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unholyobsessions · 3 years

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Take a sick day (or a dozen)

Pairing: Julie x Luke

Description: Five times Julie takes care of Luke and one time he returns the favor

Requested: Yes

A/N: For the first part technically, Luke should not have gotten the symptoms as quickly, it normally takes days, but let’s just pretend okay? let’s not worry about technicalities

Warnings: Sickness, light cursing

Word Count: 4.7k

Masterlist

It’s the middle of July. Julie should be getting ready to go to college not taking care of her stupidly adorable little brother. Her dad is out of town photographing a wedding, so when Carlos comes down with Chicken Pox, she is stuck with nurse duty.

Luke, her ever so caring boyfriend, offers to help her so that is why they are both running around the house, waiting on Carlos hand and foot. Julie keeps phoning the doctor every thirty minutes because Carlos still will not eat and Luke keeps replacing the cold towel on his forehead.

What Luke forgot to mention when he offered to help was that he never got the Chicken pox as a child. After the third day Luke woke up, scratching at his arms and torso non stop, Julie starts getting worried. A few hours later she gets tired of seeing Luke not so subtly scratching again, so she grabs his arm and pulls up his sleeve. His arms are covered with blisters and Julie lets out a loud gasp.

“You lied!” Julie exclaimed.

Luke pulls his arms away from her grasp and raises them in defense. “Technically I didn’t lie. I did not know I never got chicken pox!.” He counters her accusation and Carlos, who is sitting between them, just glances back and forth between the two, highly amused by the interaction.

“Go take a shower, I’ll go call the doctor and ask him what to do when an eighteen year old idiot gets chicken pox.” Julie huffed out, getting up from her crouched position beside the bed.

Carlos and Luke stared after her and the former shook his head. “You’re lucky she loves you.”

Luke let out a small laugh and pushed himself up. “Yeah I am.”

Fifteen minutes later Luke is out of the shower and now running a high fever. The doctor reassures her that he would be fine and that she should just use the same medication that she has been giving Carlos.

With that out of the way, Julie realizes that Luke is a giant baby. He complains more than Carlos and whines about the slightest inconvenience. It should be in her best interest to send him home and have his parents take care of him but she knows they both have full time jobs and cannot afford to take a week off to take care of him. So she muscles through it, running back and forth between Carlos’s room and her own room, where Luke is staying.

It’s after midnight, two days later, and Carlos has already succumbed to the exhaustion so she is sitting next to her bed, placing a cold towel on Luke’s forehead, who had just been complaining that the room is too hot. A moment later, after he had taken his medicine he turns to look at her, a loving smile on his lips.

“I love you so much. Thank you for putting up with my bullshit.” He says it so softly that she has to lean forward to hear him properly, but there is so much emotion in that statement that it makes her cheeks flush.

“I would do it one hundred times over Luke, you know that,” she whispers, reaching a hand toward his, curling their fingers together.

“I know, but still thank you. I know you would much prefer to spend the weekend shopping with Flynn.” That gets a laugh out of her and Luke smiles triumphantly.

“You would have found a way to tag along,” she retorts and Luke barks out a loud laugh, immediately followed by a yawn. “Go to sleep, I’m in my dad’s room if you need me.” She presses a kiss on the crown of his head and gets up to leave, turning the lights off on her way out.

. . .

It’s their first semester at University and things are going great. But of course Luke had to go and ruin it all. Julie really does not know how someone could get sick as easily as Luke. It’s normally a common cold that goes away in twenty four hours but no. He had to go all out.

It’s flu season and Julie is stuck in a dorm room with her very annoying, very sick, and very adorable roommate/boyfriend.

Luke can barely move, his body feeling heavy. His head is pounding and the room feels both too hot and too cold at the same time.

Julie walks back into the room after a quick trip to the local CVS store to get supplies. She really hopes this doesn’t last for more than a few days, because she can’t afford to miss too many classes. She makes the mistake of turning on the light, prompting Luke to grown loudly and yell in discontent as if he were being stabbed. Julie rolls her eyes and turns the light off, settling for the lamp on her desk.

She pulls out the thermometer from the bag and proceeds to tear up the packaging with her teeth because in her state of stress, she didn’t think of just putting the bag down. Once she finally got it open she put it against his forehead and waited for the indicated beep.

She hisses once she sees the temperature. “102.5. Damn I was really hoping you didn’t have a fever.” She takes out the packet of pills from the bag and a water bottle and hands him two pills and the open bottle. “Take these.”

Luke obediently takes them and turns to look at her. “Aren’t you worried about catching it?”

“Not really. I had my flu shot two weeks ago. I told you to get it but you’re afraid of needles.” Julie deadpans and sits on the edge of his bed.

Luke shoots up with a sudden burst of energy. “I am not afraid of needles,” he exclaims.

Julie rolls her eyes and pushes his shoulder lightly. “Yes you are you big baby. Now lay down or you’ll get dizzy.”

Luke mumbles incoherently, no doubt complaining, but he obeys and lays down, squeezing his eyes shut because just as Julie said, he gets dizzy. Julie pulls the covers up to his shoulders and runs a hand through his hair. Luke hums, content with the feeling of his girlfriend playing with his hair.

“Can you sing me a song?” He asks after a few minutes, startling Julie who thought he had fallen asleep.

“Yeah, of course.” She nods her head even though he can’t see her. Luke grasps her arm and pulls her down to lay down next to him. She lets out a small giggle and cuddles up to him

“I’m in my bed

And you're not here”

Luke interrupts her, finally opening his eyes to look at her incredulously.

“Could you have picked a sadder song?” Julie barks out a loud laugh, slapping a hand over her mouth in order to not be too loud.

“I’m sorry! It was just the song I had in my head.” Luke shakes his head, whispering a soft “unbelievable,” under his breath.

“Pick something happier but still soft.”

Julie looked down at him, fully prepared to ask him what the hell he meant by his request, but he has already nuzzled back into her side with his eyes closed. She let out a small sigh with a small smile on her face.

“Any suggestions?”

Luke stayed quiet for a second before piping up with a tired voice. “Truly, Madly, Deeply. The One Direction song you showed me other week.”

She decides not to comment on his unusual choice, Luke never having been one to willingly listen to One Direction (he loves them, he just refuses to admit it.) Julie simply kisses the top of his head and with a deep breath, she begins the song.

Julie missed three days of classes, and every second not spent doing the work she missed or getting Luke his medicine, was spent singing him to sleep.

. . .

Luke should have known that eating those hotdogs was a bad idea. The food truck was sketchy and mostly without customers but Reggie and Alex dared him to do it and because he’s a prideful idiot, he did it. Now he is suffering the consequences as he retches the contents of his stomach into the toilet as Julie rubs his back soothingly.

She’s singing something under her breath, Luke doesn’t recognize it at first so he focuses all his energy on listening to her voice.

“Sana sana colita de rana si no sana hoy, sanará mañana,” and she repeats it again and again. Luke has stopped throwing up by now and is resting his head on the toilet seat, which is not the most hygienic but he can barely keep his eyes open much less move. He mumbles something incoherently and Julie leans forward, “What did you say?”

“What the heck are you singing?”

Julie has to resist the urge to laugh as she answers. “It’s I guess a saying? I’m not sure how to describe it, it’s just something my mom used to say whenever I would get injured.”

Luke wants to believe that he nods his head in affirmation but in reality, it doesn’t even look like he’s breathing with how still he is, slumped against the toilet. His lips starts moving but there is no sound escaping them and for a moment Julie thinks he fell asleep, but then his arms reach forward to grip the edge of the seat as he starts throwing up again.

Julie grimaces and continues to rub his back, only stopping when her phone rings and she has to reach her arm up to the counter to grab it. She speaks in hushed words to the doctor on the other end, nodding her head along to what he’s saying. A few minutes later she hangs up and Luke squints at her, wanting to know what’s going on.

“Well apparently all of your symptoms align with mild food poisoning. Nothing too serious and since you don’t have a fever, it should go away on its own by tomorrow. Only thing is we have to keep you hydrated so I texted Alex and Reggie to get you some electrolytes.”

Luke didn’t even try to move this time, simply groaning audibly and clutching an arm around his abdomen, which feels like it’s on fire. After Luke goes a full five minutes without throwing up, Julie brings a hand up to flush the toilet. The sudden noise causing Luke to jump up and turn to Julie with a paranoid gaze.

Julie, not wanting to make him feel bad, hides her smile by biting her lip. She runs a hand through his sweat matted hair and gently pulls his head onto her lap. She continues to softly speak the ‘sana sana’ because even though she knows now that it doesn’t work, her little seven-year-old self believed it could cure any injuries or sickness.

She stays in the bathroom floor, back cramping and neck stiff, for about thirty minutes, simply enjoying seeing Luke breathing in and out calmly. She knows that as soon as he wakes up, he will be filled with pain and discomfort so if she has to suffer a few minutes of it, then so be it.

He is woken up by the sound of a knock on the door, no doubt Reggie and Alex with the supplies she made them get. Luke immediately shoots up and starts gagging and Julie doesn’t know how he can still be throwing up after having done so about five times already.

She gets up and brings a hand to her neck, yelling out an annoyed “coming!” as the knocking persists. She opens the the door, takes the bag out of their hands, and closes it again, the fact that they are the reason she is in this situation not escaping her.

She makes Luke brush his teeth before bringing him to bed, knowing he will be much more comfortable. She hands him an opened bottle of the lemon flavored drink, but he pushes it away. Julie rolls her eyes and pushes the drink back toward him. He groans and turns away, refusing to even so much as look at what she is offering.

“I swear to God Luke if you don’t take this right now, I will pour it down your throat myself.” And she knows she is being a bit harsh but this is the only thing he has to take in order to feel better and he is acting like a child over it.

With fear in his eyes, Luke takes the bottle, bringing it to his lips and taking the tiniest of sips, his mood immediately brightening at the smile Julie sends him.

(Julie was right and he did feel infinitely better the next day)

. . .

It was supposed to be romantic.

Julie smiling widely at him as he twirled her and dipped her repeatedly. Their laughter both echoing louder than fireworks and being drowned out by the wind. The rain hitting them at a rapid pace, quickly soaking them from head to toe. But they didn’t care. They were just two teenager in love, enjoying the clicheness of dancing in the rain to the beat of their hearts, which pounded against their chests as one.

Luke doesn’t remember when exactly he started to sing, a couple of meaningless lyrics he had had stuck in his head for the a few days. And he is not sure when Julie joined him, but by the time they stopped, they were out of breath, it was already dark, and the large raindrops had turned into a light drizzle.

So in reality, it was extremely romantic.

What isn’t romantic is Luke waking up the next day with a horrible cough, congested, and a low fever. He tries to hide it, not wanting to admit it is big deal, but of course, Julie sees right through it.

“You literally have the immune system of a newborn,” she says with a shake of her head. “Go take a warm shower, I’ll go call the doctor.”

Luke opens his mouth to protest, but one harsh look from Julie sent his way and he immediately heads to the bathroom. He lets the warm water run over him, closing his eyes and hoping the steam created will ease up his nose.

By the time he gets out, Julie has placed a warm towel and his favorite pair of sweats on the counter. He smiles and quickly dries up and changes. He pulls on one of his old muscle tanks as he exits the bathroom.

Julie turns at the sound of the door opening and smiles. “I changed your sheets so they will be more comfortable. And the doctor said to give you the same things as when you had the flu but just in smaller doses.”

Luke simply stares at her because he can’t help but think how the hell he got so lucky. His head is pounding and his throat is sore but with her sitting there in front of him, looking so effortlessly beautiful, he feels on cloud nine. He scampers off to his bed, taking in the scent of the new sheets and closes his eyes.

Julie appears next to him a few seconds later, holding a bottle of cough syrup, a water bottle, and a small bottle of pills. He lets out a loud groan that is immediately followed by a cough.

“You know Luke when I said I would take care of you one hundred times over, I didn’t mean it literally,” she says, trying to feign annoyance, but the loving smile on her face gives her away. “Now take your medicine please.”

Luke throws his head back but takes the items from her hands. “Only ‘cause you said please,” he pouts.

Julie snorts and kisses the top of his head before turning around. Luke lets out a sound of protest making her turn around instantly.

“Where are you going?” He asks, voice filled with concern and disbelief.

“Uhh class?” She phrases it like a question and shrugs her shoulder, not knowing what else she’s supposed to say.

“And you’re going to leave me alone?” Luke has the biggest pout gracing his lips and he feels his throat closing in a little. Julie never leaves him alone when he’s sick.

“You’re going to sleep all day anyway.” Luke shakes his head so fast that he has to squeeze his eyes to stop the room from spinning after. Once he has regained control he looks up to find Julie eyeing him softly and he knows she’s caving, so he puts on his best puppy dog eyes.

With a defeated sigh, Julie drops her backpack. Luke cheers triumphantly and pats the space next to him.

“Wait. Before you lay down, can you get me one of those wet rags for my forehead?” Luke practically begs, and who is Julie to deny him?

She marches up to their little kitchenette and soaks a rag in cold water before filling a bowl with ice. She places the rag in the bowl and makes her way back to the bed, where Luke is just about ready for cuddles. She places the rag on his forehead and Luke shivers involuntarily.

It is only a few minutes after Julie lays down beside him, when Luke decides to ask for something else. It seems that since he got her to stay, now he will take full advantage of it. This time he asks for a hot peach tea to ease his throat. And after that it’s a cold water bottle. After that it’s a plate of her peanut butter banana toast.

By the time Luke falls asleep, she has ran around the room about ten times in order to fulfill his requests. She lays down in her own bed, absolutely exhausted and is about to fall asleep when a loud whine come from Luke’s bed. With a groan, Julie sits up and her heart melts at the sight. Luke looks at her through half lidded eyes and makes grabby hands at her, clearly not liking having her so far away.

Julie’s sure that by the time he wakes up he will no longer feel any trace of sickness so she goes and lays next to him, enjoying the familiar weight of his arm around her after a long day.

. . .

Luke has no idea what words are coming out of his mouth at the moment and he supposes that’s an effect of the drugs. Today is the day he got his wisdom teeth out and his parents were supposed to take care of him for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, they had a last minute business trip and who is left with the responsibility? No one other than Julie.

So that is why she finds herself lugging a nineteen year old back to the car, as he slurs out sentence fragments that don’t make a lot of sense. She finally gets him into the backseat and she takes a moment to breath before making her way to the drivers side.

“Vroom vroom.” Luke mimics the sound of the engine turning on as Julie turns the key.

“Yes Luke vroom vroom,” she responds with a smile on her face. Julie has taken care of Luke a number times but she has a feeling that this will be much different.

When she parks in front of their dorm Luke lets out a loud ‘whoop’ from his place in the backseat. Julie turns and smiles at him and he does his best to smile back with the amount of cotton in his mouth.

“The first thing I do,” he pauses as Julie wraps an arm around his waist to lead him up the stairs of their building. “The first thing I will do when I die, is ask Jonbenét Ramsey who killed her.”

Julie stops walking for a full minute but Luke doesn’t seem to notice as he keeps rambling theories on who he thinks killed her. She looks at him, at first thinking that he is spitting out nonsense and then realizing that what he is saying actually makes a lot of sense. She makes a noise of agreement and continues walking up the stairs, letting go of Luke to open their door.

Once she gets Luke settled he pulls on her arm and grins up at her, a small amount of saliva dribbling down his chin. “Kiss?”

Julie shakes her head. “Sorry bud, no kisses until you’re no longer on drugs.” She wipes the drool with the tip of her thumb smiling back at him. He pouts and hugs his stuffed koala closer to his body.

“Kiss!” He says again with a slight bounce. Julie laughs and shakes her head again, telling him to get some rest. “Cuddle?” He asks, trying to compromise. Julie complies with this request and lays down next to him.

“You know what?” He mumbles and Julie hums, prompting him to continue. “I love you, more than you could ever possibly imagine.”

“Is that so?” Julie giggles.

“Yes. You are,” he furrows his brows to try to find the perfect word to describe her. “You’re music Julie. Your voice is the lyrics of my heart and your laughter the melodies.”

Julie’s heart stops, her breath hitching as she blinks away tears. “I love you too Luke.”

When Luke wakes up, he asks Julie if he said anything weird and Julie tells him he didn’t. And maybe it’s a little selfish of her but she wants to keep that little love confession to herself.

. . .

Julie does not get sick often, so it it quite surprising when Luke wakes up and finds Julie curled up in her bed, groaning in pain. He scampers to her side quickly, gently shaking her shoulder in order to get her attention. With a soft whisper of her name, Julie stirs and squints up at Luke. She releases a whine and pulls the covers over her head.

Luke’s eyes widen and he freezes for a second because, what the hell is he supposed to do? This situation is normally the other way around. He spots Julie’s phone on her desk and he makes a dash for it, knowing that she has the doctor’s phone number saved.

“Come on, come on,” he mutters under his breath as the phone rings in his ear. He almost yells in success when the doctor’s voice comes through the phone but he is immediately offended by what the man says.

“Is your boyfriend sick again Miss Molina?” Luke scoffs and responds in an equally sassy voice, because if Luke Patterson is anything, it’s petty.

“No, actually Miss Molina is the one sick this time,” He waits for the reply, expecting another dig at him but the doctor shows immediate concern and asks for her symptoms. In that moment Luke realizes he doesn’t know what Julie’s symptoms are and has a weird need to turn to his mom (who isn’t there) and have her answer the questions. “Hang on a second.”

He goes back to Julie’s side and does his best to get her to say something to him. He tells her that if she tells him what hurts he’ll get her ice cream, not actually expecting it to work. Seconds later, Julie is telling him all of her symptoms which he promptly repeats to the doctor on the other end of the call.

He tells her that it is better to bring her in so he can test her for different sicknesses but the one that caught Luke’s ear, is strep. He got strep (unsurprisingly) when he was younger and although he doesn’t remember all the details, he remembers it sucks.

He coerces Julie to take a warm shower, insuring her that she will feel much better when she does. With a disgruntled noise and a lot of protest, Luke gets her to the bathroom. As she showers he changes her sheets and gets her favorite hoodie of his from his dresser. He places them on the counter for her and then sits by the door, leg bouncing up and down with anxiety.

A few minutes later he is driving a sleeping Julie to the doctor’s office where they confirm that she does in fact have strep throat. Julie whines about getting her ice cream to ease her sore throat and he makes her promise that she will eat the chicken soup the doctor recommended first. He get’s to CVS and gets all of the medication the doctor prescribed as well as a pint of Julie’s favorite cookie dough ice cream and a few cans of chicken noodle soup. He can’t cook okay?

He tucks Julie into bed, giving her all the extra pillows so she can sit up as Luke heats up the soup. Julie grumbles about it being from a can and Luke does his best to assure her that it’s good, which includes him having to eat his own bowl of it. She falls asleep immediately after finishing the soup and Luke stays next to her, running fingers through her curly, still slightly damp hair.

He is scrolling through his phone when Julie starts to stir, a noise of pain exiting her lips followed by a whine.

“Hurts,” She whispers, cuddling closer to Luke. His heart aches for her and he pulls her even closer, kissing the top of her head.

“I’m sorry Jules. Anything I can do?” He feels her nod and he looks down at her surprised. “Really? What do you need?”

“Ice cream,” She mumbles into his chest and Luke’s shoulders start shaking with silent laughter. When he tries to get up, Julie clings to him and he has to remind her that she has to let go in order for him to get her the ice cream. She reluctantly allows him to leave and smiles the brightest she has all day when he comes back with Ben and Jerry’s cookie dough and a big spoon. She quietly enjoys her ice cream as Luke starts up a movie on his laptop.

Luke spends the rest of the day emailing both his and Julie’s professors which takes much longer than he expects since he only has the use of one arm, Julie clinging to the other one tightly. The response from their professors are about the same, telling them to make sure to do their readings and whatnot. Eventually, when it is already late and dark outside, Luke shuts his laptop and goes to sleep.

The next day, when Julie is a bit more lucid she pushes Luke off the bed in a haste. He yells out a string of profanities as he hits the floor and Julie looks at him incredulously.

“Why are you in my bed? I’m going to get you sick!” Luke rolls his eyes as her hand goes to her neck, immediately regretting raising her voice.

“Really Jules? You literally have taken care of me dozens of times. If you think that I’m not doing the same for you, then you’re insane. I love you and I’ll do anything for you. So lay back down while I heat you up some soup.” Luke gets back up and pushes her back into a laying position.

Julie complains about it but agrees to his conditions quickly, not really having much energy to argue. She is much less clingy, now fully aware that she could let Luke sick if they’re not careful.

Luke finds that taking care of Julie isn’t as bad as he thought it would be. He teases Julie about her always complaining after he gets sick and she reminds him that she is much less of a nuisance than he is, which Luke supposes is true. After a week of Luke fighting Julie to take her medicine, long whines, five pints of ice cream, and a whole lot of naps, Julie is feeling much better. Luke says it’s all thanks to him, and Julie agrees with him for the sole reason of seeing him smile after she does so.

The most surprising part though, Luke doesn’t get sick and to them, that is a win within itself.

(He does end up with a twenty-four hour virus going around campus about three weeks later but that’s a story for another time.)

#julie molina #luke patterson #Julie and Luke #luke and julie #julie x luke #luke x julie #juke #jukebox #julie and the phantoms #julie and the phantoms fanfic #julie and the phantoms fanfiction #jatp #jatp fanfic #jatp fanfiction #julie and the himbos #julie and the fat ones

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slade-neko · 3 years

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Saw this video game tag thing pop up on my dash a few days ago. Wanted to do it.

1. First game you played obsessively? Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I believe I was 5yo. Still waiting on that FF7 Remake treatment.

2. A game that has influenced you creatively? Writing, drawing, etc. Well if I play a game and like it, then I'll create sims of it. Does that count?

3. Who did you play with as a kid? My brother from the day I was born.

4. Who do you play with now? My brother FROM THE DAY I WAS BORN.

5. Ever use cheat codes? I wasn't lying when I made this post. {link}

6. Ever buy strategy guides? Yes! Mainly to look at the artwork though. (Don't need no guide!)

7. Any games you have multiple copies of? Lots of games, most being Left 4 Dead with 6 copies (3 Xbox 360, 1 PC case, 2 PC digitally.) What can I say, its a GOOD GAME!

8. Rarest/Most expensive game in your collection? Gold cartridge Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time (maybe that's rare?)

9. Most regrettable purchase? I don't regret my purchases, but I have received games I have never played like Cubix (PS2) no clue where that game came from, but I have it somehow. Madagascar (Xbox 360) came with my Xbox 360, never opened it from its case. And Monsters Inc. Scream Arena (Gamecube) or something... it was a gift.

10. Ever go to a midnight game release or stand in line for hours? No, because then I'd have to interact with people.

11. Have you ever made new friends from playing video games? I'm only friends with people BECAUSE of video games, so yes.

12. Ever get picked on for liking games? No, that'd be ridiculous.

13. A game you’ve never played that everyone else has? Probably a lot, I'd say Call of Duty, but I technically played CoD 1, 2, and 4. The campaign mode was alright, but I don't really care for CoD games at ALL.

14. Favorite game music? Koji Kondo and Grant Kirkhope are two BIG ones.

15. If it was a requirement to get a game related tattoo, what would you pick? Triforce is the most basic option, but I'd rather not get a tattoo.

16. Favorite game to play with your friends IRL? Super Smash Bros. Brawl with hacks, but that was over a decade ago.

17. Ever lose a friend over a game? No, that'd be ridiculous.

18. Would you date someone that hates gaming? No, that'd be RIDICULOUS.

19. Favorite handheld console? PSP. 3DS is great, but PSP Monster Hunter has ALL of my portable gaming memories. Like playing in school after End of Grade tests with my friend.

20. Game that you know like the back of your hand? Sims 4 I like to think I know everything about Left 4 Dead. Quite a bit about Monster Hunter, more so of a series though than a specific game.

21. Game that you didn’t like or understand as a kid but love now? I'd say Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. I loved it as a kid, but had a lot of complex pen & paper RPG mechanics that I never understood. I understand a lot more of it now, but its still complex as all heck. I just know you hit things, they die.

22. Do you wear game related clothing/accessories? That's the only thing I wear.

23. The game that you’ve logged the most hours into? Not sure so I'll list a few. Sims 4, Smash Bros. Brawl, Monster Hunter (its a series though), or Left 4 Dead

24. First Pokemon game? Leaf Green

25. Were you ever an arcade game player? No, don't like paying to play.

26. Ever form any gaming rivalries? No.

27. Game that makes you rage? I don't get mad at games, but I had a custom modded Hard Eight mutation in Left 4 Dead that is absolute bullsh*t!

28. Ever play in a tournament? No, because then I'd have to interact with people.

29. What is your gaming set up? A giant wall of video game consoles spanning from NES to Switch, 4 TVs, but I sit at a desk with a PC.

30. How many consoles do you own? "I own every console that's ever existed." - I Don't Play Games When I Play Games (My STRENTH) original song by Smooth McGroove BUT no seriously I own 32 consoles including handhelds.

31. Does the 3DS and/or Virtual Boy hurt your eyes or give you headaches? Yes. 3DS gave me headaches though I only really played with the 3D feature in Ocarina of Time 3D. I think my eyes broke because I couldn't get my 3D to work very well after.

32. Did you ever play a game based on your favorite show/cartoon/movie/comic? Sure I play games based on a lot of things. Literally any anime game. If I had to pick Dragon Ball Xenoverse is kinda like a dream Dragon Ball game. Oh, Attack on Titan 2 is pretty neat too!

33. Did you ever have any bootleg games or plug-n-play games? Some SEGA plug-n-play thing once. Played it like once and now its lost to time (or my closet.)

34. Do either of your parents play video games? Yes. Mom and Dad played NES Super Mario Bros. My Dad went HARD at that game until he saved the Princess. Then he quit forever.

35. Ever work in a game store? Or do you have a favorite game shop? "Hi. Welcome to Gamestop!"I never want to hear that again, but it was my main store until I went full digital/ online orders.

36. Have you ever shed actual blood, sweat or tears over a game? No, I don't tend to get upset or emotional, but Bill dying in Left 4 Dead made me pretty pissed.

37. Have you played E.T. for the Atari 2600? Do you think that’s the worst game ever, or do you have another nomination? Never played it. I don't really play "bad" games, but maybe Sims 4.

38. A game you’re ashamed to admit that you like? The Sims 4

39. A sequel that you would die for them to make? Dragon's Dogma 2 WHICH I think is actually in development, so I'd have to say Fallout New Vegas 2. C'mon Bethesda you cowards, hand the keys back over to Obsidian so they can make another good Fallout game!

40. What to you think of virtual reality headsets or motion controls? Two part question, two answers. VR Headset to immerse in world, yes. Motion Controls, no.

41. A genre that you just can’t get into? MOBAs and MMOs. I don't like paying to keep playing.

42. Maybe it wasn’t your first game, but what was the game that started you on your path to nerdiness? Nintendo 64 opened me up to what video games could be as a kid. Sad to say my parents' NES didn't really do that for me. And years later Fallout 3 was a big game changer for me too.

43. Ever play games when you really should have been concentrating on something else? Every day of my LIFE.

44. Arcade machine that has consumed the most of your quarters? None. I'd rather emulate.

45. How are you at Mario Kart? Pretty dang good. 3-STARS MARIO KART WII, BABY!

46. Do you like relaxing games like Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon? Yes, both of those. I preferred when Animal Crossing had more character to it. New Horizons looks so pretty, but feels so bland compared to classic AC.

47. Do you like competitive games? No. Not really. Usually amongst friends or if I can get competitive against AI Bots. I love my machine bot friends cause they don't cry like 10 year olds when they lose.

48. How long does it take your to customize your player character? Too long. I've seriously restarted games because I wasn't happy with my character's appearance.

49. In games where you can pick your class, do you always tend to go for the same type of character? Yes, I am always the magic man, my brother is always brute warrior, and my friend is the ranger.

50. If you were a game designer, what masterpiece would you create? I don't really know. Honestly, I'd rather mod already good games to make them better than create something completely new.

51. Have you ever played a game for so long that you forgot to eat or sleep? No, that'd be ridiculous. But I've had a friend fall asleep playing games at my house 3 different times and currently dozes off during our Minecraft sessions. So, maybe that's not a completely ridiculous thing after all.

52. A game that you begged your parents for as a kid? Kirby 64 apparently. My brother tells me we had to count out pennies to buy it. I must've been too young with no recollection, but I believe it.

53. What’s your opinion on DLC these days? It's good if its not in the game's files from the beginning and is actually developed AFTER launch... and pre-order bonuses should be standard DLC a month or two later. Some games have content lost to time because of that pre-order bullsh*t.

54. Do you give in to Steam sales? Of course. If you want a game and its on sale then why not? I typically wait just for Steam sales to get games.

55. Did you ever make someone you hated in the Sims and did mean stuff to them? No? I typically make people and characters I like in Sims. I've made villains like Dio, but he's an anime villain and I don't really HATE him despite the horrible things he's done.

56. Did you ever play Roller Coaster Tycoon and kill off your guests? No. Never played that game.

57. Did you ever play a game to 100% or get all of the achievements? I try to for all the games I really like.

58. If you can only play 3 games for the rest of your life, which ones do you pick? The Sims 4, Skyrim, & Fallout: New Vegas. Mods make them live forever. Left 4 Dead and Monster Hunter are good choices too.

59. Do you play any cell phone games? Those aren't games.

60. Do you know the Konami Code? No? But I'll take a guess. Is it make an IP and forget it exists?

61. Do you trade in your games or keep them forever? Keep forever... even the bad ones.

62. Ever buy a console specifically to play one game? PS4 Pro for Monster Hunter World. It was basically for early access since the PC version was being developed and releasing after PS4, but I don't like waiting.

63. Ever go to a gaming convention or tournament? Sort of. Been to anime cons and walked into the gaming tournament rooms only to walk out less than 10 minutes later.

64. Ever make a TV or monitor purchase based on what would be best for gaming? No, but I'm going to be doing that soon, hopefully.

65. Ever have a Game Genie, Game Shark or Action Replay? Did it ever mess up your game’s save file? GameShark for N64, PS2, Gameboy, and Action Replay for Gamecube, DS, 3DS. And no not really, I would cheat responsibly... but there was this one time at school my friend and I borrowed another friend's Gameboy game, loaded it up with my Gameshark, tried playing, it crashed, loaded it back up, save file corrupted... we just stared at each other jaws dropped, "Here's your game back, dude. Make sure you don't play it til you get back home!"

66. Did you ever have have an old Nokia with Snake on it? No, but I remember seeing them on billboards in the game DRIV3R on PS2.

67. Do you have a happy gaming-related childhood memory you want to share? Every game I play is filled with happy memories (mostly.)

68. Ever save up a ton of tickets in an arcade to get something cool? These tiger plushes. My brother got white and I got orange. They were the coolest. Got a butt load of tickets from some jackpot spinning light game thing as I was good at the timing with repeated jackpot hits.

69. In your opinion, best game ever made? I've played quite a few masterpiece games, but to pick one, I'd say Fallout: New Vegas

70. Very first game you ever beat? Super Mario 64. I was a mere child on a Sunday morning and ate celebratory pancakes made by my Dad.

Wow, that was long... I get the feeling this was supposed to be a "send me ask with numbers" thing, but answering all at once is more fun.

#personal #video games

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crimson-ace · 3 years

Text

A Real Rock-Solid Dude (Or Would a More Accurate Term Be Dudebot?)

Archive of Our Own Link

Here’s yet another story in the Transformers AU, this time focusing on Stoneheart and Nino. If anyone wants to share their thoughts on it or offer advice on how I can improve, you’re more than welcome to.

Nino couldn’t believe that he was actually riding in the passenger seat of an advanced alien robot taking on the form of a dump truck who was specifically assigned to protect him. He looked so cool and had all these weapons, and Nino actually got to hang out with him! Yeah, he was technically there to make sure some evil giant robots didn’t try to kill him and his family, but that was a minor detail. He couldn’t wait to get to know him.

Likewise, Stoneheart couldn’t believe that Optimus Prime was actually letting him spend time with a human. Ever since he had arrived on Earth, he had wanted to understand humans more, but hadn’t gotten much of a chance because of Optimus’s orders to remain robots in disguise.

Stoneheart naturally had a lot of questions to ask Nino. “Why do humans have so many different skin colors? How do you make those trees I see in the forest? What does your kind use to refuel? Can you tell me what a ‘meme’ is? Does the cybernetic warlord Schwarzenegger really exist?”

“Whoa, dude! Calm down for a second.” Nino was surprised by how eager Stoneheart sounded, and the strange questions he was asking. But then again, humans are kind of weird. Nino thought he saw the yellow Autobot dudette trying to hide from him before the big leader Autobot dude (he’s really bad with names, okay?) told her to get back to the command center.

“I’m sorry, I really want to learn everything I can about humans.” Stoneheart said. “I haven’t really interacted with your kind before. I haven’t really even interacted with a lot of life forms outside of other Autobots.”

“Well, I’m still open for questions. Just be sure to ask them one at a time, okay?” Nino suggested.

“Uh… okay.” Stoneheart felt a little embarrassed for going on like that. “What do humans do for entertainment?”

“Well, I like to listen to music. Here, I’ll play something for you.” Nino took out his phone and looked for a good song for Stoneheart. He pressed a button, and a smooth hip-hop beat started to play.

“Ooh, that sounds nice.” Stoneheart said, enjoying the music.

“Only the best songs go on my playlist.” Nino said, happy Stoneheart was having a good time.“How long have you been on Earth anyway?”

Stoneheart had to quickly do the math converting stellar cycles to human units of measurement. “I’d say about three of your Earth years.”

“And you’ve really managed to stay hidden that long?”

“Well, we’ve had help from your planet’s government.” Stoneheart explained. “We have a liaison who monitors our activity and occasionally calls for backup if we need it.”

“So you have a babysitter?” Nino asked. “That’s so lame.”

“I wouldn’t call him that. Our liaison’s abrasive, but he’s got a good heart.” Stoneheart said. “I’ve worked with far worse before.”

Stoneheart kept driving until he stopped, much to Nino’s confusion.

“Uh, dude, why did you stop?”

“I was told that when the light on the street is red, vehicles are supposed to stop. Did I do something wrong?” Stoneheart asked.

Nino looked out Stoneheart’s window and saw the stoplight. “We’re still in the countryside, and there wasn’t a stoplight here yesterday.” Right after he said that, the stoplight faded away in a flash of orange light. Before he could think of anything else, Nino saw an orange sports car charging towards him and Stoneheart.

“Get in!” Stoneheart cried as he started driving away, knowing what, or rather, who the car really was. But before he could get any farther, Stoneheart was flanked by several black cars with purple highlights. The cars transformed into robotic drones, much like the ones Stoneheart had fought earlier with Ladybug and Queen Bee. They all pointed their weapons at Stoneheart

Soon after, the orange car stopped and transformed into a humanoid figure that casually walked over to Stoneheart with a smirk on her face.

“Hi Stoneheart. Why don’t you transform so we can have a little chat?” She asked.

Stoneheart had Nino get out and transformed into his robot mode, making sure Nino was safe behind his leg.

“What are you doing here?” Stoneheart asked, clenching a fist in anger.

Volpina chuckled a little. “Well, during our little skirmish today where you risked your titles as ‘robots in disguise’ over a couple of organic lifeforms, I took the chance to place a tracking device on you.”

Nino saw the orange device on the Autobot’s leg and tried to pull it off before Stoneheart did it himself. “So why me? Why not Queen Bee or Ladybug?”

Hearing the question made Volpina laugh a little more. “You’re really asking that? Do you even realize the position you’re in right now? This is a chance to rejoin the winning team!”

Nino’s eyes widened as he heard Volpina’s offer. “R-Rejoin?”

“Yeah, you know those big bad Decepticons you were told about by Optimus Prime? Your buddy here used to be one.” Volpina said with a sadistic grin on her face.

Stoneheart tensed up, worried his past would drive Nino away like so many before him.

It turned out that Volpina was counting on this, as one of the Vehicons took advantage of Stoneheart letting his guard down and grabbed Nino in one hand before handing him to Volpina

Nino struggled to escape the grip of the Decepticon, which only got tighter the more he moved around.

“They’re even more disgusting up close. Though they are fun to see go ‘pop’.” She sneered, enjoying the human’s suffering.

Stoneheart thought of charging Volpina, but he was stopped by the Vehicons aiming their weapons at him.

“Here’s the deal: You’re going to call the Autobot base for a ground bridge, so we can find out just where you all hide from the wrath of the Decepticons.” Volpina said as she presented Nino to Stoneheart. “If you don’t, I get the organic’s blood all over my hand.”

Stoneheart was at a loss of what to do as the Vehicons moved closer to him.

Suddenly, he got a message from the Autobot base, almost like fate was laughing at him. “Stoneheart, this is Pegasus. How are things with the human?”

Volpina grinned wickedly as held Nino in her hand, making Stoneheart know what would happen if he didn’t cooperate.

“I, uh… everything’s fine, Pegasus. I’ll check in with you later.” Stoneheart said before ending the call, causing the Vehicons to move in on him.

“I get that you’re a little nervous, but are you unaware of our deal?” Volpina asked. “Call your base again, or my troops open fire.”

To make sure Stoneheart did what Volpina wanted, a Vehicon pressed its weapon against his back.

Stoneheart raised his left hand and went to press the button on his head that activated his comlink… and then swiftly grabbed the Vehicon behind him and threw it at Volpina.

The sudden impact caused the Decepticon to lose her grip on Nino, who started to fall to the ground. Thankfully, Stoneheart dived down and caught him before transforming back into vehicle mode and driving off with Nino in his cab.

Just when he thought he had outrun then, Stoneheart found himself cornered by more Vehicons. Just when it seemed like he was outnumbered again, he saw a stray blaster fire from afar, hitting one of the Vehicons.

Stoneheart transformed back into his robot form, holding Nino in his hands, and saw Optimus Prime was there, holding his ion blaster. “Stoneheart, get Nino to a safe place.” He ordered as he engaged the Vehicons.

Stoneheart nodded and ran through blaster fire before hiding Nino behind a rock. “Stay here.” He said as he charged back out with Optimus. The two Autobots quickly dispatched the remaining Vehicons.

...........

“How did you know I was in trouble?” Stoneheart asked as he and Optimus walked back to Nino.

“The tone in your voice made it clear you were in distress.” Optimus explained.

Stoneheart sighed a little. “I’m guessing you don’t want me to be Nino’s guardian anymore?”

“On the contrary. The fact that you risked so much for Nino shows you have learned so much about compassion for life.”

Nino saw Optimus and Stoneheart and ran over to them. “Hey dudes!” He said as Stoneheart picked him up. “Are you okay?” Stoneheart asked.

Nino nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. A little bruised, but still fine.” He said before he looked at Optimus. “Hey, uh… Prime Dude? The fox bot said Stoneheart used to be a Decepticon? Is that true?”

Optimus saw the concerned look on Stoneheart’s face and pondered how to explain this to Nino. “Yes, Stoneheart was a Decepticon, but not anymore. Every solar cycle, he is learning about the importance of life, and is now fighting for more reasons than personal thrill.”

Nino was surprised, but noticed how worried Stoneheart looked, so he decided to stop asking questions for now. “Okay, that’s fine. I’m fine with you, Autobot or Decepticon.” He said, making Stoneheart smile a little.

“To ensure Volpina does not attempt to ambush you again, I shall accompany you home.” Optimus said as he transformed into his truck mode.

“Okay, that’s pog!” Nino exclaimed, confusing both Autobots

“What does ‘pog’ mean?” Stoneheart asked Optimus.

“I believe it may be the name of a famous poet on Earth.” Optimus replied, just as confused as Stoneheart.

Optimus drove alongside Stoneheart and stopped a few houses down from where Nino said his home was.“So what’s going to happen tomorrow? Are you going to watch me 24/7?” Nino asked.

“We’re going to do some things to make the base more hospitable for you.” Stoneheart explained. “I’ll pick you up from school and take you to our base.”

“That’s… weird.” Nino replied. “You guys are really doing all of this just to protect us?”

“Any life lost to the Decepticons is one life too many.” Optimus explained.

Nino was surprised at the Autobot leader’s dedication.“But I almost endangered one of your guys. You really don’t see me as annoying?”

“Nino, we Autobots value all sentient life, and are willing to lay our sparks on the line to ensure your people’s safety.” Optimus said. “Now, from what I am familiar with, Earth customs say it is best that you come home to rest.”

Nino checked the time on his phone and realized Optimus had a point. “Okay then. Goodnight, dudes. Wait, do robots have to sleep? Eh, never mind.” Nino said as he headed back to his house.

“Are you sure you aren’t mad, Optimus?” Stoneheart asked nervously.

“Stoneheart, what you have done tonight has proven that I made the right choice in giving you a second chance.” Optimus replied while the two stood watch in their vehicle forms, planning to meet up with Pegasus once things looked clear.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug au #transformette #transformers #transformers au #miraculous ladybug crossover au #transformers crossover au #nino lahiffe #ivan bruel #stoneheart #lila rossi #volpina #optimus prime

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alkhale · 5 years

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Hello hello miss!... Uh, I think that's how you identify??? If not, please tell me!!! I don't wanna misgender you on accident or something Q-Q Anyways, I've been reading Memo, and I! Really love Hoku, and the way she interacts with the world, and her relationships with everyone, it's just really well written. Plus, she sounds REALLY pretty and I'm weak for that. That aside, are you up for getting ideas for Memo!AUs people've had, or headcanons? If not it's cool, just wanted to ask :> ~ Vira

omg u good, dw anon.

THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU CUTIE, I FEEL LIKE I SHOULD USE AN uwu WHEN ANSWERING THIS ONE HAHAHAHA. Thank you for loving it and thank you so much!! CALLING HOKU PRETTY IS SO SWEET WHEN SHE PROBABLY JUST LOOKS AT HERSELF LIKE HELL YEAH THAT KIIONOHI WAS WORTH IT.

I’m guilty of already having a lot of AU ideas for Memos and I might just start a story on AO3 for a collection of them so they don’t clutter the actual story or I can go more in depth or explore some other things hahaha. I’ll start putting them in little omakes and stuff, but Memos chapters have been hella long so I’m worried about overbogging stuff but y’all seem chill with these crazy counts so i hope u don’t mind

AUs:

- School AU, this one’s just fun shenanigans and I love modern AUs. School Council President Sabo, Ace being Ace, Hot teacher Shanks, for some reason Kid and Hoku both have the same art class in basic architecture and metal welding because he’s a grease monkey and Hoku likes designs. Straw Hat crew in school, Brook’s a popular soul musician. Franky and Robin are teachers.

- MODERN AU. I have so many ideas i wanna hash out for different Modern AUs, hahaha, i’m so attracted to these and was this close to writing it out instead as its own kind of story but Memos won over.

ASL+Hoku living together and their daily life (together its HASL like hassle and that’s exactly what it’s like with these idiots)

Started to live together once Ace and Sabo were in their third year of high school, it’s been awhile now. (Hoku’s family passed away when she was young, Garp was doing marine work stationed in Hawaii and took an interest in her but before he could find her, she went to live with ‘someone else’ until he managed to shove her in with Luffy, she’s technically an emancipated minor)

Ace is a construction worker/part time fire fighter and picks up all sorts of odd jobs and errand runs.

Whitebeard took him in on several occasions when stuff happened. Ace is super close to the group even though they’re lowkey high profile crime bosses. Marco’s a doctor underground and professional, Thatch is a chef (whitebeard’s crew always sends gifts and visits and hooks them up with deals at random places)

“Ace! Can you call Marco? I think Hoku’s anemic again.”

“I swear to god, put down that phone he’s going to give me all those pills and I don’t wanna pay the hospital bill–”

“But it’s free.”

“God damn it.”

Sabo works for a high fashion brand design/political activist group (somehow these two meshed and Dragon runs both so)

Hoku and Luffy are students almost finishing up with high school.

Sabo is designated most put-together-has-his-shit-ready, if you can’t find your paint brushes Hoku, ask Sabo. Ace, Sabo put ur laundry away already. He’s usually in charge of meals and making sure the bills get paid. (Their apartment is spacious but a little dingy and random stuff breaks or falls apart but Ace and Hoku are really handy and always fixing shit)

Ace can only make pasta and grilled foods. He’s great with the barbecue. Luffy can’t cook. Hoku cooks pretty damn well but she’s clumsy in the kitchen so she tries to cook before Sabo or Ace get home and they scream something about her cutting off a finger and needing stitches again

House is always decorated with flowers or something nice like a painting or photos or tapestries. Hoku always does that.

They have a small garden plot by the apartment complex. Hoku and Sabo take care of it. Ace and Luffy eat from it a lot and run out animals trying to steal the tangerines from the tree Nami’s adopted mom gave them as a house warming gift.

The three of them fill out a lot of her pages in her sketchbooks and easels. “Is that Sabo again?” “Yeah, he fell asleep reading and he looks too perfect so I wanted to draw it.” “That kinda pisses me off.” “Me too, we’ll do something about it when I finishl.”

Her art classmates are always super eager to see her stuff and ask about the hot older guys in her drawings and please ask them to model. Hoku relents. Ace comes in to model because he gets paid. That’s a story for another day.

Hoku has regular poker nights for awhile now with a group of people Ace and Sabo didn’t think about (they always thought it was the girls or some friends like their friend group) until one night Luffy goes to hang out with the others and they’re like?? Hoku??? and Luffy’s like?? Hoku doesn’t do poker nights with us you dummies.

This sends them into a panic attack and Sabo has Hoku’s location at all times because he did something permanent to her phone (Hoku does not know this) and they visit (stalk) her at one of her poker nights. Find out its in some weirdly shady fancy club body guarded by a bunch of ridiculously macho looking guys (it’s actually Daz, Vergo and some others) They stake out and froth at the mouth, nearly dying when they see Hoku walk out surrounded by GIANT MEN DOUBLE HER SIZE AND AGE, HOKU HONEY, WHAT? It’s Crocodile and Doflamingo, usually Mihawk, and sometimes Jimbei comes.

Hoku’s like ?? I’ve played poker with these guys for forever. (They’re big crime syndicates and totally into illegal business and Sabo knows this and Ace is ready to murder) but apparently Hoku weaseled her way in and she’s a good player so they have fun and like gambling with her. They always suggest taking her to Vegas with them because they’re high rollers but Hoku’s always like nah i got school and work.

Sabo and Ace after herding her home try to convince her to stop meeting with them and Hoku’s just like lmao no and takes out huge wads of cash from her pockets. “They’re ridiculously rich and I win a lot.” They also pay for a lot of good food and Hoku’s not about to pass that up. (She sneaks leftovers for Luffy all the time ((but the older men already know and usually just have shit boxed up for her anyway)))

“But they’re older men and dangerous!”

“It’s not like I’m going on a date with them. It’s just gambling.”

“You like older men!”

“Oh, yeah, huh.”

Law and Kid are classmates and Luffy and Hoku hang out with them a lot when its not with their crew and Ace and Sabo are always like cant you hang out with better people. Kid and Law never feel welcome in their house but Hoku’s just like dw if they bother u i won’t talk to them and then they get upset and yada yada. Doesn’t stop Ace and Sabo from being super mean looking and scary. Kid and Law are hard to ward off, unfortunately.

Law’s studying to be a doctor, well on the way. Kid’s a mechanic and works at a shop and does street racing. Hoku wants to design a car interior for him.

People always say Sabo seems like the prim and perfect gentlemen of the three and he’ll make a good husband and they just laugh and Hoku tells Koala and she laughs because they always wave their hands and say nah nah, Sabo’s secretly the most sneaky and lowkey scary/sadistic/a tease out of all of them, don’t let the pretty face fool you

(and he really is, sometimes he makes Hoku beg for the pretty cakes he brings home from work from clients because he thinks its cute when she’s trying to reach them over his head)

Shanks is a famous traveler/explorer, always known for doing crazy stuff and his team of explorers climb mountains, explore caves, travel all around the world and take beautiful shots and Hoku and Luffy always tune in. Shanks saved Luffy once from a freak accident and he’s his hero and Hoku has such a hopeless crush on him.

Modern AU where Law is Luffy’s partner in college for a project and he goes to Luffy’s house. Hoku’s a TA for Shanks and stupidly stupid for him and Law meets her and feels things.

Modern AU where Strawhat crew goes on a road trip.

Monsters AU. Hoku’s a ghost.

Hanahaki AU. Red flowers.

Marines AU.

Genderbent AU.

Some other ones but i gotta go finish that essay i mentioned hahaha, hope these were fun! the modern HASL one ran away with me

THANKS FOR LOVING IT

#Memos #Memos Au #one piece modern au #Hoku #Ace #Sabo #Luffy #Law #straw hat pirates #Kid

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wtffundiefamilies · 7 years

Text

@emeraldboreas

Courtship’s big problem, at least how Gothardites do it, is that it inhibits truly getting to know your potential partner. My husband and I were engaged four months after meeting, but those were conversation-heavy four months. We discussed everything under the sun, in private. Lots of intimate conversations that the Duggars simply can’t have with their siblings or parents around. For example, if one of the Duggars isn’t dedicated to fundamentalism, that needs to be discussed–but they can’t.

It’s been nearly three years since we married. My husband is the same man I thought he was when we married because I got to know him beforehand. I doubt the married Duggars will be able to say the same.

That’s really the main problem - they talk about how they “get to know” the person through courtship, but people alter their behavior in groups. The guy who laughs it off when “Josie spills milk in his lap“ in the Duggar home may well rage out when his own kid does it at home. And with the goal of marriage ALWAYS in sight, the courtship prospect knows they have to behave as JimBob wishes for a set amount of time - and then, once marriage is done, they can revert to whoever they really are. I mean...fuck, remember how downright normal Derick seemed at first?

Hell, it happens in secular relationships all the time - people are on their best behavior at the beginning of a relationship, and it’s easy to be that way when you still feel like the person is perfect and you’ll NEVER fight and NEVER be pissed at them they will NEVER annoy you etc. I’m not saying it’s always going to be that way; plenty of people are completely upfront about who they are from the get-go. I’m just saying you shouldn’t rush into marriage if your lifestyle forbids divorce for any reason in case you’ve landed one of those people. (Let’s all pause and stare meaningfully at Josh.) That is NOT the time to marry someone you only know from group conversations and who is never able to “let their guard down” until you’re married. That just seems like a horrible combination.

@whatthefundie

I feel like they do genuinely care and love each other, but I wish courtship would allow couples to actually get to know each other properly before pushing them into marriage - there’s so many things you don’t know about someone from hanging out in group setting etc aaaaah it stresses me out

Yeah, they do seem happy together. And hopefully they will remain so as they truly get to know one another. But how candidly can anyone really speak with parents and chaperones eavesdropping? I think Joy and Austin may have had more of a chance, though, since I don’t think her brothers really give a fuck about hovering over them when they talk. Unlike Josh’s creepy “protective” bullshit, they seem to feel like Joy is capable of picking out her own husband without their input. I could be wrong though, and we’ll see more next season. But I feel like their “chaperoning” would have been less weird and intrusive since they’re all friends with Austin on their own terms and they don’t just know him as “Joy’s future husband.”

@harkinianmahboi

I fucking hate Jill. She's such a narcissist, not to mention a neglectful mother.

Despite being the least interesting person of all time, she sure finds herself fascinating. I mean, she’s all she wants to talk about. Preferably on social media while Izzy climbs around the house like Spiderman.

@redwhirlwind89

I can't decide whether or not Jill is more like her mother or father. She's as moronic and zealous as Daddy-O, but she's as stupid, neglectful, silly, infantile, and selfish as her mother. Maybe THAT'S why she's Jim Bob's favorite? Because she's the most like Michelle? Certainly brings home my belief that there's some incestuous connection between them that no one knows about.

I think she’s a mini-Michelle for sure, at least when it comes to Izzy. I really expected her to be a great mom and all about her kid (soon to be kids). Maybe she’s depressed, maybe having kids immediately was a mistake when she really wanted to have time to act like a kid herself. I don’t know. But Izzy seems to be a social media prop for her, just like Michelle’s brood was one giant prop for her TV show. Her eyes just look so empty all the time. Meanwhile, Jessa lights up every time she looks at the Spurginator. (And I assume Good Hank as well; we just haven’t seen them interact yet.)

My guess is still that Jilly Muffin is Daddy’s favorite because she ratted out the kids who were trying to get away with things (I know Michelle claims they don’t like snitches in the Duggar house and told the kids to work things out themselves, but I don’t buy that - from Michelle, sure, since she wouldn’t have wanted to be bothered, but JimBob not love a chance to preach and boss? I don’t buy it) and always did exactly as she was told with a smile. She cheerfully raised her siblings from the time she was six and a half. Jill was the anti-Michelle when she lived with her parents. (And their relationship always seemed a bit off to me. I don’t think anything happened, but I do think that JimBob’s “be the first man/husband prototype in my daughters’ lives” MO blurs every line between emotionally healthy parent/child relationships and emotional incest. And I think that affected his relationship with Jill a lot more than it did Jinger and Jessa. Joy and Johannah were both treated like Jill when they were young and cute but that seemed to be fading for Joy as she and Hannie got older; we’ll never know if Johannah became less of daddy’s favorite as she got older as well.)

Jill is like Michelle in terms of how she treats her child, but overall I think Jessa got Michelle’s personality - smug, full of herself, confident, bossy, and convinced that Jesus loves her best. The only difference, and it’s a big one, is that Jessa is a competent, mentally sound adult human. She doesn’t need an army of people to do everything for her and she’s not completely disconnected from reality. (Jill seems to be well on her way there, though.)

@redwhirlwind89

HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW YOUR OWN KIDS BIRTHDAYS?? EVEN IF YOU HAVE 20 OF THEM?? Lady, I know you had your IQ banged out of you by The Boob, but get the hell real. That's 20 dates out of 365 you have to remember to congratulate your children for not killing themselves taking care of you and your household. No, strike that...18, because you have 2 sets of twins! *ugh* So much anger. When you can't keep your kids' birthdays straight, you have too many damn kids.

21 technically; though Michelle doesn’t count J’Caleb - for all her bleating about life beginning at conception (she totally forgot him with her “19 kids here and one in heaven” speech); I highly doubt his “birthday” is remembered around the house (though I’m willing to bet they do something to remember Precious Jubilee Shalom - which I’m not criticizing. What I AM criticizing is the fact that if she had been miscarried at the beginning of the pregnancy, farther back in Michelle’s babymaking career when she wasn’t the Final Fetus, with no TV cameras around, I imagine she’d be as forgotten as Caleb. And AGAIN I do understand that a late-term miscarriage is its own thing and maybe that would affect someone more. But for people who base their entire lives around preserving the Almighty Blastocyst, I find it disgustingly hypocritical).

That said I think/hope she was joking.

@missposabule

Oh God poor Anna

Agreed. This seems like a shitty thing for her to be tasked with. I’m sure she insisted on helping, but that had to have hurt.

@undercoverduggarblog

i REALLY want to know all the cringy ways they phrased it

Saaaame

@discussingtheduggarfam

lol but honestly though, i got some of “those” date night suggestions from friends that were rather risqué. my favorite g-rated cheap date idea was try cooking a new recipe while listening to frank sinatra.

Part of my curiosity comes from the fact that, uh, I don’t know how adventurous fundie sex tends to get. Like...what specifically were they suggesting Jinger and Jeremy try??? TBH I’d rather have the g-rated ones.

@tenaciouscreeper

Yeah I honestly wish I got date night suggestions at my bridal shower. I’m sure most of mine would have been rather risqué though 😒 people got so damn raunchy and it was annoying rather than funny. Not that my husband and I haven’t had good ideas ourselves but it would’ve been nice to get ideas from others you know? Especially considering that we lived out in the middle of nowhere. (Apologies for any typos I didn’t catch. On typing this from my new phone.)

Yeah, I think it’s a nice idea, especially for people who’ve barely spent time alone together. (And agreed that I don’t get why people are so...gross about things. Guys, we’re adults. I think I’ve just gotten old.)

@gingerbreaddoll

For people who brag about how modest they are they really are very immodest.

You speak the truth.

#counting on: the big day #jill and jessa: counting on #Jessa Duggar Seewald #Jill Duggar Dillard #Jinger Duggar #Michelle Duggar #JimBob Duggar #courtship #'modesty'#mother of the fucking year #duggar family #dillard family #seewald family #jender roles #hypocrisy #'pro life'#weirdly incestuous fundie sibs

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gman-003 · 7 years

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Flow and Friction - Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword analyzed, part four

(This is part of my ongoing series analyzing The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, part of a bigger series where I play through and then talk excessively about every game in the Zelda series. If you want to catch up, earlier installments discussed the use of patterns, the story and how it fits into the chronology, and the controls)

Game design, like all artistic fields, has its own jargon. "Friction" and "flow" are related terms: "flow" is the state games are trying to achieve, where the player is sucked in, with each action they do naturally leading into another. Without anything to disrupt their experience, players will just continue to play. Many things can disrupt flow - difficulty is the one that usually gets all the focus, because a game that is too challenging is frustrating, while a game that isn't challenging enough is boring, both states that take the player out of flow. But there are other things - other internal disruptions are often from "friction", where the game makes something not more challenging, but more difficult or more time-consuming. A cumbersome interface is friction. Loading screens are friction. Even just forced dead time is friction - my favorite example is shimmying along a ledge, which, regardless of the game, always seems to take forever but rarely requires anything more than just holding left or right.

The Zelda series has always had pretty good flow, despite having quite a bit of friction. The structure of the game keeps the player advancing - when they get a new item, there's a natural urge to go find where it can be used, and using it in the right place gives them another item to repeat the experience with. Combine that with constant new places to explore, and hints of places you'll eventually get to but currently can't, and it takes a pretty big disruption to break the player out of flow.

Good: Priming

There is one particularly genius bit of flow-promoting design I noticed. You probably didn't even notice it if you played, because it's a very subtle thing.

Games are composed of nouns and verbs - objects, and their interactions. In Zelda games, the player has a variety of tools to interact with objects, and every time the game introduces a new noun, whether it be a new tool, enemy or environmental object, it needs to teach what verbs will work on it.

There's a section in chapter 5 (as I count it), where you're climbing up some rock towers in the Lanayru Sand Sea to reach an old house. This area introduces a new creature, a bird called the Furnix. To defeat them, your best weapon is the whip, which allows you to drag them in close to kill them with your sword. How does the game teach it to you?

Immediately before the first Furnix, you encounter some Peahats, which you already know have interactions with the whip (pulls them out of the ground) and the hookshot (once airborne, you can use them as grapple targets). The level has you do this once, as a refresher, then puts you on a platform with a few planted Peahats. You'll probably take your whip out to pop the Peahats, which seems to trigger the Furnix to spawn. You'll probably try the sword first, and quickly find that it doesn't work. What will you try next? Well, you already have the whip ready, maybe try that. It's the path of least resistance for players, and while they won't always follow that path, a good number of them will. The Peahats, a known noun to the player, primed them with the proper verb for the Furnix, an unknown noun. It isn't the only hint as to what tool to use - the Furnix's tail looks like some of the previous whip targets - but it helps.

I spotted this "priming" technique again in Chapter 6. You're exploring the Fire Sanctuary, and you encounter some piles of dust. Previously, you'd learned that items are often hidden in dust piles, and can be obtained by using the Gust Bellows. Shortly after, your path is blocked by puddles of lava, a new challenge. The Gust Bellows may still be on your item button, and "blow on thing to cool it off" is an intuitive interaction, right? And indeed, that's how you have to solve this puzzle.

I have more examples of priming, and I probably missed a bunch of other uses, but two is probably enough.

This is clever. This lets the player be the one to figure out what tool to use, but it makes it so that they're more likely to get it right with their first guess. The game isn't telling you what to do, it isn't holding your hand, it's just making you have the right tool in your hand. It keeps the game flowing.

Okay: Loftwing travel

Pretty much every 3D Zelda game uses some sort of overworld faster-travel mechanism to make the world seem larger while still having acceptable travel times (walking back and forth across a large overworld to get to the place you need to be is very flow-disrupting). Ocarina of Time let you ride a horse. Wind Waker had a boat. Skyward Sword's transportation is based on the Loftwing, a large, rideable bird.

By themselves, the riding mechanics are good enough. The lack of camera control can make sharp turns messy, but it feels good, and while I'm not 100% sure if it makes any actual difference, it seems to give the player stuff to do to get from point A to point B faster. Overall, it feels like a better, three-dimensional version of the ship in Wind Waker.

The problem comes from the context it's placed in. The sky world itself is barren, with only a few destinations worth visiting on their own, and the small islands with the Goddess Cubes are unneeded until you've done something on the surface. The two most worthwhile destinations nominally in the sky, Skyloft and the Lumpy Pumpkin, are behind loading screens. Traveling to the surface is done by singular points - you can't skim the treetops in your Loftwing, you never dodge ejecta to dive into the volcano, you just fly to a point in the sky, jump off, then select the right spot on the surface-world map to appear there.

Reducing the overworld to a set of loading-screen transition points makes the overworld feel tedious. It doesn't invite exploration, it doesn't present a meaningful challenge, it just exists and you have to go through it.

The three-dimensionality of flight may have been part of the problem. Enemies do exist, but they seem very scarce because they can be avoided effortlessly by flying higher or lower. It also forced a more empty overworld to avoid the complexity of real three-dimensional navigation, which quickly becomes maze-like.

The clustering of important destinations together in Skyloft, behind a loading screen, seems to have been primarily a technical problem. Having both the huge sky overworld and the populated, detail-rich town be in memory at the same time would have overtaxed the 88MiB of memory the Wii had. If the choice was "have one big, rich sky-island with everything on it" or "have the town scattered across dozens of islands, but they're all boring and identical", they clearly made the right choice... but there were other options. There was no reason Skyward Sword needed to use the sky as a setting, or use giant bird mounts for travel. Perhaps they only discovered this after the artists had produced too many assets for the sky to throw it all away? Maybe they thought they could optimize enough to fit a rich sky world? This is a flaw they had to have been aware of, even though it's not that painful to the player. I actually found it kind of relaxing. But I also enjoy flight simulators, so I might be an anomaly here.

Bad: Horrible UX flow

We come now to what I consider the second-greatest flaw of the game. The game constantly disrupts its own flow at a very low level. Little things constantly drag you out of the experience.

For example, every time you pick up a crafting-trash item for the first time, it pauses to pull up the inventory screen, show the new thing appearing in its spot, and show the item count going up by one. The whole process takes about seven seconds, by my rough count. That seems like a minor quibble, but two things make it worse.

About a third of these crafting items are dropped by enemies. Lizard tails? Jelly blobs? You pick these up by walking over them after killing an enemy, and these enemies almost always come in groups. So you kill one, and are running towards another, sword drawn... and the game yanks you out of that combat flow to tell you that you picked up a thing. By the time you get back to the fight, your timing is completely thrown off, and you might even take a hit from an enemy you were about to block, but now have no time to react to.

As an extra insult, it resets the state of "have you picked up this item" every time you load your save. It doesn't matter if you already have thirty of them, the game considers it absolutely vital for you to know that, when you step over a monster horn, it's putting it into your inventory. And to rub salt in the wound, it appears that the game's save file actually tracks whether you've picked up the item before, even if you no longer have any! The save file knows "this player has picked up Ornamental Skulls before, we should let them look at the item description even though they used them all in crafting", but it doesn't bother to check that when deciding whether to ruin a fight for you by wasting several seconds on an inventory screen pop-up. I'm a programmer, I know how easy it would have been to check the "have they ever had this item?" variable instead of the "have we shown the pickup sequence for this item this play session?" variable. Fixing this should have taken five minutes, tops. It might actually have been faster to do it this way to begin with.

The item pickups are not the only instance. This game's companion, Fi, repeatedly pops up to explain things - most infuriatingly, in my playthrough she popped up during the final battle to tell me that my health bar was low and I might want to drink a potion. But she's constantly popping up, relaying some information you've probably already heard and definitely don't need to hear again.

Cutscenes, too, are a constant interruption. Not the big ones, but the small ones. The short close shots of an major feature of a room that plays when you enter it. The reverse shots of the door closing and locking behind you. These are useful ways to keep the player informed, but Skyward Sword uses them so often it becomes grating.

Games suffer greatly when the player isn't allowed to play it without interruption, and Skyward Sword filled itself with interruptions.

#the legend of zelda #everyzeldaproject #loz #skyward sword #game design

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