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lfghughes · 11 months

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This Ain’t Over Yet (pt. 2)

a/n: if you guys like this one and want a third part let me know because i have a heck of a pt 3 planned.

warning: cheating, cursing, a little bit of steamy making out

It was in between game days so you and Sebastian had decided to fit in all those New York cheesy things in, getting plenty of pictures and videos throughout your day. You enjoyed your time with Sebastian so you weren’t sure what Jack was going on about when he said you were bored with Sebastian. But the words had been haunting you since last night and you hated that you were even thinking about his words while you were out with your boyfriend.

By the time you two had made it back to the hotel you were both exhausted but you had made plans to go out with some of the girlfriends from New Jersey. Even though your thing with Jack hadn’t worked out the way you had wanted it to, you still maintained a good friendship with them and you were excited to spend time with them. It was a girls night that you were looking forward to even if you were exhausted.

“Look at you.” Sebastian grinned from where he was laying on the bed, moving so he could sit up. “Gorgeous as ever.” How could you be bored of someone who gave you compliments like this. Who you didn’t worry about not being interested in you or just leaving when he made it very clear how much he loved you. “Ugh, I think I would rather stay in bed with you.” It was an empty complaint. You would love it but at the same time you and Sebastian both knew how excited you were for this. “You are going to have so much fun and I’ll be here when you get back.”

On the car ride over you decided Jack was wrong, he just thought you were bored but the reality was you were just in a healthy relationship. Immediately when you saw the girls your thoughts had gone elsewhere and hugged all of them. This was going to be a great girls night and nothing could ruin these vibes. A round of shots went out to all of you and the music in the club was actually pretty good. Everything was going smoothly until you guys were approached by a group of guys.

Not just a group of guys, once your eyes really settled on them you noticed they were a mixture of the boyfriends and some of the other boys. Yup, there was Jack amongst them. You couldn’t help but groan, knowing he would probably be a pain in the ass. “Don’t look so excited to see me.” He was starting off strong and you weren’t going to deal with this. After getting yourself another drink you hung around everyone else continuing your good night with your friends.

“You look hot.” A familiar voice said in your ear and you felt chills go all the way down your spine as you looked up at Jack. You hated him so why did it feel like he could suck all the air out of the room. “Thanks.” It’s like the words were almost stuck and you hated this feeling. “Can you come with me to grab another drink?” He nodded his head as he followed you to the bar. You waited your turn and it seemed like it would be a while before anyone made their way to you.

You felt Jacks hand go to the small of your back and you should have stepped away but you realized you liked the feeling of it there. The reassurance you felt with his hand there. “Do you miss it?” He asked, nodding his head back towards the group and you nodded your head. It was the truth, you liked hanging out with everyone in Carolina but you didn’t feel like the family the way you did up here.

Before you could even think, Jack grabbed a hold of your hand and pulled you along with him. You had no clue what he was doing until he pulled you out through an emergency exit door into a stairwell. “Uhm??” You asked, completely confused about what he was doing. “There’s no privacy in there and last thing we need is videos of us circulating the internet.” You were about to question what the big deal was with that but before you could get a word out his lips were on yours.

Your hands went to his hair, fingers tangling into his brown locks as you kissed him back. There were absolutely no thoughts in your head except what was currently happening in the moment. He backed you both up until your back hit the wall and his hands moved all over you, his lips were on yours one minute the next they were on your neck before going back to your lips. You could feel his hands go to the bottom of skirt, his fingertips grazing your skin and you were about to see how far he would go when clarity hit you of the situation you were in.

“Jack, stop.” You pushed him away, catching your breath. It was hot in here, way too hot and you felt like you couldn’t breathe. “You shouldn’t have done that.” You told him, not giving him a chance to respond before walking away. You left the club, going straight back to the hotel. Once you got there you noticed Seb was still awake in bed where you had left him. You changed into one of his t-shirts, your favorite one to sleep in to be exact and slipped into bed. The guilt was eating you alive but you didn’t want to have this conversation with your boyfriend right now about what happened tonight.

You slid in closer to him and his arms went around you, kissing the top of your head like he usually did. “Did you have fun?” He asked and you nodded your head. How could you have done this to him? Right now you hated yourself and didn’t even want to talk to him too much because you knew you’d start crying “I’m just ready to go home and back to our life.”

#jack hughes #jack hughes x reader #jack hughes imagine #jack hughes blurb #( this aint over yet ft jack hughes )

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carecrowgames · 10 months

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Yazeba Read Through Session 3

Today was pretty busy so todays reading is gonna be only of page 17, but I want to keep up doing these daily. On the other hand, page 17 is the dramatic personae so there is a lot of meat to chew on!

Reading the book this slowly really makes me appreciate how seriously it takes creating a strong image of the bed and breakfast, its characters and storytelling genre, as well as the feeling that you are being drawn Into the world of a BOOK. Idk seeing a dramatic personae in a ttrpg book just excites me ~~

This where part of me wishes I knew EVEN LESS about the book. Because what yazeba IS, is such a unique thing in the ttrpg space and I would love to be able to see how my brain puts the nature of the beast together as I read it. The dramatic personae would probably be even more exciting then! On the other hand knowing a bit of what’s to come means I can try and find out how it builds up to it with some forth sight so I don’t mind it at all.

Btw, I love how the little symbols next to the characters serve as mnemonic devices to remember core ideas of the characters. Yazeba being a heart that was broken several times over but still holds together sticks out as especially strong to me.

In general, while I believe strong design elements are those that fulfill several functions, I also think any one function should be fulfilled and reinforced by several design elements as well. The way the book layers, builds and reinforces information, themes and vibe of its characters so far is I think really strong - and necessary, if you want people to want to inhabit and explore them!

Because no mortal can stop me, I will give some notes on each of the character introductions:

Gertrude: "Capable beyond expectations" is such a wonderful and kind genre phrase, I just really love how much the book itself cares for Gertrude, it makes it impossible for the reader to not also care about her.

Sal: I did not expect Sal to have been yazebas dropout apprentice! What an absolutely amazing combination with wanting to be a Rockstar. I have so far mostly appreciated how this book deploys its genre space but it can't be unsaid how cool the specifics of the characters and world it is building is. Sal being a cool dropout lyricist who wants to be a Rockstar is a great character, but making him a dropout WITCHES APPRENTICE? absolutely in love with the idea I'm so hooked. Once again, I would read an entire book with him as the protagonist based on this premise alone!

Hey Kid: This page also has the first mention of Hey Kid!! They are one of the characters I come in knowing the most about, because they appeared so prominently in the advertisement of the book, and I am so excited to see more of them!! For now, i can only say: what an incredible name, it says so much of the character and their sense of identity and role in the b&b, even before you know they are a delightfully rambunctious devil-child. Like, of course they are, they are called Hey Kid!

Speaking off it, as you see I decided I will take the advertisement into account when I discuss my experience with this book – it is part of the paratext afterall, and I find with most ttrpgs people will most likely enter them with some amount of outside knowledge, that is propably informed by the games advertisement and strongly informs how they interpret the text. Sadly I don’t have an absolutely garbage memory, so what I remember of the advertisement campaign is full of holes. On the other hand, the fact that my entire brain lights up when I see Hey Kid makes pretty clear how delightful the voice of the character is and how well it stuck with me over the months. In that way the advertisement gave me yet another narrative hook to enter the world through, because I can easily imagine what sort of hijinks Hey Kid might get up to, and have a very clear voice in mind with which I could play them.

Parish: Here is where I have to admit that I already knew who the frog on the cover was, and that it is likely to be the first character I’ll play once I get a game of Yazeba together. I have an incredibly soft spot in my heart for gentle but burdened knights. Once again an amazing take on this character type, making him a frog and not-a-knight-anymore but instead someone who makes sure people get to eat is just *chefs kiss*. Immediately such a range of characteristics to combine and play with and apply to each other. Btw, I feel like with the way this book builds up characters from interconnection and layers information about them, that the wizard who cursed parish might come up as a guest or a chapter. Super curious, because this is yet another narrative thread I can see myself wanting to pull on as the story progresses.

Amelie: And here we have our teased at robot! I am actually the most unsure about what to make of Amelie from the vibe I have of them so far, which means reading that they also don’t know who they are supposed to be strikes a fascinating chord with me.

Yazeba: I love the playful way the book is written, especially when it surrounds Yazeba who stands in strong contrast to that playfulness and is all the more characterized by it. I am also amazed by how strong she is characterized already. I feel like I have a very clear picture of how she moves through the B&B, and also the way people behave around her, both in space and in relationship.

The Moon Prince: As predicted, our resident to be! I was curious how the book would build them up, considering they are the first of the locked characters. Would I only know of them once I get to the locked characters, would I read of how to unlock them in the early chapters, etc. I think it works really well for me that the expectation that they will join the cast is build up this early on. It gives a first hint at the very unique unlocking mechanics that are core to the books narrative construction and an immediate motivation to want to engage with them. And what a motivation it is! I am a sucker for romantic melancholics and the image evoked by the prince is such a wonderful picture of longing. It just gets me!

It also somewhat reminds me of the French childrens book the little prince. In honor of that I’m adding a french piece to the playlist. “Comptine d’un autre été, l’après-midi” is I seem to remember the first ost playing in the french-german cult hit The wonderful world of Amelie. It creates a melancholic mood that helps me imagine the prince staring out of his window, so there it goes into the playlist.

We end the page with a promise that there will be many guests to come, building first expectations for yet another part of the narrative structure. And the Rabbits in the Garden who wear little outfits are mentioned to! Yazebas realy knows what names will tempt me xD

That’s it for today. I ended up writing way to much for one page, but the introduction of every resident felt like something I couldn’t jump over quickly. See you tomorrow!

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you can find my other Yazeba readthrough posts under #zeebthrough!

Preorder the game on https://possumcreekgames.com/pages/yazebas-bed-breakfast

#yazeba's bed & breakfast #possum creek games #ttrpg #zeebthrough

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doubleddenden · 8 months

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so i beat the main story of Teal Mask, and I decided to try something wildly different with my dlc team than i usually do

More under cut

I was told the levels would be somewhat similar to IoA- roughly level 60s, so I made a very rough decision to box a lot of mons I actually WANTED to take with me because they're just too over leveled.

So instead of using like 3 pokemon i've used from my main team, 2 transfers, and 1 new pokemon, I decided to use... well, 1 mon from a past team transferred in to get me started, 1 mon for that that actually stuck, and 1 mon from my base game that I never really used. And in the case of H Samurott, I mainly had him at the very beginning until i could catch a new water type- I have this thing about needing certain colors and types. The rest are mons I caught and raised entirely in Kitakami.

Gotta say, it was refreshingly difficult. I actually had to work to get them high enough level because- spoilers- it's actually not that easy in Kitakami, and it actually gets harder- like level 70 and higher bosses harder- like teams comprised of level 70+ pokemon. I probably COULD have brought some old Pokemon and still have had trouble, but I decided on this bit and I stuck with it for a pretty refreshing team.

So, with that said, my team:

Hisuian Typhlosion- Shogun. Actually, this is the one non Paldean Pokemon I ended up keeping on my final team, and ended up the highest level. I caught after my Legends Arceus playthrough, and he's actually the same one pictured here

he served as my "starter" for Kitakami and did an okay job at it. Not quite as powerful as I'd like, but I always wanted to get another chance to try using one- and I got it!

2. Yanmega, Racer- My first catch upon entering the region. Always wanted a Yanmega! It's a lot cooler than expected- a bit of a glass cannon, but fun nonetheless.

3. Poliwrath, Fesh Pince- I think I used one a long, long time ago as a kid, but that Poliwrath has been lost to time. This one is named after a Poliwrath I had a fan game playthrough I did, and that one is named after the Fesh Pince of Blair- a stupid but funny youtube poop of Fresh Prince. I often found myself saying "We've got to attack him" as I tossed him out. He pulled some decent weight and was crucial as a wall in catching Okidogi and Fezandipiti.

4. Morpeko, MorMarnie- Okay so... She sucks lol, but it literally attacked me out of the blue and I decided I like how cute it is- especially Hangry mode. It did have one or 2 good victories and moments, but it did lose a lot lol. But still, I like having at least 1 designated "buddy" pokemon on my team anyway.

5. Baxcalibur, Hollabax- This one was added after I wasn't feeling certain vibes from my team, and it fixed it right up. He didn't even have a nickname until a few minutes ago- I was planning originally to use it in my first SV run, but I got too attached to my Cetitan after it literally waddled up to me and let me catch it in one ball throw as a baby. Hollabax is strong though, gave me a bit of a needed boost when things started getting difficult- but its typing actually balances it out, because while it is strong, it gets taken out pretty easily. I like him though- initially i was going to go with a "japan" themed team, and he kinda ironically fits if we go with the idea he's godzilla.

6. Blood Moon Ursaring, Yoginator- The very same one from this pic

He's a big boy, quite literally the tallest Pokemon on my team at 8 feet tall. When I first fought it, it literally almost wiped my team- if it weren't for Scout the Furret getting in one last good hit, I'd have lost. THEN Yoginator replaced him, lol. He's a living example of "The boss when you fight him vs the boss when he joins the party," as he kinda kicked ass but not nearly as much as expected. Still, he's neat and I like him.

Reserves:

Furret, Scout- Scout was actually my Furret from 3DS Silver, and one of my current favs right now. Such a friend shaped Pokemon

She got me started for the first small bit of the main story, and landed the last hit to win against Blood Moon Ursaluna. Wasn't really as strong as I'd liked, but it was still nice to have an old friend with me.

2. H Samurott, Muramasa- my starter in Legends Arceus, and at most a very temporary body guard until I found Fesh Pince. He's strong and actually helped against some raids I found while I was there. I wish I could have used him tbh- I hope Indigo Disk keeps the trend of higher levels, because if so I might bring him there.

3. Dipplin, Dipper- Was part of the team for a bit, but it was around getting Morpeko I started feeling a vibe was off in my team. Normally I'd prioritize a new Pokemon over older ones, but in this case I decided that I needed a bit more fire power after it kept losing repeatedly. INTERESTINGLY, Apparently Dipplin can use Eviolite- that means it theoretically can EVOLVE- just not now. Maybe in pt 2, and maybe then I'll try again with it

4. Ogerpon, name pending- And the special boy. Such a cute fella, and I wanna spoil him a bunch. I added him to my team, replacing Morpeko so I could take on the stronger Oger gang trainers and generally just explore more stuff I might have missed. Have I mentioned he's a very good boy? I love him

Overall, this team was a challenge to raise on short notice, but it actually made the dlc a lot of fun and not just a spam A to win fest.

#pokemon #pokemon scarlet and violet #pokemon teal mask #pokemon scarlet and violet spoilers #pokemon teal mask spoilers #pokemon team #hisuian typhlosion #poliwrath #yanmega #morpeko #blood moon ursaluna #baxcalibur #kitakami

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slapegg · 2 years

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Some Thoughts About Saints Row 2022

Some thoughts about… Saints Row (2022)

Despite being a big big fan of Saints Row the Third and 4 (and finding Gat Out of Hell… tolerable, since you could play as Kinzie), the previews for the new Saints Row series did not grab me. The trailers lacked style, substance, or humor and the new cast felt like they were rejected from a Ubisoft game. But the sales are here now, so I gave SR a chance!

To get the big complaint out in the open from the beginning, the new Saints Row doesn’t try to really do anything exciting. No interesting story, characters, or game mechanics. It’s a very tried and true open world crime game that won’t rock the boat or surprise you. And that’s not inherently an awful thing. However, because it isn’t daring and sticks to the basics so heavily, all the broken and bad things in it really stand out. I tried to not make my write-up just pages of every bug, bad decision, poor balancing, or janky bit I came across, but I think that because the game is so by-the-numbers, calling all that out is really important. If the game had been daring, really tried for something new, or gone all out, I’d have been so much more forgiving of its problems. But because it’s so plain AND they couldn’t execute on that without so many problems, I’m fine calling out its many faults.

Boss creation is less cartoony and more limited, despite having tons of options but mostly for stuff that doesn’t lend itself for a character I want to be. The inclusion of prosthetics is great, but I don’t need fantastical skin textures or materials. Having a thousand options doesn’t matter if only 2 of them are good. And despite all the work, the Boss still comes out wrinkly and veiny or their face looks distorted in some cutscenes. My boss got stuck with a permanently angry face after completing a mission and it only went away after reloading the game.

I made my character in the Boss Factory app, started playing the game, unlocked a new clothing item by completing a challenge, for some reason this removed all the custom colors on my outfit (a bug that occurs EVERY time you buy a clothing item), I remade my outfit but didn’t have the clothing options from the app so it’s a worse outfit, saved it so I didn’t have to do that again, and it wrote over the Boss I made in the app so I lost it and that clothing. The clothing options feel a lot less varied and interesting than before and you don’t have access to certain shops until the final third of the game, so all the time spent customizing things and having them constantly be deleted just feels so much more wasteful because at the end of the day, your boss isn’t going to have any cool styles anyway.

While it does get better, SR suffers from a really weak opening. Your first few missions have too much combat with really weak and uninteresting weapons so the opening sections drag on. It takes so long to get to anything interesting, that you’re given some strong vibes that maybe, there just won’t be anything that is new and interesting to come. The new characters stink. I hated 2/3s of the crew from the start and Neenah only got a pass because the game doesn’t really do much with her beyond “she’s good with cars and like art”. I’m not sure who the writers were trying to appeal to, but Eli and Kev are extremely unappealing people, your Boss is a severely watered down version of Bosses past, and the supporting cast are lots of one-note characters that mainly exist for gameplay reasons so missions have somebody for you to fight. The game treats all of it as fluff, repeating the same one-note jokes for each crew member, but then there are a few moments where the game tries to pull out a sad backstory and it… just does not earn any of it. The scenes fall so flat and the game almost acknowledges that because it gives you the “sad” moment and then never brings it up again and dangles the next action mission at you. Neenah had a sad reason for coming to Santo Ileso, right? Aaanyway, you just completed a challenge and earned a perk, and go check your phone for a new mission! Kev had a sad childhood, eh? Hey, here’s a trophy and go check your phone for a new mission!

The events that kick off the formation of the Saints don't make sense if they're played straight. I spent most of the game thinking we’d be uncovering a setup and trying to figure out who was running the double-cross, and then getting annoyed that none of the characters were investigating it. But then... nope. Played straight. It's just bad writing.

That’s not to say there isn’t funny content in the game, it’s just few and far between and when it does get a genuine laugh, it makes you sad that there are writers here that clearly understand actual comedy and so much of the game is… less than that. There are little snippits like seeing the horrible board game the crew plays and they are exactly the kind of insufferable people that would play board games like that. Then your crew’s reaction to watching footage of your Boss doing her thing and “being good at murder”. Or the lady on the bounty hunter app that you help shoot her husband. Or when the bounty hunter app is turned against you and NPCs in the city start trying to murder you. There’s funny material buried in all the bland stuff, but the funny bits are still outnumbered by, ugh, just the lamest reference-based humor and awful characters. There’s a veeery extended Portal/Still Alive joke in the game if you need an idea how outdated the writing is.

There’s good story potential about gig economy gangsters, franchising, and the corporatization of crime, but the game doesn’t go for it. There’s a late game deconstruction of your Boss having to deal with somebody that acts the same way she does, but it comes very late in the game. The funnier/most Saints way to handle a reboot would have been to make this new crew franchising the Saints name to expand to a new area and just never mention the time travel, aliens, and spaceships. The new crew even goes from a gang of nobodies to invincible empire that nobody even bothers to try to bring down over the course of one mission. A big part of the middle of the story is that “the Saints” are essentially a corporate entity that can be legally owned, so the game treats the new gang the same way the old Saints worked. The original Saints built up to the empire and only achieved corporate status after taking over an actual corporation at the end of the second game, but this reboot wants to have it both ways and reach the same status as the original crew in just half a game. The “origin story” part of the new game is weak, so you could keep all their existing motivations to form a gang but use the franchise route rather than them just stumbling on the name and logo. This would help speed things up, have the business side of the story make sense, and inject a bit more energy into the game early on. There’s a section where you do a battle royale and it seems like it’s going to be the game’s version of Prof. Genki, but it’s a pretty staid and no frills combat arena. It could have been so much more. But “could have been so much more” is practically this game’s motto. The story feels like it was written by multiple people at the same time and they never shared notes. Characters and events are set up to be significant and then never amount to anything. By the time the game ends, it feels like everybody had run out of time and it was pencils down no matter what.

You also hit the level cap less than 50% of the way through the game. It feels like the company decided the game was too short and inflated the costs and task counts to pad out the game, but then forgot to adjust how much experience it takes to level up. And all the bonus tasks in Side Hustles pay out experience rather than money, so they really don’t feel worth doing. They’re not fun, they slow things down or risk failing the mission, and their rewards are useless, so just skip them and try to finish things as quick as possible.

The evil gangs don’t really stand out. They’re antagonists but it just feels like they’re there for the sake of being there. Outside of a few missions, your main interactions with them are that they populate an area and you have to kill everybody in that area to complete your task. If you’re expecting anything like the gangs from SR3, you’re not going to get that. The hypocritical anarchists are the best of the three and they’re… dumb Instagram versions of Miller’s gang. The car thief gang is pretty generic. And the dirtbag private military corp is just a lesser private version of STAG from SR3.

For the city, the desert is a pretty boring environment. Large parts of the map are empty and you’re going to be doing a lot of aimless driving around the outskirts trying to uncover the missions. It’s just a pain to drive around too due to hills and rocks. Your car is constantly either coming to a full stop because it bumped into a hill or it will flip because you glanced at a rock. The game’s version of the STAG hover bikes can’t fly anymore so your only option for getting up cliffs is to fly everywhere in a helicopter. I’m all for doing something other than a normal city, but a plain desert isn’t fun or interesting. The city parts need some cartoon Vegas. Even in the most Vegas-y area, it’s still fairly generic. Steelport, with its skyscraper ads and glowing neon in the main district, had more of a Vegas feel than Santo Ileso.

Vehicle control is… weird. Your car is either indestructible or it flips over if you even look at a bump in the road. The big addition is being able to side swipe cars, but it’s not a “move”, you just hold a button and manually drive into their side. Most of the time, it just causes you to spin out so it’s not exactly helpful. The way the game talks up its importance, I was expecting the side swipe to be something like shunting your car side to side like in The Wheelman and I was all excited for that, but it turns out to be little more than a different kind of braking. The move doesn’t even work well. There are times you can be going full speed and you swipe into the side of an enemy aaand they take 0 damage. Other times, you can be going slower and slightly bump into a car and it will explode and fly into the sky. I failed a chase mission because a cop car (on its own) bumped into a bus, this caused the cop car to explode, which then caused the bus to explode, and since I was pulling up next to the bus, my car exploded. All of this happened in less than a second so there wasn’t much I could do about it. There’s also no reason to try to drive evasively, or even well, because cops in this game can just straight up teleport. I was doing a mission with a chase in it, drifted onto a side street to lose the cop car behind me, it failed to make the turn, and I felt really good watching their dot on the minimap go past my street. ...Until the red dot on the map disappeared and then reappeared on my street traveling at normal speed. In a car with nitro? Well it doesn’t matter because enemies keep up with you no matter what you’re driving and even if you’re in a sports car going full blast with nitro. All this means that using the side swipes is the only way to stop enemies from bumping into your car and causing it to spin out.

So far, Saints Row 2022 has really watered down what was in previous games, so what does it add?

The best things are the game customization/accessibility options. They give you a lot of control over different aspects of difficulty like how the aiming snap works, how much health things have, how much ammo enemies drop, and timers (which sadly only works for some mission types but not others).

The wingsuit. It… exists? The game never puts it to good use so it just seems like a worse and less useful version of floating in SR4 because you don’t have the super jump to go with it. It takes a while to deploy too so it’s not something you use at will. Outside of missions or challenges that require it, I didn’t once use the wingsuit while playing normally.

They’ve added takedowns, where you earn meter over time and for killing enemies and then you press a button next to an enemy to do a takedown. It’s an instant kill on normal enemies, but you can just kill them with a few headshots anyway. For “Tough” enemies, you have to hurt them enough to drain their armor before you can do a takedown on them, and you’re probably trying to fight them at a distance anyway, so that’s not great either. The only thing it’s good for is that it gives you some health back. The animations are also pretty long, so I found myself not wanting to do them because it’s faster to just shoot everybody not hiding behind a shield.

Instead of permanent upgrades, you now equip up to five perks. You can swap them out at any time, but there are only a handful that are useful or do anything unique, so I stuck with the same perks for most of the game. You also have super moves that also refill as you do damage, but I constantly forgot they existed and almost never used them outside of some very specific instances. They’re not as interesting as the super powers from SR4. It’s mainly basic things like “throw a grenade” or “do a quick draw” or “do extra damage for X seconds” or “summon two helpers”.

Criminal Ventures make up most of the focus of the game and it’s neat, in theory, to set up evil businesses around town, but the execution is more tedious than fun. They’re suuuper expensive to create to the point that multiple times I considered leaving the game running over night to generate idle income for them, and it saps your ability to do much else. I passed up buying clothes for my character, unlocking perks, and upgrading weapons because creating the next business cost so much so there was a constant pressure to save money. For the actual content, their repetition is the main problem. So many are just “steal a thing and drive it back with a wanted rating”. The ones that are kind of unique are super short, like two or three steps short, but the ones that are repetitive seem like they go on forever. The waste disposal one makes you slowly drive a dozen trucks back to the business, but it could have been like four and that would have been plenty. And then the Planet Saints Venture is to… steal a dozen of a different kind of truck and drive them back to the business. There isn’t enough repetition in the simple tasks for the business and then multiple businesses use the same task so it’s just tedious. Between the unlock cost and inflated task counts, it really feels like the company used these to artificially pad out the length of the game, and the product suffers for it. And they ruined Insurance Fraud. Getting hit knocks you away from traffic and doesn’t pop you in the air as much. The camera is also awful and your characters shadow isn’t easily visible so it’s difficult to line up bounces and you have less air control. Then sometimes your character just gets stuck and won’t get up or run, so your entire Adrenaline boost is wasted because the character won’t move. It’s just a really bad version of something you’ve done a lot in the series so you know what it’s like when it’s fun versus what you get here.

The payouts for Ventures also don’t scale as you get deeper into the game. Unlocking the next tier of Venture is gated by your story progress, so it’s not like you can just do them all up front so the designers knew where you are in the game when you can complete each one. Completing a tier 1 Venture pays out $30K, which is exactly enough to buy another tier 1 Venture. Yay, that’s great. Completing a tier 3 Venture also pays out $30K but now another tier 4 Venture costs $400K, so you have 2-3 hours of killing time until your idle income generates enough money to continue. The small tasks around the map only pay out $5K so they really only feel like time wasters to give you something to do while you wait. Even at the very end of the game, story missions might pay out $200K when the final Ventures cost $1.4 million.

And, while considerably less important than the gameplay issues, music has been a big part of Saints Row as a series and 2022 disappoints again. Saints Row 3 and 4 made electronica and dubstep fun. There are songs fthat I discovered through Saints Row and now listen to on their own thanks to the fantastic soundtracks. In 2022, I mostly stuck to the synthwave station, but it’s all really generic stuff. At one point, the game bugged out and kept playing the same song on loop and it took me about ten minutes to realize what was happening. Even the DJs have no personality. They just read a message out about the song and play it. The newscaster is also so so dry. She comments on news stories related to the outcome of missions you’ve done, but the vast majority of them are little more than “this thing happened” and that’s all. There’s no extra follow-up or consequence and no jokes to build off the stupid thing you were involved in. Jane Valderamma she is not.

Even if you’re in the mood for a wholly generic and bland open world crime game, Saints Row 2022 is just a sloppy and buggy game. I had multiple crashes that took my system a good minute or more to even process that it had crashed and then recover from it. Save after EVERY task you complete! I also had a rare but reoccurring issue where my controller would just disconnect in the middle of gameplay. I’d be driving along and then my headphones would go quite and the game was still going, but then you quickly realize that even though the car is still driving forward, you can’t steer it. After about 30 seconds, it pops up a message that says the controller disconnected and you can just tap the home button and everything recovers. Outside of the dozen people you just ran over because your car was hurtling straight forward the whole time. Sorry, not really my fault! I’m a benevolent murderous crime boss.

Missions just break. You’ll be doing a drive-along mission and the AI gets the car in a place where it can’t just drive forward and it can’t back up, so you’re stuck and have to restart the whole mission and lose progress on your goals and there’s nothing you can do about it because the AI is the driver and you can’t influence how it drives. You’ll start a mission and it just won’t go and none of the buttons work, you can’t pause, and you have to force close the game. On almost every one of the getaway driver missions, the AI partners wouldn’t appear after the heist but the game acted like they were in the car and forced me to drive away. All of the in-car chatter would be silent but then halfway through the escape, dialogue would play about the partners still being at the crime scene. Without them there to play the dialogue about where to go, I’d fail the mission due to the strict time limits, but when I restarted the checkpoint, the partners would be in the car and the dialogue would play normally.

I also got into a state where I couldn’t pick up collectibles. The prompt was on them and the character animated when I pressed the button, but they stayed on the map and I couldn’t get them. I was able to go back and “re”-collect them eventually.

There are a number of missions where you have to hold down a position and you’ll fail if you leave the zone. The problem is that enemies spawn from outside the zone and FREQUENTLY get stuck trying to get close to you. They’ll get out of their vehicles far away from you but then never walk towards you so they’re well out of the range of normal guns. They’ll get stuck behind obstacles like rocks and not be able to path around it (so now you can’t kill them because there’s a rock between them and you). ALWAYS carry a sniper rifle just because of these missions. Or just fail the mission and be forced to redo the whole thing and hope it works a second time.

With so many of the missions being “drive to point X, get vehicle, drive it back to the start”, the game is really bad about putting markers on the map or showing the GPS. Some times it puts an icon at the final destination, most of the times it doesn’t. At the start of each mission, you have to open the map, slowly scroll to the destination, place your marker, and then after getting the vehicle, open the map back up, slowly scroll to the return point, and place another marker.

Oh man, why does the map scroll so slowly!?

It doesn’t show you bonus objectives for missions during the task, only if you return to the mission menu after starting a mission.

I had a lot of trouble getting my character to reload. Sometimes it takes three or four button presses to get them to do it. That’s pretty bad in a game with a lot of shooting.

One of the Venture mission lines forces a specific special move on you in a specific equipment slot, but it was a move I already had mapped to a different slot. Once I cleared the Venture, I went to put the move back in my preferred slot but the game had unequipped it and wouldn’t allow me to equip it to any slot. I could put other moves in the preferred slot and in the mission slot but I couldn’t interact with that move until I quit the game and relaunched it.

The game is bad about showing you perks or skills you unlock. It says you can hold the menu button to jump to it, but that rarely worked. So I had to manually enter the menu and hunt down the skill across multiple categories and try to find the new one because the new one isn’t marked until you enter the specific slot it goes in.

Challenges frequently just don’t count progress. One challenge is to steal three specific car types and the first two worked but it wouldn’t count the third. I had to steal it multiple times across sessions until one time it just marked off as complete. I have no idea how to progress one challenge to sideswipe cars with a specific truck. The pop-up appears that I’ve sideswiped the car and I get experience for it, but then when I check the challenge, I’m still at 0/50. On top of how weird getting them to register is, you also can’t make progress on challenges until the game specifically presents them to you. A lot of the challenges are tedious “do X thing Z times” and you may have fulfilled the conditions several times over, but once the challenge appears, it always starts at 0.

There’s a mission in the game, “Bad Cop”, where you have to tether a car and damage it to intimidate the person inside, and it’s one of the most frustrating and broken missions I’ve played in a while. Phase one is that you have to smash the car into shipping containers, but the game won’t register the hit but crates are already destroyed so you have to quit and restart the mission. Phase two is that you have to slam the car into smoke stacks, but the tether randomly breaks and then the car instantly explodes and you fail and have to restart the mission. Phase three is that you have to dangle the car in fire, but the game can fail to recognize the car is in the fire and for some reason this causes the mission to fail and you have to restart it. There are no checkpoints in this mission, it has a lot of unskippable dialogue, and it’s not fun to do any of these things. I was so, so mad by the sixth or seventh attempt when I finally got lucky enough for each step to work.

And maybe my favorite minor bug, the final boss’s death doesn’t work properly. When you shoot the final boss, instead of being hurt or reacting, the boss starts playing an idle animation where they look around bored and confused. I thought I did something wrong or the joke was that your character actually missed the shot and that was the funniest thing the game had done. But no, once the scene switches, the boss is suddenly on the ground bleeding out. You can really tell how much care went into this game.

Not to get all “and the portions are so small” but for as bland as the story is, they don’t even give you a reason to replay it. When I first played SR3, I beat it, and then immediately started a new game so I could go through the story again making different choices. SR2022 has a single choice, where the bad option is explicitly spelled out for you that it won’t work but then you can still choose it anyway. It doesn’t even end up affecting gameplay or the story. Choosing the bad choice just cuts the next part of the cutscene short and the game ignores everything it told you about the choice not working.

I could go on and on about minor stuff like guns on your weapon wheel turning invisible, the game constantly unequipping weapons from you, guns being invisible while you’re holding/shooting them, fast travel not working to get you to the start of a mission, and so forth but this write-up is too long and I think you get my points by now.

Yeah, so, my wrap-up is that Saints Row 2022 is not just a bad game or a poorly made game, but even if you fixed those issues and bugs, it’s still just a game with no ambition. What was the point of rebooting Saints Row so flat? What did they want to say or do? After finishing it, I still don’t know the answer. SR3 seemed to be about making a game where the decisions were made based on what was the more fun option. SR4 seemed to be a commentary on open world game where they just went right for the power fantasy and bypassed tropes, and gave you powers to get over conforming to the rules of the genre. But Saints Row 2022 doesn’t really DO anything. It has all the bits of an open world game, it has mechanics, and it has missions, but it also seems totally uninterested in sticking its neck out, trying something new, having something to say, or having an impact. It’s a game of checkboxes and at the end of development, somebody figured enough boxes were checked and the game was launched, bugs and all. If you’re in the mood for a “just another one of those kind of games” open world game, give it several months for updates to come and then play it in short doses because “turn it off and back on again” is an important rule in this one.

#Saints Row #saints row 2022 #games

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realcube · 3 years

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hq!! boys with a short s/o

navi | masterlist | taglist

thanks to anon for this cute request

characters: kenma, noya, bokuto, & oikawa

trigger warning: swearing, sexual references,

kenma kuzome

♡ bc you’re smol you can slip into his lap while he plays on his switch and since he can just peer over your shoulder, he lets you

♡ also bc you are so - in his own words - compact..he kinda goes a bit rough on you bc he doesn’t know his own strength sometimes

♡ like he comes back from practise - having just bet up lev who’s like double his height, then pretends as though he’s the gentlest, most cuddly guy alive

♡ for instance, if you sit on his lap while he’s doing something important, he’ll push you off but bc he is quite strong and you’re quite small, you literally go flying across the room

♡ he also like the fact that he can place his chin on top of your head while hunched over

♡ bc his posture is horrible which means that most ppl are up to his nose when he’s standing comfortably (and by comfortably i mean when his back is lookin like the letter c)

♡ but not you though bb

♡ he can rest his chin on your head WHILE messing up his back so thanks 💞

♡ also this is kinda unrelated but he probably enjoys seeing you cosplay as some of his favourite characters that are around your height

♡ idk he just seems like that sorta guy lol

♡ probably likes it when y’all get dirty in cosplay too yk

♡ and he constantly compares you to anime characters/ video game characters then makes comments accordingly lol

♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥

upon feeling kenma’s eyes momentarily shift from his nintendo switch onto you, your immediate response was to meet his gaze, shooting him a brief smile which quickly fell into frown upon hearing his following statement, “you’re around the same height as meliodas from seven deadly sins.”

you blinked rapidly, about to shrug him off and go back to whatever you were doing under you heard a “disgusting.” slip from his lips..so pounced on him.

“KENMA! YOU CAN’T JUST CALL ME DISGUSTING BECAUSE I’M A SIMILAR HEIGHT TO AN ANIME CHARACTER YOU DON’T LIKE! DON’T YOU HAVE AN--” to which kenma will just laugh and pretend like he’s trying to pry you off him when he’s actually really enjoying the feeling of you on top of him.

yū nishinoya

♡ he is the short king™

♡ so he’s honestly so happy that not only does he get to be in the presence of his soulmate, but you’re also shorter than him 😍

♡ and i think having a shorter s/o would really help him with his body image

♡ sorry to get serious on y’all so quick but i kinda think noya is secretly VERY insecure

♡ he just has a ‘fake it till you make it’ sort of attitude in regards to his confidence

♡ but having a shorter s/o - especially if you’re really powerful, strong, confident or outspoken - would really give him an ego boost bc not only is he like ‘yep! that’s my star!’ but also everything you do is just so impressive to him

♡ also since you’re around the same height as him, sometimes he forgets that he can’t just jump on you and expect for you to hold his weight like he does with asahi, tanaka, tsukishima etc

♡ so now you’re always on hyperalert when you pick him up from practise just in case he tackles you to the ground again

♡ it’s happened multiple times even when you were paying close attention though so i’d suggest just wearing a helmet next itme

♡ YJUHGFF he’s definitely the sort of guy to hype you up to his friends after you do the bare minimum

♡ and he ALWAYS mentions your height unless you tell him to stop

♡ (he just wants his friends to know that just bc they are vertically gifted, they are no better than you or him >:(( keep em humble, yk? )

♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥

“yep! they’re getting their photo taken at this professional modelling company thingy with all those cool, chunky camera and the bright lights! they’re basically a model- and a few inches smaller than me so, perhaps short is the new sexy.” noya boasted with a casual shrug, feeding off of the amazing looks he was getting from hinata, tanaka and yamaguchi.

upon noticing that yamaguchi was falling for nishinoya’s exaggerations, tsukishima chimed in, “short is definitely not the new sexy.” and before nishinoya could retort, tsukki hummed, “anyway, model, huh? what brand are they modelling for?”

noya’s lips curled into a bright smile and he clicked his tongue, almost to say ‘glad you asked’, before declaring proudly, “their passport!”

kōtarō bokuto

♡ another one that doesn’t know his own strength

♡ especially around you

♡ like he squeezes you SO tight when hugging that you basically suffocate

♡ and his grip on your hand is always unreasonably strong too so never let him hold your dominant hand or else you won’t be able to hold a pencil for another week

♡ and sometimes he pinches your cheek when he thinks you look especially babey and jesus christ he could leave a bruise

♡ god forbid you’re watching him practise and he makes a killer spike then he turns to look at you with starry eyes--

♡ ...

♡ RUN 🏃‍♂️💨

♡ mans will chase you around the whole gym to pick you up and twirl you to celebrate his spike

♡ the problem occurs when he holds you so close to him that you suffocate from his reek of BO

♡ he spins so fast that it makes you feel extremely sick and dizzy

♡ ALSO let’s not forget that one time he accidently let go of you a few seconds to early and you went fucking flying across the gym and landed on onaga’s water bottle

♡ not only did you have to awkwardly hobble to the bathroom with soaking wet leggings so you could change into your spare pair, you also felt obliged to buy onaga a new water bottle

♡ if you tell him to be gentler plz do it nicely or else he will be sad :((

♡ yeah he treats you like you’re his 7″0, ripped, basketball player s/o but you’re not

♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥

why were you here? why did you think this was a good idea to say yes to? oh, yeah, it because he gave those adorable damn puppy eyes that you are physically incapable of saying no to. on the bright side, perhaps he can use those puppy eyes to get you a free hearse driver for your funeral - which was sure to be soon.

through, your funeral planning was cut sort by bokuto chirping, “are you ready, babe?!”

you sighed, arms outstretched as he stood with his back facing you, ready to trust fall onto you once you gave the ‘ok’. or so you thought.

“yeah, bo. go o--” you couldn’t even finish your sentence before you felt bokuto’s muscular back suddenly weigh down on your arm. you tried to hold him up, - you really did - but both the surprise of it and his weight was enough to make you come crashing down with him.

“(y/n)! you had one job!”

tōru oikawa

♡ you’re his baby

♡ or at least, he treats you like one sometimes

♡ he says he treats you like a prince(ss) but everyone knows that he acts like you’re his first born child

♡ bc he literally carries you everywhere

♡ taking a brisk stroll on the beach? oikawa will force you to get on his back and use the excuse that he doesn’t want your clothes to get dirty

♡ you’re in the mall and you even suggest that your feet are sore/ you’re tired? he’ll carry you bridal style anywhere you want to go - literally does not care if people are giving him weird looks

♡ drunk? he’ll throw you over his shoulder and carry you home

♡ just chilling on the couch? he’ll approach you, scoop you up into his arms and walk around the house

♡ it annoys you sometimes but it can really come in handy other times

♡ like for instance, at a festival

♡ if you both get stuck at the back and you’re struggling to see the stage bc of all the literal giants looming in front of you, he’ll let you hop on his shoulders 🥺

♡ he probably teases you for it though lol

♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥

“awh, can the small one not see the stage?”

you furrowed your brows, outstretching your arms to him - probably the first time you ever actually asked him to pick you up, so you prayed that he'd take you up on your first offer without you having to beg. “yeah, can you help?”

this oikawa you’re talking to; the petty king. so instead, he gave you some solemn advice before turning his attention back onto the performance, “try growing a few inches-- who am i kidding? a few feet.”

“rude.” you spat, fretfully looking around for a moment before coming to terms with the fact you’re not going to be able to see the performer, so you decided to just try vibe with the music instead.

“(y/n).” you heard oikawa call from beside you, so you turn your head to look at him then noticed that he was crouched on the ground, “what are you waiting for? get on.”

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steve0discusses · 3 years

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Yugioh S5 Ep 20: Pharaoh’s Cool New Trick

Digging my way through quite a pile of commission work (funny how these things only come all at once or not at all), nearing the light at the end of the tunnel, was looking forward to some free time to catch up on my many little side projects when I was asked to take off for a weekend to do some cat-sitting to which I would NEVER say no to a cat, so like...Rip this blog I guess, we only update like once a week nowadays, but what do you do?

That’s right, play Puzzles and Dragons! The only phone game worth paying any attention to! Where they just released Pegasus on their Yugioh Collab and he looks pretty great!

So I’m just gonna take a second for some art appreciation, because the Puzzles and Dragons art team is just A++++ honestly, and yes, I did pull 13 times to get a Pegasus in my monster box, and yes, he is a completely insane team leader that is absolutely broken when paired with Yugi (the numbers are so satisfying) but...look at him. He looks so good!

(also I finally got Joey Wheeler, and so now my gatcha cravings are settled. And, don’t worry, I play this game so much that I was there during Christmas when they offered like a bajillion stones for free so I didn’t actually use real money on this.)

Now PAD also released a Weevil and Rex, and I don’t know why, and neither does the art team because they still look pretty good but in comparison to all the mains, they sure do looks like just some shorty guys in some casuals.

though I gotta admit, I want to learn how the hell this art team does swooshy effects, because man, that would make my art so much better to just have flames violently exploding out of all my art. Why am I not doing that more often? I have the technology.

anyway, I didn’t bother trying to pull them. Maybe I’ll accidentally pull them when they eventually release a Duke Devlin. (also, RIP to the fact that Roland will probably never be in Puzzles and Dragons but like...I can only send them so many polite letters covered in stickers pretending I’m some 10 year old child and writing in my broken Hiragana “Roland in PAD?”. Thems the breaks. (They also might not remember who Roland is.))

Shoutouts to the card that Weevil is holding that is censoring this nipple on the booby spider, PS.

So because this is not actually a Puzzles and Dragons blog, and it’s been ten eons since I regularly updated so I could remember episode to episode...where the hell were we?

That’s right, we’re on an island now. This show’s wonderful obsession with evil islands (and spoiler, this is one of the few Yugioh Islands that doesn’t explode at the end. Mostly because Kaiba isn’t here to do it or this place would be cinder)

(read more island stuff under the cut)

Anyway, after announcing “hey guys! Screw islands!” Yugi immediately collapses and without any warning.

Apparently the armor is a big ol parasite, which is something that Yugi is so used to at this point that he refuses to admit that this is a problem. Just normal Muto stuff, refusing to tell anyone that he has a serious illness going on underneath that giant mass of hair.

(the sailor moon vibes coming off this weird orb energy)

Sort of feels like a call back to S1 when Yugi was clearly possessed and everyone else was like “He acting weird to you?” except it’s S5 and everyone has learned to never trust Yugi when he says he’s fine and they are responding like he is about to die. Which is correct.

Outside of the cave falls this scroll that is...glowing, I guess. So they open it up and get a bunch of hieroglyphs that give them the “riddle of light” and like youknow...it’s riddle stuff.

They’re doing this riddle for “wings.” And it’s like...everyone’s monster here has a set of wings or an ability to fly. Every single monster except for I dunno, flaming swordsman? Hell, Yugi himself had two sets of wings when he fused with Dark Magician (which was weird, and I still don’t like to think about what technically was going on there.) But we have to go and get ourselves even more wings.

Weirdly, Joey turns to Tea and does something that in any other show would be completely normal. He was like “you want to stay here with Yugi, don’t you?” and it was the first time Joey has ever actually addressed the fact that Tea and Yugi are close. Uncharted territory. I was amazed at the amount of casual shipping that is happening here. It’s almost like a normal ass relationship.

So the boys decide to go off, and be boys and tackle this themselves. And they shouldn’t have, because Tea is smart for this group, and also has the only healing spell.

Like if you’re playing D+D you wouldn’t typically leave your only healer behind. Just saying.

Also like...Grandpa Muto went with them? I guess he’d have to since he’s the translator but also...kind of weird to leave your grandson dying in a cave, but maybe that’s just the Muto lifestyle.

Do not be fooled by my caps, no one has addressed the Bakura in the puzzle for 3 seasons. I’m starting to think this show will never address the Bakura in the puzzle. Which honestly, that would be hilarious if they made a big deal out of that plot point and then couldn’t use it in the end.

And speaking of plot points that kind of come out of nowhere and don’t make full sense with the continuity of the show--Joey has regressed back to the 4th grade.

Hey show? What?

So like if you love Joey, this is not the arc for you, because this arc he is reduced to a Himbo and nothing else. Straight up didn’t know what an echo is, but is very strong and pretty, I guess.

This inevitably happens with any TV show becuase different people make different parts, and I’ve brought up before that sometimes it feels like some teams only have loose post-it notes of what any character should be like at any given point (ESPECIALLY with Seto Kaiba’s timeline) but like...

...Personally I’m mot so fond of this interpretation of Joey, kind of ignores Joey’s best traits, and makes Tristan look way too smart in comparison (and like I always pinned Tristan to be the Himbo of the group, but maybe it’s because they give Tristan so little else to do?)

And like don’t get me wrong, Joey’s a dumbass a lot of the time and needs to get corrected by his pals...but...to the point he doesn’t know what an echo is? He’s a dumbass in a High School student sort of way, youknow?

Anyway, they get down to this big ravine, and they have to destroy this stone while the light passes over it. Kind of feels like a Breath of the Wild shrine quest, actually. In fact, I think Breath of the Wild recycled the shadow/sunlight pathing quest like 4 or 5 times. (I love Breath of the Wild to death but boy did they run out of ideas at the end there.)

They have to fight a glass monster and it’s kind of like...do you know the game Balls 3D? probably not, but it looked like a bunch of random shapes stuck together like a 90′s animation. They basically went to war with shapes.

Pure Himbo energy, has several pokemon, but punches for his pokemon instead of using them. A power move if I ever saw one.

Youknow that would make pokemon a lot more interesting if you could like throw out your pikachu, and then choose to just physically run up to your opponents Eevee and sock it in the jaw. Raise of hands--I know you all would love a version of pokemon like that. Let Ash Ketchum punch a Ratata.

Bro has informed me that Ash does do something like this in the anime. But I’m not talking about the anime, I’m talking about the video game. Give me the option to physically combat my rival. This is what I want, Pokemon.

They discover a way to break the monolith, and the show thinks we’re like actually 7 years old (because the show is Y7, although I forget because it deals with so many dark themes) so the show is going to hold on to this puzzle for a while...just to fill time. And it’s fine because we gotta switch over to Pharaoh anyway.

Yami has this dream again. He attempts to fuse with Dark magician to overcome the dream, but alas, he is still not strong enough.

Yugi wakes up in this murky cave while Tea is out washing out like...some rag? (he’s also still got a rag, so I guess multiple rags were required for how sweaty Yugi is.)

Yugi says “I feel like I’m a new man!” a lot in this episode, and every time he calls himself a man like he’s some sort of adult it’s very funny to me.

And then this plot lore dropped.

I mean I guess inevitably it had to happen...

But man, end of an era. It was freakin hilarious while it lasted: that Pharaoh refused to read ancient Egyptian because it’s like 2002 and he is a High Schooler living in Japan and he actually doesn’t WANT to resolve the mystery of the puzzle. Maybe the people who made this arc don’t know about how in S2 and S3, the fact Pharaoh couldn’t read Marik’s back tatt was like...a really big issue. He couldn’t read the God card, he couldn’t even read that massive tablet that read “HEY PHARAOH THIS IS LITERALLY YOU”. KAIBA had to tell him how to read the God card for him. Freakin Seto “Magic is a lie” Kaiba had to tell him how to use the God Card because Pharaoh couldn’t read it.

But like...Pharaoh finally gave in at some point after the world was devoured by the Leviathan, and before Kaiba finished building Kaibaland (which was already built in S1 but wtv)

The timelines on this show have always been a mishmash...but this one is just like...

...show are you trying to convince me that at any point in this show after season Zero, Pharaoh had any idea what he was doing? Did he sap that brain energy straight out of Joey Wheeler so he could do this?

Wow.

(secretly hoping he forgets how to read Egyptian after this arc is over and the show goes back to the other development team)

Pharaohs reasoning is that, if this is the riddle of the light.....

....then where is the riddle of darkness????????????

and when Tea was like “Pharaoh that is not even remotely logic. Omg it’s so bright outside, lets go back to gross cave.” and Pharaoh was like “Tea! You got it!” and she was like “What the hell are you talking about?”

Not gonna lie, I saw the Orichalcos green, and I got concerned.

Anyway, Yugi gets very frustrated and was like “ugh, lets go save em. They’re gonna die (again.)” and marches down there as if he didn’t pass out an hour ago.

And he fuses with Dark Magician again while everyone else (including his grandpa) was like “Yugi are you freakin kidding me? The suit freakin kills you omg! Tea you had one freakin job!”

And then we get the plot twist that...I mean it makes sense but it was choreographed in a confusing way.

And out of no where this guy shows up again:

So this mysterious man shows up and says “If you don’t succeed you have to live here forever” which...nice...that would probably save the world a lot of problems if Yami got locked away and took his OP puzzle with him. And then this man also says “if you do succeed you become VERY POWERFUL” and Yami was like. “...”

This whole episode had a theme to it, where Tristan and Joey were trying to prove that they could do things on their own and without Yugi’s help. And honestly...felt a little bit misplaced. Yami’s the same guy who murdered Yugi last season with the Orichalcos so like...

...I mean he is probably more reliable than Tristan who once died and turned into a robot monkey for 10ish episodes.

and then they flew into a glowing door.

Folks, this was wild to look at.

This is wild.

And at this point I closed Photoshop and thought I was done. But then I looked at my timeline on the video and was like...wait...there’s more?

and I’m really glad I kept watching because it went back to Alex, who...is apparently just still at those steps in this haunted ass Pyramid.

Now we’re watching Yugioh.

I forgot for a second when they turned Joey into a Himbo and made Pharaoh literate, but we’re back. I mean...

...look at the liner art on this adult man.

So...I posit the question...has Alex spent the last 2-3 episodes doing nothing but applying eyeliner to his face in the dark? Because he absolutely has. And honestly, the vibe of being in a spooky haunted pyramid with barely any light, just applying eyeliner down the edge of your face...that’s a Yugioh vibe, if I ever saw one.

This arc is wild. Anyway, next episode we do even more fetch quests and riddles? Just going to guess now that we probably will.

(and for those new here, this is a link so you can read them from the top. Which, since we’re in S5, means you got like...hours of Yugioh content to read through. Enjoy the rewards of my weird hobby.)

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

#Yugioh #Yu-Gi-Oh #yami yugi #S5 #Ep20 #It's actually Ep 20 now I was wrong last time #Yugi muto #Grandpa Muto #Alexander the Great #Joey Wheeler #Tristan Taylor #Tea Gardner #TeaxYugi #never thought I would ever use that tag #in this show where they are canonically dating but sometimes it happens #Puzzles and Dragons #Because yes I had to talk about it. This collab is great

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hiccanna-tidbits · 3 years

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okay, okay but hear me out!

Hiccanna, Moanida and Jackunzel (and maybe someone else if u want) going on a holiday trip together (it could be sea or lake or just swimming pool).

And that three couples playing "chicken fight game"~ When u have to sit on partner shoulder or ridding piggy-back and knock down or separate the other couple!

sksksks just imagine the fun and the chaos!! hahaha

Okay SO I recently watched Palm Springs so I’m just imagining The Gang going to like…a fancy pool resort in like Arizona??? SURE LET’S GO WITH THAT

I’m imagining the only resort the gang could afford to stay at is someplace out in the middle of Arizona or something

It takes a LOT of persuading to get Jack to go, because he haaaaates deserts. Rapunzel basically has to beg. Moana finally managed to bribe him with really good homemade ice slushies. (She’s used to making smoothies for Merida, so how hard can slushies be??? Just throw in some ice!)

Rapunzel offers to help Moana with the slushies, since she gave Jack SO many puppy dog eyes to get him to come. Since they’ve got two people working on them, they’re REALLY good slushies. Jack approves.

Anna also tries to convince Elsa to go, but the perpetually-single Elsa is just like “Um, deserts? Sunburns? Being indefinitely stuck with gross couples doing gross couple stuff?!? Yeah no thank you”

Hiccup tries to wake everyone up at like 6 am to go hiking because "that's when the desert iguanas are out guys!!! C'mon, we have to go!!!" Anna is only persuaded to go after Hiccup makes her coffee--she really wants to make her bf happy, but also mornings can suck her dick. Rapunzel is more than happy to go, because she loves mornings anyways!!! And oh my god, IGUANAS!!! Jack, Merida, and Moana are like "oh FUCK no" and put the pillow back over their head, shoo Hiccup away, and go back to sleep.

On their hike, Hiccup just goes "!!!!!!!" about every reptile he sees. Snake, lizard, horny toad, literally anything with scales will send the boy into an excited frenzy. Rapunzel has similar reactions. Anna could not love both of them more.

At one point, they stumble across a gila monster sunbathing, and Rapunzel is overtaken with the unwavering desire to adopt him. She gets Hiccup on board, and he tries to lure the lizard over with a dusty piece of a snake carcass he found (Anna tried to tell him he really shouldn't touch that, but he was not to be swayed and Anna ended up figuring he could just wash his hands really well when they got back). Anna finds herself in the unusual position of having to be the Voice of Reason, having to be like “hey uh I think this might be illegal and stuff??? Also aren't they poisonous???”

(I know what you're thinking. Bold of you to assume Anna knows the difference between poisonous and venomous.)

Rapunzel literally CANNOT stop gushing to Jack about all the wildlife she saw when she gets back! Jackrabbits! Kangaroo rats! Roadrunners! Peccaries! Centipedes! Jack has only mild to moderate interest in desert ecology, but loves hearing his gf gush so he listens attentively anyways.

Anna and Rapunzel definitely hit up the gift shops in the resort town at some point, and go ABSOLUTELY BATSHIT HOGWILD buying gifts for everyone. They probably max out their credit cards. It's embarrassing, really. But Anna gets Hiccup an absolute shitton of those little wall lizard things and he nearly cries tears of joy when he sees them, so it's all worth it, really.

Moana will not leave the pool like. The entire time. The girl is just obsessed with being in the water, honestly. She gets restless, though, and can't just stand in the pool and vibe--she needs to constantly be moving and swimming around or she'll explode. Merida is more than happy to indulge her by hanging out in the poor with her, but Merida is also constantly challenging her to swim races--a very dumb idea, considering Moana is on the high school swim team and water polo team. Merida, naturally, is an extremely sore loser and is not above excessive pouting, splashing, yelling in angry Scottish, and dunking her girlfriend in revenge. It's at least entertaining for all of their friends to watch.

Jack keeps fucking taking huge buckets of ice from the ice machine and dumping them in the pool. At first he only does this because he keeps griping about the pool not being cold enough (this boy will accept nothing less than sitting in the goddamn arctic ocean), but after her figures out that it pisses off his friends, he takes to pouring said ice directly over their heads. Merida has threatened to murder him several times for this.

Hiccup and Anna's main pool activity is just lazing around on their pool floaties (Anna has a duck one, Hicccup has a dragon one because obviously), sipping cocktails, and just generally vibing. Through some ungodly mixture of pure charisma and a fake ID that Rapunzel helped photoshop, Jack manages to talk his way into getting the whole group access to alcohol. Hiccup is a sangria or Moscow Mule kinda guy while Anna usually gets a Pina Colada or a Sex on the Beach (she's aspec, so she literally will not stop joking about the irony of this). Merida makes a game out of attempting to tip over their floaties and dunk them. Jack, chaos gremlin that he is, puts aside his usual rivalry with Merida to join in. They have a surprisingly strong dunking alliance.

Hiccup and Anna try to form a syndicate of their own, and try to lounge on the same floatie so that they can protect each other while fighting off Jack and Merida together. Unfortunately neither of their floaties were made to hold 2 peoples' weight, so the one they're on ends up tipping over, spilling their cocktails everywhere and dunking them anyways. Jack and Merida consider this a Win By Default.

Moana of course loops everyone into playing water polo at some point. Unfortunately some idiot decided it would be a good idea to let Merida of all people pick the teams, which means of course that they are incredibly rigged. It's Moana, Merida and Anna vs. Jack, Rapunzel, and Hiccup, so basically The Jocks vs. The Nerds (although admittedly Anna is more of a softcore jock--she's nowhere near on Moana or Merida's level, but she's still more naturally athletic than Hiccup, Rapunzel, or Jack). Naturally, Jock Team absolutely whoops Nerd Team's ass. Jack gets salty and demands a rematch. ...Jock Team kicks Nerd Team's ass again.

Throughout all of this, no one thinks to just...rearrange the teams a little. Merida was counting on this. All according to plan.

In the titular chicken game (yes, I remembered, don't worry!), it's Merida on Moana's shoulders (Moana swims and has a lot of upper body strength, what can I say?), Hiccup on Anna's shoulders (I mean...Hiccup's a twig, and Anna HAS to have a fair amount of upper body strength from throwing busts around and punching men off boats and such), and Punz on Jack's shoulders (Jack's pretty lithe and good at keeping his balance while jumping around, so he's their best candidate for not just falling over).

Jack and Rapunzel actually manage to stay in the game longer than anyone expects--their primary strategy is “be good at dodging and staying out of the way while Merida and Hiccup duke it out.” And it works! As limber as Hiccup is, Anna's not nearly as coordinated as Jack and is no match for Moana's sturdy footing. Also, neither Anna nor Hiccup are prepared for how goddamn ruthless and determined to win Merida is. Even though they really, really should have been. I mean...have you met Merida???

When it comes down to Merida-Moana and Rapunzel-Jack, Mer feels a little bad for having to go up against Pure Sweet Punzie. Unfortunately, Rapunzel turns out to be a very hardcore fighter when she puts her mind to it, and Merida is much more evenly matched than she initially thought and realizes she must use her Full Power. It definitely helps her snap out of Going Soft when Jack starts brutally roasting Merida in particular (as per usual). Merida gets a rage-fueled Second Wave, and finally manages to knock Rapunzel over in one foul swoop. Merida and Moana are victorious!

Moana and Merida basically always shower together after a day at the pool. They claim it's because they both know how to handle curly hair in chlorine, and just like to wash each other's hair, but the rest of the gang is pretty sure that's not all that's going on in there.

One day, Anna hits up the resort town alone to buy some kind of secret gifts for her friends with what little money she has left (this girl seriously has no chill when it comes to buying presents). She goes past this huge, fancy ice cream shop and she's like “!!!! OMG!!! I'm gonna surprise all my buddies with pints of their faves!!!” She just gets super hyped and buys everyone ice cream, getting so caught up in the thrill of it that she forgets that she'll have to like. Drive all this back all the way back to the resort in the rental car. In like. You know. 110+ degree weather.

By the time she gets back to the resort, the ice cream is, of course, goop. Poor Anna, feeling incredibly dumb and like an utter failure of a friend, just kind of bursts into tears. Like damn. This is too much. She was gonna make all her pals so happy, and all for naught! Jack just kinda shrugs and throws all the melted ice cream cartons in the freezer anyways. Once they're (partially) re-frozen, Rapunzel and Moana make slushies with them. They actually come out pretty decent. Anna is substantially cheered up.

Moana prepares some tropical fruit platters for everyone to snack on. Rapunzel tries to “improve” them by adding chocolate sauce and nutella to half of them. Sometimes it works (I mean...bananas and strawberries with chocolate and/or nutella is pretty solid). Other times it just tastes...very weird. Merida gest frustrated and yells at Rapunzel for “ruining all of her girlfriend's good mangoes.”

Jack just thinks this whole thing is so funny, and decides to swap the chocolate sauce with barbecue sauce to cause further chaos. Absolute mayhem ensures. Everyone has a bad time. Except for Anna, who apparently is just a freak who enjoys eating pineapple slices dipped in barbecue sauce.

At some point, Merida gets really drunk on appletinis or some shit and signs the entire group up for a local archery competition. Much to everyone's chagrin, it's no refunds. Naturally, basically everyone sans Merida does terrible. Rapunzel and Hiccup very nearly shoot themselves, while Jack and Anna come very close to accidentally shooting a group of referees (although Jack might have done this on purpose). Moana gets the farthest, if only because Merida's taught her how to shoot a bow at some point. Merida actually ends up winning--although unfortunately, the prize is $20 and a very cheap plastic trophy (which Merida STILL manages to find a way to break before the trip is even over).

The rest of the group is much more amicable to the concept of going on hikes when said hikes are in the evening. Hiccup and Rapunzel are still excitedly chattering about the local ecosystems the entire time, and Jack and Anna are just kind of looking at their nerdy SOs like “<3 <3 <3″ Moana and Merida, meanwhile, are just kinda vibing in the back, passively listening in and watching the desert sunset.

Rapunzel manages to capture Mer and Mo's interest and gets them to participate more with geology, of all things. Merida just thinks rocks are cool (especially when they can be thrown at people bothering her!), while Moana likes learning about the physical history of places--how water can carve out landscapes, and all that. Hiccup and Jack just kind of exchange a look like “I had no idea that they were into rocks, but...the more you know, I guess???”

Jack makes fun of every reptile they see, mainly to piss Hiccup off. Unfortunately it has the opposite effect, and Hiccup can't help but be entertained--mainly because Jack's insults are so weirdly specific and over-the-top that they loop around to being hilarious. Seriously, he keeps saying shit like “Those are the lamest scales I've ever seen. Absolutely drab, and not nearly shiny enough to prove that nature is beautiful. 0/10.” and “Ohhhh, this fucking rattlesnake think's he's so scary, with his dumb percussion instrument tail!!! I could be more intimidating with a mean look and a large pair of maracas!”

At some point, a bunch of tourists riding donkeys pass them. Anna, Rapunzel, and Merida just absolutely lose their shit fangirling over how cute the donkeys are, thus exposing all three of them as the unabashed Horse Girls they are. Hiccup, Jack, and Moana find this extremely amusing, and definitely aren't above teasing their girlfriends about it. Hiccup asks if next time they take a couples' vacation, the Horse Gang (as Moana insists on nicknaming them) would like to go to a ranch instead.

Anna gets like. Obsessed with palm trees. Like they're just so pretty and exotic and tropical!!! OMG!!! And they definitely don't have them wherever the gang is from in this AU. (Also if griping about Elsa not having "tropical powers" is anything to go by, she DOES canonically like the tropics!) She has to take a picture of like...every palm tree on her phone. And considering the gang is in Arizona, that means Anna is stopping to take a picture like...every 2 minutes. Rapunzel catches onto the fact that Anna likes them, and paints her a picture with some when Punz has the time. Anna definitely cries when she sees it. Hiccup can't do nearly that good, but he does buy her some little plastic figurine ones in a gift shop that she can put in her room. Anna also cries about this. She just cries whenever any of her friends indulge her random fixation on palm trees. Surely she doesn't deserve such niceties!!!

Rapunzel is just. In love with the desert landscape tbh. Like the huge funky cacti!!! The shrubs!!! The desert wildflowers!!! The mesas!!! All of it!!! So of course she needs to pull out her easel and paint it. Jack walks by one day and sees her working on it and, partly just to troll her, he's like “put some snow in it!” As he walks away, Rapunzel just stops like “wait...that'd actually be such a great idea for a surrealist-type fantasy piece!!!” After she finishes the main landscape, she adds an overcoat of little puffs of snow on top of everything, and has some clumps falling off of the cacti. When she shows Jack, he just about cries tears of joy, but frantically tries to hide it. She gives the painting to him as a present at the end of the trip. He hangs that shit front-in-center in his room and cherishes it forever and ever.

At some point, Jack gets the ingenious idea that he's going to prank Merida by catching a tarantula and leaving it in her room. It's one of the harmless ones--Jack fact-checks this by offhandedly asking Hiccup and framing it as a casual interest in local etymology. Still, Merida screams far louder than is at all dignified, and also probably loud enough to wake a neighboring country. Rapunzel later has to physically hold Merida back to keep her from absolutely beating Jack into a pulp. Rapunzel also manages to get the World's Largest Sheet of Cardboard and the World's Largest Cup and somehow manages to get the damn thing back outside.

#rotbtd #rotbtfd #rise of the brave tangled dragons #the big four #jackunzel #hiccanna #moanida #jack frost #rapunzel #merida #hiccup #anna #moana #headcanons #hcs #vacation au #my askbox

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watanabes-cum-dump · 3 years

Text

Rating Genshin character designs pt.1

I am by no means a professional character designer, hell I’m not even a professional artist (I’m self taught) but I just really wanna do this become Genshin Impact is home to some of my favourite character designs and some that I fucking hate. So let’s get into them

Jean

I fucking hate it

Don’t get me wrong, I love Jean, she carries my fucking team and I’ve maxed out my friendship with her. She’s a great character and has a great presence in the story, I can see why a lot of characters respect her, and I really hope to see more of her.

But what the fuck is this design???

Basic blonde bitch face, I don’t even fucking know what’s going on with her outfit. I just really really really REALLY hate her tights. I don’t know why, but I have a vendetta against tights. Maybe it’s because I grew up in BC where girls consider tights to be fashionable, but I fucking hate tights. White tights especially since more often than not they’re transparent.

I don’t know what it is, but I just don’t vibe with the colour scheme, ya feel me? There’s a rule with character design that I learned, which is have one main colour, and then have a secondary colour, and then have other colours that support those two colours. Jean is like... I can’t tell is her main colour is white or blue. The colour placement is sort of all over the place.

Jean is just basic and it just doesn’t stand out when you compare her to the other characters. I just feel like she should look better than this, she’s the acting grandmaster of the knights for crying out loud, and yet she looks like a generic background character.

She looks like Saber from the Fate series, I feel like she’s just so plain and there wasn’t really anything put into her design. Her in game model looks a bit better but it’s still kinda ‘meh.’

Like what does this outfit tell you about the character? Nothing! She doesn’t look like a powerful figure, you can’t tell she’s gentle and graceful, it doesn’t tell you that she’s a leader or tells you about how she carries herself. All her design says is “Hi I’m disposable blonde with a sword no. 235″

With all of the negatives, I do have to say that her design does a good job of directing you to look at her face. The colar and the way her hair frames her face is great but then again, her face isn’t much to look at.

Kaeya

Ok, we have so much to unpack here because I LOVE Kaeya’s design

I mean look at him! Right away you can tell what he’s like! He screams shady, flirty, and eccentric!

One qualm I do have is that he looks more like a pirate than a knight, with the fur, buckles, and details, but I guess that’s fine. At least he doesn’t look basic or forgettable. And the design is a bit confusing but even then it still tells you a lot about him.

The colour placement is smart and he looks very cohesive and put together, nothing looks out of place. Kaeya’s tanned skin contrasts the cooler values perfectly and I’m honestly sad that we don’t get to see him too much.

It’s really a shame Kaeya isn’t more important and that Mihoyo doesn’t promote him the way they do the other characters (Noelle, Diluc, Zhongli, Xiangling and Fischl) He’s even overlooked by the community which is kind of sad.

Real talk though he kind of reminds me of Sinbad from Magi. Maybe not the same level of himbo energy, but the whole shady, manipulative, womanizer that pretends to be good thing is there.

But yeah, Kaeya’s design is great and I love him so much plz give him more screen time-

Albedo

They really did my boy dirty. Seriously, he looks so fucking fine in all of his art, but then you have his in game model and he looks all greasy and weird. Someone said that Albedo with the adult male model would have worked better and honestly I agree.

But anyways! Let’s talk design!

Albedo’s colour scheme is simple but works well together, he very much looks like someone who works in a lab with his long white coat, but other than that he looks like a swordsman. It works really well for him since he is a captain in the knights of favonious as well as an alchemist.

That’s all well and good, it tells you his occupation but it doesn’t really tell you about his personality. Like if I were to show you this guy without any context, you’d assume he’s kind and gentle soul. Which is kind of true (depends on who he’s interacting with) but we know Albedo to be analytical and sort of brisk and cold. Not cruel by any means, but he’s not very nice and gentle either.

Overall very nice, I like it a lot, I really wanna have a coat like that, 7/10 solid design.

Diluc

It’s... it’s kinda meh. Is he hot? Absolutely he’s smoldering, but I just... I don’t know. You can tell that he’s rich and all of that since he’s sort of wearing a suit, but that’s it. I also really hate that they didn’t give him coattails, I think coattails would have carried this rich untouchable vibe better. The weird fur is just kind of tacky.

I feel like giving his outfit more red would help him immensely, I’m not digging the white, it’s just there. For no reason. I guess it helps to break up all the black, but giving him a red vest would have easily done the same thing while staying true to him. He has red on his gloves, why not put a bit more on his body?

I guess my point is more red accents would do him good. Diluc is recognizable, but it’s mostly thanks to his hair. If I gave him a different outfit with the same colours it wouldn’t really change much. He lacks things like like Kaeya’s details or Albedo’s coat that make him really memorable. You could have a character who looks different, but I think to be truly memorable it’s gotta sell the character and suit them.

Overall, his design is sort of overrated in my opinion.

Ningguang

Ok ok queen alert I love her so much. Ningguang doesn’t just look hot her design sells her so well I love her.

You can tell that she’s ruch, elegant, and powerful. The white, gold and black just go so well together and the way it’s placed is just aaaaahhhhh she’s so pretty what the hell. I strive to make a character that looks this good.

I just have no idea what’s going on with her shorts. That’s like my only complaint. Just give her regular booty shorts? Like Beidou’s? You don’t need the diamonds, if you wanted them you could make it like a pattern.

But other than that she really looks like she rules a country. She’s just so pretty omg.

Design aside, Ningguang deserved to be a five star, she’s so strong like there’s a guy who’s Ningguang can so 29k per crystal with her ult. Ningguang has such a strong presence within the game compared to Kequing and Ganyu who are just sort of there. Ningguang is one of the few characters who get a 10/10 in performance, design, and character wise. I love her.

Beidou

Another queen. I am so whipped for Beidou and Ningguang guys it’s not even funny-

Anyways I love Beidou so much, I love her dress her colour scheme, she’s just so cool. The black and red is consistent and well placed unlike SOME OTHER CHARACTER.

You can tell that she’s a pirate, that she’s a strong warrior and idk why but she just screams laid back lesbian aunt. Those are the vibes I get from her. I love her. You can’t tell in this image, but she has anchors on the back of her gloves and it’s a really nice touch that adds to her as a pirate.

The hairstyle, her outfit, the eye patch, Beidou is just iconic and so easy to recognize. I remember not knowing anything about Genshin impact but I saw some advertisements for it and Beidou’s design really stuck with me because I recognized her when I got her.

Another one of the few who get a 10/10 in all aspects. Love her, and I can’t wait to set sail for Inazuma with her.

#I like how for the guys I'm actually talking about their designs but with the girls I'm simping #stay in school kids #kouryuu's shit #beidou #beidou genshin impact #kaeya #kaeya genshin impact #ningguang #ningguang genshin impact #diluc #diluc genshin impact #jean #jean genshin impact #albedo #albedo genshin impact

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nodameshield · 3 years

Text

I just finished writing an 88k long fic mate i could take over the WORLD right now let’s do this :::

????? how high were they???

chaos energy Pelipper was a great way to kickstart this disaster (i pretend i do not see moment was gold)

the way i hc Goh joining Ash on his morning jogs sometimes 🥺 the way it’s canon now that he likes to work-out some times bc it feels good >>>

the way they were out and about and PLAYING because they’re cute like that.

because I’m high on fic hormones i’m going to be a bit overreach-y with my analysis this week, and say that this whole bit was actually very carefully planned. Ash was pulling at Goh’s arm here and consciously decided not to pull Gulpin’s squishy body, even when he hadn’t yet been warned about not touching it (which would happen a few moments later, when Gulpin latched to him and he clumsily used his hand to try and get it off) -- had he touched Gulpin and gotten stuck to its body, they would’ve still been glued together, but the hand-holding goodness would’ve been saved.

but BOY are we glad we got this scene. what even was this??? a fever dream??? dark satogou shippers in the writing room??? i don’t really care !! I’m just so happy with it!! look at Ash’s carefree manner, he’s so happy to be helping Goh! he was a proud boyfriend holding Goh’s hand and he even got a little insecure when Goh said he felt embarrassed. aren’t you so happy, too? do you not want to hold hands???

(Skye rightfully pointed out in our convo how Daiki did a stellar job on Goh’s voice in these bits, he’s a very expressive boy !! and yet without seeing him it 100% came through that he was feeling a lil flustered. props to that).

baby...honey...there were SO MANY choices. you could’ve held his wrist, his elbow, his shirt, could’ve called one of your ‘mons out to help guide Goh along, could’ve put a leash on him (idk...), just,,, so many things. but of course your first instinct would be hold his hand, it was only natural to you.

didn’t

let

even when they’d already been literally swallowed down.

no professor just your dumb researchers getting in trouble. but i still applaud your enthusiasm.

voice acting 10/10. also their personalities shone through so beautifully here!! Look at my happy child who’s not on the least worried about being inside a fast-rolling ball of danger !! look at him !!

I LOVE YOU, sweet like knucklehead, i love you so dearly.

(Goh questioning his choice in life partners is forever-amusing)

i know Professor but you can’t be that surprised that they’re holding hands. they’re literally roommates.

it struck me funny that Goh never lost...er...sense(?) of Ash through the whole adventure. he was always tuned to where his voice was and was able to pinpoint him easily, and Ash kept addressing Goh as if he didn’t have a whole-ass-Gulpin for a head. they really do know each other this well. huh. k.

pretty Vermillion break look at how stunning this city is.

this gave me heavy shoujo vibes!!! i loved it so much !! the colors the glitter the p i n k, this whole episode was silly but so beautifully made. look at those flying, terrified ‘mons. yay !!

unusual methods Professor but I’ll let it pass, you do finance their plane tickets and destinations, plus give them accommodation and food, so I guess you’re even???

Goh’s eyebrow game is so strong i stan an expressive boy

i love you

he loves you, too.

all right there’s no need to rub it in, we get it. you’re in love.

seriously. enough.

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just-jordie-things · 4 years

Note

hi! could i request prompts #39, #45 and #74 for a zuko x reader fic with a modern au that takes place on halloween, with the gaang and everyone dressing up for halloween? with the reader and zuko already being really good friends and a part of the gaang?

prompt 39: spin the bottle kiss prompt 45: passionate kiss prompt 74: kisses where one person is sitting in the other’s lap ___

You’d been chatting with Katara, complimenting her cute 70′s themed costume, and just blabbering on in tipsy delight. However in the middle of your conversation about one of your classes, your eyes caught sight of the door opening, and in walked your favorite person.

“Zuko!” You cheered, grabbing your drink off the counter and excusing yourself from Katara so you could be the first to greet him.

He smiled sheepishly as you bounded up to him, the hood of your alien onesie flopping your head.

“I’m so glad you’re here!” You said happily, giggling as you threw your arms around his neck.

He nervously reciprocated the hug, not wanting to spill your drink or overstep his boundaries.

“Did I miss anything?” He asked, glancing around the room, but inevitably looking back down at you, because nothing could capture his attention like you did.

“Sokka and Aang are in a competition to see who can do the most casual backflips,” You said in all seriousness. “There’s still time to catch up if you want to join”

Zuko just laughs, and shakes his head, and you’re quick to jump topics.

“What are you dressed as, anyways?” You asked, poking at the leather jacket he wore.

“I’m an emo phase,” Zuko said, looking down at his black clothes and ripped jeans combo. “Is it not obvious?”

“It’s more of a sexy bad boy vibe,” You giggle.

His face flushes pink at the comment, but you don’t notice.

“I have a great idea though! Come with me”

You grab his hand and you’re pulling him into the apartment. He barely had time to greet Suki and Ty Lee in passing before you bringing him into the bathroom.

“How do you feel about eyeliner?” You asked, setting your half empty drink on the counter so you could pick through your makeup drawer.

“Uh...”

“Sit,” You prompt, softly pushing him down onto the toilet. “You’re too tall, I can’t reach your face and keep a steady hand”

He does as you say, and forgets that he should go say hi to his friends while you carefully pull the brush from the black tube.

“Is this really necessary?” He asks, but bites his tongue as you lean in close to him.

You smell sweet, like fruit or candy. He wonders if it’s your shampoo or your perfume, or it’s both and it’s just your natural splendid scent-

“Absolutely,” You murmur, vote quiet so you could keep your focus. “Now shut your eyes”

Again, he complies, and you steadily drag the brush over his eyelid. For being fairly tipsy, your hand his still, and the liquid applies smoothly.

“Perfect,” You hum, proud of yourself, and Zuko opens his eyes.

You’re so close it’s impossible not to think about kissing you, but at the thought a blush crawls up his neck and he wishes you would move away so you wouldn’t see.

“Now look up,” You direct. “I’m going to do some under too, make sure the goth-ness really stands out”

He nods, speechless, and looks as far up as he can.

But then your hand slides over his cheek so you can maneuver his face properly, as well as keep yourself steady, and he’s looking back at you again.

“Hey, up” You scold teasingly, and hastily he’s following your order.

He’s not sure that you’re aware of it, but as you apply more makeup, the thumb on his cheek is caressing him in smooth circles. It’s somehow calming, while still making his heart race.

You did that to him a lot.

You’re slower this time, worried about getting it in his eye, but it’s over all too soon, and you’re pulling away from him with a grin.

“Perfect!” You cheer again, capping your eyeliner and putting it back into the drawer. “You look very edgy”

Zuko stands to look in the mirror, and it’s odd, but he can’t deny that you did an excellent job and it definitely makes him look more emo.

“Do you like it?” You ask, picking your glass up and taking a tentative sip.

He looks down at your hopeful eyes, and smiles before nodding.

“You’re right, it’s perfect, thank you”

“Great! Let’s show the others!”

And so you’re taking his hand again and weaving through the small crowd in search of your close friends, Sokka and Aang in particular, because you know they’ll get a kick out of it.

“Who are all these people?” Zuko asked after passing too many unfamiliar faces.

“Katara and I invited some people from school,” You told him nonchalantly. “I didn’t think a halloween party would be such a hit, but I guess people love ‘em more than I thought!”

“Well if you invited them then I’m sure they do” He mutters.

It’s a vexed comment, but you look up at him with a bashful sort of smile, and the implication in his words has him blushing again.

You giggle, and do him the favor of not saying anything about it, instead finally catching sight of Sokka and quickly pulling Zuko over to him.

“Sokka, look!” You say eagerly, pushing Zuko forward to show the boy the excellent job you did on his makeup. “I gave Zuko eyeliner!”

Sokka cheers loudly, and hugs you with pride.

“Zuko, you look beautiful,” He gushes playfully. “You should be so proud of your date here”

Sokka’s, well, hammered, but still the comment throws Zuko off, and he begins to stammer. No real words came out, but luckily you came to his defense.

“Sokka, stop teasing,” You say, and bring your hand up to Zuko’s arm. “We’re gonna go get a couple drinks and then let’s hang out, okay?”

“Alright, I’ll find Suki and the others, meet in the living room in a couple minutes?”

You agree, and then you’re bringing Zuko with you to the kitchen.

You tended to do this at parties, even ones where it’s just your small tight-knit group of friends. You stuck by his side and rarely ever broke off from him. At first he’d thought you were doing him a kindness, because he was award and not always great at small talk. But after a few parties, he started to get the feeling that you genuinely enjoyed his company, and chose for your own reasons to stick by his side.

“What’s your poison?” You asked him as you reached the kitchen, which was littered with every alcohol known to man, as well as dozens of red plastic cups, some used, some new, Zuko wasn’t sure it mattered.

“I’ll just have whatever you’re having” He says, and you grin.

“Suit yourself”

He realizes quickly as you pour a generous amount of shots into a cup that you’re making your drinks strong, and he takes over for you.

“Why don’t you let me do that?” He says, taking the bottle from your hands and setting it down, before pouring half the alcohol in your into a second cup for himself.

You make a face, but don’t protest while he adds in the soda, and hands you your weaker drink.

You take his hand again as you both make your way to the living room, where most of your friends have already gathered.

Sokka and Suki share one corner of the sofa, Aang and Katara on the other, both couples hogging the whole space.

Ty Lee had claimed the recliner for herself, sitting in it sideways, her legs thrown over the arm rest. Mai was at her feet, the girls sharing their drinks and whispering amongst themselves.

That left the loveseat, if you could call it that because it was so small, but you didn’t mind as you dragged Zuko along and plopped down onto the cushions with him.

Without a second thought, you moved in close to him and threw your legs over his lap. You did it so casually you’d think that you always sat this way. But that wasn’t the case, in fact Zuko’s not sure you’ve ever been this close to him before, and his heart does a somersault.

“So what are we playing?” You asked, taking a sip of your drink, and then a longer more dramatic drink while making eye contact with Zuko because you could barely taste the alcohol.

He rolls his eyes and playfully flicks your arm, before turning his attention back to Sokka, who’s deciding on a game.

“Let’s play something old fashioned,” He decides, and he’s smirking at everyone as he raises his beer bottle, before pausing dramatically.

Suki nudges him, prompting him to continue his thought since no one knew what he was talking about.

“I say, spin the bottle!” He declares loudly, enough to get a few other people’s attention, and now the group grows a little bigger.

“Really?” Suki mutters, glaring at her boyfriend.

“Well I won’t be playing, I'll just be moderator” Sokka argues. The girl rolls her eyes, but goes with it anyways.

“Spin the bottle? Isn’t that kinda immature?” Aang asks.

“I think it’s fun!” Ty Lee chimes in. “I’ll play!”

With that, a couple more boys come to sit around in the living room.

You stifle your giggle in your hand at the way Ty Lee so effortlessly had men flocking to her. You always admired her for it.

“Fine. I’ll play” Mai sighs, leaning back against the chair Ty Lee sat in.

“You guys in?” Sokka asks, looking to you and Zuko.

“Oh, no,” You shake your head and put your hands up in defense. “It’s not for me, I’m spoken for,”

Zuko perks up at this, turning to you with a confused look because since when did you have a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend? You were seeing somebody and didn’t tell him?

He’s about to ask you a multitude of questions, probably all at once in a messy fashion, but you’re speaking up before he can.

“But you’ll play, right?” You ask him eagerly.

He wants to say no, because games like these are stupid and the only person in this room he’d actually want to kiss just said that she was spoken for, but you give him an encouraging nod, so he shrugs his shoulders.

“I guess” He mutters.

As Sokka goes over the rules and sets the bottle in the middle of the floor, you notice Zuko practically deflating into the sofa. When you give him a worried look, he doesn’t meet your gaze, so you’re not sure what his issue is.

You decide to wiggle in closer, your legs bent at the knees and resting against his chest comfortably, and your head laying on the sofa cushion right next to him.

At your close proximity, he can’t help but look over at you, only to find your eyes already set on his.

“It’s just a game, Zuko,” You whisper cheerily. “Lighten up a little, have some fun”

You give him a sweet smile, and he doesn’t have the heart to tell you that some old school kissing game isn’t what’s eating away at him.

He returns your smile, albeit faintly, before putting his attention back on the game.

A couple of strangers kiss, Mai and Ty Lee share a kiss, and Aang spins the bottle once, using his airbending to make sure it lands on Katara. That gets a laugh out of everyone as the waterbender gives him a dramatic smooch on the cheek.

The game is dumb, but it’s amusing to Zuko because you keep giggling and cheering for everybody, and everytime you laugh, the sound vibrates through him, and he forgets that his window of opportunity for asking you out had been shut.

He’s kicking himself, but he knows he shouldn't be. Deep down, he knew that he never would have made a move, no matter how affectionate you were, or how much time you spent together. The fact of the matter was he was too anxious about ruining a great friendship to make his feelings for you known.

But still, his heart ached a little as you rested your head on his shoulder.

He can’t help but wonder why you’re so cuddled up to him if you’re spoken for, but he’s not so big of an idiot that he’d ask you such a thing.

You whisper something, but he doesn't catch it because he’s so lost in thought.

“What?” He whispers back, eyes flickering down to you.

“You should stay over,” You repeat yourself. “Katara and I thought it’d be nice to have everyone stay over for scary movies- not everyone, just, you know, us,” You tell him, and he knows what you mean. “But you should stay”

His eyebrows furrow in the slightest, and you lift your head to ask what’s wrong.

“What about your boyfriend?” He asks, quietly, and although it’s subtle, you can hear the venom in his voice.

Despite the comment, you giggle quietly, shaking your head at him.

There’s a crease between his brows now from how much tension he has in his face, and you fondly reach out to rub your thumb between them, easing them from their furrow.

There’s no time to ask you what is so funny, because suddenly Sokka is snapping in his face.

“Hey! Lovebirds! You spinnin’ or not, Zuko?”

Your hand falls from Zuko’s face, and you sit back into your comfortable position now that the whole room has their eyes on you.

Not, he wants to say, but he grumbles in agreement as he reaches his leg out, kicking the bottle into a spin with his boot. You, among a few others, are giggling at the action, and while Zuko is distracted by the sound, Aang sends a little burst of wind at the bottle.

A couple people notice it, but they keep it to themselves as the bottle slows to a stop.

It’s pointed back at you and Zuko, and he flusters.

“Okay, s-someone else’s turn” He stammers.

“What? But it’s pointed right at (y/n)!” Sokka shrieks, gesturing wildly at you.

Zuko turns to you for a quick moment, almost apologetic, but as soon as he meets your eyes, he does a double take.

You’re smiling at him, and you lean up off the couch and straight your posture.

There’s whispers around the room, as well as music blasting and the chatter of the party goers who weren’t playing the game, but Zuko couldn’t hear anything over his heart pounding.

You get closer to him, your eyes noticeably flickering down to his lips before you’re wrapping your arms around his neck, painstakingly slow.

You pull your bottom lip between your teeth before you glance back up at Zuko, a nervous blush dusting over your cheeks.

For once, you’re the one blushing over him, and it brings him so much joy.

So in a quick move, his free hand reaches up to your face, thumb proving your lip from your teeth, instantly, you shoot forward, meeting his lips in a heated kiss.

All thoughts and reason flew out the window, and Zuko could barely set his drink down before taking you in his arms and bringing you as close to him as you could be.

Whoops and hollers surrounded you both, mostly from your friends, but a few bystanders were just happy to see someone getting some.

When you pull away, you’re winded, and Zuko’s hair is all over the place, but neither of you care.

As soon as the kiss ends, the game picks back up, and your peers go back to their meaningless conversations and dancing. It gives you a sense of privacy, even in the crowded room.

“I just didn’t want to kiss anyone else,” You explained yourself in a murmur, your hands cupping around Zuko’s face. “That’s why I said I was spoken for”

He chuckles, pushing the hair out of your face and bringing you in close again.

“Why didn’t you just say that?” He asked, and you shrugged your shoulders.

“Cause I didn’t think you’d kiss me if I’d asked you to” You replied.

“Well, you must have had more to drink then I thought,” He says teasingly, making you laugh as your forehead rests against his. “Because I don’t want to kiss anyone else either”

Your lips curl into a smile as your eyes flutter shut so he could kiss you again, this time softer, as you both took your time getting used to the new and exhilarating feeling.

You spent most of the rest of the night on that little sofa, lazily making out and drinking, as well as being made fun of by Sokka for it taking so long for the two of you to fess up your feelings.

Of course, you wouldn’t have had it any other way. ___

xoxo ~ jordie

#atla #zuko #zuko x reader #zuko imagine #zuko scenario

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davids-cartoon-corkboard · 4 years

Text

I have said a Lot about the “Raph is a system” theory over the past several months, so this is something of a compilation post. It’s got some new stuff, it’s got some old stuff. (You’re reading Part 1) (Part 2 is here) (Part 3 is here)

---

Firstly, “system” is the term for someone with Dissociative Identity Disorder, or DID. (The term can also apply to some folks with OSDD.) Someone might develop DID after experiencing long-term trauma at an early age- roughly five or six years old. To paraphrase the DSM-V:

1. We’ve seen three (possibly four) distinct personality states who speak, act, and perceive others differently.

2. The personality states, or “alters”, don’t necessarily share memory, and Donnie insinuated in “The Clothes Don’t Make the Turtle” that Raph has a bad memory in general.

3. Problems arise when alters don’t get along or aren’t on the same page. That none of them seem to be quite aware they’re a system doesn’t help either; it’s hard to work on communication and cooperation when you don’t know they need to be worked on!

4. This whole situation isn’t a normal part of a broadly accepted cultural or religious practice, or just Raph playing make-believe. (Though I wonder if he had “imaginary friends” when he was younger...)

5. It’s also not because Raph’s been smoking the devil’s lettuce or whatever. “Pizza Puffs” was one long weed joke and he was the only one “sober” (not poisoned) throughout! We don’t see this happen to other mutants, so it’s not a bizarre side effect of mutagen either.

(I’ve seen a few people joke that Mikey has “multiple personalities”, but that’s a tad yikesy and also just plain incorrect. His “doctor” personas are something he does deliberately, and youngest siblings are just Like That.)

So yeah, Raph is pretty heavily DID-coded. We’ve seen four alters so far:

“Host” Raph (HR): He’s our everyday Raph. A “host” is an alter who fronts most of the time and takes care of “business as usual” situations. They are often unaware of past traumatic events, such that they can appear “normal”. (Ex: the host of a child who lives with an abusive parent could be unaware of the abuse. Otherwise, they might cry or be uncooperative whenever the parent is near, further invoking their wrath. This unawareness allows them to be a “good child”, and stay under the parent’s radar sometimes.) Some systems have more than one host, but that the others have shown up so rarely in this story suggests HR is the only host (for now?).

Savage Raph (SR): Debuting in “Man vs. Sewer”, he’s a survival-oriented alter. HR probably could have defeated the Sando Brothers on his own under normal circumstances, but being in the middle of a breakdown doesn’t do much for your fighting skills. SR got pulled to the front to deal with them instead.

“Red” Raph (RR): “Red” is just a placeholder since we don’t actually know his name yet (or even if he has one, not all alters do), though I’ve also heard folks call him “Angel”. He’s got a “tough love” approach to problem-solving, which was probably a helpful thing in the past. LDM were no doubt rowdy children! We were (officially) introduced to him in “Pizza Puffs”.

Mind Raph (MR): MR could just be a manifestation of HR's thought process via Cartoon Goofery, but that possibility doesn’t give me anything to work with so I’m ignoring it. He’s pretty similar to HR, maybe a tad more upbeat. We (officially) met him in “Raph’s Ride-Along”.

When “Pizza Puffs” first aired, I was like “ah yes, this is the alter who has the cranky edgelord tendencies we’ve seen in previous iterations of Raph. He probably broods on rooftops in the rain when he’s in a bad mood.” Combining that with the whole “Red Angel” thing gives off some Batman vibes. And, of course, SR is similar to the Hulk. Those two heroes are pretty different, but they do have one major thing in common...

A sudden, violent loss. Given how prevalent rushing water is throughout “Man vs. Sewer”, I’m thinking a flood came through and separated Raph from his family. (You could probably argue that turbulent water symbolizes a turbulent subconscious? 🤷) Again, DID stems from long-term trauma, so Raph must have been gone for... a while. A couple of months, maybe more? It’s hard to say exactly; we have a little wiggle room when applying human developmental psychology to a human/turtle mutant. Since Splinter still needed to care for the other three, he wouldn’t have been able to devote much time to searching for Raph, and the New York City sewers go on for miles and miles. The longer Raph was alone, the more convinced he would have been that the others had drowned and he was the only survivor.

How old would he have been? I know the turtles are “different ages”, but they were all mutated at the same time so I’m pretty sure Splinter was just like “the littlest one is the youngest, the biggest one is the oldest, and the medium-sized ones are the middle children.” They’re all probably fourteenish by “Finale”. Back in “MvS”, Leo said, “You know how savage Raph gets when he’s alone”. He didn’t say anything like, “You know how savage Raph gets when he’s alone ever since such-and-such an incident happened”. This suggests that LDM straight-up don’t know something traumatic happened to Raph; they were too little to retain concrete memories of that time. In their minds, Raph has always been like this. Draxum isn’t known for his patience, so even though he wasn’t able to immerse the hatchlings in mutagen for long, they probably mature a bit faster than humans. And since humans usually can’t remember anything from before four years of age, three sounds about right for the turtles, though they would have been stronger and steadier on their feet than any human toddler. I doubt Raph would have survived otherwise.

I think he’s sort of... “stuck” back in that trauma. Catching food, building a fire, making a weapon, and getting camouflage aren’t the behaviors of someone who’s only been gone for a few minutes.

When SR called for help, I don’t think he was expecting anyone to answer.

But Raph did manage to hang onto something as he was swept away! It wasn’t much, but that little ragdoll gave him comfort while he was scared and alone.

(The rabbit design on Bruce’s pajamas is probably a coincidence, but...)

Raph seems the type to have sympathy for odd-looking toys. His knockoff Mrs. Cuddles plushie was the emotional crutch he needed back then.

And then he was separated from that as well. Lowkey associating Mrs. Cuddles with this traumatic event would explain why HR was so scared of her. That he doesn’t remember the trauma means he has no context for this fear, making it seem silly and baseless to him (and to the rest of his family), which is why he denied being scared at all in the first part of the “Mrs. Cuddles” episode. It would also explain why he collects teddy bears instead these days, they are a “safe” toy. (The moral of the story is to not make fun of triggers that seem silly.)

(I wonder what would happen if Mrs. Cuddles encountered Savage Raph? Perhaps he’d be quite sympathetic towards such a lonely little raggedy thing! Timestuck as he is, he probably wouldn’t question why a stuffed animal can talk... and it wouldn't be hard for her to persuade her “new bestest fwiend” to get rid of some “mean ol’ nasty sewew monstews” for her.)

That whole “sewer monsters” thing suggests Raph ran into... something while he was wandering alone. Y’all have heard those rumors about alligators living in the New York City sewers, right? Encountering Leatherhead could trigger a flashback.

It would be pretty easy to introduce Leatherhead into the narrative. One of the episodes the Rise crew had planned was titled “The Island of Dr. Noe”, and alligators have very impressive teeth. The Mirage comics had a story where Leatherhead and several cryptids were brought to an island to be hunted for sport.

Noe seems to have quite a few cronies/friends/rivals he could entertain this way. Since he’s got that obsession with Raph, Noe captures him as well, knocking him out with those darts so he can’t waste his energy trying to escape too soon. (Let’s just assume everyone’s powers are glitchy because they all hit another wave of puberty, meaning they can’t just curbstomp the lower-level villains lol.)

HR wakes up on the island and, of course, starts to panic because he’s lost and alone. While wandering, he runs into Leatherhead, which would trigger a flashback to getting attacked by that alligator all those years ago. But Leatherhead doesn’t want to fight! He’s just as scared and confused as HR is, and could really use a partner to help him survive this island.

HR and SR come into conflict because Leatherhead is/isn’t/is/isn’t/is/isn’t a threat. HR eventually wins out, reasoning that even if Leatherhead is that alligator, it wouldn’t be fair to judge him for what he did back when he was an animal.

But time and dissociation can make memories unclear. That our first look at Leatherhead was in Draxum’s “bluh bluh I’m gonna mutate all the humans” bit in “Bug Busters” means he’s a human-base mutant. He wasn’t the alligator back then, but the hunter tracking it. Leatherhead isn’t one of Noe’s targets, he is one of Noe’s guests! And he wants no one to interfere with his quarry, so he’ll play nice long enough for him and the snapper to take out the rest of the hunters and the freaks. Then the two of them will have the island all to themselves...

Years and years ago, Jack Marlin was a big game hunter prowling the New York City sewers in search of an alligator. He did manage to find and kill one, only to realize it had also been hunting! He had inadvertently saved the strangest little turtle creature.

Marlin had become too skilled at this point, the hunt held no challenge for him. This turtle sounded very young, and he was quite big and strong already. An adult could be tough and intelligent enough to entertain him. Marlin tried to get Raph to lead him back to “the others”. But Raph had been lost for some time, and as far as he knew, his family was dead. Hearing that put Marlin in quite the sour mood. A little mutant snapper is a better catch than none at all, so Marlin tried to haul Raph off. Raph fought back and bit off Marlin’s hand. He escaped, but lost his rabbit in the scuffle. Marlin retreated as well, taking some time to recover, scheme, and hunt other game. (And to pocket that rabbit. The blood loss had made him woozy, and he wanted to have some kind of proof he hadn’t just hallucinated the snapper.) Perhaps he turned that alligator’s hide into a vest, which provided the genetic material for his mutation when he eventually got bit by an oozesquito. Like his Mirage counterpart, Marlin didn’t take losing a limb as a sign he should retire, and instead got a tricked-out prosthetic. Who knows what he could do with it in such a mystic setting as Rise.

Raph eventually reunited with his family, but those distrustful, high-strung survivalist traits he had picked up weren’t helpful anymore. He once again had to be the good and patient big brother who didn’t bite when someone play-tackled him or shook him awake at three in the morning because they’d had a nightmare. Those two states gradually got partitioned off more and more, and now they know little, if anything, about each other.

So Leatherhead and HR are chasing away some mothmen or whatever, and things are going pretty well... until one of them knocks Leatherhead over and a familiar ragdoll rabbit falls out of his pocket. SR realizes that Leatherhead is Marlin and switches in to fight him off again. They’re evenly matched, or perhaps SR is even in danger of losing, when LDM arrive to provide support. Leatherhead is enough of a tactician to know that he should retreat. Donnie and Mikey pursue him while Leo stays behind, placing the rabbit in his stunned brother’s hands. “Remember when Pops made this for you? You were always really gentle with it, ‘cause he wasn’t good at sewing back then...”

(This thing really needs patching up, he’s got sewing stuff for whenever he needs to fix his bears/Blue isn’t a threat on his own/Wasn’t he just back at the lair?/Blue gave back the rabbit/Why does he feel like he got hit by a train?/Blue doesn’t want to fight?/ ...Leo?) And that’s enough for HR to switch back in. He’s probably missing memory from his whole time on the island, so while Leo does his best to tell him what happened, they don’t have enough puzzle pieces between them to truly figure out what's going on.

They defeat the bad guys, release the cryptids, save the day, etc. (Leatherhead managed to lose Donnie and Mikey in the woods. A battle for another day.) Once they return to the lair, HR gets help from Draxum to modify the memory spell from “E-Turtle Sunshine” so he can try to fill in the gaps. Surely he wouldn’t get rejected by his own subconscious... right?

Cue part three in the saga of Raph Punches Himself In The Face. SR isn’t happy that HR is essentially trying to poke at an improperly-healed wound, and attempts to chase him off. HR assumes that SR is just a psychic white blood cell like the Lou Jitsu constructs in Splinter’s mind, and retaliates.

But, of course, fighting is not the answer here. All that accomplishes is giving the body bruises. Eventually HR realizes “stay away” and “back off” are a little different than “get out”, and that SR is just scared. So HR tries another tactic. Over the following days and weeks, he tunes in to calmer memories and just sort of... talks. About what happened yesterday, about his teddy bear collection, about how he finally managed to get a good picture of that pizza pigeon. It takes a while to establish a connection, and even then, it’s spotty at best. Using the spell too much can cause headaches and nightmares. There are days when SR is nearby, and days when he’s not there at all. But he shows up when he can.

And then there’s awkward, stilted conversation and questions neither of them know how to answer and questions neither of them want to answer and more scrapes and bruises and strained silences and apologies, but they finally, finally reach a compromise. SR still doesn’t let HR near those memories, but he tells HR what happened as best he can. (The audience would see those memories, with SR as a voiceover.) Afterwards, HR still visits the mindscape that’s starting to become more solid. They talk some more, they watch light and shadow flow around them, they listen to half-forgotten lullabies on scratchy old cassette tapes. Eventually, HR doesn’t even need to use the memory spell, meditation is enough.

They’ll never get along all the time. But it’s a start.

(SR is going to be so clingy when it finally clicks for him when he finally lets himself believe that his family is alive.)

---

This took eight million years lmao. Parts 2 and 3 will come out eventually, they’ll focus more on MR and RR. Let me know if I need to tag this stuff as anything.

The usual disclaimer applies, I am not a system or a mental health professional so if you’re one or both of those things then feel free to give me some of that good good constructive criticism.

#you called for help... but nobody came.#rottmnt #rottmnt theory #the 'raph is a system' theory #rottmnt raph #savage raph #mrs. cuddles #leatherhead #jack marlin #plot bunnies free to a good home lmao #long post

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onelastbreath-writes · 3 years

Text

I Spy

Pairing: Frankie “Catfish” Morales/Fem!Reader (AFAB, no y/n)

Word Count: 1.7K

Warnings: Brief mention of bad(abusive/manipulative) parents, general adult topics, swearing.

Summary: You meet a cute guy at a bar, you date, you fall in love, and oops, it turns out you’ve both been lying about your careers. Classified only stays classified until you get assigned a mission together. (SpecOps&Spies, with Young!Frankie)

A/N: Hey guys, I was bad and started another fic. Whoops. This one is for Triple Frontier because I love that soft boi Francisco. The flavour of this fic, the vibe if you will, is basically the spiderman pointing meme. I’ve vaguely set the timeline to like mid-2000s? so I’ll be trying my best to stay true to technology and aesthetic of the era. There was so much denim. Anyways, that means I’m trying to write for about a 27-33 year old Frankie and a similarly aged reader. I don’t see this series being more than a couple chapters at best, so it’ll be short and sweet. Also, like, very little angst if I can help it; I just want this one to be a good, cute, fun read. Hope y’all enjoy! Xoxo

[AO3][Masterlist]

“So, you’re coming out tonight, right? You’re not busy or anything?”

“Please don’t say it like that, you know how busy work actually is. And I’m a grown woman; if I didn’t want to go to a shady dive bar with you and your very loud friends from the office, I’d say so,” You loved your best friend, and you missed spending time together, but you really couldn’t say the same for her co-workers.

You had nothing against the women she worked with, and you found that they were all perfectly lovely and usually quite fun to be around… it was just that when the alcohol came out, the volume control and verbal filters disappeared.

You wouldn’t say that barhopping was what you’d prefer to be doing tonight, along with more or less babysitting your friend and her friends, but you didn’t know when you’d next be able to squeeze in a night off to just hang out and have fun, so this was happening. You would laugh and smile and keep the drunk secretaries from going home with questionable people, and then you would look back on your ladies’ night with fond memories until you could eventually attend another.

You had known when you picked your career that it would be an around-the-clock, all-day, every-day sort of thing. You never deluded yourself into thinking you would have much of a social life or long-term relationships. Most partners, hell even most friends, would have a problem with you jetting off for weekends, or disappearing for days at a time under mountains of paperwork and appointments.

It just made your best friend that much more important to you. You’d met as kids, went through years of school beside each other, hung out, did stupid teenager things and then stupid young adult things together. You’d cried and laughed and fought and made up a million times, you’d gone to different colleges and still kept in touch, moved away, moved back, and you were still going strong. She was your ride-or-die, your anchor and your parachute and everything in between, so if you could use some of your precious, hoarded, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it time off to see her, that’s just what you’d do.

“You should take some of that fire, and direct it at your boss. Tell him no for a change. I’d love to see his face at that!” She meant well, always trying to look out for you and your health when it came to your beyond demanding job. You weren’t even allowed to tell her a fraction of what you were doing in your professional life, and she knew it, but that didn’t stop her from being ready to throw fists at your employer at a moment’s notice.

“One does not simply tell the über-rich that they don’t need to fly to Paris, again. Being a PA is a full-time nannying gig, except your charge is an adult who can argue when you say no, and you cannot put them on timeout when they’re being a brat. Where he goes, I go, and unless something drastic happens, it will probably continue on like that for a while.” She laughed at your jokes, and your heart hurt a little less at her glee. You knew she would never give up on you or blame you for your work being unpredictable, but that didn’t make the sting of last-minute cancels and missed outings hurt any less, for either of you.

“But it must be nice, just getting on a plane and going somewhere amazing at the drop of a hat. Travelling the world like a superstar, meeting people, having amazing adventures with mysterious strangers…”

“Easy there, Mamma Mia, your wanderlust is showing. And I’d take you with me in a heartbeat if I could. You were born to be a jetsetter, not to be stuck in this town with nothing but the office cubicle beside you to stare at. And I still think you should apply for one of those immersive culture grants you keep mooning over. They’d be fools not to fund your writing expedition!” She was an incredible person, three full degrees to her name in the time it took a normal student to get one, and a brain that could run miles around the rest of the professionals in her field. But she was tethered to this quiet backwater town, and she wasn’t free to fly like she deserved.

“You know I can’t just… go, like you can. My mom, it’d just break her heart… I don’t want to leave her alone, not after Dad,” You honestly doubted that you’d ever meet a woman more horrible and undeserving of her own daughter’s kindness. Helen was a parasite full of lies and manipulations and greed, and she had attached herself like a bad rash to your friend after she’d chased away the rest of her family members.

Your friend searched for the good in everyone, but you wished she’d stop looking for it at that home.

“You deserve your own happiness and freedom, and she should be encouraging you to spread your wings if and when you’re ready.” Politicking your friend was never something you enjoyed. She was the last person you wanted to use your negotiating credentials and sly subterfuge tactics against, but you wanted, needed, her safety and health more. You considered it almost bribery; dangling her dream future in front of her in exchange of being rid of the garbage in her life.

“Hey now, we’re getting way too deep into sad-drunk night conversations, and this is strictly a happy-fun-drunk night. Please leave all baggage and woes at the door, thank you!” You admitted your defeat and surrendered your verbal power point on Why Helen Needs to Disappear. You would get her next time for sure, give her the accelerant to burn down that bridge. “Anyways, the reason I called was to remind you of our haunt for the night. One of the girls, Kelly, you remember Kelly, found this adorable little hole in the wall. A total boys’ club apparently: darts, pool, sports games on the TV, but Kelly’s sister’s friend’s brother Tyler said the place was a favourite of the local army guys. So, if nothing else, we’ll at least have some hunks to look at for a while. It’ll be great!”

You jotted down the directions to the bar as she listed them, and the time you were expected to arrive there.

“Oh! And wear that cute little blue number you bought last spring; I know you still have it so don’t you dare lie. It makes your ass and legs look divine, and I think you could stand to make a new acquaintance tonight.” That Little Blue Number was buried in the back of your closet where you had hoped it would remain forever, but luck was not on your side tonight it seemed. But it did make you look, and feel, fantastic. It was just so… breezy. “And heels! Real ones, not your cute little personal assistant kitten heels. Those black strappy ones would work like a dream!” You just sighed dramatically into the receiver and agreed to her demands.

“I’ll let you go now, and yes, I suppose I can be presentable tonight, dress and all. See-ya later!”

---

Hole in the wall was right. This place was basically underground it was so on the D.L. It was warm inside though, and in the middle of autumn with so much skin on display, you could not be more pleased to get away from the chilled outside air.

You would describe the interior as comfortable with a hint of rustic; lots of warm dark wood and low lights, mixed with the soft Latin music crooning in the background and the few patrons’ conversations adding to the ambience.

All in all, it was probably the nicest dive bar you’d been to in your hometown.

Your party was easy to spot where they had claimed a group of pushed together tables towards the far side of the establishment, and you carefully made your way over to them in your tricky high heels.

You said your hellos to returning faces and introduced yourself to the new additions, and accepted the chair you were pointed to and the drink pressed into your hand.

And so, the hours rolled.

You had enjoyed two fruity cocktails and a flaming shot before you called it quits on the alcohol for the night. You still had a few hours to sober up enough to drive home safely, and you would be able to help the girls get to their rides and ways home too. You appreciated having a social drink or two, but you didn’t care for hangovers and would happily take slightly tipsy over party-hard drunk anytime. Plus, your contract stated you were on-call, always, and you could be required to navigate high-stress negotiations at the drop of a hat. It was just better to cut yourself off, then reap the consequences of your actions later.

You tapped your friend’s shoulder as you walked past and leaned over to talk into her ear. “I’m getting some water for the table; do you want anything else?”

“Mmmm, no I think we’re good for now, thanks!” She was plastered already, but she had a huge grin on her face and was laughing at her co-workers’ stories, so you considered it a win of a night. You gave her a pat goodbye and swayed your way to the bar.

But you just were not accounting for the uneven floorboards, or how much your heels affected your currently less than steady equilibrium, and before you could blink you were teetering over into a nasty fall.

“Whoa there, easy does it, muñequita” Arms wrapped around you and pulled you back into a warm chest. “Careful now, don’t go twisting an ankle in those fancy shoes.”

You certainly did not account for the man you turned around to face. Wow.

His hands glided respectfully from where he had caught you around the waist to your still bent and held out elbows, steadying you as you swayed dangerously again.

Warm brown eyes, soft brown curls, and the sweetest smile you’d ever seen. It felt like your heart was going to beat out of your chest, and you knew that it wasn’t left over adrenaline from your near wipeout. He was gorgeous and handling you so gently, and you wanted to spend forever in that moment.

“Hey there, palomita, I’m Frankie, can I buy you a drink?”

[Next Part]

#triple frontier #frankie morales x reader #frankie morales #frankie morales x you #Pedro Pascal #triple frontier fanfiction #pedro pascal x reader

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scimitar-and-longsword · 4 years

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I just read your long post about Booker and Nile and it gave me all the emotions but i wanted to add on one of my favorite moments, which is that Booker tries to convince the team not to find Nile after they dream about her. And it could be because he doesn’t want her to mess up his plans or that she doesn’t deserve this nonsense but like he does try. Long story short I just really love booker and think he’s such an interesting character

Me too nony!! [icymi: Original Post] (Which kinda touched on your point of weather or not Booker tried to to keep Nile away out of care or inconvenience)

Booker disclaimer: He fucked up. Not excusing it, but I just really love his character. He's written/acted in a way that I find so fascinating. Booker apologist is mostly a joke

I've been thinking about the father/daughter dynamic for a while and trying to decide if I'm just seeing things because I have a very close relationship with my own dad and tend to really gravitate towards those relationships in media.

But the more I watch it the more I am convinced that Greg wrote it that way on purpose.

Booker doesn't talk about his wife dying, even though we know he had a wife. What he talks about is losing his son.

Nile and Andy discuss her family and all that time leaves behind. Andy laments not remembering what her mother and sister’s looked like just after Booker has done the same about his sons. Really driving home Nile’s loss of them.

I think a lot of people take this line to mean Booker was jealous of Nicky and Joe's romantic relationship. Which is valid, I just don't see any real evidence for it.

We don't have scenes of Booker sleeping with people or staring longingly at other couples showing affection. Or even if him looking jealous of Nicky and Joe.

In fact, when we DO see Booker react to Joe and Nicky's dynamic he appears to be extremely fond of them.

So I just don’t feel like he needs or even wants a romantic partner, he just wants to feel like he has SOMETHING.

The other thing I find interesting is that at this point in time there are 6 immortals, with 2 sets of romantic partners. Of course up until recently Quynh was stuck at the bottom of the ocean, breaking up that support structure.

And the order in which they appear is very interesting. Andy > Quynh > Lykon > Lykon > Joe & Nicky > Booker > Nile

They touch a few times in the movie on weather or not they think there’s a purpose to their immortality. Weather it’s destiny or random or God. Personally, I categorically reject it being random. And anything more than random means that there HAS to be some design to it all.

So Andy was alone for thousands of years then whatever force creates them brought her a companion in Quynh.

Lykon is interesting cause he’s there for a fucking blip! 331 bce - ??? but i would guess not later than 500 ce, though it seems to be implied as much earlier. He is brought into their lives and then taken fairly quickly. Now IF there some kind of force making decisions behind the scenes it seems like something went WRONG here. Weather that was Lykon losing faith like Andy eventually does, or it was on the back end I’m not sure. (a meta for another time lol. Something I think/hope they’ll explore in the sequel or at least in the 3rd comic run)

Joe & Nicky come together (da dum tss) After Lykon dies alone without a partner (and I’m using that to mean NOT just romantic partner), I 100% believe Joe and Nicky showing up together is by design.

Then we get to Booker. If Quynh had still been there he would have come into a family of pretty content immortals imo. All 4 of them happy to spout things about destiny, and probably even assuring him that someone will come along to fill the hole left by the death of his family.

But as it is Andy is missing her partner and depressed af. Joe and Nicky lost a close friend too, and I’m sure, that even with them seeming more well adjusted than Andy that they would still have their moments.

So that leaves Andy to be depressed with Booker. and they kinda spiral together, both shown to rely heavily on alcohol.

ONLY 208 YEARS LATER Nile comes along. That is a very short amount of time for them. Maybe not yet to Booker, but how long his life will (probably) be, 200 year is nothing.

It appears to be speeding up, or the *entity* that makes them is getting better at it? idk

- Tangent over lol-

Nile is already shown to still be dealing with the loss of her dad at the start of the movie. She keeps his picture by her bunk, and on her phone. And him (and the rest of her family) are obviously the most important thing to her, and the hardest thing for her to lose with this new gift of immortality. Sound familiar? (cough*booker*cough)

I think it’s pretty brilliant to have this concept of found family and exploring that in it’s different forms. And from a representation standpoint it’s great to have two queer romantic couples and then a child/parent dynamic that places the only two straight characters in a decidedly NOT romantic relationship. (presumably straight, based on Booker’s past with his wife and Nile’s mortal love interest in the comics)

Further more putting both of them in a position to buck stereotypes. The straight white brooding action hero guy who would probably have been the main character in a less nuanced movie get’s to have someone who he cares about and gets to show real vulnerability with. We don’t see him show this emotion with ANYONE else. And Nile who could have been boxed into the trope of “Black women only being stoic and strong,” gets to have someone who cares for her and that she can lean on.

Now this COULD create a weird power (not to mention racial) dynamic if done poorly. BUT I think Gina/Greg have proven that they can handle complex relationships well that had the potential have been big on the yikes scale (Joe & Nicky)

And even in this movie we see that in action: Nile saves them after Booker gets them captured. And she is the only one really who calls him on dragging his feet while looking for Copley (this is less obvious in the movie than in the comics)

Andy does this KINDA, but it doesn’t seem like she’s questioning Booker’s methods and more just that she’s frustrated (and distracted obviously). Nile actually pushes back and it throws Booker off his game.

Bringing this ALL THE WAY back to your original point Nony: The fact that the Nile & Booker sub-arc starts with him being like “We should leave her” and ends with him comforting her and telling her she’s a good kid. And with Nile advocating for him not leaving at all is just *chefs kiss*

It starts with Booker, who is shown to have real issues with watching his Son die and not being able to help him, feel Nile die. This time? He can help, he rejects that at first, but I think he starts to see could help Nile, and how Nile could help him by the end. And their last moments have them displaying peak parent/child vibes:

idk I just find their dynamic really interesting and I hope it get’s expanded on in the sequel!

-fin-

#ask #meta #the old guard #booker #andy #nile #Joe #Nicky #long post #oh my god this is so long #how are my metas getting LONGER????#my stuff #my gifs #Booker & Nile #lykon

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theuniversitychallengereview · 3 years

Text

UC 50.35 - Imperial vs Warwick

This is episode thirty five of this years University Challenge. Almost exactly one year ago, on 23rd March 2020, the UK was plunged into what we thought would be its only lockdown. Instead it was the first of going on three, four? Where does a lockdown end and a Tier 4 start? Manchester, where I live, has basically been in lockdown for most of the twelve months since then, and who knows how much longer this one is going to actually last.

There is a peculiar magic to a revolution of the sun, with the circularity giving meaning to the meaningless marker of three hundred and sixty five days. Somehow it feels so much more momentous that a year will have passed than that a day less than a year has passed. You remember what you were doing as the lockdown was announced, where you watched Boris make his serious address from. The tingles of fear, and maybe even guilty nervous excitement made me restless. No one knew what any of it meant. So many things have changed since then, but in some ways we are exactly where we were. Stuck inside, nowhere to go, with no concept of when life will return to normal.

There was also a University Challenge match on the 23rd March. I don’t know if I watched it on the day. Probably not. I wrote about it six days later, by which point I was working from home with a pile of books stacked underneath my laptop acting as a makeshift stand. There is something strange about being able to read exactly what I was thinking at the time everything was starting. The following paragraphs are taken directly from that blog, and it still feels like we are in the same limbo state.

What is going on? When I wrote the last blog it was pretty clear that we were in a dire situation, but the inaction of the Government left it feeling like we were in some kind of limbo state, just waiting for the disaster to hit us. But then action was taken. Lockdown.

We now know exactly what we have to do (I was going to list the ‘Stay Home’ instructions here, but if you’re getting your lockdown lowdown from a University Challenge blog then frankly there’s no hope for you anyway), but it still feels really surreal. You’ve never done a home workout in your life, but you’ve done two in the past three days. People say ‘social distancing’ as if its always been a well-known term that was commonly used in daily life. There are never any beans (screw your toilet paper shortages, its the beans that really matter).

We’re still in limbo, really, because we have no idea how long this is going to last. And we’re still waiting for the disaster to hit, because the worst of it hasn’t yet, and the lockdown won’t start properly helping for a few weeks. So what do we do? What can we do? You feel like you want to be distracted from all that is going on, but also to be clued up to the eyeballs with the latest news.

So we do what we can. We stay inside. We call our friends and family and play that stupid ‘chips and guac’ game on Houseparty. We take solace in books, or films, or TV…

As I did a year ago, I’ll try and distract you all (and myself too), with some words about a television quiz show. Let’s not bother with the rules, here’s your first starter for ten...

Imperial and Warwick have already played each other in this years tournament, with the Avonsiders coming out convincing winners, 200 to 120. They then beat another of the semi finalists, Magdalene, Cambridge, by 200 to 160. Fans of a nice round number, it seems.

But I wouldn’t write Imperial off. They followed up their loss to Warwick with magnificent wins over King’s and Durham. Their skipper Kohn is the most in-form player left in the competition, and has averaged more than six starters a game.

Having lost their first round match to Strathclyde, Imperial were given a reprieve via the high-scoring loser play-offs, and boy did they take advantage of it. This coincided with the gap in filming caused by Covid, and Kohn used the extra time to train intensely - think Stallone in Rocky but its just a guy furiously reading (with the same music playing, obviously).

Warwick, meanwhile, have had a relatively smooth path to the last four, winning by an average of 92.5 points. However, if you dive a bit deeper into those statistics, the margin has been decreasing each time (150, 100, 80, 40...), so if Imperial could get stuck into them early on then we’d have a real match on our hands.

Kohn is quickest on the buzzer for the first starter, and they take three bonuses, with Kohn saying that ‘this is giving me strong Dr Faustus vibes’, before giving Dr Faustus as the correct answer for the third. His speed is his downfall on the next starter though, and he loses five points with a neg, allowing his opposite number Rout to pick up the scraps.

A very long-winded biology question falls to no one, before another Imperial neg, this time from Wong, let Braid in to take the lead for Warwick. An incredibly easy bonuse set on Shakespeare extended this for them, though they didn’t recognise ‘Night of the Living Dead’ from its description.

Marrow, Imperial’s resident smiler, took the first picture starter to her evident delight, and a couple of bonuses tied the game at thirty fives. Braid is unlucky with his guess of ‘suffer no fools’ on the next starter - the answer is ‘suffer fools gladly’.

A trademark rapid-buzz from Kohn took the lead back to London, before a second neg from Wong allowed Braid to level the game again. Imperial’s tactic seems to be to win the buzzer race, regardless of whether or not they know the answer. So far they have three negs to three correct starters. An inspired guess of semi-colon from Marrow stole back the initiative. Neither side could string together a run of starters yet.

Not wanting to let Kohn have all the credit, Rout comes in super early on the next starter with Hamiltonian Operator. By now we have reached the music round, in a riveting but so-far low-scoring match. Kohn takes us to seventy apiece with the musical starter, giving Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck as his answer, even though the question had only asked for one person (to be fair to him, the question asked for ‘a bandleader and soloist’, making it seem as though they were two different people, but anyway, Paxman lets him off).

Both teams are making a dangerous habit of dropping bonuses, and six pass in succession with no correct answers. A pair of starters from Burrell, along with a few made five pointers, including some on Bulgarian football teams, gave Warwick the biggest lead of the match so far - fifty.

Kohn isn’t content to give up so easily, and takes the second picture starter, along with a pair of bonuses. Braid stumbles on a chemical elements question, and again Kohn takes advantage. Dismissing some of the bonuses as too easy, Imperial close to within ten.

Pollard gets his first starter of the evening with Yuri Gagarin, and a rare full set from Warwick gave them a thirty five point lead. A supremely clutch buzz from Kohn keeps Imperial in it, but Braid is quickest to identify/guess that a million seconds is two weeks (to the closest week), possibly putting the game beyond the reach of the Londoners. Paxman wastes some time by going on about how stupid it is to know that fact, and Warwick waste some more time with a lengthy conference on the bonuses. They are forty points clear, and probably heading to the final.

But HANG ON!

Braid negs. Thirty five points.

Kohn trips over his tongue, but gets the answer out in the end. Twenty five points. Could they do it?

No (sorry to have built up your hopes, if I did). The gong follows soon after, with Imperial still twenty five points adrift.

Final Score: Imperial 135 - 160 Warwick

Probably a deserved win for Warwick that, but Imperial were an absolute delight and it was a pleasure to watch their evolution over the course of the tournament, especially Kohn’s performances on the buzzer.

I’m looking forward to the second semi-final next week, which also promises to be a barnstormer. See you then.

If you’ve enjoyed this, but can’t wait until next week for another fix of University Challenge, then you can check out my Patreon, where I’ve been reviewing the 2015/16 series.

#university challenge #bbc2 #warwick #imperial #jeremy paxman

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