#on one of those classic game kicks I miss them....

[duckymcdoorknob]

Would Kurama go into a relationship a human or a yokai or someone from Reikai? If so, what would those relationships look like? (Would he be protective, consider them equal, manipulate them..anything that comes to your mind)

Thanks.

@giggly-squiggily *cough to summon fellow simp*

Anon you’re so beautiful for this ask 🧎‍♀️

I think that Kurama wouldn’t care who or what his partner was. He just wants them to love him as unconditionally as he does them.

I think he’s a very domestic partner. He doesn’t care about classic “gender roles”—quite frankly, he thinks they’re absolute bullshit.— so they can expect him to tackle most of the chores in the home.

He’s a fantastic cook, and cleaning soothes his soul. They will come home to an absolutely spotless living space, and a warm dinner on the table every single night. If they beg him to take a night off, he’d simply smile and ask: “why would I do such a thing?” He’s 100% an acts of service partner.

He’s also a quality time partner. He LOOOOVES to just spend time with his partner for the littlest things. His partner is in the shower? If they’re up to conversation, he’ll sit on the toilet with the lid shut (or outside the door to respect their privacy.) if they’d rather be alone, he’s waiting on the bed for them to be ready for conversation.

Partner who does their makeup? He’s sitting on the counter and kicking his legs as he talks to them (please don’t let him do their eyeliner, he accidentally pokes their eye every time and he gets SO upset)

Partner who works from home? He’ll sit on the other end of the table/couch/bed and hold their hand whenever they let him.

He’ll watch tv, play board games, do crafts, goof around at any time, etc.

Dad!Kurama Hcs because yes:

He always gets up in the night time when his child cries for his parents. He lets his partner rest and sleep every time without fail. When asked why, he’ll lie and say something like “I’m a youkai, darling. I don’t need the sleep.” Knowing fully well he’s still in a human body-

He likes to carry their child everywhere. The little baby strappy thing? Good luck trying to get it from him. His partner will have to pry their child out of his arms (he just loves his little kit Y’know?)

He loves doing family activities, and he has family portraits hung up ALL OVER their home. He likes to take the super cheesy pictures with like the weird 80s poses (like everyone laying on top of each other)

Their little one commonly finds themself sleeping in papa and (parent title)’s bed. Why? They had a scary dream, they missed their parents, they were cold, they saw a spider, there’s a monster in their closet, they needed water, their bed was too small, their blanket was too warm and too cold at the same time, Uncle Hiei told them to. (which with his telepathy, it may be a truthful statement)

Kurama was over the moon to become a father, and when his little one called him “daddy” for the first time, he knew that all of the bad decisions he’d ever made weren’t worth a thing anymore…

#written in the stars #anon #Kurama #kurama yu yu hakusho #yu yu hakusho kurama #youko kurama #yoko kurama #Kurama x reader #Kurama imagines #yuyu hakusho #yu yu hakusho #yyh #yyh live action #yu yu hakusho live action #yuyu hakusho live action

[ymaohoh]

Chrissy and Wayne bonding headcanons?

Ooooo great ask @astreinomane! Thank you.

I think Chrissy and Wayne have such potential to be a seriously cute duo.

It would start slow at first. Wayne is understandably protective of his nephew and knows he's got a habit of finding trouble (or trouble finding him). He meets Chrissy and see's this super-pretty popular girl from a rich well-to-do family and worries she's using Eddie for some cliché 'get back at daddy' rebellion, you know? And he doesn't want Eddie's feelings to get hurt as a result.

He talks to Eddie about this and warns him to be careful. Eddie tells him he will (but every time he looks at Chrissy he's wearing full on puppy-dog eyes and his heart is balancing on his sleeve. He's not careful in the slightest but that's classic Eddie).

He even talks to Chrissy about this one morning when Eddie is still asleep (he's back from a nightshift and she's an early bird). They share some coffee and he gently tries to untangle who she is. To his relief she puts his mind at ease (her back shiny/shoulders straight/eyes honest) and tells him she's crazy about his nephew and swears she will never hurt him.

From then on Chrissy becomes a part of the family. He doesn't see her much because of his work shifts but it becomes part of his routine when he comes home and they share coffee or breakfast. He finds himself missing her when she's not there and the trailer feels small without her smiles and laughter (she makes Eddie laugh too and that's great in Wayne's book).

He does little quiet things so Chrissy feels more comfortable at their home. He cooks bigger portions of dinner (he's noticed her lack of appetite), makes sure the toilet seat's left down, buys her favorite brand of cereal. (He notices Chrissy doing little things too - lining her shoes up neatly by the door, washing up, she knits him a blanket for the couch for those chilly winter evenings).

He doesn't mind her staying over so much as he guesses her home life is complicated but he has The Conversation with Eddie about sex and protection and boundaries (lots of blushes and nervous coughing). Eddie tells him he wants to do everything right with Chrissy and she's his future - he's not going to mess it up. Wayne sometimes hears them when they think he's asleep or not home yet and he does the gentlemanly move of buying ear plugs (they're kids, after all. He remembers being their age).

He appreciates how good Chrissy is for Eddie. She's tutoring him in English and showing up for all his gigs. She really cares about him. He tells her she can call him just Wayne (and not Mr Munson anymore) and she does so with a beaming smile.

He reminds his nephew about valentines cards, prom corsages, finds him a suit for graduation. For Eddie's sake - as well as Chrissy's.

He invites Chrissy to join them for Thanksgiving and they sit together with TV dinners watching movies and playing board games (he teaches her poker). He's there to help when her parents kick her out and makes her favorite dinner. When they grow up and leave Hawkins, Wayne helps them move and they invite him over for Christmas and all the other holidays too.

When Wayne finally meets a women he likes Chrissy speaks to him on the phone about it and he laughs, telling her 'he's still got some moves' but he finds himself ironing his old shirt just like she suggested.

Chrissy asks him to walk her down the aisle when his nephew pops the question. Her own dad isn't coming (none of her family are). Wayne tells her awkwardly she's real pretty and takes her arm like it's the greatest honor ever and Chrissy thanks him for always being there - he finds himself crying just then.

He cries again when they have their own kids and he's 'Pops' and 'Grandaddy'. He looks at Eddie sometimes and remembers the 8-year old kid that was dumped on his doorstep and is proud of him. He looks at Chrissy too and see's the shy, nervous, skinny kid who would say sorry for sneezing and is so proud of the amazing woman she's become.

When Wayne passes he leaves all his stuff to Eddie, but he leaves his coffee mug collection (a mug from every state) to Chrissy who always smiled when she looked at them.

Excuse me, I've got some dust in my eyes...

EDIT: (I just wanted to quickly edit and recommend 'Duality' by @broomclosetkink - it's actually a body swap AU but the last few chapters have such WONDERFUL Chrissy/Wayne interactions. He's a proper cutie to her and takes her under his wing!)

#hellcheer #chrissy x eddie #edssy #eddie x chrissy #eddissy #hellcheer headcanons #eddie munson #chrissy cunningham x eddie munson #chrissy cunningham #hellcheer fanfic #chrissy and eddie #eddissy headcannons #eddissy fanfiction #ymaohoh #wayne munson #wayne munson headcanon #he shows Chrissy what a caring parental figure looks like

[lakemojave]

Mojave's Top Ten Games of 2023 (3 of which actually came out this year)

I figured I should make a list like this at some point, but I didn't actually play many new games this year. Well, I played tons of games for the first time and loved so many of them, but few of them were new releases. At my current stage as a game critic, I'm playing a lot of catchup, trying to get context for current games, playing the classics and the seminal franchises of the medium. I do not have a game of the year pick. Even though I was behind the curve, I still wanna talk about the experiences that moved me this year.

Honorable mentions:

Baldur's Gate 3 (2023): One of the densest, fleshed out, satisfying narrative RPGs the gaming industry has seen in years. Immersive, well written and charming, no two people can have the same experience with this game because of how much variance and player choice is accounted for in the gameplay and script alike. It's for that reason it's not on the list though--not only have I not finished it, I'm also not doing it singleplayer, and am missing out on much of that juicy story content in favor of me and my group's meta-narrative.

Black Mesa (2020): The remake of the first half life is sharp, smooth, and immersive, combining what was visually and narratively compelling about Half Life 2 back into the original story. It has some of my favorite setpieces of the entire half life catalogue now, which is saying a lot. It's off the list in favor of the original.

Dead Space (2023): A triumphant return to the horrors of the Ishimura incident, with insidious twists to the game design and story that disrupt a fan's familiarity with the game world time again. It scared the fuck out of me so many times, but the bittersweet feeling I get thinking about the fate of the Dead Space franchise means RE4 gets its spot.

10. Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals (2023)

The long awaited sequel to 2016's Oxenfree caught me by surprise after playing the first game just before it. Playing the original teen horror, I'm struck by how grating some of the dialogue can be, how sophomoric and cheap it can feel without drinking deep of the content. What makes this version of teen horror so compelling, though, is that through sympathetic participation with Alex, you catch yourself from griping at the young characters for making foolish choices, which is very effective.

What's stunning about this sequel is that in the 7 year gap between games, it's not just the team and the audience that has matured, it's the writing all around. Your character, Riley, is in her early 30s, returning to her hometown and feeling very existential as she peers into the past, the future, and the unknown in between time and space. The world of Camena and Edwards Island is expanded on those lines, the thematic focus becomes resonant and emotionally devastating, and the dynamic with young characters, familiar or not, demonstrates how strong this second chapter to the oxenfree story really is.

9. Resident Evil 4 (2023)

Look. I love a horror game. 2005's Resident Evil 4 may be among the best of them, and it may be timeless in its own right, and it may be foundational to so many other games I love today, but god damn is this remake fun. With sharper visuals and atmosphere than the original, intricate new resource systems like knife durability and parries, and some updated character work, it's safe to say this is a categorically different game than the original. Plenty of material was cut from the main game, like the IT fight or the laser hallway, which found their way into the DRASTICALLY improved Separate Ways expansions, starring Ada Wong. It's not my favorite Resident Evil, and it's far from the scariest, but it's the one with Leon's spin kick, and there's nothing more satisfying than that.

I do maintain a lot of early gripes I had with the remake. When Resident Evil 8: Village came out in 2021, it borrowed a lot of mechanical, narrative, and aesthetic tropes from RE4, updating them to a new game in the wake of the remakes of RE2 and 3. Those remakes were truly transformational masterpieces, blending all of Resident Evil's best aspects to create new, distinct experiences. RE4, the original, didn't really need much updating, it's been ported to hell and back already and is so ubiquitous that there was no real need to bring it back into the zeitgeist. Nothing can really be gained by this remake except for a victory lap for Capcom.

Cynicism aside, FUCK YEAH, TWO CAKES!

8. Mass Effect (2006)

I should say that the version of Mass Effect I'm playing is not the one that came out in 2006. The Legendary edition does a bit of graphical and mechanical tweaks to update some of the dated aspects. That's kind of a shame, because the dated aspects are what's so fascinating about Mass Effect. Between Baldur's Gate 3, Disco Elysium, and now the early Fallout games, I find myself taken by classic CRPG design, which accommodates such a wide variety of player choice. Mass Effect doesn't have too much choice in it--the progression and ending are pretty much fixed from the beginning, you basically choose what flavor of the script that you want.

In that way, I like Mass Effect as a transitional piece--an attempt to bring the aspects of early CRPGS into the modern, console games market, with all the budget EA would give them. The writing and design are...satisfactory. The shooting could be more robust, the characters could have more personality, and to the series' credit those things do come about in Mass Effect 2 (which I'm sure I'll gush about when I finish it).

It's the presentation I love here. Mass Effect has maybe one of my favorite sci fi settings I've ever seen. A vast array of alien civilizations, a rich history filled with interesting lore, a competent portrayal of intergalactic politics, all delivered by characters that are deep and interesting. The voicework is also some of the best I've ever seen, and although there are many standouts, Jennifer Hale's Shepard is just tremendous. Actually playing Mass Effect may be a slog, completionist play might require some of the worst loot grinding I've ever seen, but that is all secondary to the way I was captivated by Mass Effect's version of the final frontier.

7. Half Life (1998)

I did a whole ass 5 hour video essay about Half Life, and I don't wanna belabor how much I like this game and series too much more. I loved Half life 2 and the portal games for years, but it was only for that project that I actually got around to playing this. It's a real bonafide classic, containing so many tropes of modern immersive action games WAY ahead of their time. The setting of Black Mesa is deep and engaging, the environmental storytelling is strong, and the voicework is natural and believable (for the most part.) Sometimes as a game critic I have to give some allowances to an older game for some of its jank and some of its rough edges, let myself see the thing just for what it is without all my modern hangups. I don't have to do that with Half Life like I do for other games. There's parts of it that are rough, like the Interloper and On a Rail chapters, but Half Life feels just as good to play now as it did 25 years ago.

6. Dredge (2023)

There's an old tumblr post that proposes a fishing game that's secretly a horror game. That post imagines a game that starts out normal and comfortable, but as the game goes on the player would catch stranger species of fish, soon finding monsters lurking in the deep and hidden secrets. It got a lot of peoples' imaginations going and engaged a lot of fan artists and even more comments riffing on this idea.

Dredge is that game. I was so gleefully surprised to see this game go through every single one of those steps in the first region alone. The game has a strong atmosphere and great art, leading to some real weird and nasty fish to catch and fill out the weird and spooky encyclopedia. Fishing at night gives you different and weirder fish, but it also raises your panic meter, which can cause hallucinations and open you up to monster attacks. It's a pretty ambiently scary game for the most part, and I almost chalked it up to being more horror themed than actual horror, until this one lagoon where a giant tentacle suddenly shot up at me out of a sudden drop in the ocean floor. I fuckin yelped, actually screamed in a way only two other games have gotten me to do this year.

5. Alien: Isolation (2014)

I have never, in my life, felt more powerless in a game than when I played Alien: Isolation. I'm used to games like Resident Evil, where you have a toolset for survival that is limited, but allows you to give actual pushback towards the zombies trying to get you. I played Amnesia: The Dark Descent this year too, the opposite of this dynamic, where you have NO means of resistance whatsoever, and the binary outcomes of monster encounters of that game completely broke my immersion.

Alien: Isolation actually gives you myriad crafted tools to overcome your obstacles, from human scavengers to androids to the xenomorph herself. Yet, the impossible speed and predatory senses of the monster means that one slip up means instant death, and the death animations are pretty brutal. Through cunning and cautious play, you can slip past the Alien enough times to where you get a flamethrower, which will repel her in a pinch. However, her AI is advanced to the point where she will learn your habits between deaths, look for you in lockers if you hide in them a lot, resist certain tricks like noisemaker bombs or flares. It's in keeping with how the 1979 movie presents her: a perfect killing machine. In fact, its the way so much of the Sevastopol resembles the aesthetic of that early film that not only helps the atmosphere, but makes the alien's power more believable. Immersive and terrifying, Alien: Isolation is a horror triumph.

4. Undertale (2015)

Yeah that's not actually a joke. I really did only play Undertale this year, and I was really actually completely blind going into it. Of all the games I'm happy I got to experience fresh, it was this one. Undertale seems tropey in its game design, story beats, and writing style 8 years later, but that's because so much of its design has been cannibalized by indie developers going after this aesthetic. As a bullet hell, it's...fine. As a meta commentary on retro RPGs and on the act of violence in video games in general, it's incredible. It legitimately gave me immense joy to reach the end and have my stubborn insistence on pacifism challenged even further, and then rewarded in the best possible way. I got to experience it on stream, too, with some friends who had played it previously and one who did not, and we all did the common thing and did funny voices for everybody. It's created some real cherished memories for me, memories that wouldn't have hit as hard if I did not wait to play Undertale.

3. Metal Gear Solid (1998)

Now here's a game I truly thought I'd never get around to. I'm a big fan of the Metal Gear series and when I learned that konami was releasing the master collection pack of the first 3 games, I was fuckin' stoked. If there's one other game that dictated the trajectory of storytelling and presentation of modern games like Half Life did, it's this one.

Having played the first two metal gears, the 2D ones from the late 80s, I was struck by how much of the basic design beats of Metal Gear come directly from the early titles. Seeing them translated into 3D is just incredible--all the prototypical stealth design transcribed so seamlessly into a much more legible visual language to me. The shooting may feel like ass and the bosses may have healthbars the size of Alaska, but the moment to moment sneaking in this game is so intricate and thorough that you really do feel like a tactical master as you go about it.

None of that touches on what's most memorable about Metal Gear Solid, and that's the presentational aspects. The animations and models might be worse than Half Life's, but the writing and voice acting is just world class. David Hayter as Snake, Cam Clarke as Liquid, Christopher Randolph as Otacon, and Patrick Zimmerman as Ocelot (hell even an early Jennifer Hale role) are astounding performances, even today. The cutscenes and dialogue are certainly oversaturated and long, but goddamn if I don't like watching and listening to them. I love this damn game.

2. Bloodborne (2015)

Bloodborne has been more of a myth and less of a game for me. I played some bits at a friend's house in 2017 and never owned a PS4 so I never thought playing it would be possible for me. I obsessively watched lore videos and playthroughs which got me into Dark Souls 3, then Sekiro, then Elden Ring, which has fueled much of my activity on twitch and as a game critic in general. It was only this year that that same friend lent me her PS4 and I played Bloodborne 3 whole times until I 100% the game in a matter of months. The experience was so meaningful to me that I ended up scrapping my first bloodborne video and starting from scratch, this time with Bloodborne Kart dev Lilith Walther as a guest.

I have never been more immersed in a game world than I have been in Bloodborne's. Yharnam is not only such a dense and intricate city, it is drop dead gorgeous in such a grotesque and macabre way. Many words and many writers have already described the surreal hypergothic smokescreen shrouding the insidious cosmic beings steering the terror and bloodshed from out of sight, so I won't repeat them here. You don't forget the sights and sounds of Bloodborne--they linger in your imagination, the visual language shapes your own ability to conceive of images and ideas in horror fiction, twisting the familiar into stranger shapes and forms.

Plus it just feels so fucking good to play. I like From Software titles and their style of combat, and I like how fast combat works in Sekiro and Elden Ring, but neither of those games accommodate brutality like Bloodborne does. You're meant to attack recklessly, cravenly, no blocking, just press the attack again and again until you're drenched in the gore and blood of your foes. You feel like one among the beasts--after all, what difference is there between a predator and the man that hunts them?

1. Signalis (2022)

I have not stopped thinking about Signalis since I played it the first time. The game is like a fucking honeypot for me. It's got Resident Evil style tank controls as an option, with similar combat and inventory management, themes and presentation similar to Silent Hill, and a sci fi flourish akin to Dead Space. So what, it's every great horror game jammed into one retro style amalgamation? Sounds like a great time for me!

That's just the surface, the hook of it all. While the game certainly uses this familiarity to pull you in and make you comfortable and excited for its own terrors, there's a creeping feeling of unease as you continue to revel in the horror and gore that's taken over these halls. Your character, Elster, is a special ops android in a fictional fascist regime, who has abandoned her post to search for her human partner, whose identity eludes her as she slips into delusion. After reaching the depths of the first area, where the space mine turns into a hall of flesh and viscera, the very walls pulsing and dripping, the world suddenly resets, and you find yourself back in the very first zone, now covered in the same blood and gore. The characters cry out in pain at you, begging you to stop, to turn back, to stop prolonging their hell with your own pursuit of an ending. A chalkboard in a classroom with a pretty frivolous note early on now reads "YOU'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE."

If I go on I'm gonna spoil the whole game, but that part there is the essence of Signalis to me. Many games will challenge your own enthusiasm for playing, question the time you spend in the game rather than like, going outside or something. Few games will actively blame you for prolonging the suffering of the game's inhabitants and creating a self contained digital hell. Few games will ask you "why do you want terror?" in the way that Signalis does.

Signalis is a triumph of horror game design. The imagery is horrifically cryptic, the worldbuilding is dense, the monster design and soundscapes are creepy and effective, the gameplay feels desperate and every bullet fired feels like a scream for help. Signalis is my favorite game I played this year, hands down.

[a-local-idiots-shitpost]

Leviathan with a Sea Serpent!Mc

this piece belongs to this and has 855 Words

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you would think the Admiral of Hell´s army wouldn´t be scared of the depths of the Devildom´s sea but no you would be wrong, so very very wrong Levi knows what´s down there and it scared and his partner is one of those terrifying creatures

I mean him and his Brothers could also count as terrifying creatures but at least he knows they won´t kill each other for any petty reason, his partner though? they told him they killed and ate one of their siblings just because they bothered them they promised that they would never do that to him but he doesn´t believe them, they tried to kill him once even if they swear they just wanted to see if he can breathe underwater

I mean he kinda can but he wouldn´t be able to spend the rest of his lifetime underwater, one because he still needs air and second do you want him to miss all of his games!? or his Anime? nothing would work or survive underwater and Levi would die without his favorite entertainment! and don´t even get him start on the depth you would need to survive even with getting used to the pressure he would pop like a balloon!

but he does like the occasional underwater tours, nothing even dares getting close with a terrifying sea monster at his side and this makes it far more enjoyable because everything will try to kill you in the Devildom sea

though the big drawback is that they can´t see each other all to often he can´t go into the deep for to long and they can´t come to the surface, not only could the pressure kill them but they also aren´t used to so much light so the rare times they can meet is halved because they can only come up during night time

but this only makes the couple of times during a year they can see each other so much more special, like the moment right now he has happily explained to them a new game series he found and is waiting for their opinion on it

“so what do you think? isn´t this just the coolest game ever!?” they just looked at him without any interest at all and considering they don´t know what video games are he should have expected this “actually scratch, remember the Anime we watched 50 years ago? I found it was finally continued and it´s even good, I remember that you complained about the stupid cliff hanger” this got their interest “you mean the stupid and obvious fake out death? it took 40 years alone for me to drop that one and even then I said this destroyed the entire series for me”

“you just don´t know what a classic is it was great I don´t get why you get stuck up on such a little thing” they scowled and if he didn´t know better he would have been intimidated by the twisting of their scaly features “I don´t care what you say it was stupid and I hated it and if it ended with another fake out death I´m going to find them and destroy their office” he had to snort a bit “you and what legs”

“I don´t need legs, I can survive out of water long enough to move my way over there, destroy everything and get back into water before drying out” sometimes Levi forgets how evil they can be “okay but I like it and you won´t ruin that for me” they pretended to think, a look that Levi was far to familiar with they love messing with him “and what would you do if I did? last time you sent Lotan after me I won”

“and before that he kicked your ass and the one before that and every other time before” they pouted which frankly looked a bit odd, they don´t look Human so their Human mimic does give them a bit of the uncanny valley look “okay but to be fair Lotan tricked me”

“a rock could trick you, I love you and everything those cringey Normies say but you aren´t smart”

“and you would be torn to shreds when you were me so what´s the point?”

“nothing just pointing out it´s easy to trick you” they got close to his face and despite what he would like to say it is still intimidating to see, at least now he doesn´t faint as when he first saw them a 1000 years ago but all they did was nuzzle their head against him and what he learned is their version of a hug and the only one they can do with the lack of arms

“you act like a cringey and mushy Normie when you´re around me did you know that?” he let out a happy sigh “but only for you and no one else…” he wanted to scream it out but he managed to mutter it under his breath and as much of a Normie behavior as it would be sometimes he would love to scream out his love for them for everybody to hear

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me fanfiction #obey me fic #obey me fanfic #obey me leviathan x mc #obey me leviathan x reader #obey me leviathan #leviathan avatar of envy

[fandoms-writings]

EVENT CLOSED

Those of you wanting to submit a story for the writing challenge at the end of this post, I'm accepting submissions until the end of the year. I'm a slow writer myself and I want y'all to have as much time as you need to join in <3

Welcome to my neon milestone party!

It’s been a few months since I last did a celebration or writing challenge so why not kick off summer with both! I also hit another small milestone, so thank you so so much to all of you for your support 🤍

You must be 18+ to follow me, so you must be 18+ to participate!

We’re gonna have a summer long sleepover, mood boards, a writing challenge, and my requests are officially open for drabbles! 

The cut off is the last day in August!

Under the cut you’ll find all of the ask games and prompt lists and challenge rules! 

Have fun babes  🤍

💎 Rare gems

- Show some love to your fav fics and their authors by sending in some recommendations!

🗒 Ask the Author

- Ask me anything you want about something I’ve written!

📖 Book talk

- Tell me about your favorite book or what you’ve recently read, and why you enjoy it (or why you don’t)

🤫 Secret admirers

- Anonymously (or not) send a love letter to your favorite tumblr person!

🎶 Karaoke

- Send a song recommendation or I’ll put my liked songs on shuffle and send you which one played first!

🫘 Spill the Beans!

- Anonymously (or not) tell me a secret of yours.

🔍 Clue!

- Send me this emoji and I'll post a wip clue (a picture, emoji, a word, etc) and you guys get to guess what it's about. 

🎩 Top 5!

- Another classic. Send me a category, and I'll tell you my top 5 choices within it. 

🙅🏻‍♀️ Never Have I Ever

- This one's pretty self explanatory I think. 

💌 Love letters (mutuals only) 

- I’ll write you a love letter 🥺

🎰 - Spin the Lottery! (mutuals only)

- send me a lil snippet about you (a hobby, your job, your music taste, etc) and a fandom (or not) I’ll pair you with a character from that fandom🤍

Send me a little something - a song, a character, a trope, a quote - anything to give me an idea, and I’ll make a mood board for you 🤍

If you need one for a story even! I’ll gladly help out 🤍

My requests are open for drabbles! Send me a character (it can be from one of my AUs! or not)  and one or two of the prompts from the list below, and I’ll whip up something small for you! As they get requested, they will be crossed off the list 🤍

Angst: 

"Don't go where I can't follow. . . I thought I lost you." (1/2)

"Why didn't you say how bad it was?"  (2/2)

"You shouldn't be out here by yourself."  (1/2)

"You're a mess"/"I'm not a mess."/"I can tell you've been crying."  (1/2)

"You were supposed to be different. They were supposed to be wrong about you, but they were right. They were so fucking right."  (2/2)

"What are we doing?"/"Why are you doing this?"  (1/2)

"I know you, how else do you think I found you so easily?"   (1/2)

"Choose me."  (2/2)

Fluff:

"You know my door is always open for you, right?"  (2/2)

"Will you taste this? Tell me if I'm missing anything?"  (1/2)

"Let me kiss it better."  (2/2)

"You're exhausted honey. Go back to sleep."  (1/2)

"Can I hold your hand?"  (2/2)

“Is that my shirt?” (2/2)

"Come get me? I miss you."  (2/2)

"You're not as bad as everyone says you are."  (2/2)

Smut:

"stop staring." / "i can't, you're so pretty like this" (2/2)

"Keep your pretty eyes on me."  (2/2)

"You're already wet sweetheart."  (2/2)

"What if someone hears us?"  (0/2)

"Let me hear you make that sound again."  (2/2)

"We shouldn't be doing this."  (1/2)

Characters: (spice it up by adding an au in the ask 🤍)

Bucky Barnes 

Marc Spector / Stephen Grant

Miguel O’Hara

If you don’t see who you’d like me to write for, just ask me about them and I’ll let you know if I’m open to writing for them!

Just have fun with this one and follow the rules below! I'm not really making a theme or anything like that, but if you'd like a prompt from me, just ask and specify what kind of prompt! Also feel free to DM me and bounce around some ideas if you need to!

Rules: 

Use the 'read more' option if what you write is over 500 words. 

Properly list your warnings. 

Your story does not have to contain smut if you don't want it to. 

Dark stories are okay, just no non-con, scat, underage characters involved in sexual activity, DD/LG, bestiality, necrophilia, etc. 

Please use characters that I know, from fandoms I'm in. (If you aren't sure what all is on that list, because I don't post about all of them, just ask!)

Tag me! And use the tag #remisneonparty

Make sure it can be read as a stand alone piece. 

The cut off for this will be the last day of August. I sometimes take forever to write something and want to give you all ample time to submit your stories!

Moodboard and all dividers were made by me, but feel free to use them if you’d like 🤍

Tagging some friends (no pressure!)

@sweetdreamsbuck @shamevillain @pocolatte @perdidosbucky-yyo @treatbuckywkisses @foreverindreamlandd @historygeekfics @barnesafterglow @navybrat817​ @jessybarnes​ @buckysdior​ @honeybloomss​ @banana-cheese-cake​ @sparkledfirecracker​ @sidepartskinnyjeans​ @real-jane​ @archive-obsess​ @mutual-monsters​ @bucksangel​ @thepsychewrites​ @starchildbucky​ @nexusnyx​ @lofaewrites​ @thornsnvultures​ @aquariusbarnes​ @captainsimagines​ @writing-for-marvel​ @heavenlybarnes​ @matchamunson​ @buckybleu​ @boxofbonesfic​ @chloelucia13​ @snugglingbucky​

#remisneonparty #milestone celebration #milestone sleepover #writing challenge #1.7k celebration #fandoms-writings #sleepover #open requests

[sixpossumsinatrenchcoat]

Talking to Ghosts

A postgame Omori epilogue exploring the way each member of the gang would cope after learning the truth. This time, Kel takes the wheel.

After Sunny gets into his mom’s car and leaves Faraway for good, Kel sits on his porch and Doesn’t Think About Anything. 

It isn’t easy. Kel just had one of the craziest nights of his life. Everything Sunny said in that hospital room is bouncing around in his brain like one of those DVD screensavers. Except instead of a tacky color-changing logo, it's the worst thing he ever heard. 

Luckily, Kel is very good at this game. He kicks off his shoes and digs his toes into the dirt. He plucks blades of grass and shreds them into spindly little threads. The bloody wreckage of Sunny's eye keeps surfacing in his mind, but it's way more fun to think about what he could IM Sunny about, now that Sunny has AIM. It’s even nicer to remember how tight Sunny hugged him before he left. 

…Man. It's dumb, ‘cause it’s not like he didn’t already, but. Kel is really gonna miss that guy. 

The sun climbs higher in the sky. The clouds scud by in no particular hurry. By the time the cool of morning heats to day, Kel is feeling sort of normal, actually. 

So, of course, that’s when Aubrey shows up. 

“Sunny,” she spits. 

Kel does a double-take. “Wh— Huh?? Where???”

“No, you fucking moron, I’m asking. Where the fuck is Sunny.”

Right. Classic Aubrey. Skipping straight to ‘physical violence’ is an insane first resort, but it’s par for the course, for Aubrey. When Aubrey feels bad, she can’t just hide it, like Hero, or swallow it, like Basil, or—freaking—think about literally anything else, like Kel. Aubrey would rather forge her hurt into a warhammer and swing it at anyone dumb enough to get close. 

They’ve had this fight a million times already. At this point, Kel could do it in his sleep. 

Even after all this time, he can’t help letting Aubrey piss him off. But he does manage to bail out before she can break all his bones with her nail bat, so. That’s probably personal growth. 

Kel gets all pissed off and stomps off and then stops being pissed off, because he hates being pissed off. He’s always hated feeling angry. It feels like poison in his blood. He doesn’t get how so many people can do it so much of the time. Why would you choose to feel bad when instead you could just… look at something else?

###

On his way inside, Kel blunders right into Hero.

“O-Oh! Sorry, bro!” 

“All good,” Hero says automatically. Reflexive. His eyes are rimmed with red, but he obviously doesn’t plan on talking about it. “You okay?”

Kel has to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Clearly, Hero is taking the news way, way, way worse than anyone. (Including Aubrey, who is currently, actively committing property damage about it). But of course he’d rather die than say so. 

“Totally,” Kel reassures him. “All good.”

###

It was the same when they were kids. 

Oh, Hero acts like he never gets mad. He acts like he’s too grown-up for that kind of thing. He’s even pretty good at it. He’s got Aubrey fooled, and Sunny. And obviously their parents (not that that one was much of a challenge. Mamá and Dad would believe anything if Hero was the one who said it). 

But Hero could never fool Mari. Mari was sharp, like Sunny. Perceptive enough to smell the lies on your breath. If you were hiding something, she could always draw it out of you. She’d soften Hero up with teasing and flattery and then hit him in his weak spot at the exact right moment, the perfect jab at the perfect angle to split him open like a fish. The good cop and the bad cop, all in one. 

Kel used to hear them sometimes. Once in a blue moon, when Hero and Mari were sure that no one was listening, they would even let their hair down a little. Take off their disguises and let themselves be less-than-perfect for a change. Sometimes it was Hero who was crying, and sometimes it was Mari. Sometimes both of them at once! 

But most of the time, they weren’t crying. They were pissed. 

Like in fourth grade, after Kel’s practice got rained out. Kel was soaking wet and past exhausted. All he wanted was to lie down and close his eyes and not even think about the stupid math test that he definitely flunked this morning. 

He was already reaching for the door when he heard the voices: pitched low and stretched taut, like a rubber band about to break. 

“—even matter!!” Hero was whispering. “If I’m too busy, it’s my fault for not helping; but if I do tutor him—instead of studying for my own finals!! By the way!! Which I really need to be doing!!!”

“I’m familiar with the concept,” Mari said drily.

“—then it’s still my fault for—what? Not helping well enough? I mean, what??? What do they expect me to do? Freaking… crawl inside his head and make him smarter?” 

Mari snickered. “You could hide a walkie-talkie in his hat. Like that Spongebob episode where he goes to driver’s ed.”

Hero huffed a tired laugh. “I just don’t get what they expect me to do. I’m not the one who still can’t do long division in fourth grade.” 

Kel froze with his hand on the doorknob. Okay. Yeah. He wasn’t sure for a second, but—yeah. They were definitely talking about him. 

Some people would probably pick a fight about it. Some people (cough, cough, Aubrey) would storm in guns a-blazing. And where would that get her? All the mean stuff she heard would still be in her head. Nothing would change, except that everyone would know that everyone knew that everything was worse than it looked. Kel didn’t want any part in it.

He backed away from the door. He backed all the way down the hall, and halfway down the stairs. Then—louder this time—he stomped up the steps and burst through the door to their room.

“Oh!” Hero looked very briefly panicked. “H-Hey, little bro! Short practice today?” 

“Uh huh! We got rained out! But look!!!” Kel bared his teeth, showing off the ragged hole where his canine used to be. 

Hero turned faintly green. 

“Grooossss!” Mari giggled. “Did you twist it out yourself?”

“Uh huh!”

She ruffled his hair. “You’re so cool, Kel. Don’t ever change, okay?”

Kel grinned up at her, gap-toothed and beaming. “You got it!!”

###

But everyone changes.

###

Kel opens his eyes in Basil’s room. 

It’s not how he remembers. Basil’s room used to be wall-to-wall leaves and vines and memories. Now it’s vacant. No photos. No sticky note reminders. None of Sunny's sketches on the walls. Just white paint and beige carpet and a pool of inky dark, slowly swallowing the floor. 

In real life, Kel wasn’t here for this part. He had to hear about it from Aubrey while they huddled outside the ICU, clutching each other’s hands hard enough to cut off the circulation and taking turns telling each other that it was going to be okay. But Kel’s brain must not know that. Because this time, he can see everything.

Basil kneels over Sunny’s chest. Sunny’s face is eyeless mush. A mangle of ground meat. 

There’s a blur of motion as Hero tackles Basil against the wall.

“Kel!” he bellows. He kicks the shears across the floor. “Kelsey! Now!!”

Oh. This is where he comes in. 

Kel jerks around to stare at Hero, who’s got Basil pinned by the throat. “Wh–What?”

“Hold him!!”

“Huh???” Basil isn’t even struggling. He's just dangling there. Bleeding.

“NOW!!”

On his way across the room, Kel almost trips over something on the floor. A body. Sunny’s. But Sunny was sleeping in the living room. Why would Sunny be on Basil’s floor? 

Kel looks closer. 

Sunny’s face is red. Sunny’s hair is slicked flat and his face is all red, only red without any eyes at all. His face is torn red and he’s—moving. He’s moving. He’s awake. He’s bleeding out and he can feel it happen because he’s still awake. 

Sunny looks at Kel without any eyes. Red sputters through his teeth. “Khrrrh—”

###

Kel wakes up gasping. Scrambles for his phone before he remembers that he doesn’t have Sunny's number. Does Sunny even have a phone? Would Kel even know if he did?

He stumbles downstairs to the family desktop. Sunny’s online. Big surprise. Sunny is always online, and never answers. 

Kel is so freaked out, he almost types, ‘Hey, are you okay?’

‘Hey, Sunny! Sorry, I don’t want to stress you out, but I’m really scared. I’m really scared for you Sunny. I can’t stop feeling like something bad is going to happen. I can’t stop dreaming that something bad is going to happen. But they don’t feel like nightmares. They feel like visions. Premonitions.’

‘Hi Sunny. Long time no see, haha. Hey, weird question: are you okay? Are you hurt? Please tell me if you’re hurting but please please PLEASE don’t lie. Sometimes I get so scared you’re going to die. Are you going to die? You have to tell me if you’re—’

Kel doesn’t type any of that stuff. 

He types, snnyyyy! u up? lol

He types, cant sleep haha

He types, wanna sneak out 2 hobbeez? ;) ;) ;)

Sunny doesn’t answer. Because he lives three hours away, and because he never answers. Whatever it is that Sunny wants, it’s obviously not to go to fucking Hobbeez.

Kel types, misss u bro. gna try 2 sleep. wishme luck :/

###

When he pads downstairs, he’s met with the hissing crackle of frying eggs.

“Mo~rning!” his mom sings out. “Thought I’d make breakfast, since it’s your brother’s last day!”

Right. Hero heads back to college tomorrow. Kel knew that. “Heck yeah! Can I help?”

“Vaya, vaya! I don’t need any more mess! Oh, and your friend got home from the hospital. You should go say hi! I’m sure he’d appreciate it.”

“My—” Kel sputters, before he remembers that she couldn’t possibly be talking about Sunny. Sunny lives three hours away. “Who??”

“The little blanquito. Que siempre parece como conejito mojado.”

Well, that’s definitely not Sunny. Which means that, by ‘hospital,’ Mamá meant ‘psych ward.’ Specifically, the wing for kids who tried to murder their best friend.

Kel’s eyes unfocus a little. The last time he saw Basil, it was—

(—pinned to the wall with Hero's elbow pressed into his throat. Beads of red dripping from his fingers. Even later, blanched and bloodless on the gurney, Kel could still see the blood crusted under his—

Basil wasn’t even very badly hurt, after. It looked a lot worse than it was, but that’s just ‘cause all his wounds were on his face. It’s not like Sunny’d had any way to defend himself. Just his own two hands. At worst, the marks might have got infected from all the grime under Sunny’s unwashed nails.)

“You should go see him!” Mamá says encouragingly. “I’m sure he’d be glad to see a friend.”

…Right. That’s what Kel is. A friend.

###

Basil really is back. He’s coming to school and everything. It’s—weird.

Not bad. It’s not bad. It’s just that talking to Basil is— Um. It’s sort of like playing a videogame about talking to Basil. Like Kel is watching himself from outside-in.

It was the same after Mari. Kel couldn’t wrap his head around why she did it. He couldn’t even stand to think about why she did it. So, he didn’t. He spent months on autopilot. Controlling his body remotely, like a mech pilot or something. ‘Press A to get out of bed.’ ‘Press B to put on your clothes.’ ‘Press X to bring your brother another meal that you both know he isn’t going to eat.’

“K-Kel?” Basil says again.

“Haha, sorry! Guess I spaced out for a second. I just wanted to say that it’s, uh. You know. It’s good to have you back! And if you ever need anything—someone to talk to, or to back you up if someone’s messing with you, or whatever—just, like, let me know.”

Basil doesn’t look up. He just keeps fidgeting with his fingernails, chewing a scab on his lip that’s already started to bleed. He obviously isn’t convinced.

“Hey, c’mon!” Kel whacks him on the arm, making Basil flinch. “You know we’ve got your back. If anyone gives you a hard time, you tell them to talk to me.”

If anything, Basil looks even less convinced. “...R-Right. Um. Thank you. I’ll… do that.”

Kel has to stop himself from scowling. He’s aware that he’s fucking this up. He just doesn’t understand why.

For a few years there, Kel was pretty sure that he was a good friend, at least. If nothing else. Now it turns out he couldn’t even get that right. In the end, it’s like everything else. No matter how hard he tries, it never seems to be enough.

What is it about friendship that he isn’t getting? Isn’t being friends just, like… hanging out, and going on adventures, and having a good time and stuff? Why is everyone so determined to make it into this big exhausting thing?

###

Kel is hanging out on Sunny’s porch again. Though technically it isn’t Sunny’s porch anymore. The For Sale sign is gone, so the sale must have gone through. But no one’s actually moved in yet, so. Not like there’s anyone to kick him out.

Kel isn’t moping, if that’s what you think. Being here is just a habit. Somewhere he goes to be alone. If anyone saw him here, they’d feel too awkward to approach.

…With one obvious exception.

Aubrey stalks across the lawn with her bat slung over one shoulder. The storm brewing in the air frizzes her hair to angry spikes. As usual, she doesn’t mince words.

“Are you seriously still doing this?”

Kel buries his face in his hands. “Why are you still so mad at me?”

“Why do you think?”

Thunder rolls. Lightning rends the sky, a violent gash in the dark.

“I don’t know!!” Kel shouts, too-loud in the ensuing quiet. “That’s why I’m asking!!”

Just for a second, Aubrey’s bat lowers. “...Are you actually fucking stupid? You totally iced me out. For years. In the worst time of my life.”

“I already apologized for that!!”

“I don’t care,” Aubrey snarls. Her goodwill has officially run out. “That doesn’t do anything! I’m not gonna get any less mad until you make it make sense!!”

Kel grimaces. “It’s— It was just…”

…It’s just that she was being so awful. At home, Kel was swallowed up by the black hole of Hero’s grief. And the second he clawed his way out into the light, there was Aubrey, choking, totally coming apart. Kel just wanted to feel okay for two seconds. Was that really so much to ask?

Wasn’t it bad enough that Mari was gone? Wasn’t it enough that Sunny left with her? There were plenty of times when Kel couldn’t get away from it. When he had to lock himself in the shower to keep from breaking down. But did it really have to be all the time? Always? For every second of every day?

Kel couldn’t even laugh at a joke without feeling like a jerk. Like feeling okay for a second was an insult. (Not to Mari, obviously. Mari was like Kel: she found the fun in every moment. Mari would be thrilled to see him whoop after landing a free throw, or laugh because a butterfly landed on his juice-stained shirt. And she’d hate how Hero and Aubrey were acting. So why was Kel the only one who was wrong?)

“I gotta go,” he mutters, jerking to his feet.

Aubrey barks a cold laugh. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

You can read Kel's chapter here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43929270/chapters/123048562

Or start from the beginning: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43929270/chapters/110454879

#omori fanfic #omori suntan #omori photobomb #omori kelbrey #omori epilogue #true end #this shit is effectively therapy (but only for me) #omori spoilers

[flowertab]

How about that new NWoS trailer?!

The following will consist of an overly long series of disjointed fangirl thoughts/ramblings.

First of all this game is beautiful. And it looks and feels like a true Layton game, which is the most we can possibly ask for! That feeling of curious surroundings, weird and wonderful buildings, a town where you want to explore every cranny…the developers had previously expressed doubt about creating a Laytonesque setting in America, but they succeeded.

I was so pleased to see that the classic screen by screen, ‘point and click’ dynamic is still in place! It looks like they’re embracing what makes Layton distinct without feeling the need to shake everything up. Bonus points for including the hint coin in the lamppost; sure to make any Layton fan feel right at home! Even Luke’s comment about the gears making him dizzy brings back memories of Unwound Future. One of my favorite new touches is how Layton and Luke are visible in the foreground as the scene is examined, it looks so dynamic and expresses the scale of their surroundings! It reminds me of the rare occasions in the games that you would actually see them outside of dialogue/events (like when they’re standing by the canal outside of town in Curious Village).

Speaking of Layton and Luke, they’re both looking great!! It just tickles me to see them in a fresh look but still very much themselves. Luke has definitely grown up, and his face shape is less round, but eyes are bigger/more animesque? It just gives him this very eager, bright-eyed look, and he does seem ready to take on anything! Since our only look at him so far from the previous teaser was more of an intense moment, it’s great to see his cheerful personality shining through. Even Layton comments that he seems to be having a splendid time, and who can blame him? He’s just having the time of his life to be at the professor’s side again! (On a random side note, Luke’s satchel seems to be missing. Does he not carry it anymore? Will he be taking on more action and it would’ve gotten in the way?)

Not only are Layton and Luke voiced throughout the trailer, but even the NPC guy is! This is pretty unusual. I wonder if there will be a lot more voicing in this game compared to the others, or if it’s just for the sake of the trailer’s flow. I also wonder if we’ll have a lot of little cutscenes like when the duo is approaching the correct door. The 3D animation looks much smoother (and less unintentionally humorous/distracting) than it did on the 3ds! That being said, I’m still holding out for the iconic 2D scenes to come back!!

The music is pleasant, and definitely reminiscent of Torrido, which makes sense as it’s also a Western American town (I think). And is that our new puzzle theme? I quite like it; the “music box” backdrop reminds me of Last Specter, while the rich instrumentation makes it stand out compared to the others. (I’ve heard it compared to PL vs AA multiple times though, so while I don’t remember that theme enough to say, I’m assuming that’s true!) I really like when that lilting harmonica (?) kicks in. I do, however, await the return of the iconic chunky accordion. The puzzle itself seems like exactly my favorite type, deduction/process of elimination. How cool to see the memo and everything being utilized right on top of the scene! It reminds you that the two are really solving a puzzle right in front of them. I wonder how this puzzle might change in the final game, as they’ve already shown the answer…oh, and let’s take a moment to appreciate that glorious solving animation! I recall two-person animations being a feature of the crossover that I really liked, and it only makes sense when the puzzle was solved by working together. Just seeing those two as a team again makes me so happy!!

This is more on the random side but…Eggmuffin? I mean, Eggmuffin? Is that really his name?? I had a hard time taking it seriously every time they said it. It sounds like one of those names that would be changed in localization—but then, if any series can get away with using something so silly until we just accept it and stop finding it weird, it’s probably this one. I have also heard it speculated that it may be an alias, though why he would want to be called this is beyond me.

All that aside, there’s just something about this game that already feels nostalgic to me, even while being so fresh and unexplored. I can only think that’s simply because it is a Layton game in every sense of the word. For a longtime fan who hasn’t experienced that anew in roughly ten years, it’s like coming home.

…and that is the only reason I can stand waiting until 2025! Oh dear, I hope they overestimated to play it safe, especially since reportedly the puzzles are all finished and production is moving smoothly. But, in the end, if it is truly the Laytonesque adventure it looks to be, it will be worth the wait—and I thank the development team for caring enough to not to rush it. I’ve waited this long.

(looks like I’ll be playing through the series again to help hold me over throughout next year! Layton fans, let’s hold fast! We’re in this together!)

#wow that was long #if you actually read to the end #or any of it honestly #thanks! #discussion and speculation are a big help in waiting for things #professor layton #professor layton and the new world of steam #pl nwos

[theinstagrahame]

More amazing games this last couple of months! Mostly from crowd funds, but with a couple of birthday gifts and the first installment of Zine Club in the mix!!

Here's a breakdown with some "why I wanted to check 'em out" hype!

DCC - Sailors on a Starless Sea: I recently got a copy of Dungeon Crawl Classics, and asked folks in the Plus One Exp Discord for recommendations, because I'd seen a few of 'em talk about DCC. This had at least two people recommend it! So, I'll be skimming it.

Emerald Templars: I was initially intrigued because of the South American creators and focus of the game, and can't wait to explore it further. The art and the overall quality of the book look great, and I definitely love seeing Fantasy stuff that's not Euro-centric.

Lichoma: Billed as a "meatpunk" game, I really needed to know what that meant. It's a dark, violent and interesting game with some neat mechanics (at least per the stream I watched).

Convictor Drive: This hit crowdfunders around the same time as the Dark Souls 5e came out, and I think while the Cowboy Bebop RPG was crowdfunding. So I was on a kick of really wanting to see more Japanese games get translated and brought stateside, which this was. It's an exosuit procedural super-detective kind of game, which intrigued me, even beyond the JP angle.

Overisles, Inspirisles, and the Shaping Deck: This one I'd been aware of for a while, having gotten Overisles in a Bundle years ago. It's an RPG that uses American or British Sign Language as part of the mechanics. It's supposed to help you learn ASL or BSL, and I've always been curious about those languages. The books are gorgeous, and they came with a pin and 2 really beautiful booksmarks

The Wizards & the Wastes: Big fan of Snow's work in general, but what got me (aside from the Howl's Moving Castle touchstone) was the ability to use art you already own (books, poems, music) as a focus for your character's magical abilities. It's a really gorgeous book and I've been wanting to bring it to a table. I also really love the mechanic where you bring someone from outside the game in to solve disputes.

Crush Depth Apparition: Spooky submarine horror is a good concept on its own, but I was also excited because it just looked so stylish. Plus, another thing through Snow's store, so I was into it.

Girl by Moonlight: Sailor Moon but make it Forged in the Dark. I'm in! Partner and I have been watching the original Sailor Moon. I've been playing and enjoying Beam Saber, and I kind of love the way FitD games deal with character growth.

Wreck this Deck: The pitch is: You trap demons in a deck of cards, and actually mark the cards as you go, creating a neat artifact of play as you go. So after a few plays, you have this really ominous deck of cards, some of which are super messed up or even missing. It's a rad idea, and I'm looking forward to messing up a $3 Bicycle deck.

Guys in Chairs/Spin The Bottle: This is part of the Zine Club shipment for the month, but I'm also a big fan of Dillin's work. I heard them play Guys in Chairs on Party of One, and it's a great game.

1978 - The Night They Came Home (and a Trick-or-Treat bag with rollable tables because why not): I backed this before I ever saw Halloween, but having gotten into those movies this past spooky season, I'm really into this. 2-player game where one of you is the killer, and the other is the person trying to run.

Fox Curio's Floating Bookshop: This looks beautiful, pastoral, and I love a good spiral binding. It's a journaling RPG about someone who runs a bookshop that floats up and down the river. It's super cute and I love it.

Nasty, Brutish, and Long: Friends at the Table put me in a revolutionary action mood, but I also really like the work that Not Writing Games puts out. Also been on a bit of a FitD kick lately (as previously established). I'm also going to pass by making jokes about the name.

The Corrupted: The other half of the Zine Club shipment for the month. I've heard extremely good things about this, and zombie horror is a fantastic genre in general. So I'm hype to dig in.

Hark! Says the Frog Magus: When this was first announced, I was bummed because I'd just lost my job and wasn't sure I'd be able to justify a purchase. So, a friend preordered it as a birthday gift (same friend later got me a different gift because they're a monster). Sin's work in general is rad, and this is adorable but also a great adventure, so I needed it.

I will take a second to highlight these two!

They came from the Plus One EXP Zine Club, and the sticker did too! And it's such a rad thing. A monthly subscription that brings some zines to my door, supports indie creators, and keeps the lights on for a community I care about. All Wins all the time.

I also received the expansion for Return to Dark Tower. I haven't really played Covenant yet, but I'm excited to try it out, because it adds some rad new models and some cool new classes, and a whole bunch of new skulls for the Tower.

#indie ttrpg #ttrpg #indie ttrpgs #zine club #board games #tabletop rpg #tabletop games

[revoleotion]

Baldurs Gate 3 headcanons?

SO SO MANY

Most of which will be revealed in my newest chapter of "alliance", so [eye emoji] look forward to this!

But here are a few more:

Gale is aroace. He doesn't realize it until he is asked to do "classic" romance activities and wishes he could just disappear

The others once (led by Wyll) plotted to secretly cook so that Gale doesn't have to do it. Gale took it very personally ("it seems like I am not needed here, then"), so they apologized and instead offer to help now

The crew unanimously decided to try and find an artist to commission a portrait of Astarion. The problem is that they all don't talk about it, so Astarion received a never-ending supply of portraits with varying styles (and of various quality)

Wyll has his nipples pierced. He did it to spite his father but now he actually likes them?

Omeluum's special brain wiring that caused it to be independent? Autism.

Balduran used to wear skirts on a regular basis

Shadowheart will get into the hair dye business again post game but this time it will be so many fun colors. I think she will also reunite with her friend (hint hint) and they might even date (if she's not dating anyone else at this point)

Ansur had a human kink and I will not elaborate on this one

Barcus had a crush on Wulbren (ok this is canon, I guess) and he asked him out once. Wulbren pretended not to get it – he's always thought of Barcus of someone lesser than him so it can't possibly have been serious, right?

Funnily enough, once Barcus finally puts his foot down, this might be the first time Wulbren was actually attracted to him. Too bad he had to keep up the facade and threaten him

I will talk more about this in my fanfic but Omeluum and Blurg have a support system that might inspire any other mind flayers who have broken free

Once the heroes leave the city, the dye business is in real danger because they were pretty much the only ones bulk buying that stuff

Balduran played a few instruments as a child but only kept those he could take with him

He once played a song on the piano together with Ansur (four-handedly? Is that the term?). The theme switched back and forth between both of their parts, and every time it happened, Ansur shot him a look and smiled. Balduran only missed a key once.

Ansur is a big fan of forehead kisses. Both giving and receiving them

Wyll sucked at fencing lessons as a kid. It was only when he realized why they were important that he improved... but he got his ass kicked in his early lessons and tournaments

(If he decides to break the pact), Wyll is together with Karlach when it finally happens. He wakes up, an empty hole in his chest where his powers used to be. Karlach knocks against her mechanical heart, just once, and says, "find something to fill it with, then". Wyll smiles a sad little smile. "I think I did. If you want to have me, that is"

#bg3 #headcanons #I'll think of more but. have this first

[azumetapraline]

11, 32 and 44 for the OTP ask game 🥺

For Metalor

Thank you for the ask bestie!!! 🥹

Actually, someone on Discord had already asked me a few numbers, including 11. So I will post here what I answered for their numbers, then answer yours! 😊

4. Which of the two listens to old music and which one is more into the newer stuff?

Meta Knight is absolutely into older stuff. Like jazz, classic, and maybe even opera. He does enjoy some rock, but loud things like electronic don’t interest him.

Magolor loves most music, but he vibes much more on dubstep, techno, drum & bass, etc. If it’s intense, it’ll stimulate his inattentive brain and make him happy!

6. Who holds a grudge the longest?

Oh boy I have to choose? 🤣

Well, it’s not that Meta Knight holds grudges for extremely long. But if you lose his trust, it’ll be hard to gain it back, but yeah, he does have a lot of trouble forgiving people when they hurt him or someone he cares about (glances at some particular characters perhaps related to mirrors or robots…!).

Magolor? Depends on who and what. He’s mostly chill, but if you really hurt him (or his ego), you’ll have to be prepared for some petty revenge.

11. Who’s the most eager to have kids?

Meta Knight. It’s not his lifetime goal, but also he did bring the subject a few times, and overall Magolor doesn’t feel like he’d want to be a parent. He isn’t the most patient guy in the world and he already knows a yelling baby would ruffle his fur.

So yeah, babies aren’t part of their plan (for now).

23. Which of the two would you rather team up with for a game of laser tag?

Meta Knight. Although both are smart, strategic and VERY competitive, I would much rather have a calm, rational teammate than a tryhard. XD

48. Who’d refuse to pay the others bail just to mess with them?

In reality, none would pay the bail; they’d bust in the prison, kick the guards’ asses and rescue their beloved and waving everyone goodbye.

But if we pretend they were sane and civilized citizens, I think Magolor would like, fake to refuse to pay for the bail and would go like “fine fine” when Meta would glare at him from the other side of the glass.

Now to Kesia’s numbers.

32. Who’s the first to apologize?

That’s a good question! Both are very, very stubborn, but if something important is at stakes they’re willing to do their part.

If we imagine two scenarios in which one said or did something to the other that hurt their feelings really bad, I think Meta Knight would do it first. Not because Magolor is less ready to admit his mistake, but because the way Meta Knight reacts when he’s upset is different. He’s colder and tends to isolate himself and overall feels unreachable. He can also respond with a lot of anger, while Magolor, even though he’ll also keep some distance, will be more prone to be sad, and he’d accept the apology a bit better than Meta would.

If it’s an argument and both are to blame, I’m not really sure what would happen. I think Magolor would apologize first more often, because he dislikes when they are in a fight like that, and while both miss the other, Magolor’s just a bit more adamant for them to make up. However, the opposite happens as well; Meta Knight is also mature, and he is also aware that they need to talk and admit their mistakes. He’s just struggling a bit more to break the ice.

44. Who would confess their love first?

In my interps, Magolor is the one confessing first. At one point, since they’re both a bit socially awkward, there’s this tension, the long stares, the nervousness, but they’re both too shy to confess their feelings.

I think Magolor would get flirty sometimes as “jokes”, but it would fluster Meta a LOT. But overall, he would be receptive (and still somewhat oblivious).

I’m not sure if that’s exactly what would happen in my interps, but now that I’m thinking, it would be funny if Meta ended up asking him about those “jokes”, unintentionally making Magolor embarrassed and he’d end up admitting those were not really jokes. Meta would then say he feels the same, and he’d like, idk, kiss him and they agree on trying a relationship! 😁

Thank you again for asking!!! And thank you to anyone who has read my ramble to this point, y’all are amazing! 🥹

Anyone is free to throw at me more numbers! Original post here!

#kirby #metalor #meta knight #magolor #azu's rambles

[silvergeek]

TrueGirlGaming is a subreddit made for women gamers.

All women and girl gaming enthusiasts are welcome to post topics here. Cis, trans, younger, older, etc. The goal is to focus on games, be positive, and have fun! Any gender is welcome to comment on posts.

This place is a refuge away from politics and negativity just as gaming is a refuge away from those things and more.

This is a positive subreddit for women and girls who want to focus on gaming recommendations, discussion, fanart, tech, screenshots, discounts, and news without all of the negative, repetitive venting. This is not a political sub nor a relationship advice sub, it is a gaming sub!

And - YES - tabletop gaming is absolutely welcome here.

Also, one of this sub's strongest suits is game recommendations. Many women and girls are new to gaming and need recommendations. Well, this is the place if that's what you need. Feel free to post your game recs, or post a request asking for game recs! We gotcha covered.

How r/TrueGirlGaming is different from other female gaming subs:

First off, I want to clarify that there is nothing wrong with having a safe place to vent about being bullied for being a woman. r/GirlGamers provides just such a place and it is no wonder that it has attracted thousands of redditors, for better or worse. There is nothing inherently wrong with having a safe space for that sort of dialogue.

Having said that, the venting posts in that subreddit became increasingly alienating to many gamers who simply wanted to utilize an online space for their favorite hobby. Women gamers often have a difficult time finding other female friends who play video games. (Especially the older we are.) In real life scenarios, the majority of women we interact with are not interested in, nor have ever been exposed to, the hobby of gaming (whether video games or tabletop games).

A lot of the redditors who flock to r/GirlGamers are looking for a fun space with likeminded women. And while it does offer that, to an extent, the subreddit is also littered with ongoing venting posts that claim to be on the subject of gaming -- but in reality it's a space to complain about men and boys. So, the focus no longer becomes about gaming, but instead turns into a session of "let's problem solve males".

r/GirlGamers has a big problem in that men are constantly the focal point of discussion, whether they are individual males or an amalgam of male varieties. Regardless of which, the discussions become heavily focused on what men are thinking, what men are saying, what men are doing. Many redditors post there about boyfriend troubles, more so seeking relationship advice -- not gaming advice. Perhaps this is cathartic for some gamers, but in my experience -- it wasn't healthy and I felt a longing for a space that was exclusively, 100% about video games, but all discussions are led by women!

Here is what r/TrueGirlGaming is really about:

- This sub encourages readers to branch out and play different types of video games, not just online shooters. Try out different genres.

​

- This sub values the classics. There are so many video games that date back 20, 30 years that have kicked off some of the most amazing franchises. Go. Play those. Discover what you missed because you weren't encouraged to play video games as a little girl.

​

- This sub values gaming recommendations. Lists, lists, and more lists. Make lists of some of the best games you've ever played. Advertise them. Tell everyone about them. Geek. Out. Show us screen shots, show us videos of your gameplay footage. Tell us about the mechanics of what you did. Tell us what you liked and what you didn't like. We need more gaming recommendations because so many women are new to gaming. And when they go looking for recommendations in default gaming spaces.... sometimes people can be pretty nasty to them.

​

- This isn't just a sub about video games. Table top gaming is quite popular right now. It doesn't matter if you're a woman -- learn how to become a Dungeon Master or Game Master! This practice is highly encouraged. I say this as a woman who DM's. It's not impossible. It's not even hard. It's very fun. If you can gun down 15 dudes, right between the eyes, in some online shooter -- you can build a fantasy world and take players on an epic adventure.

​

- This sub encourages female-developed games. I don't care if it's a card game or a 35 hour high fantasy RPG. Promote your gaming work here. Get your name out. Get support. This sub wants you to succeed.

​

- Lastly, this sub values enjoyment over negativity. We don't celebrate oppression here by ingratiating on it. We don't want a negative echo chamber that targets a the opposite gender that makes us feel like outcasts. We know we're outcasts. Gamers, in general, are outcasts, and it's even harder when you're a woman. We want to focus on what you can do. You can learn to branch out and try different games. You can learn to code. You can learn to design a tabletop game. You can join our discord and meet others who can collaborate with you. You can promote yourself here. You can show off your tech, geek out, and scream from the proverbial rooftops that you're so excited about a game's upcoming release. This is a positive space. This is a place to learn about gaming, strengthen your skills, and maybe - hopefully? - make friends. To do any of this is the best way to give a giant "fuck you" to anyone who ever told you that girls can't game. You can lift yourselves up without bringing others down.

So, that's what this sub is about. These are the differences between r/TrueGirlGaming and all the others.

​Life is short. Play some games.

#games #video games #gaming #trans women #women #girlgamer #women gamers #girl gamer #gamerguy #gamerboy #Bethesda #fallout #skyrim #zelda #dishonored #elder scrolls #okami #stardew valley #assassins creed #valorant #dragon age #mass effect #dungeons and dragons #dnd #d&d #critical role #critical hit #gamers #black feminism

[starkidsdraco]

Dream Starkid Jangle Ball Tour: Villain Song Setlist

So, I'm super excited about the Jangle Ball. Even if they don't play where I am, I'm just so happy they're going to tour again after all these years!

I've been randomly pondering what my dream set list for the 'Villain Song" section of the tour would be. If digital tickets are released and I see they have completely different songs, then that's totally awesome and pretty likely! I'd enjoy it a wild amount either way. This is just a little fun thing for me to think about and basically, me listing y personal favourite Starkid villain songs.

I tried to include mostly villain songs, but some are a stretch, some are Starkid tour classics and some are songs I just really want to see a live version of. I know they've said in livestreams that any song can be twisted (ha!) into a villain song, and they want to perform some songs in ways that they haven't been performed before, maybe with different performers than the originals. And they said they wanted to change up the set list a bit for different locations. That sounds very fun! And yep, my list is far too long for half a concert but I can't control myself.

My Dream Jangle Ball Setlist:

Twisted - Twisted

Let it Out - TGWDLM

Do you want to play? - Black Friday

The Web I Spin for You - NMT1

Into the Night - Firebringer

Different as Can Be - AVPM (Omg if AJ sang for Voldemort I would be so happy because all I want in life is an AJ Holmes and Brian Rosenthal duet)

Axe Man - NMT2

Not Your Seed - TGWDLM

Change in the Climate - Firebringer

Virginity Rocks - NMT2

Listen to Your Heart - MAMD (If the choice rested in my hands, I would list every MAMD song for this tour. Every single one xD)

Join Us (And Die) - TGWDLM (I cannot stress how important it is that this song goes right before Kick it Up a Notch! I need Jaime to belt "It's time to diiiiiiiiie" at the beginning and I need "all you gotta do is-" to transition straight into 'Kick it Up a Notch'. It is essential to everyone's well-being that this happens!!)

Kick it Up a Notch - Starship

Rogues Are We - HMB

Granger Danger - AVPM

Guys Like Potter - AVPS (If Tyler Brunsman doesn't join the cast, then Brian Rosenthal as Lucius and if Joe Moses doesn't join, then Brian Holden for Snape!)

The Way I Do - Starship

Wagon on Fire - TTO

Missing You - AVPM (I'm guessing it's unlikely Darren will join them (but you never know!), so James for Harry!)

Wizard of the Year (Gilderoy) - AVPSY

Big T's Temptation - MAMD (please, it's all I've wanted since birth. No one will ever understand how much I love Big T and this song *cries*)

It's Not Over Yet - AVPS (If Tyler Brunsman doesn't reprise the role, then Brian Holden as Lucius!)

Going Back to Hogwarts - AVPM (The Villain is the old, majestic owl who lost my letter to Starkid's Hogwarts, gave it to that infamous Hogwarts Jaguar, who, with his soft adorable paws that he trips over when he's running too fast, took out a knife and put it in the shredder all those years ago. That rat bastard!)

What would be your dream Jangle Ball Tour 'Villain Song' setlist? If you can twist it into a villain song, then pretty much any song is fair game!

#starkid #team starkid #starkid returns #lauren lopez #joey richter #meredith stepien #jaime lyn beatty #dylan saunders #brian holden #brian rosethal #aj holmes #corey dorris #curt mega #kim whalen #clark baxstresser #james tolbert #clark baxtresser #jamie burns #mine #jangle ball tour #starkid jangle ball #starkid jangle ball tour

[rawrienstein]

Cool Games of 2022 that I liked

This guy launched with a pretty rough beta and honestly still isn't complete, but it's probably the most enjoyable co-op level based shooter that I've ever played. I've heard Fatshark is pretty good at creating additional content for their games, but you really shouldn't buy a game based on what might be coming. The moment to moment gameplay is just good. It's just really good. Also it's visually incredible...if your graphics card can handle it. (on a 3070ti with DLSS on quality and sometimes I drop to below 60fps at 1440p)

Pkmn LetLet def needed more time in development, but honestly this is probably the most interesting pkmn game overall. I personally only experienced one crash during my play time and performance has been fine. Like, I expect a switch to crumple under the weird expectations this game has, they should've designed those parts better, but even then. It's still a very compelling game. I like the openness, I liked exploring (even if it rarely hit 30 fps), I liked catching new funny little dudes, I liked the characters for once because they don't feel so one dimensional. Competitive is wild right now, lots of interesting teams and weird new stuff. I do hope they continue modifying the pkmn formula, I really want more for co-op. Anyway, I do hope they just slow down with pkmn and the devs can get their shit together properly.

I highly recommend if you're a fan of PS1 horror games. A dystopian sci-fi setting with Lovecraft themes and RE1~esq controls and puzzles and excellently executed anime art style. Everything about this game just works.

PLEASE NOTE THIS GAME DOES HAVE A LOT OF FLASHING IMAGERY AND DOES NOT HAVE A WAY TO TURN IT OFF.

A DOOM-like that takes being called that as a compliment. If you like fast-paced old school shooters, you'll love it. It's got dudes to shoot and you have bullets to feed them. Pretty excellent level design, some bits that make it just a little more engaging than point gun and dude, but not enough to disrupt flow. I really had a good time with it.

I kickstarter'd this game and I'm glad I did. It's a great puzzle platformer with a funny gun that is also a frog. I really love ps1 aesthetics and low poly art and this game does a great job with it. It's also fun to replay and speedrun levels. The frogun's sticky tongue latching on to walls to move around quickly is fun.

Absolutely excellent sprite work with gameplay improvements to an already good beat'em up base. If you need a beat'em up to play with friends, this one is my go to.

It sure does like to say capitalism sucks a lot, and that's a pretty good feature. Enjoyed the story and the characters, the beginning is really tense, but it loses that about a quarter of the way in (which I kinda miss). Still, you'll mostly enjoy following character stories and trying to do the best you can looking for your preferred ending with a funny dice system

Finally, a voxel based game that isn't terrible and actually takes advantage of being voxel based. Tons of creative solutions and interesting challenges. Unfortunately does need a pretty good rig to enjoy a lot of the visuals, but it does looks really good too.

I really liked Shadow Tower and King's Field. There's something really appealing about first person dungeon crawlers. The world here is interesting and full of secrets. Exploration is fun, but sometimes really tense (in a good way). Also, of course, I like ps1 aesthetics and this one really nails its look within that visual style while still feeling like it's own.

It's still in Early Access, but the content that's there is honestly worth it.

Yeah, it's good. Play it. I wrote a bunch of stuff about it before that felt negative overall, but it's still a great game (and better than the majority of other over inflated budget games).

Good job FromSoftware, now stop overworking your employees and please just take care of Armored Core 6. PLEASE REMEMBER THE ANTI-CAPITALISTIC THEMES OF ARMORED CORE. PLEASE REMEMBER THEM. PLEASE DON'T WATER DOWN HOW MEGA CORPORATIONS RUINED THE WORLD OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I WON'T FORGIVE YOU IF YOU DO. I'LL MAKE MY OWN STUPID MECH GAME GOD DAMN IT.

QUICK LIST OF GAMES THAT I'M PROBABLY GOING TO RECOMMEND BUT I HAVEN'T COMPLETED

Super Lesbian Animal RPG Lunistice Goodbye World Gloomwood UraGun Scorn

#rawri makes a funny video games list

[fractualized]

Got tagged by the fabulous @distort-opia​! Picking a fifth fave fic was hard, but here's what I landed on:

- On the Mend (Free John Doe Part 1, rated Teen and Up) - Backstitch (Free John Doe Part 2, rated Explicit) I hadn't written fic for 5 years when I played Enemy Within. I started a one-shot when Episode 4 came out, but when Episode 5 emotionally crushed me, it got me thinking about the kind of life John could have had if he stayed within the bounds of the law, if he had the opportunity to actually learn how he wanted to live his life and to have Bruce be a part of it. I pictured John being the lead of a colorful variety show in some run-down club and finally getting a kiss from his beloved buddy. And I could have done it as an AU where Enemy Within didn't happen, or a flash-forward set years later, but I felt so attached to John as he is that I *really, really* wanted that scene to happen in canon, and I wanted it to feel plausible and earned. So over the next 2 years I wrote 212k words. I still need to finish editing it, but I'm pretty proud I saw it through. :)

- Another Version of the Truth (rated Teen and Up) AVotT was a way for me to skip to Bruce and John being cute as hell while plodding through OtM and Backstitch, and I'll admit I'm sometimes a little :\ that it's more popular than those two. But I get it! It's got the Pact acting more like a semi-functional family, it's got Bruce freely being fluffy as heck with John, it's got loads of silliness— uh, until it doesn't. Oh ho, it's all fun and games until the author's angst instincts kick in!

- Give and Take (rated Explicit) I'd written comicsy batjokes darkfic before and was looking for a regular old batjokes idea to take hold, and suddenly a Discord conversation about financial domination kink turned into a speedrun of classic batjokes tropes (and not so much findom). Each plot point flowed so easily into another that I cranked this out in a couple weeks. Why can't that happen more often? x_x

- A Man Possessed (rated Explicit) This is one where I happily flash-forwarded to a postcanon John who managed to get re-released from Arkham because handwavey flibbaflabbum. The idea sprouted from another Discord conversation about incorporating lexjokes into the Telltale universe, and in my head it went from jokey flirting to full relationship drama. John doesn't cheat, but he sure came close with the chemistry he turned out to have with Telltale Luthor and how much fun I was having cutting Bruce down a peg. And then there's rough semi-public make-up sex! (though I sometimes still think about a sexy angsty cheating dramafest don't judge me)

As for my WIP list... oh boy. I haven't posted links to my own darkfic (noncon, etc) on here, and none made the above list, but hey, I’ll discuss the Bad Times WIPs if anyone wants to hear about them. Although picking them out is like half lottery since the word "dark" is missing from most of them. The silliest sounding one is probably the worst!

Even after some curation, the list is still way too long.

I'll just be tagging @fordarkisthesuede​ and @mystrothedefender​, if they want to join in, but anyone else who'd like to should feel free!

#telltale batman #batjokes #fanfic #my fic #WIPs #challenge

[triviareads]

Titan by Jillian Graves

For those of you who wanna celebrate spooky season with a monsterfucking book, Titan is a really sweet book (a "cozy" monster romance, as it's described) with plenty of sex, ft. a former child star who's been conned out of her money by her mother and manager, so needs to turn to sugaring to earn money. Enter Titan, a billionaire daddy dom who is also, surprise, a gargoyle.

Salt Kiss by Sierra Simone

So, I think I wrote so much about Salt Kiss in September I was pretty much deluged with ads for it this entire month (and made a game of collecting them like pokémons 💀).

I've shrieked enough about Mark Trevena and Tristan and Isolde (here's my review, and see here, here and here— shoutout to that hysterical bonus scene), but reflecting on the book, it's been a while since I read a modern romance with such high stakes (what are the stakes? As of the end of Salt Kiss, god knows, but all three mains are quite capable of killing people) that that's something I'd been missing ever since I finished Kennedy Ryan's Kingmaker duology. Sierra Simone knows how to write a romance that is not only all-encompassing, but also has enormous ramifications for the world the story is set in, and I've come to enjoy that. If anyone has similar recs, let me know!

The Cutthroat Countess by Minerva Spencer

I'm on a stabby heroine kick this month, it seems. This book comes out October 24th, and here is my full review.

The Duke Gets Desperate by Diana Quincy

Here is my full review. I said something similar about Adriana Herrera's Las Leonas series, but I hope this book is considered a historical romance classic a few years down the line because it showcases the best of the genre— the enemies-to-lovers of it all, a clever businesswoman, a hero panting like a dog after the heroine, the zany antics and dumb schemes— while also proving that yes, you can write a historical romance with diverse characters without it feeling anachronistic as some readers like to say when a historical doesn't exclusively feature cis-het white characters.

Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne

I spend a lot of time complaining about Pride and Prejudice inspired media (and ill-thought out P&P comparisons) on here, but I have nothing but good things to say about Pride and Protest. I love how Nikki Payne set the story in southeast DC and centered the plot around gentrification and grassroots activism.

On a romance level, I always appreciate when the Elizabeth Bennet-inspired character (in this case Liza, a Black DJ and community activist) is a messy gal, and her mistaking Dorsey (who is Filipino but adopted by a wealthy white family) for The Help was HYSTERICAL. She and Dorsey have insane chemistry (their time stuck at "Netherfield" especially was loaded with tension; you thought the hand flex farewell in P&P 2005 was hot? read this), and in case you were worried like I was, no they do not wait until the end to sleep together.

Wicked trilogy by M. James

There are a lot of KU mafia romances out there so it's been tough to find ones that hit the sweet spot for me. This trilogy was just the right level of unhinged without gratuitous violence or mafia tradwife stuff. To do a simple breakdown, Wicked Brute is about Mikhail being pissy about Natalia killing her dad before he could and getting multiple lap dances from her without being sure if it actually is her (idiot), Wicked Beauty mostly consists of her chained to his bed (I did a chapter count and it's at least 3/4ths of the book), and Wicked Vow has a very "oh how the turn tables moment" on that front before there's a resolution. For anyone looking for a well-written mafia series, M. James might be your answer.

#trivia's book round-up #book recs #minerva spencer #nikki payne #diana quincy #sierra simone #jillian graves #m. james #23for23 #romance novels #historical romance #contemporary romance #mafia romance

[supagogoman]

My thoughts on Sonic Frontiers!

I beat Sonic Frontiers. Here is my review of the game:

tl;dr It's very good

But let's talk about the flaws first, because there are a lot of flaws with it. For starters there's a couple of minor issues I could talk about, such as the draw distance which is very distracting in an open world game. I also want to murder whoever thought it would be a good idea to have you level up your Speed and Ring Capacity ONE LEVEL AT A TIME so you have to continuously read some stupid FUCKS dialogue and select from a dialogue option EVERY TIME you want to level up ONCE.

A more glaring issue for me is that I'm still not fully convinced this game needed to be open world. Frontiers was interesting in that it had a kind of inverse of the "Sonic Cycle", which refers to the phenomenon that occurs prior to the release of many Sonic games where fans hype up a new game as "It's actually GOOD this time!" and then it comes out to middling reception and everyone laments how bad it is until the next game where the hype begins anew. This time, Frontiers was met with skepticism and confusion on it's announcement and reveal; no one really understood the concept of an 'open world' Sonic game. Having played the game now myself I think I do understand the concept, but it still feels a bit off to me. It's not that it's executed poorly, but I think the concept from the beginning is flawed.

All the islands in Sonic Frontiers are vast, sweeping, beautiful vistas to explore. The geography is interesting to both play in and theres plenty to do in these islands, but mainly it's about collecting memory tokens around the island, portal gears from bosses and keys to get chaos emeralds. Much of these collectables are found in the various platforming sections in the island which are usually platforms, rails and springs dotted around the world. These are actually pretty enjoyable, but my issue is they really feel like what happens if you took a traditional Sonic level and blew it up with a bomb, then took all the pieces that scattered and arranged them on a field. Maybe thats a bad analogy because this explosion didn't ruin the Sonic level, and the parts are still functional, but you can almost see what the levels used to be, and what we could have had instead. These mini platforming sections also often clash with the feel of the openness of the world. This is most aggregious on the third island, where many of these platforming sections are in 2D; once you enter one of these sections you're locked in a plane and forced to complete a section before you can get out of it.

Meanwhile the closest thing to a proper Sonic level we get are the Cyberspace missions, which are also pretty enjoyable and well designed but feel a little underwelming with the reuse of level themes from Green Hill, Chemical Plant, Sky Sactuary and some city. It's especially dissapointing if you've played Sonic Generations and know they just took all the assets from that game. Again, these Cyberspace missions are generally well designed and fun, but gone are the spectacles and variety of a more traditional Sonic level. Levels designs take inspiration from some classic games like Sonic Adventure 2, but it always left me missing the themes of those levels instead.

Another issue I have is the combat, more specifically, Sonic's moveset. I don't know exactly how I can describe it because I want to say it's both too simple and over complicated. Fighting enemies is generally pretty good, if a little simple; much of the time you're mashing the homing attack. Once you unlock more moves you can mix it up with the stomp combo, flying kick, homing shot etc, the use of the cyloop to break enemy guard is fun and if you're feeling flashy you can counter and dodge moves. All that is fine and easy to understand, but my issue is Sonic learns too many moves to the point there aren't even enough buttons on the controller to accomodate them. Some of these moves overlap too; early in the game you unlock Sonic Boom where Sonic flies in the air and fires lots of projectiles at the enemy. Later in the game you unlock Cross Slash, a move where Sonic again flies in the air and fires projectiles at the enemy. I still don't understand why two beam projectile moves are needed, but worse still is the fact Cross Slash is Boost + Jump during combat, making this a move thats quite easy to input accidently. Similarly, homing shot and flying kick are both good moves, but for me it's not clear why I would use one over the other.

So after all that, you might be thinking I don't like the game but truthfully I liked it a lot, and I think it holds a lot of potential for future Sonic games. Ultimately I think where the game succeeds is how Sonic handles. In my opinion this is the best he's ever controlled ever; he's fast and responsive, easy to maneuver and even very lenient with jumps, allowing you to correct missed jumps a lot of the time in mid air. I honestly believe this is fundamentally the largest pillar holding the game up as high as it is, because it's what makes running around the open world doing all the disjointed platforming sections scattered about so much damn fun. Often the game would tell me to go to a waypoint on the map to continue the story, so I'd try to go there, only to be distracted by a spring or a rail along the way that I'd gleefully leap onto that takes me on it's little platforming or rail grinding section whilst it dopes me up on virtual crack and releases the happy brain chemicals, and each time this happens I'm usually rewarded with rings and a memory token. Then when I finish that section it ends with a launch pad that conveniently lands me near another spring or rail that takes me on ANOTHER ride around the mountain and before I know it an hour has passed and I've made no progress in the plot.

This extends to the Cyberspace missions too (though as a caveat Sonic runs slower in these sections). Whilst Cyberspace lifts level designs from games like Generations it also takes stages from Sonic Adventure 2 and the fact that Sonic handles both the boost heavy stages and more 3D platform focused stages with ease shows how much more versatile this iteration of Sonic is. It made replaying the stages for speed runs a lot of fun.

This is basically why dispite my claim that the open world concept is flawed, Sonic Frontiers is still fun to just sit down and blast through. But maybe next time we could have the best of both worlds? Since this iteration of Sonic handles Cyberspace so well I don't see why they couldn't make the next Sonic game more focused around those kinds of levels. Bring it back to the traditional style of multiple zones with varying themes to keep the game feeling fresh throughout. We don't even have to lose the open world, either, as games like Sonic Adventure 1 have had it's traditional stages linked together in a hub world like Station Square or Mystic Ruins. Why not have a more intricate, maybe slightly downscaled world that links these traditional stages together, that also contain more content and fun things to run around on and collect that fill the space between the normal stages?

I should also mention briefly the other positives. The writing is definitely a step up, the banter between characters feels good and there's genuine emotion in the story without it feeling too overdramatic. The throwbacks to older Sonic was fun, and a welcome change after every other Sonic game felt like it's own continuity, and it didn't feel forced either. The music is fantastic as usual, and the Super Sonic boss fights were absolutely the highlight of the game for me, I had the biggest damn smile in that first boss fight. Genuinely the best Super Sonic has ever been.

Anyway I dunno what they'll do for the next Sonic game, but I guess after this game it feels like the futures bright for Sonic, and I'm looking forward to what comes next! (Although Generations had me feeling hopeful for the future of Sonic too and look what happened after that).

Now if you'll excuse me I need to find out how to order the soundtrack for Sonic Frontiers

#Sonic Frontiers #my dumb opinion of video game #blorg post