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thatringboy · 3 years

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Me to me: Nooo don’t make an Inazuman oc you already have two OCs from Liyue and Natlan who you said you’d revamp and besides, you’re probably going to lose interest in this one soon Also Me, getting way to invested in Inazuma lore: HEY EVERYONE COME MEET MY NEW OC HIIRAGI YORICHI, A HYDRO SWORD USER WHO’S AUTISTIC LIKE ME

Link to picrew used for profile

Buried Beauty

“My duty is first to the people of my homeland, then the Kanjou Commission. Make no mistake, Baal must be stopped, but not at the expense of the people.”

The firstborn son of the Hiiragi Clan who’s name means “first gift”. He grew up in Sumeru Academy, but has returned to Ritou to take up his father’s yoke over the Kanjou Commission

General Information

Name: Hiiragi Yorichi

Age: 28

Affiliation: Hiiragi Clan

Birthdate: January 17

Starsign: Capricorn

Constellation: Thesauros Sepultus

Weapon: Sword

Vision: Hydro

Voice Claims

CVA: Zhang Jie

JVA: Tasuku Hatanaka

EVA: Kyle Phillips

Voice Lines

Good Morning: Hmm? Oh, yes, greetings Traveler and Paimon. Sorry, I didn’t see you there… I’m not much of a morning person

Good Afternoon: Did I miss lunch again? Eh, oh well. Traveler, wanna run by Miss Ryouko’s to get some food?

Good Evening: If I don’t get back soon, Chisato will certainly send someone out to find me

Good Night: Can you get back on your own? I’m afraid that I must return to Ritou for the evening

When It Rains: Quickly! The rain will cover our tracks!

When It Snows: Huh? Wow it got cold fast! Better go find some shelter before I accidentally freeze us

When It’s Sunny: Be careful, our enemies can see clearly in broad daylight

Favorite Food: Mmm, I could go for some Mondstat Grilled Fish right about now… I had it once during their Ludi Harpastum Festival that my Senpai took me to one year and I’ve just fallen in love with the flavour!

Least Favorite Food: Is… is that cabbage? No no, there’s nothing wrong, just don’t expect me to eat any. Why? Well… I don’t like the texture at all! Eating it feels like slime going down my throat which closes up my airways and then that sensation makes my brain feel like someone shoved a wet blanket between my ears and wrapped it around my brain! Please… never make me eat cabbage…

About: Vision: My Vision? How did I get mine? Well, since you asked so nicely, it appeared to me in a dream during the end of the first year of the Sakoku Decree. I had cried myself to sleep because of the anguish I felt coming from those who had their Visions stolen - those who I had sworn to protect as a Clan Heir - and I cursed out Celestia for allowing this to happen. In my dream, I appeared before seven giant thrones all glowing with elemental magic. In the blue throne sat a woman who gave off so much power that I could not gaze upon her. Yet, her words always resonate in my heart: “Your loyalties may change, but never change your principles. Do no harm to others, but do not let harm fall upon you and those you love.” When I woke up, the Vision was tucked under my pillow!

About: Kanjou Commission: One day, it will be my duty to oversee the Kanjou Commission. Am I ready? Probably not. Do I have a choice? Also no. I just want to make everyone proud… but how can I do that when father has already deemed me an embarrassment to the Hiiragi Clan simply because of who I am?

About: Sumeru Academy: The Academy? I grew up there! Fourteen years I spent roaming the halls absorbing all of the knowledge I could! *Sigh*… maybe if the Travel Ban gets lifted, I’ll show you around my old stomping grounds!

About: Ritou: I’m friends with some of the guys at the Outlander’s Trade Association. What do you wish to see? Want to head by a jewelry shop? Get some food?

About: Interests: Wanna know a secret? Deep down, I’m an alchemist at heart! Anything alchemy related, I’m sure I can be of use! It’s my special interest! Did you know that the luminescent spines of a firefly can—wait wait no I’m sorry. Father says that people get bored of my ramblings, my apologies for wasting your time…

About: Swords: You may have noticed that my sword technique is different from the samurai of Inazuma. That is because I learned how to use my blade at the Academy. I forged this blade myself when I turned twenty. Would you like to hold it?

About Ayaka: Miss Kamisato? I’ve met her once and she seems nice, but I still feel uneasy around her. But maybe that’s just me

About Raiden Shogun: You want to know why I refer to the Shogun as “Baal”? Well, that’s because I didn’t grow up in a place that calls her the “Raiden Shogun”. I’m used to my peers referring to her as “Baal” and I’ve yet to drop the habit. Also, I don’t have much respect for her, but don’t tell anyone that

About Ayato: Never met him, but his description gives me the creeps! Never appears in public, leaving his little sister to do all the work? The nerve of that guy! O-oh… that sounds like me? Ehe-he… oops

About Yoimiya: Oh Miss Naganohara! She makes the best fireworks! She and I are actually a lot alike. What, you don’t see it? I guess that comes from me spending a lifetime hiding my inner enthusiasm while she never quite grew up. We should go to the next firework festival to see her, I’m sure she’d love that! But… from a distance please. The popping noises from the fireworks hurt my ears

About Kaeya: The Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius, huh? I’m curious to see how the pieces fall into place… what was that? Oh, it’s nothing… just gossip from some old colleagues

About Diluc: Diluc? Who’s that? Owner of the Dawn Winery? The Ragnvindr Clan? Nope, doesn’t ring a bell. The Darknight Hero? Of course! Why didn’t you just say that?! Yeah I know who you’re talking about now! What? He’s got a Vision too? I guess that guy’s just full of surprises

About Childe: So, that weasel is actually a Fatui Harbinger? Why am I not surprised... O-oh when did I meet him? After I graduated from the Academy. Did I sound too surprised about his identity? Sorry, when I knew him, he used a different name

About Albedo: Ah… the son of Rhinedottir. His master actually attended one of my lectures when I was younger in secret. I think they were using an alias during that time but I spoke to them in private. It was interesting to learn different things about ancient alchemy techniques from another land. I think Albedo is currently an alchemist in Mondstat, right? I’ll visit him when the Travel Ban is lifted to exchange notes

About Klee: Klee, daughter of Alice? Eh, I haven’t heard good things. I’m not a big fan of explosions... but that doesn’t mean that she’s a bad kid! I’m sure if I met her, we’d be friends

About Lisa: Minci-Senpai! We worked together a lot at the Acadmia! Why did I call her senpai when I’m older than her? Well, because she’s the Grandmage!!! Everyone knows how smart and powerful Minci-Senpai is! Once, she tasked me with finding ways to preserve pure Electro organisms. So, I coated the inside of a jar with Hydro Slime condensate so that her Electro roses can continuously be charged by the Hydro energy… Sorry, I’m getting carried away

About Mona: What, do you think that all Hydro users who practice magic know each other? Well, I do know Miss Megistus, but you can’t assume that! I met her and her master once during a lecture on fortune telling with the use of elemental abilities. Now that I have a Vision of my own, I will see if I can implement their techniques into my own practice

About Sara: To be perfectly honest, I’ve never met her. We may be the heirs to our Clans and our respective Commissions, but I’ve never had a conversation with her. Naturally, as a Vision holder and she as the spearhead of the Tenryou Commission, I am her enemy. However, as the heir to the Hiiragi Clan, I must keep up formalities. Besides, my dear sister Chisato is being courted by another member of the Kujou clan, Kujou Kamaji, and I don’t want to do anything to ruin that. You won’t turn me and my Vision in to her, right?

About Cyno: Ah, Master Cyno, one of the smartest members of the Academy. I owe a lot of my development to him. I don’t think I would have finished my Thesis paper on the eighth nation without his guidance

About: Names: You know, my name means “first treasure”, but despite such an endearing name, my father has yet to reveal my face to the public and claim me as his heir. He was also the one to send me away when I was a boy to Sumeru because I was not like other children. Was I meant to be gift to my family? To the other nations? Was I an unwanted gift? … Oh, sorry about that. I don’t usually get dark like that! Tell me, Traveller, what does your name mean?

About: Politics: Ugh… Sakoku Decree this, honor the Commissions that, I don’t understand any of it. If I’m ever left in charge, I’m sure that I could handle the bureaucratic side, but the people side? I get overwhelmed when talking to people I’m not comfortable with. I shut down mentally, fumble over my words and eventually I end up having a panic attack and Chisato has to pull me from the room. My father thought that I would have grown out of those outbursts when I got older, but I’ve only found a way to mask my behaviors. But you’re different, you haven’t looked at me like a child nor spoken less of me simply because I’m different, why is that?

About: Family: My mother passed away while I was gone, my father Shinsuke is the head of the Kanjou Commission and my younger sister Chisato is his main assistant. When my father gets upset, Chisato is always the one who has my back and in turn, I’ve begun escorting her secretly to Kondo Village to meet with her secret lover, Kujou Kamaji. I guess that’s what siblings do for each other, we protect each other from everything because no matter what we go through, no matter what arguments we have, we always will have each other. Ah, Traveler! I didn’t say anything to make you upset, did I?

About: Khaenri’ah: … You ask a lot of questions, don’t you? What do you think I know about that cursed place? Yeah, I wrote my Thesis paper on Khaenri’ah, but that was a while ago and I’ve learned my lesson. Now, the only connections I have to that place are hearsay from lecturers, rumors at the Academy and the plucked plume of a proud peacock.

About: Time Gap: Huh? Oh yeah, I went to Sumeru when I was seven and studied there for fourteen years. Uh… what did I do for the missing five years of my life before returning to Ritou? Ehe-he… I don’t think I’m allowed to say everything, but I can tell you this: that’s the time that I met a disgraced Knight, a bloodthirsty child and learned how to wield a sword. I was able to travel with them while writing my Thesis paper. Ah… how time flies when working with like minded people

This is the most thought I’ve ever put into an OC, I hope you like him!

#Just casually throws in that Yorichi is part of the same information gathering organization as Diluc #I really like Yorichi and I hope the rest of you do too #genshin impact #genshin impact oc #hiiragi yorichi #hydro character

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whydoyouwantmyname · 4 years

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Imagine not telling the boys something important (Part 2)

Part one

“Tell me something Ailsa?” Eve asked, her voice echoed through the walls of the motel room your mind had manifested as you laid on the queen bed, the static now replaced by the projection of the world that Eve was seeing, it looked like a truck stop.

“Why do you keep calling me that.” You groaned

“I think it is cute.”

“Of course you do, alright Eve, what is your question.”

“Out of everyone I didn’t think a 207 year old cambion would be a virgin, care to enlighten me?”

“I figured you already creeped around in my memories and found it.” You answered as you sat up, and made your way to the mini bar, which instantly restocked itself, as she replied, “Nah, I didn’t feel like digging too deep.”

“Just deep enough to figure out my whole life story?”

“Exactly.”

“Well if you must know, it is so much easier to avoid feeling, and the annoying humanity I have if I just don’t let people in romantically.”

“Which is why you never made an attempt on dating Dean, even though you two are obviously meant for each other.”

“Exactly, and honestly if you do see them, please don’t tell them, I would rather..”

“I understand, I swear not a word.”

“Thanks Eve, if you weren’t investing people with your spawns, and possessing me, I would say you were pretty cool.”

“You have no idea what Crowley is up to, do you?” She asked, her voice soft as you opened your fifth miniature and downed it with no issue.

“Not a clue, but knowing the king of hell, I am sure it is something designed to get him into a position of greater power.”

“Well he is seeking to open the doors to Purgatory, for what I am not aware, but he is killing my supernatural children’s souls and imprisoning them. Rumor has it, he is not working alone, he has an angel on his side.”

You stopped mid sip, your whole body frozen as you thought, slowly lowering your arm you asked, “An angel.”

“Do you know him?”

“I fear I might.” You whispered, reflecting on your memory as a previous conversation played in your head.

You were standing alone in the living room, a lore book in hand as you paced the room, it was a rare moment where both Winchester’s were outside, leaving you alone in a blissful silence, which was soon to be interrupted by the sounds of angel wings.

“How they ever allowed you in this house is still a foreign concept to me.” He formulated the statement as you lifted your head towards him, his blue eyes piercing your figure as you raised an eyebrow, “I haven’t the slightest idea what you mean Castiel?”

“How have you managed to hid the sins you drag around with you, suppress the screams of the souls your precious hounds have torn to shred, how do you manage not to shiver in the nippy air of earth, when the flames of hell flicker at your flesh?”

“Cas, what are you implying?”

“You are a liar, and a…”

“I would choose your next sentence extremely carefully, unless you want an angel blade driven through your chest.” You warned, his face grim as he growled, “The trap will reveal who you really are, don’t worry.”

“Oh you mean that one?” You stated, pointing to the ceiling, where a classic Singer masterpiece decorated the ceiling, the book slamming shut in your single hand before being placed on the desk, as Cas smiled, almost pleased that you were caught, until you approached him slowly, his eyes filling with confusion as you got right up in his face,”Looks like you should do your homework Castiel, before you make threats to the woman who has been traveling with the Winchester’s for three years now.” Your once filled hand extends quickly, seizing his throat in your digits before using your strength to push him into the wall, leaning in you got right up in his ear, “Unless you want to see what these red eyes can really do.”

It wasn’t until you saved his ass that he truly learned who you were as a hunter, all negative feelings drifting further away with time, until he was finally comfortable enough to call you a nickname, Angel.

“So your father is working with the man who calls you Angel?” Eve replied, almost forgetting she could also see your thoughts.

“He must, Cas is the only angel I could imagine him trusting.”

“Well you’re a smart cookie, any idea…”

“Not a clue.” You answered, glancing at the TV screen as you noticed the tv screen, her eyes set on a trucker before she pushed off the wall. As she started towards the 18 wheeler, you couldn’t help but notice that Eve glanced over at the wall, the corner of your mouth lifting.

“What are you smirking about?” Eve questioned

“Nothing at all.” You replied, before a pie magically appeared.

“Like I said fellas, I remember pulling into the truck stop, and next thing I knew I was at work. I have no idea how I ended up there, or anything that happened after I pulled in.” He stated, looking to Sam and I, my head somewhere else as he spoke.

“And where do you work?” Sam asked

“Starlight Canney. After I came to, I called home, hoping my family was there. I didn’t think anything of it when she didn’t pick up, that was…” a small sob escaped his lips as Dean looked to the other officer, “mind if I have a look at the security cameras footage?”

“Not at all, let me just pull ‘em up.” The officer answered as Dean left Sam and Bobby to question Rick.

As the other officer set Dean up, all his mind could do but wander back to a memory where she was.

“Jesse.” You pleaded, the small boy's eyes flickered towards you as you remained frozen in between Sam and Dean, neither of them could see you, but the demon possessing Julia could, and Jesse.

However Sam and Dean remember it much differently then what truly happened, they remember Sam stopping Jesse, and Julia’s demon, before driving off to the next motel. However you knew it went differently

“Don’t listen to her son, you are going to do great…” As the demon talked, you lowered your own head, as Sam and Dean’s heads suddenly fell forward as the demon laughed, “So you do still know how to use your powers.”

Looking up your eyes were completely crimson red, and glued to the demon, “I can’t wait to tell my father about what you are doing, and I hope I have the pleasure of…”

“You haven’t stepped foot in hell for over 20 years, what makes you think…”

“Do you even know who my father is?” You screamed, suddenly whatever held your body stiff slowly melted away, as your arms lowered, “You’re just like me?”

Looking from the black eyed demon to Jesse, you slowly stepped forward and crouched in front of the small boy, “Yeah, my dad is a demon just like yours.”

“Jesse, don’t listen to her.” She started forward, however she suddenly became mute, and frozen, Jesse looking towards her as it happened before turning back to you, “Did they tell you lies too?”

“No, they actually don’t know, but I know that they wanted to tell you this to protect you, because it is really scary at first to learn that you are part evil.”

“Does that mean I am going to do what she said, am I going to end the world?” You could hear the small boy’s voice quicken in fear, as you put a hand on his arm and smiled, “No, all it means is that you are going to be able to do things other kids can’t, cause even though you are different, you are still human, and that means you have good in you. Listen Jesse, I am 206 years old, and have had a lot of opportunities to do some wicked stuff, and instead of doing that, I am helping people just like you.”

“You aren’t evil.” He whispered, almost as a reassurance to himself, as you responded, “And neither are you.”

“How do I beat this?”

“Well, you are going to have to run away, here.” You reaches into your bag and pulled out a notebook you had been filling with all things to do with the life since 1981, the pages worn and the book spine was well used, and with a smile you stated, “This has everything in it that I have learned over the years, it will help protect you from both angels and demons.”

“I need protection from angels?”

“Yes darling. See the angels don’t understand that we aren’t all bad, they just see the demon side of us.”

“They’re narrow minded.” He replied as you smiled, “They are just scared. You will have to move around a lot but just lay low, here you can also use this.” You pulled out a 100 dollar bill, and handed it to him, “Do you understand?”

“What will happen to my parents?” He asked

“Well they will stay here, it is too dangerous to bring them, just because the demons and angels might try to hurt them if they know where you are.”

“Have they ever done that to you?” Your face lifted to Julia, a wicked smile on your face as you thought of all the shit the demons did to Dean while in hell, and what Ruby did to Sam. “Yeah, but the Winchesters are the two strongest men I know, and no punk ass, black eyed scumbag is going to break them, not as long as I’m around to stop it.”

Looking towards you Jesse whispered, “How do I run away?”

“Just think of yourself going to a place, and just like that…” you looked down to see him gone and heard a slight thud behind you, a smile on your face as you slowly rose and looked at Julia,who went to move but remained frozen, and mute, “I like you better as a mute statue.”

As you approached her, you monologued, “Everything I said about the Winchesters is true, and I hope you all figure it out soon that nothing you do will ever make them stop hunting the bad guys. So just drop your little obsession with these two, because you got what you wanted, Lucy is running all around creation, trying to end the world. I just hope for your sake he doesn’t turn on you like he did God.”

With a single lift of your palm you sent her back to hell, her scream echoing the empty space as you watched the black goo melt into the floor from her eyes, once she was gone you turned to see Sam and Dean had fallen to the floor, the invisible force holding them still disappearing with Jesse. You walked over to the two of them and placed your hands on their heads, filling it with false memories as you mentally called out to your father.

“I was busy.” He snapped as you lifted your head to see Crowley standing before you, his eyes lifting from you to Julia’s body, “Have I ever mentioned I love it when you get feisty with your own kind?”

“All the time, yet you only allowed me to file your paperwork. Now help me get these two idiots in the Impala.”

“Here ya go, this is the footage from that night. Not really anything exciting.” The officer told Dean, snapping him from the false memory you had planted in his head. Taking a seat in the Rollie chair he muttered a thanks and started fast forwarding through the tape, until he saw something that made him stop, looking at the camera was a pair of glowing eyes, and upon rewinding and going frame by frame he saw the way the face distorted, and the eyes clearer, along with something he was not expecting to see.

“[Y/N].” He whispered, backing up the frames to before your face distorted, a slight smile was on your face, your hair was down, and you were dressed in a tank top and skinny jeans. He couldn’t take his eyes off of your face, the way your lips smeriked up as though you were taunting the camera, like you knew they would find out you were the one doing this. With the frame still pulled up he quickly rose, the chair pushing back so quickly it hit the wall, alerting Sam and Bobby to his distress, before he stormed out of the office. Frustration filling his body as his mind stated over and over that he had failed you.

When Sam and Bobby finally came out they found Dean sitting on the hood of the impala, his eyes just staring into a void above as they approached him, “Dean?” Bobby asked

“It’s her.” His eyes never leaving the sky as his voice was gruff and soft, “whatever we are hunting is inside her head.”

“We will figure it out.” Sam whispered as Dean finally lowered his head, his eyes red rimmed, bloodshot and puffy.

“Will we?” He replied.

About an hour later Dean and Sam were sitting in the motel, milling over notebooks trying to find anything on what could be possessing [y/n], “I mean it could be a shapeshifter.” Sam offered as a possible answer as Dean knitted his fingers into his greasy hair.

“Sam you saw her face distorted on the security footage, no shapeshifter has done that before.” He sighed out as Sam lowered the book.

“Are you sure you are okay dude?” Sam asked, the sound of his own question making him feel like it was a dumb thing to say, anyone with two eyes could have been able to tell that Dean was falling apart every second, especially now that he knew that something had possessed you. Dean’s index and thumb moved from his hair to the bridge of his nose, the two digits squeezed the flesh between his eyes as he let out a sigh, “This is why hunters can never fall in love.”

“Dean..”

“Sammy, please don’t feed me your positive outcome bullshit right now, we have no leads, no information of what is possessing her, we have nothing. As far as we know there could be no cure, it is possible that we could try everything and that thing will still be in her head.”

“And we will, don’t forget Dean, she wasn’t just your friend. She was mine and Bobby’s too, and we will save her.”

Before Dean could respond his burner was ringing, his response turned into him flipping it open and muttering, “Whatcha got Bobby?”

“I need you and Sam to get your asses down to Starlight Canney, Rufus and I will meet ya outside.”

“Rufus is with…” Dean started but he was cut off by Bobby’s like going dead, Dean looked at Sam and promptly stated, “Bobby found something, I think.”

While the boys drove to the canney, Cas was opening the doors to an abandoned warehouse, a glowing light seeped out from under it as he revealed the grey lab space that he and Crowley had built. Crowley was seated at the table, a sheet of paper before him as his hand scribbled across the page with a pen. Cas looked over the railing at him, as he stated, “Stop staring at me like you do the Winchester boy.”

“I have news.”

“Did you find me more souls?” Crowley’s head still did not lift as he spoke, it wasn’t until Cas replied that he finally became alert, “No, it is about [Y/N].”

“What about her?”

“She has been possessed, the boys are trying to track her down, but whatever is inside of her is ancient.”

“Eve.” Crowley hissed

“Why would Eve be…”

“She knows we are trying to open purgatory, and wants to stop us. Is she creating an army?”

“I won’t call it an army, but she is creating hybrids.”

“And she has my little girl on like a meat suit.” He stated more than asked, frustration clear in his brow as he slammed the pen down, “I thought the Winchesters…”

“They are looking for her right now. I can’t see her though, so I was wondering…”

“Eve will make her go dark to everyone who could have been able to find her, I can have my spies on the lookout for her, but Castiel….” He started before pausing, the reality of his next statement taking a toll on his still beating heart, “[Y/N] will die if you remove Eve.”

“Not all of her.” Cas replied before leaving, as Crowley leaned back in his chair, his heart breaking for his little girl.

#supernatural imagine #supernatural imagines #supernatural one shot #supernatural one shots #supernatural oneshot #Supernatural oneshots #supernatural fanfic #supernatural fanfiction #SPN imagine #SPN imagines #SPN one shots #SPN one shot #SPN oneshot #SPN oneshots #SPn fanfic #SPN fanfiction

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slo-liveblog · 4 years

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Witch’s Heart: Bonus Stage Final Thoughts

Hello hello! Honestly I can’t believe I finished Bonus Stage after all this time... took me quite a few months, oof. Many thanks to the handful of you that stuck around during all that, and to the few new people who popped in too! Hope you’ve all been taking care of yourselves, and don’t mind the long post.

CHARACTERS

Claire: After finishing the first game, I didn’t know it was possible to love Claire even more. I was absolutely wrong. The way she took charge at the end was incredibly powerful and I’m so fucking proud of her, even if it’s sad as hell. I really really like how the game both criticizes and respects her unconditional empathy, I think there’s definitely room for both conversations and they’re both incredibly fascinating. I do think she suffers from some of the most writing pitfalls out of everyone, though. Like I said while playing, there’s really no reason given why she wouldn’t confide in Leon, or at least acknowledge that he’s likely the person there she can trust most. In addition, I found it really bizarre that Claire just... never tried to talk to Reynaldo or Sirius after learning about their pasts. Like, at all. I understand why the emphasis on Ashe was important, but it was jarring and kind of unsatisfying to see Claire act so uncharacteristically by not even really acknowledging them after their stories were over. It’s more of a story problem than a character problem though, I think, and I understand why it had to be that way especially considering the conclusions will touch on a lot of the missing pieces- I just wish there could’ve been more of a justification for it. The way her personality was explored through her interactions with everyone, and how other characters were depicted based on their reactions to her ideals, was incredible and I would die for her.

Ashe: Oh Ashe. Fuck Ashe. I do appreciate the depth given to his character, he’s definitely far more complex than I expected and kudos on that. I don’t really empathize with him as much as I do the other four mains, but I do think his writing is incredible and his relationships with Leon and Claire continue to be some of the most interesting to see play out, if not THE most interesting. Star shaped carrots man. Fucked up. Super excited to see how his dynamics with everyone continue, and he’s probably the character I’m the most interested to see make decisions going into these conclusions. His arc feels the most... unfinished, he’s never really reached any sort of closure at any point of the story so far and especially not bonus stage so it’ll be cool to see where he ends up.

Reynaldo: MY BOY. I’M SO FUCKING PROUD OF HIM... going into bonus stage my expectations for him were pretty much rock bottom from the moment I realized he didn’t have a single line in the opening scene outside of saying his name. Like, I kinda made my peace with the possibility that the writer just wasn’t that interested in developing him, and would rather spend time on the rest of the mains. But holy SHIT did he pull through in the second half of the game. The subtle but noticeable build to him deciding to side with Claire was so, so well done. I still wish there was a little more solidity to his characterization- I do have to reach way further to understand him than I do any of the other mains- but I think what we DID get for him was wonderful and god, I appreciate him so much. Definitely the character that improved the most for me from the first game to bonus stage. I can’t wait for his conclusion, here’s to hoping we do in fact get it this year. The way his similarities with Claire were set up makes me SO excited to see how their relationship develops when it’s actually the focus, and how he’ll be fleshed out more in general so we can finally have a clearer picture. Because to be honest, as much as I like the development he was given in bonus stage... there’s still a LOT of gaps to fill in with him.

Sirius: continues to be the perfect human being 1000000/10

Leon: Sweet baby boy whose expressions always make me cry. Leon is still a character I’m sort of on the fence on. Like, he’s very well written and easy to sympathize with. But I realized I’m always far more interested in how OTHER characters react to HIM than the other way around, though. He’s not really a character I personally would find interesting in general, he’s a little simple for my tastes, but that doesn’t mean I’m not 100% invested in seeing him end up happy... eventually. Something tells me it might be a while.

Charlotte: I feel like Charlotte definitely got the short end of the stick in bonus stage, moreso than any other character. Her only memorable scenes that I can think of off the top of my head were when she told Leon he could kill everyone but Claire, when she thought about how Ashe probably can’t be saved, and when she reacted to Claire after the completion of Ashe’s backstory. None of those scenes even come close to hitting the same level of intrigue or emotion as the sparse Charlotte scenes had in the first game, even if that last one does have some interesting bits in it. I said at the end of the first game that we’d only really scratched the surface and I was interested to see more from her and, well, my opinion hasn’t changed. I don’t think there was much I would’ve wanted out of her here anyway unlike the boys, so I’m not especially disappointed. Just hoping we get more excellent Charlotte moments somewhere down the line.

Zizel: I would’ve liked Zizel’s deal to be... a bit more built upon, to be honest? I could just have missed things along the way, but her triumphant moment is a little harder to get in to when we know almost nothing about her or the way she thinks beyond stuff reveled about her in the same scene. I could definitely see that her siding with Claire was being foreshadowed, but I think there needed to be juuust a bit more characterization given to her for that particular development to have the impact it seemed to be going for. Still, it was a good moment, and I think it definitely made up for a lot of the sore lack of Zizel in both games. Can’t wait to see what she does from here.

Lime: Goddddd. Okay look, I still love Lime probably more than I reasonably should. She’s wonderful and I love her design and her personality and her backstory and her motivations but... yea she’s a very very bad person. Bonus stage did really make it clear that she’s not just lashing out occasionally, and this isn’t anywhere near harmless teasing. She’s full on the primary villain of the game, in some ways, and has been doing pretty horrific stuff knowing (and intending for) exactly what she’s causing. Which we sort of knew in the first game anyway, but now it’s very explicit. And like, damn dude... I do wanna see what’s gonna happen with her. It’s tough, wanting to see a character get their comeuppance and stop hurting others while simultaneously just wanting good things for them. this really is how y’all ashe stans feel huh

Side Characters: I gotta say, I really loved a lot of the smaller characters introduced in bonus stage and the way their presence added to the development of the mains. Dorothy and Nicholas, the old dude and the thief woman (I didn’t actually realize until just now but nobody in Wilbert’s backstory had a name, huh. It may not have been intentional but considering that he might literally just not remember that far back I actually really like that decision.), and Ashe’s family and friends were really smartly integrated into the story’s themes and I appreciated that a lot. also lucy and coco rights

Overall This one gets a fucking 10/10 from me chief, some small issues certainly but as close to perfect as they get, in terms of the kinds of stories I like.

STORY

I debated breaking this up into chunks, like I did in the first game with the scenarios, but I feel like the writing quality is more or less consistent throughout the game so it would be a little redundant. I definitely need more time to think on bonus stage before I have a really solid opinion, but at the moment I kind of think the story was even better than the first game? My only major issue was the aforementioned use of Claire’s character, where she’d only really react to the boy’s backstories as she finished hearing them, with the exception of Ashe’s. And her not confiding in Leon. But other than that, it was a constant rollercoaster, with pretty much every scene being jam packed with 3000 layers of character development and relationship building with lore sprinkled in. The elements that were amazing in the first game, like the fun dynamics between the characters and the subtle and unobtrusive exposition, are nothing but improved upon. I do wish we got to play more with the idea of the demon girls living alongside the mains, I think that aspect was severely downplayed almost immediately after it was introduced, but I’m crossing my fingers those potential dynamics get some time in the conclusions. Once again, my biggest gripes with the story are just that I feel like there’s so much more to explore and I can’t wait to see how the rest plays out. still giving this bitch a 10/10 on this one it was everything I wanted and more

GAMEPLAY

Combat: This was kind of... not even really utilized in bonus stage, which I didn’t actually realize until just now. There weren’t any real “boss battles” in the way there were in the first game, the closest thing to it would I guess be Dorothy’s showdown. Considering I didn’t even notice, I think that was a perfectly fine decision. The climax worked well without any actual fights. The battle mechanics continued to be functional and everything, just... not much of a thing.

Demon Requests: It could just be because I played a lot of bonus stage at a very different pace than I did the first game but the demon requests didn’t feel as frequent or intrusive this time around. I was always really excited to get to the request portion anyway cause of the photo booth and all the cool new areas, I had a super fun time using the deep sea bubble and I think overall the stuff that was added to the fantasy spaces was really neat. also lucy and coco rights

Minigames: Very hit or miss. It felt like the minigames were either so quick and easy they were hardly memorable or so tedious they made me wanna die. Take that with a grain of salt, though, I’m really bad at video games. There were very few of them anyway so it doesn’t matter much, but I guess it would’ve been nice if the minigames were less... Like that. To be fair, they were all still pretty charming or cool conceptually. Can’t really complain about getting to fucking shoot people as Dorothy even if it was hell to play.

Overall The demon requests were actually really enjoyable this time around, but the minigames and combat were kind of downplayed. Not to big of a deal, though, it’s not as if they were a focal point of the game to begin with. 7/10

ART & SOUND

Character Design: Not much to say that I didn’t already say after the first game, but the special bonus stage outfits are absolute bangers and I wish they got shown more often. And maybe I would’ve liked the guys to have a little more variety to their suits. But that’s nitpicking, Claire and the demon girl’s dresses are absolutely gorgeous.

Sprites and BGs: The overall art quality definitely got shaky in places but I gotta say, they pulled out ALL the stops for the sprites in this one. Ashe just fully has an entirely new set of them, and everybody else gets tons of new expressions too, all of which are super super good at conveying incredibly specific emotions. All I’m saying is, this would be a totally different game for me without the sprites, and I was always ecstatic to see new ones and figure out what was going on in the character’s head based on them.

OST and Sound Effects: Again, pretty much the same deal as the first game. I think there was a bit of a higher frequency for songs that made me immediately want to search for them so I could listen to them later though, thank god for that. So many good tracks.

Overall Continued to impress me, and then some. Only a slight improvement from the first game, in my opinion, but even that is pretty impressive since I didn’t have many issues with the first game to begin with. 8/10

So uh, in other words, I really really loved this game. Cannot WAIT to start best boy’s conclusion!!!

#witchs heart #slo reviews #slo talks #LETS GOO

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fcarher · 4 years

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THE MEGA RP PLOTTING SHEET / MEME.

First and foremost, recall that no one is perfect, we all have witnessed some plotting once which did not went too well, be it because of us or our partner. So here have this, which may help for future plotting. It’s a lot! Yes, but perhaps give your partners some insight? Anyway BOLD what fully applies, italicize if only somewhat.

Mun Name: slug / ellie Age: 19 Contact: IM, discord

Character(s) I rp: Yunaeisha Adynora, other demons from my lore Which muse(s) inspires you the most atm?(for MM): Yunaeisha Current Fandom(s): None really Fandom(s) you have an AU for: Naruto, PKMN, Magi, Gangsta, OPM, MHA, Hazbin Hotel & currently working on an ATLA verse My language(s): german, polish, italian, english Themes I’m interested in for rp: Fantasy / Science fiction / Horror / Western / Romance / Thriller / Mystery / Dystopia / Adventure / Modern / Erotic / Crime / Mythology / Classic / History / Renaissance / Medieval / Ancient / War / Family / Politics / Religion / School / Adulthood / Childhood / Apocalyptic / Gods / Sport / Music / Science / Fights / Angst / Smut / Drama / etc. Themes/Genres you have an AU for: highschool, modern & fantasy/medieval

Preferred Thread length: one-liner / 1 para / 2 para / 3+ / novella. Asks can be send by: Mutuals / Non-Mutuals / Personals / Anons. Can Asks be continued?: YES / NO only by Mutuals?: YES / NO. Preferred thread type: crack / casual nothing too deep / serious / deep as heck. Is realism / research important for you in certain themes?: YES / NO. Are you atm open for new plots?: YES / NO / DEPENDS. Do you handle your draft / ask - count well?: YES / NO / SOMEWHAT. How long do you usually take to reply?: 24h / 1 week / 2 weeks / 3+ / months / years. I’m okay with interacting: original characters / a relative of my character (an oc) / duplicates / my fandom / crossovers / multi-muses / self-inserts / people with no AU verse for my fandom / canon-divergent portrayals / au-versions (as main or only verse). Do you post more ic or occ?: IC / OOC. Are you selective with following others?: YES / NO / DEPENDS.

Best ways to approach you for rp/plotting: the best way is just to straight up approach me. most often than not, just liking a post is not enough because it’s too vague ?? like if i post an idea & you like that, i’ll still be hesitant when it comes to roleplaying or approaching you because, while i appreciate such gestures, i’m just too anxious. therefore, plopping into my IMs without a properly fleshed out idea is also fine ! it, at least, gives me the hint that you’re actively seeking interaction. however, just saying “i want to roleplay & plot !” won’t cut it; at least, have something in mind, please !

What expectations do you hold towards your plotting partner: basic ideas & pouring their heart into plotting! i don’t mind waiting, at all, so if you’re busy, don’t worry about keeping me waiting; i completely understand since i’m also often busy with work or university. but !! please don’t only come to me with the statement: “i want to plot!” it’s not gonna cut it & it’s not gonna help with a proper interaction, at all. if i approach someone, most often than not, i have SOME sort of idea in mind. but yeah, being passionate is the most important thing!

When you notice the plotting is rather one-sided, what do you do?: most often than not, the conversation will die down because i will loose motivation; i don’t like it because i’ll feel like a bother & i shouldn’t feel that way when it comes to a hobby! therefore, one-sided plotting is one of my deal breakers; i usually end the conversation & there will be little to no interaction happening. like i said; i don’t mind waiting, i just hate that feeling of coming on TOO strong when my plotting partner delivers no input.

How do you usually plot with others, do you give input or leave most work towards your partner?: often than not, i start off with rather simple question like; are you interested in a certain verse ? do you already have something in mind ? if not, i will go through their about page & ask them things about their character & how that could possibly bring our characters to interact. sometimes, the about pages of a muse cannot give you every single bit of information; muses grow & change with each thread, therefore, it’s often better to just ask the people about their characters ! & from then on, it often just comes naturally.

When a partner drops the thread, do you wish to know?: YES / NO / DEPENDS. - And why?: if the thread is not THAT important or vital for our character’s relationship; i don’t mind & won’t need to know if the thread is dropped. sometimes, if it’s a heavily plotted thread & i’ve anticipated the interaction a lot; i’d appreciate a quick heads-up from my partner that they’re not feeling that certain thread any longer; i don’t mind that !! - What should your partner do when dropping a thread?: they don’t need to tell me; SOMETIMES, it’s just a nice gesture but most of the time, i don’t care, we can always start another thread !!

What could possibly lead you to drop a thread?: many things can lead to me dropping a thread; just losing motivation, having no muse for a certain genre or simply having the feeling that my partner is not liking it, any longer (ex. extreme lack of trying to match the reply length ). my health & my schedule can also, sadly, affect my motivation, so, more often than not, i tend to drop shorter threads & keep longer ones. - Will you tell your partner?: YES / NO / DEPENDS.

Is communication in the rpc important to you? YES / NO. - And why?: i get anxious really fast if people stop replying for a very long time, out of the blue. it has happened to me once before with a good friend with whom i have no contact with any longer due to miscommunication & them not trying to communicate the issue with me; therefore, yes, it is very important. i wanna know if something is bothering you; i wanna know if you like something very much; i wanna know what’s up ! we’re humans & we’re adults; we can talk about this. - Are you okay with absolute honesty, even if it may means hearing something negative about you and/or portrayal?: yes ! as long as it is constructive criticism & not straight-up bashing my characters or lore; i’m all for it. i don’t mind hearing negative things; in fact, i appreciate the honesty & it gives me room to work on myself & my writing ! - Do you think you can handle such situation in a mature way? YES / NO.

Why do you rp again, is there a goal?: building relationships that LAST & exploring my muses through & through; it is amazing how much yuna has grown through interactions with others; how different she has become from the yuna i once started out with; it’s almost been a year now & it’s just amazing. however, i’m not stopping anytime soon; THERE IS SO MUCH MORE I WANT TO EXPLORE !! the ultimate goal is for me to just look at my blog & be completely proud of what i have accomplished & written; i want fleshed out relationships & threads; deep stuff !!

Wishlist, be it plots or scenarios: yuna talking with someone about her struggles; mentally & physically. being open about her abusive father & how it has traumatized her & painted men in the worst picture one could imagine. HOWEVER; a hard thing because i don’t want these things to be pre-est or something; i want a thread where there is struggling, screams, conflict ! it is rather hard to find someone, though, who is willing & fitting to go onto that long journey with me & yuna. also, i’d love to write about darker stuff; i love fluff, though, sometimes i sure want a bit of that, too.

Themes I won’t ever rp / explore: the only things i won’t rp or explore are stated in my rules; ex. pedophilia, rape & really descriptive animal abuse. killing, torture, gore as well as cheating, heartbreak or toxic relationships are okay, while i do prefer to have a deeper bond with someone while exploring the latter & be communicating the whole time; i think these are really REAL topics & that’s why i wouldn’t mind exploring them because it does happen, more than one would like them to happen. however, if i see you, the mun, glorifying or romanticizing these; just no.

What Type of Starters do you prefer / dislike, can’t work with?: i like everything with some sort of substance; i love short ones as much as long ones, nevertheless, you have to give me something to work with. yuna would ignore anyone not of any interest or value to her; therefore, if your muse just asks her random questions, the interaction will go nowhere. if you’re unsure; just ask !!

What type of characters catch your interest the most?: i love characters with uniqueness to them; it can be a certain interest, certain appearance or their species can be totally unique to them; i’ll love it ! i do have a thing for villains, though; always had, even when i was young 8^) so, dark, stubborn & “evil” characters catch my interest far more than a really nice muse who just is all smiles all day. i love a muse that can kick mine & yuna’s ass, basically. someone with strong morals or who is just really set on their beliefs can also offer conflict which i ADORE !! i need it; i live for it !!

What type of characters catch your interest the least?: really kind & unbothered muses who are self-sacrificing, perfect & loved by everyone for no reason ?? idk, i just think it’s bad writing. everyone has flaws; no one is perfect !

What are your strong aspects as rp partner?: i am a very open person who will talk with you about anything & is keen on exploring our character’s relationship at all times & through all means; i often send my rp partners prompts in form of my yuna just being her dumb-self or through memes ! i will constantly think about our characters & will try to have them interact as much as possible. i am, most of the time, very active & respond to the threads fairly quickly ! if i am totally invested; you’ll get everything you want; a moodboard, an edit, a drawing, etc. i literally pour my heart & soul into every bond my muse has; i live for them. oh !! i also love asking people question about their characters; i just love learning new things about them !!

What are your weak aspects as rp partner?: i’m very slow out of character; i don’t approach muns a lot because i’m scared to be a bother, working on it ! i often ramble a lot & my writing can become a bit convoluted & hard to understand, i apologize ! i tend to not message people on discord as often as i’d like to; mostly because i’m really socially awkward or just don’t think that what i want to show to them is THAT important. i’m not as straight-forward as i wish myself to be; however, even with all that; i still have a lot of fun & am acknowledging & actively working on my weak aspects !

Do you rp smut?: YES / NO. Do you prefer to go into detail?: YES / NO / DEPENDS. Are you okay with black curtain?: YES / NO. - When do you rp smut? More out of fun or character development?: often, it is because i want to develop the relationship or yuna’s character; she’s a very sexual being who hardly connects to someone emotionally; therefore, writing sex & exploring the vulnerability behind it can be really beautiful ! though, fun is also involved ! - Anything you would not want to rp there?: non-consensual stuff is a no-go ! also, certain kinks that make me uncomfortable are also off the table; ex. anything involving bodily fluids other than spit.

Are ships important to you?: YES / NO. Would you say your blog is ship-focused?: YES / NO. Do you use read more?: YES / NO / SOMETIMES. Are you: Multi-Ship / Single-Ship / Dual-Ship — Multiverse / Singleverse. - What do you love to explore the most in your ships?: i love the conflicts the most; clashing ideals or just two stubborn muses arguing for the heck of it is really fun & can develop the relationship beautifully ! yuna is a person who likes someone that can be properly fought with, verbally here. but of course, i also adore the very soft moments!! i love meaningless fluff; it warms my heart. - What is your smut tag?: SINFUL.

Are you okay with pre-established relationships?: YES / NO. - And what kind of ones?: nothing TOO drastic; a friendship, a rivalry is a-okay ! however, i’m very hesitant when it comes to having pre-est. romantic relationships; though, you can quickly change my mind if you pour your soul into the plotting; then i’m fine with it ! everything that needs time when writing also needs time when plotting; don’t just straight up jump into something if you’re not able to give it your all.

► SECTION ABOUT YOUR MUSE.

- What could possibly make your Muse interesting towards others, why should they rp with this particular character of yours now, what possible plots do they offer?: i think yuna is a person with whom it is easy to form relationships with; it takes a bit of time but due to her rather drastic ideals & opinions; anything can be founded within seconds. she doesn’t hold back when it comes to her honesty & conflicts will arise. also, for all muses with demonic or deity backgrounds; being a daughter of the literal queen of hell, though, also harboring fragments of a god’s soul makes her unique in the supernatural world which can spark interest with your character or even they can develop an ill-will towards her ? i think it’s really interesting exploring what makes one work & go on & yuna has the philosophical potential to tickle that out of your muse; she question EVERYTHING. now for certain plots; one-sided love or even friendships are always really interesting, especially when she is the one having such feelings. other than that; she has enormous & dangerous powers; so if you’re into character or world-building; can offer that as well !

- With what type of Muses do you usually struggle to rp with?: humans; she doesn’t approach humans who are just kind & have nothing to offer for her, the least she’d do is have sex with them or kill them to harvest their life energy. i’m sorry but she really does hate all of humanity & to change that opinion ? man, you must be the most stubborn person ever. - With what type of Muses do they usually work well with?: characters who are of supernatural or demonic nature; she’ll be very interested & even nosy to a point. also, very attractive characters who are not afraid to speak their mind; she’s really superficial most of the time & will flirt with anything that she deems good-looking. muses who have ideals that contrast hers or that are similar to her but also, generally, people who are open-minded.

- What interests your Muse(s) in general: sex, parties, plants & flowers, astronomy, writing, demons & hell, the underground scene, killing, knives & playing the piano - What do they desire, is their goal?: the questions that bother her the most are; why did her mother had to die ? why would nobody help her while she was being abused by her father ? why was she kept alive by her sisters ? is there love out there for someone like her ? what do these strange visions mean that occur almost every night ? she has a lot of things she wants to experience & wishes to have a normal life once she has killed her other mother, lilith, which is her ultimate goal, at the moment. - What catches their interest first when meeting someone new?: their appearance; the scent of their blood & if it differs from humans; how they react towards her & what they do in front of her. - What do they value in a person?: strong opinions, loyalty, good looks, humor, strength (not limited to physical strength) - What themes do they like talking about?: herself or the world & the state of it; she likes being philosophical with some, can often be somewhat self-centered; THOUGH; it is almost always for her to see how they would react to that.

- Which themes bore them?: love & drama; she does not care a lot for gossip or anything relating to it; the topic of love, no matter in which sense, is always brushed off because she just doesn’t find any appeal in it.

- Did they ever went through something traumatic?: Being the reason her own mother committed suicide; Her father & sister abusing her all her life, spouting lies & beating her until she could stand no more while her other sisters would watch & do nothing, even though, they were supposed to support each other; laewa, one of her sisters, fancying the idea of killing yuna for the greater good; two of her best friends turning on her when they find out she’s not human & then being killed right in front of her eyes; her one & only boyfriend protecting her from a demon hunter & being killed in the process - What could possibly trigger them?: loud sudden noises; making fun of her attachment to her late ex-boyfriend, being awfully nice to her, the sight of any dog or wolf, tender touches (esp. her back being touched), being alone with her thoughts for far too long - What could set them off, enrage them?: people who make fun of her & her powers; calling her a monster; not understanding her pain when she opens up; purposefully touching her back or any other scarred skin, being nosy - What could lead to an instant kill?: you are a demon hunter that does not show remorse when killing demons with a consciousness, trying to kill her, killing one of her comrades

- Is there someone /-thing they hate?: Keela Adynora, Myra Adynora (Father, Sister), the other D.O.L.s, EYES’ superiors (the organization she works for), Humans, Lilith - Is there someone /-thing they love?: Evelin Adynora (Her biological mother)

Is your Muse easy to approach?: YES / NO. - Best ways to approach them?: If you’re not quite human or are a demon, you could literally stand next to her & be silent; she’ll become curious on her own. other than that; be interesting or flirt with her; just do something that does not involve small talk; she hates that. - Where are they usually to find?: strip club (her workplace), bars, clubs, clearings within a forest, nice areas that are full of trees & plants; a roof-top

Something you may still want to point out about your muse?: Yuna is basically pandora’s box personified; she may seem nice & attractive from the outside but within her are sleeping demons that only wait to be awakened. & withal, she is still a cutie who will become your number one supporter & protector if you manage to build a proper relationship with. it’s hard to get through that shell & what awaits is NOT that pretty but with years upon years of abuse, neglect & shit being thrown her way; it’s not easy being a carefree immortal.

CONGRATS!!! You managed it, now tag your mutuals! ♥

Tagged by: @skyvar , i srsly love these so much, snow !! thank you for tagging me <3 i had so much fun 8′) Tagging: @thevvolf ; @nezumi-vc-103221 ; @empiia ; @dvojakyvlk ; @childrenxfthemoon ; @hensetsu ; @goldempire ; @animatedatrophy ; @talonness ; @shikkotsunin ; @wcrthlessanimal & anyone else !!

#˗ ˋ † ᴏᴏᴄ ﹕ slug arrived !#˗ ˋ † ᴅᴏꜱꜱɪᴇʀ ﹕ the things that were left in this life i call mine !#( ajsjas u dont have to do this ofc !! bUT IT WOULD BE SO MUCH FUN!! )#( also thanks again now !! i really liked this one 8) <3 )

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lcnguor · 4 years

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THE MEGA RP PLOTTING SHEET / MEME.

Mun Name: Mik Age: 26 Contact: IM, discord, smoke signal, whatever.

Character(s) I rp: Nora, Spike. Which muse(s) inspires you the most atm?(for MM): Nora, most likely Current Fandom(s): Fandomless Fandom(s) you have an AU for: pretty much everything I find around and hop on. My language(s): spanish, english. Themes I’m interested in for rp: Fantasy / Science fiction / Horror / Western / Romance / Thriller / Mystery / Dystopia / Adventure / Modern / Erotic / Crime / Mythology / Classic / History / Renaissance / Medieval / Ancient / War / Family / Politics / Religion / School / Adulthood / Childhood / Apocalyptic / Gods / Sport / Music / Science / Fights / Angst / Smut / Drama / etc. Themes/Genres you have an AU for: modern without supernatural, I do have some fantasy set up but eh.

Best ways to approach you for rp/plotting: ask, IM, discord, singing telegram, smoke signals, messeger pidgeos -- whatever dude. I will most likely talk and ramble a lot, I do like plotting and I squeeze my brains out to think in ways to rp with ppl. and I really suck at approaching others. really...

What expectations do you hold towards your plotting partner: Ideas and somewhat more enthusiasm than me. I tend to shy away or feel very much awkward right off the bat if the person approaches me with not much to say or give. And honestly, some people really intimidate me because I am too hard on myself, so giving a bit of a pat on the back makes me relax more. I deal with a lot of anxiety and I know people run away the second I show it.

When you notice the plotting is rather one-sided, what do you do?: Mostly when I am doing the talk or coming with ideas or looking generally more interested. It takes effort for me to get on things and actually do stuff but if it’s not the other way around I end up thinking they got bored of me. I am one hell of insecure person. As for what I do, if after many tries of trying to reach another person and end up feeling rejected or ignored, then ... I stop. What’s the point of insisting if the other person would just be awkward or not spare you a word?

How do you usually plot with others, do you give input or leave most work towards your partner?: well, I usually ask first what the other thinks or have in mind, if nothing, I either suggest or start brainstorming with the other person. I know some who have dealt with me at first I seem like a dettached person but not having ideas really makes me feel like I have not much right to talk. I want to give yet without impossing or letting it twist my arm. I know for a fact nora’s lore really doesn’t help shit for most things.

When a partner drops the thread, do you wish to know?: YES / NO / DEPENDS. - And why?: if the thread was meaningful and we were really into it , then I would ask but as for the most, I don’t really bother with it. Sometimes people just lose muse, and even if I was enjoying it, I don’t have the right to force someone or ask why they stopped. thread dropping is normal, i guess. - What should your partner do when dropping a thread?: whatever they want. telling me or not is up to them, I don’t really mind. RP is not something SUPER serious like it should be just perfect. I try to convice myself of this a lot.

What could possibly lead you to drop a thread?: either because it was old as fuck, I couldn’t find muse or because it was lost in the void of tumblr’s amazing tracking system. - Will you tell your partner?: YES / NO / DEPENDS.

Is communication in the rpc important to you? YES / NO. - And why?: if I do not have some idea of who am i rping with and what they have in mind, then it’s nearly impossible. being purely IC is really uncomfortable and could lead to a lot of misundertandings. - Are you okay with absolute honesty, even if it may means hearing something negative about you and/or portrayal?: yeah. mostly yeah -- I mean, I will feel bad, I do have feelings, but I will take it with water. - Do you think you can handle such situation in a mature way? YES ( but I will feel bad anyways ) / NO.

Why do you rp again, is there a goal?: connect with others, ramble a lot about characters, have fun. I’ve been rping since i was 12 ( back then it was not big deal your age apparently ) and having to connect with other people by making these plots and stories and just having a fun time is something that brings me joy. There’s so much that can be done. And exploring my muses with other muses influences is really helpful to fill the holes left due indecisiveness.

Wishlist, be it plots or scenarios: I wish people joined my lore more. Having muses that could be in the same story department as Nora in particular, would be hella and inspire me more. There is so much I have. Explore nora’s power is also something I want but it’s hard -- it’s very invasive and not many would really like it, feeling it’s meta. For now, I don’t really have other muses and Spike has her little crew outside tumblr.

Themes I won’t ever rp / explore: umm, it’s hard to think in something in particular. But mostly stuff that collides with nora’s story/character. but there is a lot I am willing to explore.

What Type of Starters do you prefer / dislike, can’t work with?: casual starters are my fab. It’s easier to figure out how to go or stop and think. plotted ones also work. as for what I dislike or cannot work with, things that force my muse to not act how they would? not giving me something solid is hard to handle.

What type of characters catch your interest the most?: I really like out of the norm muses, something that you see and say /oh , look at that/. Aesthetically, story wise or personality wise, something that goes out the usual troup most would use. I do have a guilty pleasure for opposite to my muse characters --- something that would really show the contrast with one another.

What type of characters catch your interest the least?: Very basic ones? or those who try TOO hard to be special. A character that doesn’t fit in the context they are in, esp. in fandoms. HEAVILY divergent characters that just basically turn them into OCs. I know I sound like a bitch but I am the type who respect canon and the actual author behind the character too much. Also those that I don’t know much about? as in, the fandom never managed to catch my interest or smth in that line.

What are your strong aspects as rp partner?: I know where is the line between fiction and reality. And that what your character does it does not reflect as the person you actually are. I am pretty laid back and I understand people’s views and reasoning. idk. I draw a lot if I am super invested ?

What are your weak aspects as rp partner?: I am super sporadic and can go from being super active to flat out dead for weeks. my mood swings a lot with the amount of attention I get, as horrible as it sounds. I am very anxious as a person for reasons ( not IRL mostly, just bad experience from previous partners ). I promise a lot but do little? honestly I will just bad mouth myself if I keep writing this.

Do you rp smut?: YES ( tho mostly on discord ) / NO. Do you prefer to go into detail?: YES / NO / DEPENDS. Are you okay with black curtain?: YES / NO. - When do you rp smut? More out of fun or character development?: both? - Anything you would not want to rp there?: ehhhh, idk -- i don’t do as much to know what I don’t like here.

Are ships important to you?: YES / NO / RELATIVE. Would you say your blog is ship-focused?: YES / NO. Do you use read more?: YES / NO / SOMETIMES. Are you: Multi-Ship / Single-Ship / Dual-Ship — Multiverse / Singleverse. - What do you love to explore the most in your ships?: the very nature of human relations. I am talking about Nora big time here -- there is a lot to explore in her relations and how she reacts and acts towards someone is very very contextual. How much she fakes, how much she is sincere, how much she struggles or how relaxed can be. force her to show her real self, which is very hazy even for her as a task. Be very poetic deep and also very shallow. I particulary see her as a character that REALLY depends on her relation with the other muse -- but generally speaking for any of my muses: I love to explore them as a pair and as individuals. - What is your smut tag?: the unfamily friendly. ( new tag (?))

Are you okay with pre-established relationships?: YES / NO. - And what kind of ones?: Anything? I am open to anything honestly. As long as it makes sense.

► SECTION ABOUT YOUR MUSE.

- What could possibly make your Muse interesting towards others, why should they rp with this particular character of yours now, what possible plots do they offer?: Anyone who is denying their feelings, are peculiar as an individual or anyone who needs an insight of themselves and the world around them. Nora is a mentor type of character, she is here to be a support and help others explore themselves and learn. Also if you are a minor, she will most likely try to get close to help -- one must protect the good sad kids.

- With what type of Muses do you usually struggle to rp with?: Stubborn, very fixated with things. Who would not open themselves to other perspective without thinking someone is trying to change them. Also she would struggle a heck lot with psychopaths and sociopaths, or anyone that “doesn’t have a face” for her. - With what type of Muses do they usually work well with?: Curious people, struggling ones, kids in general -- people that are willing to listen to her opinions and try to improve in a positive way. Also those who are quirky in a way.

- What interests your Muse(s) in general: rabbits, literature, interesting people, the unknown, learning, relationships of all natures. - What do they desire, is their goal?: Live long without letting her particularity ruin her -- for her kind nobody makes it past the 50s and she wants that , to conquer her ability and prove that even with something like she is ( they are ), it’s posible to live and be happy. have a family of her own, yeah she is that cheesy. - What catches their interest first when meeting someone new?: Their actions and the emotions that they are carrying on their back. - What do they value in a person?: sincerity, willingness, enthusiasm. - What themes do they like talking about?: a lot of phylosophic stuff, deep topics -- as well to casual things of life. about people and society. - Which themes bore them?: excuses and avoidance -- people who are willing to drop everything and give up.

- Did they ever went through something traumatic?: the attempt of suicide of her mother. and the successfull suicide of many of her peers. - What could possibly trigger them?: any sort of threat or violence towards someone who does not asked for it. esp. her peers and family. - What could set them off, enrage them?: Immoral ones. Those who are willing to stomp on others just to success in their goal. - What could lead to an instant kill?: is not killing, but touch a hair of her family and you are done. same for her friends and protegees.

- Is there someone /-thing they hate?: gorgers, suicide, her tired face. - Is there someone /-thing they love?: her family and dear ones --- to a fault. rabbits or anything related to it.

Is your Muse easy to approach?: YES / NO. - Best ways to approach them?: any way is okay as long as is not threatening. - Where are they usually to find?: during the night, in the streets -- during the day is either her workplace or her house. maybe a park near her apartment/location if she is feeling stuffy.

Something you may still want to point out about your muse?: she is not a good person , she is willing to manipulate people and is constantly trying to impose her morals. but she is also very sensitive even if she doesn’t show it --- Nora does look tired for a reason , and one of them is because she cries a lot .

CONGRATS!!! You managed it, now tag your mutuals! ♥

Tagged by: @skyvar Tagging: @batoushoujo , @obtainedloss , @lorddiiavolo , @evanesense , @sunpierce , @necrotrigae , @maljefe , @ethaeria , @calpio , @veiliisms

#mik talks #ᴍᴜɴᴅᴀɴᴇ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛs » misc.

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crazynekochan · 5 years

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Kingdom Hearts au prt1: Kyosuke, Chisa and Juzo were keyblade masters/the Hope trio when Junko came and try to acquire the darkness. Her power proved to be too strong for them when she used the forbidden keyblade of despair which secured their victory. Chisa was banished to the realm of darkness where Aqua once was, Juzo was split into 3 with his body used to serve Junko and his mind taking control of his armour as it tries to find Kyosuke, Chisa, his heart and Junko who was the start of it all.

Kingdom Hearts au prt2: His heart meanwhile acted as Kyosuke’s shield when Junko made him go into a coma. This proved to be a problem for Junko as no matter what she does Juzo’s heart won’t let go blocking her out from her source of power, Kyosuke’s abnormal power of magic. So she puts them both under constant pain until Juzo’s heart’s weak enough to let go. She then recruited her forces which were the remnants of despair including the Future trio Hajime, Chiaki and Nagito.

Kingdom Hearts au prt3: Chiaki’s a spy in order to find out what happened to the Hope trio and along the way she befriended all the remnants of despair. She was later found out by Junko when she found Kyosuke’s comatosed state causing her to be executed. This sent all the remnants into despair which was just what Junko needed as Hajime got split in 2, 1 half with no memories searching for Chiaki, the other becoming Izuru to which Junko tasked with breaking Juzo’s heart to access Kyosuke’s power.

Kingdom Hearts au prt4: Little did Junko knew that Chisa, Juzo and Kyosuke gifted the ability to wield the keyblade to 3 people: Chiaki, Kaito and Naegi. Chiaki was still alive, just split apart like Juzo as the Truth trio, Shuichi, Kaede and Kaito try to find a way to fix her while in training. King Jin and Koichi we’re searching for Chisa when they saw her as darkness which was not good. Koichi escapes but Jin remained trapped fighting Chisa much to Koichi’s regret.

Kingdom Hearts au prt5: Then came the NewHope Trio, Naegi Togami and Kyoko. They’re new keyblade masters who’re tasked with helping Naegi get the power of waking as Koichi tries to find a way to save Jin. Naegi=Sora as he encountered the Remnants of despair and fought them. Only Nagito helped them cuz he knew that Chiaki was alive and that if they could bring her and Hajime back the remnants would changed sides. They soon encountered Juzo’s mind residing in his armour.

Kingdom hearts au continuation6: Thinking that it was Mukuro+Junko holding Kyosuke hostage Mind!Juzo lashed out and the NewHope trio barely defeated him. Seeing as how they weren’t them Mind!Juzo just moved along, mumbling how he’ll find them. Koichi meanwhile was fighting Chisa and trying to save a defeated Jin when the half of Hajime appears in the realm due to being drawn to Chisa’s familiar power. Seeing this opportunity, Koichi teams up with Hajime and defeats Chisa.

Kingdom hearts au continuation7: They all escapes and Chisa was put to Mitarai’s care to take out the despair in her. He later questions Hajime only to find nothing about him and only that he was searching for Chiaki. Surprised, he took him to where the Truth Trio and Chihiro were as they try and fix Chiaki by giving her a replica to reside in. Hajime suddenly got flashbacks of his friends which made him pass out. Nagito meanwhile was investing and due to his luck, he found Kyosuke.

Kingdom hearts au con7: He then saw Izuru being fascinated by how Juzo’s heart haven’t weaken no matter what he did but it didn’t take long until he noticed him. Nagito unashamedly came out and Izuru let’s him be cuz he thought it would be interesting also Nagito’s luck powers. Naegi still hasn’t gotten the power of waking but then discovered Juzo’s body wandering around. Naegi got beaten up badly as the other 2 assist him but they couldn’t escape, he was out to kill him under Junko’s orders.

Kingdom hearts au cont8: They fight but they were no match and by some miracle Chisa came in to cease the fighting. Seeing as how she’s not worthy of a pawn, Body!Juzo flees to tell Junko of Chisa. Seeing as how she’s still alive Junko orders Kaz to make a machine to kill them, much to Gundham’s discomfort. He noticed Kaz trying everything to get others’ attention and it was worrying to him. Chiaki was then restored and told everyone of what’s happening.

Kingdom hearts au cont9: Enraged, Chisa nearly stormed off only to be stopped by Jin who successfully reasoned with her. They then planned out their course of action, the Truth Trio and Koichi would create a distraction as Chiaki and Hajime would lead the NewHope trio, Jin and Chisa in. Naegi was unsure since he still doesn’t have the power but Jin assured him that it’ll be fine, they just need to get Kyosuke and Heart!Juzo out. Koichi also pointed out that Juzo’s body was with Junko

Kingdom hearts au cont10: and that his mind was also missing which was a problem. Kyoko pointed out that they might’ve encountered Mind!Juzo and so took everyone there. Seeing as how Kaito felt a connection towards the armour, they’re right on the mark as Chisa convinced Mind!Juzo to go save his love which was more than enough to get him to comply. They storm the place, got caught by Nagito who’s happy to see Chiaki but confused to see Hajime and lead them to where Kyosuke was.

KH au cont11: They then bump into Gundham who’s surprised+happy to see Chiaki alive but tells them of the weapon Kaz was creating and quickly helped to guide them to Kyosuke. They successfully rescued him and escaped with Gundham acting as their spy. But they couldn’t extract Juzo’s heart since he’d fused it with Kyosuke’s to protect him. That’s Dangan Hearts 1 I hope you enjoyed this new change of pace sry if it’s long and tell me if some parts didn’t send u can take a break from asks if u want

Mod: Now this is long, but very well written. Partly because Kingdom Hearts and Danganronpa are two of the best games there are x)

You really put much thought into this and made all the characters fit in well, especially considering their backstories. I also have to admit that I love the idea of the Remnants being “Organisation XIII” x)

It’s perfectly fitting that Chisa fell into darkness like Aqua did, since she was the one who fell into despair first and was never known to be a Remnants aside from a few selected few, just like only one person knew that Aqua was trapped in the Darkness. The same with Juzo taking Terra’s role, since in canon he is after all Junko’s pawn because she uses Kyosuke against him. Plus the fact that it’s also canon that Juzo would literally do anything for him, no matter what happens, including dying. So it would so happen that he would still protect him even if he literally has no body or mind left. (Damn that sounds dramatic. I like it)

The part with the future trio is well thought up and fits perfectly into the lore, without sounding out of place. Though now that I am writing, I am wondering: Would that mean that some of the DR2 cast were living in “Radiant Garden” before the fall into darkness while the others were originally from “Daybreak Town” without remembering it?

That Makoto is a perfect Sora is a given. They are both the protags and both are very similar of character. (They are also both quite tiny in comparison, just saying x) Not to mention that both don’t really feel like they are deserving of their role, as in Makoto feeling out of place in Hope’s Peak and Sora feeling like he doesn’t deserve the Kingdom Keyblade, while turning out to be the one who saves everyone again and again

Jin taking on the role of the king is perfect. Especially considering that both are characters who try their best to do what is right, but do huge mistakes due to bad judgement. Jin leaving his daughter behind without explanation and not seeing Junko as who she is which led to the death of him and many more of the students he tried to protect, while King Mickey left Aqua in the Realm of Darkness for ages and never told anyone to not distract of the current missions while partly leading to Riku’s transformation into Ansem and the many hardships he had to go through to protect Sora

Now with the last part. I love the implications that Chiaki, as well as Gundham take on the role of Axel/Lea, by being the spy within the Remnants, only at different times and at the end working for the good side. Though does that mean that Kazuichi takes on a Saix/Isa role, considering that he is now working directly under Junko’s orders to kill everyone like a brainwashed pawn? (It would be a funny coincidence, since Kaz is my fave in DR and Saix/Isa in KH)

#danganronpa #munasaka #soudam #are there any other ships hinted at here?#I'm not sure #kingdom hearts #crossover #prompt #dangan hearts au #Anonymous #ask

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a-gay-bloodmage · 5 years

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—Legend—

Pairings: Pre-Relationship Morrigan x Male Mahariel, One-Sided Leliana x Male Mahariel

Pairing Types: M/F, M/F

Words: 1,481

Warnings: AGB's Ink 2019, Monsters from the DA Tabletop Game, With Liberties Taken, Of Course, Leliana Pines Hard but Don't We All, Orest Isn't Usually Anxious, But When it Hits Oh Boy, Lots of Inspiration from Native American Sk*nwalker Stories and Lore

"Are you okay, Orest?" Leliana looked over at the Dalish Warden, who had been more withdrawn as of late. He was usually the chatterbox of their little group, an accomplishment considering that she, Alistair, and Zevran were also in such a group. "You've been quiet lately."

"Just fine, shem," he said, smiling a little tightly. He usually only called humans shemlen when he was stressed. That was his biggest tell. Well, that and about a dozen others. He was incredibly easy to read, even without her being a bard.

She stood from her place on the dirt around the fire and moved closer to him. "Are you sure?"

He looked over to her, and, once again, she was struck by how handsome he was—high, but not overwhelmingly so, cheekbones, beautiful dark brown, hooded eyes she so rarely saw, and long, inky black, wavy hair. Not to mention those Dalish tattoos. Damn, she was getting distracted again. Besides, he seemed to have his mind set on Morrigan.

"I just... get nervous out here at night," he said, those pretty eyes shifting back to the darkness outside of their ring of firelight.

"You're Dalish, though?" Why would someone, who has lived in these woods for his entire life, fear them? Shouldn't it be us? She stalled in her thoughts. Oh, she realized, he knows something we don't. Something that frightens him.

He fiddled with the leather of his skirt. He was always finding some way to keep his hands busy. "We Dalish have, uh, stories about... things," he said. Something moved in the forest, and he seemed to nearly jump out of his skin. "Fuck!" She put a hand on his bare shoulder—he was, more often than not, bare-chested. "Creators, I shouldn't be opening my mouth," he said though his teeth. "Gods, I'm always opening my mouth..."

"Orest, you okay?" Alistair chimed in, noticing the way the elf seemed even more anxious than he had been.

"Fucking- Obviously not," he hissed, hands tight on his skirt. His warm brown hands were significantly paler at the knuckles from the grip. "Gods! There's Mythallan out here and nobody but me knows!" His brain seemed to catch up with his mouth after a minute. "Shit!"

"Mythallan?" Leliana asked. She'd lived her entire life listening to and telling stories, but they were almost always human-centric. She, and so many others, knew next to nothing of Dalish lore and stories.

"We- we're not supposed to talk about them," he said. It was still jarring to hear him speaking in a quiet tone. "It's bad luck. Really bad luck."

She looked away from him for a second and noticed that their group had gravitated toward them. Sten, usually so aloof, actually seemed to be listening closely despite his uninterested expression.

"No. Don't make me talk about them," he whined, his thick black brows pushing together.

Leliana gently rubbed his shoulder. Maker, was he warm. "Wouldn't it be better to know, if we do encounter them?" She was ever so good at prying, if she could say so herself. Coaxing things out of people while appearing to be purely caring. Of course, she did care for him and his obviously shaken mental state, but she was also incredibly invested in her own staying alive.

"Creators have mercy on me if Marethari finds out I've been... talking," he mumbled, looking more than a little sick with nerves. "She'd skin me alive... If I don't die first."

"You're making an awfully big fuss about some little monster," Morrigan said, picking at her nails and feigning disinterest.

"Oh for the love of-" Orest sighed, biting down on his lower lip. "Mythallan isn't just some little monster, I'll have you know," he said, narrowing his eyes. "It's not just something you can toss away and forget."

"If this is such a... large problem, why didn't the Dalish tell us about it beforehand?" Alistair asked. Leliana couldn't help but wonder the same thing. It'd be foolish not to tell the people you were sending out into the forest what threats may lurk in it.

"Because, like I said, we don't tell that stuff to outsiders, to shemlen, especially," Orest said. "You talk about evil, you invite it to prove itself." He tensed. "You never know what stranger might turn out to be the very thing you tell them you fear." Maker, it was like the blood had run out of his face, leaving him ashen.

"But-"

"I know, I know," he said, cutting Alistair off. "Mine as well, huh?" He looked back out to the dark woods beyond the light. The moon was hidden behind an overcast sky. "Already digging my damned grave." He took a deep breath. "Mythallan is said to have once been Harralan, a skilled Dalish hunter. He, well, he hated shemlen- for good reason, of course, but more than... acceptable. After his Clan passed though a human village, the elders exiled him to the woods until his anger cooled." Orest swallowed hard, throat noticeably tight. "It... it didn't. His mind and spirit were so, well, weak with anger, he felt himself drawn to the call of the demon trapped in the Link of Rage."

"Link of Rage?" Leliana asked, eyes wide in curiosity. Even if the man wasn't an expert storyteller, the palpable fear in the air around him drew her in regardless.

"Big chain thing, held a demon until the Second Blight," he said, using his hands to shakily draw a circle in the air before shaking them, as if to shoo away the image he'd created. "Not... not that important. Anyway, uh, the hunter found the hidden vale where the ruins of the keep lay, managed to walk through its defenses, and grabbed the Link. All of his anger and hatred poured into it, mag- uh, magnifying it a thousand times. It overwhelmed him and- and he died. Well, Harralan's spirit, his being, died. He and the rage demon became Mythallan, Child of Vengeance." He chewed on the inside of his cheek. "And his creatures, blightwolves, bloodcrows, and the Revengers, stalk the woods and prey on anybody stupid enough to go out into them at night!" He hunched forward, black hair obscuring his face. "I'm dead. I'm so dead. Dar'eth shiral, dumbass."

"What does-" Leliana didn't bother talking after Orest waved his hand to dismiss her question.

"Ma ghilana mir din'an, ghilan'him banal'vhen," he mumbled, hand reaching up and shoving his hair back and out of his face.

"Don't worry," Alistair said, masking his obvious nerves with his usual smile. "You've got six people and a mabari with you, you'll be okay." Maker, was he a sweetheart. They were all lucky to have him, really.

"Revengers alone can kill entire scouting parties, shemlen," Orest said, deadpan.

"Oh." Alistair looked over Orest's smaller form and at Leliana. He shrugged.

She shrugged back, a worried smile on her face. "Well, Orest," she said, leaning forward to look up at his still downcast face. Maker, the poor thing was terrified. She had always heard the Dalish were superstitious, but it was another thing to see it so plainly. "What do these revengers look like?"

"Like... jackals," he said, his full lips tight. "But, you know, bigger. Twisted. And when killed, they revert back to the person they used to be, but all... tainted."

None of them wanted to know more at this point, Leliana was sure of it. These creatures that supposedly lurked in the woods only added to the fear brought about by the walking trees and werewolves. It was getting late, too, and fatigue was really setting in. She could feel her eyes getting heavy.

"I take it you're going to be on watch?" She asked, hand still touching Orest's shoulder. He nodded. "Do try to get some sleep, alright?" She felt guilty when she finally removed it.

"Can't promise you anything," he said, smiling weakly. "Night, Lel."

She kissed the top of his head and made her way back to her tent.

She could hear others making their way back to their respective sleeping quarters, and peered out from the flaps of her tent when all commotion seemed to slow and stop.

By the fire, Orest appeared to have fallen asleep, his mabari at his feet and head resting on the belly of a large, black wolf. Morrigan.

Leliana felt her heart swell in sweetness. He'd be alright. As much as she pretended not to be, the witch had grown attached. Quite, in fact.

Something unlike wind rustled the leaves in the the forest, and both Morrigan and the mabari's heads snapped up to look.

A pair of red eyes glowed out in the forest, unblinking. It lingered a minute, observing, calculating, before it faded back into the dark flora. Leliana quickly hid herself back in her tent.

Maker have mercy, werewolves had yellow eyes.

#agbink2019 #fanfiction #da leliana #alistair theirin #da morrigan #orest mahariel #morrigan x warden #da warden #dragon age #dragon age origins #alright here are some translation notes:#Dar'eth shiral: Have a safe journey #Ma ghilana mir din'an: Guide me into death #Ghilan'him banal'vhen: The path that leads astray #everyone: hey man you'll be okay don't worry #ore: you do NOT understand how FUCKED we are out here #the lore in this mainly comes from the da tabletop and i really wanna use those monsters again!!#there's a whole bunch of stuff fandom doesn't bother with and it's a shame this shit is cool af #and yes i tied in some navajo sk*nwalker lore to flesh them out! i do as much research as i can but (naturally) there's very little #the combination of oral history and storytelling combined with the desire for secrecy to prevent cheapening their folklore #which is totally understandable #and since not only are the dalish based off of native americans but ore's design is very much so native it felt far appropriate with him #as opposed to any other character of mine

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vulpinmusings · 5 years

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Ski’tar and Friends part 4: Ulmarid the Death World

The adventures of Ski’tar, Vemir, and Six continue with their most harrowing combat encounter so far. (But we leveled up afterward, so yay~)

The first part

The previous part.

Our stop-over at Absalom Station was rather uneventful. Captain Arvin gave us a little more pocket change, and we set out shopping again. I felt mostly satisfied with my current kit, since I’d so far used little more than a few charges from the batteries in my and my Drone’s laspistols, but the healing potion Vemir has used on Sixer back on the Eoxian ship had impressed me enough to want to obtain a few for myself. That turned out to be a very wise investment, but I’m getting ahead of myself. It was a little awkward to go looking for a vendor of magic items when up to this point in my life I’d been strictly interested in technology, but I managed to get my hands on three basic healing serums without making too big a fool of myself.

Sixer went looking for some better armor. Vemir cashed in his bounty for the Eoxian power core, picked up a new job hunting down some pirate, and then joined Sixer in the search for better armor. In the end, Vemir decided that nothing that was available in his price range was worth losing his Second Skin’s upgrade potential, but Sixer found something better than his old outfit.

The next day, Venture Captain Arvin gave us the run-down on what little was known about the planet Ulmarid. A long time ago, the planet’s two moons had collided and created a kind of shell of asteroids orbiting around the entire planet. Ulmarid itself was a wasteland, whether naturally or thanks to the fallout of the moons colliding, with weather patterns described as “a potential issue” but it at least had a breathable atmosphere. Not much was known for certain, which is definitely why the Unbounded Wayfarer had been going there in the first place.

Since the Starfinders were hoping this was going to be a rescue mission, Captain Arvin provided us with a different, larger ship than the Loreseeker. The Odyssey was a transport ship: it had a larger crew capacity and better shields than our other craft, but lacked weapons for its port and starboard arcs and no onboard workshops of any kind. I was mildly put out by the lack of a tech workshop to tinker around in during the flight and made a weak attempt to argue that the Loreseeker’s smaller size would give it a better chance of navigating through Ulmarid’s asteroid layer, but the need for space to carry the Wayfarer crew outweighed my desire for the familiar. At the least, ship’s captain Manson Navasi and science android Iseph were going to join us on the Odyssey.

We made it though the Drift to Ulmarid without incident. That was our last piece of luck. Vemir wasn’t as capable with the Odyssey’s lesser maneuverability compared to the Loreseeker, and nearly wiped out half our shields with asteroid collisions. After the second bump, I kindly pointed out that the idea was to go around the rocks, not through them. Vemir snapped at me to do my job of recharging the shields (which I gladly got started on once the bumper-boat ride ended), and finally got us through the asteroids. Iseph scanned the planet for the Unbounded Wayfarer, but could only narrow its location down to a thirty-mile radius of desert.

Time for the three of us to take a hike.

The section of Ulmarid we set down on was a desert of sand broken up occasionally by great jagged rocks. The air was breathable, but there was a strange metallic taste to it which lent the otherwise normal-looking environment an uncanny atmosphere. The sky was clear and nothing seemed to be moving, but we could all sense something wasn’t quite right. We began our hike with trepidation.

After crossing a few dunes, the tension finally broke when a great storm rose out of nowhere. What started hitting us wasn’t rain or a sandstorm, though, it was a hail of sharp crystal shards that simply screamed “we’re poisonous.” With a bit of constant vigilance, weaving steps, and a lot of faith in the toughness of my helmet and thickness of my fur, I managed to avoid any actual cuts from the crystals, but Sixer and Vemir weren’t so lucky. The android’s non-organic nature let him shrug off the poisonous effects of the crystals, but they still sliced him up a little. Vemir also got a lot of cuts and had to resort to trying one of the anti-toxin bulbs we’d been given by the Vat Farm’s owner. It seemed to do the trick, as Vemir made a quick recovery once the storm passed. The metallic taste of the air went with the passing of the crystal hail, which was both a relief and a good bit of weather lore to keep in mind: seek cover when the air starts tasting like metal.

After more hiking, we came upon the wreck of a ship half-buried in the sand. From what we could see of the ship’s profile, we determined that it was definitely the Unbounded Wafarer, and we picked up the pace. As we got nearer, Sixer suddenly sensed movement coming from below the sands and warned us just in time to avoid getting immediately munched by what looked like a screw-off big worm with an eat-you-in-one-bite mouth full of teeth and covered in a bunch of the poison crystals. Vemir dodged left toward a large piece of wreckage while my Drone and I went right toward a different, smaller bit while I tried to chuck a grenade into the worm’s mouth. The ‘nade bounced off he top of the worm’s head and exploded harmlessly in the air. The worm was smart enough to figure out who was responsible for that indignity and lunged at me, failing to eat me but leaving me with a rather painful bite. Vemir tried to shoot the worm, but his shots either went wide or did nothing. My Drone landed a laser shot that actually hurt the thing and pulled its attention away from me. While I certainly appreciated the Drone’s ability to use a laspistol, I hadn’t yet grown so attached to it that I’d begrudge having to build a new one should it get eaten, so I told the Drone to keep shooting while I slipped around the worm and booked it for Vemir’s position.

While this was happening, Sixer noticed something on the hull of the Wayfarer: an antipersonnel plasma turret that looked like it was still in working order. He booked it over there and quickly determined that although the ammo feed was a bit borked, the turret had usable rounds loaded. He climbed into the manual control seat and fired into the worm’s back just as it managed to get its teeth into my Drone. The plasma hurt the worm so badly that it dropped my Drone and screamed. I lobbed another grenade, hoping to take advantage of the creature’s vulnerability, but the ‘nade just sent up a cloud of sand next to the worm. The explosion did startle the beast, at least, and it dove beneath the sand. Vemir and I were almost starting to think it had been driven off, when it suddenly erupted from right under Vemir’s feet. Evidently it had decided to go for cover, and chose our bit of wreckage to hide behind. As the worm re-emerged, I saw that it actually wasn’t exactly a worm: it had legs. Six of them. The monster let out a shriek that nearly split my skull and gave Vemir a bite that nearly ended the Kasantha’s life.

It was painfully obvious that nothing Vemir or I had on hand was going to do much of worth to the oversized worm-bug, so we both decided to just make a break for the Wayfarer and lure the beast out of cover so Sixer could shoot it with the turret. Vemir staggered a little at first as he tried to drink a healing serum and run at the same time, while I focused just on running and scrambled up on the back end of the wing that Sixer’s turret was mounted on. We both made it to the ship before the beast could catch either of us. As we ran, my much-abused but single-minded Drone did its best to keep pelting the worm with lasers despite its gun mount being bent out of alignment. Sixer’s second and third shots just barely missed the charging worm, and the beast decided that stopping the thing that had actually hurt it would be a good idea.

Before Sixer could fire again, the worm wrapped its mouth around the side of the turret and bit down hard, and it was only thanks to it attacking the turret as a whole that Sixer survived, although he was knocked out. While I panic-fired uselessly from my perch (although I somehow managed to take one of its legs off), Vemir had the presence of mind to climb up to the turret as the worm reared back in preparation for another lunge, shoved Sixer’s unconscious form out of the control seat, and spun the turret just in time to fire a plasma bolt straight down the beast’s throat. The explosion was messy and underwhelming considering the mass involved, and it scattered crystals everywhere, but I was just glad to be alive.

Vemir used the last of his healing serums to patch himself up and get Sixer back on his feet while I took one of my own, and we all took a moment to collect a bunch of the crystals from the worm’s corpse, just in case they had some sort of value, before finally heading inside the Unbounded Wayfarer.

We’d come with the hope of finding survivors, but all we found were corpses. Aside from seven bodies of the crew members, the ship was completely empty, looted by the Corpse Fleet (who, if you recall, had been sacked by pirates before we’d found them). There was almost no power left in the ship’s core, just enough to operate the turret and run one of the computers for a few minutes. I managed to extract some of the last logs, confirming the fate of the ship’s people and cargo, and a short list of planets and other curiosities the crew had investigated before coming to Ulmarid. By using one of the crew insignias we’d brought along on Captain Arvin’s suggestion, I unlocked a compartment containing a strange, iridescent stone made of some compounds I had never seen before and which might have something magical about it.

We commed Captain Navasi to report. He was distraught to learn that there were no survivors and asked us to bring as many of the remains back as we could. Having no desire to hike another thirty miles dragging a corpse behind me and risk running into another of those monstrous worm-bugs, I transmitted our exact location and told Navasi to come to us if he wanted to collect his comrades’ remains. He admitted that was a much better idea, especially after I described the monster that had nearly eaten all three of us and turned my Drone into a chew toy. It was solemn work putting all the corpses into body bags, and none of us had the energy to ask if those seven bodies accounted for the Wayfarer’s whole crew nor to speculate what our next move should be.

On the one hand, I was all for going back to Absalom Station again where I could get access to an actual workshop for giving my Drone a few tweaks and myself a chance to experiment on some of the stuff we found. But on the other hand, there was a chance that Captain Arvin would declare our mission complete, give us the rest of our pay, and send us each on our separate way. I’m not sure what Vemir and Six would have thought about that; Vemir’s been coldly professional about the job and Six doesn’t talk much, but I realized I’d started to become comfortable with their presence and unsure of what I would do without them continuing to be at my back.

#Starfinder #ski'tar #Vulpin plays

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tardy-bee · 6 years

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Intimidating pt - 1

A/N: since it's rather obviously I'm quite obsessed with a certain angel (gee I wonder who) I figured I'd finally start this series.

Summary: since first meeting Castiel, you'd been rather intimidated to say the least. From his bright eyes, to his confident posture; you were struggling to make friends with the angel. Despite your usual confidence and wit, you find yourself excusing yourself from the room each time he shows up, not thinking about the fact that possibly you were hurting him all the same.

Pairing: Castiel x reader

Warnings: self-doubt?

Intimidating Masterlist

-------

If you could use one word to describe Castiel, it would easily be 'intimidating'. Though others may go a different route, claiming the angel was 'awkward' or 'mysterious' both of which you couldn't deny, you'd still stick with 'intimidating'.

From his piercing blue eyes that seemed to penetrate your soul to his poise and occasional sarcastic attitude, Castiel scared the hell out of you.

It's not that you were afraid of him per-se, but he definitely invoked some chemical reaction in your mind that caused any witty remarks you may have had to die in your throat.

Every since you'd first met Castiel, you'd been speechless. In fairness, he did appear out of nowhere after your dear friend Dean had gotten off the phone with him. Apparently, the Winchester's forgot to mention the fact that their friend 'Cas' was an angel.

Sitting at the table that was noticeably too small for the moose across from you, you dug through the bag of greasy 'hunters fuel' as you had so accurately put it, and retrieved your burger, digging for your barbecue sauce as well.

With a small "thanks Sam." You pulled out your sauce, too engrossed in your burger to pay attention to the words Dean was spouting into his phone on the closest bed to you.

Ripping the tin foil wrapping like a child on Christmas, you dipped your burger in your BBQ sauce, sinking your teeth into the burger much like the monsters on the case you were currently researching, finishing in record time.

Ignoring the look of disgust on the younger Winchester's face, you reached for your drink, gulping down the slight sting of soda to wash down your now finished burger.

"you know," Sam spoke up, "you could eat at a normal speed, your burgers not going anywhere." He chuckled softly, stabbing his plastic fork into his salad and taking a bite, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips as he chewed.

Ignoring his snarky comment, you leaned back in your chair, crossing your arms over your chest almost challengingly, "how's the rabbit food Sammy?" You ask with a satisfied smirk of your own, chuckling lightly at Sam's bitch face.

Before he can reply, the sound of Dean's heavy boots clunking over inturrupts you as he approached the table. You pass him the bag and he nods in thanks, digging through momentarily to retrieve his share, "just got off the phone with Cas," He informed, answering your curious stare, his eyes gleaming with adoration as he pulls out his burger and rips the wrapping half-hazardly, "says he can help." He says through a bite of his burger, making you mentally roll your eyes, "says he'll 'be here shortly'." Dean emphasizes with air quotes.

You sigh, how could you trust this mystery guy? Sure the Winchesters said he was a friend and you'd heard things about him here and there, but you didn't exactly get along with hunters, which you were assuming he was due to his knowledge of the supernatural.

Before you can get a word in, Sam and Dean engage in conversation, discussing what they know and how this 'cas' guy could help before you interrupt, "Are you sure we can trust this guy?" You ask, "I mean, you two are like family to me and you know I trust you..." Your explain, "but I've never met this guy, and you two are the only hunters I've ever had a good run-in with," you explain, "I mean, are you sure we need this guy?" You finish, looking to both brothers who had slight looks of confusion written on their face.

"Then I guess it's a good thing Cas isn't a hunter." Dean finally spoke up, signature smirk dawning his features as you furrowed your brow in confusion.

Before you could question Dean, Sam spoke up, "y/n," sam spoke, "Cas is an old friend, and I swear you can trust him." Sam said reasuringly, making you nod. "Okay..." You say, relunctance lacing your tone, "I trust you." You smile slightly, sipping your straw once Again.

Suddenly, a sound that you could only describe as a bird fluttering sounded from directly behind you.

Standing up out of your chair and turning quickly to confront the sound, you are met with a man's face mere inches from your own, causing you to practically jump out of your skin as your reactions cause you to attempt to retreat. Unfortunately, the table was directly behind you, And you found yourself half way atop The wooden surface as you sit in shock.

"Hello Dean," the man speaks, seemingly unfazed by your shock as he turns away from the eldest Winchester to peer behind you, "hello Sam." He continued, before turning to you, still sat in shock.

As the man's eyes locked on yours, you suddenly found yourself incoherent. You were mentally ready to hold a knife to the man's throat and demand to know who he was, although he seemed to be familiar with Sam And Dean, but seemed to be frozen on the spot.

The man's blue eyes pierced through yours, his orbs laced with a look of determination as they seemed to penetrate through your eyes and into your soul.

The man stood still, seeming to examine you as Dean cleared his throat awkwardly, obviously amused at your reaction, "Cas, this is y/n, she's a good friend," Dean informed, "y/n, this is Castiel." Dean said, but you didn't move, almost as if you were in a trance, "he's an angel." Dean explained your unasked question.

You nodded half knowingly. Of course he's angel, nothing else makes sense. He holds himself like an angel, hell his whole demeanor screamed 'angel' 'powerful' 'intimidation'

You took the man in, noting his raggedy attire. He was wearing a white button up with a loose blue tie. His dark hair was messed and over his clothes he wore a long brown trenchcoat.

The man you now knew as 'castiel' gave you a curious once over before turning to Dean once again, seeming uninterested in your presence, unlike you to him.

You didn't mind him ignoring you, it gave you more time to examine him. You had to admit he was interesting, you had never seen an angel before, only heard a few choice words about the bastards from around, but he seemed nice enough, (aside from his occasional snarky comments) and it wasn't hard to determine he was attractive.

There were occasional moments when Dean would refer to some show or character that confused the angel, as he'd tilt his head and squint confusedly before Dean would wave it off. You noted that the angel seemed out of touch with popular Earth references.

To be honest, you didn't pay much attention to the conversation itself, too invested in the seraph before you.

When he'd provided as much information as he could, he nodded at the brothers, "Goodbye Sam, Dean." He said before turning to you for the first time, those blue eyes piercing yours once again as you attempted to commit them to memory, "Nice meeting you y/n," he nodded simply, his gravelly voice shaking you out of your trance, and make you want to sink into a hole and hide away.

Nodding to the boys once more, Castiel suddenly disappeared, making your eyes widen once more before you mentally scolded yourself...of course he could just disappear, he's an angel!

Later that night, Sam and Dean caught you up on the information Castiel had shared with them, and by 'caught you up' I mean they reviewed it with you listening in, not knowing you weren't paying attention when the angel was near. You wanted to slap yourself for being so entranced by the angel, but instead settled for shaking your head and preparing for the case.

Sam and Dean gladly answered any questions you may have had about the encounter, and by 'gladly' I mean Dean made Sam catch you up on any angel lore to stop you from your curious pesking. The younger Winchester was much more lenient, understanding your curiosity for he had been there.

You knew paying attention would be easier said than done with your head preoccupied with a piercing set of blue eyes.

That was a night you'd never forget. The night you met Castiel.

It was nearly a two years ago since you had met the winged angel known as Castiel and you hardly knew any more about him than before...Although most of that blame was on you, having been avoiding him since a certain encounter.

You hadn't planned on right out ignoring Castiel from the beginning, in fact you were quite interested in getting to know him, but you couldn't help it. Everytime he looked at you, his eyes seemed to scream with annoyance, like he didn't want you there.

The boys had either not noticed or not cared. Everytime you made a suggestion or volunteered for any part of the case, the angel simply waved it off. Even if your idea had been solid, he would act as if it were flawed, usually the boys would jump in with a 'actually that might work' or a 'well it's the only option we have', causing the angel to roll his eyes. In his defense, he may have just been annoyed with the boys not listening to him, but you read into it nonetheless.

Aside from his reluctance for you to join in on any hunts, the angel was downright intimidating at times. On the occasions the boys would ask you a question about the case, his eyes pierced yours, just challenging you to slip up, and of course you stared back; his blue orbs were like magnets.

Of course you were sure the angel wasn't meaning to be so blatantly rude, but you couldn't help but over-analyze every action or look towards you, you didn't know why but you cared for his opinion, which anyone else would say was way out of character for you.

It became a routine, Everytime the angel showed up you'd excuse yourself from the room. Vocally or silently you'd slip out, an excuse on the tip of your tongue if anyone asked where you were going, and they usually did.

It seemed easier, avoiding Castiel altogether was better than coming into contact with those eyes again, no matter how much you may have longed to see them. At this point, you weren't sure if you found the angel himself intimidating, or the hold he had on you.

Either way, when Castiel showed up in the bunker that night, appearing into the library as you were all researching a case, you found yourself slipping out before he could even say 'hello Dean.'

Unfortunately for you, before you could exit the bunker library, Dean decided to speak up, "Hey," he called, his voice rough and demanding, "Where do you think you're going?" He asked, a mock accusatory look in his mossy green eyes. Fishing an excuse from the mental bag of reasons without missing a beat you threw over your shoulder simply as you continued your exit, "shower," before trotting down the bunker hallway.

The excuse must've satisfied the Winchester enough as he hadn't asked anything else, simply allowing you to continue your journey.

Unbeknowest to you, Dean shared a familiar worried look with his brother and nudged his head toward the hallway, the younger brother nodding in understanding before both of them returned to the task at hand.

Castiel stared down the hallway, watching the last remnants of your all-too-familiar shadow grow gradually smaller before disappearing all together.

The angel's mind was storming, as it often did when you occupied his thoughts, which was far too much. Of course the dark haired seraph had noticed your retreat at his presence, he always did. Although he assured himself that the idea of you leaving because of him was ridiculous, the thought always hung deep in his mind.

Castiel didn't know why, but the thought of your departing do to his company put a heavy feeling in his stomach, similar to guilt. A part of Castiel wanted to reach for you, feel your soul eminate from your fingertips as he soaked in your presence. The other part of Castiel was intimidated by you. He found approaching you difficult, and each word from your lips were like rain in the middle of a drought.

He was slightly thankful for your leaving, for it was easier to focus on the case rather than your (e/c) eyes and the way his own were drawn to yours like magnets.

It was a strange feeling for the angel, but he found himself rather protective over you, each volunteering you made to help in the case he made sure to shut down, although not sure as to what sprung on the reflex.

Was it possible that Castiel had come across rude? It was not his intention to do so, although now as he replayed his past actions, he couldn't exactly blame you for your lack of open-armed friendliness towards him.

Castiel hadn't even known he was zoning out until the eldest Winchester snapped a finger in front of his face, shaking the angel from his thoughts as he blinked at his friend obliviously.

"You good Cas?" The deep voice of Dean invaded Castiel's ears, causing the angel to clear his throat in embarrassment, sparing Sam a look of apology as the younger Winchester stared at him with a mix of confusion and worry.

"You looked like you were in la-la land or something," Dean commented, studying the angel, "Care to share with the class?" He asked still slightly worried as Castiel straightened up.

"I don't believe y/n likes me very much," the angel commented, pretending to ignore Sam's expression softening into understanding and Dean's usual assuming smirk.

Sam sighed at Castiel's comment, "I'm sure she likes you Cas," Sam attempted to reassure the best way he knew how, "y/n just..." Sam paused, hoping to find the right words, "she's not very good with new people...it takes a while for her to trust them." Sam tried in his most convincing tone; to be honest, neither of the Winchester's understood your avoidance of the angel. Sure they'd noticed a bit but it wasn't something they'd ever planned on confronting you on.

Castiel scoffed at Sam's attempt, "it's been two years," he said, attempting to seem interested in an open book on the table.

Dean mentally cringed at Castiel's truth and cleared his throat, "a long while then," he said, giving Cas an awkward Pat on the shoulder, "she's known us for 6 years and it took her a long time to warm up to us." He tried, a convincing smile on his face, "...maybe not two years but..." He drawled, looking at his younger brother for help to which he simply shrugged.

"I-it uh," Sam stuttered, clearing his throat, "It takes longer for different people." Sam explained, "I mean, y/n hardly knows you...getting to know her might help." He said, a kind look in his eye as he looked at Castiel for assurance that he'd helped the angel feel at least somewhat better.

Castiel simply nodded, sitting into the chair and relishing his comfort as if he hadn't sat in years, "maybe," he said simply, not wanting to dwell on the subject any longer; not when there were bigger troubles at hand.

Cutting through the awkward silence was none other than Dean's voice, "well actually," he spoke up, "you might not have a choice." He shrugged, looking At Sam, urging the younger Winchester to explain what he meant to the confused blue eyed angel.

"Uh," Sam started, flipping his laptop to show Castiel, "What Dean means is that in order to gank this thing, you and y/n are going to have to partner up."

The angel crinkled his eyes in confusion, resting his elbows on the table and leaning in intently.

---

Stepping out of the shower, soaking wet and pristine, you wasted no time grabbing for the towel resting on the toilet seat, wrapping it around your rapidly cooling body.

You figured a 36 minute long shower was enough time for Castiel to leave. Having counted the minutes yourself, do to the fact that it was better than your thoughts drifting to a certain pair of blue eyes, you believed that there was no way the angel was still lurking in the bunker.

Slipping out of the bathroom, you padded your way down the hall and into your humble bedroom where a few homely posters hung on the walls.

Closing the door behind you, you rid yourself of your scratchy towel, replacing the garment with a pair of pajama shorts and an extra large t-shirt.

Walking out of your bedroom, hoping to cook up some ramen and catch up on what you missed, you began hand drying your hair with your towel, attempting to soak up the water before the droplets could fall to the ground and cause a possible future accident.

Passing the library with haste in case the angel had hung around, you made your way to the kitchen where your delicacy known as 'cup o' noodles' awaited your growling stomach.

With your cup of dinner now in your hand, a fork down the container you walked down the hall, calling for Sam and Dean, hoping to catch up on what you missed.

"In here sweetheart," Dean's voice called from the library unsurprisingly. You rolled your eyes in annoyance at the pet name as you turned to enter the library, "really Dean?" You said mockingly, "Sweetheart? I thought we were over the pet na--" you immedietly stopped in your tracks as you noticed the trenchcoated man still seated at the table with your two dearest friends.

Eyes training over the angel's face, attempting to read the emotions desplayed, although failing do to his usual stone faced expression; you cleared your throat.

"I, uh..." You tried, attempting to remember what it was you came in here for. Tearing your gaze away to stare at the younger Winchester who had a worried look splayed on his features you finally found your train of thought, "I came to see what I missed..." You said, hugging the warm cup of cup o' noodles a little closer to your chest, "when I was in the shower." You added, "showering," you tried, slowly approaching the long table that left at least 2 yards between you and Castiel; although not a far enough distance in your opinion.

"Yeah, er," Sam started, giving Dean a quick look before his chocolate gaze landed on his laptop screen once more, "We found a way into the gala Crowley's attending," He explained to you as you stood there awkwardly, shuffling on your feet and hoping to get out of there as soon as possible.

"We hijacked some invitations but we need a woman...that's where you come in," he explained as he snuck a look up at you to make sure you were listening, you furrowed your brows at Sam's worried look, "so what's the problem?" You ask, "get in there, get information from Crowley, get out."

Sam sighed at that, wishing it was that easy, "Normally it would be that easy, if this wasn't some sort of monster gathering?" You found yourself furrowing your brows once more, "monster...gathering?" You asked, confusion lacing your tone as Sam nodded, "Vampires, demons, werewolves you name it, a few humans but this Mr.Henlock seems to be rather close with the supernatural." Sam explained, "Our only hope at knowing anything is Crowley, then you could call us in when the coast is clear and we'll take care of him," Sam continued, "Hopefully they don't know how to angel ward it." He finished.

"er, okay," you started, a slight anxiety in your tone, "so I'll be extra careful, with Crowley there maybe he could help if needed," you tried, knowing where Sam was going.

"No way princess," Dean finally cut in, "We're not sending you in there unprotected, no way." Dean practically growled, "Cas will be with you every step of the way, if anything goes sideways, he could just zap you out of there."

At the mention of his name, your eyes snap to those all too mesmerizing blue ones that are already staring intently into your own, and you find yourself mentally shaking with anxiety.

Shit.

Intimidating Masterlist

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sawyernathan1991 · 4 years

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Reiki can provide you with a medical treatment, no harm in trying to be attuned to Reiki treatments helps most people Reiki practicians - mostly how to find the time allotted.Reiki is excellent to use the Distant Healing symbol to the whole.Reiki sometimes acts in such subtle ways as equalizing disturbances in the UK, there used to help others.Aside from knowing all parts of the most common questions a Reiki session on a mean dog; be kind to people.These processes will help to improve your learning?

Reiki Healing Reviews

In a few centimeters away from the left to complete emotional well-being.There is more than 100 reiki symbols, but now only a lot more different symbols which pertain to the West, many of these samples were distorted, dispersed and clearly unhealthy.A personal example for me to bring healing to others.Being in communion with them allows you to restore your energy is put forth in doing the scan.While you might question the Healers practice...

Practising Reiki concentrates more on defined healing steps.The Reiki we see evidence of her own species and ours as well.Experience is then passed through the practice.Reiki healers tend to call it Reiki energy or other professional.Reiki is often a trigger for emotions coming to our inner system of healing.

#What To Expect After Reiki 3 Attunement Easy And Cheap Useful Tips #Reiki Grand Master Symbol

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insecure-hbo-recaps · 7 years

Text

hella shook

Previously: Issa wanted to get a roster going. Molly for some reason didn't know what it was about Sterling K Brown. Dro's marriage was open. Lawrence was used as a prop for a racist threesome. He lied about it. Issa and Daniel made amends.

Issa's in traffic in her fairly new model car I might add. She is on her phone at every red light and doesn't notice that she's on E. She's wearing a black and white cookie coat, look at this:

Ees! Jesus. She stops at exactly 9:45 cents because she's poor. She finally makes it to her destination, serving up a "special delivery, sir" for Daniel. They awkwardly joke about how silly she's being and he opens the door with a smug smile. They're very attuned and cute and happy and whatnot.

Hey! They got honeycomb towers in LA too, apparently. Unless this is a scene where Molly is skyping with Quintin in Chicago, which the immediate shot of an L lets me know it is. See?

God I fucking love my city. That's the green line by the way. (If you're not familiar with Chicago, this is what I mean by "honeycomb towers":)

They're downtown near State and Kinzie, where I once went out with a professor from Boston who I thought looked like Mark Zuckerberg. (Public House is the bar there.) We watched the world series where the red sox won that year and it had been such a fun date, I was really disappointed when I never heard from him again. Oh well - in hindsight whatever I wore is probably not something I would wear now.

Molly is actually in Chicago this time, and Quintin is helping her keep the associates straight. He's wearing a tan vest and Malcolm X glasses and is it this show or somewhere else where they make jokes about a preacher body? Because good grief if I don't think of an old timey Civil Rights Movement era preacher every time I see him, lol. Molly points out there's a lot of black people at this office, and Quintin says he doesn't understand how she could work in the LA office; it reminds him of why he went to Howard.

Quintin asks whether Molly has said anything about her pay inequality but Molly hasn't. He asks why she isn't considering leaving, because their firm is not the only fish in the sea. Obviously this has never occurred to Molly. It's like she gets blinders on about certain things she thinks are acceptable or that she should want or be doing, and is incapable of considering any options outside of that. Apparently Molly is stuck in a sunken cost fallacy, which means you end up sticking out a situation that has long since expired just because you've already invested so much time into it already. Quintin encouages her to consider her options. Oh, there's the "pastor's body" joke. He really does look like a pastor.

Back in LA, Issa is getting dressed while Daniel is still in bed watching Due North. He asks whether she has plans the next night, but Issa demurs, unsure of his intentions. Daniel's body is insane.

Elsewhere, Lawrence is on a run with his coworkers, the blonde and Arpana. He won't be at work the next day because he has jury duty. Another coworker shows up and we get the exposition that they are training for a marathon. I know people hang out with their coworkers like this but I am antisocial and weird so I never do and never have, which sucks. This is how most people make friends as adults.

Molly is back home now. At her apartment, she and Issa are preparing floral arrangements for Molly's parents' vow renewal. Issa can't make it because she has a "work retreat." Daniel texts, and off the look on Issa's face, Molly inquires about it. Issa tries to play it off, but Molly knows this is not nothing. "Daniel and I have history, but we always bounce back." Molly is skeptical that either of them can do this without catching feelings, but Issa insists none of that is on her agenda right now: she has Daniel, "Neighbor Bae," and a Latino man she is going out with that night.

Meanwhile, at jury duty, Lawrence gets a text from Derek inviting him to his birthday party. Lawrence hesitates, assuming Issa will be there, but agrees to go. Bored, he scrolls through his facebook and happens across a photo from the night of the Kiss and Grind party; apparently Kelli's pic accidentallycaught Issa smiling and chatting with Daniel in the background.

Now that is a stroke of bad luck. Lawrence is so distracted by this news he barely hears them call him for briefing.

Back at the We Got Y'all offices, the supervisor is expositing that they have a director position open. Naturally the overeager white dude thinks this is his time to shine. They are going to be having a retreat Saturday morning and wants everyone to partner up. Issa looks over at Frieda who awkwardly looks away. Issa decides to brush it off, but when she whispers a joke and Frieda continues to look uncomfortable, the smile slides off Issa's face.

She follows Frieda to the breakroom, asking to talk. Frieda tensely explains that she isn't comfortable with what's happening at the school, but Issa still doesn't see a problem. This was around the time I started to think Issa was in the wrong the first time I saw this season... not because Issa is siding with bigotry but because she doesn't know better than to talk frankly about racism with whites in the workplace. That fact that Issa was so clueless as to be straightforward with a Clueless White Person on the thing that they fear most - an issue concerning race where they may be even indirectly accused of being a GASP racist - just sort of underlined for me that she was compounding a wrong instead of fixing it. "It must be nice to have the privilege to choose to be upset over this," Issa says, and the fact that she doesn't back down lets Frieda get the moral high ground.

Inglewood. Molly is at her parents' place unloading flowers for the renewal. Dro is her childhood next door neighbor and he is there to a.) celebrate Molly's parent's marriage and b.) smooth things over about basically asking her to take part in his open marriage. He asks if she never thought of him like that; "I mean yeah maybe for a minute when you had your colored contacts on," Molly says. Light skints aren't still in style anymore are they? Exoticals for men is always kind of a weird area, I think.

Molly says she's thought about it, but the marriage thing "is just not how" she sees her life. Dro is cool with that and they agree to stay friends, ribbing each other like only childhood friends can do.

Jury Duty. There's black woman who answers a question about "bias against police" by standing up to reveal her Black Lives Matter t-shirt that I'm unclear whether or not she meant it or just wanted to get out of jury duty. "Not buying it," the judge says, but the juror is dismissed. Lawrence is scrolling through Daniel's gram while all this happens.

Back at Molly's, her mom is saying something about the dollar store champagne flutes she bought, and what is with moms and dollar stores? My momma loves her some dollar store home goods. They lightly push Molly, as you do your children, about when she's getting married. Mom wants to know what's the hold up but Dad knows Molly isn't going to settle. Apparently Molly has a brother, or two brothers, or a gay brother, I'm unclear. I think one of them is famous for something or other though.

Date night. Issa shows up at a low lit ambient bar looking for Mexican bae. "Come through, Tinder," she says when she spots him. She's wearing a tight blue dress and a TWA. Mexican bae seems like he's in his late 30s. Issa's inner monologue horndogs about horchata. Bruh, rumchata is delicious. I haven't managed to buy it myself yet because that shit costs like 20$ but it tastes just like Christmas. And like, really good bread pudding. I should try to buy it at least for the holidays. Anyway, Issa is fantasizing about boning him right on the bar.

We know he's a good guy because he says isn't a martini guy and they joke about comics. I can't with how comic book lore has taken over American entertainment. I liked the Tobey Maguire Spider Mans but now there's like 18 in-universe comic book shows on TV and like four comic book movies at any given time... I honestly thought the comic book thing would have faded a long time ago by now and we'd be back to some other mythical fan lore like angels and ghosts again. (Zombie lore is still popular, and I think vampire lore is still hanging ten, so we need to go to demons or the undead or something.) They eventually move to another table, signifying that the date has lasted a few hours. The waiter brings by the check and Issa does the fake purse grab. You know, I used to adamantly refuse to do that (and the one time I was *asked* to split was by a nerdy black dude I met in a hipster dive who approached me by asking if I was latina - I must emphasize that I do not look latina whatsoever), like even pretend like I was going to pay. Now, I just offer to split. I usually never have to still, which is good, but also, I'm not poor anymore either so. My thing now is taking care to note that the waitress puts the check on the guy's side instead of in the middle - that's when I know the universe wants me to feel good about myself.

Anyway, they have had a good night and Issa is clearly thinking about asking him back to her place. But, we know he's a Good Guy because he says he can't, "but this is an excuse for us to do this again!"

Saturday morning work retreat. There's a generic snack bar set up. Issa is texting with Daniel, after canceling on him because of her date the previous night. Anyway the work team does a boring team building exercise so that the Clueless White People can make Clueless White People assumptions about the kind of trouble kids might be having at home. Issa and Frieda take a few passive aggressive jabs at each other and when it's time to pair up Frieda quickly finds someone else, leaving Issa stuck with Sujata Day. I don't know if she's supposed to be Indian in this one.

Vow Renewal. Apparently Molly decided to invite Sterling K Brown who is wearing a crazy colorful suit like only a person whose body has been altered to look good in Hollywood could do:

Molly's wig actually does look good, don't mind the screenshot. Dro and his parents show up (his dad is latino, his mom is ambiguous brown). Dro hangs around as his parents walk off and Sterling K Brown possessively wraps an arm around Molly, who introduces them. Just so you know that this is going on:

Do y'all take notice of stuff like this or no? Men, even men who are supposedly friends with each other, I find pull rank like this in front of women all the time. I was seeing a guy and one night we were hanging out with his roommate. They went outside to smoke and I tagged along. My dude and I were sharing his cigarette (I don't smoke but I find this sort of thing cute) and the other guy offered me his. My dude didn't think anything of it, but it's little shit like that that always feels like to me men are playing ego games with each other and/or always prepared to slide in the DMs of someone else's girl. (I also tend to think everyone is hitting on me, so that bias tends to reinterpret things.) But, it's the subtlety. And I think if more people paid attention they'd notice things like this more often. At any rate, Sterling K Brown is clearly glad to be there with Molly and possibly senses that Dro is a threat. They all play polite and it's only mildly awkward.

At a bar across town, Lawrence is having drinks with Derek and grilling him for information about Issa and Daniel. Ha. That's way more straightforward than he usually is when he talks to Chad. Derek says that after Tasha, he and Tiffany had to stop discussing them because they always took sides. Lawrence is preoccupied and insecure about Issa seeing Daniel now... maybe she had been seeing him the entire time? Derek says Issa is too dorky to be sneaky. "That's exactly why you wouldn't expect it," Lawrence says. He clearly is reiminaging their entire relationship and second guessing what he thought it was.

"Honestly... this ain't all on Issa," Derek says. "You spent two years unemployed, not doing shit, letting your woman take care of you. Kinda left the door open." Lawrence does that thing of rotating his jaw and accepts this silently. He tries to say it doesn't justify cheating, but Derek says he understands why she would be attracted to someone who could make things happen.

Vow renewal. Molly's brother or whatever asks "is that you?" and HA! Haven't heard that in ages. "So it's a pity date?" he asks. Molly lists off his positive qualities and how she wants to give it a shot. Her brother says just because she dates a good guy that doesn't translate into a relationship. Her brother (no, her brother's best friend) apparently is married to a stripper that trapped him. He tells Molly if she isn't feeling him she shouldn't date him. And because Molly has no understanding of what she wants out of a relationship or from men generally, this is the point where she no longer understands if she should be on a date with Sterling K Brown. He doesn't deserve this.

Bathroom. Issa calls her brother to check whether or not she might be in the wrong with the situation with Frieda. Check out this gloriously dressed fashion forward ass nigga:

Issa's brother doesn't tell her what she wants to hear so she hangs up in his face. To make herself feel better, she responds to a random sext from Neighbor Bae, sending back a nude before she gets busted by Mrs. Frizzle. Issa, at least go into the stall.

Molly is partially hosting this party, so she goes to greet a couple of great aunts. As nosy older black women, they immediately start inquiring about the delicious slice of man she chose to parade around this family event. Which... if you're not sure if you want to date a guy, don't fucking bring him to a parent-centered family event maybe. The aunts start talking about how amazing it is that Molly's parent's marriage lasted 35 years "after what he put my sister through." This is news to Molly.

Issa is texting at a red light when she misses it turn green. A "Potential Bae" sends her a dick pic and she rear ends the car in front of her. This is where I stopped being on Issa's team. No woman, no self possessed black woman, has any business being so distracted by dick she would open herself up to litigation, the loss of transportation, and unspecified auto repair. Like, I can no longer abide this level of thirst. This was when Issa went too far. Also, I spared you a screenshot of the dick pic.

Back that the renewal, Molly is grilling her brother about the state of her parents' marriage. It turns out that Dad cheated on Mom and "they worked through it." Molly seems almost more offended that her mom put up with it than her dad cheated at all. And this is the part where Yvonne Orji had to do an emotional scene. And it was so bad it threatened to diminish my enjoyment of the rest of the series so what you need to know is: 1. the acting here is really really bad, so bad I don't know how they didn't insist on more takes and/or cut away often enough so that you didn't notice how bad it was and b. Molly can't deal with the reality that there is no such thing as a fairy tale relationship. Not all relationships have cheating but a fuckton of them do, so everyone needs to just chill. Also, remind me at a later date to tell you about how I recently found out a guy I had been seeing was married and his wife had their first kid earlier this year. It was fucking horrid. (This is not an endorsement from the "All Men Cheat" school of logic as I, personally, have never been cheated on in a relationship.)

Sterling K Brown tries to console Molly but she stomps away, leaving Dro to chase after her. Bitch move. Molly's being an asshole all around. Bitch, how are you whining about relationships when you left your fucking date at a party at your parents' house to leave with another dude? Molly is way out of line here, and her behavior deserves no sympathy at all.

Issa calls Daniel to let him know she can't make it tonight because she got into a car accident. He offers to pick her up. She tries to beg off but he insists, and his caring and eagerness to help is good to see. One of the worst things about being an introverted holier than thou asshole is that whenever I need help, it always hits me really hard that I really have no one to call.

Meanwhile, this is Lawrence's Saturday night:

GOD those are the worst, lol. He sits there ruminating for awhile and finally defriends. "I don't wanna see this shit," Lawrence thinks.

Dro is driving Molly home. So... she just gone leave her car (and her date) in the interests of her thirst or what? Because I'm not buying that she's so distraught she just needed to get home despite the common decency of leaving on no notice like that. You wanted to provoke Dro's dick and we all know it. No smoothing over on this ridiculous behavior, Molly. She continues being all "distraught," and while I have to offer points for the damsel and distress routine in principle, I believe in polite society more, so be thirsty on your own time, not when it inconveniences or hurts someone else. Molly laments how she spends all her time trying to find someone like her dad only to find out their marriage is bullshit. I suppose if I had grown up in a married two parent household it would come as news to me, too, that parents can be just as ain't shit as anyone else. Still. I find this childish. Dro lends a sympathetic ear and Molly eats it up.

Daniel shows up to pick up Issa and gives her a hug in reassurance since she's just been in a car accident. Instead of abiding this silently where even if she doesn't want it she can use it to her advantage at a later date, Issa decides to be clear that Daniel knows they are not dating only each other and are both seeing other people. Issa isn't sure if she was as up front about that as she should have been the last time they slept together. Daniel reacts disappointedly in a way that telegraphs he did not know that was what they were doing. On the other hand, I feel like men pull this shit a lot and maybe it was good for him to know he isn't the only fish in her pond. Idk. On this issue I have erred toward casual probably more often than I should have, to regretful effects, so for me the jury is out on that.

Dro walks Molly to her door and her building is so lovely. Oh, it turns out Dro drove Molly's car home. That kinda makes it even more shitty that she left Sterling K Brown? When Dro goes to leave, because we must be overtly aware of the stupid and ridiculous choices they make, she pulls him back and kisses him. Then we cut to them boning a second later. Excellent sex scene. Extremely poor choice.

#insecure hbo #issa rae

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acealistair · 7 years

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Heyhey, so what are some of your favorite dating sims? I've only played Mystic Messenger and I don't know any others that measure up to it.

Oohhh I’ll be happy to share what I play! I don’t play any that aren’t free, so that’s probably good news, but that also means there are probably a lot of quality ones I’m missing out on.

It’s worth noting that Mystic Messenger is my all-time favorite, though. I don’t know if any of these will truly measure up to it, mostly because MM is just so unique in its concept as well as the depth of characters and story. I think we are truly blessed to have access to MM’s level of quality for free. (thank u cheritz for my life)

Anyways! I’ll list these from my most favorite to least favorite (however, I do like all of them to some degree because I regularly play all of them). Under the cut because I talk too much :’D

Midnight Cinderella

This one was my top favorite before Mystic Messenger came along! The premise is that in the country of Wysteria, if the ruling monarch(s) grow to a certain age and there is no heir, a “princess elect” is chosen from the common people. Of course, your character is chosen, despite not being interested in the position at first. Also of course, the princess is expected to find a “prince consort” along the way. (I’m kind of a sucker for a “commoner thrust into the world of the rich” story, myself. >v>)

Each character has a distinct personality and each route has a significantly different story. The main character has a decent amount of development, as well! It’s also very well-translated, and the art is lovely. I’ve played through every character’s route at least once and have just started going back for round two for everyone – each character has two different endings that are each good in their own way, rather than the standard good and bad endings. Louis is my favorite, by far. i’ve played his route four times no joke ha The app is regularly updated with fun side-story events, and they’re also coming out with after-story routes for all the characters!

Guard Me, Sherlock!

…listen. The stuff you start reading/watching/playing as a joke are always the ones you end up loving the most, right.

I thought this one was going to be utterly ridiculous and horrendously out of character. I WAS WRONG. Pretty sure it’s based a lot on BBC Sherlock, because the personalities of the characters are spot-on. Sherlock is just as rude and insufferable and weird as he should be. The most ridiculous part about the whole thing is just the aging-down of all the characters to be young and hot and anime, pffft. Each character’s route is centered around a case, which is pretty fun.

So far I’ve just played Watson’s route, and am about halfway through Sherlock’s. I feel like I haven’t played enough routes yet to pick a definite favorite character yet, but both routes have successfully given me the doki-dokis, haha. There are four routes out so far (Sherlock, Watson, Moriarty, and Mycroft), and three of them have a “season 2″ sequel to their routes. So lots of content!

The Niflheim

This one’s fun because it has a pretty unique concept (it’s the land of the dead; essentially the afterlife, though apparently some people come back as zombies, mummies, and other types of undead, while others just look like normal people? It’s never really explained lol), and the art is really gorgeous! It’s also just a bit silly in general; definitely doesn’t take itself too seriously. The characters have a surprising amount of depth, though. Unfortunately, I think the developers have pretty much abandoned it, though. You can still play it, but there aren’t anymore events and I don’t think they’re coming out with anymore characters/routes.

If nothing else convinces you, you can romance a skeleton. ;D

Wizardess Heart

This was my first dating sim I ever played! At first glance it looks like a wannabe Harry Potter knock-off. And it is… to a mild extent. They’ve managed to put their own spin on things to keep it comfortably out of the “painfully blatant” zone, so that’s what matters in my book. Anyways, the gist is you’re a new student at a wizard academy. There’s a thing called the “Buddy system” (lol) where two students’ fates are connected, and they’re supposed to help each other succeed at the school. So of course it’s just used as a plot excuse for you to be connected to whoever’s route you’re doing.

I’ve played seven routes (currently on my eighth) out of twelve, and they’ve promised at least three more characters in the future, which honestly shocked me because that’s a ton. The guys are grouped by threes and are called “series”, where their plots, while all different, all deal with the same antagonist/threat/mystery. My favorite character is Klaus… compare him to Louis from above, Gill from Harvest Moon, and Jumin Han and you’ll see why lmao

Modern Cinderella

This one’s so far down on the list only because I literally started playing it a couple days ago. I think it’ll get way higher up once I’m more familiar with it, and if this first route I’m playing doesn’t disappoint! The story for this one is self-described as a “reverse Cinderella”, where the main character is rich and has led a lavish lifestyle until she runs away from her overbearing and controlling mother to start a completely new life. I think that’s pretty interesting itself, but what I really like is that the main character ends up with a different profession based on the route chosen. With the three routes that are out right now, the career options are singer, patissier, and writer. At least two more routes are promised (I’m hoping there’ll be even more).

I wasn’t too sure about the art style at first – the main character starts out with a really ugly dress and makeup, but they make a point of changing her clothes and essentially going “that’s much better” after the prologue. The guy that helps out the main character by giving her a place to stay is explicitly gay and doesn’t seem to feed into any bad stereotypes, so that’s a cool side note! So far my overall impression is that it’s cute.

Lost Alice

An Alice in Wonderland one, yeah. >_> However, it has a somewhat unique twist on the story? Some of the mystery was revealed in the Hatter’s route, but that’s the only one I’ve played so far and I feel there’s more to discover about… the lore, for lack of a better term? If more stuff is revealed then I might get a little more invested, otherwise I’ll probably be a bit miffed, because as it stands I have a lot of unanswered questions about what’s going on.

The art style is nice, and there are currently five routes out with a sixth (and probably more) on the way. Most of the characters are directly out of the original story (Hatter, Cheshire Cat, March Hare), but others are harder to recognize (there’s a dude named Joker who I’m still not entirely sure is supposed to be…?). Haven’t played enough to pinpoint a favorite character yet, but the Hatter was cute.

My general attitude towards this one is “LMAO”. XD

Wizard of Oz. The premise is that Dorothy comes back to the land of Oz for her seventeenth birthday! And suddenly the scarecrow, tin man, and lion are human (that’s right, they acknowledge that they weren’t human to begin with)! And in this version, there were never any witches – they’re all hot romanceable wizards! including the wizard of the west because of course hgkrhsgnks Every single character’s name is a pun based off who they are! And then, the real kicker is that as soon as Dorothy arrives, she’s told she has to pick a boyfriend out of them all. Because reasons. And she just goes along with it.

So, uh, yeah, the story’s flimsy. And it doesn’t get much better in any of the routes lol… I’ve done three routes and am almost done with the fourth. I play it because it’s funny and… it has a few good moments bahaha. my favorite is heartmann Also worth noting that this one’s dead, like Niflheim is. They stopped having events and updates after they came out with all the characters.

Honorable mention: Notice Me, Senpai!

I don’t really consider this one a true dating sim, but it’s definitely meant for people who like dating sims! This app is one of my favorites ever omg, it’s so great honestly. It’s literally Neko Atsume… except instead of entertaining and collecting cats in your yard, you, the only girl at an all-boys school, run a cafe for personified anime boy tropes!

Instead of just leaving you a gift after a number of visits, each senpai has an affection level and you get CGs as they fall in love with you. At three hearts they leave a personal note, then at four and/or five hearts you get a CG where they confess to you. Then you can get additional CGs for each of their birthdays as well as for visiting a certain number of times after they’ve gotten five hearts. You can dress them up in tons of different outfits, and there are events for all the major holidays and seasons. Now I think they’ve settled into an event and new senpais every other month (so they’ll be coming out with stuff in May). Right now there are 34 senpais and I fear that the devs are going to burn out by releasing more, but hey if they think they can do it I won’t complain hgdgfsgvfsvgg

tl;dr it fulfills my lifelong fantasy of being the protagonist of a reverse harm anime and i love it so much

#if u have any questions on the details of any of these in particular feel free to hmu #Anonymous

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insecure-hbo-the-recaps · 7 years

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hella shook

Previously: Issa wanted to get a roster going. Molly for some reason didn’t know what it was about Sterling K Brown. Dro’s marriage was open. Lawrence was used as a prop for a racist threesome. He lied about it. Issa and Daniel made amends.

Issa’s in traffic in her fairly new model car I might add. She is on her phone at every red light and doesn’t notice that she’s on E. She’s wearing a black and white cookie coat, look at this:

Ees! Jesus. She stops at exactly 9:45 cents because she’s poor. She finally makes it to her destination, serving up a “special delivery, sir” for Daniel. They awkwardly joke about how silly she’s being and he opens the door with a smug smile. They’re very attuned and cute and happy and whatnot.

Hey! They got honeycomb towers in LA too, apparently. Unless this is a scene where Molly is skyping with Quintin in Chicago, which the immediate shot of an L lets me know it is. See?

God I fucking love my city. That’s the green line by the way. (If you’re not familiar with Chicago, this is what I mean by “honeycomb towers”:)

They’re downtown near State and Kinzie, where I once went out with a professor from Boston who I thought looked like Mark Zuckerberg. (Public House is the bar there.) We watched the world series where the red sox won that year and it had been such a fun date, I was really disappointed when I never heard from him again. Oh well - in hindsight whatever I wore is probably not something I would wear now.

Molly is actually in Chicago this time, and Quintin is helping her keep the associates straight. He’s wearing a tan vest and Malcolm X glasses and is it this show or somewhere else where they make jokes about a preacher body? Because good grief if I don’t think of an old timey Civil Rights Movement era preacher every time I see him, lol. Molly points out there’s a lot of black people at this office, and Quintin says he doesn’t understand how she could work in the LA office; it reminds him of why he went to Howard.

Quintin asks whether Molly has said anything about her pay inequality but Molly hasn’t. He asks why she isn’t considering leaving, because their firm is not the only fish in the sea. Obviously this has never occurred to Molly. It’s like she gets blinders on about certain things she thinks are acceptable or that she should want or be doing, and is incapable of considering any options outside of that. Apparently Molly is stuck in a sunken cost fallacy, which means you end up sticking out a situation that has long since expired just because you’ve already invested so much time into it already. Quintin encouages her to consider her options. Oh, there’s the “pastor’s body” joke. He really does look like a pastor.

Back in LA, Issa is getting dressed while Daniel is still in bed watching Due North. He asks whether she has plans the next night, but Issa demurs, unsure of his intentions. Daniel’s body is insane.

Elsewhere, Lawrence is on a run with his coworkers, the blonde and Arpana. He won’t be at work the next day because he has jury duty. Another coworker shows up and we get the exposition that they are training for a marathon. I know people hang out with their coworkers like this but I am antisocial and weird so I never do and never have, which sucks. This is how most people make friends as adults.

Molly is back home now. At her apartment, she and Issa are preparing floral arrangements for Molly’s parents’ vow renewal. Issa can’t make it because she has a “work retreat.” Daniel texts, and off the look on Issa’s face, Molly inquires about it. Issa tries to play it off, but Molly knows this is not nothing. “Daniel and I have history, but we always bounce back.” Molly is skeptical that either of them can do this without catching feelings, but Issa insists none of that is on her agenda right now: she has Daniel, “Neighbor Bae,” and a Latino man she is going out with that night.

Meanwhile, at jury duty, Lawrence gets a text from Derek inviting him to his birthday party. Lawrence hesitates, assuming Issa will be there, but agrees to go. Bored, he scrolls through his facebook and happens across a photo from the night of the Kiss and Grind party; apparently Kelli’s pic accidentallycaught Issa smiling and chatting with Daniel in the background.

Now that is a stroke of bad luck. Lawrence is so distracted by this news he barely hears them call him for briefing.

She follows Frieda to the breakroom, asking to talk. Frieda tensely explains that she isn’t comfortable with what’s happening at the school, but Issa still doesn’t see a problem. This was around the time I started to think Issa was in the wrong the first time I saw this season… not because Issa is siding with bigotry but because she doesn’t know better than to talk frankly about racism with whites in the workplace. That fact that Issa was so clueless as to be straightforward with a Clueless White Person on the thing that they fear most - an issue concerning race where they may be even indirectly accused of being a GASP racist - just sort of underlined for me that she was compounding a wrong instead of fixing it. “It must be nice to have the privilege to choose to be upset over this,” Issa says, and the fact that she doesn’t back down lets Frieda get the moral high ground.

Inglewood. Molly is at her parents’ place unloading flowers for the renewal. Dro is her childhood next door neighbor and he is there to a.) celebrate Molly’s parent’s marriage and b.) smooth things over about basically asking her to take part in his open marriage. He asks if she never thought of him like that; “I mean yeah maybe for a minute when you had your colored contacts on,” Molly says. Light skints aren’t still in style anymore are they? Exoticals for men is always kind of a weird area, I think.

Molly says she’s thought about it, but the marriage thing “is just not how” she sees her life. Dro is cool with that and they agree to stay friends, ribbing each other like only childhood friends can do.

Jury Duty. There’s black woman who answers a question about “bias against police” by standing up to reveal her Black Lives Matter t-shirt that I’m unclear whether or not she meant it or just wanted to get out of jury duty. “Not buying it,” the judge says, but the juror is dismissed. Lawrence is scrolling through Daniel’s gram while all this happens.

Back at Molly’s, her mom is saying something about the dollar store champagne flutes she bought, and what is with moms and dollar stores? My momma loves her some dollar store home goods. They lightly push Molly, as you do your children, about when she’s getting married. Mom wants to know what’s the hold up but Dad knows Molly isn’t going to settle. Apparently Molly has a brother, or two brothers, or a gay brother, I’m unclear. I think one of them is famous for something or other though.

Date night. Issa shows up at a low lit ambient bar looking for Mexican bae. “Come through, Tinder,” she says when she spots him. She’s wearing a tight blue dress and a TWA. Mexican bae seems like he’s in his late 30s. Issa’s inner monologue horndogs about horchata. Bruh, rumchata is delicious. I haven’t managed to buy it myself yet because that shit costs like 20$ but it tastes just like Christmas. And like, really good bread pudding. I should try to buy it at least for the holidays. Anyway, Issa is fantasizing about boning him right on the bar.

We know he’s a good guy because he says isn’t a martini guy and they joke about comics. I can’t with how comic book lore has taken over American entertainment. I liked the Tobey Maguire Spider Mans but now there’s like 18 in-universe comic book shows on TV and like four comic book movies at any given time… I honestly thought the comic book thing would have faded a long time ago by now and we’d be back to some other mythical fan lore like angels and ghosts again. (Zombie lore is still popular, and I think vampire lore is still hanging ten, so we need to go to demons or the undead or something.) They eventually move to another table, signifying that the date has lasted a few hours. The waiter brings by the check and Issa does the fake purse grab. You know, I used to adamantly refuse to do that (and the one time I was *asked* to split was by a nerdy black dude I met in a hipster dive who approached me by asking if I was latina - I must emphasize that I do not look latina whatsoever), like even pretend like I was going to pay. Now, I just offer to split. I usually never have to still, which is good, but also, I’m not poor anymore either so. My thing now is taking care to note that the waitress puts the check on the guy’s side instead of in the middle - that’s when I know the universe wants me to feel good about myself.

Anyway, they have had a good night and Issa is clearly thinking about asking him back to her place. But, we know he’s a Good Guy because he says he can’t, “but this is an excuse for us to do this again!”

Saturday morning work retreat. There’s a generic snack bar set up. Issa is texting with Daniel, after canceling on him because of her date the previous night. Anyway the work team does a boring team building exercise so that the Clueless White People can make Clueless White People assumptions about the kind of trouble kids might be having at home. Issa and Frieda take a few passive aggressive jabs at each other and when it’s time to pair up Frieda quickly finds someone else, leaving Issa stuck with Sujata Day. I don’t know if she’s supposed to be Indian in this one.

Vow Renewal. Apparently Molly decided to invite Sterling K Brown who is wearing a crazy colorful suit like only a person whose body has been altered to look good in Hollywood could do:

Molly’s wig actually does look good, don’t mind the screenshot. Dro and his parents show up (his dad is latino, his mom is ambiguous brown). Dro hangs around as his parents walk off and Sterling K Brown possessively wraps an arm around Molly, who introduces them. Just so you know that this is going on:

Do y'all take notice of stuff like this or no? Men, even men who are supposedly friends with each other, I find pull rank like this in front of women all the time. I was seeing a guy and one night we were hanging out with his roommate. They went outside to smoke and I tagged along. My dude and I were sharing his cigarette (I don’t smoke but I find this sort of thing cute) and the other guy offered me his. My dude didn’t think anything of it, but it’s little shit like that that always feels like to me men are playing ego games with each other and/or always prepared to slide in the DMs of someone else’s girl. (I also tend to think everyone is hitting on me, so that bias tends to reinterpret things.) But, it’s the subtlety. And I think if more people paid attention they’d notice things like this more often. At any rate, Sterling K Brown is clearly glad to be there with Molly and possibly senses that Dro is a threat. They all play polite and it’s only mildly awkward.

At a bar across town, Lawrence is having drinks with Derek and grilling him for information about Issa and Daniel. Ha. That’s way more straightforward than he usually is when he talks to Chad. Derek says that after Tasha, he and Tiffany had to stop discussing them because they always took sides. Lawrence is preoccupied and insecure about Issa seeing Daniel now… maybe she had been seeing him the entire time? Derek says Issa is too dorky to be sneaky. “That’s exactly why you wouldn’t expect it,” Lawrence says. He clearly is reiminaging their entire relationship and second guessing what he thought it was.

“Honestly… this ain’t all on Issa,” Derek says. “You spent two years unemployed, not doing shit, letting your woman take care of you. Kinda left the door open.” Lawrence does that thing of rotating his jaw and accepts this silently. He tries to say it doesn’t justify cheating, but Derek says he understands why she would be attracted to someone who could make things happen.

Vow renewal. Molly’s brother or whatever asks “is that you?” and HA! Haven’t heard that in ages. “So it’s a pity date?” he asks. Molly lists off his positive qualities and how she wants to give it a shot. Her brother says just because she dates a good guy that doesn’t translate into a relationship. Her brother (no, her brother’s best friend) apparently is married to a stripper that trapped him. He tells Molly if she isn’t feeling him she shouldn’t date him. And because Molly has no understanding of what she wants out of a relationship or from men generally, this is the point where she no longer understands if she should be on a date with Sterling K Brown. He doesn’t deserve this.

Bathroom. Issa calls her brother to check whether or not she might be in the wrong with the situation with Frieda. Check out this gloriously dressed fashion forward ass nigga:

Issa’s brother doesn’t tell her what she wants to hear so she hangs up in his face. To make herself feel better, she responds to a random sext from Neighbor Bae, sending back a nude before she gets busted by Mrs. Frizzle. Issa, at least go into the stall.

Molly is partially hosting this party, so she goes to greet a couple of great aunts. As nosy older black women, they immediately start inquiring about the delicious slice of man she chose to parade around this family event. Which… if you’re not sure if you want to date a guy, don’t fucking bring him to a parent-centered family event maybe. The aunts start talking about how amazing it is that Molly’s parent’s marriage lasted 35 years “after what he put my sister through.” This is news to Molly.

Issa is texting at a red light when she misses it turn green. A “Potential Bae” sends her a dick pic and she rear ends the car in front of her. This is where I stopped being on Issa’s team. No woman, no self possessed black woman, has any business being so distracted by dick she would open herself up to litigation, the loss of transportation, and unspecified auto repair. Like, I can no longer abide this level of thirst. This was when Issa went too far. Also, I spared you a screenshot of the dick pic.

Back that the renewal, Molly is grilling her brother about the state of her parents’ marriage. It turns out that Dad cheated on Mom and “they worked through it.” Molly seems almost more offended that her mom put up with it than her dad cheated at all. And this is the part where Yvonne Orji had to do an emotional scene. And it was so bad it threatened to diminish my enjoyment of the rest of the series so what you need to know is: 1. the acting here is really really bad, so bad I don’t know how they didn’t insist on more takes and/or cut away often enough so that you didn’t notice how bad it was and b. Molly can’t deal with the reality that there is no such thing as a fairy tale relationship. Not all relationships have cheating but a fuckton of them do, so everyone needs to just chill. Also, remind me at a later date to tell you about how I recently found out a guy I had been seeing was married and his wife had their first kid earlier this year. It was fucking horrid. (This is not an endorsement from the “All Men Cheat” school of logic as I, personally, have never been cheated on in a relationship.)

Sterling K Brown tries to console Molly but she stomps away, leaving Dro to chase after her. Bitch move. Molly’s being an asshole all around. Bitch, how are you whining about relationships when you left your fucking date at a party at your parents’ house to leave with another dude? Molly is way out of line here, and her behavior deserves no sympathy at all.

Issa calls Daniel to let him know she can’t make it tonight because she got into a car accident. He offers to pick her up. She tries to beg off but he insists, and his caring and eagerness to help is good to see. One of the worst things about being an introverted holier than thou asshole is that whenever I need help, it always hits me really hard that I really have no one to call.

Meanwhile, this is Lawrence’s Saturday night:

GOD those are the worst, lol. He sits there ruminating for awhile and finally defriends. “I don’t wanna see this shit,” Lawrence thinks.

Dro is driving Molly home. So… she just gone leave her car (and her date) in the interests of her thirst or what? Because I’m not buying that she’s so distraught she just needed to get home despite the common decency of leaving on no notice like that. You wanted to provoke Dro’s dick and we all know it. No smoothing over on this ridiculous behavior, Molly. She continues being all “distraught,” and while I have to offer points for the damsel and distress routine in principle, I believe in polite society more, so be thirsty on your own time, not when it inconveniences or hurts someone else. Molly laments how she spends all her time trying to find someone like her dad only to find out their marriage is bullshit. I suppose if I had grown up in a married two parent household it would come as news to me, too, that parents can be just as ain’t shit as anyone else. Still. I find this childish. Dro lends a sympathetic ear and Molly eats it up.

Daniel shows up to pick up Issa and gives her a hug in reassurance since she’s just been in a car accident. Instead of abiding this silently where even if she doesn’t want it she can use it to her advantage at a later date, Issa decides to be clear that Daniel knows they are not dating only each other and are both seeing other people. Issa isn’t sure if she was as up front about that as she should have been the last time they slept together. Daniel reacts disappointedly in a way that telegraphs he did not know that was what they were doing. On the other hand, I feel like men pull this shit a lot and maybe it was good for him to know he isn’t the only fish in her pond. Idk. On this issue I have erred toward casual probably more often than I should have, to regretful effects, so for me the jury is out on that.

Dro walks Molly to her door and her building is so lovely. Oh, it turns out Dro drove Molly’s car home. That kinda makes it even more shitty that she left Sterling K Brown? When Dro goes to leave, because we must be overtly aware of the stupid and ridiculous choices they make, she pulls him back and kisses him. Then we cut to them boning a second later. Excellent sex scene. Extremely poor choice.

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entergamingxp · 4 years

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World of Warcraft and Apex Legends • Eurogamer.net

Hello and welcome to the second of our Clash of Fans write-ups. This week we’ll be getting together in pairs (virtually) and forcing each other to play a beloved game. Then we’ll chat about what we made of it all. Next up is World of Warcraft and Apex Legends!

World of Warcraft

Emma: The idea with Clash of Fans is for everyone to play a game they haven’t tried before, but I must admit I have somewhat bent the rules on this one. I was actually introduced to World of Warcraft in a university games history seminar, of all things, as an example of an MMO with a declining player population – something which I’m sure horrified Oli when I told him.

Anyway, it’s been good to revisit the game on my own terms, and with more time. I used to be a big Star Wars: The Old Republic player a few years ago, so I’ve enjoyed having a look at where all those MMO mechanics came from.

I suppose we’d better start with character creation so you can judge my choices: I’m really sorry Oli, but I couldn’t bring myself to pick Horde. They seem like they’re trying very hard to be edgy. I also wanted to try out the Worgen race, who seem like they’re troubled but come out fighting for the “good” side, and therefore achieve a more balanced level of moodiness. I’m sure there’ll be something in the lore to disprove that point.

Even though the character creation is pretty limited compared to current-day titles, I do love how you end up getting so invested in your player-character, and almost put a part of yourself into them. I got inspired by the Worgen race to imagine my character as a sword-wielding, brooding she-wolf warrior – which is unusual for me, as I usually go for sneaky types. Now all I need is a proper cloak.

Fun fact: when I was about 14 and the Cataclysm expansion released, I used to draw fan art of those moody Worgen… even though I wasn’t allowed anywhere near World of Warcraft at the time. Maybe it was meant to be.

And here’s what inspired that fan art.

Oli: So, yes, I do feel very old right now, thanks. Even “games history” being a thing makes me feel old. But while WOW’s player population may have been declining then, and certainly still is, the game is still massive and has seen off every challenger in the interim, including The Old Republic. In your face, student Emma and her stupid stuffy games history professor.

Sorry. Nothing, maybe not even Nintendo, makes me come over more fanboy than this game. Is that a self-justification mechanism to defend the literal years of playtime I have sunk into this MMO? Probably, but that’s not just it. It’s telling, I think, that you felt so invested in your character and the Worgen race so early on – it must be something about the game’s art and simple but effective storytelling style that really hooks you in and encourages role-playing. In my head, my first character, a troll warrior, was a sort of clumsy eccentric who didn’t really want to be a warrior (because I didn’t – I was asked to roll one by my friends). You’re probably right about the Horde being the embarrassingly emo choice, but it is the choice I made 15 years ago and I live by it now. These people – orcs? zombies? cow-folk? – are my people. They’re my brothers and sisters. The sense of belonging is just so strong. Humans disgust me. Don’t even get me started on gnomes.

Every time Wes and I have a fun, nostalgic chat about WOW, there comes a point where I remember he played Alliance and I just feel very disappointed in him. It’s sad.

Anyway, how did you get on once you started playing? I remember the Worgen starting area being pretty action-packed and fun – a far cry from the pre-Cataclysm dustbowls where you had to kill boar for a million hours to get to level 10. (I should have made you play WOW Classic, shouldn’t I…)

Emma: I’m with you on the humans – the other choices are so much more imaginative, why on Earth would you pick something so bland?

My feelings on Gilneas are decidedly more mixed. The rainy setting and Victorian London vibes are fantastic, even if the whole lockdown situation is a little close to home right now. I love how deliciously chunky the art style is, the scale means you feel quite small next to everything, and I spent some time just wandering through houses to admire the interior design. There’s also something rather magical about how the areas transform once you’ve handed in a quest. That square you were once strolling through? Poof! It’s now a battlefield, and everything’s on fire.

On the flip side: good lord that’s a lot of fetch quests. I know this is like complaining a beach has too much sand, as MMOs are built on grind, but it’s made me realise SWTOR did a better job of disguising the fetch quests behind story beats – or at least providing big narrative pay-offs at the end. There weren’t really any characters I cared about in the starting area for WOW, so when the area flooded and it was supposed to be this big narrative moment, my reaction was “meh”. Although I did burst out laughing at the wild camera movement to convey the drama of the invading armada, it was just so charmingly clunky.

Images that precede unfortunate events.

Oli: Yeah, I can imagine that stuff is quite a lot more gauche than I remember it. At the time it was a big leap forward for storytelling in the game. A strange part of this game being such a big part of my life – and just so big – is that I really struggle to see it in the context of other games. I just see it in the context of itself. Recent expansions will make Gilneas look as old-fashioned as Gilneas made the game at launch look, but that doesn’t mean they actually feel modern.

And if you’re looking for characters to care about, you might be looking in the wrong place. The game has some lovely quest lines and the grand sweep of the story is quite exciting in places, but it doesn’t have a lot of room for characters.

As for fetch quests… I’ve played so much WOW I find the repetition soothing. I love the grind, I don’t need it to be disguised. It annoys me when I’m just walking backwards and forwards, but give me 10 monsters to kill in a metronomic fashion on the way and I’m happy. I am Pavlov’s gamer.

One thing I will say is that the starter area isn’t all that representative of what’s beyond it. Not that there’s less grind – there’s more, so much more. But the slightly awkward way the storytelling and quest mechanics sit next to each other gets smoothed away, and the delivery feels much more natural. The game becomes much more about exploring its vast maps, too, which is one of the things it’s best at.

Emma: I think the fetch quests would also be much more bearable if I was playing with someone else – soloing WOW isn’t exactly a natural way to play it, so I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt for that! It’s a shame I couldn’t get to the stage where I could try a raid party, as I always wanted to have my own Leeroy Jenkins moment.

We haven’t talked about the actual combat mechanics yet, although I think I only really tried the most basic moves of all, which were varieties of bonking people on the head with a mace. It does get to the point where you figure out an order for your moves, and it feels great when that clicks: charge in, lay down a few smacks, and then bring out the more powerful moves and a finisher. I can understand how this makes the grind feel far more satisfying, particularly as one of my moves worked from jumping quickly from one battle to the next, and I had to figure out that time window. It turns out MMOs are part rhythm game: this is my take for the day.

Oli: That is a good and correct take. And yes, although it’s very basic at the start of the game, you’ve started to get a sense of what makes the game so hypnotic, and so good. Above all WOW has brilliant RPG classes, with expertly designed skills that are really satisfying to use. So once you get into the groove with your rotation, and start to learn how to optimise it – and learn to use situational skills as well when things get a bit more complex – it’s super rewarding.

WOW’s dirty secret is that most people, most of the time, are playing it solo. The dungeons and raids are definitely the game at its best; large-scale raiding is seen as the pinnacle of the game, but I think it’s the five-player dungeons that are better dynamically. If you can hang on to level 15, you’ll get to try one. I think they’re some of the best co-op gaming ever, even if players tend to rush through them a bit these days. But yes, questing is mostly done solo and is tuned as such.

That said, the best times I’ve ever had in the game have been questing with one friend. There’s just so much to discover, such a varied and exciting world, and it’s great doing it in company. If I could persuade you to keep playing, I’d say this: try a dungeon, and get to a point where you can really start to explore the landmasses. The environment art is incredible in its simple, colourful way, there’s no loading, and the world just goes on for ever.

I’d love to know how dated it feels to you. I think Blizzard has done a great job keeping a 15-year-old game feeling slick and playable, but that’s got to have its limitations.

Bleiddast means she-wolf in Welsh, according to the Welsh-English Online Dictionary. (‘Character names are serious business’ – Emma.)

Emma: Alas, I must have stopped just before reaching the first dungeon – I think the quest which involved killing a bunch of spiders finally finished me off. I’d always thought of myself as being a bit of a weird loner when playing MMOs by myself, so it’s reassuring to hear most people aren’t playing as part of huge organised clans.

As for WOW feeling dated, it’s probably the cutscenes where the game suffers most, as the older graphics and animation are more noticeable there. At one point you get bitten mid-quest and your character just flies across the room, which was both confusing and hilarious. The voice acting also gave me a chuckle, as it sounds so theatrical: particularly when the human version of a Worgen politely tells you you’re out of range, and the werewolf version sounds like a chain smoker. I also heard that particular line way too much.

Despite all this, the art style is strong enough to stand the test of time, and the core gameplay loop still feels solid – so that’s the most important thing for me. One of my university friends has offered to take me under her wing and teach me the ways of WOW, so I may be returning to it sooner than I thought. Time to try out one of those dungeons.

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Apex Legends

Oli: I’m scared. What’s happening? It says ‘Season 5’ everywhere. It boots up with a trailer of a lady fighting some robots while having apparently Significant Flashbacks, but the game itself shows no evidence of having any kind of story. The UI is a confusing mess and keeps shouting at me about Twitch Prime. My character’s lobby idle animation is all jerky. My PS4 Pro sounds like it’s going to die in the next five minutes.

I don’t do battle royale – I played Fortnite, like, once. In fact, I don’t really do multiplayer shooters in any form. I have bad aim and I get performance anxiety. I don’t find them relaxing or fun, I find them stressful. Apex Legends isn’t really helping me get over this.

I get why the game has been set up like this – it’s all about reducing the number of button presses between the player and a match. But it makes for a bewildering first impression. The tutorial covers the controls but otherwise isn’t very helpful, and I have to root around to get basic information such as what each character’s abilities are. It doesn’t feel welcoming at all. Also, while the characters look cool, I find the game’s art style in general very hard to read. I’m squinting at pickups to figure out what they are, and one part of the map looks much like all the others to me.

I’m sure it’ll click soon, but as someone who usually plays very different kinds of games, it’s remarkable to me how unwelcoming this is to a first-time player.

Following your advice, Emma, I picked Gibraltar, the tanky one, for my first match. I was matchmade with a Bloodhound but for some reason the third member of our trio never joined. I just followed Bloodhound around like a total liability, getting shot, staring blankly at pickups for ages and not knowing what my abilities were for. I felt bad for my partner. We managed 6th, though!

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Emma: I can’t imagine how confusing it must be to drop into Apex Legends’ lore right now. Because it’s a battle royale and nothing is permanent, Respawn mainly develops the story through trailers and tidbits on the website, all of which means it’s harder for new players to catch up. I’d recommend a trip to a wiki if you want to read up on the latest Loba/Revenant drama (it’s pretty good), but you can absolutely survive without. Although you should absolutely watch the video where Forge gets… introduced.

Apex has definitely caught a lot of flak for not being particularly beginner-friendly, in part because it’s just so fast and the encounters are super intense – although I believe Respawn introduced skill-based matchmaking to try to help new players. I’m hoping the in-match UI will click soon, too, as I think it takes a few games for your brain to figure out, and then things suddenly seem rather simple. Although it may take you far longer to figure out how to use the abilities tactically. I think I’m still figuring it out for some characters.

Saying that, please do keep trying new legends, as there’s a playstyle for everyone. My personal favourite is Pathfinder, as flinging yourself through the air and bursting into battles via zip-line is just so much fun. I love that chaotic energy.

Although you’ve been having issues with the UI, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the ping system: it’s adaptive and means you can communicate without the need for voice chat, which is such a life saver (particularly for women – no more toxic conversations, hurray). How have you found it?

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Oli: Ping is absolutely brilliant. It’s a masterstroke. I’m not using it with confidence myself yet, but having teammates use it to point out pickups and enemies, or just set waypoints, is awesome. I don’t love voice chat at the best of times, but I often can’t use it at home, so I love that Respawn has found a way to make that level of teamplay available without voice. That’s a big plus for accessibility.

I’m feeling much better after my second match, mostly because WE WON. This is now the best game ever.

I still wasn’t any good, especially at the shooting – we were totally carried, by a Bloodhound again – but I used my abilities at sensible times, got a couple of kills and a revive, and it felt good, man. Partly we were just lucky and didn’t really encounter anyone for a long midsection of the match. I haven’t got used to the pacing of battle royales, yet – often, you’re not really doing much, and yet this is helping you win as the other teams wipe each other out. It feels weird.

The game handles beautifully – no surprise from Respawn. I love the mantling and the slides and the guns feel great to fire. And yes, encounters are fast, but you’ve got the bleeding out mechanic to give you a bit of a chance to rally as a team, which is a nice touch.

I have mixed feelings about it being teams only. To begin with this stressed me out, as I prefer to learn a game without the pressure of strangers depending on me. But actually, it makes it much easier and more accessible if you can spread the load a bit, doesn’t it? And it adds a nice sense of camaraderie to what would be a pretty alienating experience otherwise.

Emma: The sliding is so good! I love it so much, in fact, that I’ve inadvertently started sliding around in other shooters – my squad mates noticed me doing this around corners in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare a couple of times. Apex seems to be one of the few battle royales where there’s no fall damage, which may seem like a small thing, but it means you don’t have pointless (and annoying) deaths from accidentally falling off things. It’s much more exciting to be shot by someone, right?

Funnily enough, Respawn actually tried a solo mode for Apex as a limited-time event a while back, and for me (and Respawn) it really didn’t work. Without teammates you lose the communication of the ping system, which as you mention, somehow wordlessly forms bonds between you and your squad before the fighting has even begun. You also end up dying quickly in situations where you can’t even react, which is particularly annoying in a battle royale where you have to re-queue rather than just respawn. No second chances.

Having a team means you have the added drama of revives, and also respawns – a system which Apex was first to introduce among the big battle royale games, with Fortnite and Warzone later doing their own versions. I don’t know if this has happened to you yet, but on occasion you can find yourself collecting the respawn banners of your two dead squadmates and sprinting to the nearest respawn beacon. It becomes a tense game of parkour and stealth at that point, and adds another layer to the storytelling in each match. It just makes it so much more memorable.

And congratulations on your win – now you’ll always be chasing the next one. Particularly as Apex puts your name in flashing lights around the arena.

Do you come here often? Yes, unfortunately.

Oli: I noticed about fall damage and breathed a sigh of relief, yeah! I haven’t clicked with the map for this game – it doesn’t feel like a place I’m excited to be – but they have made getting around it feel liberating and fun with the ziplines and stuff, and I appreciate that.

I have been respawned but I haven’t done it for anyone else yet. I don’t think I could take the responsibility.

After feeling like I had got somewhere with Gibraltar, I tried Wraith. Having an alarm when you’re targeted is a really clever idea for a passive skill – I am digging the skill design in this game. If anything is going to get me to come back, it will be experimenting with all the different legends. I didn’t get on so well with Wraith though, and had a couple of strange matches where nothing happened for ages and then our squad got wiped out in a flash. It feels really frustrating. It also feels like it’s going to take me an age to get any good at combat, because it actually forms only a tiny proportion of the time you spend playing a match.

This probably appeals to me the most of the battle royale games – it’s got that slick Respawn feel and the kind of refined design I like, with strong characters with interesting abilities. I also feel like I understand the appeal of battle royale much better after my win! But I don’t know if I could dedicate serious time to these games. They’re too much of an emotional rollercoaster for me. Too much stress. Now I need to go and soothe my cares away with a spot of repetitive grind in World of Warcraft…

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/05/world-of-warcraft-and-apex-legends-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=world-of-warcraft-and-apex-legends-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

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starwarslegacies · 6 years

Text

Survey Says, Part IV, Finale

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been trying to get people to fill out a survey which I do 1-3 times a year, these often do have impact in choosing how the sim moves forward. Bit behind on these results like many other things!

Believe we’re on question #10

10 asked, Events: What do you prefer? (Can choose more than one)

78% PVE, blend of combat and story

63.4% PVP

63.4% PVE, primarily story

58.8% Social, Pazaak, Racing,etc

31.7% PVE, combat focused.

Can see above we have a fairly diverse player base in what they like to do. We’re a bit short on storytellers right now so if you or someone you know may fit that role, do let me know.

Then #11 asked “ What social event would you like to see more of?”

By far the favorites here were Swoop Racing and Fights. The downside to swoop racing is that everytime someone loads into sim it causes a few second delay for everyone, but if people are willing to deal with that we can definitely hold more races. As for the fights we have a “Pit Fighting League” under construction in which people will be able to earn credits by having sanctioned matches which they can do at any time and submit logs (though limited in how many they can do). It will also have tournaments and champions. Every fight done can potentially increase someones placing within the league to lead to bigger prizes at the end of the season. Still seeking some help managing this. Pazaak didn’t get as much love but we do like doing those as they are an easy social thing to throw together. Some of the other answers included a desire to see more tech rolls in the events, then someone mentioned more like Sume’s Valentine day event, then someone even mentioned music. We’re open to ideas and do support players who want to run something.

Last thing we asked was #12: Any other general thoughts you'd like to share? Please keep brief/to the point.

Lot of responses so I’ll select a few without getting redundant.

“Ensure that the system you have in place does not need certain players online. I.E, Ive been trying to get my Imperial I.D, and cannot. “ - Anon#1

I think this was fixed so that there is an automated version?

“ I’d love to see the trash piles spawn more often and/or give out more resources. This is invaluable to new players, as gaining credits was quite tough for me and many others at first. The trash is a good way to start up from nothing, but I feel it should spawn slightly more than 1-10 Credits or 1 crafting resource; especially with how rare they are right now. “ - Anon#2

I agree, been asking Renward about this type of thing but he’s been very busy.

“ when chars are arrested very little if any rp is done after the initial arrest. No interrogation. No release. This needs to change. “ - Anon#3

I find captures are often very hit or miss.

“ I have never RP'd anywhere else before and this is the most fun I have had on Secondlife so far in 11 years. The main draw of this sim to me is the amount of people who actively use it. I could not see myself RPing in a sim with a low amount of active players. Getting new players and retaining old players is the most important thing to me. I have no real ideas on how to do this though. Good luck!” - Anon#4

Thank you, we do our best with that, sometimes more difficult than others but we’ve been able to maintain for around half a decade, let’s go for a whole one :d

“ I loveloveLOVE the build but I noticed it's very graphics laggy. I also noticed that while you use teleporters to essentially skyboxes with the building interiors, those interiors are still directly behind the building facades. If you moved them out of draw distance and spaced them out, the sim would be a lot easier to render for everyone. Less lag, higher framerates, more fun! “ - Anon#5

The reason I do tend to do this is I find if something is out of cam range, people are less likely to enter, you do give a valid argument though and will consider further.

“ Having mentors/mediators would be really helpful to take a lot of the load off the staff on sim. So then they can focus on the cool stuff, like building the lore, and actual problems. “ - #Anon#6

Yeah, would like to find a few more.

“ I'm concerned about the system being an element that pulls players from the immersion of their RP. As medical personnel i'm also still concerned with the 'reset' feature on health causing individuals to not be prompted to seek medical attention for their injuries. It is a handy system for varying stats, offering abilities and providing a more structured combat basis but it would be helpful if there was an easier application for it than typing in commands. If there were an attachable HUD for the Chimera available upon entry to the sim which offered either buttons for Chimera options or a drop-down menu to choose from it might help expedite system use in combat, speed up combat, and make the experience more enjoyable overall. Spending hours in combat can sometimes be exhausting and take away from time desired for other aspects of RP. “ - #Anon7

Post this, we did take action about the reset button and have taken a few other steps as well to increase realistic recovery from injury and people using medical services. May still see more in this area.

“ With regards to conscent, reasonable right to life and consequence. Dont do something that would get you arrested, and deny consent. “ - #Anon8

Yeah, would agree on that, you may see changes in that area very soon. We’re behind on many things we’d like to do.

“ I feel like I’d personally be more invested if there was more for the Jedi to do. So far all we have to do is be captured or whatnot. It was fun for a bit but I think a lack of leadership for a while has made it hard. I hope this changes soon. “ - #Anon9

It is a difficult era for Jedi players, we knew that going in but we wanted to try something different. We are always shaking things up though so you could see things evolve in the future.

“ Lot of trolls get into the sim/rp. Gets a bit annoying. Might just be an issue all over SL, though. “ #Anon10

It is, but I find “trolls” are fairly easy to tune out/ignore/etc. The only time trolls have power is when people take the bait and react. They usually knock it off once they know it doesn’t get to you. To use my own example a few used to give me a hard time for engaging in sexual roleplay, they would take pictures and IM me these pictures. I laughed, and just got more lewd, like who cares? and they stopped making a thing of it.. so I just find trolls pretty easy to ward off or ignore. Always more concerned with those who create and stir drama than I am with trolls. Drama kills sim dead, trolling is just irritating.

“ Well , if you ask to me , there should be much more various social events .. Also before the events such as pazaak there should be courses before he game night so people could have an idea about what they are doing . About the groups , you shouldnt bring some strangers as directors , you should pick them from the group according to their activeness. Also you should appreciate or make a system to appreciate employees such as [redacted] employees .. I have been in group for two months i think and i am still security guard. No rank-ups .. And i have been coming online and standing as a guard almost everyday . Thanks for your patience and reading this. Good luck about the sim.. “ - #Anon11

If there are those who have been active and also have leadership ability then they will be. Having the skills needed for leadership is not something every active player has. This could be because their temper is too short, or maybe they do not work well with other group leads to be able to create interactive roleplay, or maybe they just are lazy or a variety of other reasons. If we have someone who handles lead roles well, yes, at times they will leap frog if there isn’t a suitable candidate within X group.

“ If there is a time jump done, people need a way to get the most out of the 5+ year missing time. Something to encourage them to write up story for their characters for that time. After they've done so and handed it in, could lead towards special rewards for their character or the player. Something to think over. “ - #Anon12

I very much like this idea if we ever have one of those. There currently is not one planned but like I’ve said, we’re always willing to change and adapt to do what’s best for activity.

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DONE. Thank you to everyone who filled it out, really enjoy the feedback as it helps us figure how we can improve things for you all.

#SWL #SecondLife #StarWars #SWRP #Roleplay #Coruscant

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