#you can play this game where you can guess which one(s) of the various Saints is my favourite(s) by the way I drew them 💖

[doodlingwren]

end of year WIP meme!

send me a 👀 and i’ll post a snippet of art/writing that i never got around to finishing this year (r.i.p)

SO! There's this one WIP: at the beginning of this year I got into trying to draw every single character from StS and ended up finishing a reference with the Bronze Saints + Gold Saints from the Classical series, although I had already sketched this one snippet with the GS from Next Dimension + Odysseus

Izo was the only one inked bc I was testing a brush for the lineart... which sadly I didn't like 〒▽〒

Even if some of these portraits are too old (I've changed the way I draw some of them) I still want to have this piece complete... maybe in 2025...?

[vigilskeep]

i have never thought of the bg3 paths as railroaded before but oh my god... i see your vision. i think that, for all that can be picked apart in the writing of dragon age, the worldbuilding in that series is so so interested in complicating all factions that you can envision a character who /makes sense/ while bouncing through various ideologies. and the sort of fantasy writing in (most of) the forgotten realms doesn't really allow for that.

dao is particularly the light of my life because the origins mechanic is specifically intended to let you create a character who has a distinctive perspective on the world that’s grounded in the worldbuilding. one of my favourite aspects of this is several origins having completely different codex entries on their own culture as opposed to those an outsider would get. it’s really good! it’s also a reasonably grounded world (while obviously silly) because, like, the basic fundamental premise of thedas, from which they ikea flatpack built almost every feature, is “how would people react to magical and fantastical diversity? the same way they react to human diversity.” you’re meant to feel like, aside from i guess the darkspawn, people are normal and have real motivations. sure it has to fulfil certain roles in a story, and dragon age was manufactured too quickly and purposefully for everything to land feeling authentic, but evil in dragon age should feel recognisable. and in most of the origins they give you a chance to do something that is bad, but also totally makes sense, because of the context of your character belonging to this world where these things happen

in dnd/the forgotten realms it’s a bit different because capital e Evil exists, so there are people and deities and devils (and, to open another can of worms, races) whose entire goal is to Do Evil. it’s also harder to produce grounded evil because in a world where i’m being given basically no context and just told to make whatever i want, i don’t have an inch of the kind of social information i get from for example a dao origin: what my character has been taught to believe they should do to survive, who they are willing to sacrifice, whatever. bg3 also happens to have a main plot goal that is, at least for the first part of the game, broadly selfish (“i am sick, and i need a cure”) which works really well for getting a bunch of people with vastly differing moral standards to band together for the same goal, and not so good for any kind of “greater good” type blurred morality, so that’s out too

however much the worldbuilding factors into this, bg3 specifically went for quite a clear distinction between the good path and the capital e Evil Path, and i find it pretty hard to vary up the good path. when i say railroaded i mean you either do the specific thing that gets you a quest down the line or not. i was really disappointed actually in my playthrough where i totally fucked up in the druids’ grove and caused a fight to break out, because it immediately instakilled tons of characters i knew i would need down the line. the few it spared needed some of the dead ones to stay alive in later quests, so it’s like... oh. that’s just... over. for both factions. bg3 arguably lets you do basically anything you want but they are able to do that because if you fuck around it just breaks the entire quest line from coming up again, which means playing a character who fucks up is not even really going to get me consequences it’s just going to cut content from the game. does that make sense? and then the Evil Path is just straight up evil, like... there’s no way for me to complicate and empathise, here, especially playing a blank canvas character whose motivations i would have to make up from nothing, and who faces basically no consequences for not doing this. the only neutral/cowardly/self-interested option in act 1 is to do neither path, which gets me the least content because i literally don’t get to play the fucking game

i don’t know, i’m not saying it’s necessarily bad just that it’s hard for me, personally, and how i like to create characters. especially when you have my constant restart disease and you have to do this all over again a dozen times just for a handful of different dialogue. does any of that make sense

[petday]

whats little magic?

It is a puzzle game for the Super Famicom and Game Boy Color video game systems. I like the Game Boy Color game much more for its art direction, and it's also just more fun for me to play with the 'bubble magic' mechanic in that version. I wrote more about my enjoyment below, in case anyone is curious.

The game’s box art is very beautiful, right? It caught my eye right away. The in-game 'cutscene' artwork appears to be carefully-made pixel art versions of the same artist's illustrations and they are similarly beautiful. (Sorry in advance if my photograph quality is not great.)

But the actual levels themselves look very haphazard. Clashing colors and tiles. It's easy enough to guess that a blue tile next to a white tile represents water and snow, respectively, but what does the yellow cluster-of-boxes tile represent? Yellow bricks of a tower…? How about the spike-y objects in the snow-water levels? I guessed they were underwater mines, but then there's the same tile in a later level too, just palette-swapped to be red… The two monochrome tiles in the third picture above teleports your character, but it has a two-frame animation that made me think of an ‘industrial grinder’ and ‘static noise’, so I assumed it was dangerous at first. Was it intended to be nondescript ‘sparkly magic’? Where are all of these levels taking place, anyway? No other humans are in these areas, just various animals and vague environmental indicators. There are cute snakes in some ‘yellow brick’ levels that end your life upon touching them. Seems irresponsible for a teacher to allow her student into perilous areas, no matter how eager she is to pass her final exam at magic school and become a magician.

Oh, I should explain the story. (None of the above photos are in sequence, just wanted to show more of the game.) The story is about a girl who attends magic school, and aims to pass a series of tests to become a full-fledged magician. Her teacher encourages her. The lack of explanation in the story is another fun point for me. Her magic teacher doesn't explain why 'learning magic' consists of pushing a heart into a heart-shaped hole that triggers a staircase to appear, which is what you need to do to complete each level. (It’s a beating heart – is it alive?) No explanation as to why snakes end your life instantly upon touching them. The context of 'because you want to pass your exams, a teacher is putting you through trials to help you become a master of magic’ isn’t an adequate explanation, because the teacher also tells you that she has not passed the final exam - why is a teacher putting a student through something that is too difficult even for herself? Who is in control of all of the strange areas you need to ‘complete’ in order to become a real magician, then? (After you complete the game with the student, you can play a different set of levels as the teacher, but even the usual sparse context-giving ‘cutscenes’ are not there… Mysterious…)

So, all of that is why my drawing about ‘Little Magic’ is about ‘confusion’, ‘going along with something that makes sense at first, but quickly unravels to not make sense any longer’, ‘growing distrust of authoritative figures’, and ‘frustration from stagnation.’ https://petday.tumblr.com/post/730315736066768896

Maybe the instruction booklet explains everything; I did not have access to that while playing, and I like that feeling. ‘Renting a game from a video game rental store that did not come with an instruction booklet, and being perplexed by it, forced to create your own context because you have nothing else’ feeling. Randomly selecting games to play that do not have much documentation online is enjoyable to me, because of that feeling.

A fan translation group translated the Game Boy Color game from Japanese to English in 2018. There wasn't a lot of dialogue in the first place, though. I like games where there is little to no dialogue because one can imagine a story/context besides what is shown. Up until 2022, I could not find a solution for the teacher’s final puzzle, so I interpreted the ending of the game’s story as, ‘The magic teacher thought she could harness a type of magic far stronger than what she could handle, accidentally designed an impossible puzzle for herself and is trapped for eternity.’ Of course, the puzzle has a solution, but I wanted to honour my strange interpretation regardless. When I play games and have weird interpretations of them, I am definitely not saying, 'I bet this is what the people who worked on this game were thinking!' I dislike that attitude. It's just imaginative interpretation, and working with the odd way I interact with things in order to maximize fun for myself…

A part about old games that I also love, is that they can never be updated; they had one chance to release a finished game, and maybe another chance to fix glitches in a re-release if they sold very many copies the first time. I greatly enjoyed the ‘imperfect’ tilesets and abrupt feeling of this game, which might have been ‘improved’ in a patch if it had been released in recent years instead of 1999.

(I wasn’t sure where to include this point, but I must also say, my favourite YouTube comments are about someone’s unusual interpretations of a game, when they did not have access to a guide at the time. I read one recently – the comment author and their brother rented ‘Final Fantasy IV’ from a rental store, and they did not know about the ‘Poison’ status effect that depletes the characters health. There is a strange pixelation effect and a ringing sound when you walk around the overworld while poisoned. Because the save file they were playing from was during a point of the game where you visit the moon, and because of the unfamiliar visual and sound effect, they interpreted the ‘Poison’ status effect as, “The moon must be running out of air.” Things like that are beautiful to me.)

(I also wasn’t sure where to put this point, but the main character, May, from ‘Little Magic’, is stylized differently in some ‘cutscenes’. She resembles a dragon to me. It’s cute.)

[total-drama-brainrot]

TD World Tour AU, where Noah doesn't tell Owen that Alejandro is an eel in London... In Area 51, Noah is accidentally splashed with an alien truth potion (which wears off after a few days) and he talks to Owen... Owen asks Noah what he truly thinks about Alejandro, and Truth-Potion Affected Noah says this: "I have mixed feelings for Alejandro. He's a brilliant, interesting guy and I like him, but I don't trust him. He's like a slippery eel dipped in grease, swimming in motor oil. Basically, Heather with social skills. Wait a minute, why am I telling you this?!"... What if Alejandro secretly heard Noah call him all those conflicting things + Alejandro also learns that Noah is affected with an alien truth potion? 👽

Alright, you got me. I'm an absolute sucker for truth potion plots, especially when the character(s) effected by them are usually either pathological liars or incredibly secretive- of which Noah absolutely falls into the second category, given he shares so little personal information.

I'll gloss over why Noah declined to shit-talk Alejandro in London (though there's so many ways this change in behaviour could be justified) since the focal point of this hypothetical centred around their time in Nevada, so let's start from the beginning of the Area 51 challenge.

Area 51:

Before we start, it'll have to be established that no one was eliminated in London. Let's say that the majority vote went towards Duncan (team CIRRRRH voted him out immediately because they found his re-admission to the competition unfair, I guess. I imagine he'd also vote himself, if not as a plan to escape the competition he'd been actively skiving from, then just as an act of spite) but Chris instead claimed it was a rewards challenge- much like he does in Greece- because he doesn't want to let Duncan slip away again so soon.

I see no reason to alter the first part of the challenge- the sneaking into Area 51 portion- since team CIRRRRH's course of entry is fairly straightforward. Noah's presence doesn't make much of a difference to how it would play out; the majority of them throw their rocks and run, Owen gets lasered over the fence and Owen-napped, ect ect.

When both teams have managed to make their way into the Black Box Warehouse, Noah immediately suggests they should prioritise rescuing Owen. Tyler's quick to agree, since he's a firm believer in the "no man left behind" mentality (and he probably makes a not-so-subtle jab towards Noah for his chance of tune compared to London, where both he and Owen did leave Tyler behind) leaving Duncan and Alejandro to split from the group- Duncan in search of Gwen, and Alejandro just takes the opportunity to finally be free from his 'incompetent teammates' and prioritises finding an artifact.

Noah and Tyler come across the contraption Owen's trapped in, Tyler punches it in a futile effort to break it open, and the face hugger cube drops into Noah's hands. This is where the point of divergence comes into play; Tyler has his E.T. moment with one of the face huggers, but Noah- who's a tad bit more observant than Alejandro, and used to dodging surprise attacks from his various older siblings (and Izzy)- anticipates his own face hugger attack and promptly starts a game of cat-and-mouse with a taser alien hot on his heels.

The commotion of which attracts the rest of his team. Alejandro and Duncan arrive on the scene to see Tyler being electrocuted by an alien and Noah running in circles evading another.

Duncan attempts to rip the face hugger from Tyler's face, finding success at the cost of sending Tyler trampling into Owen's captive contraption (essentially taking Alejandro's canonical place in this scene) and inadvertently freeing Owen.

Meanwhile, Alejandro swipes up the nearest box he can find and snags the alien chasing Noah, who's still very loudly panicking as he flees, and succeeds! The alien is swiftly captured into the box, netting team CIRRRRH their artifact, and Noah promptly goes careening into the nearest tower of junk in his face hugger-fuelled hysteria. This causes another box to topple from the peak of the tower, landing directly on Noah's head and spilling its contents onto the bookworm- glass vials filled with a mysterious, luminescent cobalt blue liquid shatter into pieces drenching Noah in whatever they contained. (i.e. truth potion.)

Owen has his false-amnesia moment, characterised by his Joker makeover, and Alejandro enacts his revenge post-hypnotic suggestion after being addressed as "Al" one too many times.

Noah, understandably, swiftly objects to Owen's treatment and demands that Alejandro snap him out of it. Alejandro concedes, and Owen's brought back to himself. At least, for a moment, before the fatigue of having his mind messed with sends Owen into near-catatonia (the same as canon), meaning he has to be ferried through the Warehouse and back to the Jet by Alejandro and Duncan.

Things carry on canonically from there; Noah's just sort of there for the most part, though there'd be a minor hint to his newfound proclivity for honesty. Something along the lines of him giving an uncharacteristically honest answer to Owen as to who he's voting- Tyler, of course, since he was the one who ultimately threw the challenge for them... and also because Tyler still holds some resentment towards Noah for what happened in London, and Noah feels guilty about it every time he looks at the jock. Wait, why did he say that?

Sometime between this and the elimination scene, Noah wipes the truth-goop off of himself, but not before the effects have already started.

Tyler's voted out, yada yada yada.

The Jet:

Thus begins the start of "Picnic at Hanging Dork". Team CIRRRRH, consisting of just Alejandro, Duncan, Owen and Noah, are slumming it up in the Economy Cabin. Alejandro tries to rally his team by asking how to break apart Courtney and Heather's tentative co-operation. Owen suggests having Alejandro seduce Heather, since it worked for both Bridgette and Leshawna. Duncan makes his "Babe Olympics" comment. Noah pipes up that playing with someone's feelings is pretty scummy, even for someone competing for a million dollars.

Alejandro takes Noah's reluctance towards his methodology poorly; he hadn't spoken up before, when Alejandro had utilized the same strategy against other girls- and even Owen noticed that, so surely Noah did too- so why was he to outwardly against him using the same tricks? Duncan agrees, and offers ''his'' idea of having Alejandro flirt with Courtney to throw both her and Heather off their games (since Heather has an obvious crush on Alejandro), and things follow canon.

Then, the scene between Alejandro and Courtney happens. Noah scoffs at the display from the side lines, prompting Owen to ask him why he's so against Alejandro's plan.

"I mean, you never said anything before, when he flirted with Bridgette and Leshawna." Owen comments, light-hearted in nature but with an underlying questioning tone.

Noah's eyes flicker with a cobalt glow, easily mistaken for a trick of the light, and he speaks without even thinking.

"Yeah, because I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. Bridgette was happenstance, and Leshawna's whole deal could've been a coincidence, or some massive misunderstanding. But this?" Noah extends an accusing hand out towards a smug looking Alejandro, then pans it over to a flattered Courtney, "He's outright toying with Courtney's feelings after she was cheated on in front of an international audience. It's scummy."

Owen nods in understanding, momentary contemplation evident in the pouted curve of his lips, and he chimes in.

"Does that mean you don't like Al?"

"I never said that."

"Well, how do you feel about him, then?"

Again, a flash of blue light against the hickory backdrop of Noah's eyes, and he responds thoughtlessly.

"I guess I have mixed feelings about him. On the one hand, he's slippery, like an eel dipped in grease, swimming in motor oil. He's like if you took all of the worst aspects of Heather, wrapped them up in a pretty package, and gave them social skills..." He holds his hands out before him in a scale-like manner, with the left tipped downwards and tie right raised by his chin. Then, the two hands swap positions.

"And on the other hand, he's brilliant. I've never met anyone as talented as Alejandro; he's smart, he's athletic, he's funny. It's almost unfair just how perfect everything about him is- even his face is perfect. It's ridiculous! Infuriating, even. It's so hard to dislike him, even when I know he's bad news, but that doesn't mean I trust him."

Owen stands slack jawed beside his best friend, both impressed and stunned at the raw honesty of Noah's tirade. Noah, now a little more aware of himself, realises that he's said more than he intended to- more than he thinks he's ever spoken in one go throughout the entirety of Total Drama. He's not usually one for speeches, after all, let alone honest ones.

He's always been the type to play his cards close to his chest, so why...?

"I, uh, didn't mean to go off like that."

And he also didn't mean to admit it, either. What was going on?

The look Owen gives him is, in a word, vivid. The blonde has a shit-eating grin stretching across his face, a sort of elated smugness practically glowing from his features.

"Sounds like someone has a cruuuush!~"

What? No? No! Not at all, where would Owen even get that idea?!

Noah splutters to correct Owen's assumption (to disastrous results, because he does sort-of has a crush on Alejandro, so the truth potion doesn't allow him to outright deny it), and in his preoccupied state he misses how a calculating pair of sage green eyes never seems to stray from him.

Alejandro has a lot to think about in regards to a certain cynic, it seems.

[7grandmel]

Rip of the week: 19/08/2024

Ascension to Apotheosis

Season 8 Featured on: The Joke-Explainer 7000™'s Highest Quality Rips: Sunrise

Ripped by Neofall

Requested by eg_9371! (Request Form)

Tentative rip name: Apotheosis to Heaven

A big part of why I opened up the Request Form, and why I continue to use it for ideas for the blog, is to give me inspiration in areas of SiIvaGunner to which I'm less well versed. There are some games and some rips by extension where I feel completely unable to write anything of substance, because I just lack the needed context for the rip to hit for me - but other times, the form opens my eyes to rabbitholes which I'm all too happy to delve into, through rips like Plantasia 2, mlp racism anthem (comix zone arrange), guess what​?​?​?​?​?​?​?​? and more. I've learned to trust eg_9371's judgement on quality as a requestee, and many parts of his massive catalogue of contributions have shown me quality in areas I'd never thought to look, through rips like kris gaming and Plasmaseeker. And so, I said, you know what? Let's give his endorsement one more shake, and approach a rip I'd initially looked past as not being for me. With that, I hit play on Ascension to Apotheosis - and was met with one of the biggest surprise hits I'd yet heard in the season.

Journey is a game that hits home for a lot of people, yet it was just outside of my periphery when it originally released back in 2012 - I was an 11-year old without a PS3. But even without attachment to Journey, Apotheosis as an ending theme to the game hits home to a degree I wasn't expecting, a swelling orchestral piece going through feelings of anticipation, sorrow, bittersweetness, acceptance, all throughout the span of a 7-minute long composition. The overall word to describe it, of course, would be grand. Yet much the same can be said, on the complete opposite end method, for the song with which Ascension to Apotheosis is being mashed up with, Ascension to Heaven by independant artist Xi. Like with the aforementioned Plasmaseeker, this is a song I know damn near nothing about, most prominently being featured in various Japanese rhythm games but seemingly also having a presence within the Geometry Dash community. Yet despite holding even less of an emotional connection to me than Journey did, it cannot be denied just how impressive of a piece Ascension to Heaven truly is, pairing a pounding electronic percussion with mellow strings and absolutely off-the-rails piano rolls - what feels like three entirely different forms of music and speed, mesh together for a piece with a sound I can only describe with the imagery of a lone bird flying toward the sun.

Loneliness, bittersweetness, strife, failure, perseverance - the emotions distilled into me through these two tracks are ones that were no doubt eons stronger for someone with attachment to either of the works from beforehand, and most definitely strong within ripper Neofall upon creating Ascension to Apotheosis. These are two songs that are both pulsing with emotion, yet accomplish it through very sonically different methods, one through swelling orchestral resonance, and the other through a pounding piano-driven rhythm. Yet that emotional core remains, and through some miracle and no doubt tons of love for the pieces featured, Neofall found a way to blend the two pieces into one grand feature - leveraging Apotheosis' atmosphere and grandure in order to use it as background scoring to Ascension to Heaven's insane melody. Even with one piece falling to the background and another to the foreground, however, it never feels as if one is overpowering the other - the two leverage one another's strengths seamlessly for a listen that manages to hit harder than just the sum of both's parts.

Without a thorough understanding of music creation or of either track's true sonic makeup, part of me does still feel uneducated, in a sense, to be writing about a rip of this quality in sound and scale - it's a mashup like many others, yes, yet every part of it feels ironed out and sandpapered to sheer seamless perfection between two tracks that would otherwise feel borderline incompatible. Yet...seeing such quality persist within areas of the channel that I remain uneducated on, feels like part of the magic of the SiIvaGunner channel. We are currently on SiIvaGunner's 8th year in the running, with its rippers having grown all the more able to express their passions and interests than ever before - and Season 7 and Season 8 have, in turn, given us some of the most ambitious, personal rips we've yet seen on the channel. Be it Luna, mi Amor, edge of a balcony, The Paragoomba and the Wiggler, or so many more, we've had an onslaught of rips still only made by one to three people that feel creatively driven and magical enough to be justifiably mistaken for months-in-the-making passion projects. And even without a direct tie to its source material, Ascension to Apotheosis gives me that very same vibe: Of one ripper seeing what can be done through utilization of two tracks close to their heart, and going absolutely hog-wild in ensuring the execution be up to the standards raised by so many other parts of the SiIvaGunner team.

It is a blessing that we can be eight years into this channel's life, and still have rips of this caliber slip entirely through the cracks as if they're nothing but everyday, average rips. Today, the hearts of the SiIvaGunner team is on full display at just about every day of its operation - and I am eternally grateful that such seemingly niche pursuits like Ascension to Apotheosis remain part of that.

[discluded]

I was wondering if you'd have any opinions on why MileApo haven't done any fan-meetings yet (just purely them in a hall/arena with fans only doing a qna, playing games etc.)? I know we've seen them do promotional lives, the world tour, they did the FanStar event in Vietnam, ManSuang promo, Dior etc. But I would have hoped they would've done one by now. I might be projecting since I follow a lot of kpop etc. but I was thinking about it and wondered why, could a duo fan-meet not be worth planning?

Hi! they actually did do a fan meet last year.

It was in November and in collaboration with a Line Friends promotional event.

if you remember these outfits.

I can't find the announcement press release, which was in Thai anyway, but it was at Central Pattana mall (what I tagged it as) and called Embracing Happiness 2023 (what @nattaphum tagged it as) if you want to look through our tags for it. It should turn up quickly with a search.

This fan meet didn't require tickets and the turnout was genuinely huge... so I'm guessing you mean something else? I looked up some variations on what a fan meet vs. fan sign vs. concert is for kpop just to try to get an idea of the nuance you're looking for I'm missing... if you're talking ticketed event where they play games and take audience questions, the Woody interview was fairly close to that. Mile had a fan sign to make up for missing the KPWT send off (it's tagged under mile send off on my blog) but those were from random raffle winners and not available through buying tickets. The Planet of Stars event in Vietnam had more of the concert element and I think they were supposed to interact more with fans who bought certain levels of tickets but that was, um, kind of a mess.

maybe you can clarify what specifically you qualify as a fan meet? I'll answer based on what I'm thinking right now anyway:

1) financially, I think doing events with sponsors makes more sense for them. it's not as intimate for fans, but it does allow more people to attend events, which is better for sponsors. additionally opening it up to a larger audience avoids the element of fan scalping / reselling tickets at absurd prices for fan meets (which was an issue with some of the man suang showings with actors in attendance).

2) for foreign fan meets, the logistics are challenging and BOC isn't really sized to scale to handle that.. for various reasons. working with a third party to coordinate is risky: see Planet of Friends concert and the JeffGameplay fanmeet in France that didn't include Jeff in the end, and the sponsors made off without even hosting the meet.

3) The air is poisonous right now. there's already been instances of fan photos or fan engagement where the person invited up was openly nasty to Mile or Apo (see: Woody interview when Apo invited up a greeny rose, or a recent fan photo event where an apc was openly hostile to Mile). why open the door to more of that?

I mean, look at Bible's fan meet today... I really sympathize for him right now. He doesn't deserve this for his first fan meet and no one deserves to be treated like an accessory to someone else's career. (I'm not posting it but check @blramblingx2's blog. they posted it because I sent it their way...)

but we'll see! I wouldn't mind seeing a large scale fan meet like embracing happiness again. that was fun... for me... mile and apo were going through it in those 3 layers of sweaters and jackets 😂

[sylvia-forest]

[CN] Shaw's 6th Anniversary event - Day 4

⚡ Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for an Event which hasn't been released in EN yet!⚡

[Day 4]

MC: Why did you suddenly buy a suitcase? MC: We've been traveling in the RV this whole time, so we shouldn't need it, right? Shaw: Did you forget about all the things you've collected from various small shops along the way? Shaw: A pile of odds and ends needs a box when you take it home. MC: Oh, right! But is the graffiti on it is the masterpiece of Mr. Shaw? Shaw: Obviously, that's correct. Shaw: But if you want to praise me, put it on hold for now. Shaw: Come over, grab a spray can, and let's finish it together.

MC: You left a spot for me? I'm coming~ Shaw: Of course, doing graffiti together is more fun. MC: Shaw, I think I have a rough idea of what the "thing" you hid during our trip is. MC: Based on my understanding of you and my extensive search efforts… MC: Firstly, it's probably not a physical object, right? Shaw: Seeing that you've analyzed it to this level, I'll make an exception and give you a hint. Shaw: Indeed, it's not a physical object. MC: Oh~ I think I have a good idea now. MC: Let me observe the rest!

—

MC: Wow, this vast sea of flowers is too beautiful and splendid! Shaw: Big producer, can you enrich your vocabulary a bit? Shaw: Everywhere we go is full of beauty, and I'm getting aesthetically tired from it. MC: Then you show me how it's done? Shaw: There's a barbecue restaurant ahead, and the food they grill is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Shaw: Pair that with spicy sauce, and I guarantee it'll make some people drool. MC: Very well, although what you said is ordinary, it still made my mouth water. Let's go!

—

In winter, the surroundings here are full of the lively atmosphere of spring. Bees dance among the flowers, and Shaw and I stroll through this floral town, as if enjoying a colorful oil painting.

MC: Such a beautiful place. What should we do here?

I hinted, and Shaw shrugged with a knowing smile.

Shaw: To be honest, I haven't planned anything. After all, we've been well-prepared throughout this journey, and I'm getting a bit tired of it.

He took a step back, covering my eyes from behind.

Shaw: So, let's just go with a random itinerary. You get to decide where we go. MC: Haha, can we really play like this? Shaw: Of course, aren't you the one claiming to be a lucky charm? It's time to test your luck.

After Shaw spun me around in place, I pointed forward casually.

He promptly released his hand, and following my fingertip, I found it happened to point to a shop.

The storefront displayed various heart-shaped items, and the signboard above had a pink and white name—Love Challenge.

Shaw: Your luck in choosing places is quite something, picking one I'm least interested in. MC: Do you already know what the shop is about? Shaw: No idea, but just by the name, it seems to have an intentionally created atmosphere, quite artificial.

Seeing a hint of disdain on his face, I mischievously pushed him into the shop.

MC: You set the rules yourself, so just follow them.

Inside, the shop was lively. Besides numerous couples, many harmonious families were also queuing up in front of the long corridor.

A staff member dressed in a mascot costume approached us, handing over a card with instructions.

Staff member: Welcome! This is a love-themed pop-up shop, focusing on a game called "You Guess More Than I Do." Staff member: Based on drawing lots, each person is assigned a "role," and the one in charge of gesturing comes up with a question for the other to guess.

After a brief introduction, I carefully read the instructions on the card and nudged Shaw with my elbow.

MC: It looks simple enough. With our skills, we should be able to win a plush toy reward. Want to give it a try?

Shaw raised an eyebrow, signifying his agreement.

After drawing lots, I became the guesser.

After Shaw finished writing the "question," we were led into a room with a floor-to-ceiling glass separating us at both ends, even blocking our voices.

Watching the countdown clock start ticking, I gestured to Shaw to start gesturing.

However, he seemed in no hurry, nonchalantly making two "thumbs up" gestures next to his ear.

MC: Rabbit...? Rabbit! What's next?

He then pointed to himself and drew a circle, finishing with a thumbs-up.

MC: …..??

I checked the time and gestured for him to repeat it. After he did, I was still puzzled.

Rabbit, Shaw, circle, thumbs up?

What does it mean?

Seemingly sensing my confusion, he sighed deeply with his hands on his hips.

I pursed my lips, decided to break the deadlock by playing defensively, and raised my hand to make the "1" gesture, planning to go one by one.

MC: The first word is rabbit, right?

I made a gesture resembling rabbit ears, tilting my head to confirm with him.

Seeing Shaw nod, I clenched both fists, mimicking the shape of red panda ears.

Worried he might not understand, I also drew the shape of a chubby tail behind me and shook it left and right.

Shaw: .......!

Perhaps I acted too enthusiastically, he chuckled, immediately took out his phone, and aimed it at me for a moment.

Then, he swiftly swiped and drew on the screen until he stopped, then beckoned me with his finger.

I seemed to understand something and quickly looked around, only to find no cameras here. I chuckled.

Unexpectedly, this person would "go easy" on me.

So I walked briskly to the glass, and he also turned his phone screen toward me—

The expected answer wasn't there, but instead, it captured a moment where he "parodied" me.

In addition to my pouting appearance, he drew reddish-brown red panda ears on my head and a long chubby tail behind me.

It was exactly the mimicry I had just done, but he added a touch of humor to it.

MC: ………

Watching the remaining time, I anxiously knocked on the glass, signaling him to be serious.

But he just shrugged carelessly and then flicked my forehead across the barrier.

Shaw: "......."

Although I didn't hear anything, that familiar mouth shape automatically filled in the voice of him teasing me, "Really stupid."

At that moment, the ending signal sounded.

I could only pout, grab a paper and pen, and replayed his actions in my mind repeatedly.

Firstly, the rabbit was undoubtedly correct. As for the red panda... he did point to himself, so it should be right?

I wrote down the phrase "Rabbits and red pandas are the best!" and showed it to him, thinking I got it right.

Shaw leaned over to look at the answer I wrote, and then his eyes slowly filled with laughter.

Just when I thought I guessed correctly, he made a crossing gesture in front of his chest.

MC: Shaw, you made me lose the plush toy reward for nothing! No, I need to see what you wrote!

Wrong answer.

—

After leaving the shop, the more I thought about it, the more unwilling I became. I reached out to grab the note from his pocket, but he skillfully dodged. As I continued to stomp toward him...

A chubby little pink rabbit pendant swung in front of my eyes.

Shaw: The prize plushies they offer aren't cute at all. Don't you think this one suits you better? Shaw: Consider it compensation from me.

The rabbit, nibbling on a carrot in the sunlight, looked adorable, and I instantly calmed down by half.

MC: When did you buy it?

Shaw: While you were touching up your makeup in the bathroom, I wandered around nearby. MC: You have a little conscience, but don't think you can divert my attention. Quickly, tell me what you wrote!

Shaw: You couldn't guess something so simple; it's your fault. So, you have to accept the consequences. MC: You! Shaw: Alright, it's time to add a finishing touch. This time, I'll treat you to hot pot, and you'll foot the bill. How about that?

Seeing that he was determined not to tell me, I glared at him with widened eyes.

MC: You didn't plan anything at all. I don't want any finishing touch. Shaw: Is that so? Then, I'll just confiscate this rabbit.

I quickly reached for the little rabbit, but he lifted it high.

Thinking about how to get it back, I first noticed the note hanging precariously at the edge of his pocket.

Humph, he was careless.

While pretending to reach for the rabbit, my other hand swiftly grabbed the crumpled note.

Shaw: ...Hey, don't be unfair. Give it back quickly. MC: I won't. Clearly, someone else is being unfair~

I grinned and quickly turned around to open the note. The words on it were vividly revealed—

"With you silly rabbit by my side, everything goes well."

I couldn't help but hum happily. Just as I was about to say something, my vision was suddenly blocked by someone.

MC: Humph, I've seen it already. MC: Although you call me stupid, I understand the meaning of this sentence because I am considerate.

I crouched down to escape his restraint while triumphantly waved the note in my hand.

MC: Since it's an expression of feelings, why hide it?

Shaw: Who said it's hidden? I just don't want to see certain people being smug.

Seeing him stubborn, a thought flashed through my mind, and I slowly started to smile.

MC: Shaw, didn't you say you hid a "something" before? MC: It wouldn't happen to be your feelings, right?

He glanced at me, and interest sparked in his eyes.

Shaw: If you're trying to probe me, I advise you to give up. MC: Why would I be probing? You clearly said we could find it before the end of the journey. Now, we're at the last stop. MC: Moreover, you mentioned it's not a physical item, meaning...

I paused, my gaze softening.

MC: It could be a sentence, a message you want to convey, or the understanding between us. MC: And after these days of little moments, I am convinced that the "answer" you hid is actually—

Before I could finish my sentence, he gently covered my mouth with the rabbit pendant.

Shaw: Stop. When did I say this is the last stop? Shaw: The organizers designed it as the final destination, not me.

Shaw smirked triumphantly, pulled me along without another word.

MC: Wait, where are we going?

Shaw: Wherever we walk is where we end up. Since it's not the last stop yet, there's no reason to stop.

—

🚐 Finale

[simp999]

A New Home Ch. 16

Various! Splatoon manga x Skilled! Isekai'd! Reader

Wc: 1.3k

Back to the start! Previous Next

“Hey, hey, look!”

You barely have time to breathe after walking through the door of your new home before Leo’s shoving his phone in your face.

He kept moving it around, making it impossible to read the screen.

“We got invited to a party! Starts at 6 tonight!”

Oh. people.

“Who’s all going?”

“Uhh, no idea who’s hosting it, but I heard it should be mostly strong players?”

Ugh, seriously? Those are usually the worst people to be around. Most of them are so stuck-up and arrogant. Well, you suppose that if it’s just a bunch of randos, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to maybe find some new opponents. Your team could always use new sacrifices to test out new techniques in battle. And you won’t have to feel bad about it, with how their personalities usually are. Putting them in their places is always so fun.

You let out a small sigh, and agree to going - not like he was really offering since the beginning. As long as Milo, Tasha and him are going, you should be fine, right?

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Wrong.

It’s now 6:08, and it’s so damn loud. The songs may be decent, almost like a 2010’s party mix is what you could best compare it to, but it shook the whole house. You weren’t expecting this many people, either. The lights are off, but there are tons of colored party lights and even a disco ball.

(Optional song.)

You grabbed Milo’s hand to ground yourself, and he held yours comfortably tight, rubbing his thumb against your knuckles soothingly. There wasn’t much else he could do, but you appreciated his effort. Though, it didn’t help all that much. It’s hard to get distracted and grounded when the source of your uncomfortableness is making its way through all of your senses. At least there was one that you could control, and that was food.

You squeezed your way through the crowd, making your way over to the snack area to find something you liked. Holy carp, that’s a lot of food. You grab one of the paper plates and throw on some stuff that you like, grabbing one of the canned drinks to wash the food down.

Wait, where’s Milo?

You begin to look around nervously, he shouldn’t be that hard to spot, being as tall as he is. Same goes for Tasha. Though Leo’s completely lost in the crowd, no luck finding him unless he decides to make a scene. Which isn’t unlikely.

You can’t search by color, since the lights are all weird, so you look for shape instead. You spot a quick reflection of light right around where his face height would be, then you see his spiky hair.

‘Okay, good. He’s right there. This is fine.’

As long as you know that you can spot him at any time, that eases your nerves. You hold the cold can in your hand tightly, taking a deep breath in.

Yeah, this isn’t your type of thing. You manage to push through and talk to a couple of people that approach you, and you quietly sing to some of your favorite songs once you get a little more comfortable. Anarchy Rainbow, Bomb Rush Blush, and Callimari Inkantation, to name a few. They had a lot of nice, upbeat tunes. But, as expected, it starts to feel way too loud again, and this time you try to find a way out. You need to escape, even just for a bit, before you start to feel too overwhelmed again.

You climb up the stairs to the second floor, and notice that the sound is definitely more drowned out up here. You open a couple of doors, trying to find the washroom. You mostly just find a couple of spare rooms with beds. One of the rooms was completely decked out with Dj-like stuff on the walls, but it seems the kit was missing. Guess that’s what they’re using downstairs.

You open another door and, man, this is nowhere near anything you could have ever expected.

Four cephalopods stare back at you. There’s one sitting on a beanbag chair, in front of a tv, playing some video game. Squid Racer, you’d recognize the characters and OST any day with how often Leo likes to play. There’s another at a table, who’s writing down in his manual. The third is sitting near the tv, with a lollipop in hand. You could have guessed that he was watching the other one play Squid Racer just before you walked in. The last one is now right in front of you.

“Hey, sweetheart! You did get my message! I’m glad you came~I was afraid you wouldn’t show,” He throws on a fake pout, but quickly replaces it with a friendly smile, “What brings you up here?”

“Leo showed me the invite, I had no idea you were the one throwing the party. Should have guessed, though.” You avoid the last question, not wanting to seem weak in front of such strong players.

“Aw, not happy to see me?”

“Nono, I am, I just wasn’t expecting to find you guys here, is all!” You wave your hands dismissively, trying to prove your point. You can’t look at them directly, this is way too much to handle right now.

He gently puts a hand on your upper back, in a way that silently asks if you’re okay with it. You allow it, and he brings you into the room and closes the door. You immediately take note of how much quieter it is in this room specifically, it’s almost like this room is made for this.

“Ya wanna stay in here for a bit? Parties can get pretty loud and overwhelming, I get it.”

Of course. Of course, somebody of this skill level would see right through you, you should have expected that.

You let the smile drop from your face for a second, and slump down to the ground to relax. The coldness of the ground feels so nice, this is exactly what you needed.

“Thanks ‘loha. Seriously, I mean it.”

He doesn’t question the nickname, he must have misheard you. He’s a little surprised at how casual you seem, but it might just be because of how you’re feeling.

“ ‘Course! Where are your teammates? They ditch ya? I’ll kick their-”

“No, no, they’re having fun. They were all hanging out with other people, making friends n stuff - hopefully, - and I don’t wanna ruin that for them.”

“They’re terrible teammates if they don’t help you out when you’re in need of it.”

“Nah, my teammates are awesome and would do anything for each other. …That’s exactly it, though, I want them to enjoy themselves and not have to worry about me.”

You wonder if maybe there is something bigger than this, another reason at the back of your mind. Do you not want to seem weak? You shake your head, 

“I wasn’t doing too bad, I got away before it started to really suck.” You get up, dusting yourself off, then go sit next to Skull on the couch. Not right next to him, obviously, but there’s a comfortable distance.

“As long as you’re feelin’ better.”

Mask finally finishes his round, and he leaves the in-game lobby. You tilt your head in curiosity, wondering why he’s leaving. There’s no way in sub-weapon hell that he’s going to actually join the party, you know that for a fact.

Instead, he looks back at you, then gestures to the beanbag chair a little farther off in the corner. You clue in, and go grab the chair, and set up next to him. He’s already grabbed the second controller, and waits for you to get comfortable before handing it over.

“Hope you knoooow I’m not going eaaaasy on you.”

“Better not, ‘cause kicking your ass won’t feel as good.”

You shoot him a playful smirk, and you let the round begin.

This is so much better than being downstairs. 

Next part

May.12.23

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

🦄 Is there a new POV you'd like to try writing?

🐌 What is one of your smallest writing goals?

💖 What is your primary writing goal for this year?

thank you!!

🦄 I've tried 'em all at one point or another! but I do mostly tend to favor 3rd person limited, especially for things I actually share/post. For me as a writer I definitely value convenient ways to hide things from the reader, and also make the reader do the work of interpreting emotions/motivations/thoughts of the non POV chars from context clues. I think I use 3rd person omniscient mostly in shorter pieces where I don't have as much room to get the point across more slowly.

I used first person for the various "letters" fanfics I did--Letters to Fenris and A Letter to Zevran. I don't do a ton of epistolary stuff but I will say I came up with another Sad Letters scenario I thought about exploring after playing Veilguard...... we shall see. Besides those, I can think of at least one other 1st person fic i never posted (because it was for MEA and i never finished it, though i liked a lot of what i wrote), and a few original stories.

Second person I mostly wrote in for twine games! A format I stopped doing when my computer got outdated (because i would have to redo the whole thing in a new twine language which. uhhhgggg. i spent so long making my map of boxes look beautiful and i DONT wanna do it again). But I think I like second person best for interactive works rather than something static, though I'd absolutely use it for a shorter length work i intentionally want to be weirder, or in an interaction where the 'you' the character is speaking to is not the reader but a different character.

🐌 Smallest writing goal... huh. I feel like most of my goals are big ones (that I then struggle to meet). I guess it'd be to make more time for it despite The Horrors (grad school, the world, etc). I really fell out of writing the last few years and I do miss it.

💖 Primary writing goal... oof! Hm. I feel like at all times this is "continue my WIPs". But beyond that, I think the idea that's been rolling around my head the most is making companion piece(s) for my DAI Solavellan prose-poem Like Teeth Against His Heart. I would like to make a Veilguard and maybe also Trespasser component. I haven't started yet but might brainstorm/outline this more fully over winter break.

these are from this ask game :)

[faejilly]

jilly's week in review?

I guess or something. Idek y'all, I was gonna try and do reviews but then I just rambled about what I did instead, so this is clearly gonna need a format revamp next week

anyway

READING

Finished Daughter of Witches

and also St. Peter's Fair, which I had started AGES ago and sort of lost track of, but I'm doing the January Challenge on TheStoryGraph and couldn't decide what to read next but needed to get my pages in, so I went digging for random shit and I have read it before and watched all the Cadfael mysteries so it's not like it was hard to get into to finish it so I could save my streak.😅

Read A House with Good Bones (on purpose from start to finish in one day!) because T. Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon is absofuckinglutely one of my favorites. (There's a thought here about my occasional forays into the horror genre, and how some horror is almost kind of cozy because it's about protecting what we love from what we fear, and that is very much a Kingfisher kind of thing, but that might need a new post and a more functional brain to figure out where I'm going with that.)

Listened to a little bit more of IT while doing housework; I'm not great at audio books except when I'm driving, but sometimes I can manage a little (and I didn't want to distract myself from dishes by picking up a new book instead). Stephen Weber is an excellent narrator btw, for anyone who's curious.

WATCHING

The husband was sick last week, and I was only sort of doing shit either, so he kind of just put the TV on and let it go and I definitely will not manage a nice list with links like I did with books. There was some M*A*S*H, (oh, I did finally watch the special that recently came out on Hulu), and RoboCop (largely because Thing 1 gave the husband the new game for Christmas) and several different Predator movies of various quality, and a bunch of other stuff I am not thinking of at the moment. I know I picked a couple and watched them myself but with everything else I can't remember what?

Also some Mythbusters when Thing 2 picked something to watch for awhile, which is pretty much always entertaining even when we're like: your sample size is nonexistent and just because you can't do it doesn't mean someone who knows what they're doing couldn't have done it so are you SURE you should have busted that? 😅

PLAYING

I got Garden Story for Christmas and got through the quest-lines and realized I was quite far away from all the upgrades, so I've been periodically poking at it and trying to get my villages/tools better before trying the Final Boss. I have had a good time with Concord though, it's fun, I'm just not sure the leveling functions, such as they are, are paced/balanced quite right? 😅 (Or perhaps I'm just Bad At Fighting In Cozy Games? This does seem to be a bit of a trend tbqh, probably why I liked Wylde Flowers' lack of combat so much.) I also have found VERY FEW of the memories/weird achievements so that's a thing I'm probably going to have to look up hints for soon-ish...

(I did finish Potion Permit last year, which is great, I recommend it whole-heartedly: the potion building mechanic is usually pretty solid, it has good characters, a nice aesthetic, I did actually mostly have fun rolling around and fighting things/gathering stuff, but I did reach the end of the main quest and then go... huh, is that it? just because it, yk, kept going after the finale but there didn't seem to be anything there beyond like, a couple personal quests that needed materials I couldn't unlock until the end.)

MORE ENTERTAININGLY I THINK, we did also play some board games

Paint The Roses is QUITE HARD with only two people even if you stick to the medium level whims; or maybe I'm just not that smart?!? We did in fact survive without getting our heads' chopped off by the Queen of Hearts, but we legit guessed the last two puzzles so. Dumb Luck™️ is not nearly as reliable as actually figuring out how to plot your plants better.

We did Escape the Dark Sector (with more people this time, tbf) on our first try though! That was pretty delightful. It is atmospheric and potentially almost deadly without feeling too awful at any point! Also I got to punch a tentacle monster!

Mice & Mystics can go dramatically bad if your dice aren't on your side and you do like, one stupid thing to compound that, and then if you're invested enough to start over you can suddenly realize you've been moving tiny plastic mice and bugs around the table for like four hours and still only got through the first chapter... but not regret it at all because you like your mice and are very proud of them for finally making it!

Can you tell we like co-op games? 🤣🤣🤣

(I did also do some rearranging so the game room was comfier, so like, win/win I adulted and played!)

THERE WAS NO WRITING OR CROSS-STITCHING OR PAINTING OR ANYTHING ELSE THIS WEEK, so uh. Clearly my balance of activities is bonkers and I should maybe get off the couch/game chair(s) a bit more often.

[foxydivaxx]

Things heat up here. Notice how Gossip Girl is kind of supportive of Zoro and Sanji. Can you all guess who Gossip Girl is? Also One Piece will be mentioned here. What do I mean? Read on. Warning: X-rated content.

Gossip Girl: Bad Romance Chapter 3

Hi there Upper Eastersiders. Guess what?! We’ve got our first S and Z sighting in months. The couple were spotted at a five star hotel at the Upper East Side. According to sources, Z was there to do a photoshoot to promote an upcoming movie project. Yes, the Power Couple are back in town!!

S also did a photoshoot for the same magazine that has been described as empowering, glamorous and sexy. Apparently he wore a sexy black dress that would make Morticia from Addams family proud. S is no longer playing kiddie games. We talking big leagues here especially since he is no longer a little boy anymore.

Afterwards, the two went clubbing. Also been noticing Z introducing S to some well-known producers and influential figures in the music industry, both in Asia and here in the U.S. Could it be possible that S may work on his first proper album soon?

For some context, S originally debuted as a solo artist when he was just 13. He released the single Good Vibes which did not do well on the charts.

Despite this, he met Z around that time and they hooked up almost immediately, thus starting their long term relationship. Z is two years older than S. S would later join Popstars: The Rivals and Aogiri was born and the rest is history.

Some film and fashion heavyweights were spotted at the club the Power Couple were hanging at. These folks also spoke with them. Looks like things are working out in S’ favour.

Taking that secret trip has done them some good. And hold up, is that a diamond encrusted Rolex watch I see S wearing?! It even matches Z’s signature diamond Rolex!!

Plus, he is wearing what looks like brown Louis V slacks. Hmm. Z is spoiling his man, and it shows. Also, S’ famous derriere turned a lot of heads as usual as many were shocked by how sexy he still looks. Come on, he is 18 now.

Another piece of good news for S is that Aogiri’s latest musical offerings have been mad flopping on the charts lately. The various TV shows that the boys have been starring in have been struggling with low ratings. What goes around comes around indeed. LE has signed with a brand new agency and will continue to be an actor. Please support him.

I bet the Power Couple has something big in the pipeline. Who knows? One thing I know is that the rest of the Upper East Side's elite are taking notice and, let's just say, many people are not happy about the latest developments. Dethroning the power couple never ends well and they are about to find out why.

"So those two are back huh?" says Eren. He just read the latest Gossip Girl blast and man. He does not like this one bit. Sukuna said they will show up at court but this, this is terrible. No one knows where the both of them went to. But all this is clearly Zoro’s handiwork. As usual, Zoro is always one step ahead of them.

The others gather round Eren as he showed them Gossip Girl’s latest blog post. “WHAT THE FUCK?!” Light exclaims. “Now what do we do?” Natsu says. Eren sighs. “Even I do not know.”

Sukuna too has seen the blog post whilst lounging in his jacuzzi and is seething with rage. Why?! Why are those two now deciding to show their dirty faces?! Especially that bitch Sanji?!! “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

Lelouch reads the latest news about Sanji and Zoro and grins. “About time. Things are gonna get crazy now that they are back.”

*******************************************************

Meanwhile, Sanji and Zoro are at Zoro’s apartment in Manhattan. “The court case has already begun. However, you have to be in court in the next 2 days to testify against them.” says Zoro.

“Good news for us.” Sanji says with a chuckle as he sips some white wine. “This is why I love you so much Zoro. All these bitches think they are smart not knowing that you will somehow outsmart them.”

Zoro smirks. “This is why I am the King baby. They can buy school but those motherfuckers cannot afford class..” he says as he wraps his arms around Sanji’s waist and pulls him into a kiss, a gesture Sanji happily returns.

“It’s been a while we have kissed Daddy.” Sanji whispers faintly. God does he miss hearing that nickname. Whenever Sanji calls him, it is obvious what he wants.

Zoro takes Sanji’s glass away and places it on the stool and picks Sanji up bridal style, leading him to the bedroom.

Once they got to the bedroom, Zoro gently placed Sanji on the bed. The blonde giggles and motions to his lover who takes off his shirt and pounces on top of him, kissing his neck hungrily, earning moans from the blonde who takes off his clothes without hesitation and kisses him back.

“Ride me.” Zoro groans.

Sanji smirks and helps Zoro to unzip and strip off his jeans and boxers. Once he spots his cock, a mischievous smirk appears on his face. How they managed to spend 3 months with each other without having sex is beyond him.

That is perhaps the longest he had gone without having sex with Zoro. Well; if you add the previous months of drama, that is six. Not counting that one time they had sex on top of Sanji’s piano in his home. Or that time they fucked each other in the limo at an award show. Sure he was still technically dating Sukuna then. But it did not matter. It seems like destiny wants the two of them to be together. So why fight it now?

“Oh how I have missed this.” the blonde coos as he gently traces a finger over the head, earning a gasp from his lover.

He lowers his head down and begins to slowly lick and then suck Zoro off, letting out a horny moan. It is a well known fact that Sanji was the biggest slut on the planet.

Zoro moans as he places a hand on his lover’s head, slowly pushing him down so that he can take more. “Fuck!! I keep forgetting how skilled your mouth is.”

Sanji continues to bob his head as he takes as much of Zoro as he possibly could and pleasures him. Zoro has always been a big guy, something that Sanji deeply appreciates as it makes sex a lot more fun and pleasurable for him.

He then pulls away. “Nah. I need that dick inside me now Daddy. So nope I won’t make you cum like that.” He heads over to the dressing table and pulls out the bottle lube.

He pours some into his fingers and begins to finger himself. Zoro watches in awe as Sanji begins to let out those sexy wanton noises that he loves to hear. The way his face contorts with pleasure did not help matters either.

Once Sanji had felt he was stretched enough, he then proceeds to straddle his lover’s laps and positions himself before sinking onto the cock.

“S-Shit!!”

“F-Fuck!! Still tight as ever.”

Sanji smirks and begins to bounce up and down the cock. Zoro places his hands on Sanji’s ass, aiding the blonde with his movements as he bucks his hips into Sanji’s hole.

As time passes, Sanji’s cries of pleasure get louder as Zoro gets a lot rougher with him. “J-just the way I like it…” Sanji purrs as he rolls his hips.

Soon, Zoro hits a certain part that makes Sanji scream. “AH!! ZORO!!” The greenete smirks, flips them around so that he was on top and proceeds to fuck the living daylights out of Sanji, the bed below them creaking under the pressure.

A couple minutes later, Sanji mewls and cums hard with Zoro soon following suit.

The lovers pant for air as they come down from the high of their orgasm. “Man that felt good.” Sanji says with a giggle. Zoro chuckles and kisses Sanji on the forehead, before slowly pulling out of him.

“I keep forgetting how naughty you are.”

“Says the bitch that keeps taking photos of my naked ass!!”

“Oi!! I had to!! Like you got the best ass in the world and that ass needs a shrine!!”

The two of them laugh and cuddle between the sheets.

[xvexhexx]

My name is Tanya/Kaz or you can call me vex too I uh draw I guess.

Here’s my Caard and pronoun-page

My DMs are always open and my personal is @coctyusheart

Some (but not limited to) fandoms I like (plus tags); (And my OC universes below that)

Voltron, PJO, various musicals like Heathers, BMC, Hades town ect. Danganronpa, genshit, Honkai, ace attorney, hazbin hotel, helluva boss, Undertale, HADES, dungeons and dragons, homestuck, bg3, JJBA, MLP, mythologies, Skyrim, and more tbh.

I really like cats and all animals :3 too.

~

Anyway as my ocs go;

MML: mirrors of monochrome lights

| 7 young adults in college who went to highschool together get swept into a weird situation in which they end up in a magical world that acts like they’ve been there the whole time and has people they know

| everyone is gay or sumn or bipoc except Peter he’s the token straight

Main Cast; Vanessa F, Persephone K, Giovanni T, Radha J, Drago S, Amai A, Peter A.

DOSM: Ditchotomy of sun and moon

This was intended to be made as a video game however…I do not have that skill set.

| you play as Moss, as you land in Chicago after the calamity 20 years ago, with little to no memories and people seem to be sorted into three Catergories.

| The gold who prefer the Sun kingdom, and have been deemed morally good, and/or socially accepted have received the gift of natural talent. Gold and very subtle sparkles in the arm

| the Star: the neutral who can go where ever they please but the town is considered neutral territory. They are the middle grounds, socially and morally can go either way. They have grey arms and the power of diplomacy.

| the moon: for thoes go are outcasted, demonized or have committed to darker morals, (usually it’s just outcasts tbh) and they frequently reside in the town, the town wood or the Moon kingdom. They have received the gift of magic which correlated to marking on thier arms.

Main cast: Moss (the mc), Vanessa (another one ik), Kevin, Zerena, Nico.

[iamthekaijuking]

finally finished pikmin 4! solid entry to the series and love the new creatures.

we see some kind of mini snagret that hops around on one leg instead of burrowing? and there's plenty of bulborb variety this time. guess they retconned the final boss of pikmin 1 into a sovereign bulblax

also the final boss being a very large and old version of oatchi's species was honestly a welcome surprise. does that mean the "dogs" aren't from the rescue corps' planet?

and given the rescued castaways' various home planets i now think the tiny humanoids have an interstellar settlement, not sure if that makes the Koppaites and the Hocotatians the same species. apparently neither can breathe in earth/pnf-404's atmosphere.

I’m playing 4 as well and I’m really enjoying it! Just started night expeditions.

I think the tiny snagrets might be babies? Also the emperor and sovereign bulblax connection/retcon is something I like. Gives context as to why “emperors” in games after 1 were smaller and lived in groups, plus it’s more fun ecological information.

I think that’s what’s implied with the rescue dogs, that they’re actually descendants of earth canines. Which was the crux of my crack theory that all the aliens are actually weird human descendants that engineered themselves to the point where they can’t breathe oxygen.

I think various interstellar settlements is probably a sound theory, and all the aliens might have a common ancestor and now each population on each planet is its own race. Not different species or subspecies, but more like the different ethnic groups of humans, where everyone is the same species but different populations have slightly different adaptations. Like how the Bajau people, as a result of their seaborne lifestyle and constant diving for resources, have evolved spleens 50% bigger than other people, which can store more red blood cells which they can pump into their bloodstream as the spleen contracts during the human diving response, thus letting them stay underwater longer.

Also I got this ask 1 day after the release of pikmin 4, so I gotta ask…

Anon…

How did you beat the entire game in 1 day? Are you a speedrunner? Did you intentionally take the day off work just to play pikmin??

[crusherthedoctor]

4, 39, 40 :D

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

The first one is obvious… Sonic himself! Wouldn't make sense to spend so much time on a Sonic fic if I didn't care about his universe. That said, I don't intend to pull an Archie with the lore. Stellar focuses on its own story and setting that just so happens to partially incorporate one previous bit of lore, in a similar manner to what SA1 did with the backstory introduced in S3&K. There are some mild references to other lore, but never in a way that tries in vain to wrap it all together in a neat little bow.

The environments are also largely inspired by that of previous Sonic locales. Mostly from non-mainline installments, since for various reasons (being on a handheld ala Advance/Rush, being a racer ala Riders/Rivals/Sonic R, being on motion controls ala Storybooks), they didn't have the same level of freedom as those in the main games, meaning there's a lot to expand on and make something new out of.

The other major influence for environments and aesthetics is, you guessed it, Spyro. I make no secret that le purple dragon has helped shape up the world of Viridonia aesthetically, but unlike fans who think Sonic should be little more than Furry DBZ, or IDW making random anime references that don't work, there is some thought put into it, and never at the expense of the Sonic universe's own identity. I think both worlds are very similar in aesthetics anyway, so if I see something in Spyro that makes me think "Wow, that would be so cool to see in Sonic!", I then think of how to translate it in a form that benefits Sonic's world, as opposed to wondering why the square doesn't fit in the round hole.

For the mystic entities that are tied to the Ethereal Zone, since they each have different powers, shapes and colours, I got the idea to base each of them on a different mythological creature for a subtle thematic resonance despite how otherwise different they are from each other. They're not one-to-one like the creatures they're inspired from mind you, they're definitely Sonicy interpretations (eg: the fire-themed one is a mix between a phoenix and a feathered serpent ala Quetzalcoatl, since I wasn't sure if making it a phoenix straight-up would make it sound too similar to Ifrit from Rivals 2), but I thought it'd be a fun twist on the giant monster schtick… though it helps that all of them are controlled via Time Eater-esque cybernetics by a certain round chum. Going out of control? Upstaging Eggman? In a Crusher fic? Not happening, son.

And speaking of the doctor, obviously I've took notes from many of his game portrayals, with S3&K's determination, SA1's dickery, and Forces' cunning being three of the biggest examples. But another influence for my interpretation of the doctor is the Mother 3 portrayal of Porky Minch: specifically, how he is clearly working towards a big end goal, yet is also simultaneously setting up seemingly unrelated projects all over Viridonia, playing its population (save Trudy) for fools, and overall treating the island as though it's his personal playground. This is not a Mephiles situation however: all of this does turn out to play a part in his endgame. He just happened to plan it out in a way that can also feed into his ego and hedonism in the meantime.

And Trudy… is Trudy. There were some mild influences for certain aspects of her design, but her personality pretty much grew upon itself as I built on her. I wanted to create a character that was mellow, but still fun and quirky, and could still bounce off Sonic and Co without being seen as "the boring one" or "the nag who can't be bothered with Sonic". I also find an appeal in shy characters finding the courage to do things they'd never expect themselves to do, so y'know.

There are other bits of inspiration I could mention, which includes concepts that are neither Sonic or Spyro-related… but I don't want to spoil more than necessary for now. XP

39. Share a snippet from a WIP

Note: This is a slightly older draft of the moment in question, so there might be some minor differences in the final one.

Sonic grew concerned by her stunned reaction, hoping that he didn't offend her. "You don't mind it, do you?"

"No, of course not. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It's just…" Her right hand clutched the fingers of the other, subtly squeezing them in the process. Her vision was directed at a nonspecific pile of red leaves not too far away from them. This all seemed so silly. There was really no justification for this. No excuse for her to treat such a thing with the kind of awe reserved for being within the presence of an omnipotent. And yet…

"No one's… no one's ever given me a nickname before…"

Sonic appeared to be puzzled by this, which was then followed by him exchanging a brief glance with Tails. His lifelong pal simply gave him a shrug in response.

"If it's any consolation," the fox piped up, with a faint hint of a smirk morphing on his face. "Some of his nicknames are better than others."

"Hey!" Sonic playfully raised his arms in defense, which did nothing to hide his sheepish grin. "So what if they can get a little simple! If she doesn't like it, I can totally drop it! If I have to get my head around the right pronunciation of her name, then so be it!"

"No, it's… it's nice," she insisted softly. A gentle smile slowly found itself on her face as well. "It's an honor, truly. You can call me that if you want to."

"You sure?"

A simple, meek nod was what he received, and it was at this point that her eyes shifted once more. After what appeared to be some hesitance, they gained the courage to meet with Sonic's own.

Sonic's eyes held onto their shared gaze for a couple of seconds, before he turned to Tails again. The fox only gave another shrug, this time to suggest that there was no further reason to debate the matter. After a silent understanding between the two heroes, the hedgehog nodded triumphantly.

"Well then," he announced, with a wink for his new friend. "I guess it's truly Trudy from now on!" As he gave a characteristic thumbs up, she could only continue smiling at the display, and her ears lowered ever so slightly. This was all so very sudden for her even now, but if they sincerely value her company and assistance, then maybe... maybe... it wouldn't hurt to keep tagging along with them.

40. If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

I wouldn't be fussy, since I'd be grateful for any moments, or environments, that they decided to portray.

But if I had to pick one… I suppose a certain confrontation between Trudy and Eggman would be awesome. Or a certain heart-to-heart between Trudy and Sonic. :>

[northerngoshawk]

✨👀🌹for the fic title ask game!

thanks for the ask choco!! ahhh it's been so long since i've done one of these and i miss them 🥺

✨Pick a favorite fic title of yours and explain why you like it.

oooof this is gonna be a bit of a hard one! i have quite a few i'm incredibly proud of for various reasons, so it's not an easy decision.

however, for me i'll choose leaves let go (to fall from the vine), the title of my Iroh & Lu Ten fic for @itsmoonpeaches based upon an angst dialogue prompt. i'm actually quite proud of it because it intertwines the theme of the fic with the well-known song "Leaves From the Vine."

when peaches sent me the prompt "It's okay, you can let me go" and specified it was for Iroh and Lu Ten, i knew i wanted to somehow incorporate "Leaves From the Vine" into the title and fic. i actually played around with the fic title for a little bit, trying to put "letting go" within "Leaves From the Vine" and ultimately settled on the title you see today!

the reasoning behind this specific wording was because of how the song was about leaves falling from a vine, and the way leaves fall from the vine is by being detached, or "letting go," which leads into the entire theme of the fic. and in the fic itself, Iroh even has a thought about the nature of leaves falling from the vine:

He looks outside to see leaves from a vine, falling ever so slow. (do leaves fall because they let go?)

this is especially potent in the wake of Lu Ten gently reminding Iroh that it's okay to let his grief go. and in the fic, intertwined with the song that best represents Iroh's grief for his son, Iroh learns to let it all go.

👀 Share the working title(s) for one of your WIPs. If there are multiple, describe a little of how you are choosing between them.

i do have a few, but i'm not sure i'll release them all, so i'll pick the one i'll definitely release lol.

"a thousand and one lifetimes" is the title for my... ahem, mcd/au fic. it's a piece heavily inspired by the premise of a BNHA/MHA fic called all the pieces of my heart, in which the main character dies in different universes, over and over again, until he lives. so. uh. you can guess why i chose to write this fic 🥲

i specifically chose that title because it's not only about Aang living and dying in different alternate universes, it's a nod to his canon (or "main universe," as i like to think about it) counterpart, where he is the Avatar: even in that universe, he is not a singular being, but part of a collective entity that can only continue through the cycle of life and death--his own life and death included. there's also another reason for picking the title, but ask me when i release the fic because i want to save the good stuff for BTS asks 😌

🌹 Pick a title and explain how you chose it, its meaning, and anything else you'd like to share.

ooh, okay okay 👀 for this one, i will pick my ATLA x League of Legends AU fic The Dishonored Blade, which heavily centers around Aang & Zuko in this new alternate universe.

this fic was heavily inspired by the League of Legends cinematic Kin of the Stained Blade (and by "heavily inspired" i mean the plot points are plagiarized lol), so i knew i wanted to pick a title that paid homage to the original story. lol.

to come up with the rest, i had to first pick what characters the fic would be about (since it's a... very character- and relationship-centric story about two brothers), and ultimately i chose Aang as

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

the character who would be killed and Zuko as the character who killed Aang and, consequently, the main character of the story.

because of this, i specifically chose "The Dishonored Blade" to poke fun at Zuko's predisposition to scream about his "honor" in canon lol but mostly because this story is about shame and forgiveness, especially in the wake of Zuko killing his friend. from that, he feels dishonored and ashamed of himself, and as a result he tries to run and bury those feelings and refuse to accept forgiveness in himself, believing his blade "deserves" to stay unclean, as it was a representation of his soul. and it's only when Aang comes back to him and forgives him that he learns to stop running from his demons and forgive himself, finally accepting the cleansed blade that he had once despised as dishonorable and, ultimately, himself.

[END OF SPOILERS]

anyways i really loved writing this fic in particular because it was so niche and freeing and me, and i am still really amazed at how effortlessly intertwined it all was. i think everyone should read this since this is probably (as you've said before!) my best work!

Fic Title Ask Meme

[sinkableruby]

Gamer asks: 1, 2, 6, 13?

YEAA GAMER ASKS

1 - Games you’re currently playing?

i almost forgot somehow, but im playing street fighter 6! super fun and i love the cast except for when the game is too hard and i feel overwhelmed by all the tech and things you have to do to learn characters :< at least they are all hot... 😔✊ but also the like player characters you can make are cool. it's a very good character creator and i always love it when games have that for my roleplaying brain. but again theres too much stuff and it takes too much time to get i dont wanna have to unlock moves :<

2 - Do you like playing with mods?

yes! mods are so good... you can tweak your experience to be just a little more comfortable, or revamp the whole thing. i usually only go through the effort of getting them when its a game i really like, like the binding of isaac or monster hunter or smth. i get all the enjoyment i can out of the base game, then do mods. its fun! theres also just cosmetic mods that change like appearances and audio and stuff like that, and those can get kinda goofy so probably i'd also wait til i'd done enough of the base game in general, but those are really good too!!

6 - Last game you finished?

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hmmm i guess i would say... even though this is a replay, og pokemon platinum (emulated) i skipped the "buying the new remade game out of nostalgia" step and just went back the original without any of the annoying wait times due to emulation lol i like doing challenge runs on it like monotypes and nuzlockes, usually sort of building a team to a certain "character" (another roleplay thing, i really like doing that :p), its pretty fun! i dont always finish runs but theyre certainly enjoyable

13 - A series you’ve enjoyed since your early days of gaming and still enjoy to this day whether it still has games coming out or is one you return to?

i have so many of these!!! well, they more apply in a "single game i always come back to" sense, but still

i have to say smite first bc i still play that game sooo much (almost 3000 hrs ack...) the third person moba + characters u play as are gods from various mythologies combination is really good, hi-rez kinda struck gold with that

theres also left 4 dead of course (but really its l4d2 since it has all of l4d1's stuff) which ive played since i was a kid... its fun i love it! def a favorite of mine... altho the periods i play it are kinda intermittent

binding of isaac series... i played the original flash game which was not as fun but it was a more like, meaningful experience. which is definitely part due to the amazing music, and possibly in part due to that unfairness making it feel hopeless. i only play rebirth these days of course because it is much bigger and better in terms of gameplay, and gameplay is pretty important for roguelikes lol, but you can't talk about rebirth without talking about the original! also rebirth doesnt have good music :(( the only actually good track is the burning basement one (which is really good, but not enough to make up for a whole soundtrack of meh songs). although the recently added dogma fight song is great too, the cathedral ost is good, and the hush fight is one i personally like... other than that its all :l

oh and i still play long live the queen every now and then. a sequels coming out soon which is great!! but its not like the same setting where youre a princess trying to become queen and also theres cool magic which is sad... also the deaths in that game are adorable i love them

look at it isn't it cute. go play this game everyone its fun you have to stop a princess from dying. i like how its written too. i recommend 👍