#The pinball bumpers are so good

[seven-oh-four]

#pinging marciale #parallel canon #asynchronous rondo #splatoon #side order #splatoon side order #polls #Personally I think Pinging Marciale is just such a cool design #The idea of a boss that's a ball that just moves via ball physics is so cool and they play with it so well #The attack where it shoots out a ring of lasers is so clever because depending on how you've been fighting it #The lasers could be pretty simple to dodge or they could be flying everywhere. But it's always fair #And if you want to hurt it during that attack you will make it harder on yourself #The pinball bumpers are so good #And the fact that the enemies it spawns try to bop it towards the bumpers is insane it's so clever #Incorporating the fact that the battering lento likes to play with the big balls which you learned from previous stages to be a behavior #that they have. By having them now play with this boss which is a giant ball #ITS ALL SO COOL

[strawburry01]

Pinball Wizard

Summary: Soft lil one shot of you and your boyfriend Angus playing pinball

AN: Fluffy fluff and chill stuff sorry I'm all over the place, but life sometimes be life-ing for the good and the bad. I had someone over and left tumblr open and when I tell you I've never lunged across the room faster to shut a screen....

You stood over a pinball machine, brow furrowed in frustration as the ball once again slid right through the middle of the two paddles. You swore under your breath and hit glass, losing another dollar to the machine. You were waiting for your boyfriend Angus to meet you here after his exam, trying to take his mind off however he scored. Unfortunately you had not planned for him to take so long- or for you to lose so many quarters in the process. You sipped on your bottle of Coke as you leered at the machine, as if it would do anything. Angus was the one who was good at these sorts of things, and you swore he was somehow rigging it everytime. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t sort of into it though watching how serious he got when he leaned over the machine, usually crossing one leg behind the other to get optimal positioning. Ever since you convinced him to start wearing accessories like your rings and necklaces sometimes he’d become a lot more confident in his looks. He always was adjusting his coat sleeves or collar just so people noticed. You’d heard about his time before college and knew he had always been stuck around pretty pretentious people- going to one of those schools where he needed to wear the same uniform as everyone and go to mass everyday twice a day. Personally you would’ve set the place on fire, but he always lied and said he was an angel of a student, to which you would always punch his arm at. College was different, college was better. You were studying chemistry and working a few lab jobs around campus, mostly cleaning beakers and pipetting for hours on end, and he was studying history, working to become a professor eventually. He always said he wanted to teach at Yale or some other Ivy League, but you could see him being a good high school teacher. You’d broached the idea to him once when you were both high and talking about the future, but he got quiet and ended it by saying he’d never be as good as his history teacher. 

Some kid next to you shrieked, snapping you out of your thoughts. 

“Hey hon,” Angus said, appearing next to you, plucking your bottle out of your hand and taking a sip. The circles under his eyes were darker and his voice was tired.

“Exam went that good huh?” you asked as you watched him finish the bottle of soda. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and sighed as he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close, setting his head on top of ours.

“What gave it away?” he gently laughed, feeling his chest rumble under your cheek as you squeezed him back. He smelled like old weathered books and cigarette smoke. He pressed his lips to your forehead before breaking away and running a hand through his mess of curly hair. “Alright give me some quarters I need to forget that essay,” he said with a small smirk as he tried to reach into your jean jacket pocket for quarters. He grabbed a handful of coins from your pocket and spun to the pinball machine you’d been opposing for the last few rounds. 

“Good luck with that one babe,” you grumbled as you moved to the right side of the machine, leaning against the wall with your hands tucked behind the small of your back. Angus laughed looking down at the lit up board.

“We’ll see about that,” he quipped, the blinking lights of the game lighting up the features of his face. You can only watch in silence as he somehow expertly flicks the bumpers racking up 100’s, 1,000’s, eventually 1,000,000’s of points. 

“How are you so good at this?” you asked from the sidelines, shaking your head. 

“I’m good with my fingers?” he answered without missing a beat or looking away from the game, to which you responded with a gentle smack to the back of his head. He only smirked. “Hey you would know right?” he added, finally drawing his eyes to meet yours. 

“Oh shut it Tully,” you sneered as you pushed yourself off the wall to go get another Coke. Before you could get far you felt his hand wrap around your waist and pull you back. He nestled you right between himself and the machine, holding his hands over yours on the sides, resting his chin on your shoulder. 

“You’re going to make me lose the game Y/N,” he mumbled into your ear, still laser focused on the game, pressing your fingers in to hit the bumpers for him. 

“What if I throw the game for you?” you threatened, hitting the bumpers with your own volition a few times before the ball reached the bottom again. Angus took the second to pinch your hip which caused you to yelp.

“I suggest you don’t try it,”. You smiled to yourself as you settled back, leaning back into his chest as you felt his arms reach out over your own to continue playing, “good girl,” he murmured into your ear as he quickly pecked your cheek as he continued to play.

The fact that this was your life now- the fact that the nerd that sat in the back of the ancient Roman civilizations class was now wrapped around you- STILL more focused on a damn pinball game than you-

“High score,” he muttered under his breath as the screen in front flashed yellow and blue. Sure enough somehow he had really just gotten the high score. 

“Good job babe,” you laughed as he flicked through the letters to spell out your name on the scoreboard.

“Couldn’t have done it without my lucky charm,” he smiled as he placed a kiss on the top of your shoulder before pushing back from the machine and stretching his arms above his head, lifting up the hem of his shirt in the process. Your eyes couldn’t help but wander down to his exposed midsection, a small bit of his tattoo peaking out, “enjoying the view?” he asked as he caught you in the act. You felt your face go red as you tried to open your mouth to defend your way out of this one, but you knew it was hopeless. 

He smirked and pulled you in by the belt loops until you were chest to chest with him, wrapping your arms behind the back of his neck. He was a strong proponent of PDA, and you for once didn’t mind it in a relationship.

“Think I can get lucky again tonight?” he said as his lips brushed yours. You pushed onto the toes of your shoes and kissed his lips, leaving him wanting more as you sunk back down. You slid your hand on top of his jeans, touching his skin under his shirt causing him to suck air in with anticipation.

“I think it’s both of us getting lucky,”. 

#angus tully #angus tully x reader #dominic sessa #college au #the holdovers

[ivanzplaid]

Could you please write Vance x reader (GN if that's alright) where reader is new in town and beats his high score in Pinball? Kinda like a enemies to lovers kinda thing?

✨Please and thank you ✨

this sounds so good omg, i really wanna make this a longer drabble bc writing for the enemies to lovers trope, esp for vance it seems more fitting, but tysm for this request!! i literally searched for vances record but damn i couldnt find it, so im gonna assume it was 1500, im sorry abt that💔

for some reason my writing has been feeling off for the past few days, so if this is unpleasant to read ill redo it🙏🙏 if it is good & ppl like it, i might do another part, or i may just keave it as it is, up to the imagination :)

requests r open! masterlist is up :)

Vance Hopper x Gn Reader!

Warnings: Slight fighting, Language

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The sound of chatter around you was drowned out, your mind too focused to pay attention to anything but your game. Hands gripping the machine infront of you with precision, a steady breath accommodating you while you watched your numbers rise, hitting 1,400 from your last move.

The world that existed outside of your game began to get even louder, some kids crowding around you, it was quite odd, but you assumed that the kids here were just very enthusiastic, supportive of their peers. You didn't catch much of their talk, as if you lost focus, you wouldn't be able to make the next shots, hoping to set a new record, maybe having a chance to meet new people, and become a somebody in the unfamiliar town, but the words that you did catch had a pattern, the loud voices were shadowed, but each time the name was spoken, it was clear as day, the unknown yet popular kid kept popping up,

Vance Hopper.

Whatever, whoever they were you were sure you'd meet them soon enough. Their name was never being brought up in a positive light, which admittedly made your hands sweat & heart speed up, but as of now, you were interested in the metal feel that immersed your fingers, and the thrilling 'Ding' noise that informed you of your score.

Going unheard from your deaf ears, the door to Grab N' Go rang, a boot stepped in harshly. The aura shifted in the store. Where as before the cashier was lenient, she soon became alert, standing by the phone, the kids talk was demoted to a whisper, and an opening where kids stood previously started to form. Yet your mind was trained on the game, you'd already gotten to 1,500 points, and if you were to make this shot, you'd get another 300 points. Once again, unbeknownst to you, the footsteps were clearing their way to you, squeaking harshly on the tiled floor, shouldering kids who happened to be in the way. Two things happened, a moment after one another.

Your eyes stared at the ball as it coursed through the bumpers, striking each one, easily placing you as the new record holder. But you found yourself still holding your breath, if it were to roll of the holder it was on, it would set your score as 1,900, giving you the clear, reliable pinball holder. The nerves in your body ran swiftly, breathing hitched as you followed the ball in its final moments.

The boots pushed their way through the diminishing crowd, which was left of anxious & anticipating watchers. It was pitiful of how unaware you were, this was his store, his legacy, his pride. The boots soon stood right behind you, examining your work from behind your shoulder. He saw the way you thought out each move, body bent just so you could balance your weight & keep a stable figure. His eyes were glued to the ball, even more intensely than yours. But as he saw the score that you'd put in, the room became colder, his clothes tightened, putting a pause onto his hatred. The new fucker in town beat his score, and then some.

You were dead before he saw your face.

The rush of aggression soon pranced in, instinctively balling up his fists, and taking a step toward you, going in to fuck up your score the best he could, needing the release of anger that you instilled to him. In his mind, if you were to mess up now, he'd have a chance to reclaim his title, the joy that he got from being above everybody else, and you were no exception.

The moment you didn't even know took place was slowed, it all was coming at you quickly. Your body reacted to winning your next move by getting even closer to the machine, watching as your score replaced the older one, conquering it. Your eyes widened, laughing to yourself as you turned around, expecting to see the group of kids that hovered over you like fruit flies. However, what met your intense joy was a buzz killer, the pesticide to your happiness. None other than the top boy, Vance Hopper.

He was exactly like what you imagined, down to the hair & choker that added to his intimidating glare, his hands eventually finding your shoulders, slamming you to the wall that chipped and cracked under your pressure. The crowd around you two flooded back easily, betting on what would happened. The boy didn't look it, but he had the strength to lift your body weight up, feet grazing the dusty floor. Taking in his looks, you noticed how the veins popped out from his arms, but you couldn't decipher if it was from anger, or from the hold he had you in.

"Listen man, what's your deal?"

Not your classiest moment, but he would deal you one lower.

"No you listen, fuckface. Don't mess with my game, do you think your better than me?"

The words he spat were like fire, angry and violent, but you picked up that that was his whole demeanor, troubled and difficult.

Soon, you found yourself being dropped to the ground, your legs being caught by surprise as you well on your ass, closing the space between you and the wall once again. Dust shot up, obscuring your vision, and at that time, the boot that sat threateningly next to you connected to the side of your lower chest, causing a sharp wheeze due to the blunt force of the kick. Your breaths were sporadic and uneven, leaving you dazed. When your eyes worked their way up to the figure above you, you saw him just standing there, looking over your pathetic self. He towered there for what felt like minutes before bending down and shoving you towards him, emphasizing his already proven point.

"I'm Vance fucking Hopper, remember it."

What a douche.

//

Your ribs certainly bruised, you were sure of it. Pushing open the schools doors made you wince, and an accidental elbow from a passing student made you lose your breath. It was a sticking reminder of that cuntbag, the memory of Vance standing over you was ingrained to your mind like a warning.

Hallways were filled, the students worked their ways to their rightful classes, some clearly drained from the new school year while others chatted to their peers. It was all irritating, as when you finally reached your homeroom & 1st period, it was 3 minutes after the bell rang, and most seats were already stolen, leaving you singled out by the teachers rude observe. You offered a sorry smile, and looked at what desks were available, soon seeing what would be your current demise.

"Well? Going to sit down or would you rather waste more of my time."

You would've given more of a shit, if the only empty seat wasn't next to the only kid you were acquainted with, the bastard as you remembered. Your feet moved nimbly, but your gaze was hardened, you could feel the shit eating grin that Vance had on, ad much as he loathed you, he would enjoy making your life a living hell, looking forward to the rest of class. Vance would let no time go unused as you sat next to him, visibly upset.

"Just the kid I wanted to see."

He spoke in a hushed tone, but that soon was ended as well when the teacher assigned ice breakers to the class, deciding it would be best if the class went in pairs & spoke with one another. With a stroke of luck that you didn't have, you were lazily paired with Vance, as he sat next to you. The class was handed a sheet of paper that had prompts to questions, and while other kids started right away, you put your energy into sitting in silence, eyes on your desk, admiring the cold wood that would be your most familiar feeling for the next year.

Your peace would never last long, as a hand snapping to catch your attention came into your view, taunting you.

"What, Vance."

"Well are you just gonna sit there like a dick, or are you gonna introduce yourself? Have some spirit."

Of course he was mocking you, but it was better than getting yourself beat up. You angled yourself to put him in your line of sight, peering on how he holds himself, them you spoke.

"You don't already know me? You know I'm new, you know that I'm more skilled than you at arcade games, I feel we've already done pretty well."

The response was seeping with smart-ass, but thats what he deserved, the fair treatment. You could see his fist tighten like it did before, his smile dropping st the ends ever so slightly, you struck a clear nerve. While the class went on happily, you were trapped in what seemed like your own world with the boy you found intolerable.

"Of course I know who you are, I'm not a dumbass, but tell me something I don't know, like the fucking assignment says to do."

His teeth, while oddly perfect for a kid with a reputation, bared at you, like an angry dog. Another warning to you. Treading lightly, you decided to just give the basics, something to scrape the tip of the iceberg.

"I'm 16, I just moved here, I enjoy going out and having fun. Is that enough?"

Sneering at him was meant to make him back off, but you saw his eyes slightly light up, and his body leaned forward, arms supporting his weight while he calmly looked at you.

"How charming, thanks for the biography Einstein. We have some things in common, how shocking is that?"

While you could tell his tone was laced with sarcasm, he didn't make another advance to terrorize you, and for a moment, he seemed like you piqued his interest.

//

Your first school week was over, a week of living through hell was stopped kindly, giving you the brief days of the weekend to recuperate. It was a Saturday afternoon when you set up a casual walk, coming to know your new town in the ways you loved most, a quiet, sunny day. The chipped sidewalk gave you a nice path around the neighborhood, accompanying the long yellow grass on the sides, the scenery wasn't half bad. Your shoes brought you a ways away from your house, trying to submerge yourself in a good time to prevent the foreboding feeling that latched onto your back. Turning the corner, you reached a street with delicately placed stores aligning it, a diverse selection it was. Seeing how busy the street was, cars flying by with unpleasant smells following, you made the executive decision to trudge behind the stores, making yourself known by the way your steps were the only noise apparent.

The foreboding feeling only became stronger as you ventured on, and while it was nearly 80”, the alley still had a certain chill to it, making your hair stand up.

"Shit dude, I have to ask, how are you scoping out all of my spots?"

The agonizingly familiar voice rang through the alley, and you sighed, turning your back to look in the direction where Vance spoke. He stood there harmlessly, hands in pockets with his his head cocked slightly, staring right through you, he once again proposed his frightening manner, like a lion puffing its chest out. The shoes he wore made light sounds as he strode over to you, eyebrows raised while his dull blue eyes kept the eye contact. A sigh emitted from you, just trying to savor your last bit of tranquility from your Saturday evening.

"Just taking a nice walk, peacefully. Something you've probably never heard of."

He chuckled, swiping his golden hair out of his eyes.

"I haven't even done anything yet, don't be a dick."

Silence came over you, annoyed at his casual aura, you knew he wanted something, the question was what.

"Vance, what do you need from me. Are you gonna beat me up or something? You aren't mandated to track me down and talk to me."

You broke the eye contact, which internally made Vance even more excited.

"I just found you here in my area, not my fault. But since you are here, why not?"

You couldn't tell if he was bluffing, he did seem like a pathological liar, but you weren't about to instigate a fight. Nodding your head, you signaled for him to go on, the summers heat beating off of you.

"We have a project we need to do, did you forget? The partner reading project?"

Shit. You may've forgotten about it, but it wasn't due till next week, and you had class with Vance every day. What was his rush? It's not like he's a star student.

"So? We have time, why do you care?"

Rolling his eyes like you were the weird one, he went on.

"What a shitty question, you'd know why I care if you followed the icebreakers the first day, but thats your damn problem. It'll be better if we do the project sooner, so we have extra time in class."

It came out mockingly, but you didn't care. He made a point, and he wasn't bullying you, so why not get it out of the way, make it so class is easier without his idiotic questions.

"Fine, where do you wanna start it?"

His exterior was smooth, but on the inside, Vance was heating up all over. You were playing right into his charm. He knows your still getting to know him, but this was just perfect. He wanted you to know he isn't just a dickhead, he wanted to show you how kind he can be, but his first impression he laid out wasn't exactly boyfriend material. While he did hate you then, wanting to beat the shit out of you, treat you like every other kid here, your mutual hatred appealed to him, he didn't admit it, but he studied your pinball techniques, and adored your persistence. It was fun to have someone snap back just as he did, he considered you an equal, to him, a rare title. Something about you enveloped him, and he wanted to spend all his time with you.

"Why not your house?"

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this was a cliff hanger ish, but i knew it was getting long and i just loved this idea sm🫶🫶 hopefully its alright to read :)

requests r open, masterlist is up!!

#black phone #the black phone #vance hopper x reader #vance hopper x you #vance hopper #enemies to lovers #the black phone x reader #the black phone 2022

[seat-safety-switch]

You might not be all that surprised that I like pinball. It’s a pointless, fruitless contraption of annoying sounds and bright lights, with a bunch of half-broken metal inside. That’s more or less the crown prosecutor’s description of me from last spring. I heard they spent like a day in a whole-office brainstorming session just to come up with that one, but I digress.

The point of pinball is, like all great human endeavours, to rack up an arbitrary score by playing the game. To this extent, you pay money for a limited number of chances. A better writer than me could make this some sort of metaphor on life itself, but I’m not going to resort to that kind of trickery. No, I want to talk about actual pinball.

Here’s the thing about a game that mostly consists of bouncing a steel ball into stationary objects, which trigger sensors and relays. That stuff breaks down, and it breaks down all the time. Although you may imagine all mechanical objects as existing in a perfect state of repair and a zero-percent-humidity vacuum, the real world is completely filthy. Dirt and hair get into things. Grease reacts with the plastics and becomes some kind of nightmare tar that has to be removed with industrial paint-stripping equipment. Screws pop out. The playfield flakes off and warps. Complex electronics seize up somewhere deep inside and begin to act, in the words of Alan Turing, “fucking haunted.”

So that means that the operator of a pinball machine has to be constantly maintaining it. Keeping an eye on all the bumpers. Being good enough to play it and hit all the features, check to make sure the multi-ball bonus works. This is the kind of thing that I like to do, but unfortunately I was born a couple years too late to become full-time employed maintaining pinball machines across America, driving a $500 Plymouth Barracuda, seeding secret second and third families whenever I find a small town that I particularly liked. Instead, I get to look at my friends’ pinball machines and go: that looks bad. You should replace that part. And then they say: I can’t, because nobody makes that part anymore. And then I spend a year meticulously constructing an exact replica of that part, only for the next thing in line to break.

All this is to say that pinball is keeping me from doing even basic maintenance on my fleet of terrible cars, which I’m sure is appreciated by the citizenry at large. Stick that in your ass and smoke it, Your Worship.

[oneatlatime]

The Waterbending Master

Finally! Only took the whole season to find one.

This one apparently also has commentary. I'll leave it off for now.

After countless episodes without, we finally have another hybrid animal. Behold:

A koala Sea-otter? That makes noises like a Raven. Alright.

Sokka saying "I'm not one to complain" is a) pretty damning evidence of his amount of self-awareness b) self-deprecating sarcasm c) a funny line that I'm reading too deeply into

Why is Appa flying so low anyway?

Subtle signs that these guys are way too used to relying on bending: -no railings -no alternate propulsion source (seriously, not even an oar?) -no emergency supplies in case a trip runs long (I don't even see an emergency sandwich, and come on guys, it's not like waterbending controls the weather)

Random pinball bumper style ice stabbies does seem like a good defense though.

Not so subtle exposition dump from Zhao the asshole. Avatar writers are usually better at integrating catch-up dialogue. Looks like Aang will be arriving just in time to defend the Water tribe from the invasion that, ironically, he summoned. Talk about self-inflicted problems. Do you think if Aang had found a waterbending teacher somewhere else, the Fire Nation would have left the water tribe alone for another hundred years? Aang's been learning on the run; they could have picked up a single waterbender and hightailed it back to some cave in the earth kingdom to learn there. Or the water tribe could have sent a waterbender out to find the gaang as soon as rumours of the avatar reached them. See? This was avoidable.

Always love me some sea-bison.

They have bending doors like Omashu. Actually is this a door or a lock? I think the water level is changing.

Is this a hybrid animal? The yak thing, not the two legger.

Last time you got a hero's welcome, Suki's village burnt down. Foreshadowing?

How often does this lady see sea-bisons? She just passed by one and didn't even bat an eye. Is there a secret sea-bison colony that's spent the last 100 years hiding from the fire nation in the north pole?

Music Night! Need a better lyricist.

What's going on here? Did they roast a giant turtle thing and now they're cooling it to serve by dunking it in water? Did they feel the need for a steam effect for the guy's speech so they heated up a giant thingy and dunked it in water? Is it a weird boat thing? It looks like it has a face. I bet it's a ritual object.

Are these pot stacks the water tribe version of Totem Poles?

Oh nuh uh. Nope. 16 is way too young to marry.

This girl is so into him I can feel it through the screen, the dvd player, and the 15+ years since this aired.

Even the head guy's like "yeah, he's an asshole, What can you do?" Let's put this asshole and Zhao the asshole in a room together. They can out-asshole each other. Should be fun.

Remember back in episode three when I said that Zuko needed to learn how to lie? This is why.

Nevermind, we don't need to put Zhao and Paku in a room together to out-asshole each other. Paku wins. As far as I've seen, bending is not gender specific, either in who gets it or how it's taught/used. What kind of idiot would tell someone born with the ability to wield an incredible weapon that, actually, they aren't allowed to? How did this attitude get instilled in the first place? Why didn't the first guy who ever said this get slashed to death by ice stabbies thrown by the ten nearest female benders? Are these northern water tribe people so unbothered by the war that they can afford to sideline 50% of their forces? More than sideline, render incapable of defending themselves or others? Obviously this tribe is far too privileged if they can afford this attitude. And also far too bored. I guess hiding behind that giant ice wall for 100 years left them so understimulated that they turned on themselves.

Bad attitude? Fucking bad attitude!?! There's only one guy in this episode with a bad attitude and it isn't Katara. Zhao looks downright pleasant compared to this Paku guy.

Question for Paku: why would the Northern Water Tribe's rules apply to a Southern Water Tribe member?

My god these two are so cute. Sokka could propose they disembowel whale carcasses for their activity and the princess would say yes.

So the parrot lizard did survive the fall over the waterfall.

They're little tiny children. Katara, who has spent her whole life wanting to learn to bend to fight, has literally been shoved back into the igloo with a bunch of babies to learn lady-bending (no offence to the babies). How how HOW is she so calm right now? If I were in her situation, I think I'd be so angry I'd be ugly crying. And also plotting how to murder that Paku guy.

WHAT.

Paku the asshole is apparently a proponent of the tell don't show philosophy of teaching. The Tell-while-doing-unspeakable-things-to-my-lunch don't show philosophy.

Unexpected backstory. This lady must have been pretty close to Gran Gran if she recognises a carving she presumably wore for maybe a few months about 50 years ago or more. Also this lady is shockingly dumb if she can't see why Gran Gran left this misogynistic hellhole, but I guess it can be hard to see it while you're in it.

Nitpick time: How does the teacher recognise this? Isn't this just the water tribe symbol? Probably the most common symbol in the whole north pole?

Nosferatu Zuko. Nosferzuko. Zukoratu? Iroh's pause here was so long that I checked in case I had muted by accident. And how does your crew being taken by Zhao the asshole make your crew traitors Zuko? Orders are orders.

So we're adding asassinating royals to our list of reasons Zhao is an asshole. I think he's won the title back from Paku.

Fuck this port I guess.

Zuko's dead. Huh. Bye then. Gotta say I don't get why he's so big in the fandom.

This princess sure does send some mixed messages. At least she didn't ghost him.

"Master Poophead." My God. It's perfect. Why didn't I think of that?

Aang passing on what he learns to Katara. Why didn't I think of that either? My plan was to get Katara to launch unprovoked attacks on Paku's students and study how they defend themselves until she can copy / surpass them. Mostly so I could watch Katara beat the crap out of sexists.

Die mad about it you troglodyte. Disrespect? How nice it must be to have enough of your culture left that it can be disrespected. And you're going to deny the avatar training, thus dooming the whole world to death via fire nation, because you're butthurt? Freakin manbaby.

YES! YES! BEAT HIS ASS! PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!!!!!!

"I know. I don't care." + "I'm not doing it for you." = I'm officially in love with Katara. I took a while to warm up to her, I admit the first few episodes were a little rough, but this seals the deal.

This screenshot sparks joy. Last episode Aang bitchslapped a fire nation guy with air. This episode it's Katara's turn with water. The Firelord Uber-Bitchslapped Zuko with fire a few years ago. All I need is an earth bitchslap and my collection will be complete. Avatar: master of all four bitchslaps. Also this wouldn't have worked to goad Paku into fighting if he was half as mature as he thinks he is. Although he gets points for being harder to goad than Zhao in the Deserter.

In an episode where the A plot is Katara, the B plot is Aang, the C plot is Zuko, and the D plot is Sokka's love life, the writers still manage to fulfill the Beat up Sokka quota. Good job guys.

If only she'd aimed a couple of inches to the left. This show already includes a kid getting his face burned off. Surely a Poophead being separated from his nose is ok?

That's twice now she's lost her necklace. If the carving has lasted 50+ years, surely it's earned a metal chain rather than a hair ribbon?

Gran Gran! Bullet dodged! Excellent call!

That's a lot less beat up than I was expecting. And Iroh has never once given the impression that he isn't quietly ride or die for Zuko, so why would Zuko not expect Iroh to help him? Because Zuko isn't terribly perceptive? Because the writers needed a way to deliver yet more exposition?

I did notice that the healing lady specified that Gran gran was in an arranged marriage but Poophead was talking about love. Again, why was Gran Gran leaving a mystery?

Underrated moment of wisdom from Aang here. He gets why the princess is upset and he's twelve! But I'd bet good money that the idiot on the right has no clue what's going on.

Princess ran so far away that it's night time now. This episode is not subtle anywhere, so I figured that the princess being engaged was the cause of this whole blowing hot and cold thing. Despite being 16 and fictional, Sokka handles mixed signals and rejection with 10000% more maturity and kindness than many unfortunately non-fictional grown men I've met. Kudos to Sokka for being honest and respectful.

Even redeemed, Poophead is still an asshole.

Well that's a problem.

Fire Nation ships would be a lot more intimidating if they didn't look like shoes.

Final Thoughts

This episode was a lot of exposition, a lot of set up, and even some catch up. And it was not done as gracefully as this show usually does it. More than once the dialogue between characters felt like two actors lecturing the audience rather than the characters we know.

This episode also had twice the concentration of assholes. A Zhao episode I can deal with. An episode with a one shot asshole where Zhao doesn't appear? I could also deal with. But TWO grade A assholes in ONE episode? No. Too much.

My whole-hearted congratulations to Gran Gran for seeing Poophead for what he was, and refusing to put up with it. Leaving his ass didn't make him get the message. 50+ years alone didn't make him get the message. The granddaughter that ought to have been his being so disgusted by his conduct that she attempts to cut his face off didn't make him get the message. There was no way that this idiot was going to change. So congrats to Gran Gran for making an excellent call, leaving his ass to freeze, and getting two most excellent grandchildren instead.

I also have to applaud Sokka and Katara for not being bitter about the Northern Water Tribe. I can't help but notice the spectacular architecture, complete with embellishments and unnecessary non-structural doodads. Let's do a quick comparison (ignore the ship):

Left has one waterbender. Right has all the waterbenders. We know that Northerners can travel south thanks to Gran Gran. The North couldn't have sent one sneaky waterbender to at least make the south a ship-proof wall? That chief guy has some audacity calling Katara and Sokka their brother and sister or whatever when they've evidently left the south to rot for a century. And I know the Fire Nation, the War, bla bla, but you guys are so bored behind your walls that you're cannibalising your own capabilities based on gender just for fun.

RANT INCOMING

Since I'm on the topic, can we talk about how STOOOPID it is to separate your combatants from your medics? Here's a secret about combat medics: they're both. They learn the basics of combat, and they learn the basics of emergency medicine (And a LOT of other stuff besides). Basic training includes basic first aid for EVERYONE.

Because here's the thing. People who get hurt beating the shit out of other people are usually hurt in an environment where beating the shit out of people occurs. If they are injured enough that they can't get themselves out of the 'beating the shit out of other people' zone, then unless they can treat themselves on the spot or their fellow soldiers can administer first aid or get them out, they die.

Alternatively, if they can't get themselves out of the 'beating the shit out of other people' zone, then medics have to be sent in. A medic who doesn't know how to fight who gets sent into the zone will - guess what? - get the shit beaten out of them. Now you're two men down at present, and who knows how many more you're going to lose over the next few days because you're down a medic. So unless every single waterbending fighter in the Northern water tribe is going to go into combat with a waterbending healer literally attached to them, there will be mountains of unnecessary losses and avoidable injuries.

Now let's look at this from the other angle. What happens if the enemy breaches your defences (because all your defenders are merrily bleeding out from wounds their bending could heal if only they'd learned how) and then makes their way to your combat hospitals? Which are full of soldiers who are too injured to fight and healers who don't know how to defend themselves? Apart from the whole living surrounded by their element thing, waterbenders' greatest advantage in a fight appears (to me) be to be their miraculous healing powers. Katara completely healed her burnt hands to the point where there wasn't even scar tissue and she had no training at all. A skill that can erase burns (the thing firebenders give you) negates the fire nation's greatest weapon - their fire. Any fire nation general who's not an idiot would therefore target waterbending healers, maybe even over waterbending fighters. So any fire nation commander would absolutely put 'capture field hospitals' as one of their top priorities. This is a kids' cartoon, so let's ignore historical precedent as to what happens to nurses caught in field hospitals behind enemy lines and say that the fire nation would defeat the waterbending healers.

Let's paint a quick picture here: in the background, a field full of waterbending fighters sidelined by treatable injury. In the middle ground, an inexorably advancing wall of firebenders. In the foreground, a field hospital full of defenseless waterbending healers. Just peachy isn't it?

How fucking UNSTOPPABLE would a bender able to shrug off a fireball to the face then turn around and take out a firebending platoon be? Get one hundred - no fifty - benders who can both heal and fight, have them advance in two rows: Front row fights, switches with back row when they're injured, gets healed up, rotates back up to front row as a replacement. Functionally unstoppable barring the need to eat and sleep (so long as they bring their own water). The Northern Water Tribe had decades to develop that. Unlike the south, they had the time, the resources, and apparently so little going on that they took up sexism to pass the time. The wasted opportunity here burns. See kids? Sexism hurts the sexists too.

This northern attitude is just dumb. It's illogical. It's stupid. I'd call it a ham-fisted unsubtle after school special of a plotline if it weren't a fictionalised version of something that's literally baked into to many cultures worldwide, past and present.

RANT CONCLUDED

What else can I say about this episode? Aang and Sokka had like three lines each, but they were very in character. Sokka and the princess are cute together. Zuko and Iroh had a good dynamic when they weren't acting in service to exposition. This whole episode really feels like part one of a two parter.

I think something might have been off with the narrative weighting of this episode. There was an honest to god assassination attempt and I forgot.

While the shot of Paku looking put out that the ice disk landed so close to his face was funny, I would have preferred it if Katara had gotten in one hit beyond her bitchslap. Just one. His ego needed the beating which it got via the necklace thing, but I would have liked to see actual beating too.

If I had seen this episode as a child I absolutely would have lost my mind over Katara getting to beat up a sexist. I'd bet good money that this episode did lots of good for the self-esteem of little girls who saw it.

Katara's plot line is like the plot of the Waterbending Scroll episode, but in a positive light. In that episode her selfishness regarding bending got them in trouble; in this one it helped. Seen in that light, the fact that it's the necklace rather than Katara's skill that gets through to Paku is a bit undermining, but if "magical girl has such impressive skills that the sexist dinosaur throws away decades of sexism for the chance to be her teacher" had been the plot instead, I'd probably be complaining about cliches instead.

All in all, a bit clunky, a lot of set up, and too many assholes and frustrating idiocy for it to go on my rewatch list. Feminist beat downs are good for the soul, but I'm not sure they outweigh Poopheads.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #the waterbending master #avatar the last airbender

[amethystfairy1]

Hello and welcome to...

✨Amethyst's Scribbling Corner✨

Also known as "I wanna practice writing short/get new ideas and this seems like fun, and I'm curious to see where it goes so let's give it a shot."

I've always wanted to try writing prompts/requests for the sake of trying new things and stretching my writing style a bit, it's always seemed like a ton of fun. I participated *cough* am participating almost done 😭 *cough* in Whumptober for the first time this year, and recently with TTSBC and Traveling Thieves, as well as this blog picking up steam, I figured it was a good time to give it a try!

SO HERE'S THE DEAL

Once a week(ish I promise nothing my brain is a pinball machine with a bunch of AUs and fandoms slamming into each other like demented bumper cars) I will make a poll tagged 'Amethysts Scribbling Corner' and I'll put in the poll a handful of requests/prompts that I've either dug up on my own or that I've received from anyone who would like to send one in! Whichever prompt wins the poll, I'll write it and post it! I'll probably make a new series on my A03 account just for fics that come out of this titled 'Amethysts Scribbling Corner' as well!

Use reblogs, replies, asks, messages, I'm not picky!

They can be as broad as a simple one-word prompt, or you can even give a brief description of a couple sentences!

Requests for certain ships or characters are encouraged for sure! Just know I'm more likely to use the ones that're for ships I already write for...but I mean...looks at TTSBC notes...there's plenty to choose from!

Also feel free to submit asks or requests for other fandoms, I'm currently living my best Hermit/Traffic/Empires fanfic gremlin life, but I've also written a ton for Haikyuu and Jojos, if those interest anyone! Pretty much any fandom that I've posted for on my A03 account is fair game!

Last thing: Feel free to request where you want the fic to take place! Especially when we're taking Hermit/Traffic/Empires stuff, if you want it to be within the Minecraft server world of that specific series, within a certain one of the Life Series, a modern AU, a fantasy AU, or even TTSBC or Traveling Thieves if you have ideas for them! Just know that if anything requested for TTSBC or Traveling Thieves contradicts or maybe overlaps with any future plans for those AUs, I might not be able to accept them 😓

As far as rules go...I do not write NSFW. I am happy to write romance and let things get a little spicy 🔥 but keep in mind I'll always end up fading to black...also no heavy gore, violence, body horror, things of that nature. I am very much a fan of writing whump and hurt/comfort though, so please send those ideas my way!

I think that's all...I hope for this to be something fun to give me a way to try out some new things in my writing and give everyone who has so kindly supported my stories so far something fun to engage with!

Requests are open now! Reply to this post, reblog, or send me asks or messages! I'm excited to see what we end up creating together!

💖💖💖

TL:DR: I'm opening prompt requests for short writing/short story practice! Rules in the post above!

#Amethysts Scribbling Corner #fanfic #ao3 fanfic #traffic smp #hermitcraft #through the sky blue cracks #traveling thieves au #hermitshipping #trafficshipping #life series #empires smp #haikyuu #requests #whump #whump writing #writing prompt #fic prompt #requests open #requests are welcome #taking requests

[oldbutnotyetwise]

Detours

     I think we all know what a detour is.  You are going somewhere and the way you were going is blocked for some reason. You have to divert and go a different longer way.  Detours aren’t always a surprise, sometimes we plan a detour into a trip, maybe we detour to see some sight or perhaps to visit with a long lost family member.  So to summarize, a Detour can be planned or unplanned, but normally involves going in a less than straight direction.

     So what I have described above normally applies to some kind of trip you are going on, but what I have been pondering lately is Life Detours.  That is when your life is going in a certain direction but then goes off in another direction, often because of someone who you have met on your life path.  These people can often act like a bumper in a pinball machine sending you off in an unexpected direction, perhaps playing a small role but having a big impact.

     Now let me tell you how my thoughts got hitched to this train of thought.  A young man that I used to work with came to visit me recently and shared with me something that he said had a big impact on his life.  Apparently one day many years ago, before we really knew each other I stopped him in the hallway at work one day.  I hadn’t exchanged more than a few words with him prior to that day, but I had read enough of his reports to know that he was a good, hard working officer who I felt would be a good fit for our detective office.  I stopped him that day and suggested he apply for an upcoming opening we had in the Detective office.  He told me he hadn’t thought about applying before I suggested it, but he went home that night, spoke to his wife and he applied the following day.  From this short conversation, that I only vaguely remember, he was brought into the detective office, which led him to being promoted and just recently leaving the Police for an prestigious position in the Justice system.  He credits that conversation I had with him as having a significant impact on the direction of his life.  I had totally forgotten that conversation until he mentioned it.

     Another example I can offer is a woman I worked with years ago stopped me one day to thank me for being there for her many years earlier.  Apparently we were working together on the same squad and she was having a really challenging time.  She tells me that after a tough nightshift I had taken her out for breakfast, listened to her, offered her some guidance and sent her home feeling a lot better about her situation.  It was more than ten years after that breakfast that she was thanking me.  I had absolutely no recollection of that breakfast, but it had a significant impact on her as she made some changes after we spoke that sent her life in a different direction.  

      So this got me thinking about some of the detours I took in my own life, and the people that were largely responsible for those detours. 

     My first real significant job of note was when I was hired on Security at General Motors in St. Catharines.  It was supposed to be a summer job but I stayed for seven years, and during my time there I my life took two significant detours.  

     One of the people I worked with there was Gerry, a guy about ten years my senior, who became a very dear friend to me, and still is now, some forty-four years later.  Gerry was significant in my life because, well I would say he is largely responsible for the person I am today.  When I met Gerry I would describe myself as a twenty year old young man who was like many people that age.  I thought I knew everything, when in fact I knew very little, and if I met myself at that age I don’t think I would like me.  Gerry was just this really likeable young guy, married to a beautiful wife and with two handsome young sons.  He was kind, thoughtful and gave me the impression of being an exceptionally good person.  He didn’t directly teach me how to be a better person or a better father, but I learned so very much by watching him, listening to him and then emulating what I saw and heard.  Sometimes when I was struggling with a decision I would think to myself, what would Gerry do, and I would then do that.  I guess you could say he was a life mentor for me.

     Also working with me at GM was a guy named Wayne who left the Provincial Police and eventually ended up with GM Security.  Wayne knew of my desire to pursue a career in Policing, and one day as I was approaching ten years of failed attempts to get hired by a Police Force I shared with him that I was thinking that maybe I should give up this dream as it did not appear it was ever going to happen.  He looked at me and said why don’t you apply to the Hamilton Police?  I explained that it was too far away, but he pointed out that lots of guys drove down the highway to the steel plants everyday.  I thought about it, then did as he had suggested and a few months later Hamilton Police hired me.  I haven’t spoken to Wayne in over three decades, and I doubt he would even remember that conversation, but thanks to him my life took a huge detour. 

     My life took another detour one cold, wintery January day when my daughter made her entrance into this world.  Suddenly I was a Dad, and so began the desire to be the best Dad I could be. I am still working at it some 42 years later.  I watched how Gerry parented and copied him, I watched how some others parented and did the opposite, but mostly I just tried my best not to screw up the most important role I would ever have in my life.

     There are as many different styles of Policing as there are Police Officers.  It was important for me to be the best officer.  I had three Sergeants that made me a good officer, each causing me to detour from the way I had been doing things.  Peter who taught me that I had the best career in the world, and if I wasn’t having fun than I wasn’t doing it right.  Robert who was such a stickler for detail that we would often get our handwritten reports back covered in sticky notes with questions that needed to be answered.  Once I learned to write reports to his standards I never had a Sergeant send my reports back for further work.  John who taught me that true leaders create an atmosphere where those who work hard for you don’t do so out of fear or intimidation, but do so because they don’t want to disappoint you.

     There is an old saying, its better to be lonely and alone, than lonely with someone.  I was a broken man, living an unhappy life with little hope for my future.  This is when I met Traci who convinced me that my company was enjoyable, that I was interesting, that I was attractive and desirable.  Although Traci and I didn’t get our happily ever after, I credit her with opening the door that allowed me to find my way back to a happy and fulfilling life.

     Like many others I am a survivor of an ugly war in Family Court that stretched over ten years and cost an obscene amount of money.  I was trying to represent myself, drowning in a tank of sharks when Gina stepped in to throw me a life ring and pull me out of the shark tank.  She directed me to Michael, my third family court lawyer who was a kind, gentle and wise man who managed to win in court and give me back my life.  Gina and Michael, two people with minor roles in my life, but who both had a major impact.

     After two failed marriages I had begun to wonder if perhaps I wasn’t meant to be single for the rest of my life.  My friend Lynda convinced me to try out online dating and I reluctantly agreed.  I went on a string of dates and had some fun along the way but wasn’t really clicking with anyone.  Then one day I received a message from a pretty young woman, I was above her requested age range, and she was below mine, but there was something about her.  I wrote back and we began to message back and forth daily.  After a month we met, and she was every bit as special as her pictures and messages suggested.  I sometimes wonder what our lives would look like today if she hadn’t been looking outside her age range that day.  It was this detour which led me to my last, best and final wife.  The woman I was meant to be with.

     There was the Neurologist who was the first one to tell me that I had ALS and would likely be dead in 2 - 5 years.  This was an unplanned an unwelcome detour I found myself on.  If we go back to the Pinball metaphor, the steel ball has now hit the last bumper and is rolling down the centre of the game, out of reach of the flippers.  It is the last play, the game is soon to be over, there are no replays.

     Every life has detours, some good, some not so good.  

     What detours has your life taken?  

     Who in your life has had a minor role but a major impact?  

     Who on your life path have you been responsible for sending on a major detour?

#als #detours #life detours

[astronomyforastrologers]

Before Pluto Changes Colors ~ 5 Jan 2024

Before Pluto Changes Colors ~ 5 Jan 2024, Philip Sedgwick

In the wee hours of 21 January (GMT) Pluto drops his Capricorn cloak and goes for something more of Aquarian airy style. There’s a big shift encroaching upon the collective consciousness as he pushes in the clutch for a better gear ratio. Slowly, over the next months, those things seemingly doused in impossibility begin to make more sense and options for resolution appear.

On the 15th to 16th of January, depending upon where in the world you are located, three interesting transits appear that include two dwarf planets and a centaur. Closer inspection might just reveal something new, previously not considered, and within the theme of Pluto changing signs, open an entirely new spectrum for consideration.

Pluto Close-Up, Courtesy NASA

The massively ringed one, Saturn, joins Gonggong in Pisces. Here alternative perspectives organically evolve when one savors any feeling of being stuck or immobilized. Saturn curiously will ask those not moving, “So, what are you going to do about this?” He deserves a good answer. An answer that contains practical objectives, a well-thought timeline, and a unique perspective. Back in the old days of pinball playing if a player jolted the machine for favor, the game could end in a tilt. With Saturn to Gonggong, a new tilt is required. Oblique points of view often align with long distance goals with sufficient parallax that one can actually see around the next bend and accurately determine what more may be required.

Saturn with Gonggong supports none of the tried and true that does not “grow corn,” “make hay” or produce a viable yield. Saturn in Pisces is not quick to condemn or criticize - actually here he can be quite empathetic. Those agreeing to get on with the getting on regardless of the tilted perspective receive kind support, thoughtful suggestions and an ample supply of grease . . . provided that Saturn senses the will to persist and persevere regardless of previous setbacks in life. Saturn kindly points out that what happened before happened before and with the new angle of approach toward life’s objectives, certainly results unlike any produced before may manifest... and it all seems to happen more swiftly if one can remain in their personalized creative zone.

Mars aligns with and passes by the centaur Pholus in Capricorn. These two currently navigate the thickest array of pulsars known. These pulsars jab new ideas and lofty concepts at ones cranium more regularly and faster than the speediest popcorn popper on Earth. Taking time to read the bumper sticker-like blips of consciousness reaching for your attention goes a long way in feeding creativity and locking onto inspired brainstorms.

Mars in Cap is exalted. Here, he is maximum in drive. He is impatient, eager and so keyed on getting going with projects that life essentials - food and drink - can be ignored. It’s never a good idea with a Mars transit to risk hangry. Pholus is all about food and drink. He insists that one make a ritual - a ceremony of eating food that is prepared properly. He asks if how you eat and drink and whatever other substances you may take in the interest of consciousness, totally and fully nurture your being. If a no, Pholus supports abrupt changes in diet, method of consumption, time taken for consumption, and quality of those things consumed. He wants all nurturing in life to be treated reverentially... as if it is a ceremony. In fact, he urges all to consider that every act taken in life is on the path of karma leading to dharma and thus a purposeful ritual. As such, all acts are meritorious (as in those things worth doing) and all efforts applied in life are indeed intended to fulfill the purposes of the soul.

Venus draws an exact bead on Ceres in Sagittarius at a degree in between the Great Attractor and the Galactic Center. They both draw from both galactic points. Very recently, both these goddesses aligned with a collection of potent black holes in Sagittarius. In this recent degree passage, thoughts on the table and up for discussion include:

Becoming an expert in all you do, or consulting only with those with impeccable wisdom when seeking advice, encouragement or critique. Ensuring that all things done totally and completely align with ones beliefs. Consistency in creativity and consciousness. Recognizing and revering every morsel of personal knowledge gained and committing to apply it fully in every life act, including thoughts, words and deeds.

Ceres and Venus advance upon and seek the wisdom of the Galactic Center. Together, they seek to understand the energy underscoring any life difficulty. With understanding, the energy can be shifted, and almost if by strategic pointing of a magician’s wand, the path can clear with insights applied. Ceres and Venus may be tempted to offer up critical - potentially judgmental life reviews. The recent transit to the Great Attractor presumably refreshed beliefs with the thought that new concepts deserve to be considered before dismissal. That everyone has a place in the plan. Inclusion is the easiest way to reduce resistance from others. And finally, everyone expects you to land those insights buzzing around inside their heads with a blazing and thoughtful information drop.

With these gravitationally significant galactic gizmos and their ongoing transits by planets, time and space warp as a matter of course. It’s simply what happens. What you realized today the world needs to know now takes some time for the collective to wrap around. While it may feel boring initially, reading from a journal what you documented six-months might do the trick. What you have assimilated... and come to understand... can be elucidated with greater ease that your latest high flying idea that still requires emotional adjustment on your part and a major dose of grounded applications to make sense of it.

While this may seem old hat, when utility is realized. progress is made, and previously stationary wheels move forward, know that your contribution of the galactic goodies you currently grok, works smoothing in resolving logjams without dynamite. Also, remember, to make the mundane move again and give it momentum, requires altering the energy that prevails as the substrate of stuck situations... not forcing, dominating or manipulating... simply unknotting that ball of energy.

These transits which precede Pluto donning his bright Aquarian duds by less than a week promote believing that things can work out more ideally than previously imagined. Really!

Can you think of a better way to start this brand spanking new year than with such thinking? Neither can Saturn, Pluto, Gonggong, Ceres, Pholus or Venus.

More soon...

This is a prime time to schedule a consultation or to load up with a reserve of consultations. A Galactic Report may shed new insights on life scenarios. You can also ask a question or two, or schedule a half-hour session if that’s what works better for you. The links below will get you started.

One Stop Shopping Order Form Astrological Texts

[torrid-comics]

What is your stance on fanart and OCs that people make for your stuff? I ask as I am an avid bumper and pinball fan and have made my own character to fit into that universe, and want to know if that is ok with you. Also, are you going to Zappcon or any other conventions this year?

Thanks so much for the question. I think fan art is amazing, and it is an underlying backbone for fostering aspiring artists who one day will become the next generation of creators. I am overjoyed at the thought of someone finding inspiration from something I created. As for conventions, the only thing lined up currently is stocktoncon summer. It is next month! I always have a good time there.

[blueeyedrat]

Steam Next Fest, fall 2023. I had time to play a good variety of game demos, and I picked out the ones that stood out the most to me this time around. Detailed thoughts and comments under the cut.

Beacon Patrol, Sky Settlers – The obligatory tile builders. Beacon Patrol plays like a variation on Carcassone; a bit more simplistic than its board game counterpart and I'd like to see more to it, but the idea of working together in multiplayer to set a high score is intriguing. Sky Settlers hews closer to Dorfromantik and ISLANDERS, and of the many games of that sort I've tried, it seems like one of the more fully realized ones. A lot of its ideas I've seen in other games and demos, but the ways they're used here feel pretty natural and fit together well.

Eklips, RETRIS, Oxytone – Arcade puzzle games, each of them putting a spin on an existing style of game: Oxytone places tiles to connect longer and longer winding paths, RETRIS plays like a somewhat warped version of Tetris, and Eklips drops blocks to fill out rows around a central square. There are some interesting ideas in each one, and good potential for them to be fleshed out a bit more.

Plungeroo, Oberty – More puzzle games. Plungeroo is a pinball-themed game about placing tiles and bumpers to make paths for pinballs to follow, with a charming variety of puzzles themed around different pinball tables. Oberty is a minimalist puzzle revolving around patterns and symmetry, and making different patterns out of the same base components. Both seem like the sort of game I might boot up, play a few levels, then a few more, then suddenly it's a day later and I've completed the entire game and am left wanting more.

Promenade, Pecker – A pair of games drawing inspiration from 3D platformers, in opposite directions. Promenade is a 2D platformer with a charming art style, and game mechanics somewhere on the spectrum between Klonoa or Mischief Makers (where the best way to get around is to grab enemies and vault over them) and Super Mario Odyssey (where each level is its own bite-sized collect-a-thon with challenges and objectives scattered throughout). Pecker takes a cue from Odyssey in a much more direct sense, in that it takes a specific power from a specific level and expands the core idea into an entire game based around it. Seems like both games could be refined into something fun.

PixelJunk Eden 2 – A floaty, psychadelic platformer. The gameplay is simple and satisfying, but takes a back seat to the audio-visual experience, which is overflowing with style. I'm not actually familiar with the PixelJunk series; I've seen the name around here and there, but never really looked into it myself. If Eden is anything to go by, I might have to rectify that.

Sandy's Great Escape – One last puzzle game, this one more sokoban-esque. A good pixel-art style, a good variety of mechanics that ramp up in complexity at a fair pace, and an incentive for optimal puzzle-solving (which might be a curse as much as a boon; I can tell that trying to 100% complete this game and get all the coins is the sort of thing that might drive me up a wall). The crab will have his day.

Cobalt Core – A roguelite deckbuilder. Of all the games I tried out this time around, this one was the standout. I was intrigued by the pixel art and music when it was first annouced (which also brought my attention to the devs' previous title, Sunshine Heavy Industries, which shares the same style and is a puzzle game that seems very much up my alley), and the gameplay did not disappoint. It clicked with me immediately, and puzzling my way through each different encounter was very satisfying. There's a lot of potential for different decks and encounters, so there should be a lot to dive into when the game releases. I'm looking forward to it.

#cobalt core #pixeljunk eden #beacon patrol game #plungeroo game #oberty game #eklips game #bryan writes about games

[weaselle]

here’s an excerpt from a new thing i’m writing.

X took a deep breath and walked into the super market.

Storefront boredom, hoarded horrors, wars of wares for normal boarders -- stop. Concentrate. X just needed to get... shit, what was it? Coffee. X was out of coffee. The caffeine kick, swift pick up quick, don’t stop in the pit stop licketty-split. And paper towels. Was X just standing in the entryway? How long had X been standing here? Don’t need a cart don’t need a hand basket just here for two things, move. And mouthwash, three things; also could get dinner to avoid cooking: that stovetop magic, love lost tragic, great to create food, rude not acted actually good to do but blast it after the eat creeps dish pile drastic -- c’mon, focus. What aisle was X in? Juice, yeah, got a day and half worth back home might as well, don’t want to be doing this again tomorrow. Damn it, alright, go back for a hand basket.

Coffee got for the coffee pot the allotted stock more than less but less than a lot - a two pound bag. Straight shot to the mouthwash but so much public jumbled like pinball bumpers, so turn down the mostly empty...

... candy aisle? Evil, ah evil, look at the chocolate, largely sourced from plantations utilizing child slaves, so much money pouring in from chocolate companies that while slavery worldwide had dropped dramatically in the last several decades, slave trade in the areas surrounding the chocolate plantations was actually increasing. And here, shelves of chocolate, the labor of children sold into slavery, offered for just the right price in packages requiring designers and machines more costly than the lives bought and sold to work the harvest; can’t sell this bloodied treat in simple brown paper, no, it has to compete with the hundred other chocolate brands, but of course, all those brands were owned by the same three companies. Look, here was one chocolate item wrapped in Wholesome™ packaging proclaiming the chocolate to be not only organic but also sourced from independent cocoa farmers focused on helping women build better lives. But that chocolate company was just a brand name owned and operated by one of the same giant three corporations that bought chocolate harvested by children stolen from mothers and sold into forced labor. All to fill a carefully calculated percentage of shelf space in this pleasant nightmare. These weren’t goods they were selling, if anything they were bads. Hoarded horrors in this war of wares.

People, people, in the way, or was X in their way... a crowd of one not at one with the crowd, mumbled excuse-mes not allowed to be loud, while the silent voice’s noises shouted out! get out! But X still needed dinner and mouthwash.

Past the eggs which X could rarely eat anymore, used to like the ovarary production of the aviary, until the introduction of some drugs or somethin’ made it very hard to savor properly, a flavor like a cemetery, some property industrial, that’s possibly some commentary on the bigger problem: that our produce, all our meat and dairy’s basically controlled by cash, so have to stay completely wary.

Shit, X had done a whole loop around the store, head full of eggs.

X turned the corner into the next aisle, where meat ranched overcrowded on deforested land was dyed the cartoon color children were raised to expect. Bright red steaks, orangish pink chicken. How was X supposed to buy and eat these things, knowing that not only were the healthy qualities of the foods compromised, not only was the world itself harmed by their industrialized production, but also studies indicated enjoyment of the food, trust in the food, these things effected the very ability of the body to absorb nutrients from the food. When presented with the same ingredients in a form unfamiliar or untrusted versus in a form trusted and enjoyed, the nutritional uptake by the person eating that food was noticeably different. And knowing what X knew, there had not been a meal in years that had been trusted, that had not been tainted by guilt and uncertainty, the subtle aftertaste of evil.

X left the super market shattered and exhausted, halfway home before realizing the mouthwash had never made it into the hand basket.

#writing #wip #fiction

[aspiringtrashpanda]

💚ZORO x ROBIN💜

This is for my spontaneous event, which you can find here!  Always happy to write ZoRobin for my darling @hiraethwrites​ 💕

“Hey love, look!”

Zoro’s hand tightened around hers, his thick palms squeezing her fingers and prompting a giggle to fall from her lips.  He tugged her to the next stall, ignoring her place in the queue of their current stop, eyes dead set on something up ahead.  

Robin’s anticipation grew.  It had to be something good for Zoro to drop everything and fixate.  

It had been Zoro’s choice to go to the mall to purchase a new pair of boots for the oncoming rainy season – something he had been avoiding due to his general distaste for crowded spaces and the majority of the population – though, it had been Robin’s choice to visit the department store that specialized in antiques.  

After an hour of milling about the various stalls, laughing at disturbing dolls attempting to portray children (though the result screamed don’t get it wet, don’t feed it past midnight), and marveling at the durability of ancient salt and pepper shakers, Zoro was getting antsy.  Robin couldn’t blame him.  Though she found endless entertainment in retro TV stands and loose Coca-Cola signs, Zoro could only look at so many blown glass vases before he considered himself officially bored.  

The plastic bag containing his new boots swung perilously close to a china tea set as he plowed on ahead, Robin swatting the bag away before it could get them banned.  She scurried after him, curiosity prickling the edges of her brain, her eyes searching their path ahead for what could have interested her boyfriend.  

Entering an area of the store dedicated more so to things considered retro, and not antique, Zoro beelined towards a boxy rectangle hoisted up on four rickety legs.  It flashed invitingly against one of the flimsy dividers that separated the vendors, prompting Zoro’s jaw to hit the ground.

Robin’s jaw hit the ground when she saw the absurd priced fixed to its side.  Her disappointment subsided, though, when she saw the enthusiasm in Zoro’s wild beam, the way his steely eyes light up, reflecting the flashing yellow lights that beckoned him to play.

“YO!” His large hands shook the pinball machine as he rested his palms on either side of the glass, the window that revealed the intricate maze of walls and lights and holes within shuddering under his strength.  “I haven’t seen one of these in ages!”

Robin hummed in amusement, watching in interest as Zoro pulled back a lever, releasing a small metal ball into the... court?  Playing field?  Was there even a sports term to associate with pinball?

“How about a little competition?” She tapped at the glass as the ball fell through the flippers closest to Zoro, signaling the end of the round.  

“What stakes we talkin’, here?” Zoro grinned, his fingers toggling buttons lining the side of the game, as if in practice.  

It was Robin’s turn to grin, leaning over the glass to examine the maze carefully.  She was taking it all in – which bumpers would send her further into the course, which combos would give her the greatest number of points.  Once satisfied, she rocked back on her heels and mused, “Loser buys milkshakes.”

“I don’t even like milkshakes.”

“Then, I suppose you better win,” Robin giggled, her laugh prompting Zoro’s eyes to temporarily lose their competitive edge, for soft affection to touch his features as he reveled in the sound of her happiness.  

Robin was so in love with this brilliant man.  This brilliant man who made her laugh, who challenged her, who kept her mind sharp and busy.  This brilliant man with the strength of an ox, the ferocity of a tiger, the playfulness of a puppy, and the devotion of a lovebird. This brilliant man who had stood by her side through thick and thin, who basked and preened in the light of her smile, as if her joy was the one thing that mattered most to him.  

This brilliant man, who managed to bounce the metal ball back and forth between approximately 6 bumpers before losing the ball to the trough.  

“Ah, shit,” He grumbled, stepping aside to give Robin her turn.  

She pulled the lever and started her match, her fingers flying over buttons as she impressed even herself with her ability to keep up with the ball as it flew across the course.  She paid no mind to the jarring squawks of horns or the obnoxious ringing of bells, refused to be distracted by the flashing bulbs lining the box.  

She beat his score in 15 seconds.  

She beat the top score in 5 minutes.  

“I love you,” Zoro whispered in her ear as he held her close.

“I can feel you trying to play pinball behind my back,” Robin replied.  

They compromised on bubbletea, wandering hand in hand throughout the mall, Robin happily slurping her espresso-based milkshake with tapioca balls.  Zoro had chosen a basic taro milk tea.

He forewent the tapioca, muttering something about them resembling pinballs.  

#Zorobin #zoro x robin #one piece fanfiction #drabble #drabble request #aspiringtrashpanda

[pkgam]

“Games Cause Violence” Goes Deeper

We all know the ol’ “Video games cause violence” irrational panic which I poked fun at before. But what did people blame for violence before video games became mainstream? Get ready... Chess. No, I’m not making this up: https://bigthink.com/pessimists-archive/chess-insanity/

Yes, that’s right fellow chess players, you were seen as potentially murderous, insane and suicidal. That outlook was of course dissolved over time as people grew wiser. Or... Well... Ok, not wiser. It more like shifted blame to other things after Chess checked out fine, lol! But it was the scapegoat of the era for people to blame for many of life’s problems as if they didn’t exist before Chess existed. You know, because people apparently didn’t have wars before chess and that chess gave them the idea. Wait...

But in any case, that’s not all. What if I told you that there was another game considered so heinous, it got outlawed for a time. It’s gotta be something that at least looks pretty bad right? Well they’re about to blow your socks off with..... Pinball: https://www.history.com/news/that-time-america-outlawed-pinball No joke. XD They equated the game to gambling because they didn’t understand it took practice to get skilled at it and just wrote it off right away. They also thought it caused kids to skip school to play them and apparently “criminal interests” were cited as a large controller of the industry. Which is hilarious in hindsight because many were making bank off of Pinball so they didn’t even need to do crime for profits. But get this... One of the reasons they gave for the ban is that the metal could be used to manufacture ammunition to fight “foreign enemies”. You heard that correctly. They chalked pinball up to being a crime spree creator but found it perfectly acceptable to shoot people in other countries. Oh America’s government... You haven’t changed much have you? ;)

Man, if only those two AND video games were all getting flak in the same era. Then imagine if Space Cadet Pinball was instead “Chessmaster Pinball” with pawns as bumpers or something in that era, they would be having kittens over it!

Your thoughts?

Thanks for reading and have a good one!

#chess #pinball #video #game #games #video games #ban #violence #crime #gambling #lol

[joytraveler]

53. Whack-O Golf

The title screen pops up: wacky carnival music starts playing. The letters in "Whack- O Golf" bounce around like basketballs before landing in place, some of them still giggling and squirming.

"Wait, is this going to be mini golf? The only form of golf that really matters?" 

Klickitat_Street: Apparently the people who brought you Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise made a golf game?

Stage 1 begins, and yes, this is a miniature golf game-- except it's the size of a real golf game. There's a giant green shaped like the state of California, and it's filled with obstacles-- you have to make your way from San Diego to the hole, which is in the Transamerica Building!

snug_buggler: super golf world Baconnaise: Well this is a stately game

"All right I think that if I can clear the Golden Gate I can do this in only a few shots, have some birdies to spare, then I can pick up the spare at the bottom of the ninth! SPORTS WORDS!"

There is no player character, just a disembodied golf club. Like all NES-era golf games (and most since), it's mostly a matter of stopping a meter when the pointer is in the green zone.

"...Huh. Anyone seen a you-know-what yet?" she scans the background. "Maybe it's just the club this time."

GlockRoach: You're just the floating, possessed club of arnold palmer..wait he's not dead my bad Baconnaise: He didn't die, he has Ascended to being a drink

With her first thwack, she does in fact clear the Golden Gate... until a chimpanzee grabs the ball out of midair, screams, "NOOO!" and hurls it to the ground in a dead stop.

DueyDecimal: Well! That was... a thing. slug_juggler: i'm glad they got the san diego zoo in the game somehow

Bea just looks into the camera. When she's finally done laughing... "I don't know, I mean, what can I even say about that"

aroseahorseboy: someone really liked rise of the planet of the apes? or else they were really hard up for something iconic that happened at the GG bridge

"I'm sure there's some deep meaning behind it but.." Next time she doesn't shoot near the bridge, and at a higher angle.

This time the ball sails past the bridge and enters a grove of giant sequoias, which light up and rattle and buzz like pinball bumpers before spitting her ball out to the south, into Sacramento-- which is patrolled by a big robotic Arnold Schwarzenegger, stomping and breathing fire.

"I can't make the Arnold noise.. AUGH! OOOGH! Forget it. Anyway WHATS HE DOING HERE? And why am I even shocked anymore?"

The game is from a first person view when you putt and move, and follows your ball across the pixelated landscape. A mini map keeps track of where you are and where you want to get to, but right now Bea's afraid to approach the ball, waiting until the Governator has passed before she tries another swing.

HNV: You know, I thought this game was older than this? aroseahorseboy: it probably is, but who would recognize Jerry Brown? HNV: Maybe if they paired him with a giant robot Linda Ronstadt. Syrupentine: who? HNV: Apparently I'm old. Never mind.

When the Governator stomps past and Bea lets her ball fly, it rolls up and down the wires of the Golden Gate (this seems to be a pre-animated cinema sequence) and is deposited on the green near the TransAmerica building!

aroseahorseboy: one two three FOUR FIVE six seven eight NINE TEN eleven twelve, doo doododoodododo

"I'm so good at sporks! Y'know I don't think whoever made this has ever been to California.. which is odd because this is exactly what it's like"

DueyDecimal: For those of you who don't know, Bea is from California! anthony1998x: yeah everyone, a/s/l

"Representin! Hell yeah! We have no water!" She does a fist pump. "Ok but.. Mr. Spanunko? Hello? Here boy! Not that I'm eager for one to show up"

One putt later, the buildings all dance... or maybe it's an earthquake. Course complete, and only one over par!

The next course has no 'green' at all, but it seems to be represented by frost crystals-- it takes place inside a refrigerator. Condiments and leftovers form the obstacles, and the hole is the eye in a ribeye steak!

GlockRoach: Steak your claim.

"I hate you most" Bea responds as she struggles in a ketchup trap! "Is this miniature golf because we're shrinking?"

HNV: Somehow I doubt you're going to find a Spanunko in here... aroseahorseboy: you went from bigger than California to smaller than a hamburger hope you're happy, all you jerks who tell her to lose weight

Boop. Boop. She takes small swings because there are a lot of stuff to avoid, some of which looks past its prime. "Weird-ass mini golf, and friendly reminder that refrigeration only delays, not prevents, food death.. So go eat everything in yours right now"

A complicated maze of crumpled cling-wrap gives way to a large piece of Swiss cheese sitting on a plate uncovered.

HNV: Clearly they were referring to Tom & Jerry cartoons rather than their own refrigerators when they made this. Klickitat_Street: Well, there'd be no challenge in a golf course made up of old six-pack rings and a box of baking soda.

When Bea putts the ball into the cheese, it rolls all around, in and out of the holes... and suddenly out comes a swarm of the tapeworms!

"It's probably good baking soda... all right let me sink this and then we canAAAAAAGH" she starts reflexively swinging the club at the worms! "I do not like them in my cheese, I do not like them on my knees!"

Llord_Kuruku: there's your spanunko, this is one of their fridges!

"That's not a place I want to be!" She keeps swinging just trying to get the ball out of there!

Luck is on Bea's side. Her next swing sends the ball into a hole in the cheese, and out another hole, straight into the steak. Birdie!

"Swing wildly like your life depends on it because it might. That's how you play golf!"

Course 3 is egregiously unfair-- it's a bathtub, in which the ball must be hit from bath toy to bath toy in order to be sunk into the overflow drain.

Klickitat_Street: Pants off, everyone!

This goes on.. and on.. and ON until the audience can hear Bea's teeth grinding. "Go in the hole. No. Wrong. In the hole. No, not in the water, in.." Oh dear, she's starting to turn red as the ketchup from last stage!

HNV: Hey, um, Bea. Maybe... we could pick a new game now. IF YOU'RE OK WITH THAT.

"NO I AIN'T OKAY WITH THAT! I'm super okay with it"

#feb 23 #jtnuggets #klickitat street #hnv #llord kuruku #aroseahorseboy #glockroach #syrupentine #dueydecimal #berd #baconnaise #bea

[troybarnesbabygirlconfirmed]

Wait okay- people talking about meltdown experience? I can do this.

I'll take this from the most recent time I can remember it happening. I'm the silent meltdown type, I don't really scream or lash out. (sometimes I do, but most of the time I don't)

It's sort of like... My brains a pinball game.

And most of the time throughout the day I'm playing the game and it's fun and I'm not losing the ball I'm just bouncing it around playfully.

But then there's those moments where I can feel myself lose control - like I pressed the button too late and I didn't hit the ball quite right.

There's too many overlapping sounds or it's too loud and I can't do anything to stop it.

There are times of course when I can stop it - by removing myself or putting on headphones. But when something like that isn't a possibility, like, in the experience I'm taking from, being in a school with very intense no-headphones policies, the pinball machine of my brain sort of goes off the rails.

I feel myself lose control of the ball entirely, it's bouncing around frantically making louder and louder noises and pings. It's like it's unsure of where to go so it just goes everywhere.

And I feel myself shut down. At this moment it's too late, but I still try to stop things. Most cases this involves me plugging my ears - usually with untrimmed fingernails, jamming in as far as they will go and causing pain - or covering my ears with my fists - equally painful, as I crush my fists against the side of my head and suffocate my ears.

The best this does is slow down the pinball a little bit, but it doesn't really work all that well.

There's a few minutes where I sit there, trying to stop myself from doing anything. Especially in school, my instinct is to shut down so I don't do anything stupid in front of a bunch of people who already hate me and mock me.

But then it happened anyway.

Out of fight, flight, or freeze, I typically do this.

Freeze, then flight, and then maybe a little bit of fight if there's someone trying to stop me doing the flight part.

So I run. From whatever situation I'm in. I run and after I run I typically cry and feel like throwing up or throwing something.

Things just feel so wrong.

Like the pinball has dropped between the crack of the two bumpers and I don't have any quarters left.

If anyone tries anything while I'm in this state, I usually lash out. Verbally, never physically. I'm not really the physical type. I know as a tiny little trans masc I couldn't do that much, but words are just as powerful weapons as fists. And they can get you in just as much trouble.

There are some cases where I don't get the chance to fight, or really do anything. There are times when my meltdown is entirely silent, and contained. This is typically when I go non-verbal.

The step after all this, a step that usually takes the longest, is reconciliation. I apologise to everyone I wronged, try to calm down my brain and fix things. Try to make sure no one, absolutely no one, tells my parents what happened. (That's a story for another time)

And that's my meltdown cycle.

this. this is a very good analogy… i will be using it. if that’s okay.

(also i get the parents bit) (in a VERY different way) (but i know what you’re talking about best believe) (and also i am so? so sorry that you have to keep that hidden from them.) (that must be really difficult and im sending love)

thank you thank you thank you so so much !!! i love you all and im giving you the biggest thanks for all this. copy pasted it into a little document HEHEHEOSNSKSK for reference <3 thank you rhank you thank you

[ultrasuperexplore]

SKETCHES & THOUGHTS - LET'S TRY THIS

Alright, lemme peel myself away from XIV for a bit and do something a bit more self-driven!

I've loved to doodle pinball playfields ever since I was in elementary school - I'm sure a lot of other folks can recall sketching new levels for their favourite games, at some point. These days, I still prefer using pencil-on-paper to design new layouts, as opposed to figuring everything out from within Visual Pinball. Curved walls, in partucular, take some time & finangling for me to construct in CAD software, but curves come easily when drawing by hand.

Recently, I had the bright idea to make simple card stencils in the dimensions I most often use for these sketches. I also cut some notches at a couple of key points, which are meant to mark where the flippers ought to go. They're... okay, but I think I should have had a couple more notches for the flippers & the inlane guide leading to them. Something to keep in mind for the next go around at making stencils, I guess.

Here's 3 sketches I made today:

And here's some words on my thought process creating them! I'll mention details in roughly the order I sketched them in.

#1: Started with the U-turn on the left that leads to an upper flipper, then added some shots for the upper flipper. Next, added a center ramp above the entrances to the upper flipper's shots. The center ramp drops the ball above the upper flipper. Tried to make a 2-bumper nest (an increasingly common trend in modern pinball) but I'm not fond of the design I came up with there, at least not on paper. Very strange 'reversed' left inlane/outlane setup - the idea is that a ball can be shot into the semicircle on the left, and it will quickly whip around towards the Left Flipper. A captive ball placed between this semicircle and the U-turn can steal the in-play ball's momentum, ideally making the ball drop here and bounce around in the inlane area, a dangerous situation.

#2: Wanted to make an upper playfield that was 'split in two,' as opposed to having one continuous arc running along the top. One side would have a common bumper nest, the other would have a set of drop targets with stand-up targets behind them, inspired mainly by Cybernaut. Orbits surround this combination bank. The right orbit around the bank throws the ball over a jump ramp leading to the bumpers and lanes in the left half of the upper playfield. The left orbit brings the ball down an isolated alley along the right side of the table, below the flippers, to a kicker that throws the ball past two one-way gates to arrive safely in the right inlane. (Probably not a good idea.) A hook lane with a spinner target, on the left side, throws the ball across the table and into the combination target bank. 3 drop targets, just above the spinner lane's typical shot angles, add another obstacle on the left side of the playfield. Lots of room is left over, but I decided to end that sketch there and start fresh.

#3: Once again, I wanted a playfield that was effectively split in two at the top - this time, I decided to try a symmetrical layout. The outer orbits, with walls running along the top of the table, are designed to throw the ball at a bumper. Stand-up targets fill in the upper gaps created by the orbits' guidewalls and protect the bottom two bumpers. Inner orbits run between the bumpers, allowing the ball to pass through the 5 bumpers at different angles. A saucer at the top-center of the table, guarded by the center bumper, would be difficult to hit intentionally, but could add some more beneficial randomness to the ball's behaviour in the upper playfield. Ruleset would probably need to involve going thru particular lanes at particular times. Simple lower-playfield with a discrete "lower orbit" and target banks (this may be extending too far down the table to work as a proper shot.) This table would not use a traditional plunger to launch the ball; it would instead kick the ball up from the drain area, similar to 'Big Hit' and other plunger-less games.

So, I think I've got some interesting ideas here, but nothing I'd want to flesh out further right now. One thing I noticed while writing these explanations was the lack of consideration for the game's overall theme - not just in how the game looks, but in how the game progresses & how different accomplishments are weighted when awarding points. I often think about interesting shot layouts before thinking about appropriate themes for them, as opposed to coming up with layouts that reinforce a pre-established theme. I think it's important for a game's shot layout to be at least somewhat coherent with its theme - a familiar theme will give players clues as to how they should approach different targets. (Consider the many, many playing-card-themed games that were made before the rise of video games! Many of them demanded that players shoot labeled targets to form poker hands, like pairs and straights, combinations that the layperson of that time would be likely to recognize as valuable.)

Hey, this was kinda fun! Maybe I ought to elaborate on my sketches more often.

#pinball #design