#I'm so excited for the return of combat styles!!!!!!!

[autiwara]

HAPPY RGG GAIDEN TRAILER 2 DAY HOW DO WE FEEL

#i feel like this #I feel so bad for Kiryu but in my personal opinion his story isn't over #I'm so excited for the return of combat styles!!!!!!! #rgg #ryu ga gotoku #my takeaway from the trailer is that we finally get to play dressup with Kiryu #龍が如く #rgg gaiden #lad gaiden #like a dragon #kiryu kazuma #kazuma kiryu #joryu #like a dragon gaiden

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

*Mama Spade accidentally bumped into Silver’s dad*

Mama Spade: “Ah!! Oh I’m so sorry! I’m trying to find my son but I think I got lost…”

*cracks knuckles* Our time has come, boiz 😎 (For anyone wondering why Lilia’s eyes are redacted, see this fic!) Figured we needed something more light-hearted after being rushed at by the semi-truck that was the recent main story update~

I briefly mention Mr. Spade, but I kept it vague since we don’t have the details on what happened to him yet!

Please note: I received multiple other Lilia + Mama Spade interaction requests; however, because those other requests are more specific than asking them to meet, I will be writing separate responses for each of those. I don't want to overload the blog with a ton of Lilia + Mama Spade content at once, so they will be spread out between other NRC Family Day interactions ^^

Family means Nobody is Left Behind or Forgotten.

"Think nothing of it, miss." The man brushed off the bump with ease and an understanding smile. "It happens. Water under the bridge, yes?"

His voice was as smooth as a sky cleared of clouds, as sultry as midnight desires. There was a resonance to it as well, as though his words were reverberating in the annals of ancient ruins, echoing legends and legacies long since forgotten by history.

He was small yet snazzy in a black vest and dress pants embellished with golden stitching, a fancy jacket set in a dark hue of green hanging off of his shoulders. The man's long, dark hair was done up in a high ponytail, choppy and uneven bangs falling freely around his face.

If his voice was a mystery yet to be unearthed, then the man, too, was one. The exact composition of his face, and how his features were arranged, eluded her. But even with her aging sight, she could tell that he was strikingly handsome—lashes so long they batted his cheeks when he blinked, eyes like ever-shifting gemstones, and a pert, mischievous mouth.

"Oh dear." Mrs. Spade nervously fanned herself with a hand. "I'm hardly a 'miss'! I’m no spring chicken."

"After a certain point, we realize that time is something we cannot combat.” He coiled fingers against his lips. “I believe you've aged quite gracefully.”

A simple shoulder-length bob cut and homely, practicel clothing—those were the staples of her style as a single mother. She had her family to look after, and little time or energy to dress up. Yet Mrs. Spade flustered all the same.

“I-I don’t know what to say…”

The man laughed. “Apologies for steering us off-topic. Back on track, then. You said you were looking for your son?”

“Y-Yes…!” Mrs. Spade quickly rebounded, her worries returning. “He told me to meet him in Heartslabyul, but I’ve been wandering the campus for a while and haven’t passed any buildings by that name.”

The man stroked his chin. “If it’s Heartslabyul you’re looking for, you’ll need the Hall of Mirrors. It has mirror portals to each of the seven dormitories.”

“Mirror portals, imagine that!!” Shock was written all over her. "We don't have a lot of those back home.”

“Mirror portals are not always commonly accessible.” His mouth turned mirthful. “I just so happen to be heading to the Hall of Mirrors myself. My son’s waiting for me in another dorm. Seeing as we're both going to the same place, I wouldn’t mind escorting you.”

“You would?! You don’t mind…?”

“If you would have me,” he replied, his tone teasing. The man bowed melodramatically, arms gesturing down a path. “Then right this way.”

Mrs. Spade barely had any time to react before he started walking away. She hurried after him, trailing behind by a few paces. Careful not to get too close, to risk colliding with him again.

“Which dorm is your son in?” she blurted out, breathless. Not from exhaustion, but in excitement.

He cut her a sideways glance, his eyes glittering. "That would be Diasomnia. He’s a second year now, and a diligent member of the Equestrian Club."

Mrs. Spade quickened her pace. "He's an athlete? So is my Deuce. He's still a first year trying to find his footing, but he’s grown a lot in his first few months at school.”

"Deuce." He said the name oddly, almost like he had had practice reciting it. "How would you describe him?"

"He's a lot of things," Mrs. Spade confessed. She spoke unabashedly, as straight as an arrow carving an arc in the air. "He's not all that sharp, and he can be brash—but he’s also strong and kind, stubborn too. A really serious and straightforward person that means well and tries his best.”

“From the looks of it, he’s a good kid. His hard work will surely see him well in the future.”

She flushed with pride, pink as a peach. “What about your son? What’s he like?”

"Silver? He has a habit of dozing off, but he's as earnest as they come. It's that honesty of his that has made him so many friends. Even the local wildlife can't seem to keep themselves away from him.

“He’s the peacekeeper of any group he’s in, that lad. I’m so pleased that he’s able to connect with creatures from all walks of life.”

“Your Silver sounds like the kind of man Deuce would look up to. The sort of man he'd want to become."

“Does he?” The question was coy. “I think Silver would also enjoy Deuce’s company. Such a spirited, committed underclassman can keep him alert and on his toes.

“Silver already has a companion that fits that description, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind one more. The more the merrier, I say.”

“Your family must be big.”

“Afraid not. It’s only myself and Silver. We have close friends and neighbors of course, but legally speaking…” He brought his index fingers together, making them touch. “… we are one guardian and one child.”

Mrs. Spade’s heart stilled. “You’re joking.”

“Far from it." The corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk. It was not unkind, but curious. “Have I said something funny?”

“No, I was just thinking that you and I have a lot in common.” She bit her lower lip. “Deuce has his grandma, but at home it’s us two. His dad, my husband, he…” Mrs. Spade faltered.

The man inclined his head. “… You needn’t say any more. Please, don’t push yourself. Not all tales must be told to the strangers you meet along the way.”

“Y-You’re right.” She furiously shook her head. “What am I doing, making this about myself? I… I’m sorry if this brought back any painful memories for you.”

“Me? My, whatever are you concerned about me for?" There was a warmth, a fatherly tenderness, to his eyes.

“Your wife,” Mrs. Spade said weakly, “she’s no longer with you.“

“My wife?” His smile twisted into something wry. “I have no such thing. Always been a bit of a lone bat myself, but thank you for considering me."

"Oh! I... I shouldn't have assumed."

"It is you who is distressed. I should be the one more aware of your feelings."

Mrs. Spade blinked rapidly. From surprise, or to shunt back tears, she wasn't sure. "I... No, you don't need to worry about me at all! I'm fine!"

To this, the man chuckled. "I can see where Deuce must get his character from. However, you mustn't let yourself be entangled with the past.

"The past is in the past. If we keep looking behind ourselves, we will miss what waits for us in our futures." He came to a full stop, sweeping his arms forward. "Ah, and here we are."

A building with a domed roof was erected before them, guarded by massive stone walls on either side. Its door was tall, cut in the shape of a crystal pillar. One glimpse inside, and they caught the sparkle of sunlight refracting off the faces of various mirrors.

"You see? The future is right before us. No sense in dwelling on what was, only what can be."

He tapped the bottom of her chin, closing the mouth that had been hanging ajar. "Come now, let's see a smile! I wouldn't want to reunite you with your son while you've still got a frown on your face. He'd whack me a good one!"

Mrs. Spade chortled in spite of herself. "Deuce just might. He has a sharp left hook."

"I believe it. Ah, but it looks like it won't come to that. Lucky me, you're smiling again."

"Am I?!" Her hands flew to her face. The corners of her mouth had turned up, and she hadn't even noticed.

"Yes, that's what I wanted to see." The man offered a gloved hand. "... May I?"

Mrs. Spade giggled, taking it as easily as one might slip into a song. When was the last time she had felt this coquettish? So girlish, so young.

The Hall of Mirrors welcomed the pair, opening into a circle of seven portals. Each mirror trumpeted its dorm's name and iconography in its elaborate frame.

The man dropped her hand and indicated a mirror with thorns snaking up its sides, a fierce dragon guarding it. "This is where we part ways."

Mrs. Spade glanced at her route: at the mirror lined with playing cards and roses. Two spears, their points heart-shaped, crossed at the apex, and an open storybook formed the steps to the portal. Heartslabyul—the domain of the Queen of Hearts.

“Thank you for your help. I couldn’t have made it here without you, kind sir.”

“My pleasure—I thank you for the company. I hope you enjoy Family Day with Deuce.”

“Same to you and Silver.”

He nodded and turned, presenting his back to her as he made his way to Diasomnia’s mirror. She yanked herself away and stormed in the opposite direction. Just as he reached the dragon’s snout at the foot of his, and she at the cusp of a new page in the story, a single word erupted.

“Wait!!” she called out.

He craned his head to regard her. “Yes?”

Mrs. Spade clutched her fists to her chest. “Will I… Will I get to see you again?”

The shock was very slight on him, tempered by his mirth. He was used to being the one surprising, not the one being surprised, and so perhaps the silence lasted a few seconds longer than he would have liked it to.

“I really liked talking with you! I thought maybe we could do it again, and maybe Deuce and Silver could meet too.”

He took the idea, lazily rolling it between his thumb and his forefinger, considering. The confusion, the chaos, it would sprout.

“It sounds interesting,” he said mysteriously, pairing it with a shrug, “Who knows? We just might.”

And then he was gone, devoured by the dragon. The only proof that he had once been there were the ripples in the face of the mirror… and Mrs. Spade, spellbound.

The instant she stepped into Heartslabyul, she was struck with two things: the heavy, cloying aroma of red roses, and the warm body she collided with. Mrs. Spade stumbled back on the brick path. Her vision was still spinning when a familiar, rambunctious voice called out to her.

“… om! MOM!!” Deuce happily cried, wrapping his arms around her. “You made it!! I was worried that you didn’t show up on time—you’re usually not late. I was going to head out to look for you myself!”

“I’m okay, Deuce,” she reassured him with a playful tousle of his hair. “Don’t you mind me. I got a little lost, but I had some help from a kind man. Things worked out alright in the end.”

“That was nice of him! What a good samaritan!” He paused. “Er… You didn’t tell him about me in middle school, did you? I-I swear I’ve been working really hard to brush up and be an honors student!”

“Deuce!!” his mother gasped, smacking him on the side. (Dull pain reverberated in the area; she packed quite the punch.)

“What in Twisted Wonderland makes you think I’d go around parroting that around?! No, dear—I know you, and I know you’re trying your best. Besides, that man was nice!! He’d never intrude on our family matters.“ She sighed, stars in her eyes. “Ooh, and handsome too! So smart!! A real catch..”

“Uhhh…” Deuce made a face. “Are you… feeling okay, mom? Did you eat some of the weird mushrooms growing in the garden? Dorm leader Riddle says those can have weird effects.”

She didn’t seem to hear him. Mrs. Spade continued to prattle on, “He has a boy at NRC about your age, Deuce! We should arrange for us to all get together.”

“W-Wait, hold on a minute!! I’m happy that you made a new friend, but who are you talking about?!”

His mother startled, as if waking from a dream. “Now that you mention it, I forgot to ask for his name. I do remember that he talked about his son though. Silver, was it?”

“S-Silver-senpai?! Then… you’re talking about his DAD?!” Deuce was striken, his heart pounding unnaturally fast at the revelation. Silver’s dad is mom’s sweetheart now?!

“Oh, so you do know him after all!” Mrs. Spade clapped excitedly. “What do you think? Is he anywhere near as charming as his father i—”

“Grk…!” Deuce suddenly fell onto all fours, hanging his head. Tears streaked his face, and his entire body violently shook.

His mom practically shrieked and rushed to his side, frantically shaking him. “Deuce?! Deuce, honey? Are you okay?!”

He tried at a response, but only managed a semi-comprehensible wail. “I-I-I’m jusht shooo happy fa’ you, mooom,” Deuce sniffled, harshly wiping at his tears and snot. “Y-You found th’ perfect guyyy, just like you deserved all thish tiiime…!!”

“H-Hey now! I may have been a little swept off my feet by him, but I’m not marrying the guy!! No shotgun weddings here!! Wh-Who even marries a stranger they met in a day?!”

“R-Really?”

“Really.” She eased Deuce into her with a hug, her voice dropping into a whisper. “Pinkie promise.”

He tried to laugh, but choked on his own sobs instead. Mrs. Spade rubbed an open palm along his back, soothing him.

“Haha, I’m being silly.” She ran a hand along his scalp—a facsimile of the head pats she granted him in his youth. “I’m happy too—happy that you’re such a good kid, that you care for your mama’s happiness.”

“M-Mom… Mom!!” He wailed even louder and buried himself in her arms.

There, under a halcyon blue sky and tinted in roses, mother and son wept with one another. The past, far behind them. The future, yet to exist.

#Lilia Vanrouge #Deuce Spade #twst #twisted wonderland #twst interactions #twisted wonderland interactions #twst scenarios #twst imagines #twisted wonderland scenarios #twisted wonderland imagines #disney twisted wonderland #NRC Family Day #just call him Lilia ‘Ladykiller’ Vanrouge/j #causing problems Just Because

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

I have returned to the best blog on Tumblr. Can I get some raifus of your choice with a pure ray of sunshine S/O who is just a "medic" (mechanic)

PS: youre the reason I got into girlsfrontline thank you.

(GFL) Scarecrow, Gager, M4A1, M16A1, WA2000, G11, HK416, Angelia, AK-15, and RPK-16 with a loving S/O

Welcome back, and thanks for the kind words! Also, welcome to the Frontline. Enjoy your raifus and depression.

Scarecrow is eternally confused by S/O's behavior.

They always seemed so happy, especially around her.

Considering she was a combat android, there should be no reason S/O should be excited enough to hug her upon her return.

(S/O) "Thank goodness you're okay! I heard the Logistics mission got dicey! Here, let's get you back to the repair bay and I can-"

Scarecrow gently shoves S/O off, her eyes simply staring at S/O unblinking while her monotone voice was muffled by the mask.

(Scarecrow) "It is nothing to be concerned about S/O."

S/O cutely pouted, the only change in Scarecrow's expression was her irises focusing on their mouth.

(S/O) "I'll always be concerned for you, Scarecrow!"

The empathy module that Griffin and the Assimilation Protocol installed in her makes the info S/O gives with their affection go absolutely haywire.

And it wasn't their tinkering on her limbs that made that happen, either.

Their smile makes her feel things she has no words or any prior experience to compare it to.

It was honestly frustrating. But, this was far more care than anyone had ever given her, besides the Commander.

(Scarecrow) "I will never understand human attraction towards objects that aren't alive."

S/O's smile bounced her harsh words off.

(S/O) "I think the fact I can annoy you like this means you are alive, Scarecrow!"

If Scarecrow could sigh, she would.

But then again...Their personality wasn't entirely insufferable.

The care S/O put in repairing her delicate systems was certainly a plus as well.

Gager almost leans back in surprise as S/O almost leapt onto her, smiling so widely at her return.

(S/O) "Welcome back!"

(Gager) "...T-Thank you, S/O."

Their smile vanishes just as quickly as it appeared when they notice some of the damage on her chassis.

(S/O) "You're hurt! Let's get you to the repair bay and get that fixed ASAP!"

S/O grabs Gager's hand and gently tugs it, letting them drag her along.

Truth be told, if she wanted to, she could just refuse to budge and S/O couldn't do a single thing to stop her.

But Gager was just so shocked by S/O's affection that she forgot.

She's grateful to S/O for always being the one to repair her, despite the fact she had been a former enemy.

And for that same reason, their love was almost an enigma to her.

(Gager) "S/O, if there's anything I can do for you, please let me know."

(S/O) "Hm...How about staying as yourself? Does that work?"

Gager's eyes widen in surprise as she feels her digimind failing to come up with a response.

(Gager) "Uh...Y-Yes, that...works." ahem

M4 lovingly returns the embrace that S/O gives her, being careful to not let her equipment get in the way.

(M4A1) "Hello, S/O. I see you've missed me."

(S/O) "Who wouldn't miss your beautiful smile?"

A giggle escapes her lips as she walks alongside S/O, limping slightly due to the damages suffered from the operation.

(S/O) "I see your leg got hit. How bad is it?"

(M4A1) "Ah...I-It's not great, to be honest."

(S/O) "Don't worry, I can carry you to my station and-"

S/O immediately moves to carry her bridal style-

...Only to struggle even lifting her to begin with, making M4 now laugh.

(M4A1) "Appreciated dear, but I can still walk."

(S/O) "...P-Please don't mention that to anyone."

The palm of her hand rubs against their cheek lovingly, closing her eyes as she smiled, and then continuing her walk back to the repair bay.

(M16A1) "S/O, I'm hurt!"

M16 counts the seconds as S/O rushes to her side, struggling to contain a snicker at their expression.

(S/O) "SIXTEE-...You...!"

(M16A1) "New record, that was six seconds!"

M16 gives them a cheeky grin as she sees their pout, lovingly wrapping an arm around their neck.

(S/O) "Come on, that's not funny!"

(M16A1) "Sorry, sorry. I can't resist. It's just so cute to see your face, y'know?"

They averted their gaze, trying to remain angry. Only to fail as their cheeks became crimson at her compliment.

(M16A1) "But hey, if it's any consolation I mean it this time. My arm's got a bit dinged up in the field-"

S/O immediately grabbed her hand and realized it was facing the complete wrong direction.

(S/O) "What in the- You should've just led up with that!"

(M16A1) "Where's the fun in that?"

Before S/O can pout again she gives them a kiss on the nose.

(M16A1) "I know you love me, S/O!"

(S/O) sigh "I do, Sixteen. And for that reason, you're not drinking tonight so your diagnostics can run smoothly!"

(M16A1) "...I take it back, you hate me."

WA's tsundere reactions seem to melt at seeing S/O's warm smile towards her.

She wants to say how they're always smiling like an idiot, or how they shouldn't be that affectionate with a T-Doll.

Yet whenever S/O gives her such a loving hug, her sentences get caught in her throat.

(S/O) "WA, welcome back! Anything got damaged?"

(WA2000) "...N-No, I'm fine."

(S/O) "Alright, good! I'd offer to tune up your weapon, but I know how you feel about me touching it. See me when you're done, okay?"

(WA2000) "...Idiot. You don't have to say it like that..."

(S/O) "Huh?"

(WA2000) "Nothing." sigh "I don't get how you can always be so bubbly. Isn't that tiring?"

(S/O) "Maybe sometimes, but you're all I need to get me running back up to 100%!...Are you blush-"

(WA2000) "I-I'm not blushing, blockhead! It was just hot as hell out there, that's all..."

WAY too much energy for G11 to deal with.

She groans as S/O gives her a tight hug, lifting her off the floor.

(S/O) "Welcome back, G11!"

(G11) "Loud..."

S/O chuckles and sets her back down.

(S/O) "Sorry. It's just been such a long time!"

Fighting off a yawn, G11 rubs her eyes as she groggily examines S/O's face.

(G11) "It's not been that long."

(S/O) "It's been two weeks! It probably didn't feel that long because you were asleep!"

G11 didn't even bother fighting back on that point. They were right.

(G11) "After you look at me, I can sleep on your bed right?"

(S/O) "After dinner!"

(G11) "Alright..."

G11 loves her sleep, but obviously S/O loved her more. Maybe she should return that affection.

416's foul-mouthed and standoffish attitude is completely contrasted by S/O's loving nature.

No matter the insult she throws, they always have that stupid, adorable smile on them.

(S/O) "Ah, you're back!"

(HK416) "Obviously. You better not have been worried about me, I'm not just some run of the mill T-Doll-"

(S/O) "I know, but I still can't help but be relieved everytime I see you!"

416's eyes narrow, seemingly in anger, but the blush creeping up on her cheeks dispel that notion.

(HK416) "...Whatever. Get these damn bullets out of me and quit standing there smiling."

S/O slightly adjusts her hat to be out of the way as they kiss her forehead, making her leap back.

(S/O) "Now I will!"

(HK416) "You little shit...!"

416 pouts and lets S/O take her hand when no one is looking, gripping it tightly.

Angelia has a smile of her own, seeing S/O waiting for her outside the briefing room.

She lets S/O give her a warm hug, one she returns with an arm on their head, patting it.

(S/O) "Hey, Ange! Briefing over?"

(Angelia) "Mhm. Some more stuff I need to do, but you're welcome to tag along. How's the rest of DEFY?"

(S/O) "All fixed up, as usual."

Angelia nodded and walked back to her quarters, S/O tagging along with their expression seemingly brightened by her mere presence.

It was some kind of miracle for S/O to remain that positive despite the things Griffin has been through.

And she hopes that they never lose that outlook on life.

Her hand seems to tighten around S/O's, making them look at her with a curious face she could pinch.

(S/O) "Ange?"

(Angelia) "Am I not allowed to be as annoyingly affectionate as you are?"

S/O smiles at her teasing, turning their attention back to the hallway.

(S/O) "Hah, fair enough."

15 barely budges when S/O's arms wrap around her.

(AK-15) "S/O."

She nods at them respectfully, while S/O glances at her body.

(S/O) "...You're hurt!"

(AK-15) "The damage is superficial. No critical systems were compromised, but I will need to be repaired anyways. Thank you for your time, S/O."

(S/O) "Come on, helping someone I love? I'd spend all the time in the world for that."

15 can't help but be a little flustered from their statement, not knowing how to react.

(AK-15) "...I see."

S/O smiled at her confused expression, putting their arm around hers as an invitation. One she accepted after a few moments, and walked down the hall with them, arm in arm.

(AK-15) "...I would like to help you too as well, S/O."

(S/O) "You already do that by protecting me, you know!"

Finally, the corner of 15's lips grew into a smile.

16 is always intrigued by S/O's bright outlook on life, doubly so by their relationship.

Would any human become this loving towards anything that would reciprocate, or was that solely S/O?

Regardless, it did feel nice to be appreciated in such a way only they could give, so she had no real complaints.

(S/O) "16, I'm glad you're okay!"

(RPK-16) "Hm~. I have to be. Otherwise your smile would quickly, like a flame in the wind."

(S/O) "...H-Hah, right..."

Even after all their time together, her strange metaphors never failed to make S/O's brain halt.

She laughed at their reaction and gently put a hand on their shoulder.

(RPK-16) "Surely you would be used to these kinds of statements from me by now?"

(S/O) "Hah, well not everyone's as strange as you, 16...E-Er, wait! No I didn't mean-"

16 laughed again, gently dragging along S/O.

(RPK-16) "And I thought I would be used to your reactions, but I'm glad I'm not either."

#girls' frontline imagines #girls' frontline headcanons #girls' frontline x reader #scarecrow gfl x reader #gager gfl x reader #m4a1 x reader #m16a1 x reader #wa2000 x reader #g11 x reader #hk416 x reader #angelia gfl #ak 15 x reader #rpk 16 x reader #scarecrow gfl #m4a1 gfl #m16a1 gfl #wa2000 gfl #g11 gfl #hk416 gfl #angelia x reader #ak 15 gfl #rpk 16 gfl #gager gfl

[innerchorus]

Arslan Senki Chapter 127

The long-awaited encounter with Zahhak is here! I'm tagging my posts for new manga chapters with 'arslan senki spoilers' but here is your reminder to look away (and probably avoid my blog until you've read the chapter) if you don't want to find out what happens.

Turns out I was right about a few things and my suspicions about something else seem likely to be correct, too.

The chapter opens with the legend of Zahhak and his defeat by Kaykhusraw as the Parsians know it. The title page features Kaykhusraw's open sarcophagus with his wrapped body and Rukhnabad inside, inside the tomb. This is clearly from an earlier time (presumably his burial?), well before Hilmes ventured down there, and given the chapter title it feels... ominous. (And it's right to feel that way, as you'll see when you get to the end of the chapter.)

The legend is conveyed in the typical stylised carving/illustration style that Arakawa has used for mythological history before.

Look what appears as a decorative border to one of the panels!

It might just be a nod to the existence of these creatures in the novels, but I really hope that their presence here makes it more likely we might actually encounter them before the end of the manga... DARK TEMPLE PLUS CREATURES, ARAKAWA PLEASE

Very much has the feel of something that has been mythologised, the details probably don't match up exactly with how it really went down, but the main points are there...

...and 300 years later, the Snake King appears to have returned

Farangis's raishal reacting like this is a nice touch and shows just how extreme the presence of evil is here. (Also I didn't know it could do that so I'm filing this detail away very happily.)

Those snake heads are really very freaky, the fact that they are so humanoid yet totally animalistic and driven by instict and hunger for human brains. Top notch horror!

Daryun's warrior instinct comes to the fore and overrides his shock!

The Zot do their best but one gets chomped pretty quickly, sadly. I'll go ahead and say it now, the Zot being the only casualties in this encounter was exactly as I called it, but Arakawa does her best to ensure their deaths don't feel trivial, as we later learn the names of those who fell, and even though we never got to know them it's clear that they meant something to their comrades.

Some very exciting combat scenes follow and Team Arslan enter the fray and get to grips with their frightening new enemy! Some key details about Zahhak rapidly become apparent: his blood is corrosive, and his wounds can heal.

The key is to keep moving! Alfarid realises this; one of the Zot tries to encourage her to flee, but is struggling with his terrified mount, but thanks to Elam and Alfarid loosing arrows at one of the snake heads he is spared.

Don Ricardo is in abject terror, but his behaviour later this chapter was a surprise for me, in a good way!

Estelle saving Don Ricardo just in time, and putting her life on the line to stand before him even though she's trembling in fear! 👌👌👌

She's so brave!

She doesn't know that the snakes have spotted/sensed Rukhbanad... but Don Ricardo does! Let's hope he will now give that 'junk sword' the respect it deserves. Anyway this is the part where he surprised me, as he breaks out of his terrified state to call out to everyone to rally to him and gather round the sword! Remember when I said 'quick, everyone group hug Don Ricardo'?

Of course, he's speaking in Lusitanian, but Estelle translates in an instant... and Gieve quickly grasps why!

"Is it truly Zahhak...?" This is the line that makes me think I might be on the mark when I say that Zahhak, although freed from Mount Damavand, may not have returned to full consciousness yet. I think those head jars may have something to do with a final ritual to bring about his true return.

So, it's now a stalemate. Zahhak cannot attack them, but they can't attack it either. But there's an ominous shape in the mist (and you can take one look at it and just KNOW it's going to be fucked up and even take a pretty good guess at how)

Before Team Arslan can get a good look at it, Zahhak withdraws, whether due to the arrows they fired at it it because of some other unknown reason isn't clear... Team Arslan leave without even being able to spare time to bury the bodies of the fallen, which clearly weighs on them, but night is drawing closer and they can't remain safely.

(I wonder whether they will still continue to Mount Damavand? Perhaps Arslan will appeal to Kaykhusraw's spirit to seek his approval to wield the sword? Or maybe priorities will have understandably changed and they'll change directions. Personally I think we'll at least get a scene that indicates Arslan has the right to wield Rukhnabad!)

Anyway Zahhak's also in a hurry to get somewhere and although Team Arslan didn't manage to glimpse the true horror, we do!

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

Well, now we know what happened to Kaykhusraw's mummified body? I did think that Team Zahhak would use him as a vessel for the Snake King, thinking this might occur in Ecbatana, but nope, that looks to be the case already.

The torso ending in a cluster of snakes, ugh.

I wonder whether Kaykhusraw's spirit is aware of what has happened to his body now that it has been possessed like this?

I wonder whether the intention is for Zahhak to retain this form? Because at the end of the chapter you see the host body's brittle-looking arm disintegrate where one of Team Arslan's arrows struck it, and it looks different to Zahhak's snakes pushing arrows from their bodies and regenerating. So maybe this takeover of Kaykhusraw is a temporary thing, and Team Zahhak are planning to transfer Zahhak to a new body once he reaches Ecbatana? And that new body... who better than another descendant of the Parsian royal line? 👀

I feel like with any luck I might get my wish for Hilmes to come face to face with Zahhak and in a moment of horror realise exactly what the sorcerers have been using him for and what he's helped to bring about...

(I want Team Zahhak to be planning for Hilmes to be a host for Zahhak but I don't want for it to actually happen! I'd love it if Team Arslan managed to step in just in time... augh my brain is racing into visions of Hilmes captured for a head jar ritual below Ecbatana)

Oh and Zahhak really is heading towards Ecbatana as I thought, so it looks extremely likely that all final showdowns are going to take place there. I feel like this direction was actually hinted at when the corpse of Kaykhusraw was slithering towards the setting sun. It's a panel I really like, as it both indicates the sun (which represents the Shah) setting on the royal line and Pars alike, and as the sun sets in the west and Ecbatana is west of Mount Damavand, you can tentatively extrapolate where the Snake King is heading.

So now Team Arslan have seen the Snake King. One day soon, they will have to defeat him for good. And given that everyone survived this time, can we hope for the same to happen again when they next meet in battle?

#arslan senki #the heroic legend of arslan #arslan senki spoilers #zahhak #team zahhak #arslan #daryun #estelle #don ricardo #kaykhusraw

[remmammie]

Can I get headcanons for riku, sora, and ventus babysitting a really hyper kid while traveling different worlds?

Sorry for the small hiatus, college threw a lot of exam intervention at me after my winter mocks so I had to get all that done before I could think about you lovelies. Still, I'm here now! I'm so excited to do some writing about platonic love with the Kingdom Hearts cast!

Riku, Sora, and Ventus babysitting an energetic kid on their adventures HCs

Riku

Now, over the years, Riku has learnt to be patient with a lot of things: his energetic friends, the darkness, meddling villains, etcetera. But he never really expected to be dealing with children.

I can't say he'd be experienced at all, so, after defeating some Heartless attempting to attack a young child in a world, Riku wasn't entirely sure what to do.

They clung onto his leg with an enthusiastic smile, toothy and wild. They were so in awe of Riku's style of combat and the Keyblade itself that Riku almost couldn't get a word in edgewise. Eventually, he managed to ask them where they were from and where he should take them to.

The child told him they were from a different world, that they had been dragged into some sort of dark portal and transported to this strange place. And, though Riku knew he had other things to do as a Keyblade Master, he couldn't exactly leave a child in a strange place with no guardian - they sort of reminded Riku of himself from not too long ago. Lost, confused, vulnerable... This was his duty as a Keyblade Master, right? To protect the light and, therefore, the people of the future?

After bundling the excitable child into the Gummi Ship, Riku knew exactly which world they had mentioned and planned the correct route accordingly. However, the main issue Riku was facing was keeping the kid away from the many flashing lights on the ship's dashboard. He felt bad having to tell them off and drag them away from buttons that would forcibly eject their seats or open a door in the middle of the Lanes Between, but knew he'd much rather be seeing the kid's pout than lose them completely.

Once arriving at the correct world, Riku almost feels sad to let the kid go. Their excitement reminded him of Sora, and their unbridled curiosity reminded Riku of his younger self. He'd refuse to give them the power of the Keyblade purely out of kindness, not wishing his cruel life on this innocent child who knew nothing of darkness or war, but would offer them a way to contact him again.

Riku told them that, if their world was in ever danger or if someone they knew needed protecting from darkness, they could call for Riku using their heart and he would be there.

Sora

I'm not entirely sure if I would trust Sora with a child on his own, much less a hyperactive one. He's quick to notice the light heart in danger and jumps in to protect them, but doesn't know how to react to the clinginess that follows.

When the child starts to show interest in his Keyblade, that's when Sora starts to lighten up to the idea of having a little companion for a bit, even when he recognises that they have to return to their homeworld eventually. So, he sets up the Gummi Ship to head out to this world he's...never actually heard of. Oh no.

Sora might end up taking the child to a few worlds before getting to the right one, choosing to use his heart to guide him. Maybe he also wanted to spend some more time talking to his new friend, but an excuse is always nice.

The two spend their entire journey together chatting about Sora's life and the Keyblade as well as the child's life in their homeworld. Sora adores talking about all the adventures he's gone on and about his friends, and the child watches and listens with stars in their eyes, perhaps sitting in Sora's lap as he (tries) to pilot the Gummi Ship.

Throughout every world, the two hold hands. Sora is eager not to lose such an innocent soul and he makes sure to fight off any darkness while he's there while he's at it. The child watches on in awe and might even try to copy him with a blunt stick on a big rock while Sora is asking townspeople about the child's home.

When the two eventually reach the child's home, Sora isn't excited to let them go, but he's glad they can get back to having a normal life, relieved that they have a nice home to return to. He makes a promise to return one day with the famous "paopu fruit" that Sora mentioned.

Ventus

As someone eager to prove himself to others as mature and reliable, Ventus immediately jumps at the chance to protect the child and swoops in to save the day. Of course, he also just can't sit idly by and watch someone as innocent as a child get hurt by the darkness.

At first, he's not quite sure how to take all the new attention. The praise is strange and it really warms Ventus' heart with a type of pride he never knew he was capable of feeling. He might take a while to take the child away from the world he found them in because he's too busy showing them how he fights with a Keyblade. Maybe he's showing off, but it's nice to have someone cheer for you.

Still, Ventus knows the child is someone with their own life and they absolutely need to return to the people that love them. So, he shows the kid something even cooler than the Keyblade: his Keyblade glider and armour. He places his helmet on their head to protect the kid from the darkness in the Lanes Between and tells them to hold on. They kid laughs heartily the entire time, thoroughly enjoying the ride through the Lanes Between.

With no real way to navigate the Lanes Between and differentiate between where worlds are, Ventus has to entirely rely on both his heart and the child's, asking them various questions about whether they feel closer to home or not. It takes a while, but the fun, exciting ride makes it all worth it.

When they arrive at the kid's homeworld, Ventus makes it his mission to speak to their guardian, making up some story or another about finding them somewhere in the world. He makes a pinkie promise with the child to never ever talk about what they did together, promising that they'll definitely do it again when they're older.

#kh fanfiction #kingdom hearts fanfiction #kingdom hearts sora #kh sora #kingdom hearts #kh x reader #kingdom hearts headcanons #kh ventus #kh riku #sora x reader #riku x reader #ventus x reader #kingdom hearts riku #kingdom hearts ventus

[rayquaza-is-falling]

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

I will be the first ti admit I was skeptical going into the game. I was SUPER excited about it, but one of my friends played it before me and actually returned her copy. She said it was janky, repetitive, and unimagined. It was super disheartening to hear because she is also the biggest Avatar fan I know, if she didn't like the game then it must be bad.

But I kept it on my Christmas list and old Saint Nick delivered, and boy am I glad.

I literally love it.

Here's why:

- The world, the nature, PANDORA in all of its glory... it looks INCREDIBLE. The world feels so alive and vibrant compared to other games of the genre and even other games by the developer (Ubisoft)

- the characters, the NPCs, specifically Etuwa are all fantastic. They have interesting dialog, dialects, accents, mannerisms, looks, etc. I'm particularly fond of the "Crush" sidequest.

- The combat. The combat is nothing new for ubisoft, but this definitely feels like the best execution of this style they have been working on in a while. Absolutely love the two bows. And throwing bombs at RDA.

-Customization. At first the customization is very underwhelming, bit as you play you unlock hairstyles, paint patterns, all that fun stuff and I like to think of it as my character "growing" as she goes along her journey. Being able to "disguise" armor with the appearance of other armor should be mandatory in every game here on out.

-The ikran. Very rarely do games have a GOOD flight mechanic in them. They are always so junky (looking at GTA) and don't feel good. The Ikran flight however... fantastic. It feels so immersive, and you can really feel that this is a living thing you are flying and not a machine. The scenery is beautiful and even the air is filled with interesting things. No game has given me the adrenaline rush that jumping off of the Ikran nook and taking flight has given me.

- I could go on an on, but I will end it with design. The characters, the world, the biomes, the weapons, the animals, everything. It's vibrant, colorful, and alive. You can tell someone put a lot of detail into every aspect and it's awesome

CONS:

- There have been complaints the game is buggy. I personally haven't experienced any game breaking bugs, but I have had enough npc's not showing up to be considered annoying

- the player character voices. I'm sorry, I'm sure that the actors are talented, but none of their voices fit the player character. All of the Na'vi NPCs have unique voices and Na'vi accents. Even the Avatar characters have better Na'vi voices. The Serentu who is known to be closer to the human word, Teylan, has more of a natural voice. I cringe every time I hear my character speak. I will give them credit for having a nonbinary voice and character option tho (the NB voice is also the most tolerable by far)

- the game doesn't really add anything new. It is a very standard RPG, Ubisoft doesn't really explore new techniques and gimmicks all that much. It feels very much like a reskinned AC odyssey. Which isn't inherently a bad thing, I like AC odyssey, but I would like a little more innovation.

- you have to pay for the DLCs, even if you pre ordered. I can tell they released "half" the game and are essentially making you buy a "DLC" to get the other half. It's a single player RPG (mostly) enough with the pay-per-use and "season pass"

So TLDR: if you like Avatar, and Pandora, and exploration, this game is for you. If you want to fly around, taking down helicopters and help restore the planet, you will love this game

If you are looking for the next Elden Ring, or fill-in for Baldur's Gate, you will find it underwhelming, and plain.

Rating so far

8.5/10

#avatar #frontiers of pandora #videogames #Na'vi #video games #gaming #xbox #the way of water #omatikaya #ikran #direhorse #gaming take

[samarecharm]

thank you for the long response! it was geniunely a very interesting read!! also i did not want to imply that you have to 100% like something or else drop it, that was not my intention (/_;)/~~ i just wanted to know what were the pros that outweighed the cons for you to continue the game!! i definitely have my own rant about the persona 5, as much as i love it.

i'm someone who has sunk hundreds of hours (i think about 400) into persona 5 royal, i have played the original as well and,,,,, i don't remember every bit of it as i got much more into royal, but your response definitely dug up some memories of my own gripes with the game as it was then. i bought strikers once i had a switch!! i was super excited to see ryuji and the rest of the gang again, but due to life stuff and me generally not being a fan of button smashers/combo games, i only got like 3 hours into it before i left it alone. also the lack of akechi was disheartening since after royal giving him more story i was wanting /still want more of him as royal, while not fully fixing his confidant, still improved majorly on his character in my opinion. but i trust your judgment, so do you have any tips to get back into strikers? it's really the gameplay that sticks out like a sore thumb to me, i'm not very dexterous with a controler and i get the hang of things quite slowly,,,, but again, thank you geniunely for responding so kindly and elaborating!! (*^ω^)

You are welcome 😊 I try to give the botd for questions like this, bc I have seen and received some very silly comments wrt to complaints of this game (and others people hold in high regard). Not that I am happy to see that you remembered some gripes w a game you liked, but it is easy to become a bit rosetinted about media you enjoy, and its good to go back and say ‘hey actually, theres some stuff i DO wish couldve been changed to make the experience better.’ At least u were polite about asking lmao

I think I am going to have the same problem I had before, so im going to preemptively put my strikers tips under the cut to stop it from bloating up dashboards 😭

I am aware that the warriors style gameplay is not for everyone; its very repetitive by its nature and it can be really bad on the hands if youre not used to it, so I unfortunately dont have a suggestion for making the combat portion of the game easier. But I am halfway through a ng+ of that game, so I at least have tips on how to make the combat less confusing, and how to spend less time on the actual combat itself.

Stick to one character and ignore literally anyone else in the beginning. I am so serious about this. The upgrades you get for ranking up teammates is used to enhance their combos, and that can be confusing in the beginning of the game. I had to fall back onto normal difficulty until i got the hang of everyones combos, so i suggest you do the same.

The ai for your teammates is surprisingly well done, and they will target enemy weaknesses and heal you before you NEED to be healed, which is always better than them simply forgetting to do so. They buff often, but they are a bit lax about debuffing without manual input (ann has Tarunda as a spell AND as a combo finisher, but she refuses to do either unless its targeting a tough enemy). You should prioritize builds that buff your entire team (so the competent team ai rips enemies to shreds) and debuffing enemies.

Combos are almost entirely optional if youre willing to jump in and out of Jails to replenish SP constantly. Spam spells, and switch teammates to spam their spells as well, then leave the Jail and return. Unlike the mainline games, leaving the metaverse does not pass time; only hitting important plot points like getting to the treasure and fighting the jailer counts towards progressing time, so you should abuse it as often as possible.

Due to [REDACTED] spoilers, you WILL need to at least master or understand three characters and their movesets. I obviously suggest Akira as one, but pick two more characters that work well with your playstyle. Ryuji was personally the easiest to understand; hes resistant to flinching, and his finishers are ‘hold X to kill everything around you’. Haru has a wide aoe for her combo finishers, letting her spin and shred through enemies or spam her grenade launcher infinitely. She has the added benefit of gaining more armor and reduced flinching during her hold finishers, so shes good for fighting bosses.

DONT fight those super hard burning enemies. They arent worth it 😭😭 you need to be at least 3-4 jails deep before u can even fight the one in shibuya jail 😭😭 theyre very easy to avoid, so just shimmy past them or ignore the area theyre in outright.

If you focus on understanding Akira, know that each persona has a unique set of finishers (yes, literally each one). If you are thinking of learning combos instead of just spamming spells, I suggest learning the pattern for executing his combos before focusing on what the finishers actually do. From there, you can test out finishers for each persona, and decide which ones are worth keeping based on that. I will say though, that the finishers kinda dont mean anything until you get to the end game, where high leveled personas will have spells like Concentrate or Debilitate as Finishers; but always know that a finisher spell is ALWAYS a spell that you can just as easily cast with SP. Dont make the game more stressful or complicated than you need it to be.

(As an addon, if you can understand Akiras moveset, then learning the other ones will be WAY easier since they are all virtually the same. The only thing you need to memorize is exactly what spell is used on their finishers; it took me forever to realize that Yusukes last finisher is…a combo enhancer…that makes his finishers last forever… and you would NOT know that unless u started learning his moveset since his ai never uses it)

If youre someone who wants to farm and level up to gain access to more personas, you should find the strong enemies around a map instead of constantly reclearing the entire jail. Unlike the mainline games, enemies do not respawn after leaving a floor; you gotta leave the jail and come back to make them respawn. If you are okay w the repetition, it is easier to memorize the spawns of strong enemies (not the minibosses that are burning) and beat them up for good exp and money, esp since all spawns are static. Silky in the Shibuya jail is the first one that comes to mind, since Ann is able to stunlock her w Agis, AND she spawns very close to one of the checkpoints (its before the underground section of shibuya but i cannot remember the name of it) making it easy to jump in and jump out to replenish SP, and continue farming.

And finally, despite what I just said, dont take the bosses of this game too seriously. They arent easy but they are absolutely doable without insane builds and optimization. Bosses have aids in the form of interactables of their respective weaknesses (Shibuya has party poppers with wind affinitiy thats eventually used on the boss to stun them.) Stock up on healing personas, Stock up on Items from Sophias shop, and target weaknesses whenever you can to force an allout attack as fast as possible. The combat can be overwhelming, but at the end of the day, the combat is really just ‘run around from attacks and spam spells or combos until the thing dies’. I hope that helps a little bit, and if push comes to shove, i will always recommend watching a playthrough instead of fighting through a game that feels like a slog to get through. Most of the story comes from the cutscenes and city interactions, so you arent missing much by watching someone beat up shadows for u lol and bc i genuinely LOVE the characters they introduce, its worth it to learn about them.

It sucks that Goro isnt in the game, but it was made prior to Royal iirc (the japanese release was the only one available for some time). I will say though, the themes of this game fit him so perfectly, and if youre of the mind to speculate and make aus, then you will be joining me in the obsession of making Goro interactions w the team. Palaces were about corrupted peoples desires distorting the world around them, and they were always someone so reprehensible, you were not intended to sympathize w them and even debate if what the thieves were doing was wrong. But Jails serve an entirely different purpose, and the end result is having Rulers with depth to them, and the overarching theme of ‘if you fuck up your life and others over the decisions you thought were correct, can you recover?’ And the answer is always ‘yes. No matter what, you can always start over if you intend to do better and be better’, and I think thats a good reason to see the entire story through :)

#chattin #p5s #its an essay im SORRY #but i like this game and i like giving reviews and advice for the games i like #i want people to enjoy it; but i do NOT want people to waste money yknow? #anyways this was nice. i like talking about all aspects of this game #i am so aware of how monotonous this game can be combatwise #and i try to emphasize that its fun for me BECAUSE of the grind; i played warframe and destiny for years; i am so used to it #and theres some things i picked up from playing these games so often that may not be easy to pick up for some players #thinking of my sister who is NOT used to those kinds of games and figuring out how to help her #like if anon was my sister instead how would i tell her how to make the game easier ? #i wish it had an accessibility feature to let u auto input combos but alas #devs and companies dont really think of those things #also EDIT. i looked up the release dates #and scramble (strikers) released in japan in feb 2020 while royal came out in mar 2020 #scramble released worldwide in 2021 which is a year before i actually bought it #insane its been in my library for TWO years before i played it #so dont let ur dreams be dreams anon; i also waited forever to play this game lol

[arthyritis]

Meet Cute, Perhaps?

A/N: More proof that I can only wrote the same characters all of the time--I'm sorry, I promise I'll try to write more irisonas sometime T-T

Anyway, Tae and I were bonding over wanting to marry my background character IRIS OC since P won't and, oop, looks like IRIS Tae's got a new crush 👀

@bondedostae

-----===-----

For once, P had snagged an early shift, and he was damn lucky for it. With his oldest childhood friend in town for a few days, he wanted to spend as much time with her as he could.

Unfortunately, his habit to become obsessed with only paying attention to one friend at a time meant he lost a lot of friends over his life and he'd learned ways to combat that.

Speaking of, as he entered the locker room, he spotted just one of those friends that he only really saw at work and a couple of times outside of it. They had stayed friends regardless.

"Oh, hey, Tae," P greeted, and she waved over her shoulder in return as she plucked something from her locker with the other hand. When she turned around, P took note of her casual, non-work look and smiled. "You look nice. Are you doing anything this evening?"

Tae shrugged. "Not really. Why, what's up?" P could see the item in her hand was a phone which she looked down at with a vague expression, examining the time.

P headed to his own locker and grabbed his shoulder bag. He didn't usually do much before going home, but he took out a couple of items of clothing and headed to a changing room.

"I'm going to dinner with a friend. Would you like to come?"

The door slightly muffled the sound of the response even as Tae got closer.

"Would that friend happen to be this Shells character you haven't shut up about?" P could decipher the smile from her voice alone and laughed along with its friend.

"It would. She's been really excited to meet my work friends, so if you're free, I'm sure she wouldn't mind you coming along."

"I'm free," Tae reassured, tapping something into her phone. A moment later, P stepped out wearing a blue, patterned button-down and black jeans with his boots and a jacket on his arm.

It checked through its pockets to make sure it had everything and scanned over the changing stall several times before it was confirmed that yes, it did indeed have everything.

"Well, I've just got to pick her up, so, uhh, meet us at the restaurant? I'll text you the address."

"Sounds good."

P sat back in the seat of his car, smoothing his shirt and checking his appearance in the rearview mirror.

"You look great, Paulie," Shells sighed, less in annoyance and more out of concern.

Her fiery red hair was pulled back in a half-up, half-down style, the bun sitting around the middle of the back of her head. Her black dress was smooth and matte, reaching her knees even sitting.

"Easy for you to say," P grumbled before it opened the car door and got out to round to Shells' side. He locked the car behind her, leading her by the arm inside.

Immediately, he spotted Tae sitting not far off and led Shells to the same table.

Before he could even try to introduce them, Shells spoke up, "Hey, great to meet you. Name's Shells."

Tae's eyes widened as she grabbed the fiery woman's outstretched hand, and even the dim lighting allowed them to see her blush, matching Shells' own.

"Your name is... amazing. I'm Tae."

Shells smiled politely, taking a seat next to her and ordering a drink as the waiter approached the table.

"Uhm, water for me," P responded with a slowly loosening smile. Okay, maybe this would go better than he thought.

#irisona #camera wtchr p #shells singh #tae #grey does writing #p being so self conscious as usual sigh #also tae pls ignore how fast I wrote this I was *inspired*

[rubylarkspur22]

How would nezuko look like if she took the role of Yoriichi (aka the man who almost defeated Muzan) in the Tsugikuni-Kamado Swap au

Ooh! I see, an AU of the AU... Just a sec!

*excited drawing noises*

So!! Let's start with some sketches I whipped up! My brain has hooked onto this idea, and I am gonna roll with it with full commitment!!

Not gonna lie, 7-year-old Nezuko looks a little creepy to me. My main reason for leaving her reason for running away from home ambiguous is because I don't know what to use that would historically work. Arranged marriage seemed odd for someone who's 7, and I don't know enough about the Sengoku Era to make a call on their view of women in combat. If anyone knows, I'd love to hear it! I suppose I could put her in a Mitsuri type of situation, where her Mark and abilities kinda freak people out and she leaves to find people who will more easily accept her? I'm open to suggestions!

As for 17, it's traumatic. She gets her happy marriage for a bit, and conceives a child, but then it all goes to hell in a handbasket when a demon attacks and kills her husband while she's out of the house. The stress from coming to the scene causes Nezuko to go into premature labour. And due to the lack of a midwife, the stress and trauma of losing her husband, how early in her pregnancy she went into labour, as well as the lack of modern medicine, the baby doesn't make it. Sengoku Rengoku shows up and helps Nezuko process everything because she definitely has ✨Crippling Depression✨ at the moment. After helping her grieve and bury her family, he takes her to the Demon Hunters.

So from 17-23, it will probably be a bit more of an uphill battle for Nezuko than it was Yoriichi in canon or Tanjirou in the original version of this AU. Again, it depends on the Sengoku Era, as well as the Corps specifically, and their views on women being in positions of power and combat. Either way, she creates the Breathing Styles, and her best friends are Tanjirou and Sengoku Rengoku. Eventually, she meets Muzan and Tamayo. Muzan, in my head, does not think much of women, so he didn't consider Nezuko to be any form of a threat. That was a mistake, and he's been traumatized since. Tamayo gets free, and Nezuko lets her go. I feel like she would empathize a bit with Tamayo in the pain of losing one's husband and kids to demons. And then it all goes to hell because Tanjirou's a demon. Nezuko gets kicked out of the Corps and goes through ✨Crippling Depression 2 Electric Boogaloo✨. Meets the Tsugikuni twins' Sengoku ancestors, gives them Sun Breathing and earrings and is on her way. Probably hangs out with Tamayo for a bit during the next sixty years.

And then she hits her 80's. We all know what happens here. Fight, death, Muzan breathes a massive sigh of relief. Until the Taisho Era. When the earrings return, and Nezuko starts haunting him with ominous and foreboding appearances that make him quake in his boots.

Now that I got sorry outta the way, here's a coloured image! I made it on my iPad, which I don't have Tumblr on, so the quality isn't great, but it should get across what I need to get across.

I tried to mix Nezuko's canon elements with Yoriichi. I have no clue how historically accurate she looks, I am open to advice on the matter.

(Also, I left a little hint about who's taking the place of Sumiyoshi here!😉)

Hope this answered your question, and probably more. This was fun to think about!

#demon slayer #kny au #kamado nezuko #swap au #demon slayer nezuko #art #🌙 #anatomy isn't great... #but i'm working on it #anon ask #ask

[mliter]

Hi-Fi Rush.

Revealed during some showcase Xbox was having that day, this surprised literally everyone when we learned that it was available right at that moment. No marketing. Any nay-sayers were immidately shut up because the game was right there to play. It was a real ballsy move.

Due to how Forspoken soured any attempt at comedic writing in video games around the time, i immediately turned off the trailer for this game the moment i heard "Yup, that's me." My attitude would quickly change after pressing the play button by accident again.

I had an extra code for 2 months of Xbox game pass (christ this is a good service) & downloaded it when it was available. Immidately starting the game, i'm introduced with a well animated intro cutscene that seamlessly transitions to the beautiful cel shaded visuals.

At this point, i realized that everything in the world is synced to the beat. the player character's footsteps, his jump (if you can time it right) and almost everything working in the background. After stepping out, i truly recognized how much style this game got.

For one, the character design & art. Look at this!

Everyone's has a look that i would see at 6:00 PM on Teletoon. Everything that happens makes me think of something that would be written by man of action. Makes me think of Slugterra. Storm Hawks. This type of Disney XD Awesomeness character design is distinct and it blew my mind to see it return in such a fashion. I don't see it that often and i hope this inspires more to look into it. I know it did so for me.

The presentation is some of the most consistent and high quality i've seen in a video game. I felt the same wonder i felt seeing the Lego Movie for the first time while running through this. The animation, both 2D and 3D is outstanding. Hi-Fi Rush likes to flip between the two on a dime, without warning. The cartoony artstyle and how they utilize it is exceptional. Radical color changes, motion lines, visible effects straight out of a comic book, expressions that snap on a dime, allowing for gags to be easily pulled off with little use for realism logic. The cutscenes like to jump to an fps of 24 to keep it up. The sound effects and things that happen within them are all to the beat. There is an insane amount of detail and polish here. This is a playable cartoon, through and through. There's very little to break the illusion they're selling you. There's even animation of both Chai and 808 messing around as you transition to the other part of battle. They don't have to do that, but they did. There's so much love in this project. I see the vision and you will as well. I played the entirety of this just in awe of what i was looking at. This is what happens when you let creatives just. go wild.

As RANK10YGO put it, everything about this game feels like a can of Fanta on a hot summer day.

The combat is masterful. I hear that people that were involved in some of the greatest character action games were on this project. You've got parrying, movement, and allies that you can swap in to extend combos and disarm specific enemies. The combat isn't really deep, but good lord is it fun. Also, take all of that and put it to the beat of the music.

Exciting camera work, explosive effects, an energetic UI, voice acting that gives everyone life, everything on the screen is moving. All to the beat of Shuichi Kobori's glorious compositions. This is the exact stuff my mind dreams up of when i space off.

The boss fights are absolutely jaw dropping by the way. You think it's gonna go the way you think it is, but it doesn't. It's something different every time, some of them aren't even fights!

Even after finishing off the great story, i unlocked some extra features and a postgame that encouraged me to play again on harder difficulties. Character customization, a model viewer with a wealth of character information & a music player was immediately available to me. Most AAA games like to lock that content behind DLC or pre order bonuses. I thought i was missing out on not getting the deluxe edition. but i felt like i wasn't. The game isnt really that long as well.

It's clear that this game was designed with fun in mind. Profits probably came second, but Tango Gameworks clearly wanted to create something fun and memorable. This is a title that i would've seen in 2010. Not 2023. I had not one bad experience going through this title. It felt like there was absolutely no corporate meddling, nothing holding the team back as they developed it. This shit is what dreams are made of. It's been years since i've been taken in and enamored by a video game like this. I had so much fun. I love Hi-Fi Rush with all of my heart. I'll never forget this.

#game log #top 10 #hi fi rush #best of 2023

[fell-court]

okay! I have a lot of random notes that i'm going to throw all into the same post so here we go

I'm about to do the last couple of level 67 quests, so I only have a couple dozen quests left of Stormblood! Which is quite exciting. What is not quite exciting is that the current quest I'm on is the one before the Lakshmi battle, but through the power of skipping all the cutscenes i will hopefully be able to get through it before/without dissociating any more than i already have.

Almost every single job in the game that I've played or intend to play is now at level 70 or very near it, with the only exception being summoner still stuck down at 61 (and astrologian forever being stuck at 34 - sorry astrologian, but I am not going to do well as a healer using my controller, I can already just sense it). I'm quite happy about this, but it's also causing a great deal of choice paralysis regarding which jobs to then go and use.

Also outside of combat I am now already a level 81 weaver because I went slightly mad with glove-making power and I regret absolutely nothing about this process.

..I've been using Lorenza's intended Shadowbringers appearance (minus the headgear) for enough of these recent play sessions, because it's an aiming set and I was levelling up machinist, that I now want to come up with a different outfit for her in Shadowbringers, oops. I'm still fairly set on her fighting as a dancer on the First, because she picks up the fighting style from Lyna (and subsequently ending up doing the dancer 60-70 questline after coming back to Eorzea actually sets things up pretty well for Endwalker, given what those quests are about!). So I apologise in advance for potentially lots of rambles about what to make the new outfit.

I also still haven't figured out what job to use for Endwalker. Probably black mage for the sake of the whole theme of "returning to the Source from the First = going back to her roots of how she fought when first arriving on the Source from the Thirteenth" (and also because I miss playing as a black mage!!) - but i'm not 100% set on it. However, I did just have a fun idea that has basically cemented Lorenza being a reaper post-Endwalker, so that's that part sorted at least. This makes her current full job progression chain black mage (or possibly also summoner)-machinist-red mage-dancer-black mage-reaper!

I also need to figure out an appearance for Endwalker, which may in turn have an impact on the new Shadowbringers appearance because of symbolism and wanting to be different and all sorts of other things stemming from me thinking about this kind of thing far too much. I had the idea of Endwalker being the first time Lorenza's eyes were visible to some extent, with post-Endwalker then being where they were the most visible of all, but I still need to decide which gear specifically will be used to achieve this effect.

It is now gone midnight and I'm quite tired, so I think I will leave it here for now, but thank you to anyone who has actually taken the time to read all of this. If you have any questions or comments, then please know you can always send me an ask!

#a voidsent voice 🜸 #lorenza (fell‑court) 🜸 #..sort of #i'm not 100% sure how many of lorenza's canon appearance i've actually shown on the blog oops

[laylaylamode]

I posted 409 times in 2022

208 posts created (51%)

201 posts reblogged (49%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@kururu418

@thepaladincosplays

@princesscallyie

@thereallordgrape

@onelastfic

I tagged 401 of my posts in 2022

Only 2% of my posts had no tags

#callyieverse - 241 posts

#ask - 111 posts

#fanfiction - 82 posts

#future au - 66 posts

#tales of mewni - 63 posts

#cindy masters - 56 posts

#dai tai - 45 posts

#smells like teen spirit - 39 posts

#bruce masters - 31 posts

#dylan masters - 31 posts

Longest Tag: 122 characters

#the reason why is because in chinese mythos there are eight or more mountains and each with it's own ruler and environment

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Friendly Neighborhood Reaper 💀

"Need a hand? Leave the heavy lifting to me."

The repentant hero is well known for his swift justice and generous heart when dark outcomes need light shed upon them. Bruce Masters calls upon the dead through necromancy to carry out his bidding and hones his power as a god into martial arts. In combat he is resilient with multiple fighting styles and will have the opponent down and out within seconds.

Artwork by the talented @harchibudytgorichi !

15 notes - Posted February 6, 2022

#4

Did Cindy ever vister Legerdomain?

Depends! From what I recall Charmcaster had a security system where changing the name of the realm every few seconds kept people locked out of it but I'm not sure if that stayed true or not. So probably not, but she would if she could.

16 notes - Posted February 21, 2022

#3

Since it's almost the month of love, I got a beautiful commission from the amazing @harchibudytgorichi ! ✨✨ I really like how the characters look here and they did a great job!

I'm excited to get to the post-return stories and the relationship with these two has given me a lot of ideas! Bruce is determined to apologize to Shu and regain her trust (and her heart). He'll do anything to repair the damage and Shu is about to receive a lot of courting attempts lol. One rose may lead to a hundred more.

Shu Chan belongs to @kururu418 !

19 notes - Posted January 26, 2022

#2

Time's Visionary 👻

"I'm here to help! Let's finish this!"

The dedicated scholar is well known for her resourcefulness and quick thinking to turn the odds in her favor. Cindy Masters is adept at time manipulation while also training as a spell-caster and pushing her supernatural limits to a cosmic level. In combat she uses the battlefield as a chessboard and will strategize attacks to ensure the opponent's defeat.

Artwork by the incredible @harchibudytgorichi !

20 notes - Posted February 6, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

The Stacie's are an elite quartet who seem to act as a hive mind but surprisingly are more individual than most believe. Why they wanted to join the Townsville High School volleyball team is a mystery even to those that share the court with them. In order of appearance from left to right:

🔵Stacie Quinlan, 🟡Stacie Boulet, 🔴Stacie Armbuster, and 🟢Stacie Tomassian.

Art by @harchibudytgorichi , who came through with these amazing designs as usual! Credit to them for making the girls look so stylish and unique! 😁

23 notes - Posted February 28, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[aroacekinkdiary]

Game Review 2: Meeting in the Flesh

4.5/5 (I dislike one character)

MitF is straightforward text adventure, with basically no combat, movement, or sex you can interact with. It is, by all accounts, a choose-your-own-adventure. And any CYOA fan can tell you to not count them out. MitF is about the best you can hope for from this genre, and only has a lower rating for personal preference and it's dubious game-hood.

Part 1: the premise and setting.

I adore the setting of this game, full fat no mixer, it's genius. It's set in a fleshy landscape filled to the brim with uncertain ground, acidic pustules, and wide salt fields to dry the groundsweat in. The people who call this place home as closer to the description of a creature than anything else, but have a love and genuine comfort for their home. As alien as the shapes and sights, the game reminds you there are people in all the ways that really matter.

They have holidays and customs, dietary restrictions and cultural cuisine, in groups, out groups, discrimination, farming, home decor, delivery services, lust for adventure, love of family, the list goes on and on. These are people. Sure, they kill criminals by bleeding them into a vat of salt to flavor it. Sure they subsist on literally nothing but salt. Sure they are twisted and have a few extra, fewer, or altered limbs and body structure. As alien as the environment, the feeling that struck me the most was how frequently this place did feel like their home, even in the parts the narrator consider boring.

Speaking of, the game is narrated from the perspective of our main character, a salt deliveryperson of unspecified gender or sex (not that it is even guaranteed to be adjacent to how humans tend to do it) who makes their living by using their unique build to sprint to and fro about the city. This is how you manage your time in the game, you decide what events you have time for based on who you engage with in-between your deliveries, since you only have the time to talk to one of the eligible bachelors each day.

The character feels as though they have a history, a story, and what strikes me is their need for that same comfort. They need a home to truly place their heart (or equivalent) in. The usual bad ending of the game is just, returning to your apartment. Alone. The room feels darker, and the night feels colder, and the contrast between your space and the revelry outside crushes your confidence. You sleep fitfully. It gives a sort of context of stakes that really makes them vulnerable. On the topic of writing...

Part 2: the quality of characterization

I am a person who likes to read aloud the events of my text based games. I find the voice acting to be engaging and fun, and it gets me more into the headspace of the characters. This is all to mention that at no point in the game did I grow confused as to who Is talking to who.

The character writing gives a unique writing style to each character that almost always tells you a lot about how they interact with the world. The protag's manager is rough and tumble but caring, the old man they deliver to seems amenable but quietly lonely, the people in the street are excited by the execution and lap their lips at the idea of the blood spilling on the cobblestones.

Each of the bachelors expresses themselves uniquely, whether cautious and reserved, calculating and intelligent, or wild and impulsive, they all have a unique style of speech that carries through in every word they say.

Okay so the text game is very good, but that's not what these reviews are about. I'm not here to give you something objective, I'm here to provide my opinion. So the most important question is, are the bachelors sexy and how good is the bone?

Part 3: Horny

To preface, the game has a SFW mode, where it doesn't get too explicit. Don't use it.

The writing of these bachelors is great 2/3rds of the time, not because it's on and off, but because I adored two of the bachelors and thought the last one was the coward pick for the uninitiated, and didn't like his character. The other two? Oh yeah.

First, the problem child. Brattan. B is a big, buff wolfman with an adventurous spirit and athletic bent. You'd think I'd love him, but I find him so irresponsible and abrasive. Routinely he drags your character beyond their comfort zone, assuming you don't play to be just as of not more reckless than he is, seems to genuinely not engage in empathetic thought, and overall has this 'jock wannabe' vibe that's just sort of uncomfortable. Plus, his ending centers around finding a portal to earth and becoming a strange, flimsy, hairless ape that has to pay taxes. And like, I get nothing out of those scenes, unironically. He was Beast, why would I want prince Adam's scrawny cousin. D tier bachelor.

Second is Yiestol, a lithe (almost effeminately designed) insectoid man. He works as the sole individual who watches over the citywide security system, and has a hardworking, if calculating, earnestness for his job. He wants to help people, protect people, he's not sure if he has the right perspective to help this place the best, so a lot of his conversations are long discussions about his beliefs. His story focuses around how he struggles with intuitive moral decisions (girl same) and how the protagonist's perspective could balance his calculation with kindness. He makes sure, double sure, triple sure, that you want to be his partner, that you know what it entails, and what you'd be getting into. When it ends, you climb into the security system together and he engages in something between sex and absorption, as he proceeds to melt with you into a collective goop like a butterfly getting rearranged in a cocoon. I'm not usually one for Vore but WOW this scene hits hard. It frames it as becoming one in body and soul, and in the end, you live on within him, and he within you, with his final design having four arms and a heart design on the chest. Extremely good, A tier Bachelor.

Finally. My sweet, my darling Nyargh. I have never claimed to be objective or even handed, he is my favorite. A mass of tendrils and mouths hovers and bobs like a balloon, slithering red mass shifts and undulates to mimic traditional speech. Speaking is hard for Nyargh, and coupled with his cagey and brusque demeanor, he would surely have no visitors if he didn't run the only honey store in town. The rarest of all, the third food beyond blood and salt is honey, and he makes a pretty penny by protecting and rearing fat, cat-sized bumblebees. Nyargh is unfriendly to most, and respects those who can respect his taciturn nature. Throughout his route he asks many questions of the player, and rather than the reckless or well considered answers of the last two, he prefers the voice of respect and kindness above all. Eventually, you help him at his shop enough that he trusts you enough to invite you into his private sanctum. A lushly furnished and comfortable space, the smell of the setting-equivalent cookies in the oven, and even rare and precious tea is served to you to repay you for your time. Nyargh reveals that he is not unfriendly, he is simply a very private man. His romance path is one of tenderness and kind gestures, gifts, treats, and smiles spent in quiet quality time. Eventually, it comes to a head when you learn the reason he is so secretive. His kind do not eat much salt, they thrive primarily on the pheromones of others. Specifically, Nyargh feeds off of happiness. He sells honey because people feel happy when they buy it, or buy it for a celebration or payday. If they knew he was feeding off them, he'd be ostracized or even killed. When the protagonist accepts him for who he is and truly believes his gestures of kindness to be honest, the result is the most tender scene of tentacle fondling and mutual body exploration i've maybe ever read. Though he has trouble with communication, I was glad to see him always asking for permission at every step. Consent is sexy as fuck, guys, and I'm not exaggerating on that.

Closing thoughts

I adore this title. It's writing is so natural that I was able to do Y and N's routes first try by literally just being honest with them. Would have preferred a route to tame B's wild side, but you need to give the people with mid taste something to eat I guess.

Quintuple S-tier on the visualnovel scale

Solid A for Games in general, and I don't mean that lightly.

#kinkdiary #game review

[casspurrjoybell-27]

Claimed by the Beast - Chapter 1a

*Warning Adult Content*

Built like a Gladiator - Part 1

- Everett -

Having hot and smutty sex with a man whose criminal record is longer than both his arms combined has recently jumped to the top of Everett's bucket list.

It's all he can think about while getting dressed for his date tonight with Shaun, a member of some motorcycle club.

Tonight marks their seventh hangout, yet another opportunity for them to dive deeper into the fiery connection that's been growing between them.

Everett is finally ready to go all the way with the foul-mouthed biker and he can't wait to get to the part of tonight where Shaun takes him home and fucks him into oblivion.

"I'm going for 'fuck me in the backseat of your car' vibes. What do you think?" Everett steps out of his bathroom and back into his bedroom, preening for Alissa and Michael.

"Leave it on or change into something else?"

Alissa gives him a double thumbs-up in high approval.

"If I weren't a raging lesbian and also your best friend, I'd totally have a lady boner right now."

"God, why are you like this?" Michael rolls his icy blue eyes while chuckling.

"The choker is a bit much, though. We're not going to a kink club, so maybe you should save that for another day."

He rarely goes above and beyond with how he dresses, especially when it comes to impressing a man that he isn't serious about but tonight, he pulled out all the stops, a red leather jacket, a fitted white crop top, high-waisted fishnet tights beneath black torn skinny jeans, and black combat boots.

If this look doesn't get Shaun's dick hard, Everett may have to reevaluate their relationship.

"Hey, your phone just went off with a new text," Alissa shouts from the bedroom.

"Want me to read it? I'm trying to be nice but I also don't want to be surprised with a dick pic."

"We haven't even gotten to that level yet, so you'll be fine. Open the message," Everett laughs.

"It's probably Shaun. He told me he'd be picking me up on his motorcycle tonight. He usually takes me out in his truck, so this will be my first ride. That better not be him texting to cancel on me..."

"Nope. Just him reporting he's about fifteen minutes out," Alissa says. "How do you want to respond?"

"With a few suggestive emojis, please." Everett smirks at his reflection in the mirror.

"I want him to know how excited I am about tonight."

Everett, despite being twenty-four years old, still gets carded at clubs and bars.

With his light brown eyes, short curly brown hair, pouty lips and freckle-kissed face, he'd once despised looking younger than he was.

Nowadays, he exploits it, especially when he's trying to worm his way out of trouble with his parents.

It isn't easy having them as roommates.

That's why he looks forward to the end of summer when he can return to college with his best friends and complete his bachelor's degree.

The only rules he'll have to follow are those he makes for himself.

Until then, he's stuck in a 70s-styled basement and is forced to abide by his parents' eleven o'clock curfew.

"Thanks again for coming out with me tonight. Figured I'd need backup in case things go south with Shaun." Everett joins his friends on the bed, settling into the center.

"He really hyped this club up, so I hope it lives up to the hype."

"Well, I'm excited to finally meet your bad boy biker and maybe soon-to-be boyfriend," Alissa grins, wriggling her eyebrows.

"Feels like he's all you ever talk about lately."

"No surprise there. Everett wears his heart on his sleeve and falls hard for damn near every hot guy he dates," Michael teases.

Everett laughs, playfully shoving Michael.

"Fuck you for reading me off."

"At least Everett is out here getting some action, Mikey. What exactly have you been doing in these streets?" Alissa asks, tossing her chunky faux locks over her shoulder. Michael's pale cheeks flush with embarrassment as he remains silent.

"Yeah, that's what I thought, pretty boy."

Everett stares at his friends in adoration, a warm smile spreading across his face.

"I don't know what I'd do without you idiots."

When Shaun arrives to pick up Everett, Alissa and Michael head out shortly after they depart.

"Hold on tight, baby," Shaun hollers over the roar of his motorcycle, a thrilling rush of adrenaline pumping through Everett's veins as they weave through traffic.

The world flies by in a vibrant blur, a sensation of liberation unlike anything Everett's ever experienced before.

"You doing okay back there? I can slow down if you're scared."

"Who's scared? I'm having fun," Everett refuses to submit to fear.

He welcomes the danger instead, laughing and feeling high off the buzz the ride has produced.

"Go faster."

"You sure?" Shaun asks, his voice infused with the hint of a smile.

"Hell yeah. Show me what you can do."

Everett grips Shaun tighter around the waist when the bike charges forward even faster.

Shaun handles the steel beast like they're filming the money shot in a Hollywood movie, expertly navigating through cars of various sizes.

Everett can't stop his mind from racing alongside the scenery.

He can't help but envision a life of chaotic escapades with Shaun, gradually becoming addicted to the fear and excitement that comes from dating a biker.

Doing reckless shit will become Everett's new normal.

He can already imagine waking up next to the sexy blonde every morning, the two of them going on to have tons of law-breaking adventures.

Everett can also imagine how dark his life would become after the fun and games ended.

He can't deny the allure of Shaun's I Do What I Want lifestyle but he's also smart enough to know he isn't built to be someone's ride or die bitch.

Then again... could Shaun be worth it?

Could Everett really adapt to the biker's dangerous way of living?

Could he really embrace the daily peril that comes with dating a man whose enemies probably shoot first and ask questions later?

The thoughts ring loud in his mind as the city lights blur into streaks of neon around them.

Everett frowns from behind his helmet when Club Inferno materializes in the distance about twenty minutes later, his brief reality check and the bike ride officially over.

"A lot can be told about a man from how well he handles his ride."

Shaun places Everett's helmet on the handlebars after they park and climb off the bike.

He then pulls Everett in close for a kiss that nearly wakes up the head between his legs.

"Give me a letter grade, baby. How'd I do?"

"A+ for sure," Everett says with a smile.

"I'll take that."

Shaun laughs.

He grabs Everett's hand and leads the way into the club.

Shaun never talks about The Jackals, his MC according to the patch on his cut, with Everett.

The man's role in the club remains a total mystery to Everett but Shaun's reputation seems to precede him, affording him and Everett easy passage past the line of people outside and past the bouncer.

The attention they garner once inside the club is akin to celebrity status with stares and whispers floating in their direction as numerous eyes lock onto Shaun.

"When were you planning to tell me that you're Mr. Popular on this side of town?" Everett jokes as they reach the bar.

Shaun gives him a puzzled look.

"I don't follow."

"Dude, you were the center of attention as we were walking through the crowd. How did you not notice all eyes were on you?"

"I never pay much attention to that shit. Means nothing to me."

Their conversation stalls as the bartender arrives to take their orders, a virgin mojito for Everett and a beer for Shaun.

They continue their casual conversation, debating Shaun's popularity, until Alissa and Michael arrive and grab a seat.

Shaun works his magic wooing Everett's friends for several minutes, then he excuses himself to answer a call.

"What's the verdict, horn dog? You going back to his place tonight or what?" Alissa yells over the loud music.

"It's leaning that way," Everett responds.

"He seems cool enough but you should still be careful around him," Michael chimes in. "I get bad boys are your thing but he's clearly way past that."

"Promise I'll be careful," Everett says.

"I'll admit, I have my doubts..."

"Oh my God, I love this song," Alissa shrieks.

She hops out of her seat and grabs the closest thing to her, Michael, before running to the dance floor.

"Move your ass, Everett."

"I'll be right there. I just need to find Shaun first.

[volumehypeplay]

What I'm HYPED for

Already, it's somehow February 1st. The older I get the more I believe time is a construct with how quickly months, weeks and days go by. 2023 is full of things I'm looking forward too (and many things I'm not yet aware of) so I thought, why not give you guys a little look at the games, movies and tv shows I can't wait for in 2023.

↓

Diablo IV

Probably my favorite series in gaming, is back once again and with being in the midst of reading 'The Sin War' seeing both Lilith and Inarius being the titular villains in this sequel has me extremely hyped. I have high hopes for the story, but seeing the return to the dark and macabre style, some fantastic visuals, the additions of verticality and a refined skill system lines up Diablo IV as potentially the best in the series.

↓

Stalker 2

I still remember making a PC just to be able to run Stalker, back in like 2004; being in awe of the atmosphere the game could muster. Now with Stalker 2 finally on the horizon I really hope the team manage to capture that dread and fear of walking through the ZONE and throw some awesome creature design at us.

↓

Starfield

Sometime 2 years ago I stumbled upon No Man Sky using gamepass and actually found it so much more fun than I expected. Seeing Bethesda basically put their own RPG-heavy spin on that idea has me excited. Although I was never a fan of Skyrim its now 10+ years since that game and if they can blend a great story with some fantastic survival / world building mechanics they've got me.

↓

Nightingale

Any game that gives me an excuse to be able to play with my best friend is a great game in my eyes and Nightingale looks like a fantastic spin on survival games. The crutch of this one is being able to realm walk between worlds, which hopefully gives us a ton of diversity; from building your base to the weapons and monsters that are their to ruin our day.

I think it's meant to be out in the first-half of 2023, in Early Access anyway so this is one i'll be keeping my fingers crossed for.

↓

The Invincible

I don't know much about this one, but The Invincible looks to be in the same vain as the fantastic Firewatch. It's an alternative-scifi with you playing a Russian astrobiologist thats stuck on a planet and has to get out. Story heavy games never had me very interested as a teen, but these last few years I've found some fantastic tales spun by the likes of Prey, Dishonored, God of War etc. and I have a feeling The Invincible is going to be another one of those games.

↓

Nine Sols

This is actually the only game I have ever backed and I don't regret a penny. Imagine Sekiro, but 2D, hand drawn and a rogue like - that's exactly what Nine Sols is. You play Yi, who has to take down the Nine Sols in a asian influences cyberpunk world.

Having played the demo (and some beta) Nine Sols is shaping up incredibly; the combat is looking to be outstanding for a game of this type and I hope the guys deliver on everything I've seen so far.

↓

The Ranchers

This is one of those unicorn games that apparently and hopefully will be able to do it all. Much like Raft, Grounded or Len's Island this is sort of a farming-simulator / survival game... but multiplayer. From what we've seen from the dev's in early trailers this could potentially be fantastic, with so much detail being on show. I would normally be hesitant with a game that trying to do so much, but having found a love in these more relaxed games of late I really am rooting for The Ranchers.

↓

The Finals

The only straight up FPS on my list is The Finals by the dev's behind the Battlefield series. This looks nuts. A modern, highly-destructive team FPS where you can literally mash up everything, with some incredible physics defying fights. I've missed a great shooter in the vain of something like a Quake / COD mash up and I think this might be it.

↓

Banishers: Ghost of New Eden

Ghosts. Ghost hunters. Co-op. That's all you need to know. Or just read my other write up on this here.

↓

The Killer

The undisputed KING of macabre, serial killers stories David Finicher is back and this time he's bringing Michael Fassbender for the ride. Based on an obscure French comic book, we see Fassbender play the titular Killer, whose conscience comes into play the longer he is away from his last kill. Yup, that's enough for me. I'm in.

↓

The Flash

This movie is finally coming... who'd believe it after it initially meaning to be realesed in 2018. With Miller spending a good part of 2022 doing his best portrayal of Eobard Thawne; the rumours surrounding Flash are that it's the best DC movie since The Dark Knight. I'm not one for that kind of hype, but the ground work is there. Miller (although a mad man) is clearly a fantastic actor, Keaton is back as Batman and we have Supergirl entering the fray. This could be the best CBM of the year if it lands right, and I think it will.

↓

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning

It's another MI film... whats not to look forward too? Cruise has been trying to kill himself for entertainment for a good 20 years and I don't think Dead Reckoning is going to buck the trend. Fully expect this to be awesome.

↓

Ferrari

After Bale and Damon put on such a masterclass with Ford v Ferrari, there's a lot to live up to for any car-related movie. Yet Ferrari directed by the great Michael Mann, led by Adam Driver has every chance of shaping up deliciously. I love Driver's ability to channel this suave-rage with his characters, something I think will tie nicely into his portrayal of Enzo.

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Killers of the Flower Moon

It's been a while since a film starring DiCaprio had me excited - so a movie about the Osage Murders led by the afromentioned DiCaprio directed by Martin Scorcese could not have come at a better time. Im a sucker for anything with the words serial-killr so I'll be there day one hoping for another masterclass by this duo.

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Air Jordan

Affleck is finally back. It's been years since this man has directed a movie but now he's back with his buddy Matt Damon, telling the story of a Nike salesman trying to capture Michael Jordan for the sports juggernaut.

Say less.

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Argylle

Directed by Mathew Vaughn (of X-Men First Class and Kingsman fame) is a spy movie, sporting Henry Cavill with quite literally the most millitant hair cut known to man. Steve Zahn would be proud.

P.S. theres nothing else out about this movie but thats more than enough for me to be excited.

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True Detective: Night Country

This show is a bit of an oddball. The first season is seen as a classic, the second a huge step back and the third a slow return to form; so can this new season starring Jodie Foster finally rekindle the magic that was season one? It has just about everything going for it, especially the setting; Alaska, during the Winter - a perfect brew for death and mystery. This is one I'll be crossing my fingers for.

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Shogun

A series set in 17th Century Japan, based on the legendary book, led by Hiroyuki Sanada? Oooh you crazy bastard I'M IN. I'm a sucker for stories like this and knowing the ever awesome KANEDA is leading this story of samurai, deception and survival it feels like it was handmade for me - and you can bet I'll be there day one.

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Three Body Problem

The Three Body Problem, might just be the sleeper hit of 2023 if the men behind GoT get this story right. Having read (2 of 3 books) in the series, this is quite possibly the most wild sci-fi story I have ever red. Set in China, during the 1970s (and onwards) the way this story takes such a simply concept about alien contact and flips it on a dime is incredible. Really hope this does well.

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GIF by loveyazy

Secret Invasion

I can't believe I'm actually excited for something Marvel, but this espionage thriller led by Samuel L Jackson is it. I have loved the more serious takes Marvel have attempted (The Winter Soldier) and this looks like a straight continuation in vibe and style. Adding Ben Mendehlson, Olvia Colman and more to the cast (with it being a mini-series as well) I fully believe this will be the best thing Marvel does the whole of 2023.

#movies #gaming #tv shows #argylle #air jordan #marvel #secret invasion #diablo 4

[masterjedilenawrites]

Blueberries and Cowboys: Chapter 4 (Cowboy Path)

A choose-your-own-adventure style fic. Refer to this Masterlist for previous chapters and alternate paths.

Chapter 4: The Party (Cowboy Path)

Pairing: Eli x reader

Content: Drinking, some angsty pining

Length: 2.4k

AO3 Link (In case you like it better over there, it’s okay, no judgement)

The gala was as elaborate and ostentatious as you would expect of a formal event at the Imperial academy. It was like the whole ballroom shimmered as glasses of drinks were passed around and ornate dresses swished about in dance. You'd certainly never been a part of anything so grand from your home world before.

The sight made you pause as soon as you entered through the doors. It was breathtaking.

You let Thrawn guide you around the ballroom, barely registering his path as you took in all the shiny and expensive details around you. You were especially enchanted by the handful of couples circling around the dance floor, seemingly floating along with the music. You hadn't danced in so long... properly, anyway. Shimmying around your room in your underwear after a shower did not count.

"The music is quite pleasant," said Thrawn from beside you. For a moment, you forgot that part of the plan for the night was to substitute the names of your targets for other subjects, so any potential eavesdroppers would be none the wiser to your true intentions. Anything related to music was supposed to symbolize one half of the plan: Eva and Arden. But because you were so caught up in the spectacle around you, and your inner longing to genuinely engage with it all, you didn't immediately pick up on Thrawn's true meaning.

"It is," you said with just a hint of wistfulness. Your eyes happened to be watching one of the more gracefully dancing couples, the only signal to Thrawn that he needed to help you refocus.

He cleared his throat just loud enough to get your attention and then flicked his eyes toward the entrance of the ballroom meaningfully. You followed his gaze to see Eva and Arden had now arrived. Eli would be keeping an eye on them, while you and Thrawn would track Burdick. Your heart sunk as you were reminded, yet again, that you were not here for a good time. Tonight was about Thrawn's mission.

"Do you think Eli has noticed? The music?" you quickly supplied, hoping Thrawn wouldn't doubt your support.

"Yes, he seems to be enjoying it." Thrawn then looked to a different part of the room, where Eli was standing next to his date. Sadie. She was a tiny thing, with perfect proportions and well-styled hair and wearing a dress that left nothing to the imagination. You suddenly realized who she was, not having connected the dots before. She was in a few of your combat classes and had this weird habit of pumping her fist in victory every time she landed a good hit. You and Eli had made fun of her together. Why was he now going out with her?

"Yeah, he does..." you said absentmindedly as you watched your friend. Eli was making a show of casually looking around while really paying extra attention toward the couple by the entrance. But then Sadie linked her arm in his and looked up at him with a sweet smile, and he returned the gesture with a smile of his own. Your previous feelings of awe and fascination over this event were quickly turning into something much more sour.

"Did you also notice we have an assignment due soon?"

The comment from Thrawn made you blink away from the troubling scene in front of you. The Chiss had not been watching Eli, actually sticking to the plan and scanning the crowd for the other person of interest. Commander Burdick, who would be referred to by discussions of homework, another innocent topic. Thrawn had finally spotted him over by an hors d'oeuvre table.

"Thanks for the reminder," you muttered. A tray of drinks passed by, held aloft by a protocol droid, and you took the opportunity to swipe at one and down its contents in one go. You could see Thrawn eyeing you curiously from your peripheral, but you made it a point to not look back.

"Perhaps we should stand out of the way," said Thrawn, taking hold of your elbow and guiding you through the crowd and over to an area where several tall cocktail tables were set up. You set your empty glass on the surface of one of them and leaned restlessly against it. Your eyes kept wandering toward the commander as he munched furiously on some kind of cubed meat, glowering at all who passed by. Eventually you'd have to help make sure he was glowering at Arden long enough to maybe get some ideas, but right now, with the night only just beginning, there didn't seem to be much need for you to linger.

"This is a fun song. Maybe we could dance for a bit? Pass the time?" you asked, swirling your empty glass around in a bored manner.

Thrawn stared at you for a moment, most likely trying to determine if you were using the special code that you were supposed to or if you were actually talking about music and dancing.

"I think we should discuss the assignment that is due," he said, almost in a reprimanding tone. "It is rather important."

You swiped at another tray of drinks passing by, muttering over the rim of the glass, "Who goes to a party to talk about homework?"

You were being salty; you knew that. This mission was important and you cared about it. You cared about your friends and what this meant for them. But it seemed the more alcohol you took in, the more annoyed you grew toward those friends. Thrawn was such a stick in the mud, and Eli was apparently a big flirt. Was this really the best way to fix their problem? Was it really worth missing out on a fun evening?

Thrawn didn't seem too pleased as you downed your second drink in a matter of minutes. He cleared his throat in that way he did when he was about to lecture you. You cut him off before he got the chance.

"So what was that surprise you were talking about earlier?"

He blinked at you. "I never mentioned a surprise."

"Yeah. You said you didn't disappear, you were working on something, and that I'd see soon enough. Well? What should I be seeing?"

He reached across the table and gingerly took your empty glass from you with a frown. "You hadn't noticed? There is only one assignment."

It was your turn to blink at him. He sighed and jerked his head to where Burdick was still standing.

"I made sure his date would be delayed in arriving," he said very quietly; you almost couldn't hear him above the din of the party. "So he wouldn't be distracted."

You looked over at the Commander, not very subtle in your observation of him, so it was no surprise the man noticed your staring and frowned even more deeply.

The sound of your name caused you to snap back to Thrawn, who was circling the table to lean in closer. He seemed upset; or, as upset as Thrawn could ever seem through his calmness.

"If you have other things you wish to be doing, I would much rather you leave for them, instead of staying and causing problems." His voice was low in your ear. You sighed at his words, feeling bad for how you'd been behaving.

Just a little bit.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite student," came the voice of Commander Burdick. The man had apparently decided to come over after discovering you'd been staring at him, however, he was very clearly addressing Thrawn and not you. "I'm surprised you'd even come to an event like this."

"The Academy has provided a generous occasion tonight," Thrawn slipped out of his scolding of you and into his usual demeanor without missing a beat. "It would have been in bad taste for us to not attend."

Though it had been your staring that'd called him over, it was only when Thrawn referred to you collectively that Burdick finally acknowledged you. He gave a grunt as a sort of laugh.

"What about that scruffy little friend of yours? He doesn't care about taste?"

"Eli's here..." you heard yourself saying. You also felt Thrawn tensing beside you. You tried to give him a reassuring look as you turned to point out your friend behind you, moving about on the dance floor with Sadie. And just beside them was Eva and Arden, as you knew they would be. The two couples seemed to be trying to one-up each other with their dance moves. You quickly turned away so you wouldn't have to register how exciting and intimate it all was.

"So I see," Burdick hummed. You couldn't tell if he still had the same frown from before, or if it was a new one in response to seeing his ex with a student. "You're not a dancer, Thrawn?"

"Only when the mood strikes, sir."

"Well if you don't show your woman a good time, someone else will." Burdick took a step forward and held out a hand toward you. Your eyes grew wide, panicking. That was certainly unexpected.

Thrawn quickly, and smoothly, jumped to your defense.

"Sir, I'm afraid she is not feeling well. I have simply been keeping her company."

Burdick looked between the two of you, and then briefly beyond at the dance floor, before giving an odd smirk and retreating.

"Very well. Enjoy your... company."

The Commander turned on his heel and disappeared into the crowd. As you watched the back of his head, you couldn't help but wish you hadn't frozen and had accept his offer to dance. It was probably going to be the only offer you got all night.

"What... were... you... thinking..."

You looked over at Thrawn, surprised he was still upset. He was pinching the bridge of his nose and scrunching his eyes.

"Huh? I made sure he noticed Eva," you defended yourself. "He asked me to dance, probably to make her jealous, but since that's not happening, he'll be able to focus his revenge on Arden now."

"That is quite the assumption, based on absolutely no evidence."

"There is too evidence--"

"And apparently we've abandoned all secrecy and discretion, too. Might as well announce what we're planning to the whole ballroom while we're at it."

Thrawn's piercing eyes looked down on you, looking more like fire than they ever did. You bowed your head for a few seconds, needing to escape the heat and cool down.

"I'm sorry," you said, finally looking back at him. "I didn't mean to... mess up on the homework."

You offered what you hoped was an endearing smile. Thrawn only left you hanging for a second before he relaxed just a little.

"You did not mess up," he stated, returning to his side of the table and finally taking up the drink still left sitting there. "But perhaps you should just observe for the rest of the night."

And observe you did. The rest of the evening seemed to both pass by in a shimmering blur, and crawl forward at an unbearable pace. You observed couples dancing, laughing, even kissing. You observed how the energy of the ballroom shifted from eager liveliness to unhurried intimacy as time drew on. You observed the hors d'oeuvres dwindle and the champagne lose its bubbles and the lights dim ever-so-subtly.

Occasionally you actually observed the "homework," whenever he happened to pop out from the crowd. Thrawn did most of the note-taking, pointing out under muttered breath how the commander was still fixating on his ex, how his frown seemed to change from grumpiness and anger to determination and craftiness. Whatever that meant. You couldn't ever pretend to notice half the signs Thrawn did.

But most importantly, you observed a certain shaggy-haired boy from Wild Space.....

The way he danced, somewhat stiffly, but not as clumsy or awkward as one might expect from someone who couldn't figure out a tie.

The way he seemed to so effortlessly keep an eye on his despised classmate while still paying attention to his date and all her friends.

The way he casually hung out with her friends in between dances, as if he'd always been a part of their group.

The way he held her.

The way he looked at her.

At some point, you'd finished off your fifth glass of champagne, and you were definitely feeling the effects of it. That was what you were feeling, you told yourself. Your stomach was in knots and your brow was feeling warm and your heart was beating in your ears, all because of the alcohol. It didn't have anything to do with your guilt from upsetting Thrawn earlier, or the fact that even though Eli had nodded your way a few times in acknowledgement, he hadn't once come over to make good on his promise to save a dance for you. Nope. It was the alcohol and nothing else.

"Thrawn," you said quietly, breaking the Chiss's concentration on something-or-other across the way. "Do you mind if I call it a night? I'm pretty tired."

His eyes flickered over at the amount of empty glasses you had collected beside you, but he didn't comment on it. Only nodded in understanding and returned back to his mission.

You sighed as you picked your way through the crowd that remained. Quite a few students and teachers had already left for the night, but plenty still remained, and it baffled you just how many were hoping - and fighting - to earn to a place in the Empire.

And then something caught your eye just as you made to push through the doors and out into the night. One last thing to observe.

Eli and Sadie were swaying to the slow song playing, just off the actual dance floor. It was like they were in their own world. Her hands rested against his chest, and his chin laid atop her head, and they turned in slow circles as they rocked back and forth, holding each other close. When Eli's face finally turned toward your view, you swore your insides were threatening to crawl up your throat and spill out all over the shiny floor.

His face was relaxed, content. His lips were turned upward in a pleased sort of smile you'd only seen a few times on him before, usually after he'd told you a nice childhood memory, or after he finished a hearty meal. This wasn't an act; this had nothing to do with the mission or your purpose here at this dance. He was happy, holding her.

Just as his eyes wandered from whatever peaceful place they'd been resting and locked onto yours, you finally pushed through the door and left.

#star wars #eli vanto x reader #eli vanto #thrawn #thrawn & reader #choose your own adventure #friendship #romance #friends to lovers