#you gotta play all the games or you'll be lost

[mcalhenwrites]

So the KH posts that are like "these are not the same person" with people who look like twins and "this is the same person" with two people who don't look like are hilarious and genuinely funny. But they're also pretty wildly inaccurate. They're misleading for people who aren't KH fans, but if you are one, you can kind of brush it off a a joke. And okay, it's confusing as fuck but looking at the KH fandom from the outside, we must seem bizarre to you! Fair, btw. Until you realize people get really twisted up over Xion/Roxas as a ship. "They're both the same person that's wrong!" Incorrect, they're wildly fake, I don't even like this pairing but I'm about to die on a hill defending them. It's down to "they're Soras!" but... No? We had a whole thing where Sora reaffirms that Roxas is his own person. Ven and Vanitas are not the same either. Vanitas is kind of a... byproduct of one of the main thirteen darknesses that is holed up in Ven. It basically stored itself inside Ven, and when Xehanort ripped the darkness out of Ven, he didn't take it all. It just had a limb of itself branched out. That darkness is still in Ven, as confirmed in Re:Mind. Link to that, should start at 25:13. This fandom makes a lot of "Ven killed Strelitzia!" and "Ven is the imposter!" jokes and we fed on the angst plenty, but... in the end, he's not the killer, the darkness inside of him did that hitjob.

[prettypinkporkchop]

I need a Paul x nerd reader in my life I think there dynamic would be so cute

I fucking love the jock x nerd trope (i know Paul's not a jock but close enough)

How it began:

You're peacefully reading your book at the public library behind a shelf. You hear two loud guys behind you out of the book aisle. You think to yourself how you're thankful for graduating school! You close the book and step out toward the checkout to buy it. You're stopped dead in your tracks.

Paul Lahote and his friend, Embry Call. Embry is being quiet and looking around for something. You gasp and hide behind the shelf. Paul Lahote. He bullied you for the longest time. When he left high school to join Sam's cult, you were already graduating. He's a year younger than you, but he was mister popular. You were just a book worm with straight A's. You've never even been in a relationship.

Embry has always been respectful. You've always questioned why he associates with him. But getting that quick view of their new hair made you extra nervous. You know Embry won't acknowledge you. Paul might even though you guys are grown now. You don't know! He's always unpredictable and hotheaded.

You take a deep breath and lower your head, quickly making your way to the check out desk. Before you reach it, you feel a tap on your shoulder. You swiftly turn and meet Paul. He's smiling his taunting smile, but it quickly fades. He seems lost in thought. Embry is standing next to him and grabs his arm. "Paul." He whispers. Paul snaps out of it and then looks down. "Hey, y/n. Good to see you." Then he walks away.

You can't help but wonder what the fuck that was about. Embry turns to you with a look of "yikes". "Sorry about that, y/n. Uhm, good to see you! Gotta blast." He gives you the peace out sign and walks away. Oh, Embry. What a dork! Oh, wait...

Now:

"Babe! Come play with us!" Paul calls out. He's holding the soccer ball in his hand. You look up from your book and push up your glasses. You can see some of the guys in the water. The other imprints decided to go shopping. It wasn't really your thing, so you stayed with Paul.

"No, sweetie. You know I'm no good at that stuff." You laugh. He groans and tosses the ball to Jared. They start playing again. But Paul stops and runs over to you, playing on your back, tackling you, and holding you down. You laugh loudly as he begins to tickle you. You toss the book and completely lose your place. "Paul!" You yell and then reach for the book. "It's got sand in it, and you made me lose my place." You sigh. He grabs your face and kisses you hard. You kiss back and hold his face, too, rubbing your thumbs on his cheek.

"Think fast!" You hear Quil running to you two. You pull away and see the ball coming right toward you. Paul reacts quickly, catching it with one hand. "Bro, really?" He glares at him.

You guys get home, and Paul is watching football on TV. You're sitting on your phone, looking at Pinterest crafting ideas. Easy ones that'll keep you out of bordemn in your free time. "YOO!" He yells and laughs. He points at the screen and looks at you. "Did you see that horrible defense?! Hell no." He turns back and laughs. You just smile and nod your head, not understanding a thing he said. He turns back to you and grabs your thigh. "Right, my nerd." He leans in and peppers kisses all over your face. You lay back and pull him on top of you. He holds himself up, looking down at you. "When you are focusing on reading or anything else, really, you're so cute. When you tutor Brady and Collin for math, I love it." He smiles. You blush and wrap your arms around his neck. "Thank you, sexy." You giggle and pull him down for a kiss. His lips land on yours for a moment, and he pulls away, looking down at you. "Do you want to play video games together? How about Madden? It's not real football. I'm sure you'll like it!" He sits up and turns on his Playstation. You suck in a breath. "Last time you made me play a sports game, I nearly fell asleep." You giggle. He laughs and then goes through his downloads. He skips animal crossing SOOOO fast. "Hey!" You call out. "Nope. Nope. I'll settle for Minecraft, but that's all you get." He shakes his head. "How about we meet in the middle? GTA?" You grab the other controller that's on the coffee table. He smirks and turns to you. "I pick the music when we steal a bus."

[animelover28sworld]

My First Kiss Went A Little Like This...

genshin impact x female reader

characters: Cyno, Childe, Kaeya,and Xiao

warnings: suggestive, kinda NSFW

info: you are in a relationship with the guys and you guys have never kissed before until now. This will be very cringey so read at your own will! The guys will probably be Out of character but I tried my best.

Cyno

You and CYNO were just playing a game of genius invocation tcg but you two made a deal, whoever loses has to do what the winner says, pretty simple right? except you were going up against Cyno which made you lose instantly. You groaned "Why are you groaning you lost and you know the deal." Cyno told you. "Yeah I know the deal." You told him, "So what do you want me to do?" "Kiss me." He told you with a straight face. "H-Huh?" You said. "You heard me, kiss me." Cyno repeated. "I heard you! But..." You trailed off. "This is your first kiss isn't it?" He said. Your face got red and he chuckled. "Here close your eyes." He told you as he got closer to you. You nodded your head and closed your eyes and before you knew it his lips were on yours and you melted into the kiss. Then he pulled away. "There you got your first kiss." He told you.

KAEYA

You knew that you wouldn't be KAEYA'S first kiss, but he was yours and he knew it so he tried to be as romantic as he could, which spoiler alert! He was, it was a home date you were talking about your day which he didn't mind that you did that. "So that's what happened..." You told Kaeya but you saw he was looking at you with a smile on his face. "Do I have something on my fac-" before you could finish your sentence his lips were on yours, it shocked you, but you melted into it, it was a passionate kiss. You wrapped your arms around his neck as you two gently leaned back on the couch to lay down, he pulled away and your face was red and you were panting a little, then he got up. "Are you okay Y/N?" Kaeya asked you. "Yeah I'm fine." You told him.

CHILDE

CHILDE wanted to be your first kiss, your first everything and he got that wish. How you had your first kiss with Childe was a day before he went on a mission. "You'll be back right?" You asked him. "Of course I will." He told you, "now all I need is my good luck charm." You were confused did he have a good luck charm? but your thoughts were quickly closed when his lips were on yours. Then he pulled away and your face was as red as an apple. "There I got my good luck charm." He told you with a wink. "If you wanted a kiss you could just ask!" You told him embarrassed. "But where would the fun be in that?" He asked you as he gave you a quick peck on your cheek. "Anyways I love you but I gotta go." He told you.

XIAO

It wouldn't be only your first kiss but XIAO'S too. And he had no idea how to, because he never felt like this before, I mean experiencing human intimacy before? completely foreign for him, so he winged it. Not the proudest moments in his life, but hey he tried his best. You two were just talking at wangshu inn, like usual and he went in for it. Which completely caught you off guard, but you returned the kiss anyways. When he broke apart from you, both of you were quiet. "What was that Xiao?" You asked him. "Well don't humans usually do that? Kiss each other?" Xiao said. You couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Yeah they do." You told him. "Then why are you laughing?" He asked you. "Because you're so innocent." You told him, then gave him a quick kiss on the lips. His face was red "O-One more time." He told you, before you could say anything his lips were on your's again, and this time the kiss was anything but quick, it was passionate and loving. Like he never wanted to let go of you. But unfortunately he had to and it was this time your face was red.

[palms-upturned]

Something that I think gets somewhat lost in the Cuno and Cunoesse plot is how the first step to getting closer to Cuno is to separate him from Cunoesse… like that’s a thing Harry notices and thinks to himself: if I want Cuno to talk to me, I have to separate him from Cunoesse. His thought process and his tactics are straightforwardly manipulative. The check is called “get_cuno_alone”. You play up to Cuno how scary and out of control Cunoesse is in order to get him to open up to you. The thing is: she’s eleven. And you’re playing as a cop who can punch Cuno and shoot Cunoesse.

Cunoesse is right to be afraid of Harry, not just because killing her is a real thing you can do in this game, but also because Harry intentionally tries to split her from Cuno, who is all she has. Without him, she doesn’t have clothes or food or a roof over her head. She doesn’t even have a name.

CUNOESSE - "Don't make yourself into a pig, Cuno. You'll have to take me away..." A leaden silence fills the yard.

SUGGESTION - So that's what this is about.

Cunoesse is afraid that Cuno will sell her out for a chance of a better life. And I feel that’s the implication in the Cuno partner ending: he left Cunoesse to become a cop because that’s what the player convinced him, intentionally or not, to do.

YOU - "Where is Cunoesse?"

CUNO - "Cuno doesn't want to talk about this shit." There is a moment of thoughtful silence. He almost looks behind him.

COMPOSURE - That is a look of a man who knows he'll be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life.

I know this moment gets read as fear a lot (especially since a check during the end game says that is is in fact scared of having to face Cunoesse if you leave him behind), but to me it reads like Cuno knowing that he’ll never have 100% conviction in his choice. It’s heavy… He took responsibility for C’s life when he took her in. Initially, he is willing to fight you to the potential death to protect her from what you represent. But he’s just a kid himself. It was never going to end well… but in this route, it ends the way it does because of Harry being a cop and interacting with them as a cop. I feel like that’s gotta be something that we take into account when we talk about C. We’re playing as a cop who’s willing to potentially disrupt her one and only relationship just for the sake of our investigation. Our relationship with Cuno depends on whether or not we can “get_cuno_alone.” And in the end, when we do, we’ve potentially ruined both these kids’ lives even worse than before.

[archangeldyke-all]

ok so the new still we're all raving over has me thinking- what if sevika is at the last drop having a drink while her mech arm is being serviced and she can't put her hair up with just one. She keeps getting strands in her face and keeps trying to blow them out of the way or shift her head so they fall away from her face but it's not working and she's getting frustrated. A VERY drunk reader notices, and forgetting that Sevika could snap her like a twig just walks up and puts her hair up for her?

WAHHHH

men and minors dni

you're not close with sevika. but you're about as close to people as she gets.

you both frequent the last drop: you because it's half a block from your job, sevika because it is her job. from time to time, you'll play a game of cards with her, laughing and graciously losing. you've asked her for a drink recommendation on occasion, she'll acknowledge you with a wave if you bump into each other in the lanes.

but you're not close.

not close enough for you to stumble over to her as you do now, with a single-minded focus on her loose hair.

sevika lost her arm to jinx's sister or something about a week ago. since then, she's been too busy dealing with the fucking civil war jinx launched zaun into, as well as the death of silco.

she looks haggard and exhausted as she storms into the bar, and you can't help but feel a little bad for her.

you've been drinking a lot. which is why you feel so fucking comfortable stumbling up to her side now.

"sevvy!" you shout. she glares over at you, but her sharp gaze has no effect on your drunken state. "hey, hotstuff." you slur as you saddle up in the stool beside her.

she gives you a quick quirk of her eyebrow. you burst into giggles. "thieram. get her a water." sevika grunts out before returning to her whiskey.

you pout, studying sevika's profile.

her dark eye-bags are ten times darker. the bruises she's been healing from the few scuffles she got in last week are still purple-- she's been too busy for her body to properly heal. her hair is dangling in her face-- her signature half ponytail nowhere to be found since she only has one arm nowadays.

you frown. you can fix that for her easily. "th'ram." you slur, looking at the bartender as he hands you a drink. "y' gotta rubberand?" you ask.

thieram nods, turns around quickly as you sip your water, before returning to you with a ball of rubberbands. you smile at him, before clumsily freeing one, then tapping sevika on the shoulder.

"c'mere." you mumble, standing out of your stool and walking into sevika's space. she stiffens, her back going straight as you gently comb the top layer of her hair back. you're careful as you work: not as coordinated as usual because of your inebriation, but laser focused-- your tongue sticking out of your lips and your eyebrows furrowed as you tie half of her hair off in a little pony tail at the back of her head.

she's blinking at you with wide, shocked eyes when you pull away with a triumphant smile. you giggle. "there ya go, sevvy." you say, kissing her scarred cheek.

the next morning, you wake up in your bed, not remembering how you got home from the bar.

(sevika walked you home, her heart hammering in her chest as her mind replayed your gentle fingers combing her hair back over and over. she tucked you in, pressed a sweet kiss to your forehead then locked your door and left your apartment. she swore to herself as she walked home that night that she wasn't going to let this become anything. you barely touched her hair for fuck's sake!)

((she only lets herself admit outloud that she fell in love with you that night once you've been married for three years.))

taglist!

@fyeahnix @sapphicsgirl @half-of-a-gay @thesevi0lentdelights @sexysapphicshopowner @shimtarofstupidity @chuucanchuucan @badbye666 @femme-historian @lia-winther @gr0ssz0mbi3 @ellsss @sevikaspillowprincess @leomatsuzaki @emiliabby @sevikasbeloved @hellorai @vikasub @glass-apothecary @m0numents @macaroni676 @vixel352 @artinvain

[nanamisdickrider]

GAME OVER !

☾⋆｡𖦹 °✩ ——

Character : Satoru Gojo

-summary : Gojo loses in his game and takes his anger out on you <3

- 18+ / NSFW

–—–

"Told you I won't be going easy on you Gojo!" Geto says from the other line.

Gojo was currently playing this brand new videogame with getou, you were there sitting on the bed, watching your daily show episodes since your boyfriend was too caught up on that game with his best friend. After a while, you heard gojo groan and getou laughing loudly on that phone call, you assumed that gojo lost in the game and..you were correct. Gojo turned off his PC off and cut the call, you put down your phone to comfort him but as you were about to get up from the bed, he walked towards you and pushed you back on the soft mattress. "I'm so pissed off baby" he sighed and sat on his knees, looking down at you, his eyes were a dark shade of blue. You felt your body tensing when his cold hands touched up your thighs, dangerously close to your cunt, his fingers pressed on your clit, going up and down on that thin clothing which was separating his fingers from your cunny:( "Want to be a good girlfriend and help me relax? Yeah babe?" He pulls your panties down and his index finger immediately goes to your entrance, pushing it inside you slowly, you let out a small moan.

Gojo was between your legs now, he was lapping at your wet cunt so harshly, his tongue abusing your pussy and your hole for so long, sucking and biting at your clit every now and then just to make you scream his name. You came 2 times already, and Gojo just can't get enough. You were pulling on his soft hair, trying to get him off of you. "Don't push me off like that love, jus' trying to relax"

Gojo pulled down his gray sweatpants and you saw his hard cock, it was so veiny and the tip was a very light red colour, he leaned down, his face inches away from yours, he was looking down at his cock gathering all your slick from between your folds. He looked up at you and smiled, pushing it in slowly, you were whimpering under him "it's...s-so big—Ngh~"

"And you're gonna take all of it baby, every inch of me. I'm going to fill you up with my cum, you'll be so full of me, just how I like it♡"

A/n- nvm gojo don't even sound angry I think he's just..??? Idk bro my exams r near I gotta study goodbye⁉️🗣️🙏

[lil-tachyon]

For the last couple weeks I've been drawing logos / designs for local-ish (mostly NJ, some PA and NY) bands as warmups in the morning. Here's what I've come up with! Massive post below the break explaining each logo + where to find each band and listen to their music.

Teenage Halloween- a staple of New Jersey basements for probably about a decade now and finally getting wider recognition in the last couple years. Pop punk / power pop with a killer horn section. First time I saw them was in New Brunswick playing with Walter Etc. and Blowout. They played a killer cover "Build Me Up Buttercup" and my wife got a black eye in the pit. Recommended tracks: "Brain Song," "666," "Clarity." Their first EP is on a separate bandcamp page btw, check it out here it's great.

Sweet Pill - They will call themselves a Philly band but in my heart they'll always be from Glassboro. Definitely one of the more recognizable names on this list. Emo revival - early stuff is more twinkly, more recent stuff is heavier. All of it's great. Recommended tracks "Nephew," "High Hopes."

Shark Club - Central Jersey's finest. I'm very biased because I actually know these dudes and they did the music for my wedding. Some of the best pop punk you'll hear and the nicest people you'll meet. Recommended tracks: "Game Theory," "Bill Murray," "Heavens to Betsy."

Rest Ashore - My favorite band for the last (oh God I'm old now) eight years. From gut-wrenching emo ballads to virtuoso math-rock instrumentals they do it all. One time I got to sing vocals on "Lucy's Theme" at a house show- thank you Erica! Recommended tracks: "Hjarta," "Chinese Opera," "Devotion," "Soyuz Sweetheart." Too many bangers to name honestly, just deep dive their discography.

Morus Alba - First band I ever went to see at a house show and still one of my absolute favorites. Their music feels like the bridge between the best pitchfork, /mu/ alt rock bands and high energy basement emo. I mean that as a compliment and I hope it comes off as one lol. I should note that since 2019 Morus Alba has morphed from a band into an experimental hip-hop project so later releases sound radically different and basically disconnected from the earlier stuff. Also my favorite release from them, Live at Isabelle's, has been scrubbed from the internet but if you'd like the files just email me. Recommended tracks: "Skyscraper," "Human Resources," "The Goodnight Waltz."

Have a Good Season - another Jersey mainstay that's still going strong. Emo revival in their earlier releases, now with more 70s power pop influences in their newer stuff. See them live, they put on a fantastic show and usually play some great covers in addition to their original music. HaGS guys if you're reading this, please put your version of "Since You've Been Gone" online, I'm begging you. Recommended tracks: "Joseph / Shel Silverstein," (you have to listen to them together for the drop, so good) , "Gum, "Gleaux / Scab." Also, frontman Nic Palermo interviewed me once.

Elephant Jake - If you see any of these bands live make it EJ, they put on such a damn good show. Electrifying indie punk from the Empire State. Recommended tracks: "F.D.C." "Sarah Moyer," "Goodness to Honest," and of course you gotta learn "Sebastien Bauer" for the singalongs.

Blind Lion - Sadly one of the greats that we lost along the way. Defunct since about 2017. I only got to see them once but it was a great performance. Alongside their own stuff they played some killer covers of "Bad Moon Rising" and "Moonage Daydream." I had trouble doing a logo design for them because I actually really like the composition, if not the "Ed Hardy-ness," of their existing logo so what you see here are two separate attempts, neither of which feels entirely satisfying to me. Frontperson Larry Flately currently plays in Nematode and also handled production of Bradley Gardens joke hiphop group The Breakfast Boiz under the moniker "DJ Ova EZ." Recommended tracks: "Brumous," "Dinner."

Fighting Seasons - A band that I sadly found out about too late (via a sticker under the bridge in my town which has since been painted over). 2010s pop punk that packs a helluva punch, especially considering that I'm pretty sure the members were high schoolers for most of the band's existence. I think some members may have gone on to form Sawce (FFO Chon, Polyphia, that type of music) but I can't remember where I read/heard that so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Recommended tracks: "Fighting Seasons," "Oil on Canvas"

Milkmen- Another fallen giant, officially disbanded in 2019. Like Morus Alba, they played the very first house show I attended and their few releases remain on constant rotation in my home. Used to put on a great show and were one of the bands I always thought would make it big until suddenly they weren't around anymore. Frontman Ben Thieberger contributed guitar and vocals to Covid quarantine project Kin if you're looking for a bit of an extra fix but beyond that I don't know what these guys are up to these days, sadly. Recommended tracks: "Ramus," "Johnny Dangerously," "how sieves catch breeze," "K.O.T.H."

Stand and Wave - New York (now Philly) pop punkers delivering instant dopamine hits with every track. Another great live act, see them with EJ if you can! They often play shows together. Recommended tracks: "Convos," "Mrs. Dash," "Splashton Kutcher," "Michael Collins."

My Chemical Romance - You know who they are. While I was drawing all these other logos I ran a poll on Patreon to decide which famous New Jersey band should also be graced with a drawing from me. MCR won the poll by a hefty margin so unfortunately you won't get to see me do an illegible black metal take on Hoboken's Yo La Tengo. I ended up doing two versions: the one with the halo is the first, the one with the bats was the second. I tried to do something kind of thin and elegant with the first one and I don't think it's terrible but I also wasn't quite satisfied with it. For the 2nd attempt I tried to lean into the kind of pulpy, almost horror punk aesthetic of early MCR and I think that one looks better even if it's less original.

Anyway if you took the time to read through all this, thank you very much! And please support these bands! Also If any of the links aren't working please let me know.

-Logan

[mellowwillowy]

Olympus

You can't possibly just come here just for fun and leave everyone be once you're bored right?

Credit 🥂 (Ares, Loki, Hades by Starlxxd)

[ GN Reader but stuck with them instead of the the mystics ]

Hades

Hades = Gaslighting

The underworld may be damp but with your pressence alone, the underworld seems to be the best place Hades could ever find

Sure, 'Mistress/Lover of Olympians', but how about changing it into 'Mistress/Master of the Underworld' now?

See? Cerberus will be upset if you leave the underworld for well, the Mystics, Mortals or just play around with the other Olympians

Don't worry, Hades has made sure that Cerberus will always be there to block the way out either by having them roll around begging for your attention or just, making you ride them (hey, you have always enjoyed riding them at full speed)

"It's fun riding them right? Faster, boys!"

And you being the dense, naive one will not realize Hades' true intentions at all

You'll be sat on a throne just like him, well, except of sitting on each other's respective throne, Hades will sit on the floor with his head resting on your lap

You are his sunshine in this damp world, you are his fresh air in this damp world, you are his sweet flower in this damp world

Now now, where are you going to? Hm? Leave? You are going to leave the underworld to see Zeus again? How about a game with Cerberus and him?

Surely that King of the Gods is not worth your time so better spend it wisely on the King of the Underworld instead, hm?

"Mmh, how about a trip in the Underworld?"

"But I've explored all the places here?"

"Nuh uh, there's still more love~ come on"

Yeah he definitely did not just create something for this

If the pom is effective, he'll trick you into eating it when you are drunk from the alcohol he made you drink

If not then he'll just have to find another way to trap you here

Koei : God, if Yang Jian is the one who's gon escort you back then he'll 100% go feral once you leave lmaoo

Loki

Honestly idk much about him but he'll just be a persistent one

Will do few tricks to trick you into staying

Ah, you've seen that one? Fine how about this one? And this one?

Mmh, have you ever seen this? It's one of his many weapons. Ah, you have? How about this? And this?

"Let's play this game, shall we?"

"But we've been playing this for the whole week, Loki"

"Ah... how about this game then, here's how.."

He'll do whatever it takes to make you stay with him

Ares

Angy baby who'll bite everyone if you tell him you are going to leave

He just turns into a ticking bomb, someone greeted him and they'll have to hear him curses non stop

What do you mean by you are bored? Is he not enough as a companion for you to kill your boredom?

The mystics? Phah! Screw them, you are coming with him to this banquet

You just nod along while tailing him behind, completely oblivious with his attempts in not letting you leave

How about you join him to this one war? It'll be a nice change of scenery for you no? You won't be bored watching him fight, he promises

"Ares, I just wanna go see Hundun and have a tea with him-"

"Hmph, that ugly arrogant four-handed monster? If you want a companion for your tea party then you can just have me!"

If he won then he'll puff himself with pride and boast non stop on your face, making you sing praises to him while tending him

If he lost then you'll also still sing praises for him, just gotta make sure your wordings won't hurt him. Also since you'll give him extra special treatment whenever he lost, he won't sulk that long

You? And Aphrodite? He'll choose you over her silly

Remember how easily flustered he is when you just approached him without warning? Yeah he's still the same

"Let's ride together into the battlefield hm? Just... don't leave"

Well, it's really rare for him to be this soft considering how he just started another war to distract you

Zeus will have to give him a few words again after this

[heartfullofleeches]

Yan Clown/Circus + Imaginary Friend Darling Blurb

Throughout life, friends come and go, but you - were always the first.

Things were simple in the beginning. Sit with that lonely kid at the playground, wipe their face with your sleeves, and ask if they wanted to be friends. They always said yes. You were inseparable. Playing until streetlights came on plus a seat saved for you at the dinner table when they reluctantly returned home. The biggest fears you faced where the monsters under the bed and the dark... then came school, homework, the future. Your playdates became so far and few, they put in the efforts to make new friends and you were so happy for them.

"Y/n? Who's that? Quit talking to yourself and come hang out with us."

But none of them ever wanted to be yours. Your friend was never home anymore and when they were it was always school work or video games taking their attention. Your place at the table was given to someone else. They'd gradually drift away from speaking to you and it was like you never existed in the first place to them, and maybe you never did - so you left. Back to that empty that existed before it all. There, you remembered all your friends. All your precious memories and the treasures they gave you their parents questioned them about when they disappeared. You hated it there. You didn't want to reminisce on the good times - it only lead to wordless goodbyes. Why - why did they always leave you behind?

"I got invited to a slumber party this weekend... Everyone turned out to be so nice once I gave them a chance like you told me to.... You'll... always be my best friend, but I have real ones now. I'm not a kid anymore - and I can't live in a fantasy world forever."

Of course you always knew - but did your time together really mean nothing? The smiles and tears, joys and fears - were those fake too? This was how life for you went and has gone your entire path. Make a new friend, wait for them to make their own, force yourself to forget, and repeat. You never, ever blamed them for abandoning you. It was your biggest dream to see your friends go out in the world and do all the things you rambled about for hours - you just wished you could've been their when they made their dreams come true. If they could make those fantasies reality, why couldn't you be real too them? It's not fair-

"Hey! You gonna put your raspberry in the square yet? I don't mind waiting cuz you're really cute - but I've eaten most of the blueberries already and if I eat one more I won't have enough for a win."

A new friend - you kept them waiting, lost in your thoughts like that. There's something different about this one... They're a lot bigger than your old friends and dress strange just like those funny people in shows. How old are they?

"28..... Is my favorite number because that's how many waffles I can eat before throwing up. I dunno my age really, I like a lot of candles on my pie so it's hard to remember. I'm probably waaaaaay older - or younger, but I'm definitely not younger than eighteen because I get a new doll every year - and there's a ton. Hey, when's your birthday so we can get your collection started?"

An adult - An adult can see you, but why?

"Hmmm, I dunno how you got in here either. I was just thinking about how great it would be to have someone to eat all these waffles with since I made 29 today - and poof you appeared outta nowhere. You gotta so me that trick eventually - wanna be pals? I'll give you... a quarter, no- half the stack if ya stick around. My name's Gus. Gus the clown."

A clown... Alot of your friends loved those, others were terrified. This one reminded you alot of them. So silly and carefree, just like they always were before reality kicked in. It was never that way for Gus. You'll never forget the shocked look on their face when you told them chocolate milk didn't come from brown cows. They serenaded you with songs detailing your adventures together and nearly had a heart attack when you played peekaboo together which they later tried to play off as good acting - the tear smudges in their paint was just from hot how was is.

At the same time, Gus was far more mature they let on. They fantasized about finding the missing piece to their act and heart, and hopefully marrying that special someone someday. They were all smiles - but as soon as someone got hurt they knew when to drop the act and when to use it to their advantage. You prayed the day they found someone they wouldn't ditch you like everyone else.

It turned out there were a lot more like Gus. True to their status as a performer, they worked and lived in a traveling circus with others who were accepting of you - and had the eyes to see you. They never doubted your existence like parents used to and believed near ever word Gus said even when at the point in time you were nothing more than the ramblings of a mad-clown, and greeted you in kind. Overtime, you became corporal for these performers too and the brief hellos turned to bear hugs thrust upon dolls Gus' sibling made for everyone to have when they wanted sat hello. They still couldn't touch you, but for the first time everyone knew you were their and love you the same, if not more than the friend you came for. Sometimes it really did feel like you were a real person. If only....

"Ouch!"

You pull your hand away from Gus' as the clown bursts into a fit of giggles - yelping in pain as they clap their hands together, electrocuting themselves on the buzzer.

Whoo! That definitely sends a shock through ya. Can't believe that got you. Hey - that got you... you've never been hurt by any of the things we've done before."

They're right. That really did hurt. Wait. It hurt. You've never been able to interact with anything before - leaving Gus overwhelmed on brunch dates when they devoured your share. What's going on?

Gus expresses the confusion you're both feeling with a high-pitched scream. They dart around the room, nabbing their emergency supplies of candy from beneath their pillow. "Ahhhh, idea - Y/n, try one of these - hurry!"

You take one of the licorice sticks and shove it in your mouth. If picked up the treat wasn't proof enough, the explosion of flavor on your tongue confirmed your theories.

"It's...good."

Gus races in a circles, squeeling in delight as they grab and pinch your plush - warm cheeks. "They've never been warm before! This is amazing. Ahhh, next test- here goes!"

Shutting their eyes, Gus rams their lips against yours - grinning with teeth against your skin. They kiss your lips, cheeks, and noses - smothering you with a hug, soaking up the beat of your speeding heart.

"You have no idea long I've wanted to do that...."

You're still reeling from everything going on. "W-what's happening, Gus?"

"No clue! If you want my guess, I'd say so many people believing in you made you real like that one movie with the puppet. The others! Oh, man everyone's gonna love this! Come on!"

Gus picks you up and sprints to the main show room. They gather everyone into the area along with the biggest mirror they could find. They try to explain, but the excitement gets the better of them. Frustrated by everyone's agreeable questions - they rip off the blanket covering the mirror and your reflection, and the crowd goes wild.

"That wasn't there before! Can we touch Y/n now???"

"I call dibs on giving them their first piggyback ride!"

"Wonderful timing! I knitted you a lovely scarf before I forgot you technically were a figment of our combined imaginations."

"If they're really here and can touch stuff... They can be part of the show - can't they?"

Thats right. You'd fit right in with your history too. After a celebratory dinner and cuddle session - the preparations for your big debut were made. As expected, everyone loved you. You and Gus were the starting act, and two halves of the same whole. People saw you, they praised you, loved you. The adoration of the crowd was like no other, but everything after the curtains were closed was even better. Gus kept to their promise of never leaving you behind. You were that missing piece - someone they couldn't live without. It was time for you to finally grow up and leave the ghosts of the past where they lied.

"Aw, don't be like that, sweetie. You'll love it once we get there."

This is bullshit. Their college gradation and their folks were dragging them to some circus. Luckily they had a few buds pull through for an aftershow at a nearby bat.

"Maybe your opinion will change when you see the staring act. That clown reminds me a lot of that friend you used to go on about. What was their name again? I think it was -"

Y/n. Your name and smiling face were plastered on a billboard they passed. It was no vague resemblance - that was their first companion down to the scrunchie you wore around your wrist that they gave you on the day they gave you the lukewarm mercy of a goodbye. It couldn't really be you - right?

"Look how big you've grown...."

No-

"Your parents tell me you're graduating this year. I'm so, so proud of you. Are you going to become a scientist just like you said?"

How?

"You always said it was so you could find a way for everyone to see me too... I'm sorry for holding you back for so long. It's good that you made friends. I made alot too - really good ones. With them, I can live in fantasy and the real world at the same time. It's so much fun."

What are you apologizing for? Why are you acting like you're the one that abandoned them. You were everywhere to them. Everything they ever achieved was because of the shoulder you gave them to lean on. Being with you was like a dream - but everyone has to wake up eventually.

"Oops! Looks like a wasted all our time. I have a few more scheduled greets, but maybe if you stay after we can chat a little more before you leave. See you!"

They don't want to leave. There's still so much to be explained; to say and do, but just like them - you were gone as you appeared. They had to see you again in a better time. Do imaginary friends drink coffee?"

"How's it feel to be the one on the other end of the stick?"

Another clown stands behind them. It was the same one that shared your act. Gus. What do they want?

"Y'know I know alllll about what happened between you two. I know everything from their past since as their bestest friend - and potential future spouse - it's my job to make them loved enough to spill every, little detail. You shouldn't have come here. You're not the first to recognize them - and you won't be the last.

The ball of their wrist juts painfully against their skin as the clown grabs their arm.

"I won't let any of you get back into their heart. I won't let anyone hurt them again. You can't just take back what you broke when someone else fixes it. I'll make you feel what they felt. I'll make them forget you - and anyone who tries to take them from us that I promise and promises are meant to be kept. Quick question before you go though - think Y/n will like these matching necklaces I made us? Anything looks cute when its on them - but think it'll fit better than that old scrunchie."

[thescarletnargacuga]

Art: @iamespecter

CHAPTER TWO

Racing AU

After the excitement of the track wears off, Pomni's situation sinks in. She's trapped. The others try to make her feel welcome and introduce her to Kaufmo. What could go wrong?

WARNING: angst, abstraction, some violence

Ch1

The racers all filed into the garage as the NPC audience cheered their last. Caine joined them inside and snapped his fingers. All their karts teleported inside to their respective part of the open floor plan garage. There was a spiraling metal stair case to a second floor loft that lined the outer wall. Every upstairs door lead out to overlook the garage. To the far right was a lounge with comfortable looking couches and chairs and recreational activities; such as pool and table tennis.

Pomni wiped the last of the confetti off her shoulder as she looked around. "Is this...all there is?"

"Of course not!" Caine chimed in before anyone else could answer. "In between races you have full use of the practice track! Take a look!" He opened the blinds and the outside looked different. The start line was the same but the stands where empty. The track no longer led underground but instead continued to curve around the garage and looped back to the start in a perfect oval. "And inside, you can play mini games with your new friends!" Pomni stared at the others with uncertainty. "Also!" Caine pulled Pomni by the hand to an empty kart area of the garage. "You can customize your kart! Everything from the engine and tires to the body and paint! The only limit is your imagination!"

"And the game's source engine." Jax added. "I've already tested that. He won't let you add more that five accessories to the kart or you end up clipping into the void."

"The...void?" Pomni paled.

"Now, Jax. We needn't bring THAT up. It's nothing to concern yourself with, my dear. There are many safety features in place to prevent that from happening. I can assure you, as host, I've never lost anyone in the void. I know all your positions at all times thanks to my wacky watch!" Caine proudly showed the small purple TV on his wrist. Six blips appeared on screen.

Caine tapped his watch. "Huh...Welp, I gotta get going! The tracks don't generate themselves! I've got to prepare for tomorrow's race! Speak to one of our Bubble assistants if you have any more questions!" Then with a pop, he was gone.

Pomni took a step back and rubbed her arms as she looked at everyone still staring at her. "Look, uh... The race was fun, but...how do I...leave?"

The others looked down or away from her. None of them wanting to be the one to tell her.

Jax groaned incredulously. "You can't. None of us can."

"Jax!" Ragatha scolded. "Why do have to be so tactless!?"

"Because there is no tact when it comes to telling someone they're stuck in digital purgatory for all of eternity, Ragatha!" He got nose to nose with her and they glared at each other.

"Please, don't fight." Gangle whimpered.

"Seriously. Will you two get a grip?" Zooble rolled their eyes and looked at Pomni. "He's right though. Welcome to your new home." Zooble then went to the pinball machine in the lounge.

"What? Why can't we leave? I don't understand. Isn't this just a game?" Pomni felt he face again for the headset she barely remembered she had on before appearing here.

"It was supposed to be just a game..." A quiet voice came from the lounge. Kinger had turned the couch cushions and pillows into a fort and was securely inside it. "People were never meant to be stuck here. Something went wrong."

Pomni got closer to the fort. "What went wrong?"

Kinger popped his head out. "What went where?"

"You'll have to excuse him." Ragatha sighed. "He's been here the longest."

"That's why he's crazy!" Laughed Jax. "That's all our fates, Pomni. Giving into the madness or being broken by it."

Ragatha grabbed a pillow and chucked it at Jax. "Go be a nuisance somewhere else!"

"My impenetrable fortress!" Cried Kinger as the missing pillow left a hole in his carefully made fort.

"Fine. I've got better things to do anyway. Like eat. Hey, Bubble chef!" Jax walked off to a table set for dining and a Bubble appeared to assist him.

Gangle got the pillow Ragatha threw and fixed Kinger's fort.

"Thank you." Kinger sighed with relief and disappeared inside.

Ragatha put a gentle hand on Pomni's shoulder. "Look...being here isn't so bad. Caine keeps us busy and we have each other." She glared at Jax. "For better or worse. There's one person you haven't met yet, he wasn't at the race today. Would you like to come with me to check on him?"

Pomni had been out of it as she really processed her situation. No way to leave. Stuck in digital purgatory. Forever. She could never go back to the life she had. Everything and everyone she had known didn't matter anymore. She vomited.

Ragatha jumped back to keep from stepping in it, but kept her hand on Pomni. She gently steered Pomni to the stairs. "Come on, Kaufmo will cheer you up. He's very good at it. Clean up!" She called out and a Bubble appeared.

"I'm on it!" The Bubble proceeded to lick up the mess. Gangle was nearly sick herself witnessing it.

Ragatha and Pomni went upstairs and walked along the long loft towards Kaufmo's room.

"Ragatha...I'm confused. Why participate in the races at all? Why not search for a way out? Are we really sure we can't leave?" Pomni said quietly.

"You aren't the first person to search for the exit, many have tried. None have succeeded." They walked past door after door. Many blank but a few had faces. Unknown faces with red Xs painted over them. "We all looked for a way out at some point or another, but we've come to accept our place here because ...well, constantly pursuing an unobtainable goal will drive you to mind breaking insanity. And when you've reached that point...there's no return."

"[@#$& !¥π∆]" Pomni muttered, the cartoonish sound effects not phasing her this time.

"...I know." Ragatha frowned and knocked on the door to Kaufmo's room. No answer. "Kaufmo? Hey, you in there? We got a new racer today! Wanna meet her?" No answer. "Huh, maybe he's not in his room?"

BOOM!

Something large and heavy hit the wall in front of them. It shook the building and got the attentions of those still downstairs.

BOOM!!

The wall around Kaufmo's door started to crack. The door itself buckling from impact.

BOOM!!!

The door flew off the wall, Ragatha and Pomni dove out of the way, missing it by inches. The door hit the railing and fell end over end to the ground floor with a loud crash. The girls looked up at the emerging creature from the broken doorframe. A beast of indeterminate dimensions snarled as it's many eyes look wildly around in their sockets.

"What is that!?"

"Remember that whole 'point of no return'? This is it! Run, Pomni!" Ragatha took off down her section of the railing. Pomni turned on her heel and ran the opposite direction. The beast tried swiping at them both, causing it to flop on the railing in front of it, crushing it. The beast roared and randomly chose to go after Pomni. Those on the ground could only watch as Pomni circle the building trying to get to the stairs.

"What's happening!?" Gangle screamed, hiding behind Zooble.

Zooble looked up in horror as they connected the dots. "Kaufmo...no."

Jax sat under the dinner table with the stack of pancakes he ordered. He sighed and took a bite. "Here we go again."

Pomni made it to the stairs before Ragatha and slid down the railing. She fumbled the landing but kept running to the door that led outside. The beast caught Ragatha at the stairs and smashed her against the wall. The janked nature of the beast made Ragatha glitch. She screamed as she was thrown around again and again, eventually being tossed over the side and landing hard on the garage floor.

The beast jumped with the intent to crush Ragatha, but Gangle's ribbon grabbed her leg and pulled her free of the impact zone. The beast came down hard and broke the floor, textures started glitching in and out.

"In here! Quick!" Kinger opened his fortress and beckoned Zooble, Ragatha and Gangle inside. They hunkered down and held each other as they heard the beast get up from its fall. It roared and started smashing at an outside wall.

"Pomni is still out there!" Ragatha was barely understandable through her glitched speech pattern. "We have to help her!"

"No! Stay out of sight. Safe." Kinger stuttered out. The bashing and crashing of the abstracted Kaufmo brought back too many memories. He curled himself in the fetal position and stared at nothing.

Zooble pulled off one of their eyes and used it to discreetly peak out. The beast was trying to break though the wall where the entrance door was. They looked around and saw Jax still under the dining table, just finishing his pancakes. "He's right. Caine's never gone for too long. We have to wait this out. ...like last time."

"And the time before that and the time before that and the time before that-" Kinger repeated.

Gangle held Zooble's hand. Despite her best brave face, she was shaking. "It's Kaufmo, isn't it?"

Zooble nodded.

Gangle started to cry. "I didn't think it'd be him next. He was always so...so..."

"Happy? Yeah, hate to break it to you, but if someone is happy all the time...they're not." Zooble put their eye back and held Ragatha's glitching hand. It made their own arm glitch but they bared the pain to be of some comfort to Ragatha.

BOOM!!

The building shook as the beast made it outside. It saw Pomni making a break for the stands and charged. Pomni ran as fast as her new little legs could go. She could see an entryway inside the stands, maybe she could hide there. Over her shoulder, she could see the beast gaining. Not looking ahead, she ran into the door and fell on her ass.

She scrambled for the door handle. The beast was nearly upon her and WHAM! She made it though the frame just in time. She got to her feet and ran in any direction away from the door. She saw some stairs with a sign that read "Announcer Booth" and she bolted up them. The higher she went the more the textures around her started to de-load.

"For [✓√@&#] sake, how tall is this tower??" She huffed. She took a moment to catch her breath when she finally made it to the top and took a look around. She wasn't in any kind of tower, in fact, it looked like she wasn't anywhere at all. Blank gridded walls and ceilings went as far as the eye could see. Unused textures and assets sparsely dotted the landscape. Peices of half built track hovered unsupported. Obstacles still in the process of being designed.

"Pomni? What are you doing here??"

Pomni screamed at the top of her lungs and swung around to see Caine hovering just feet from where she stood. Tie loose, cane, top hat, and coat missing, he looked as though he'd been very busy and she interrupted him.

"I realize you're new around here, so you didn't know, but I don't like people seeing my unfinished work. It's...well, a bit embarrassing." He cleared his non-existent throat. "You'll get a front row view of my latest creation tomorrow, I promise! I'll just send you back now."

"WAIT!"

Caine paused mid-snap.

"There's a thing outside! It attacked us!"

"Attacked? No enemies should be in bounds this late in the day."

"No, No! It was the guy! The UHHH-" Pomni struggled to remember the name in panic.

Caine gave her a look. "The 'guy'? Really now, if you just wanted an excuse to stay up here, you could have just said so. I do have a few mostly completed projects I suppose I could show you-"

"NO! THE GUY! THE CLOWN! THE- THE- KAUFMO! That's his name! Kaufmo turned into some beast and is breaking everything! He hurt Ragatha!"

"Kaufmo abstracted!? Why didn't you say so!" He grabbed Pomni's hand and teleported with her to the starting line. There they saw the beast still bashing it's head(?) against the door to the stands. He snapped his fingers and the monster started to levitate.

"Into the cellar you go." A pit opened as Caine lowered the beast down.

Pomni was floating with Caine and the pit opening made her grab his arm tightly. She watched the beast that was Kaufmo fall down into the darkness, his roar sounding like a pitiful wail as the pit closed.

"Well...that's that." Caine's usual boisterous voice came out somber as he looked down where the pit had been.

"How many times has this happened?" Pomni asked, her voice raspy from screaming.

"Too many times." Caine left it at that as he snapped his fingers again and the damage to the buildings repaired. He teleported inside with Pomni to check his charges.

"Caine! About [@#$&!] time!" Zooble grunted as they fought to keep their own composer, helping Ragatha out of the pillow fort.

"Oop-" Caine snapped his fingers and they were normal again. He then floated down to let Pomni touch solid ground again. "Sorry about that, everyone. I was looking for Kaufmo initially, his signature wasn't coming up on my wacky watch, but then I...you know, got distracted. So much work and only so much me to handle it all." He laughed nervously. "Speaking of which, I really need to get back to it. Big race tomorrow! Rest up, my little superstars!" He poofed away.

A heavy silence fell over everyone. They looked at each other, shaken over when just happened. The building was completely repaired, even Kaufmo's room. No signs that someone abstracted. Like it never happened...or mattered.

Jax stretched as he stood up from the floor. "Uuuuugh! Finally. I was tired of sitting under there."

Ragatha saw red. She stormed over to Jax and smacked him hard enough to echoe through the garage. "What the [@#$!] is wrong with you!? Kaufmo just- he- how can you take this so lightly!?" Tears burned her unbuttoned eye.

Jax rubbed his face but otherwise didn't flinch from Ragatha. "How can you take this so seriously? It's not like it's the first time it's happened. And it won't be the last." He looked down at her. "I'm going to bed, unless anyone else wants to smack the [@#$&] out of me?" No one looked at him so he pocketed his hands and went upstairs.

Ragatha broke down into sobs. Gangle tried to comfort her. Zooble couldn't handle any more and left to their room. Kinger was politely putting all of the pillows back to her original places. Pomni went to him.

"Hey, uh...Kinger, right?"

"AH! Oh, hello, didn't see you there." He yeeted the pillow he was holding when he got startled so he clasped his hands together in front of him.

"The... Kaufmo thing-"

"Abstraction." Kinger said flatly.

"Uh, yeah...how many times has it happened?"

"So many times. So many friends. So many-"

"Give me a number. Please." Pomni tried to disguise her frustration with a smile.

"Eight people started the race. Then there were seven. Then six. Then seven. Then six. Then four. Then five. Then eight. Then seven. Then six. Then five. Then six. Then five. Then six. Then seven. Then six." Kinger started to shake in place, his eyes bloodshot.

Pomni took a step back. "Yeesh, maybe you are just crazy." She looked to Ragatha and Gangle having a cry over Kaufmo. She felt awkward possibly interrupting so she went upstairs.

She followed the doors. So many Xs. So many "abstractions". Was this really their fate? To play some game forever or risk falling apart? Her mind raced as she finally saw a door with her face on it. It's big, pleading eyes staring back at her.

"I'm getting out of here. Death would be a kinder fate than this." She took one last glance at the X'd doors and went inside her room.

~~~

Ch3

[trifargo]

Persona 5 Kitchenette (Cooking)

is a P5 game idea i came up with... instead of the main PT, the stars here are the auxiliary phantom thieves instead (and joker): akechi, sumire, sophia, zenkichi, and toshiro. this came be because i'm annoyed at how zenkichi (and sophia) are not in P5T, so i thought "you know what, because i am complaining about the lack of P5S guys in P5T, and the royal trio fans complain about the lack of P5R guys in P5S, what if i merge the left out folks in a game. world peace???"

it's basically cooking mama, but a bit more elaborate. the game will be split in 3 parts: shopping, teaching, and cooking. more below (VERY LONG)

storyline

winter holiday is coming up. joker and the gang plans another reunion in leblanc. but then, joker remembers something: the team was bigger, sometimes. there are some of the PT comrades that have yet to chat and meet with them, or even with each of them. so he decided to whip up a surprise: he'll invite not only the main PT, but also the auxiliaries, to meet with each other and the main team.

so joker invited the auxiliary gang ahead of the D-Day. and to make the smaller mini reunion more fun, he decides to do a cooking lesson with them, and they have to cook this on the real reunion day - for the main PT gang.

for the mini reunion, they'll be cooking in sojiro's house, instead of leblanc because of course, leblanc will be filled by customers, duh! they'll have some chats - the awkward one, funny one, annoying one... some character developments and look deeper on the ideals and meanings from the journeys each aux members have gone through. exploring the possible paralels in each characters, contrasts, and what they have been doing while they're off the game.

gameplay

the game is basially visual novel with minigames. it has 2 modes:

story mode: follows the story above. the story itself won't be long, probably like... 3 hours? 5? i dunno. it will play like P5T format: gameplay - dialogue - repeat. i personally find this format to be monotonous to enjoy, so the break sections (the one with menus) will probably allow you to walk around the house and outside? still, all you can do here is talk, so probably there'll be reward for talking. maybe bonuses to ease your next minigame. the character you'll be playing as is scripted.

free mode: you can cook whatever you want in here. it's off from the main story, so treat it like an "what if" (like joker's wedding scenarios in P5T). you can cook whatever you want - there are even new recipes in this mode! complete all the recipes perfectly to achieve platinum. you can pick anyone you'd like to play as (though they determine the kind of minigame you'll be playing, being shopping/teaching/cooking - except joker, he can play all these three).

meanwhile, the game parts are as below. these aren't super fixed or anything, could be changed.

shopping: you'll be playing as sophia. retaining her role in PT as a vendor, your job is to shop the items joker is asking you. joker will give you some items to buy. each item are bought by playing 2 minigames: maze and "find the difference".

maze: sophia has to find the right website to buy the item... by donig code blocks, because she's an AI. code it right, so sophia won't get lost among the sea of websites... the most monotonous one i guess, as there isn't many varieties to it...

find the difference: joker wants these items precise, so you gotta pick the right shop and item based on joker's note. plays like papers, please!, where there are details you can inspect deeper to match and make sure you get the right one (like fake customer reviews, for example)

2. teaching: you'll be playing as sumire and toshiro. each of them will do 1 recipe (so 2 recipes in total). they can cook well, so joker would like you to teach akechi and zenkichi how! teaching is kinda half-half on cooking and "pick the right one" game.

cooking: your job is to prepare the ingredients. these are too advanced for those bad cooks, so hopefully this will ease their process (like preparing fish from the bones, or whole chicken).

"pick the right one": basically making sure those bad cooks do the instructions properly (example, placing the right step to do in the progress bar in stirring process), with a timer.

3. cooking: you'll be playing as akechi and zenkichi. each of them will do 1 recipe (so 2 recipes in total). they're confirmed to be bad at cooking, so joker wants them to learn cooking better... for akechi so he can stop buying take outs, and for zenkichi so he can cook for akane better. this one is full cooking a la cooking mama, so their mingame depends on the recipe they're cooking.

for the mini reunion, you'll be playing shopping and teaching. sophia will shop the ingredients for both mini reunion and reunion day, while sumire and toshiro will teach you how to cook in mini reunion day. in the real reunion day, you'll be playing cooking only.

i was thinking to pair sumire-zenkichi and toshiro-akechi, because pairing sumire-akechi will probably develop less new things from them, as they've met in P5R. but i'm sure that developing new things isn't everything - i think akechi-sumire is a lacking connection in the royal trio triangle, and i'm sure this game will also be about getting new interactions from the established character dynamics. so probably, first half of the teaching/cooking section will be sumire-zenkichi and toshiro-akechi, while the second half is the opposite (or you can swap the order). so you get all.

as for morgana (because morgana is always next to joker), he'll be there as emotional support commentary cat during the gameplay. sophia can also be one during teaching/cooking.

as for the recipes, some will be taken from joker's kitchen in P5S. the ultimate recipes, leblanc coffee and curry, will only be unlockable in free play.

costume

i approached this one with functionality & "what would atlus do", even when i don't know what people wear at winter!!! otherwise, i'd take joker's glasses off and all that... though i believe i can be better at the color picks - i don't think atlus does color coding that much, judging the costume variants in the game. everyone who has long hairs will be tied, because like futaba said:

joker: i observed that his wardrobe is mostly plain, no pattern or peculiar detail. so i gave him shirt with not too much decor other than the buttons and black lines on end, and jeans to make it homey, but still kinda formal for guest visits. joker's appron is the appron he use in leblanc. nothing fancy behind it...

akechi: i noticed a running joke about akechi and plaid patterns when i was doing scramble zine and ya. all his wardrobe has that. so i gave him yellow plaid outer. he sorta has earthy color and his party color is brown. but his pants are already beige, so it's... yellow. his appron is kinda fancy, but still clean sleek. has metallic accents (pocket pins and harness) to give a bit boldness to it, vibing his loki side. i came up that shido facilitated him the appron if he wants to cook himself, but too bad he doesn't know that akechi can't cook...

sumire: she starts to feel more comfortable living as sumire again, so she wears the glasses back. i left her hairstyle as is, as it has lore. her fit is mostly opposite of kasumi, being more modest. color is from the violet dress she bought with joker in 3rd semester. her appron is... this wasn't really the plan (i think of picture printed appron), but i can't come up with a design yet!!! so i think she'd just have normal appron, but with patterns. kinda looks aunty/mom vibes... i think of the tora shirt she picked with joker. it's pretty mom/aunty vibes and sumire wasn't actually sure when she picked that, but i think she eventually developed a slight interest in those kind of patterns. i'm still considering to change the design, though... not 100% fixed.

sophia: she's a unique case, as her role/game is not cook, but shopper! so she becomes a delivery girl. ichinose came up with her look. so i gave her delivery jacket. her design is the most difficult, as i don't usually like drawing overdecorated anime fits, and how sophia is meant to evoke friendliness according to soejima & kanda, plus keeping her minimalistic aesthetics. then i combined the details it with puffer jackets, while making sure it's not overdecorated and making it as similar as sophia's original shilouette. IMO it became a bit too playful, as i slapped colors that are not in her original design. the blue green red accent is taken from sophia's shop UI. treat it like sophia's shop employee jacket! her footwear is a bit taller and is a shoe now. she's travelling the net, so...

zenkichi: the adults are tricky. they still wear the suit, so i could only change the shirt and tie. zenkichi's design is pretty normal common, even his design uniqueness is logical: when people's shirt button are usually similar colored to the shirt, his is a peculiar black. so i gave him pocket with black lining... he'll mostly be off suit, so there's no problem with suit obscuring pocket. his tie is also off. his appron is new. but because he doesn't know much cooking, he bought an overkill appron, AKA a barista appron with many pockets...

toshiro: i'm not really sure what is his job after P5T... but i assume he still wears suit around. so he wears a pale purple shirt. his tie is still purple, but grid pattern. he doesn't wear gloves anymore too, of course. i don't know toshiro's icon. we need to think that... his appron is plain, simple, and functional. the best that works with his housechores, something he excels at.

bonus contents

i'm thinking of a DLC with another character that have big impact to the story, but also too out of the picture to come back: maruki. i haven't decided how it will be like though. for now, i'm thinking either of these:

a separate day in the story, where you just cook with maruki. no shopping section in this DLC, just cooking and teaching. they both will teach a recipe to each other, and talk a bit more about how's maruki been doing.

a dream section or something? comes down to whether i can come up with a reason to summon the other PT auxes to this story. basically, besides maruki, you can invite 1 more guy from the list of PT auxes to cook with him. so each character will have their own storyline. more on this option:

sumire will be about reflecting their past relationship and how things are now, akechi about 2/2 (but pretending they don't meet, so it fits both who do the akechi and normal versions) and probably shido ties, toshiro and zenkichi about what happened to them in 3rd semester and how they feel when they found out, and sophia about learning maruki's heart research.

i assume toshiro is immune to maruki's influence in a way for now, because erina was born to protect him from godly influence... or maybe because salmael has taken place? i dunno. could be he's not immune either though, if erina's meant to only protect from salmael and not maruki.

[rakkuntoast]

ok i got nothing else to do so here's a transcript of the whole trauma talk

philza stream july 22nd 3:26:06

Tallulah: if i think u were paranoid, he is even more. y'all need a break

Phil: i mean it's cuz we've like experienced some kind of loss with the eggs, right? so, we've had the nightmare, alright. Chayanne lost a life to neglect cuz of misscommunication. Tallulah, you lost a life to the code monster...

Phil: Like we've felt what it's like to have you guys dissappear from our grasp, right? you've like- you've dissapeared from this world briefly, and we know what it's like. Like i-i've personally know what it's like, for you guys to fucking dissapear entirely like, the nightmare happened and i thought that was it, i was like "fuck well, it's done" and i felt so empty, right?

Phil: I-I genuenly felt like i lost a hardcore world, like- the 5 year world that i lost? that's what it felt like, i was like fucking miserable. And then bad uh- lost dapper like- like in a weird glitch type thing, and that got reverted. But when it happened, you can hear it in his voice like, he was distraught like- theres like a bond that we share even if is playing block game, you know?

Phil: we're just hanging out like, i wanna protect you guys with everything i can. everything i have i wanna protect you with, you know? but... i understand that i can't protect you for everything, so i just try to protect you from that i can, so... (and ooc out-of-character, i think everyone watching is incredibly invested also -laughs-, we're in the same boat)

Tallulah: It's understandable, thanks for sharing how u feel with us i'll be more careful

Phil: that's okay, you- you- you're very careful already tallulah, it's chayanne that fucking dives head first into danger all the time. He's- he's a bit more reserved now, you can do that chayanne when like theres more people, its fine, cuz then we can look after you, we can back you up. But when its just me and you, or me, you and tallulah.... we gotta- we gotta stick together, alright? we've seen all kinds of strange things happen

Chayanne: i mean, gosh i'm bad with words!!!

Phil: yeah, its alright. im just gonna throw some blocks out of my inventory

Tallulah: i gotchu brother

Phil: awww -laughs- gotta back eachother up, back eachother up guys

Tallulah: you show more with ur actions chay, that's more than enough

Chayanne: i dont want to die, i wont die soon, i take everything you showed us seriously

Phil: (overlaps) guessing "super seriously", yeah yeah yeah yeah.

Phil: You know what i think makes it more stressful? Is that us players can't see your health, right? So like, we don't iknow how close you are to danger, we can't- you can't talk to us mid fight, alright? like, you talk to us throught signs and books and stuff but like, we have to go through body language alone to figure out how in danger you are... You can't tell us, you dont have like a button to press, you don't have- there's like nothing to indicate that you're extremely low on health or in peril, alright?

Phil: So it makes it more stressful for the players and the people watching cuz we dont know, so i have to just be super fucking careful... And just treat it like you're on like barely any heart all the time, just in case

Chayanne: Thank you so much for that, when the giant squid grabbed me i was shaking-

Phil: -laughs- Oh god

Tallulah: Thank you for being such a good mentor (and father figure) i can't promise i might not die, but i will fight if i have to-

Phil: Oh i absolutely believe you'll do your absolute best to survive tallulah

Chayanne: When the giant squid grabbed me i was shaking bc i thought that was the end of it

Phil: Yeah- that was terrifying yeah, it's so- it's so like stressful

Tallulah: -to still be here with you all. i promised my papa and i make that promise to you

Phil: Aww, thank you Tallulah, thank you.

Phil: I feel like there's enough counter-measures in place that- realistically um it shouldnt be- nothing bad would happen like- you souldn't lose a life but.. You know me, and I- you know how im- I just I know that multiple bad things can stack on top of eachother and cause a really bad thing to happen, so like we have to be just careful of that, you know? You can be prepared for anything but there's always gonna be ways that you'll be unprepared for something, alright Phil: so- as long as we just prepare as much as we can and just be extra safe and not put ourselves in unnecessary danger then.. These situations that could happen can't happen. The only thing we can't prevent against really, or we can prevent it a little bit- but we can't really prevent it is when the code monster decides to take the life from an egg cuz.. You've seen it first hand, it does not give up

Chayanne: So yeah, it's not a good feeling ;_;

Phil: Yeah... I'm glad you guys are in the same page

Tallulah: In conclusion: we need to go to tio Roier's therapy sessions

Phil: -laughs- Is Quackity paying for it, yeah? Quackity got that on lock, it's like and insurance- it's like a company insurance, like a benefit you have for working with the server. its like "okay so uhh, who needs to book a therapy session today" everyone raises their hand at the same time, good god. Yeah, we'll go to family therapy together, we'll work it out, we'll work it out

edit: minor spelling mistake </3

[damnfandomproblems]

Fandom Problem #5620:

When you're playing your favorite MMO and suddenly get really sad 'cause you remember that this won't last forever, eventually even the most popular MMOs will see its playerbase decline to the point where keeping the game's servers running is no longer profitable and will see the game shut down. It's kinda crazy how it's like the only type of media that will cross a point where it will be impossible to enjoy anymore, you could watch old movies, read old books, listen to old music, and even play other old games but one day you'll never be able to return to this world you love so much. You could hope that if the game's popular enough some group will come along and put together a "rewritten" version, but you gotta face it, this one is NOT all that popular and will in all likeliness just end up lost to time.

[sdr2lovemail]

Rating KNY characters on how well they can play rhythm games!: Upper Moon Edition!

This came to me in a vision and I must share!

Kokushibo 0/10

Kokushibo can kill. He can slay hordes of demon hunters without breaking a sweat. Put a tablet in front of him? He's done.

In battle, he's quick on his feet and a fast thinker. But something about the bright shapes flying across the screen got him pressing them three years after they pass, even with six eyes.

It's a challenge to get him to even play. Saying that human games are trivial to him and does not wish to partake. Will probably get a few seconds into the song before quitting.

"This is pointless. Goodbye."

Douma 9/10

Scarily good. After the initial "shock" of seeing a tablet, Douma is clearing songs with ease.

He's got a good sense of rhythm and can keep up with the notes. He prefers games with female casts as well. They're just nicer to look at in his words.

Scratches the screen of your tablet with those nails of his. Be cautious when using it after he's done with it, you might cut yourself on the glass.

That is if you can get it out of Douma's grasp. This screen is so interesting, you can't just take it away!

"Hey, I'm still using it... Come on, just one more song!"

Akaza 2/10

He can keep up well enough, but his sense of rhythm outside of fighting is awful. He's too focused on trying to hit the buttons that he can't keep up with the beat.

Akaza will get frustrated very quickly. He'll keep trying as he keeps getting mad. Saying he'll beat the next one. He's not stopping until he beats a song, or until your tablet is in pieces. Whichever comes first.

You can offer to put the game on an easier setting, but he wants to play on an even harder setting, just to prove he's better than a scrap of metal. It's a never ending cycle of frustration.

"No! I don't need it to be easier! You know what? Make it harder. I'll show you!"

Hantengu 0/10

(Might include clones in a different post)

Bad all around. No sense of rhythm and can't keep up with the notes. Hantengu gets angry to the point of tears, which makes it even harder for him to play. Didn't even want to try at first.

While he's quick in battle, he's still an old man from the Taisho Era. The bright, flashing graphics of the game overwhelm him and he just can't focus on one thing.

Another one to scratch the screen with his nails. He'd press down hard too, leaving pretty deep scratches.

Gets too frustrated and rage quits, not even finishing a song.

"I-I don't want to do this anymore!"

Nakime 9/10

Amazing sense of rhythm and can keep up with the notes like a seasoned player. Not a fan of most of the song choices. She's a fan of traditional sounds. Modern day pop, electronic, etc. is not for her.

It's a challenge to get her to play as well. She doesn't acknowledge your asking for a while. You really gotta pester her if you want her to play.

Nakime is skilled with her biwa even with her nails. She gets a bonus point for not scratching the life out of your tablet.

"Fine...I will try your music game."

Gyokko 5/10

Thinks he's above anything you'd have to offer, even if it was from modern times. You'll have to really butter him up for him to even think about playing.

With multiple hands comes quick reflexes and the abilities to do multiple things at once. He's able to keep up with the rhythm and notes with ease.

Gyokko is docked points because he'd just be bitching the whole time. Saying how ugly the art and graphics are or how he finds the music/vocals grating against his ears. Overall allergic to fun.

"How childish! Makes sense that someone like you could be so distracted with flashing colors."

Daki 3/10

She would actually be good at the game if she didn't throw a tantrum every time she lost her combo. She has a good eye and sense of rhythm, but gets too in her head about playing. Takes forever to pick a song.

Daki would throw your tablet across the room or slam it into the floor in a fit of rage, don't expect to get it back in one piece.

There's two reactions depending on how well you play. If she doesn't like you all that much, she blow up on you in an act of jealousy. If she does like you, she begging you to tell her how to get better.

"Wah! This is stupid! I clicked that note! I hate this!"

Gyutaro 0/10

Gyutaro doesn't even want to entertain the thought of him playing such a stupid game. He says that he has much better things to do. In the small chance you do get him to play, he sucks.

His lack of skills brings an onslaught of self deprecation. Groaning about he can't even play some dumb human game.

Doesn't scratch the screen too bad but he does scratch himself, leaving bloody stains all over the tablet.

"Nehhh, I can't even keep up. How pitiful..."

Kaigaku 2/10

Proudly boasts about how well he could play and how he could beat any score you could manage to get. Is promptly humbled the second the song starts.

Kaigaku would want to play on the hardest difficulty, but gets mad when he misses a note.

His stubbornness doesn't allow him to quit. He's going to keep playing until he can get a full combo. Don't tell him that all perfect combos exist, you'll never see him again.

"Stop trying to take it from me! I'm not done yet!"

[misshoneyimhome]

Never gonna give you up | Auston Matthews  

Tags: soft!auston; Austonxreader;

A/n: I couldn't sleep last night, and this is what happened 😉 hope you enjoy it

-

I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling Gotta make you understand Never gonna give you up Never gonna let you down Never gonna run around and desert you

"Never Gonna Give You Up" - Rick Astley

*

You had been dating Auston for most of the 2022-2023 hockey season.

Initially, you weren't entirely sure about getting involved with an NHL hockey player. But Auston was persistent. His charm had this peculiar effect on you, and eventually, you couldn't resist.

And you've never looked back since.

Despite Auston's hectic schedule, the ups and downs of his hockey games, the constant travel, and all the media attention, you loved being with him. He had this incredible personality that just clicked with you from day one.

And when the Leafs made it to the second round of the Stanley Cup, you were over the moon.

You were genuinely happy for Auston, and all you wanted was to see him happy. And hockey made him happy, so you were all in, no matter what. The good, the bad, and everything in between.

But then the Leafs lost. And the offseason officially started.

It had been an incredible summer with Auston. He took you to meet his family for a few weeks, you were his plus one at Mitch and Stephanie's wedding, you even joined him for some of his publicity stuff when you had the time.

Honestly, it was kind of fun being a part of his world.

Before you met Auston, you weren't really into hockey. Sure, you knew the sport existed, but you didn't really get it. That all changed when you ran into a frazzled Auston in the cereal aisle at the local supermarket. Cereal boxes went flying, and the rest, as they say, is history.

A few weeks later, you went on your first coffee date.

But it wasn't just the hockey games stressing Auston out. His contract was also on his mind. He had one more year left in Toronto before it expired, so he needed to re-sign or potentially join another team.

But he really wanted to stay in Toronto. It was his team, the one he'd been with since 2016. It was home.

And it was your home too.

Normally, Auston would mostly think about himself and his career. But ever since he met you, he couldn't help but wonder how you felt about it all. To be honest, maybe all his worry wasn't just about re-signing or his salary.

He was also worried about you and your relationship. You didn't grow up in the hockey world like many other girlfriends and wives. You weren't used to how the whole moving teams and cities thing worked.

And that had Auston beyond stressed out.

**

And it was this worry that led to a conversation one casual Tuesday evening. You were both sprawled out on his sofa, watching TV after a delicious dinner.

Auston was on his back, facing the TV, and you were on top of him, your head and hand on his chest.

His breathing was slow, but it wasn't steady. Auston had something on his mind.

Out of the blue, he broke the silence.

"(Your nickname)," he began, still staring at the TV.

"Yeah, baby?"

He turned his head to look at you.

"What if I don't re-sign?" his voice was low and shaky.

"What do you mean? You still have one more year," you matched his low tone and looked up at him, resting your head on your hands.

"Yeah, but what if I don't re-sign or get traded?" His eyes looked sad, and his expression screamed worry.

"Then I guess you'll find another team that'll be lucky to have you," you reassured him with a soft smile.

"Yeah, maybe... but," he bit his lip, struggling to get the words out.

"But what, baby?" you raised yourself up a bit, supporting your weight on your arms, and looked deeply into his eyes. "Auston, you're an amazing hockey player, and you played so fucking well this season. The team even came closer to winning the Stanley Cup, which, from what I understand, is pretty impressive, and you were a big part of that."

Auston nodded slightly, and a small smile crept back onto his lips. "I know... it's just... what about us?"

"What about us?" you asked gently.

"I mean, if I were to move... what about us?" His smile faded again as his eyes locked onto yours.

You let out a little sigh. You'd talked about this before, but it was different back then, when you were just getting serious. At that point, you both wanted to take things slow and not think too far ahead. You just wanted to enjoy the moment and see where it led.

But now, it was time to face it.

"Aus," you whispered gently, "Remember when we first started seeing each other? Your determination and how many times I said no," you said, your lips curving into a fond smile. "Even though deep down, I knew I wanted to be with you, because I had my doubts about dating a pro athlete,” You paused, collecting your thoughts. “But you, Auston, you changed everything. I couldn't resist you. I fell head over heels in love with you. And I'd be in love with you anywhere in the world. So, if it means embracing your hockey career, then that's what we'll do - together."

Auston looked at you, silent for a moment.

Your eyes locked as he absorbed your words.

"So... you'd be up for moving with me if that's what it takes?"

"If you want me to move with you, hell yes," you almost whispered, smiling as you saw the wheels turning in his head.

"I'm never gonna give you up, you know that, right?" he grinned.

"Oh, I'm counting on it," you giggled softly. "You won't get rid of me that easily."

[truepsychicbedtimestories]

How to Play Old Flash Games From Your Childhood!

If there's one great thing that came with being a kid who grew up around the 2000s, it's all the Flash games from all sorts of websites. However, with Flash becoming obsolete by 2020, Flash games eventually fell into obscurity as more and more websites decided to use HTML5 rather than Flash, and more importantly, older Flash games risked becoming lost to the sands of time.

However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it's the Flashpoint Archive! The Flashpoint Archive is a program and community project aimed at preserving games and animations from all over the Internet. It's also a great way to reminisce about all the nostalgic kids' games that have luckily been archived over the years. This post will serve as a simplified explanation of how to install Flashpoint for the anyone wanting to play Flash games from their childhood.

Some things to note: the minimum system requirements for Flashpoint are Windows 7 or higher, although there are workarounds available if you have a Mac, Linux or Chromebook. As my laptop is a Windows 11, for the sake of conciseness I'll just go over the installation procedure for Windows devices.

Step One: Go to the Flashpoint Website

A quick Google search will helpfully redirect you to the Flashpoint Archive website.

I'd recommend going through the FAQ, manual, and Wiki before proceeding further if you're a little more curious on how Flashpoint works or if you're a little confused.

Step Two: The Downloading Process

On the home page, you should find a big button that says "Download Flashpoint", so make sure to click on it.

Alternatively, you can click on the "Downloads" button on the menu on the left-hand side, but both redirect to the same page, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Here, you can find the download page for Flashpoint, and you'll be presented with two options to download; Flashpoint 13 Infinity and Flashpoint 13 Ultimate.

Infinity is generally recommended for casual users, as Ultimate is primarily used for archivists and data hoarders (plus, Infinity will have a lot less strain on your computer's space).

All you gotta do is click on "Download Installer", and you should be smooth sailing from there! The Zipped copy is also an option just in case the installer isn't working.

Step Three: The Installation Process

Go to your downloads, and click on the installer.

There, the installer tutorial will quickly go over the basics, such as what you want to download as well as where.

The installation process will take a while, so in the meantime, feel free to kick back and grab a snack while you wait.

Once it's all done, TA-DA! You got Flashpoint now!

Make sure to update it once you're done installing, though. Flashpoint adds all sorts of new games all the time, so it's a good idea to double-check when you need to update every now and again.

Once you're done, that's about it! Enjoy your walk down memory lane!

(Heads up! This is by no means a defacto tutorial on how Flashpoint works. The wiki, manual, and FAQ will have better answers to any questions you may have. This is just a simple guide made for those who're not familiar with the program.)