes AFTER ghibli man....like hisoka literally had one of those wack ass super detailed faces and just started screaming and running at that guy...like man i wouldve died instantly on the spot. jesus 

gon remains best best perfect baby boy. every time he does something so cute and pure that my heart starts palpating, i get even more nervous for the shit hes gonna go thru someday 

gon and killua are literally soooo precious theyre just two lil boys!!! two lads!!! lad boys! augh i love how much theyre vibing all the time...like on the boat to the island when theyre like refusing to tell each other who their target is and then they both start laughing and then show each other....so precious

honestly im really enjoying how they dont really have a rivalry (yet?) - theyre not like ‘yes we are friends but we’re also COMPETING! so we cant be That nice to each other bc that wouldnt be fair! or w/e you know that typical shounen stuff. i only enjoy that sometimes and im glad its not a thing rn, and if it does become like that later i probs wont mind bc i feel like itd be done well 

so ruth and i caught on to the fact that that weird guy with the pins stuck all over himself was illuminati or w/e his name is (illumi? illumini? i forget already) but HOLY FUCK we both thought he was wearing a mask....god i wish that were the case, that face transformation shit was the WORST. sir why can you do that 

also when hisoka just watched this and was like ‘i always like seeing you do that’ or whatever god gross nasty i hate them

my take on the little we’ve seen of hisoka and illumitations relationship: theyre like the catty mean girls-types but Super Fucking Weird. idk if theyre gay togther (probably) but theyd be the epitome of a ‘is this allowed? [gestures at All That]’ couple. i had more thoughts on them but i forgt 

i find it funny that they havent shown killua like at all during this island hunting thing hvbhsdhfbjdk he probably has like 10 randos badges already. i feel like he would give gon a badge or 2 if gon needed them but that doesnt seem to be the case 

when hisoka spotted leorio and kurapika and went after them i was like [guy yelling NOOOOOOOOOOO meme] freal 

thank goodness kurapika could recognize that they would Fucking Die trying to fight hisoka, and bargained w/him instead. also seeing the flashback of leorio trying to fight hisoka was so funny. my man WHAT! were you thinking 

this is probably the stage that tonpa is getting out on and can i just say thank god i hate that guy. good riddance 

that sniper lady looked cool and im bummed illuminty took her out offscreen :( i also thought the black guy with the beehive stick thing was gonna do more but guess not

i find it funny that so many characters have these loud character designs but end up not having a lot of screentime...i feel like ive been conditioned by one piece to see an eye-catching character and mentally prepare to see a wholeass backstory lol

also. illunikn is clearly a huge freak which is probably why hisoka is willing to work w/him, but his design is weirdly cute sometimes (when hes not doing absolutely freaky shit, which....admittedly isnt often)

like the part where he transforms into his True Cat Man Form and then, without changing expression, digs a giant hole with his bare hands (with the body language of a feral person) and then gets into it to nap.....like.....bro. 

also ik illiminini is killuas brother (i think brother?) and wow that family has some strong Cat genes 

i find it interesting that hisoka has been working with illiimini this whole time, hisoka strikes me as a solo type of guy who would be all like ‘teamwork is beneath me’ and only have minions (a la dio, espec p1 dio) but he seems to have a fairly even relationship w/illuimian which is wild. i rlly wonder if thatll last or if hisoka is gonna like, murder/abandon ilubimi later bc he ‘gets in hisokas way’ or st 

i like that kurapika and leorio teamed up....married

i generally really like how the relationships between the main characters are handled, its sweet how theyre just like....generally nice to each other and stuff lol 

also oh my god i forgot that last time i hadnt seen the end of trick tower i need to talk abt that 

KILLUA MY BOY OH MY GOD....ive been waiting for this ngl. ily smug murderous catboy

i love so much how killua casually kills this ~*~scary guy~*~ and everyones like :0 but gon is just like yep thats killua! hes from a family of assassins! like the way he says it so casually and kinda cheery aw i love him. he doesnt even care that killua can murder people in 2 seconds flat, he thinks killua is AWESOME 

and oh my god i love how hard killua is trying like, all the time. he is trying his HARDEST to be AS COOL AS POSSIBLE for gon and thats adorable. its working too gon clearly thinks killua is SUPER cool 

the eternally hilarious part where kurapika asked what killuas secret tactic are re: ripping that guys heart out, and killua is just like ‘uh i just ripped it out. yknow...as one does..’ and kurapika is like wow im glad this murder catboy is on our side.. 

the psychology stuff in the trick tower was interesting as hell (catch me brushing off my psych minor like, oh yeah i know abt this stuff lol)...i like the stuff abt leorio getting discouraged/disgruntled when the majority ended up being against him a lot bc thats true!! thats how it works!! it leads to learned helplessness and stuff like that...also that animation of kurapika and leorio playing cards to explain the tough candle choice was sooo cute 

i really loved the solution to the final majority rule things....ingeniously following the rules while still managing to circumvent them in ways...love it

also gon is so perfect have i mentioned that already

im so curious whos gonna pass the hunter exam, i legit have no idea and i would find it so funny if gon becomes a hunter in the first goddamn arc hjhbdfhsdjbgk as ruth said, itd kinda be like luffy becoming pirate king in like chapter 70

i mean tbf if i had to guess id say gon passes, simply bc i cant see the story taking the time to have him do the hunter exam again in a year. also his motivation is to become a hunter in order to see what its all about bc of his dad - not JUST to become a hunter 

gons fishing rod is so cute. perfect item for a perfect boy 

his training was adorable. hes a smart lad! formidable baby 

the blooderflies were so cool and OH MY GOD how could i forget the part where gon had two blooderflies with little leashes on and had the leashes tied to one of his fingers....OOOUGHHHHGBSJFHSJBFUHEJKSDD bro my heart literally palpated like it does when my cat does something rlly cute, gon is seriously That cute and pure and good

every time hisoka is anywhere near gon i just wanna call the FBI on that clowns ass oh y god. pls leave ladboy alone....

anyways i love the main characters (HISOKA DONT INTERACT) and i cant wait to see what happens next. i might have more thoughts but coherency is not one of my strengths so bye

[survivor-mesopotamia]

Ep. #4 - “I’m extending a bridge to you” (Zach)

There is zero upside to being captain. If captains are swapped, then I'm basically screwed, and if they pick, then I have to reveal my allegiances to people still in the game. I absolutely do not want to be captain. I'm not crazy about Zach being it either, I'd prefer it to be someone like Kyle or Grace, but if Zach is going to push for it we will see what happens

https://youtu.be/9jTSUqwcuPU Confessional 7 (Round 3 #2)

Voting out Chrissa was probably one of the hardest votes I've ever had to encountered, and it honestly really hurts. For me, voting her out was the best strategically because we talked the least. And by the time tribal started, I ended up in alliances of 3 with Will & Megan and JJ & Julian respectively. Given the ranking system, we are all expecting some sort of tribe swap, which might be best for my game so long as I have someone else on my tribe with me. However, JJ recently got into a lot of trouble. Stuff about sending nudes because he "perceived there to be consent". Yikes. Apparently other people know about it too, which makes sense because this call happened in tengaged about it. We are thinking he might be removed, but we don't know what's to happen yet. I think most of us are running under the assumption that he'd be voted out next tribal should he not be removed. It's pretty gross what he did, and I definitely won't be aligned with him any longer. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTzwD-rR8Ws&feature=youtu.be

I am happy JJ is out of the game, both because he deserves it based on his behavior and because one less number. The tribe challenge has me worried. I hope it is a challenge with Zach representing us, because he is good and it also keeps him a bigger target than me. If it's a swap, I'm very nervous and will probably have to paint myself as being on the outs if I end up in a minority, which would almost certainly happen relative to the other two tribes. No matter what, the backstabbing is probably going to start very soon, so buckle your seatbelts everyone.

Confessional 9: https://youtu.be/WhBt-uWOdEA Confessional 10: https://youtu.be/1ZbVWE-2AqM

volunteering for the summit bc im bored and wanna just be a bit risky. i feel like if a twist gets leashed upon me, it'll be surface level. Praying for the best!

Tribe Summit - https://youtu.be/46NdXf1N37U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeX4PKTjQlw&feature=youtu.be

https://youtu.be/96RCT99DDWI Confessional #8 (Round 4 Confessional #1) Contents: JJ's removal, the summit, Kyle's removal, new tribe.

Holy shit so we've had a tribe swap and two removals. Both kinda shocking and completely out of the blue what had happened. Oddly still not the craziest thing I've seen done on either end of org playing but still. So far with the new tribe I feel I got the good end of the stick with zach and Collin and myself staying together for the most part kinda wish we had all stayed together because of you know being out numbered by returning players there's the enitial Holy shit fuck I'm screwed feeling but so far the tribe seems pretty cool. Which is odd and weird from what I've heard for Tumblr games from my understanding they're the more cutthroat game but so far everything has kinda been predictable in placements just as an outsider looking in but ya know. So far I'm really enjoying Abby she seems pretty cool and like I could work with her for a while but yeah that's all for now

post swap BIG boy confessional https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyooK5AHp1Y&feature=youtu.be

https://youtu.be/6IrXzJm6qNk

---

https://youtu.be/MoJSBeUUdWQ

https://youtu.be/CSKB4qzvWU0 Group Confessional #1 Catching up on Each other's games and preparing for what the swap has in store for us

Uhm hi so a lot has happened and I'm sorry I didn't do confessionals before describing it all but yah -Not sure if I did a conf for the last round but basically the challenge was more flash games (yay fml) and my tribe flopped yet again (yay) -We decided to vote out chrissa unan but chrissa apparently voted for me so that was cute, already breaking my goal of not getting votes so early THANKS CHRISSA -Then JJ got removed from the game for sexually harassing ppl which is NOT COOl but then my tribe was down to four members and thats just sad luv -Then there was a random ass ranking for this summit thing and i was like wtf i dont know but I kinda figured id be getting voted as the team captain for my tribe which like eeeek could potentially put a target on my back but also i like these people and i think they like me so i'll just accept it -turns out the other tribe captains voted in were Johnny and Zach and I was like well thats cute tbh i think i like both of them (i have been on zoom calls in friend groups with zachary lately and although he is pretty quiet he seems like a nice person) (and i think i know johnny from a sequester mini before and hes a brother of aepi which is basically the partner fraternity to the sorority i was in called aephi and so were basically connected by greek life blood because hes a pi and im a phi and yas Jews -Okay anyway i volunteer to not be a tribe captain because 1. i didnt want the blood on my hands for picking a tribe (memories of svalbard ahhhh) and 2. i wanted to be on johnny's tribe hehehehe. so i did that and then i let johnny pick first and guess what!! he picked me first on his tribe!! even before anyone from his og tribe!! i thought that was weird but really cool -the new tribe seemed pretty cool and chill and i thought i was digging everyone BUT THEN kyle makes fucking COMMENTS ABOUT JEW STEREOTYPES and i was like SIR and i kinda missed everything in the heat of the moment but basically kyle got removed and im not surprised he did because to my knowledge, i already know of three fkn jews on our tribe (benji me and johnny) and we have a jew host so like why kyle would make comments like that is beyond me but WHY DO I KEEP GETTING PUT ON TRIBES WITH CRAZY PPL -anyway right now i adore johnny and i want to work with him i feel like he and i vibe so well together and we are already planning on making a stoner alliance with abi and jay from his OG tribe lmfaooo -i also like grace and julian on my tribe and benji so far is really cool and isabelle is a sweetheart so i really just hope we dont lose the next challenge and have to vote someone out because i like these people so far and i wanna get to know them more -this has been a really mentally difficult week both in game and in real life and im sorry i havent been doing more confessionals but ive really just needed a huge break due to everything thats been going on 

I've locked in a five person alliance with original An (Johnny Isabelle and Benji), plus Adam. Johnny I'm connected to with Trace, Isabelle and I somehow both go to Georgetown, and I like speaking with Benji. I don't know how this alliance interacts with original alliance, that's future me's problem, but I really like this group

---

If Megan “may have accidentally” found out information from the other tribe, then I “may have accidentally” decided to shift the target onto her. Somebody not purely abiding by the rules of the game is somebody I won’t completely trust

So JJ and Kyle both got removed. OOP!!! Now to figure out how messy this game is gonna be. Will Will and I be able to play middle for our first tribal and get to choose between returnees and newbies? hopefully. More on that scoop later! 

https://youtu.be/vGd9Ik49CmU Confessional #10 (Round 4 Confessional #3)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stpzz7-cKUg

Confessional 11: https://youtu.be/ad2R99H1g1k

https://youtu.be/PjodrB6CgLo

---

https://youtu.be/y0n7YKB0EF0

NOOOOOOO HOW COULD WE OF LOST we had everything planned i do feel kinda safe I've talked to abby mostly and i think i have a girls alliance in the works with her but for now being the only two female identifying people on the tribe. We have to pull in some boys but we've got our old tribe mates which lucky for me is my main alliance from that tribe not having Michael is a big yay because love him but pretty sure he was planning on flipping on us to work with some people from the an tribe but ya know it is what it is and hopefully this is the only trival Council we have to go to and hopefully from the sounds of it it's Eric going home so hopefully that's the case and i don't end up voinv home because FYCUCJUCK THAT SHIT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9YueU_paNg&feature=youtu.be

---

Of the players left on my tribe, I think Megan is the biggest threat to my game, with many cross-tribe ties. Last night, I began laying the groundwork with Johnny of eventually making her the target, without expressly stating my desire to vote her out. We'll see how this plays out, but I want Megan out first

---

From the other tribe, I badly want an original An to go. It takes away an option from the Ans on my swap tribe and locks them in more with me, while preserving my options. On the flip side, a Triforce member going is the worst case scenario for the exact same reason as above, this time benefiting original An. Original Enlil going is fairly neutral

https://youtu.be/7IpJ1SC2ah8

So we lost :( It really sucks bc i put more effort into my lip sync than I think I ever have before. And of course with losing comes tribal, the first tribal for some people on my new tribe. I don't think I've done a confessional since we swapped so I'll just run down how I feel about everyone. Monty/Abby - Just gonna bunch these two together since they were on my original tribe. While they weren't in my alliance, I bonded with them like I bonded with everyone on An. We made an alliance immediately at Ea and I feel real good about facing this swap with them. Part of me does worry they knew about that original alliance and they'll throw me under the bus though. Will - Okay so I was completely blindsided by the fact that I already knew Will before the game! We played at least 1 ORG together and I remember him a little bit from just being in the community. I feel like I've really hit it off with him again and working with him feels natural. He was the first one who threw Cameron out as a vote to me last night and a lot of people really latched onto that plan. So he's definitely charismatic and influential. Eric - I've known Eric for quite some time actually. He's someone who's very easy for me to trust. Like I really hope I'm not getting the wrong read on him but he just feels honest in our conversations. He did kinda suck in the music video challenge tho LOL so I feel like he could be in danger if we go to tribal again. Cameron - They're who I'm voting out tonight. I've had no contact with them outside of the tribe chat at all. And our interactions in the tribe chat I just feel...idk like every time I talk they give me some snide remark. Zach even told me that Cameron barely spoke to him and Collin on their original tribe. So it just feels easy, if a bit TOO easy, like I'm scared it's secretly me somehow. So I guess the upside to anxiety is you never get blindsided cuz you always think it's you. Zach - I've been talking to him more often these last few days and he is wayyy smarter than most 15 year olds I've interacted with. He knew it was Cameron immediately when I started talking to him about the vote (Though I suspect it's because Will told him). He's told me more info about his original tribe than I really thought I'd get out of him. He's basically telling me that it was Zach/Collin/Kyle vs. Cameron/The rest of the newbies. So like it makes sense that he's willing to just let Cameron go. However this situation is worrying because Zach's position is almost EXACTLY my position in a game I played very recently (703 San Andres). I've seen firsthand how a competent duo in the minority can upset the majority if just one person in that majority makes a mistake. So I'm not gonna promise Zach anything just yet, I don't want him to sell me out. But I would like to see him stick around even if we lose another time. Collin - Okay I REALLY like Collin. He's super nice, he basically compliments me every time I talk to him. Which is nice, but I know he's playing that social game. And he's playing it WELL. I think if all goes well at tribal, then I'm gonna talk to Collin about really working together going forward. Basically my overarching plan on this tribe has been to make sure that if my name comes up, there will always be someone to shut it down. And I really feel like Collin, Monty, and Eric would especially keep me safe. 

Cameron left.......it sucks, because it takes away my options, but among the Enki's it is the least bad scenario, since I was closer with Collin and Zach. I don't hold it against them for voting against Cameron, do what you gotta do, but I am nervous for them. I'm not throwing any challenges or anything, but I hope they survive, and I'm less nervous about myself losing than them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kWts3h2n9s

hi hi hi so far so good on the Ea tribe! i dont think anyone know about zach and i so we're remaining in the clear hehe (he has been a little difficult to corral tho) i feel like im making good connections so far so hopefully ill remain utr and if we go back to tribal i wont be a target, and if we dont i hope the other tribe takes out a big target for us

Have I mentioned that I love winning? It's just so great that nobody knows me and Monty are working together and we're subtly pulling the strings - Jay thinks he came up with Cameron's name, great he's the mastermind now and we can target him. Collin and Zach want to form a four with me and Eric - great, that keeps me and Monty apart so nobody will know and we can still vote separately. Eric's an easy target for everyone so we (Monty) just get the other returnees to target him (if we lose again) and then I can use that to flip Eric on Abby or Jay and it's just... so delicious. It's so easy to take everyone out one by one when nobody knows that you have a solid F2 already.

https://youtu.be/CVG2Z_-XjBM from this past round

https://youtu.be/yMGLsGhv6wc Confessional 12

https://youtu.be/ylahV3wyXrs

Cameron voted out 7-1

[mastcrplanncr-a]

issue #23 made me really heccin’ emo over eggman and sonic. i was prepared for it, but also ?? not prepared??? holy frick im just gonna ramble under the cut.

first of all, i’m just gonna’ idly ramble about some things i noticed.

Eggman, literally 11 issues ago:

he makes these off remarks and then changes his mind whenever it’s convenient for him smh. that or hes a freaking liar and. WELL THAT’S PRETTY TRUE HONESTLY.

i’ma be honest fam starline is a freaking mood rn. it’s ?? so dumb?? LIKE EGGMAN WHERE IS YOUR FUCKING FAILSAFE UR SOLUTION WAS “not touching the robots hurr durr” PL EASE.

In retrospect, though, this is an interesting parallel to Forces because he’d apparently learned from his mistakes. TBF, and it has been brought up elsewhere on tumblr, this is a man recovering from amnesia. He must’ve just not gotten to that part. OR HE’S JUST. DUMB AND ARROGANT. Like, yeah, sure, there’s no vaccine - lol the heroes can’t fix anything & it also means you’re valuable because you’re the one person who can. BUT COME ON EGGMAN.

my friend actually predicted this holy shit. i was rambling abt a discussion we had in the egg cult, where we were talking about the possibility of sonic infecting eggman to blackmail him into getting the cure because he’s reached the point?? hes so done with eggman’s shit??? all his friends are in danger and hes backed into a wall what else is he to do than do the one thing he doesn’t want to: use eggman’s tactics against him?

and my friend was like:

LIKE. IT IS A HUGE RISK, and Sonic went FOR IT. I’M SCREAMING TBH.

THIS CONFRONTATION WAS SO FUCKING RAW YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND. I thought I was ready for it but I really, REALLY wasn’t. I love the little details of Starline bein’ like: “oh fuck” - usually he’s pretty cocky around Sonic but uh. HE’S INFECTED NOW. And the zero remark - idk if that’s intentional on the writer’s part but ZERO TO HERO anyone?

anyway toxi broke down crying at this point. you have no idea how much i was sobbing over my blue son just. pouring out his heart to his nemesis. that’s top tier tearjerking material.  also starline passive aggressively readjusting his outfit lmfao. BITCH IM FABULOUS. but man the usage of ‘ BE’ and ‘LIKE’ - Sonic knows who Eggman is; he’d never ask him to be something he’s not. but it’s also a reiteration of sonic’s want to see good in him; being LIKE tinker is a statement in that he wanted eggman to be who he was, but NOT to go back. to do good for the world. have it be his own decision, because deep deep down:

isn’t that what he really wants?

Also, although there are those sickly sweet descriptions, the usage of ellipses in this narrative really fucks me up because you can practially hear the gradual realization in eggman’s voice. his mockery starts out so !!! but it just eventually gets straight to the point, as a list. as a routine. because he was used to it. and because, some part of him misses it. notice the usage of ‘need’ and ‘use’. they needed him, and yet he used the people that appreciated him sm like puppets.

some nice guilt there, huh, doc?

ALSO I SPENT LIKE, HOURS TRYING TO FIND THIS EXACT DIALOGUE, but Eggman has a conversation in Dark Brotherhood with Sonic and makes this remark:

LIKE??? this isn’t new to his character, actually? Ignoring the ken penders thing bc smh. Going by this game he’s actually kind of okay with that set up. And he just works so well with the others too??? this isn’t even taking into account the other games he’s teamed up with them. I’m sorry but my head just goes back to this line so many times; it’s one of the ones that stick with me, along with ‘complicated guy’ from lost world. HE COULD!! legitimately do good. and he actually doesn’t find it too bad??? IM EMO MAN...

and IMAGINE making super cool things that people genuinely like... eggman has a HUGE ego, that much is very apparent; he’s super big on appreciation as comes with. and with tinker? he had that - he felt appreciated and loved. people LIKED what he made, and he didn’t have to bend over backwards to have that. his work felt included and he didn’t have to take that appreciation by force like he did with his lackeys (which half the time was fake anyway) .

first and foremost - WE SEE THAT OPEN YOUR HEART REFERENCE, IDW. also sonic’s frustration here, in comparison to the lil smile the panel before - he’s just!! “WHY CANT YOU WAKE THE FRICK UP OLD MAN”. the justification here seems a tad bit like DENIAL to me. and the justification seems... kind of odd from him? since when does EGGMAN justify anything he does? He does what he wants and when he wants, because he’s the E.G.G.M.A.N. he doesn’t care what anyone thinks... right?

it’s because - especially with the usage of better - he didn’t like where that train of thought was going. for once, he’s justifying himself - because the alternative is admitting sonic is right. that he did like that life. that he’d want to go back. throw it in a hierachy and it’s all so simple, right?

also the inclusion of open your heart lyrics here. the incident with chaos was just as catastrophic. and these lyrics in context of the previous panel, highlights how sonic and eggman both seek unity and peace but in their own ways; eggman’s is just evil. it seems a little bit of a diversion to me - to antagonise sonic and make him forget about it. what better way to do that than to relate to him? ‘own styles that we won’t change’ highlights a stubbornness in ways, too, especially with the current context of eggman denying his old life. ALSO IT IS LITERALLY TELLING EGGMAN TO OPEN HIS HEART.

and ngl this seems like idle banter to hide the fact he genuinely felt remorse for his actions for a second. because lbr he has a habit of being all talk when a plan goes wrong or suffering inside,

which starline does quite pointedly explain.

As I was saying above, Sonic has no choice in what to do now - he’s reaching his limit. OR ELSE. hes pondering doing the thing he doesnt want to do. and honestly, ‘you can’t stop me. no one can,’ is so hardhitting not just because of its looming threat, but because of how much it solidifies for sonic that he can’t take the chance anymore. if anyone is going to change eggman, it has to be himself.

also can i just cry over how much sonic trusts tails. im getting sa2 flashbacks.

also man i’d like to point out the specific use of ‘lock you away forever’. it coooould be a reference to sonic’s time imprisoned during the events of sonic forces. bitterness?

NOT SAYING I CALLED IT, BUT I CALLED IT. it still hurts though. and wow, it really is horrifying when eggman fears his own heccin’ creation, huh?

i live for sonic being passive aggressive with eggman. give me more please.

im immensely concerned the direction starline is going, honestly. but it does say a lot about eggman; how he’ll keep trying the same things expecting different results, but failing and never seeing that. because he’s EGGMAN; every plan is brilliant by default!

i love how sonic just !!! SHOT... THE MOMENT HE WAS REMINDED WHAT WAS AT STAKE. son i love you so much you’re doing great sweetie

also, man, can we talk about eggman avoiding his blatant faults, and shoving his failures onto someone else? because this little scene here - eggman ur literally the one who crashed the thing. it had absolutely nothing to do with sonic. i feel as though this is symbolism of his self-destructive nature, honestly. hes always gotta make things harder for himself. (also starline’s face is killing me)

Eggman does what he has to, but technology won’t work every time you kick it. he thinks he can get everything through force but we have several instances in idw where force did NOT work out; you’re not gonna get far, egghead.

MHM, and just who does that sound like, Eggman? honestly the mirrors between these two are seriously destroying me. although sonic is in a horrible position, so is eggman; he likes to think he’s won the war, but hes surpassed his own expectations, and that’s going to backfire on him eventually. hes stubborn to admit he has NO REIGN over this and they’re all doomed, so he’s pinning his failures / loss on Sonic.

is that the amnesia kicking ya in the shin, eggman? or sonic’s reality check? either way, the doc hates emotions. dammit man why you gotta make him emo

future eggman is going to kick past eggman in the kneecaps. it’s times like this ur reminded how much of a kid he is. eugh but that’s work i want my victory and senseless destruction now. honestly if the doc is after success, he is certainly not getting it this way and I AM FEARING FOR EVERYONE’S LIVES. he’ll probably have to work with what’s left of the resistance like the back end of most games at some point.

I’m getting a little burnt out but i can’t forget my son and how much he hurts me.

first of all that third panel terrifies me. the fact it GOT that far does me great concern. the RED EYES? that’s pushing it fam i dont like that. the expressions are also just freaking destroying me; they’ve been PERFECT this issue. and the fact sonic is at his weakest when he feels like he’s failed everyone hurts me deeply. he has SO much on his shoulders and its getting too overwhelming for him.

also man... the whole thing with eggman... just stuff me man. but it hurts all the more because it’s so glaringly clear that there is?? some good in eggman??? he just. doesn’t want to admit it. and unfortunately these aren’t good circumstances to debate on that.

ANYWAY, THAT ISSUE WAS AGONY AND IM STILL REELING AND HAVENT EVEN. TALKED ALL THAT MUCH ABOUT SONIC HERE (on account of this being eggman’s blog) but idk if i’ll write anything on that.

gonna go cry about an egg now brb